Weekend!

All children love to lick the cooking bowls, but this mother must be off in la la land. I wonder if she ever heard of unplugging the mixer first, unhooking the beaters and then let the little one have the batter. . . that would mean common sense. . .

This is not a picture of our Emma, but it could be. Pat has had to rescue her more than once as she loves to dig and play in the mud. She cannot equate owner madness with the exclusive joy of getting muddy, after all didn't she like to play in mud puddles when she was young . . . Is this the epitome of 'what goes around comes around'?

In the e-mail I received today, I was astounded to see the pictures of parents who love their children but have no idea how to raise them. I think they must have an open space between their ears. There were a lot of other pictures showing stupidity on child raising and as the caption said in the beginning . . . something about why some people should not have children. I remember being in a State Park some years ago and there was a woman who had two children over the barrier on a wall overlooking a deep valley. The guard rail was there for a reason but she must have thought it was for other people as she held the two children out on the ledge. It was frightening as it would take a second to lose one or both.

Here is another one of those interesting facts I told you about yesterday. Brazil was named from the nut, not the other way around. An interesting country, I wouldn't mind seeing it. Was Carmen Miranda from there? I remember her from a movie years ago with strange shoes and a hat with lots of fruit. Chicky, Chicky, something was her song, can see her in my minds eye and hear the music. If I remember correctly I think the shoes were clogs.

So today, with our world filled with strange and wondrous things to think about, take time to enjoy your day. Weekends are special, we just couldn't exist without them. I am going to enjoy mine as I can look out and see a mowed back yard, bushes trimmed, weeds gone . . . although not all the way, just impossible to get them all . . . Chon is back . . . I was very happy to see him. He had ten days visiting his family in Mexico and had a wonderful time. So good, he is off for a week soon again to meet some more family. He should be back in time to get to that horrible ditch in the back of the garage and trim the bush that overhangs it. I can understand why some folks went for brick walls around their properties . . . cement is good. I'm off for a refill and the news. It is too early for my Saturday cowboy movies, but the day is not over yet. Have fun today, laugh a lot it is very good for you. Hugs to all.

Interesting Facts From An E-Mail

Antarctica only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice ; and seventy percent of all fresh water in the world. The caption went on to say that essentially it is a desert as only
two percent of precipitation falls. It is the driest place on the planet and the humidity lower than the Gobi desert.


The e-mail was fascinating and that was only the 'A's. I couldn't fit them all on as it would have taken all my space, so I'll slide one in now and then so you can enjoy a few of the facts too. Who knows, you may already know all of this. I sure didn't and I've been around a long time. How little we know, and the older we get the more we realize just how little we do know. Life is a journey not a destination . . . I have no idea who said that, but it sounds good.


Do you wonder about the rain forest which provides more than twenty-percent of the worlds oxygen? The river pushes so much water in the Atlantic Ocean that more than a one hundred mile of sea off the mouth of the river can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all the rivers in the U.S.A.

Alaska. Did you know that one half of the entire United States coastline is in Alaska? I didn't realize that.

So thank you Dorothy for sending me the e-mail filled with wondrous facts about our world.

It is Friday already, the first week of a new month all but gone. The weather yesterday was warmer and the sun was bright so I went out to the garden and tried very hard to use the push mower to see if I could cut the foot tall grass. One swipe, one row, and I had to give it up. The grass is still very wet and the push mower very old and the pusher older than dirt so when all of that comes home to roost there is nothing to do but give up. Well, that is not easy to do so I got out the clippers and neatened a few of the overgrown bushes. February is not a clipping month so I may have done more damage than I should have, but that remains to be seen. So far my clip artistry has begotten overgrown bushes. All I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed my hour in the the sunshine and am looking forward to more of them.

So today finish up the work you have been doing all week and plan to give yourself some yard time this weekend, of course you have to be out of snow country to do that. For those of you enjoying the sun and snow, get out the skies and do some snow walking, or is it snow shoeing, whatever it is called, get out there and enjoy the fresh air and the scenery. Take your camera along and send me some pictures. Hugs to all.

Think Spring!

I know, the entire country is in a freeze and that huge blizzard left many stranded and tired of a long hard winter, even here on the coast we can feel the cold and the heater kicks on and on and the bill goes higher and higher but in spite of it all, we are all very lucky. I had a little video of the floods in Australia that was something to see. I wish I could show it to you. It showed a parking lot where cars were parked by a river and as you watched the river rise and the flood waters become faster and stronger the cars were floated out into the river and tossed around like toys. I cannot equate all this weather with global warming, can you?

Over in Ashland, on the other side of Medford, there is a lovely town with everything Shakespeare. My son John treated Patricia and I to a weekend there and we stayed in a delightful little cottage. It was fun to browse through the shops and see all of the different items depicting Shakespeare and the old English. We saw a play, can't remember which one now . . . aha . . . "Midsummer Night Dream" and it was fantastic. I hope we can do that one more time as the new season is about to open.

Van Gogh's "Starry Night". With all of the clear beautiful cold nights we are seeing a lot of stars. It is so different to be able to look up at the sky and see them. Usually we are fogged in and rarely see the stars or the moon, although we know they are there. Living in a small coastal town has both its curses and its blessings, but I guess that it true of most places. My Sullivan cousin, Andrea was telling me they were freezing in Arizona. She thought to invite family to join them and get out of the winter storms for awhile but after a day out in the cold she had a change of heart. It didn't take her long to find her way inside and cuddle in with a good book. She has joined a book club and said an author had come to talk with them and it was very interesting to hear what he had to say. They had just read "A Thousand White Women" and gave it high praise. The author is Jim Fergus, so now I want to go out and find his book and enjoy a good read. Meanwhile, speaking of authors, I just had an e-mail with encouraging words about my novel "Shadows of Life" which made me feel pretty good. Well, I get tired of tooting my own horn!

So today, Thursday already, where did this week go? It is almost time for a new weekend to enjoy. Don't forget they are not mailing out tax forms this year. I think the IRS thinks everyone has a computer. I stopped by the Post Office yesterday hoping to find an easy form but there was not one to be had. The line was much too long to wait and ask a question about them, so daughter Pat went on line and pulled one up for me. I am wondering if it is a smart idea not to send out the forms. How many folks will not know that they are not coming and be very late in filing this year, if they file at all? Some changes may be necessary but we are all creatures of habit and getting the January forms is as old as the hills. It will be interesting to hear what happens, not everyone is connected to the electronic highway.

Be of good cheer you still have time to gather all your 'stuff' and get your forms in on time. I hope you are in for a refund so you can put it towards a vacation trip and regroup after working so hard, maybe a trip to Ashland and the Shakespeare Festival will come to mind. If so, you are not far away so swing by and say hello. I can always use a hug. Hugs to all.

Ground Hog Day!

February 2, 2011 . . .

My niece is celebrating her birthday today. Her date has always been easy to remember. I hope she has a great day of celebration as she hears that the famous woodchuck did not see his shadow this morning so one of her gifts today is the news winter is leaving and spring will abound. Happy Birthday Eileen, may you have many more of them.

I read up a bit on the ground-hog and find it is one of fourteen species of marmots. Like the bears, they gorge themselves all summer and go underground to burrow and snooze away the winter until spring arrives. According to Folklore, if its cloudy it will leave the burrow . . . if sunny, retreat back to continue its winter snooze for another six weeks. I learned that it is an ancient celebration of Candlemas a point mid way between winter solstice and spring equinox. Superstition has it that fair weather was seen as a prediction of a stormy second half of winter.

Old English saying: "If Candlemas be fair bright/winter has another flight/ If Candlemas brings clouds and rain/winter will not come again."

So today, check the weather report in your area and see if this little ground-hog saw his shadow in your area. Hopefully he herald the end of a very long hard winter and sends hope for an early spring with lots of sunshine and wild flowers. I think back east they are having stormy weather so that is good news for them; here we have a break of sunshine . . . um, now I wonder if our woodchuck is hanging around to tell us we are going to have winter weather . . nah!, Hopefully it only counts back east. I'm ready for some warmth and sunshine.

Make your day a celebration, try something new and different for lunch today. Walk out and breath some fresh air knowing spring is on the way. Hugs to all.

She's Back!

Erin now . . . and then!

I had a note in the mail with a picture of me and my granddaughter taken up at Lake Tahoe when she was about a year and a half old. I had sent the picture to my friend with a story about our day at the Lake. Suzanne was going through some old albums of her mother, who has passed on, and found the picture and knew it would mean something to me. It was a lovely surprise and brought back some instant memories of a day well spent. Having a granddaughter is one of life's true blessings.

Meanwhile Chon who trims the bushes and cuts the lawn with his magic mower has gone to Mexico for a family vacation. He doesn't know that I had a pipe break under the house and a flood in my back yard. He doesn't know that the grass has grown at least a foot and it is not going to be easy to trim it down. The push mower wont work, and another week before he gets back . . . wonder if a scythe is going to be needed . . . wonder if he has one, I don't.

Daughter Patricia is back home after a long weekend away. She had a date with a neurologist who deals with M.S. and not having one here, it means the long trip to Portland. Her sister, Christine, drives over to keep her company and the two of them plot and plan some fun things to do. Last I heard they were going to visit the huge books store, a full block long, and browse . . . you know they wont come out empty handed. I'm looking forward to some good reading. Hopefully, we will have lunch together today and I will hear all about what the doctor had to say and all about the fun times as well.

So today, some of you are going to be hit by a big storm. From what the newscasters say, it is being called the blizzard of the century. The entire country seems to be included in its path. I hope they are wrong and it turns out to be just another winter storm blowing a few flakes . . .if not, stay home and be warm and comfortable in your own four walls then venture out when it has passed by. Take good care of YOU. Hugs to all.

Old Politics

I am always amazed at the hullabaloo that goes on in an instant when there is some one thing on going that we do not agree with and then silence as if the problem never existed. We do not hear about the mosque that was to be built near ground zero and the reporters have gone on to bigger and better, or maybe more politically correct problems of the moment.

Unemployment is still in the news and the promises are being spoken of, but for those out of work it is an endless nightmare of bills piling up, home loses and a short step to starvation.

The attitude seems to have changed since the November vote and we are not hearing as much rhetoric about 'change' but just found out that what is being said is one thing, but what is being done is another. I just got my statement about my income for the next year and believe it or not, although the President signed the bill saying there would be no tax increase this year . . . there is. My income tax was increased by thirty dollars and the medical went up twelve . . . so much for what is being said and what is being done. We have no recourse. I will write my representatives and have my say, but I doubt it will do much good. I've been around the horn several times about the Government Pension Offset Bill of 1983 when they penalized the government workers for working for the government. Believe it, they did and they would not revoke the unjust law because it would be costly. . . so send two billion a year to another country and make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Oh yeah, I am on my soap box this morning.

We taught our children values, honor, and your handshake meant what you said. We taught them to be good citizens and to respect the flag, the American Way and they have grown up to see for themselves that things are not as they should be or could be as our own President says one things and does another. I had no problem working for a living and paying my income tax. I am now retired and depend on my earned retirement income to exist and would not have a word to say if I had to pay a little more in income tax if it was to help get us back on our feet. I am sure a lot of retirees feel that way, but to be sideswiped and lied to makes it unjust, unfair and unpalatable.

So today, be sure you check your salary slips and see what has happened in your area of income tax. Hopefully you wont find a surprise and lose some of your hard earned money. We are in a big financial mess and it doesn't seem to get better, maybe you have a better chance if you are not a former civil servant. There has been a lot said about the civil servants over the years but the public has never been aware of the times that they have had to 'bail' out Social Security or do without their raises , like now two years of no cola raise . . . yeah, 'life isn't fair' but our Government Officials should be. I wonder if they got the same percentage raised in their taxes and did they get a raise? Well it is 'do as I say, not as I do' kind of Government and I am not happy with the results. So with a grin and bear it attitude, I am off to write my Congressman.

Make your today as good as you can, it's Monday . . . work hard to pay your taxes and remember all of this when it comes time to vote . . . some change should stay in the pocket of those that work for it. Hugs to all.

Beat- Never!

I bet you had this thought more than once. That is quite a cartoon. You can feel the sarcasm. Weather is the one thing we wait on when we have to make a decision on how to dress, whether to go or stay, or accept it for what it is and get on with the day.

This picture has been on the computer more than once and I had to laugh when I saw it today. We have a friend who is a hunter and gets out there very early in the morning to find his deer. Some mornings he should just stay at home with his 'dear'. . . Sometimes he is lucky and can store up his supplies for good eating but then he has days like this. Of course I will send this along; how else can I make his day. The early bird may catch the worm but this old bird missed by a mile.

The actor Ernest Borgnine is 94 years old and look at how wonderful he looks. He is about to get the Life Time Achievement Award and one I think well deserved. The television just showed "Marty" on, a film I've seen a dozen times in which he was great. Yet when I think of actors and roles, his role in "From Here to Eternity" is the one that comes to mind. The caption said something about his living through a lot of laughter and tears, my we all know that one and thanks to great actors and actresses we have been able to sit back and watch them play roles to make us laugh and cry.

I don't usually give up, have a stubborn streak a mile wide, but here is the beast that did me in. My friend Jo sent me a surprise puzzle from England where a topographical picture was taken of the area in which I live. A lovely surprise and I could hardly wait to start. I have to tell you I put that frame together dozens of times and found that each piece has to fit perfectly or it just doesn't fit. The frame stayed crooked, there was no more end pieces. I got this far in what I believe to be the ocean and it took a week. There seemed to be a piece missing, but more than one as there are just a couple of pieces of that color left to fill in and they just would not fit. My neighbor La Verne came over as she loves to help find the puzzle pieces and she couldn't find any pieces either.We pulled the frame apart one more time and still it didn't come together right. We measured according to what figures were on the box and it didn't match . . . aha. . . something was not right. . .that did it, away it went back in the box because it is a waste of time to try and put a jig saw puzzle together when pieces are missing . . . on to a new one!

So today, a day of rest which I hope you will take advantage of. We are at the end of January, a whole month gone of our brand new year. It didn't pass as quickly as some, but then we had weather to contend with and I think that slowed us all down. February may prove to be a lot better, if not, buy a box of chocolates in a big heart box and indulge to bulge and know that better weather is coming. Make your seconds count and find reasons to smile. Hugs to all.