What Do You Collect? Part Three Or Whatever Part It Is.... The Fascination Of Spinning Tops

First of all, I thought it best to tell you that you should never attempt to collect anything without the power of knowledge about what it is that you want to collect. Do your homework or you might just end up with a totally worthless collection that you have foolishly invested money in.

I thought that today I'd show you another of my collections. This is my spinning tops collection and I love it. Occasionally, when I'm exceedingly bored (which is almost never) I drag out my basket of spinning tops. My favorite thing to do is to try and get them ALL going at once, which is often quite a feat. Most of the time I can't do it, but just occasionally when I get them each going on the first spin, I can claim victory.

Spinning tops have been a favorite childhood toy in just about every culture on the face of the Earth, being found as far back as 2000 B.C. (although extremely rare to see these days, much less find). And Lord knows I'm still a child at heart. What makes tops interesting to so many is that they behave in ways that our minds tell us they shouldn't, thus defying imagination as well as gravity.

Spinning tops are so intriguing to watch as they dance around surfaces, weaving their way about until they eventually fall on their sides for lack of momentum or hit something, go boom and fall down. It's not difficult to believe that they were once a source of great entertainment. In my opinion, tops remain as enchanting today as they have since their introduction. Okay, fine. I can sit and stare at a roaring fire forever too. I'm simple minded like that.

To make it easier in understanding the wide world of spinning tops, they are generally broken into four categories which are finger tops, supported tops, peg tops and whip tops. The categories are based on how you cause the top to spin. Your method of launch is really what determines the length of time your top spins, but there are many other factors as well, such as torque, momentum, inertia and the nimbleness of your fingers.

A couple of my tops are still in their original packages for selling collecting purposes. The original packaging of an item always increases its value in the world of collectibles. You need to know this if you collect anything relatively new, and it's especially important to know if you collect anything antique. At any rate, many of my tops came in kids' meals from the various fast food chains (that my kids had no interest in), some I had slipped into the kids' stockings at Christmas (which they also had no interest in), while others were party favors for the kids, or given to me as presents. It doesn't matter, really. I love each and every one of them. In my mind's eye, they are each wonderful in their own unique way. Obviously, I'm not too picky.

I have two (spindle) tops that are shaped like little mushrooms called flip over tops (or *topsy-turvy* tops) which, when spun at just the right speed, will flip over to spin on their peg shaped spindle. In other words, they dance around until they flip and then look like tiny dancing mushrooms. I kid you not. They are adorable if and when you can actually get them to spin, because they are not easy to get started into a spin. It actually takes a fair amount of dexterity, which seems to be eluding me these days. (Could this be why it's so difficult for old farts like me? Nah! Well, maybe.)

One top (actually I bought two... just in case), called the Snake & Top (a somewhat *supported* style top) walks up and down alongside the thin little metal snake with the help of a magnetic spindle at the base of the top. Although it isn't as easy as most to get spinning, it really works it once it begins to spin. Another fascination entirely.

Next, I present to you the creme de la creme of tops. The King Kong of all spinning tops. The toughest mother that ever was made in the world of tops. The elusive American Hardwood Throwing Top. (a whip top) This and one other similar one, have stumped me from day one. I'm thinking maybe you need to be a very young boy to pull this one off, but then again, I might be wrong. I think these two are the reason I still occasionally pull out the bowl that houses my tops. It's like I'm being driven to make those two suckers spin sometime before I die.

I also have two delicate little tops that are from Germany and they will spin like crazy with just the right launch (finger spinners). Often times they are the last ones left spinning when all the others have finally come to rest, clearly at the end of their spins. I always like to have little contests to see who can spin the longest. By now you're probably thinking "Oh yeah. She's gone". Perhaps I am, but I've always simply been fascinated with spinning tops. I mean, I can't even stand on one foot without falling immediately over, much less spin like a ballerina. So sure. It definitely grabs my attention.

There is one called the Space Ball Flashing Top that runs the gamut of 32 different effect lights during its spin, that took me a while to figure out because it was made in China, written in English by Chinese workers. Seriously, if they hadn't added a picture to the back of the package I might never have figured it out. But, once you get this dull little guy going, he will rock your world with his light show. I try to not use it much in case there is some kind of battery I might have to replace at some point. I'm pretty sure I bought this one at a place on Galveston Island, the first year our friends had a house there, so it will be a while before this baby is worth more than retail price, but it does have the original packaging. Besides, it's *tres cool* and it mesmerizes me. It's actually more of a friction spinner, which is relatively new to the world of spinning tops.

Oh and let's not forget the ones that have battery free visual effects from their designs, when spun (also finger spinners). I think maybe you could hypnotize someone with these if you needed to. I sure stare at them as if I were in a trance when watching them spin. Two others I have might not immediately appear to be tops but by all rights, they spin on a tiny spindle on the base, so they are technically tops and they will often spin over a minute and a half. That's like a record among my collection of tops, so I guess that makes them the head honchos of the collection.

The absolute smallest top I have was handmade in India, which measures one inch in diameter and one inch in height, from the tip of the bottom spindle to the tip of the top spindle and I adore it. It is very tiny and delicate, yet it has survived this household for the last 20 years. That's no small fete. The prettiest top I have is actually an Easter holiday top that is basically a chicken trapped inside a disc that spins low to the surface and it's really cute even though it won't spin for very long.

And, last but not least, we have the *felt tip* tops (also finger spinners) that when spun, make marks on paper as if they were little tornadoes twisting their images onto the paper. They have little covers on the tips to keep them from drying out but it probably won't last much longer as they are over ten years old.

So, there you have it! Another of my *Ho-Hum* collections. However, my intention was that I might be able to teach you something about the whimsical world of spinning toys, and I sincerely hope that I have. Humans have been and continue to be fascinated by the mystery of tops that spin, often defying gravity, since 2000 B.C. In The Eliad, Homer describes a character who "reels like a top staggering to its last turnings". That  undoubtedly speaks something to me.

I've seen many antique tin and wooden tops but after reaching my highest bid, I was unable to bring myself to bid what it would have taken to acquire them. Luckily, I'm a patient woman. Ultimately, I hope to have brought you closer to a knowledge you didn't previously have about spinning tops. Yes, I'm generous like that. Sometimes.   ;-)

Most People Just Can't Handle It....

For the first six years we were married we had no children, although I had suffered three miscarriages. So, I dove into my volunteer work head first. During the third pregnancy I was serving on the board of the American Cancer Society and was on the board of the original steering committee that brought the first Hospice to our town. Each member of the steering committee was given 5 people to look after, which meant almost daily visitation to each of our people. These were, of course, people who had all been given 6 months or less to live by their doctors.

Another committee member I'll call Don, was a local pharmacist and was licensed to administer the *Hospice Cocktail* as we called it, which was the morphine that allowed terminal patients to get through their last days in as little pain as possible. We also had several well known local nurses on the board, as well as a minister from the Episcopal church. Together, we were able to finally set up a real Hospice, as the need for Hospice was growing stronger by the week.

Anyway, one of the people I looked after was this precious little Latino lady named Rosa Carillo who was confined to a run down nursing home for her last days. She told me that she had family in town but they never came to visit, which just broke my heart.  I made it my personal mission to see that this sweet little woman had someone she could rely on during her last days. I would go nearly every day to visit her, taking cookies I'd baked, or magazines and sometimes flowers from my garden.

The first day that I went to visit her I was completely appalled by the conditions in this so called nursing home. When she rose from her bed to a sitting position I saw that she had more bed sores than I'd even known was possible to have. I could see cockroaches scuttering about on the filthy floor and spider webs in the corners of the ceilings. The entire place smelled horrid and was not as clean as a nursing home should legally be. Well, I proceeded to raise bloody hell. I became such a thorn in the side of the nursing home employees that I was almost certain they were going to have me assassinated at any given moment. The staff was always sitting and doing nothing or watching TV when I came in, which was clearly not what they were being paid to do. So I'd bitch and complain and at least get things done for Rosa. It got to where if they saw me coming, they would all suddenly be busy *cleaning* when the entire place would have probably been better off if it were just imploded. Yes, it was that dirty.

The more I got to know Rosa, the more I wondered why her family didn't come around to see that all of her needs were being met and at least tell her hello. But, she was old and very sick so perhaps they just couldn't handle that. There are many people who can't handle watching death take someone they love. I have become well versed in watching death descend on those I love over the years but I'm still not calloused. It still hurts inside, although I can always manage to put a smile on my face for them and be there for them.

I spent three and a half months looking after Rosa and I got a fair amount of improvement in living conditions at the nursing home. Even though I bitched and moaned to the employees, I was always polite about it and I also brought the staff goodies from time to time, which certainly helped my cause. As far as I could tell, the only inmates patients that were well cared for were the ones who had visitors. Honestly, criminals in prison were treated far better than most of these people were being treated.

I repeatedly asked the staff to call me if Rosa's condition worsened and they agreed that they would. One morning I rose to drink my coffee and read the newspaper before making my daily rounds and I was suddenly cramping and bent over in pain. I knew what was happening. Next there would be blood. I'd already been through it twice before, so I called my OB and by that night was in the hospital waiting to have yet another D&C (dilation and curettage) to clean out the *leftovers* of my miscarried child.

I was sad and I cried my eyes out but deep in my heart I knew that there must have been something not right with the baby and the miscarriage was God's way of taking care of it. When I was allowed to go home the next day, I received a call from one of our Hospice nurses, telling me Rosa had died peacefully, in her sleep the night before. Frankly, we should all be so lucky.

I was doubly devastated by this news which sent me into tears for days. I had really become very fond of Rosa. However, I felt that somehow, Rosa was taking care of my little one for me. I realize that probably sounds a little cuckoo but I was totally convinced that she died the same night as my miscarriage so that she could care for my unborn child the way I had cared for her. Well, this line of thinking got me through the devastation anyway. I do believe that as human beings, we do what we have to do to get through difficult situations, even if it means delusional thinking.

After a month or so I was finally back to doing my normal things and visiting my Hospice people, but Rosa had somehow carved her way into a little corner in my heart and I knew there would not be someone like her again. The hardest part about working with Hospice was knowing that the people you were looking after were going to die soon. Most people just can't handle it. I couldn't handle it for very long. Thankfully, after we eventually got the whole program set up and the needed number of nurses on board, Hospice was up and running. After that, I stayed on the board for a couple of years and then resigned when our son was born.

I still think about Rosa from time to time and the way her face would light up whenever I would walk through her door. It always gave me such an elated feeling to know that I could brighten someone's day so much by my presence.... Honestly, I don't think anyone has ever been so happy to see me as Rosa was during those months. I kind of miss that.

Oh, and I helped get that nursing home closed down until it could find someone new to buy it and do the necessary improvements and upgrades. It was eventually purchased by a medical group out of Dallas that manages several nursing homes around the state. It's still not nearly as nice as the other local nursing homes, but it is clean. Just because you don't have a big bank account is no reason for someone who has reached the end of their life to be mistreated or neglected. Everyone deserves to be cared for properly in the end.

I Guess I Don't Get Out Much.... Why Haven't I Heard Of This Before?

Maybe everyone else in the world knows about this genius yet simple item... The Greens Bag. While at the market a few weeks ago, I happened to notice a rack of these in the produce department. Going way out on a limb, I decided to break down and fork over the $3.00 or whatever the price was. It was cheap, I assure you.


Then, it sat on the kitchen counter next to the microwave for yet another week. Then Mr. Snooty brought home a head of lettuce so we could give it a shot. Let me just say that we were both quite skeptical, but we washed the lettuce, removed the fat bottom, stuck it in the greens bag, and shook, as per the instructions.



Let me just say that we were both mouths-gaping-in-shock over the results. It actually works. Who knew? Something that actually claims the truth about a product and it really is true with no exaggerations.



So, no more expensive bags of pre-packaged salads for us. Nearly 11 days later the lettuce was still crispy and had no signs of *rusting* as lettuce most often tends to do. I just can't bring myself to eat rusty lettuce. Okay... perhaps if I were starving to death I'd eat it.



Oh, and as long as I'm on the subject of things that actually do as promised, let me introduce you to another of my little friends. It's called Lemi-Shine. It's a powder that is put in the closed compartment of the dishwasher when you add the soap to the open compartment. When the cycle is done, you have 99% spot free glassware.



Now, this might not mean much to those who don't have hard water like we do, but this stuff has certainly made my life easier. I mean, we've tried the liquid jet dry... which worked in a rather half-baked way. I still had to shine the glasses before company came. Then we tried a bit of white vinegar just before the rinse cycle, which was always a pain in the neck, if you even remembered to do it. Still, together they were only able to get the glasses about 75% spot free.



Then a company called Envirocon came out with this incredible product that's not only good for your glassware, but it's also environmentally friendly. The most incredible shocker of all was that Lemi-Shine is made right here in our town. Who knew? This amazing product has also cleaned a number of glass items I have that were thought to be permanently stained with a white film from the hard water. Believe me, I had tried everything from vinegar to dental cleaning tablets (which sometimes works), to not avail. Lemi-Shine is phosphate free and is also used to clean the dirty inside of dishwashers. Yes, believe it or not, dishwashers do get dirty.



Envirocon is so confident in their product that they offer a money back guarantee. How often do you really get that these days? Well, I'll tell you. Hardly. Ever.

So Now, The Government Has Decided Women Under 50 Years Old Don't Need A Mammagram...

So, I guess if Mr. Snooty's cousin who recently had a DOUBLE Mastectomy should have just waited for it to kill her? According to the government, that's exactly what they mean. I had a handful of friends over the years who were NOT at high risk and still got breast cancer AND they were all under forty. Hubby's cousin is in her late 30's, she wasn't a high risk for cancer and she still got breast cancer. So, exactly what group of women were they referring to? In my world that shit just isn't going to fly because that assumption simply isn't true.

Breast cancer is still the number 2 killer of women in this country, as well as some men. What in the sam hell are these people thinking? There is more and more cancer all the time and these ass-hats want to put out the word so that insurance companies don't have to cover the Mammagrams if a woman under 50 decides to have one? I'm sorry, but what kind of horse-shit are they shoveling up there in Washington DC? Do they think that will help us with our high premiums we already pay for insurance? Or with the deductible that has to be met before they pay a red cent cent as it is? Come on people! Looks to me like we might need some changes made in some seats up there in DC.

I am so upset about this that I'm spitting nails. I just wish I could spit the fucking nails all the way to Washington and hit my target.... Just when curing breast cancer has really gotten successful. This is just insane! Insane, I tell you! They can say whatever they want on the news... I'm not buying it. It makes me wonder how long it took them to find these doctors who endorse this decision by the government.

I mean, it was Congress who passed it before, that we should all have one every so many years, up until 40. Once a woman turns 40 she's encouraged to get one every five years and once she hits 50, every 2 years. These procedures are not cheap, which means now that a lot of younger women are going to have breast cancer and not be aware of it until it's probably too late.

I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY the reasons they spouted about why this should be done. I just think it should be left up to the individual, not the government or the insurance companies. Why don't they stick their little piggy snouts in their own business?

I suggest to the government that if they want to stick their noses where it doesn't belong, then perhaps they should look at the pay they vote for themselves every few years or so. How about that? Like maybe Congress could take a whopping large cut in pay like the rest of the working country, or perhaps get nothing for doing their job like the countless Americans out of work. I'm really liking that idea.

Okay, thank you for letting me get this off my chest. I was almost in tears after hearing the news tonight. Obviously, I don't feel vindicated in any way, but I at least feel like I just cornered some Congressman and kicked him in the shins up against a wall. I'm sure I could never physically get close to any of the Washington bigwigs, so I'm simply going to have to be satisfied with another one of my crazy rants.

And, don't try to tell me I'm wrong because I don't care. I spent more than 8 years on the board of the local American Cancer Society, helped to bring the first Hospice here, and lost many friends and loved ones to this scourge of a disease. It's my rant and I'm sticking with it.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Read My Blog....

I honestly had other plans for my post today. However, I have an abscessed tooth that is killing me. I called the dentist on Friday and he sent me antibiotics (which I've taken religiously all weekend) and I go in tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. I cannot begin to tell you how I am so not looking forward to it. But, my tooth is far too painful this time to try and get out of this visit.

Well, I started feeling better a few hours ago which means the medication must be working. Normally, this is the point when I would try to weasel out of the appointment in the morning, but I'm experienced enough to know better than to try this time.

The fact is, my teeth and I are dangerously close to parting ways. You see, I'm a a teeth gnasher. A grinder. I suffer from severe sleep bruxism, which means I don't grind during my waking hours... only in my sleep. Very much the same as Mr. Snoots being a Midnight Rambler. Neither of us knows that we're doing what we do because we are, well... asleep!

As a result of this I have thus far lost a total of 3 teeth, two of which were glued into place by the dentist, which I'm truly grateful for. Unfortunately, I remember him telling me the last time that I can't lose any more, which is why I had to have the nightmarish root canal during which I discovered I am claustrophobic. It was not a pleasant experience by any means. It was truly horrifying. I'm really  freaking out now but know I can't back out this time.



Stay tuned to see if I get to have another thrilling root canal or if they just yank all those suckers out and slap some choppers between my lips. I might die if that happens...

And, on top of all this I decided to trim my hair today and got a bit carried away. It looks absolutely horrible! I don't know what I was thinking and now I have to live with it like this. Ugh! So, has anyone ever gotten hair extensions? Hmmm?

It's The Time Of Year To Wonder If Someone Is Watching You....

Last year someone harvested our main credit card number so the credit card company called us to inquire as to whether or not we had spent large sums of money in India and Mexico City lately. Of course the answer was no, we had not. So, the company had to issue us both new credit cards, which took nearly three weeks to finalize. It was a real pain in the neck.

It was definitely an inconvenience but we considered ourselves lucky that they caught it in such a timely manner. It could have been much worse. However, as I understand it, the majority of the time, the thieves have already moved on to some other poor sucker before your card is even discovered to have been harvested. That's how these snakes operate.

There are a lot of evil people out there in cyberspace who are just itching to separate you from your hard earned dollars, so we need to know a few guidelines to protect ourselves, especially with the onset of the holiday season fast approaching.

I like to buy a certain amount of things online because of the convenience, but there are specific rules to keep in mind when doing so. First of all, never ever register when buying from online stores. All that does is save all of your credit card information, making it accessible by anyone within that company.

Any time you buy online somewhere, you need to constantly change your passwords and/or security questions. Thieves count on the fact that most people don't do this. Believe it or not, they often have programs they use to break into your computer, so you need to stay a step or two ahead of them.

Of course, the CARDINAL RULE is never, under any circumstances, give out your social security number or use it in any passwords. That opens you up to Identity Theft as well. You could offer to give only the last four digits, which is normally acceptable.

Another thing to remember is use a mix of numbers and letters, even upper and lower case. It makes it much more difficult for the thieves. And don't write down your passwords. Memorize them and you'll be much safer in the long run.

Cyberspace is a frightening world indeed, but if you keep *changing things up*, your odds of not getting scalped are so much better. Just use common sense and go with your gut feelings, because they are usually right.

I still believe there are more good people in the world than bad, but they don't seem to be working as hard at being good as the bad people are working at being bad.

My Little Corner Of The Skiing World....

Ever since I moved back to Texas in 1975, I've been skiing in New Mexico at my favorite ski area, Ski Apache located in the mountains above Ruidoso, New Mexico. Unlike my beloved Colorado, the temperatures tend to stay mild all winter, which makes for comfortable skiing and makes old ladies like me want to get out their boards and take some turns on the hill.

Ruidoso has had some hard hits the last few years but thankfully, they are still there. Last year, not only were they hit with the worst flooding in their history, but they also never accumulated any significant amount of snow, which means the ski area was hurt as badly as the funky little town of Ruidoso. Frankly, they haven't had snow for the last couple of years. Global warming? Perhaps, but I doubt it. They are just located closer to the equator than most ski areas, I suppose. In all my years I've only heard of them not opening at all, just once. They have great snow making equipment and NOW they have a great WEB CAM. Pretty much all of the land is owned by the Mescalero Apache Indian Tribe and they have enough money from other endeavors that they don't really worry. The ski area is located in the Sierra Blanca Mountain Range (also known as The White Mountain Range) of New Mexico, which is really breathtaking countryside.

Of course, we could go to Taos, which almost always has snow, but the drive is too long. Ruidoso is a mere 5 hours from our front door (or 4 hours if I'm alone). Taos is about a 9 hour drive (12 hours if driving in deep snow). Although I prefer the challenges offered by skiing Taos, I don't care to make the long drive, nor does anyone else.

Unfortunately, the Ski Apache Web Cam is a bit depressing at the moment, although a couple of weeks ago it was all totally covered in snow, but I'm going to try to keep a positive perspective. In fact, I've been so positive as to rent a house there for Christmas. Neither of the kids has skied in years (they can't afford it) and we haven't skied together in a very long time so this year we're going away for the holidays. Farmer's Almanac is predicting plentiful snow for that region during the week of December 23rd and since they are seldom wrong in their predictions, I'm going with it. Actually, we can back out by December 1st without paying a penalty, just as an option. Both of our children have reached the point that they would rather be with us than their friends (yes, it does happen eventually if you've done your job right), so they aren't in the least bit worried about not seeing their friends over Christmas. Five years ago it would have been a completely different story.


I'm just praying I don't fall this year while skiing. No telling how that will affect my Osteoporosis. Yikes. It's really kind of scary, but I've never been much for falling anyway. I check my speed constantly ever since turning 50. I had a bit of a *freak out* that year when I was up in Ruidoso skiing alone. I started my descent down a run called *Caliente* (a run I've skied many times and at high speeds) and I suddenly froze. I couldn't push off, or make another turn, or even side-step. I even sat down and cried (okay this was probably due to the onset of early menopause because I cried a lot). It was something like 20 or 30 minutes before I mustered up the courage to continue my descent. It wasn't in the least bit funny. It scared the life out of me, to the point that I left after that and returned to my my hotel room to lick my emotional wounds.

Anyhoo, I found a great house (this isn't the house, but is a comparable option) to rent for this Christmas that has a hot tub to soothe tired muscles after a long day of sliding around on our boards, a wonderful gourmet kitchen, a wood burning fireplace, plenty of TV's, a pool table, and all the other comforts of home, located on a secluded 7 acres. Now, all we need is some snow...

Why Do You Blog?

I've been wondering lately why others blog. I started my blog for the sheer fun of it and to be able to purge myself of certain ghosts in my past. Apparently, the latter worked, because I no longer feel the need to tell stories of my mother, The Brown Recluse. Nor do I want to tell stories of my lifelong absent father or my brother who used to beat the crap out of me on a daily basis. This would be a good thing, yes? Well, get over it. I'm sure I'll write more about them later, but I feel expunged for now.

I was encouraged to begin a blog by a friend (K. K. @ MidlifeGals) who was having a ball writing with her sister Sal Gal on their own blog. I didn't really know what I wanted or expected from my own blog, so the ideas about what kind of blog I'd have were thrown around for a bit before making that final decision. Above all else I wanted to write a blog where I could say anything and everything I feel like saying (which horrified Mr. Snoots because he's straight-laced like that). It didn't take long to find out that you catch a LOT of flak from people when you speak the truth from your heart, gut, or wherever it comes from. Apparently, you are not allowed to voice opinions without being chastised by hordes of complete and total strangers (fondly referred to as Trolls) who mostly post anonymously. I don't care for that side of blogging in the least, so I play it safe these days which is much less stressful. I didn't start blogging to add more stress to my life, believe me.

Fine. I understood. Sort of. So, I tried writing about humorous things that have happened to me over the years. Yup. You guessed it! I received more flak from a variety of anonymous commenters. Gah... People are so sensitive these days when it comes to something they are passionate about, and it's usually something that I am not in the least passionate or sensitive about. Like rabbits, for instance. Sure, they are cuddly and adorable but they reproduce like... well... rabbits. I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be on the endangered species list anytime soon. So why would anyone care about one jumping in my son's toilet and accidentally drowning (and me breaking into hysterical laughter over it) on my 40th birthday that was now 17 years ago?

So that didn't work out either. Fine again. I knew politics and religion were not something I wanted to write about but I mistakenly did it anyway because surely no one would ever give a rat's ass what I think about anything. No one in my real life does, so why should someone I don't even know care about my thoughts and beliefs? Apparently, their lives were as boring as my own, only they felt the need to reach out and hurt someone.... like me. I have NEVER left a mean or nasty comment on anyone's blog and I never will. If something is said in someone's blog disturbs me, then I move on to another and don't go back. That seems like a *no-brainer* to me, but then I'm confrontation challenged.

So I decided to take yet another turn with my writing and spill my guts to an entire group of people I don't know and likely never would. Although embarrassing to some extent, my stories of growing up were just that. My. Stories. Why would anyone care what my life was like growing up? Surprisingly, readers couldn't get enough of it. However, after so many of those stories, I realized that I no longer felt the need to purge myself of my past. So for that, blogging has been a money-saving and highly successful endeavor. It has honestly been better for me than any amount of therapy could have ever been. I always prefer to have more than one opinion on the twists and turns my life has taken over the years.

Herman Melville put it best when he said, "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

Not long after I began blogging I got caught up in the whole comment *tit for tat* thing, which suddenly became a chore. I hate it when things I really like to do, become a chore. It makes me want to stomp my feet and let out a primal scream as I go running off into the abyss. Then I had to take a break because I was beginning to think and act a little crazy. After that, I came back because obviously, I felt happy here in blogland. Now, I think I actually crave everything about my little corner of blogland and it has become somewhat of a *Love Potion No. 9* for me. Or something like that. And, if I don't leave a comment on your blog post from time to time, it just means either I don't know what to say, can't think of something nice to say, or I've had a busy day. That's all it means, nothing more. However, can I just say here that blogging hurts my ass every bit as much as gardening did? There! I said it. The truth is out.



And, I gave up gardening. I'm just sayin'....

Soooooooooo.... What's your excuse?

Is Anything Made In America Anymore?

Is there really much of anything that we consume that is still being made in America? Very little, I assure you. If you don't believe me, then go check out the labels on the majority of your clothing. China. India. Thailand. Mexico. Canada. Indonesia.


I was recently surprised to find that the potato flakes and potato powder we consume in this country is 90% from foreign countries like China and India. What? I thought it just couldn't be true. What the Hell is wrong with this country and those who make such decisions? Are we incapable of sustaining ourselves? When I think about China and all of its injustices, it makes me want to puke. Seriously. And yet, I cannot seem to get away from anything made by them.


Has our country really come to this? I spent a couple of days going around the house trying to find something made in America. Of the few items I found, I discovered the majority of those companies are now defunct. Yes. How sad is that?  They couldn't pay their taxes was the most common reason, along with bankruptcy for various reasons. Am I the only one confused by this?


We have a higher unemployment rate nationally than ever and yet, nearly everything we consume is made elsewhere. Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this picture?

There are plenty who will disagree and say that it's mainly decorative items that come from other countries. I beg to differ. Many of the packaged foods and spices we eat are from China as well. I bought a large container of peeled garlic for making my chow-chow and hot sauce and was shocked to see the Made In China sticker on the container. As are most of the toys your children play with. How about batteries that we use every day? China, mostly. My Olympus digital camera? Indonesia. I realize that this country must do a certain amount of trade, but it seems to me that it's gotten out of hand.

Yes, there are many things still made in America, but they don't come cheap. So, the upshot of this whole deal is that as Americans we want to pay less for more. Unless you don't worry about the price you pay for something, you'll probably have mostly made in China items. As consumers, I believe that we are the ones who ultimately brought this whole thing to be. Since we wanted better prices for basically everything, companies have sought workers in other countries because they are willing to work for less than the average American on minimum wage pay.

So, if America's minimum wage workers want to work for less, perhaps there is a light for them at the end of the tunnel. However, I highly doubt those companies will come back to the U.S. because they know they can't get workers for so cheap. Sooooo... would you rather be out of work making nothing or would you rather work at a lower rate? Those are the choices.

Today we pay as much for a car as a huge custom built home cost when I was young. Everything in this country has risen in cost and it's going to end up costing us a lot more than just our hard earned dollars. If we don't learn how to live on less, it will soon be so out of control that only the very elite will be able to afford anything actually made in America. And if you really want to live cheaply, then you might want to consider moving to another country...

Where Oh Where Has My Wind Chime Gone?

So, I was out watering the few plants still outside this morning and noticed that one of my wind chimes is missing. It's not really one of my favorites, but a golf gal pal made it for me (it's actually the ugliest one I have) so I've been looking around to see if it had fallen to the ground somewhere. That tends to happen a lot when the West Texas winds really get going. You never know where things left outside might end up. Why, they might even end up in Lamesa which is 45 miles west of here, then again it might just blow back into town the next time the wind blows. That's how crazy it can get out here during high winds. Being the true flatlands, there is just nothing to break the wind (a little play on words there).... like hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, whatever.



Anyway, I was about to give up my search when I just happened to look up at a plane that was flying overhead and there it was in all its sad glory, hanging from the limb of a Live Oak tree. Apparently, the wind had been blowing hard enough to swing the odd, crudely made wind chime from its original hook, defying gravity and wrapping several times around the tree limb. Just another oddity in what I call my daily life.





Oh, and did I mention that after 24 years of having a Shake (wood shingle) roof, we changed to a composite when we got the new roof several months ago? Now, the Live Oaks dropping acorns on the roof sounds like World War III is going on outside. It never dawned on me that there would be such a difference, but it IS LOUD! Of course, Mr. Snoots is mostly deaf, so he thinks I'm nuts since he can't hear it. *Sigh...*

And did I ever mention how much I HATE Live Oaks? They do nothing but shed leaves and acorns and it's a constant mess to clean up. When we eventually move, I don't ever want to see another Live Oak. I might not even want to see another tree. Period. Ever.



Frankly, this is only fueling the fire inside me that I need in order to get this house ready for putting on the market. Although a gargantuan project, I now have a huge fire in my belly to get the Hell out of here....

Lady Bird Johnson... What She Did For Texas And National Highways

There is nothing I love more than driving down to the Hill Country of Texas during any time of year, but particularly so during the spring and fall months. The main reason is for the breathtaking color you experience there, with Bluebonnets and thousands of other wildflowers. As a matter of fact, you'll find wildflowers lining the highways that cross this great nation, thanks to the widow of Lyndon Baines Johnson, our 36th President of The United States.

Upon their retirement, the Johnsons returned to Texas, living in their ranch house in Stonewall, not far from Austin. The former First Lady immediately involved herself in her community. She led the Austin Town Lake Beautification Project, a local effort to create long trails for residents who wanted to walk, hike and bicycle along the Colorado River there, and to plant flowering trees along the path. This continues to be the most popular running spot in Austin, to date. She encouraged similar activity around the state, establishing the Texas Highway Beautification Awards. She not only hosted the annual award ceremony but handed out checks from her personal account to the winners.

Understanding her place in history, she also began the task of editing what would become her memoirs, A White House Diary (1971), drawn from the hundreds of hours of her daily taped recollections as First Lady. In December 1972, the Johnsons deeded their ranch house and property to the National Park Service. As other presidential couples had also arranged for, they maintained the right to live there for life. Ironically, Lyndon Johnson died of a sudden heart attack just a month later. In time, Mrs. Johnson would serve as the honorary chair of the LBJ Memorial Grove. Located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the park borders the one named for her.


Lady Bird Johnson, while she was still alive, became a living legend in Texas as well as in Washington D.C. Her greatest legacy was her Beautification Act of 1965 (AKA: Lady Bird's Bill). Her vision was to protect every single species of wildflower throughout North America and her success went far beyond mere beautification. She grew up loving the outdoors and the beauty of natural plant life in a town located on the Louisiana-Texas border. As First Lady, she made it her mission to protect and preserve the native plant life all over America, not just in her native Texas.

Lady Bird always worried that the word beautification would not command the attention her pet project deserved, but she proved herself to be a major mover and shaker in a world of mostly male politicians. When she set her mind to it, she always got what she wanted. The result has been the beautiful highways of America and the wildflowers that adorn them each year in the spring and fall.

I'm not sure if the policy extends to other states, but here in Texas there is a wildflower seed exchange that goes on by the Department of Highways, throughout the state. After mowing the sides of highways, each county sends their seeds to all the other counties, for distribution along those same highways. Eventually, it will be gorgeous all over Texas wherever they have had rain the previous year. Rain of course, is the prerequisite here.

Prompted by her concern that native plants and indigenous wildflowers were rapidly disappearing from the American landscape, on her 70th birthday in 1982, Lady Bird Johnson created the nonprofit National Wildflower Research Center. She made a personal donation of sixty acres of land near Austin, and $125,000; matching gifts flooded in, establishing a $700,000 endowment and the center opened the following year. She served as chairman of the board of directors. In 1988, Lady Bird Johnson co-authored with Carlton Lees the book, Wildflowers across America, donating all proceeds to the center. In 1992, to mark her 80th birthday, the LBJ Foundation Board of Directors created the Lady Bird Johnson Conservation Award. In 1995 the center expanded into a new forty-two-acre facility. In 1998, the center's board unanimously decided to rename it the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.


Death
11 July 2007, her Austin home. At 94, she lived longer than any other First Lady except Bess Truman. She is buried on the ranch next to her beloved husband, Lyndon Baines Johnson.


If you ever get a chance to go to Austin, don't miss going to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center. And, if you go in the Spring, you'll also be able to experience the breathtaking views of acres and acres of Bluebonnets along Texas highways. You'll be so thrilled that you did.

I'm In The Throes Of My Yearly Canning Project.... During The Best Golf Week Of The Year

As anyone who reads this blog already knows, I usually have a garden every year, from which I *can* (even though it's a jar) various items to give as Christmas presents. However, since the fox family was just so adorable this last summer, as many of you know, I canceled planting this year in lieu of enjoying the fox pups grow and play. I can honestly say that it was worth it. I see Felicia occasionally now sitting in a warm spot on the cinder block fence, hidden by the overgrown trumpet vine. She seems serene by herself but also lonely in a way.

So, I wasn't even counting on doing much canning this year aside from the hot sauce I made and entered in the Austin Hot Sauce Festival at the end of August. Frankly, I'm growing weary of it after 26 years, even though I have always loved doing it. You can imagine my horror delight when I opened the front door last weekend to find a huge bag of green tomatoes.

Hmmmm.... It was obviously left by a fan of my Chow-Chow, right? So, I spent a couple of days going around to farmers markets buying the other veggies I needed for Chow-Chow and finally got down to business on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I realized that I'd forgotten to buy sugar, so back to the store I went. Thankfully, I remembered that I needed more jars while I was there. Before I made it to the check out I remembered that I also need more canning salt. At this point I was thinking that my brain is functioning just fine, thank you very much.

I then decided that if I was going to be making the Chow-Chow anyway, I might as well make more hot sauce so that all of our Christmas gift recipients can have one of each, so off I went in search of the rest of the items I would need for that undertaking. Good. I was done, so I proceeded to the checkout, paid my money, and headed home.

I knew it was a full moon by the way people were driving... You know. Like they were in a dream or on the FREAKING CELL PHONE. Okay, they were on cell phones, most of them. One was just a complete moron who probably shouldn't even have a drivers license. It took forever for me to get home because everyone was acting like we were in a slow motion movie or a time warp. It was truly weird. They just passed a new law here that states you cannot talk on cell phones while in school zones. I saw countless people on their cell phones in school zones. What good is a law if it isn't enforced, right?

Just as I pull in the driveway I remember that I'd also needed to get more cilantro for the hot sauce and by this time I was getting annoyed as Hell with myself. I promptly turned around, cursing under my breath and headed once again to the store. I went in, got the damn cilantro and headed back home, which proved to be amazingly uneventful.

Needless to say, I got off to a rather slow start, considering my failing *gathering skills*, but picked up steam later on. I've now gotten several cases of Chow-Chow finished as well as two more cases of hot sauce, with only one more case of each to go. I'm hoping to get that finished up Monday. Then I can slap the labels I made on the jars and be done with it.

So, I'm a bit absent during this. However, I am still posting once per day, as promised. Is November almost over yet?

Swearing Makes You Feel Less Pain.... Music To My Ears

That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests.

Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain.

"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," said Richard Stephens of Keele University in England and one of the authors of the new study. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain."

Stephens and his fellow Keele researchers John Atkins and Andrew Kingston sought to test how swearing would affect an individual's tolerance to pain.


Because swearing often has an exaggerating effect that can overstate the severity of pain, the team thought that swearing would lessen a person's tolerance.

As it turned out, the opposite seems to be true.

The researchers enlisted 64 undergraduate volunteers and had them submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice.

The experiment was then repeated with the volunteer repeating a more common word that they would use to describe a table.

Contrary to what the researcher expected, the volunteers kept their hands submerged longer while repeating the swear word.

The researchers think that the increase in pain tolerance occurs because swearing triggers the body's natural "fight-or-flight" response.


Who knew?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews

The FLDS Splinter Sect Is Back In The News With A Child Abuse Suit... Time For Another Rant From Snooty

Of course, we knew it would happen again, eventually. A 38 year old male sect member. Raymond Jessop, of the splinter FLDS group here in West Texas is on trial for child sexual abuse (married to a 15 year old girl who bore his child). That, my friends, spells child abuse. Furthermore, it was learned in court recently that the girl had been *reassigned* to him from his brother, so she had clearly been *trouble* for the sect from the start. Testimony today was pretty earth shattering for residents at the Yearning For Zion Ranch, as if they thought this day would never come.

Not only were sexual abuse allegations confirmed by the testimony of a former female member, but illegal accounting was being done as well. We all know they are responsible for a great portion of the welfare scams to date. Since the many wives of one man can't be legally married to him, the women file for welfare and food stamps. They've been quietly bilking the welfare system for quite some time. The time for it to all stop is long past due, don't you agree?

The Salt Lake Tribune has been covering the process of the trial with great interest and offering blow by blow coverage, which you can find online HERE.

One of the saddest aspects of all this is obviously, the children. But, it also casts a shadow on the Church of Latter Day Saints, who have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any of the fundamentalist splinter sects. Nor do they support them in any way. So get that straight right now. I think most Mormons are more horrified by all this than I am.

Somehow these fundamentalists were able to basically fly under the radar for far too long and I'm always satisfied to see one of these men getting their comeuppance. I do hope they enjoy their prison sentences and may they be rewarded for their efforts while in residence there...

This next part in bold is what I wrote when all of this first started, back during the week of May 23, 2008: 


I was sickened to the point of nausea upon hearing tonight's news about the Third Court of Appeals Judge in Austin who ruled that all of the authorities involved in removing the children from the compound, did so without proven cause. Which means children and mothers will be returning to their cozy little (ahem!) inbred homes.


Am I missing something here? Is it not illegal in this day and age to practice polygamy? Since when did it once again become acceptable for very young girls to marry and have sex with a much older man who already has a harem of wives? Are we actually spinning back in time? This whole disgusting situation gives one pause to ponder. Oooops! Silly me. It's all under the umbrella of Freedom of Religion. Hmm... I wish that made me feel better about all of this, but it fails to do so. You know, I've seen these women and their children at the local grocery stores from time to time, but never had any idea this is the kind of regime they live under.



I mean you can call me crazy or blind if you'd like, but has anyone ever noticed how much all of those people look alike? Hello. There's a valid reason for that. Uh-Huh. It makes me remember back when HBO had their series Big Love on for a couple of seasons. Honestly, I watched it out of morbid fascination and got hooked. Because I thought it was just TV, as usual. Huh-Uh. Nope, it depicted these people on a very realistic level, especially after what I've seen in the news.


The inbreeding is obvious, even if they had not all been dressed alike with the same hairdos. (That alone is so creepy it makes my skin crawl.) The men don't all look the same or dress the same. Which leads me to believe that their whole lame system is based on degrading women and reducing them to nothing, in order to control them. Clothing as control. No individuality as control. Taking new wives as control. Being *reassigned* to another husband as control. Constant pregnancies from the early teens as control. Making them work like horses as control. No personal money as control. The list goes on Brothers and Sisters. The list goes on.

On one episode of Big Love I recall hearing Mary Kay Place's character trying to explain to one of the other wives' children how everyone was related and I have to give her a ^5(high five) for even remembering the lines for her character. The top of my head was on the floor trying to recover. It was mystifying, really, because the list was long. Unbelievably. Long. But this is merely *small stuff* compared to the real life version of the story.


Next, we have the massive amounts of money this sect has acquired by collecting welfare aid from the government. Those would be our hard earned dollars at work, Ladies & Gentlemen. Are you feeling warm & fuzzy about this yet? In Arizona alone, last year $8,000,000.00 was received in aid for these unwed mothers and is referred to by cult insiders as "Bleeding the Beast" which is primarily bleeding the U.S. Government of as much money and aid as they possibly can. It is in their doctrine. They even consider this act to be virtuous and that it is owed to them by the government for the past injustice of making laws against polygamy. Well, D-U-H. Polygamy was the practice of unenlightened, uneducated, ignorant and uncouth people. It is so difficult to believe that this kind of archaic practice is even in existence in this day and age. That is why it changed in this country. It is wrong, whether disguised as a religion or not. Old men having sex with 13 year old girls is wrong, is it not? Don't answer because it doesn't matter. I. Think. It's. Wrong.


I remember Dateline doing several pieces in a series on catching child predators. Old men who met what they thought were young girls, over the internet, came to a house to meet them and they each got busted on TV as well as by the law enforcement officers. I must admit that I cannot see a difference here. Dirty Old Men and Young Girls. Same difference.


Old Men. Young Girls. NoNoNoNoNoNo!! A Million Times No. Oh, wait! I forgot that they are protected under the Freedom of Religion part of the First Amendment. Now, I've carefully studied the First Amendment and I cannot find the place where it says it's okay to have multiple wives (ie: a harem) and have sex with underage girls, making them pregnant with their own nephew or niece. I almost forgot that our Forefathers had no earthly idea that such injustices would come to be, through their efforts to create a free country. Trust me when I say that today there were corpses turning over in their graves, all over the country. The corpses of the great men who founded this great country, with some of them giving their lives in order for us to have such freedoms. If they were alive to speak as to the true meaning of the First Ammendment today, they would be horribly shocked & ashamed by what has happened to such an important thing as the original intent of this document, that took them so long to complete with such insight & precision.


So, what part of all this am I not understanding? I challenge anyone to help me understand this entire train wreck, because I know you can't. I know you can't because it is wrong and deep down inside, those people know it. You know it. I know it. It. Is. Wrong. Period.


I am a huge believer in the First Amendment rights, but NOT when it involves children having sex with old men and having babies out of wedlock who also bilk our government out of millions of dollars every year. Perhaps I am, indeed, not the brightest crayola in the box, but I don't get it. I don't care if it is doctrine taught from birth or not. I don't care that they say it is their religion. That's merely a manipulation of words. Plain and Simple.


So, the upshot of this post is that I think that Third Appeals Court Judge had a good long look at the entirety of this situation and, realizing the overwhelming aspects of trying to sort out such a gargantuan mess, decided that it was better to just let them go back and inbreed together until it kills them all. If that is truly the case, then she copped out and took the easy road. I applaud her for bailing in the face of something concerning human decency. What a wimp!



Otherwise, I just want to say Shame on that Third Court of Appeals Judge in Austin. I mean, what's next? That it's okay to have sex with animals in public? I'm certain that you could find a good argument for that as well, huh? Surely there is some little hole somewhere in a document, that you will find. Maybe next you can free serial killers from jail. Sounds like it's right up your alley. Which I hope they find their way to.


Oh Dear. It seems I have have gone off on yet another rant. Oh well. Deal with it.



If you would like to read the Supreme Court of Texas ruling, you can go HERE. If you want to read my second post about this subject, you can find that HERE. Also, I nearly croaked when I discovered this FLDS web site. 

A Movie That Shouldn't Be Missed.... How About You

If you've been reading this blog for a while you know of my fondness for British movies. I can't seem to get enough of them and I love their humor.


Last night I had the great fortune to be searching for something to watch when I stumbled across the most delightful British film called How About You. Ten minutes into the movie I was wondering what I was thinking when I decided to watch it, but I continued and I'm so thrilled that I did.


As it turns out, it's just my kind of movie and had I turned the channel in search of something better I might have missed this deliciously charming movie. It has an outstanding cast of brilliant English actors including Joss Ackland, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Fricker and Imelda Staunton (of Harry Potter fame). But, the real star is the young woman who comes to care for this eccentric group of strangers who just happen to all live in the same house, Hayley Atwell. She's an up and coming actress who is sure to rise to fame, so I'll be keeping my eye on her.


This movie will not only give you an insight to aging and the elderly, but to your own aging issues as well. It's a beautifully written story and it's beautifully portrayed by some of the best in the business. It will warm your heart unless your heart is unable to be heated.


It's never too late to learn how to love life and living....

You can see a video teaser to this movie HERE. Trust me when I say you won't be disappointed. Out of 5 stars, I give this movie 3-1/2 stars...

Fred And Bessie (The Bevos) Have Made Another Appearance At My House....

Yes, it's true. Just when I'd almost forgotten about my bovine friends, I received a package from Fred and Bessie! Apparently, they are alive and well in Oklahoma with my blog friend Flea, which is where they originated. They sent me these wonderful Christmas  note cards with their picture on the front (because they are stars, you know).




While here, they discovered that they actually liked Mexican hot sauce. A lot. They also liked Mexican beer. Naughty cows.





I had the most wonderful time when they came to visit me last year, even though I was responsible for them getting inebriated, getting arrested and thrown in jail, and allowed them to golf cart surf.  Hey, they survived. And Fred's bandage was from his trip to England to visit Jeri over at In The Gutter.





Admittedly, I threw caution to the wind while they were visiting and those two crazy bevos had the time of their lives, I tell you. Of course, they had a hangover or two (which my *cleansing cocktails* cured), but they were still ready to get up and go somewhere, every day during their stay with me. What troopers they were!






Fred and Bessie loved the golf course and thought they could stay there and graze forever, but time marches on and they finally had to be on their merry way to the next recipient.





I had to send Fred and Bessie on with a LOT of baggage, I assure you.



When I had been in San Antonio a week or two before their visit, I bought them some souvenirs, which they loved! Then, we went one day to have lunch with Janie (of Sounding Forth) and she brought them even more souvenirs.


I bought all things from Mexico and Janie had gotten all Texas things, so it was perfect!








I love having guests visit, especially Fred and Bessie. I was so sad to see them go, as was our crazy cat, Trouble. She was depressed for weeks after they left to visit someone new.




Anyway, I just want to thank those crazy cows Fred and Bessie as well as their master, Flea, for the lovely Christmas note cards!

You've Got To Stand For Something Or You'll Fall For Anything....

Country Western songs have the greatest titles, don't they? This is one of my favorites, although I can't really recall who it was that sang it. The first time I heard the song I knew that this would be something I would pass on to my children with great fervor, and I did. Or at least I think I did. I tried to anyway. I can tell you that both of my children are VERY opinionated and still alive, so I guess it worked to a certain point.

Still, I think it's a key issue in the education of one's children. Of course, you don't want to raise delicate little flowers and then send them out into the world to be eaten alive by all the greedy monsters out there. Therefore, one must, at a certain age of understanding, make one's children aware of the horrors dangers that lie beyond the securities of home. I'm not saying you have to traumatize them with tales of the world's evils or anything. I'm merely trying to say that you just can't shelter or protect them these days. Knowledge is power and if you're overprotective, you're not doing them any great favors. Children these days are much savvier about their world than we were at their age, and yet so naive in many other ways. I believe that they very often don't believe the images and stories they see on TV and in movies, so it's not real to them.

For instance... Do you remember playing *jacks* and *hop-scotch* in grade school? I don't think they even do that anymore, which is a shame. It seems as if everyone is just training their little future athletes, computer wizards or brainiacs these days, whether the child likes it or not. I can honestly say that I'm glad we spent summers doing nothing more than eating Popscicles, sweeping the driveway for a quarter, rescuing baby birds, catching fireflies at night, having water balloon fights against the guys and playing *Kick-The-Can* until our parents called us to come home, often followed by gentle threats to get us there. Those were times when we could actually allow our minds to rest from all the school work done during the other 9 months of the year.  It just seems like there is so much pressure on kids these days. It's a competitive world out there and they know it.

I remember a time when we still said the Pledge of Allegiance in school with shining pride in our country. Our teachers got a 3 month paid vacation every year, which made them work just that much harder during the school year. Those were times that we were still allowed to say prayers in school without persecution, detention or expulsion.

We had a music teacher that taught us all the important songs of patriotism and taught us to square dance (as if we were going to need that skill someday). How many kids can sing America The Beautiful and The National Anthem all the way through these days?



Of course, there was a lot of injustice in the world back then, but there still is. All we've done is trade off here and there for this and that, with nothing truly changing. If my generation succeeded at anything, it was to at least raise awareness of the injustices that were once swept under the rug.

The government is still trying to get all up in our business, demanding more taxes than ever, and trying to control more of our personal time. Women still don't make equivalent salaries to men (in the majority of cases) for doing the same jobs, and in most cases are still the main caregiver of the family. Women just work more than ever now. Children are still abused physically and sexually and often murdered. Automobiles are no safer than they have ever been. Crime continues to rise and there is only one commune left in America (thank goodness... that was never a very good idea). Wars still rage on and there is still an overabundance of hatred in the world.

Honestly, I'm beginning to think that my generation (yeah, the ones who burned our bras, wanted pot to be legalized and wanted peace in the world) are directly responsible for this. We didn't know what the Hell we were doing except when we protested against the Viet Nam War (okay, we didn't know then either). Otherwise, we were merely idealists and romanticists who had no real clue as to the effect our actions would have on the future, albeit ultimately not our original intentions. I'm only speaking for myself, of course. Then, we grew up and went on to live mostly productive lives while raising families. We conformed, really. How on earth did that happen?

The fact is that none of us has even an inkling as to what our future holds or the impact our actions will have on that very future. So, back to my title. You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. In summation, it all boils down to the reality that we should always be careful what we stand for... for we will surely see it come to fruition.

Procrastinator Extraordinaire....

Has anyone noticed lately that I am... ummm... here? I do recall that I was going to spend all of my time getting the guest house and the main house ready to put on the market by Christmas. Hahahaha! What a pipe dream that was!

It suddenly turned colder approximately a whole month early this year. I've been forced to switch over my winter clothes a month early (Oh, the horror!) as well as spending the better part of the day preparing plants to come inside for the winter. None of the plants like to come indoors for the winter because they all know. They've obviously heard from their plant friends how I tend to neglect plants during the colder months, often allowing them to meet an untimely demise. They were so scared they were shaking. Really! Besides, I'm sure they have seen the dead carcasses of their plant friends when I have to toss them out in the spring.

That's not to say it won't be 85 degrees again anytime soon, because it will. It will probably be on Christmas Day, when we want warm weather about as much as a root canal. We haven't had a white Christmas since the children were teenagers which would make it approximately 8 or 10 years ago. Actually, I think there was a white Christmas the last time we went skiing for Christmas, but we were already gone so we missed it (which basically means it never happened).

So, not only is the weather hampering my progress around here but it's also preventing me from playing golf as well. And... what am I doing? I'm blogging away while watching my ass grow in size, realizing I'm not accomplishing much of anything at this point. I am, however, growing less fit by the day because I'd rather work on the guest house than get out in the cold and exercise. It wouldn't matter, really. I just hate to exercise or clean out anything. Oddly enough, I don't seem to be able to get much of anything done these days, which includes the main house, the guest house, scrap-booking or exercise. I am, however, caught up on my ironing which is nearly unheard of in my world.

While the guest house does have an air conditioner, it does not have a heater (that works anyway). It can get bitterly cold out there in that tiny space. I know. I'm just making excuses, aren't I? I seem to be doing everything I can to avoid doing that which I really need to be doing. Procrastinator extraordinaire. That's me. I suppose you could say I'm honing that particular skill. Not that it needed honing. I've been sharpening my procrastination skills since I could talk.

 I'm assuming that what I really need to do is work on those *cleaning out* skills that I claim to have....

Now That I've Got All This, What The Hell Am I Supposed To Do With It?

I'm probably making a huge mistake, but I decided to do the NaBloPoMo *thing* this month, just to see if I can actually stick with something for an entire thirty days. It should be interesting to see if I really can keep up with this challenge. In the back of my often blurry mind I keep questioning whether or not anyone would want to even read my blog every day for 30 days. I guess we'll soon find out, won't we? Well, here goes nothing!




Ever since my daughter graduated high school and then college, I've been collecting scrapbook items that I like. I've bought several kits that included scrapbooks, tons of paper and embellishments, a number of different types of cutting scissors, inks, and stamps. I've bought so much that it could literally fill up the trunk of most cars. Still, nothing I've purchased has inspired me to begin this undertaking. I mean, where does one begin when one's children are grown, gone from home and your memory of time frames eludes you?






So, I decided to start by writing about it in hopes of finding some grand formula and/or solution to go by. So far, I'm still right where I began so many years ago. I am a creative person, so where is all that creativity? Has it left me for greener pastures? Hopefully not. I've looked at dozens of blogs about scrapbooking in search of the perfect ideas, all to no avail. Trust me when I say you can waste a lot of time looking at those web sites without ever fully understanding the technique. I've become quite frustrated about this and am truly on the verge of taking it all to a professional, but then it wouldn't be done by me. I suppose that's out then.





I've accumulated at least a dozen large boxes of pictures over the years, which should be enough to keep me busy cutting, pasting, writing, and embellishing for the next several years. Still, my dilemma lies in the fact that I just need a good jump start but cannot seem to find it.

So, I'm going to ask my readers for a bit of help. Where is a good place to begin? Do you just throw a couple of pictures on a page and throw down some embellishments? Do you put those inside the plastic jackets or not? Do you frame every picture? Do you write about every picture? Do you frame invitations? I know. I have a lot of questions. However, I have no desire to take one of those classes at Michael's Arts & Crafts. I want need to be inspired, but so far it's been like an empty well. Nothing. I need suggestions!

Once Upon A Midnight Dreary.... It Turned Into Halloween!

I found this hilarious list online about what to say to Trick-or-Treaters to confuse them. Of course I've never done any of these things (okay maybe the last one but only after 10:00 PM when the kids get to be too big), but they made me laugh:

20 Ways To Confuse Trick-Or-Treaters

1. Give away something other than candy. (Toothpicks, golf balls, bags of sand, etc.)
2. Wait behind the door until some people come. When they get near the door, jump out, wearing a costume, and holding a bag, and yell, "Trick or Treat!" Look at them, scratch your head, and act confused.
3. Fill a briefcase with marbles and crackers. Write on it, "Top Secret" in big letters. When trick-or-treaters come, look around suspiciously, say, "It's about time you got here," give them the briefcase, and quickly shut the door.
4. Get about 30 people to wait in your living room. When trick-or-treaters come to the door, say, "Come in." When they do, have everyone yell, "Surprise!!!" Act like it's a surprise party.
5. Get everyone who comes to the door to come in and see if they can figure out what's wrong with your dishwasher. Insist that it makes an unnatural "whirring" sound.
6. After you give them candy, hand the trick-or-treaters a bill.
7. Open the door dressed as a giant fish. Immediately collapse, and don't move or say anything until the trick-or-treaters go away.
8. When you answer the door, hold up one candybar, throw it out into the street, and yell, "Crawl for it!"
9. When you answer the door, look at the trick-or-treaters, act shocked and scared, and start screaming your head off. Slam the door and run around the house, screaming until they go away.
10. Insist that the trick-or-treaters each do ten push-ups before you give them any candy.
11. Hand out menus to the trick-or-treaters and let them order their candy. Keep asking if anyone wants to see the wine list.
12. Get a catapult. Sit on your porch and catapult pumpkins at anyone who comes within 50 yards of your house.
13. When people come to the door, jump out a nearby window, crashing through the glass, and run as far away from your house as you can.
14. Answer the door dressed as a pilgrim. Stare at the trick-or-treaters for a moment, pretend to be confused, and start flipping through a calendar.
15. Instead of candy, give away colored eggs. If anyone protests, explain that the eggs are the only thing you had left over from Easter.
16. Answer the door dressed as a dentist. Angrily give the trick-or-treaters a two-hour lecture on tooth decay.
17. Answer the door with a mouthful of M&M's and several half-eaten candy bars in your hands. Act surprised, and close the door. Open it again in a few seconds, and insist that you don't have any candy.
18. Hand out cigarettes and bottles of asprin.
19. Put a crown on a pumpkin and put the pumpkin on a throne on your porch. Insist that all of the trick-or-treaters bow before the pumpkin.
20. Dress up like a bunny rabbit. Yell and curse from the moment you open the door, and angrily throw the candy at the trick-or-treaters. Slam the door when you're finished.

Happy Halloween!

Have Photo Booth Will Travel.... Say Cheese!

Of course you need to know about this! That way, you can practice your facial expressions and even plan crazy group photos before you ever get there. You wouldn't want to be caught off guard making ugly faces, now would you?


I first heard about this wonderful new *toy* for parties and weddings in the Fall 2009 Issue of Texas Monthly's Fashion magazine. The entire magazine consists of a mere 72 pages but really packs a *whollop*, with this cool website included. It's called boothBOOTH. This hip young company with a fun idea for entertainment has bases in Austin as well as Dallas and they travel to wherever you are (within reasonable limits). You can find their blog here. You'll spend hours laughing, ooooohing and aaahhing over the pictures they have on display from a variety of occasions, ranging from birthday bashes to weddings.


The instructions go like this:

1. Get in.

2. Sit down.

3. Push button one time.

4. It will take 4 pictures, 4 minutes apart.

5. Get out!

6. Photo strip will print in 1 minute.



What boothBOOTH does is, they show up wherever they've been booked, with a photo booth, props and lighting. It's up to the guests to be creative and inventive with their pictures and there are four per sitting.


Anyhoo, while our daughter was in Dallas for OU-Texas football weekend she went to a huge party out at Eddie Deen's Ranch (south Lamar in Dallas) where they had a photo booth and her pictures are so adorable. She's with her friend that she went to Europe with after they both graduated UT a few years ago (before she moved out to lala land).


I doubt that it's the same photography outfit, but the pictures are excellent! We are so having this for the next big event we're a part of....

My Daughter's Idea Of Sightseeing While I Take Pictures....

Oh look, there goes The Whiskey-A-Go-Go...











There goes the best Liquor Store that has 24 hour delivery (how does she know that?)












Touring Beverly Hills at 35 MPH....








Was that a house or a hotel?










I've always wanted to see the Beverly Hills Hotel but this is all I got....









It's hard to take pictures when you're flying past.......








The whole tour lasted perhaps 10 minutes.......

Don't fret about blurred pictures.....










Or pictures of basically nothing......










You've just had a tour of Beverly Hills for crying out loud!

A 2007 Movie "Funny Games" Review... With Spoiler Alert

~SPOILER ALERT~

There's a movie that has been making the rounds on all the cable channels for the last several months called "Funny Games", starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth and is truly the most terrifying movie I have ever seen. It made me sick to the point of wishing I could throw up... with a real life kind of terror. I've never liked watching anything that makes my heart pound like there's a small elephant jumping up and down on it and gives me that horrible gut-wrenching feeling of impending doom.

This 2007 film is directed by Michael Haneke and is actually the remake of a film he'd made in 1997 that was not a big hit, of the same name. Admittedly, Haneke is what the industry considers a brilliant director, otherwise I would have never been drawn into this movie in the first place. It took me a total of 6 times before I could watch it through to the end. Even then, I had to DVR it so I could speed through parts I couldn't handle emotionally.

While Haneke may be trying to convey the message to us that we are not safe anywhere (and that means anywhere), he also manages to draw the viewer in to both the young family and the young psychopaths, allowing both points of view (like one of the young psychos talking into the camera asking the audience if they wanted to see more). It's truly the most disturbing and unsettling movie I've ever seen, or hope to see again. I had no idea that this director's interpretation of funny games was such a far cry from mine, which I believe, is what initially captures you. I saw it on the movie marquee, saw that Tim Roth and Naomi Watts were the starring roles and suddenly there I was. Like a little lamb being led to slaughter,  I watched as the movie began to unfold and by the time I was slapped with the first of this family's horrors, I had to see the end.







One of the scariest aspects to the trailer is the amount of YouTube hits it's received. Apparently our society is becoming completely desensitized to violence. It's becoming the kind of society I'm not so sure I any longer want to live in. This is some deeply creepy stuff here people. I strongly urge parents of teens to use utmost caution. No sense filling young minds with this kind of violence while they're still young and seemingly innocent.

This movie just truly leaves your entire being raw from its violence, unlike run-of-the-mill Hollywood films of violence. There is no escape. There are no happy endings. There is also no sleep after you watch it either. I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I even think about it. It's one of those movies that you honestly won't shake off anytime soon.

It taught me a very valuable lesson though. Read what a movie is about before you decide to watch it while trying to go to sleep. This movie gripped me to my inner core and I was deprived of revenge or redemption, as well as several nights of sleep....

You really don't want to go there. Just my honest opinion....

Can You Imagine The Possibilities For Injury And Pain? Maybe Even Nirvana?

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows how obsessed I've been with trying to get close up camera shots of hummingbirds. Of course I could get one elsewhere, but I want to achieve a perfect picture on my own, wasting spending hours on end in that pursuit. I want pictures of my hummingbirds, right?


Mr. Snoots said he came dangerously close to buying me this particularly interesting item for my birthday, assuring me it didn't need an electrical outlet. (He's not allowed to buy me anything for any occasion that requires an outlet.) I only wish I were joking, but the ugly truth is that he seriously debated getting this for me. Are you ready? Are you sure? Uh-Huh. Okay, hold on to your panties, thongs and *what-evers*.



I present to you  the Wearable Eye To Eye Hummingbird Feeder:










Instead, he bought me this and I've been in sheer Heaven:





Still, I'm not sure I might not have preferred the contraption above.....

Happy 32nd Anniversary Mr. Snoots! It's Been Quite A Ride Mi Compadre....

Okay, here it is our 32nd wedding anniversary and today I gave you a card that was maybe 20 years old. I'm really sorry, my love. I bought you a really funny and cool card, but somehow misplaced it. However, I assume you're used to me and my ways by now and you know I'll find it by next year, right?



I hope you know that I would have left the house today to get you another card, but my blog friend Lauren over at The Mental Pause Chronicles had a horoscope thingy up on Monday, so I followed the link and read mine that said to be careful this week because some crazy drunk might try to run me over, so I was really afraid to leave the house. I was especially afraid because yesterday a girl was killed on my route to the grocery store at exactly the time I would have been en route to said grocery store, as you well know. I really am sorry that I was afraid to go out today. I'm also afraid of getting the swine flu, which seems to be running amok, locally. I know I'm getting to be somewhat paranoid but I know you'll stand by me, right?



I know you still love me because you brought me flowers and made me a lobster dinner in spite of the crummy card you got from me. This is, alas, what marriage is all about... forgiving the little things and looking at the bigger picture. Two wonderful children who don't live at home any longer and thirty-two years of wedded bliss... or something vaguely resembling that. You know what I mean. It hasn't all been roses, but we have survived to make it last longer than any of our friends. (Does that say something about us or our friends?)



Anyway, in sickness (remember that weekend you'd been w/ the frat bros in Vegas? and I'd been in Mexico w/ the wives and we both came home sick and had to fight one another for first dibbs at the toilet?) and in health (remember the day you called me after your 6 month check at the doctor's and said, "The doctor says I'll live another six months" and I freaked out and started demanding you tell me what was wrong and you said it was nothing but a joke? I thought I'd die. Or kill you first. Then die.



One year I was in the depression of miscarriage and you stood by me. You helped me stay strong, even though there were others to come that we were yet unaware of. Two more, to be exact. Then, we were finally blessed with two beautiful, funny, intelligent children.



There were years I was too busy with the kids to pay you much mind but you still stood by me. You would rock them to sleep and tell them stories, which gave me a few desperately needed moments of quiet at the end of days I thought I'd go stark raving mad.



There were years that my family was trying to rip my guts out with their bare hands, making me crazy, but you still stood by me and defended me. Then you made them go away and leave me alone. You. Are. My. Hero.



There were years of plentiful money and flowing oil and gas, but then the lean years came with the bust of the early 1980's and we stood strong, although often weakened by the twists and turns our lives would take. We were never sure of how we'd handle it all, but we knew we still loved each other.



There were even years when we doubted the strength of our love and our marriage, but somehow managed to make it back to love. I thank you for surviving that time with me.



The year your parents both got diagnosed with cancer, was probably one of the toughest years we ever had to bear. We lost our best friends, didn't we? We spent that year taking turns driving them to chemo and taking care of them. We buried your mother in February, then buried your Dad on our wedding anniversary that year. Needless to say, we didn't celebrate the union of our marriage that year. Still, we stood together with what strength we had left.



Not long after that, our son took a foray into the deadly world of drugs that lasted 8 years and there were times I thought I'd die, but you stood by my side, helping me to remain strong, knowing what we had to do. We nearly lost him, but with the help of God, and each other, we were able to finally reclaim him. So, I guess the teenage years were oddly the worst of years with son and the best of years with daughter, although he has more than made up for it now, huh?



When my best friend *Suze* died suddenly, you stood strong for me although I know it couldn't have been easy. It was a hard year for me to get through, but you still stood by me in all my madness.




It has never been an easy road with me, has it dear? Well, it hasn't been an easy road with you either, Mister. What it has been is a journey of discovery, of ups and downs, of good times and bad times, of arguments and problem solving, soccer trips and basketball games, of having money and not having money, baseball games and football trips, cheer-leading practice, PTA meetings volunteering until we were weak with exhaustion, late nights when the children were sick, girl scouts, karate lessons, mind expanding slumber parties until we wanted to strangle all the kids, yard work, neglecting yard work, summers at the lake, skiing every winter, Six Flags every summer, Schlitterbahn several summers, Sea World, sports camps, summer camps, birthday parties, holidays, box seats at the Angels games in summer, carpool and homework and all of the other filler that goes in between. You of all people, know that there are far too many things to list. Yet, you still stand beside me through it all.



Then at long last, we were once again alone, both wondering if there was enough left to pick up the pieces of parenting and the toll it had taken on us as a couple. There were so many years that we passed one another coming and going with one child or the other, headed in opposite directions. There wasn't time for much else, was there? Somehow, we found that there was a glimmer of a spark that still glowed between us and we were able to get that sucker going again, weren't we?


It might not be the mad passionate love of our youth, but it's the only love I want Mr. Snoots. Just your love. Just you.
You and me, my love. Until we get too old to help the other. Until that time arrives, let the good times roll, baby! 

I am yours, forever and always.....