Bypassing Sandpoint

I have read that one more paper has to be signed
before the bypass gets use of the railroad land,
that is near by.

They, also have a lawsuit hanging again over their
heads. By the way, I wonder if the residents of
Bonner County can sue the suer's? Because
after 50 years, it seems that all the things that
can be said, have been said.

Trish Gannon of the River Journal told why she
doesn't want the bypass. And she has a valid
thoughts, because it is what I have said for a
year now. Not on the grounds of saving Sand
Creek. But because she really doesn't think it
is going to do any good. And I agree with her.

It is only going to help keep the semi's from
in town, and maybe have the workers from
Dover, Sagle, and the Samuels areas get to
work, if in fact they work on the opposite end
of town. Which is a good thing, but not enough.

Living in Kootenai, it isn't going to do a bit of
good to help those from the Montana, Clark
Fork, Hope, Colburn/Cluver Rd, Trestle
Creek, Whiskey Jack, and Kootenai area.

We have a steady stream of cars. Some one
said there was a counter one time two years
ago, and they said there is over 2000 cars that
go by between 7:15 am and 9:00am every week day
morning. I agree. I see them when I walk.
It is by the grace of polite drivers, that Whiskey
Jack Road residents as well as Kootenai residents,
get out on to Highway 200 in the morning.

And the bypass isn't going to help them one tiny
bit. There has even been talk of a bypass for that
area. Talk. So you know it is going to be 75 years
before anything will be done. And the path they
want, is starting to build up with houses now.

No, the bypass is going to be just a bandaid effect.

And I have gotten to the point, I don't care anymore.
I don't go downtown Sandpoint anyway. Most of the
business have filled up with Real Estate offices,
I wonder how that will be with the housing falling
off the market. There is only two stores I can think
of that I do go to, Sandpoint Super Drug and Merwins.
So I hit them at 9am... and get out of town.

Getting a Concealed Weapon's Permit

Getting a concealed weapon's permit

Many years ago, I use to have to travel
on the road by myself. For 4 hours.
My husband at the time, told me I
should carry a gun. And we believed
in concealed weapons permits. He told
me to get one. I wouldn't listen.

Well, one time when we were traveling
together, it was late at night. About 1 am.
We had left his sister's house in Castle
Rock and was traveling back to Cle Elum.
(in Washington)

It was my time to drive as we were coming
across Highway 18. Marv was tired so he
laid across the seat and went to sleep.

3/4th the way across Highway 18, a car
came behind me and followed for about 5 miles.
Then they came along side of me and stayed
there. I looked at the car, and the passenger
was pointing at my tire. Thinking maybe some
thing was wrong, I pulled over. Besides, Marv
was with me. The car came in front of me,
and stopped also. But they just sat there.

I open the car door, bent down and looked back
at the tire, and there wasn't anything I could
see, so I pulled out.

This car played cat and mouse for the
rest of the 5 miles I had left before I
turn on to Highway 90. I went slow
so they could pass... they would
slow down to 15 mph. Getting scared
and trying to wake up Marv, I started
to go faster, and they would come
up behind me and be almost on
my bumper. I slowed down. They
would come in front and slow down
again. This time I passed and
Marv was finally waking up. I
told him what was going on. And
I was turning on to highway 90.

I told me to go fast, and pull in
behind the big sign saying North
Bend. Which I did. He had his
357 with us, as first, he always
traveled with a gun and he had
brought this one to show his
brother in law. As I pulled in
behind the sign, we switched
places. The car went passed us.
Then slowed way down. So Marv
passed them. And then he slowed
down, of which they started to
pass, and then came even with
our car, and the passenger started
to smile.... then he spotted it
was Marv and not me, and Marv
pointed the 357 at them. For those
who don't know.. a 357 has a big
barrel. The car then took off, and
was going 80 mph. I know because
Marv was keeping up with them.

They shot down the first left hand
street they found in North Bend.
So did Marv, and then they disappeared
in the dark.

That convinced me... that I needed a
concealed weapon's permit. And I
applied for one. I had to be finger
printed, and 3 weeks later, I was
cleared for a concealed weapon
permit for $15 for 4 years. I kept one
until I left Washington state.

Yesterday, the King decided he better
have one, as he always carries a
gun when we travel. Being he wanted
it to be hidden, he would need a
concealed permit. And time has
changed. Or Idaho is different.

First the sheriff office to get the
application. Then we find out he
needs, fingerprinting. $15.
And then the FBI report $35.
And the license cost... $22.
But there is one more thing he had
to have.
Firearms Training cert. After
hunting for over 40 years.. a
firearms cert. So that was another
call. And that is $10 for the book
AND $50 for the class and to qualify.

Whew, what started in the morning as
a simple thing, has turn out to be
a lot more complicated. But to be
honest with you... I am glad it is.
The King isn't... his ego is a little
bruised as he has shot guns for
all these years. He goes target
shooting almost every time he goes
to his brother's house. But he needs
a certificate. And then there is a
3 month wait.

Which makes me wonder, how do
these shooters in colleges and malls,
get their guns and etc. so fast. Oh,
because they aren't getting a concealed
weapon permit. lol..

Memories

Looking at the obits column yesterday
morning brought back old memories.

When I started at "THE" Manor in 1986,
there was a woman there who use to whistle.
Whistle very well. Tunes...

When I was switched to day shift I found out
it was a family thing. As her son would come
in every so often and would push her wheel chair,
after lunch to her room. And as he pushed the
chair, he would whistle tunes. And she would
join him. Most of them Hymns. Some times he
would break out in song with his mother whistling.
It was the highlight of our day.

One day, as the two of them were coming
down the hall and getting ready to turn the
corner to the next hall, they started the Hymn,
HOW GREAT THOU ART. On the second
hall was a women, who was angry most of the
time, walking slowly with her walker, as she
did each day.

She heard them start the tune, and stopped and
started to sing along with them. With the most
operatic voice. Shocking all of us aides.
With Jim joining her, Nellie whistling, and Miss
Lillian sing, it was a delight to us all and after
we clapped.

After that, every time Jim saw Miss Lillian, he
would start the song, and it got to be their song,
the 3 of them. After Nellie passed away, we didn't
see Gentlemen Jim anymore.

And sometimes, when we would
see Miss Lillian looking sad, we would ask her
to sing for us. Not only upbeat for us, but for her
too.

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Scott.

The Treadmill of Life

I am having a day of it. It is
one of those days where you
don't feel like you are doing any
thing good. Nothing accomplished.

As I was walking on, what the King
calls the hot walker, this morning,
I could think of lots of things to do.

I could be planting seeds...too early.
I don't have a hot house. Only a little
portable this used when the temps
get to be 50 regular.

I could be doing tia chi on the
backyard grass... ..it is under
3 feet of snow still.

I could be having coffee on the back
deck... but it is 29 in the morning
and the sun is barely coming up.

All of these things are Spring and
Summer (especially summer) things
to do. That I do.

But I can't get into running thru my
file cabinet and decluttering that.
And that is what I should be doing.

I couldn't get into doing my blog as
my brain was empty... well, empty
more than usual...

So I am off to get the wash out of
the washer and put it in the dryer.
Maybe tomorrow will be better.

note. hot walker is a term for horses.
better know to the rest of us as a
treadmill.

I am impatience/ Bill 1376

When I see things that should be done,
I am impatience to get it done. And I
expect the same from others. Not a
good thing, mostly. Except in this case
it is.

Case in point... Senate Bill 1376

This bill has to do with daycare in
Idaho. For the safety of the kids.

One would think the Idaho Congress
would be all over it like a bear with honey.
But they aren't. They are dragging their
heels. There are quite a few who are
trying to have it dumped as not important.
But so far 3 women of that Congress are
working very hard to keep their bill alive.

I just don't get it. We have so many laws
and policies in the state of Idaho for nursing
homes. Justly so. The elderly need to be
protected. And there are yearly inspections
done on each and every nursing home/health
care centers (the new name for nursing homes).

Even hairdresser are regulated. But these gals
are having a heck of a time getting these good
old boys down there in Boise, to pass this law
to protect children.

What is up with that? Why? For the life of me
I just plain don't get it. This should have been
passed years ago.

The project is done....

When the King is gone... I do projects. And being he was gone
this week. I decided to do this...

This is the frame of a 47 Ford Pickup. And this was day one.
It took me an hour to dig this much out.


This is after day two and three... doing 1 and 1/2 hours each day.

This is the inspector... to make sure I am doing it right.
AND TODAY!! SUCCESS... it is dug out, and pulled out to flat land.
And of course the inspector was pleased.
My grandson helped me, by pulling the frame from the spot.

I was going to have him help me push it in to the garage, but

being it is unpredictable of where it will go, without a steerwheel..

and trying to get it thru the garage door... well, there is only so far

that I will push to King. As I know if the frame decides to take out

the garage door frame, I will be in real trouble. I have been after the King

to finish this project of his for 7 years. And in his defense, he did

start it this fall, but the grandson's pickup needed to have a total

overhaul of the engine, and the King's project was put to the side.

And then snow came.. So I figured I would do this for him while

he was gone. What about 10 feet by 5 feet and 4 feet tall of snow

removal...not bad for on old broad of 67!!

Dirty Politics and Dirty Tricks...

Well, well, Ladies and Gentlemen,
we have finally got down to the nitty
gritty of politics.

I had hoped for McCain and Obama.
Because I THOUGHT it would be a
clean fight. I THOUGHT they would
keep it to the principles of our government
and country. I THOUGHT we would be
choosing between their ideals of the
issues.

But instead we have got the people
scared. They are running so scared
that some of them are not just fighting
with the person of their own party so
they can be the choice, but they are
fighting across the party lines.

SOMEONE IS VERY SCARED....
Does the Republicans want Hillary
so bad to go up against, that they
are trying to discredit Obama?

Do they feel, that the Obama voters
will vote for McCain, with the "anyone
BUT Hillary" crowd?

And McCain taking artillery because
someone in the Republican party
REALLY doesn't want him. Are they
using dirty tricks, bringing up OLD history
to destroy him, as they did before in
2000? Yes, the New York Times ran
the story...but it is reported it didn't come
from the Democrat side.

And to take Mrs. Obama to task for
what they called a slip up. I am sorry,
but I too, am proud of my country right
now. In the full context of what she said,
because for the first time since maybe
Kennedy years, we have HOPE. We
have someone who we can vote for, not
the lesser of the two evils.

Yep, Ladies and Gentlemen, it looks
like it won't be a gentlemen's debate
of who is best, who has the best
thought of the issues.... it is starting
to look like a blood bath.

Coordination 0...Balance 2

I am taking Tia Chi. I have one
more class to go. And I really
enjoy it.

But I have found out that I am
not coordinated. It is amazing
that I can walk and chew gum.

I always knew I wasn’t the most
graceful of dancers. And if you
get into your hands doing one thing
while the feet are doing the opposite
direction… well, let’s just say when
I do it, it isn’t pretty.

Started out pretty good. It is slow, and
I can follow it pretty well. That was
Lesson 1 thru 5. Now we are getting
Into the fancier steps. Where you take
your hands in a ball shape, swing them
out one way, while your body and feet
are suppose to be swinging the other way.

I fumble it. When she was doing the one
step and then we did the hands and body
movement, I was doing terrific. So I guess
I better practice this week hard, otherwise
I am going to look like Dumbo doing his
Waltz.

Also the AARP magazine ran a article about
Balance. Now I thought I had great balance.
I am sure footed. I can do down any mountain
side without stumbling and etc. But I can only
stand on one leg without hanging on to anything
for about 14 seconds. Suppose to be able to do
30 or more. So there is another that I have to go practice

YOU ARE GOING TO SHOOT WHAT?? WHERE??

Tonight at 6:45 p.m. The eclipse...

My thinking tends to be more logical then some
people. Which has its good points and bad.

So when I heard they were waiting for tonight,
to shoot a satellite out of the sky that is falling
to earth, because it had toxic fuel, and that is
the reason why. It made me say...WHAT?

If they shoot this satellite, the size of a van,
(they didn't say family van or commercial
van) with a television set size (they didn't say
which size television, but definitely smaller
than said van) missile, what happens to the toxic
fuel? Doesn't that go into the atmosphere?
The very same atmosphere that you and I breathe
in? How is that better?

Then, the We Hopes...
We hope we can hit the ideal site
on the satellite.
We hope it will hit it at all, because the
satellite is going thousands of miles per
hour faster than the missile can go.
And if the first shot doesn't make it,
they have 4 tries at it.

So what happens to these television size
missiles that are up there not hitting anything.
Doesn't the old saying of, what goes up, must
come down?

Also, they have F.E.M.A. standing by to be
ready to help out the area where the debris will
fall.
So... if F.E.M.A. is on standby, then does
that mean they figure it is going to hit the USA?
And if they figure it will, don't they think they should
tell some of the states?
"Oh, Iowa, Michigan, and
Indiana, expect falling debris before daylight"That
would be nice. Or if it is in the Florida, Hawaii area,
I think the people should be warned that this isn't
a good night for a midnight picnic on the beach.

So even if they (I always have a distrust when the
news and the government, say THEY. Who is
THEY?) say the fuel will burn up when the satellite
is hit, isn't there an ash, residue? Where is that going,
and how dangers is that to our lungs? Or even our
bodies.

Being this is a spy satellite, making this mission run by
the government, and the governments handling of things
of late..one has to wonder, is this going to work and what
is the side effects.

I hate to be a Chicken Little and say the sky is falling,
but this really doesn't look good for those of us who are
looking up for the meteor, or just outside. And what part
of the day or night is it going to be hitting earth?

Photographers do not do her well

As I look around at blogs and news stories, I got to say
These photographers have really found some pretty horrible
poses by Hillary. Is it her or is it them, as there hasn't been
any of the rest of the group on either side. And we have been
going for over a year now. With as many as 12 or more candidates.
The second one, I had to really look it over to believe the caption
that came with it, saying it was her. Also is she getting grey from
all of this, or maybe it is just the shadows.

Happy President Day

Most people have it off...some who never have had
it off ..for some reason, have it off this year.

Where I worked, we were given an option. They
could give you President's day off or your birthday.
Sadly, but true, we all picked our birthday. So from
that day on, it was our birthday. Which was nicer
for the company as they had the day spread across
the year, instead of the money all for one day. But
in our line of work, that meant, you had to ask for
your birthday off, and got paid for it, or you got double
pay for that day. Because in nursing business, there
are not holidays for everyone. There has to have a
full crew everyday.

When I was a kid in school, like most my age, had
both days off and it was on the 12 and the 22. No
matter what day it fell on. And if it fell on the weekend,
it was oh, well, too bad. No days off.

Now we have all holidays fall on Monday's. Well, most
of them. So it means a 3 day holiday for those who are
not in a job that is a service job. Such as hospital, nursing
homes, firemen, policemen, gas stations and those who
don't believe in the holiday over commerce or there has to
be someone there to take care of the people.

So those who get to enjoy the day, hope it is sunny where
you are. It is here, and it is also cold. I am waiting for the
sun to burn off the fog, and warm it up a bit.

See the King is gone for a week... which leads to, well,
some times trouble. See I get these projects in my head,
and do them while he is gone. Some times it is happy,
when he gets home,and sees what I have done, and some
times....well, he is gracious with his disappointments.

Like coming home to an orange and white kitchen.
Which he made the comment that night of "wow it is
nice and bright. Really nice" And then in the light of the
morning, it was....."What ever possessed to you paint
it ORANGE???... I tried to tell him it wasn't orange, but
that it was tangerine... but he didn't seem to care.

The method of my madness was, that I had hoped he
would hate it enough to start our kitchen remodel, so
his first remark scared me that he liked it. But I was
grinning the next morning... except that was well over
a year ago, and it still isn't remodeled and he has
learn to live with tangerine... Oh, well..maybe this
summer.
So I am off to get into to trouble... will let you know
at the end of the week how it goes. lol

Who Are These People???

WHY IT IS THOSE WHO WENT TO THE BLOGFEST 2008!!!
Did you go? You didn't... what a shame... am I going to tell you the names to go with the faces??? NAH... because you should have been there.. Well, I will give you a little hint..look at the shirt... see the name?? And that is Sweet and Sour Herb talking to him...... now the rest... you are on your own.



This is the lady who keeps DFO in line... which one? well, you should have been there to ask.

The man himself, talking to a fellow blogger...

I wonder what they are talking about? Could it have to do with mail in votes? see if you were there, you would know.

Two very good commenters and a blogger ... what a shame, especially the tall guy standing. Very famous man in the land of HBO... A lot of us have talked to him in person and he gave us a gift, just for stopping by.

Ah, the entertainment is getting ready''

The meeting of the minds...

Making a point, Herb??....

One of those... I am going to take a picture, while you take a picture



WOULD YOU BELIEVE????

The West side talking to the East side..

PIZZA IS SERVED!!!!

Here we go with the songs, folks

The set up.... are you ready?

If you could hear this one... you would be bent over in laughter too...


Well, that is it folks, you should have been there..... see you next year????

United We Stand, Divided We Fall....

With the swell of Obama, and the ups and downs
of people behind Hillary and McCain ..this election
will be interesting, to say the least.

Right now, today, the parties have switched positons,
from the year 2000. Then and since, the Democrats
could do no right and the Republicans could do no wrong.
The Democrats seem to fall over each other and just
couldn't get anything right. Not a good candidate to step
up to win, no respect of any kind. They have been the laugh
of the parties.

But some time, around last year it started to turn around.
With one Republican congressmen after another falling from grace.
The moral failures seem to pile up faster than mud piles.
With the Bush Administration angering both Republicans,
as well as Democrats, the winds started to turn.

The Democrats won Congressional seats.
The swell in the longest ever campaign race is
definitely high on the Democrat side.

Which is scary. Don't get me wrong, I am still rooting
for Obama. But some Democrats are upset with how
things are going. The word SUPER DELEGATES comes
to the surface after many years. Will the Democrats
shoot themselves in their own foot? Because if the general
public is running fast with Obama and the SUPER
DELEGATE'S go against the public swell, putting in
Hillary..... will there be hell to pay?

Will the Independent voters drop the Democrats like
a hot potato? Will the Obama Democrats raise hell?
And will the Republicans win in that anger? I have heard
people say come June if it is Hillary, they will register
to vote and vote for McCain.
The King has said, if the Super Delegates over ride
the voting of the people, he isn't going to vote anymore.
"When those people in high places over rule what the
common man wants, he said... then why should I bother?"
I have heard some Republicans say if it is McCain,
they will vote for what ever Democrat.

Sounds like there is a lot of unhappy voters.
And if you think the upset court appointed Bush,
was one of the worse elections years... you haven't
seen anything yet., with this marathon race going on now.

My Guy

As the Mary Well's song goes...

"He might not be a movie star
when it comes to being happy, we are
There's not a man today
Who could take me away from my guy"

You have read about the King many times
here. So you kind of know about him. But
I am going to dedicate this to him today.

He is funny. He has a great smile, And
a good heart. His down side is ....his
practical jokes. Which some times I think
he takes too far. I told him once, that some
day he will want me to tell someone he is
telling the truth..... and I would have to answer
"I'm sorry Officer, but I can't tell when he is
telling the truth." Because he can keep the
straightest face when he is pulling something.

He catches everyone, his brother, sister in laws,
grandson, well, let me put it this way... One time
we had car trouble. He called our daughter, and
told of our problems. She told him to put me on
the phone, because she wasn't going to come in
to town and help, if this was one of these jokes.

But he scores A+ on everything else.
He brings me flowers for no reason. He holds
me even if I don't ask or cry. He will be the
first one to help out someone in need. He will
work with someone without pay, just to help.
Those over 70, call him their teddy bear.

He snow blows the neighbors path and driveway
each year. He mows her lawn (it is large) for her
as he knows she can't. This year he shoveled off
her roof. Wasn't asked, just knew it had to be done.
He is getting people gathered to paint a house this
Spring/summer for a friend who can't.
That is just the kind of guy he
is.

And even when his teenage grandson drives him
crazy, with his arguing about mechanics, he is
still there for him. Thru thick and thin. He has
taken all of my kids under his wing as his own.
Even though he has never had any of his own. No
one dare challenge him without the wrath of my
kids.

And when he is his primadonna chef self, he
still takes time to give me a hug, while I prep
some of the food for him.

So you see, it is the little things that count to
us. God has blessed me twice.
Once with Marv, and the second time with the
King. Does he wear a halo, good heavens no, but
he is a keeper...

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, KING


"Nothing you can say
can tear me away from my guy
Nothing you can do
'Cause I am stick like glue to my guy"

Mary Wells words for My Guy taken from
Yahoo music

DO YOU LOVE ME, DO YA, DO YA????

DO YOU LOVE ME? DO YOU REALLY LOVE ME?
kind of like the song.

I am not really good about Valentine's day.
I see it as a commercial rip off and guilt
ridden holiday mostly against men.

How much do you love me?
Is $5 too cheap? Heck, that barely gets a
card. Flowers that triple in price. Candy
that there is hardly anyone who wants.
Too much sugar,too much calories. Maybe
diamonds? Holy Cow. Is this love or who
is the highest bidder?

And it doesn't stop with your lady or
gentleman love, now they want you to send
cards and gifts to mothers, aunt's, and even
grandmothers. To children. And what
a scarring day that is in school. Does every
one get a card? What you were left out,
well, you don't have friends. So much for
the day of love.

So what do you do? Dinner is nice.
and how about a homemade card of
words from your heart. Or even just
telling them, how much you love them
and thank you for all the things you do.
And just to your spouse or girl/boy friend.
Mother's all ready have their own day, and
so do grandmothers.

At our house, we don't do Valentine's Day.
Well, I really shouldn't say that either. Because
every day is Valentine's day, or close to it.
The King is a great guy. He makes me laugh.
He holds my hand, he walks with his arm around
my shoulder from time to time, for no reason
at all. He brings me flowers, for no reason at all.
So why do I need a day cut out from the rest, to
make him feel like he HAS TO do something?

In 1986 I lost a husband

1986 was going to be a good year. After
June we would be down to one child left at
home. We were going to travel. We had postpone
it until the kids got grown. We did the usual camping
and things with the kids, but never traveled across
country except to move. And that was in a rush.

We were going to travel around the USA. We were
going to go see family without a funeral for a reason.
We were finally getting to that point. We were really
looking forward to it.

In January of 1986, my husband was going in to
the Vets hospital. It wasn't his first time.
He had had bypass surgery several times
in the 1970's.

So we were not concern very much. He had
had veins replaced in his legs, and then later
in his stomach. But his circulation was acting
up again.

To make a long story shorter... he was there in
January, and part of Feb. And then they sent him
home. Without doing anything. They had him come
home for 2 weeks. When he went in for his appt. they
saw he wasn't getting better, and he wasn't behaving
himself. As one of the conditions was he had to quit
smoking. Being a smoker for 50 years, it wasn't easy
for him to quit. Also they said no beer. He did both.

In March they ended up doing surgery on him 4 times
with the last one removing his leg. He went into
depression. He wouldn't even try to physical therapy.
Until he saw a double amputee go up and down a ladder
with hardly any trouble. He was doing pretty well,
when they decided in April, that his other leg wasn't
going to make it. So they removed that one too.
4 days later he threw a clot in his heart and died.

He was 57. 57, way too young to die. Our daughter
was 16. I was 46. To say it was a blow is an understatement.
As I said to him at the cemetery, "you were suppose to
lose your legs, not die." He was my husband, my lover,
the father of our children, and most of all, he was my best
friend.

My point in telling you this....is. Be sure to tell
your love ones that you love them, every day.
Not automatic, but like you mean it. Thankfully,
I did tell Marv that. But also, don't wait to do
things together. Don't put off to tomorrow, what
you want to do.

Because sometimes, tomorrow never comes.

We have decided....

I guess it is official The King and I
have decided who we would like to
vote FOR. Yes, not against, not
the lesser of the two evils, but
actually FOR.

I won't be voting for Hillary.
Sure the heck isn't because she
is a woman. And those women
who vote for her "Because she is
a woman and we want a woman in
the office. And that is the only reason
why they are voting for her, make me
sick to my stomach. We have come a
long way, Baby. Remember that. Well,
those women are making us look like
idiots.

You don't vote for some one because of
their gender? You vote for them because
they seem to think the same way you do.
You vote for them as they seem to be
honest and want what is right for the
country.

Hillary and Bill have been on a 30+ journey
for themselves. For the power, why else would
she stick it out during the Monica
deal. She is not stupid. It was for the PLAN.
The plan of power. Which I could live with,
IF they were in a plan to make America
better. If they had a plan for the nation, that
he would start and she would continue.
But it hasn't been there. He did not do
anything really to speak of, except to
embarrass the office with his dalliances.

I have nothing against a woman in the office.
Just. not. this. woman. I want a person who
thinks of the nation. And how that person
can get both parties to think of just that.
What can they do to get this nation back'
up on its feet? Back up with pride?

So, as head of the Cafeteria Party, I
have joined my husband in siding in
to the place of voting FOR someone.
And that person is Barack Obama

No he is not a Muslin, he is a Baptist,
and a Catholic before that. His choice,
not his parents. According to his wife,
is good father and husband.

But most of all, he has experience. He
was a state senator for 8 years I believe,
in a state he actually has lived in for many
years. He has served in the Congress.
So he should know both sides of the coin.

He does honor the flag, and the accusations
are ridiculous. Those who saw the Super Bowl,
saw that the soldiers over in Iraq, did not have
their hand on their heart during the national
anthem. Dare those to condemn them.

This young man has brought joy to the
nation with his thoughts of how he wants a
change. The 18 and above want to vote. And
they want to vote for him. He is fresh air in the
many years of stagnateation.

I am not a Democrat, I am from the Cafeteria Party.
AND I VOTE. And it sure will be a wonderful feeling
to vote FOR someone.

Hopefully the politics of dirty tricks, does not bring down
this great feeling that the Americans have right now,
with their hopes into Obama.

A story I read

This was sent to me as an email. I don't know if it is true or not
but it was so funny, I thought maybe you would like a good
laugh for the weekend... here it is...


Names have been removed to protect the stupid !

Actual Letter from someone who writes, and farms.
I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it
in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then
kill it and eat it.The first step in this adventure was
getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at
my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of
me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come
right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the
back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult
to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm
it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my
rope.The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed
well back. They were not having any of it.After about 20
minutes, my deer showed up -- 3 of them. I picked out a
likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder,
and threw my rope.

The deer just stood there and stared at me.I wrapped the
rope around my waist and twisted the so I would have a
good hold. The deer still just stood and stared
at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the
whole rope situation.I took a step towards it...it took a step away.

I put a little tension on the rope and then received an education.
The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just
stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they
are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.
That deer EXPLODED.The second thing I learned is that
pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or
a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down
with a rope and with some dignity.A deer-- no chance.
That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There
was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it.

As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across
the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope
was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.
The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina
as many other animals.A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired
and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me
when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize
this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of
the big gash in my head.

At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just
wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.
I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its
neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere.
the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer.
At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a
guess that the feeling was mutual.Despite the gash in my
head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested
the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various
large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still
think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance
that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the
situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have it suffer
a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between
truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind
of like a squeeze chute.

I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could
get my rope back.
Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million
years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody,
so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab
that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.
Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a
horse where they just bite you and then let go.
A deer bites you and shakes its head --almost like a pit bull.
They bite HARD and it hurts.The proper thing to do when
a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly.
I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was
ineffective.It seems like the deer was biting and shaking
for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds.

I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning
that claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing
the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left
hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.
Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear
right up on their back feet and strike right about head and
shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp.
I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -- like a
horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get
away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud
noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal.
will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.
This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such
trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond,
I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman
and tried to turn and run.The reason I had always been
told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at
you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the
back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses
after all, besides being twice a s strong and 3 times as evil,
the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the
head and knocked me down.

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it
does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize
that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw
your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying
there crying like a little girl and covering your head.I finally
managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.
So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring
a rifle with a scope so that they can be somewhat equal to the Prey.

--Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional.

Will he share?

Ending of Winter...& projects

If you can't read the green....it says...SNOW....GOOD BYE...

I have officially declare winter over... now we
start the next season of Idaho... That is Post
Winter. That is where everything starts
melting. Snow falls off the roof, the
roads become slush buckets, and I
am working in the house... so for today
I am playing.......

NAME THAT PROJECT!!!

As I am cleaning out the refrigerator.
I am coming across science projects.
I guess I am still trying out for the
newest penicillin item. Well, actually
that isn't true this time around.

You know the item left in the refrigerator.
that gets push to the back and is
lost forever in the sea of left overs?
The green item that no longer is
recognizable.

This time is is not the green stuff.
But items put in jars, plastic
containers, that were not marked.

Is it bar-b-que sauce, soup, or salsa?
And you are afraid to finger test it.
When I am afraid to finger test it and
the smell is not recognizable, then it
is pitched.

Got to go, I am thru the body of
the refrigerato, and have the doors and
freezer to go. But had to stop for
a cup of coffee, and figured I
would get this done.

Today's students

Thank goodness, I am not in high school.
I barely made it thru when I was there.

But I am surprised at how well, my fellow
students did. And still went on to college and
big time jobs...well most of them did.

Especially compared to the students of
today. We were not able to have hand
calculators. Even if they were invented by that time.
Our teachers were cruel, they wanted us to
remember all that stuff. Even my kids teacher
held out for the longest time. They said "what are
you going to do if the batteries go dead and you need
the answer now??" "Use your head."

My fellow students and I had to remember the
Gettysburg address... we had to know the Preamble
of our Constitution, we had to memories the times
table.. all of it.. And Shakespeare.

We had to READ in books.. the information we
needed for our class. We went to the library to
study from some of those books. We had to
research it ourselves. Not go to a computer and
put in one word and have 2000 sites come up with
the work all done for you.

What happen? Can kids tell time by a clock
and not a digital? Do they say quarter to 5 or
do they say 4 45?

Four score and seven years ago, our fore fathers
brought upon this nation,

How much do you remember?
Geesh, I feel old...
And do you remember the Preamble to the Constitution?
I will have it in the comment section, if you want to try now
and see how much you remember. It is only one sentence.

Walking with Diabetes 2

As we walk with the disease, we learn more
and more. We have been to a nutritionist. So
we have learn the numbers of what to use for a
scale of what to eat and not to eat. You end up
being a CPA of food.

You need to count your carbs. You need to
be aware of calories. You need to know that
you can deduct your fiber from the carbs.
You also have to check the servings. Some
have a low carb, but they are talking about
3 crackers for a serving. Some others are
18 crackers. Or some have a serving of
a quarter of a cup. So check your serving
size.


We went thru all of our cupboard. We put all
the cans and bags on the table. And then went
thru and put back what was possible to be eaten
by a diabetic. So the other stuff was packed in
to 3 groceries bag and given away.

We have found ways to invent better eating.
Are you craving ice cream? Freeze yogurt,
and eat that. Make sure it is light low fat.
There is a box that has Hershey chocolate.
You can have one stick. It is like half of a
pencil...but it is a chocolate bite. Found
salsa can be used in the place of mayonnaise.

All of this and walking on the tread mill, and
mother nature's snow... has gotten the King
to lose 11 pounds in one month. And his numbers
are down on his blood sugar, and cholesterol is
almost perfect. Much to his doctor's surprise.
He is feeling better. Can do more.

So our start of the walk is off with good results.
And I am proud of him.

The lifting of one's soul

This winter seems long. Longer than
most. I would imagine it has a lot to
do with the amount of snow we have
gotten. And all of the shoveling with
the snow blowing.

As each day adds up, and the
morning is grey with snow coming
down rapidly, and then the afternoon
the same. Well, it gets harder to be
cheerful.

Not necessarily cabin fever. But
the day after day of shoveling, and
more snow, it starts to wear.

So on Saturday night, we headed
to the Angels over Sandpoint Follies.
They have put it on for 6 years. This
was my first. The King had told
some of the gals he would help out.

I will tell you when the 3 of us left
the theater, we were still laughing.
The satire of Sandpoint was so
funny, it was hilarious. We felt
light (no, we didn't drink the beer
or wine) from the show. Our
spirits were lifted with laughter.

Yes, laughter is the best medicine.

Noon Whistle

Do you remember the Noon Whistle?
Did they have one in your town.
We had one in my town and still have
it as far as I know. It was set off by
the fire department. It was the same one
that they use to call the volunteer firemen
in to a fire. So many blast told what
part of town for them to head to. And
even after they had a paid crew, the
whistle still went off.

One town I use to live in.. didn't have
the noon whistle...they had something
better. It was the church bells. At noon,
the bells would start ringing for up to 3
minutes. It was a wonderful sound.
Reassuring.

Gosh I miss that...

SUNNY SUNDAY

Misty checking out the yard and the neighbor, as he plows his driveway, from on top of the snow... her path is over 2 feet lower....

Remember that is a 4 foot fence beside her and she is standing on...

Schweitzer Mountain in the back ground

A few pictures during the lull, before the next storm

Here is a little music..(no, you won't hear it) playing during the lull before the storm

Remember this guy? Well, he is sitting on 2 feet of snow and his hat is barely higher than the snow now..

Misty looking at the mountains beyond... she is standing on the snow... and that is a 4 foot fence in front of her

What do you mean I can't eat the yellow snow????

Roof Ornaments

Our neighborhood has new roof ornaments.
Just about every house had one as we drove
around the neighborhood today.

We haven't had any ourselves. We have
had snow berm ornaments..like theirs.
But not on top of our roof.

It doesn't make any difference if it is one
story or two or even three. Some of them
have one... some have two or three. Most
of them young...

See these temporary ornaments are people.
People shoveling snow off of the roofs. Some
of them home owners, some of them for hire.
Some of them do it for free..

I heard the going rate is from $35 to $80 an
hour. And you thought snow looked pretty..