Ah, 2011, it was a very good year.....

As I turned 71, it was a very good year…
While some think of it as the winter of their
lives, I found it to be a second breath of life.

This year of 2011, found a winter that was taking its
time leaving us… and as April came around to add that
extra year… it also brought some extra money.

So the year started, with demolition derby. As we tore
apart walls and took out drawers and cabinets and sink.
Out went the old door, hello French doors.

Then it was time to put it together.. May came and went,
and I finally had a sink again. No more washing dishes
on the back deck or in the shower… In went insulation, and
a new dish washer.. Up went beautiful wood cabinets and out
with the old orange metal ones.

July brought the rest of the kitchen in to form… and a start
Of taking out the old deck and in came the new one, just in
time, with a pergola joining it. Just in time as the family gathered
to send off the youngest into her new marriage life.

August brought in the marriage and lots of laughter with it.
But also took a grandson away, as he headed out to Hawaii.

September brought the first of friend funeral… and then another one
In November. Sadness.

But over all, it was a very good year… that old 2011….

So enjoy throwing out the old, and bringing in the new.
Does anyone walk out the old year and walk in the new, at
Midnight? Like we did as kids, when we were allowed to stay
Up?
Well,…………
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S to you all, talk at you next year….

Politics is a joke... but no one is laughing...

What ever happen to politics? I know Will Rogers use to make fun
of the politicians… and politics as well. That is well known.. but
this year? This has to be a new low even for them.

First off, you have the reality show called Republican Debate.
Thru the run off’s each week…. each one has had their
week, or even two weeks before they crash and burn..
only to come back again the following week..

I don’t know if they are plain stupid, or is the bonus at the end enough to keep them climbing on to the sinking ship called Republican Party.
And the people who are still throwing good money after bad at them, well, they got what they paid for, I guess.

Then you have the government body itself, called Congress. Which has their own reality show. It is called, Boo.. “let’s scare the daylights out of the elderly, and the rest of the citizens.. with our indecisiveness’ of on anything that is brought in for us to vote on…and if we can scare them while telling them we will close down the government. Well, all the better. And of course it has to be done near the end of the month, so those government check might fail to come out. How many elderly ended up at their doctors office, with anxiety attacks, while wondering how they were going to buy groceries and pay their electric bill. SHAME ON CONGRESS…. As they always decide to do the decent thing… at the last minute. Why put the citizens thru all of that.

Sadly they are a joke, but we citizens aren’t laughing.

Failure to follow directions....

Why is it those of who love more power…. Don’t seem to like to pay attention to directions much.. I am just as guilty as others.

For Christmas, the King got me the MORE POWER, BIGGER THAN A LOT,
KITCHEN AID PROFESSIONAL 500 MIXER…. I use capitals not to shout, but
so you understand… this is MORE POWER… I love machinery of MORE POWER, be it appliances or cars… MORE POWER, LOUDER MUFFLERS.
That is just the way I roll…

So here I was…. With my MORE POWER MIXER, in my kitchen. Standing there proudly… well, maybe it was me, standing there proudly. Anyway, I had the booklet in my hand. So I sat down with a cup of coffee and skimmed the booklet. Well, don’t start shaking your head… I skimmed it, which is better than a lot of times, when I figure I know how to operate things… until modern inventions started to get ahead of me… But what could go wrong, after all a mixer is a mixer. Put things in the bowl and hit the switch, and when you feel ok with it, hit the higher speeds… Love my Vita Mix.. MORE POWER…

So I made my two favorite recipes for Christmas time. Christmas Fruitcake cookies (no, they don’t taste like fruit cake, just has the same fruit) and my around the year recipe, of Chocolate Zucchini Bread. As that is what I give for presents.

The cookies went great… the difference between mixing with the old wooden spoon was priceless. They came out great… That left the bread… I put in the eggs, sugar, butter, shredded zucchini,chocolate and spices , then blueberries and nuts… starting out with slow and running at full power, at the end of that section… Only thing left is the flour.
So I put in the first cup, and that is where I got into trouble… as it was POOF… and it wasn’t the magic dragon. I reached to the switch, to turn it down to low.
As soon as I could see it… And there I was, white, the counter…white, and the mixer… white…. I guess they really meant it when they said, when adding flour, use low speed… Dang, got to get that all clean up before the King got home, didn’t want to have to explain that one…

He was not having the best of day, so figured I would give him a laugh.. told him, and his words were…..you got it… did you read the directions? I replied, “
kind of” He shook his head and said..."figures".

MERRY CHRISTMAS....to you ALL...

Once again I am going to rely on the wise words of George A. Gladden Sr.

MY CHRISTMAS CARD LIST
I have a list of folks I know,all written in a book,
And every year when Christmas comes,
I go and take a look.
That is when I realize these names are all a part,
not of the book they're written in,
but of my very heart.
For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime,
And in that meeting they've become the rhythm in each rhyme.
While it may sound fantastic for me to make this claim,
I really feel that I'm composed of each remembered name.
And while you may not be aware of any special link.
Just meeting you has changed my life much more than you think.
For once I've met somebody, the years cannot erase
The memory of a pleasant word or of a friendly face.
So, never think my Christmas cards are just a mere routine
of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between.
For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you,
It's because you're on the list of folks I'm endeared to.
For I am but a total of the many folks I've met,
And you happen to be one of those I prefer not to forget.
Whether I have known you for many years or few,
In some way you have had a part in shaping things I do.
And every year when Christmas comes I realize a new,
The best gift life can offer is meeting folks like you.
So may the spirit of Christmasthat forevermore endures,
Leave its richest blessing in the hearts of you and yours.

My Christmas Card List written by George A. Gladden, Sr

So once again...I wish you all.... my dear readers...A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS........and especially to George A. Gladden Sr. where ever you may be...
Yak at you next week some time...

Reality Shows

I am not much for reality shows.. I, once in a while, check out
The Biggest Loser, usually the last show or two… just to see who is left. Reminds me too much of slavery. The Big Race, is that’s name? I sometimes check that out. Lost interest in Survivor way back… season two? Maybe?

And the Bachelor or Bachelorette to me is just short of a pimp show. Why 25 women would want to humiliate themselves like that, is beyond me. Makes me hang my head to be a woman. We came a long way, baby, for this?

But even lower on the scale, if possible is one that is not listed as a reality show. But has become one… they call it the Republican Debates. But I got to say, it does have its own comedy to it. It has become boring to most of us, I know I have passed the point of tune out and let the minute bits of the news tell us how bad it is.. even then I am not interested.

They seem to think that all of it will end next month at Iowa and New Hampshire, but I have a feeling it will be around for a long time coming. Getting to the point, only the die-hard Republicans are interested. Or those who are looking for stupid mis-remarks.

Nope, I am not much for reality shows, you just can’t fix stupid.

Failure to Commuicate...

I am not talking about the normal every day type of communication. I am talking about what they commonly called the, what we have here, is the failure to communicate..

The times that some people can really get to you and certain words fly. Now Bill Cosby has it right… that those who cuss are people who ran out of intelligent things to say to get their point across.

But there are times… when my feelings get so hurt, I am being treated so disrespectful,(words to explain they teed me off) and the person has pushed my buttons so badly, that intelligence is not quite in play, and I realize, the words do fly. My own children, when they heard the beginning of such words, knew it was time to vacate the area, as they knew they had gone over the limit.
Those words are so bad, that I could not type them here. Oh, I could really, after all this is my blog. But no child be allowed to read my blog again, and my Christian friends would never talk to me again.

But darn it, somehow …. some how the release of those other words does let off the steam that was building up, and “Oh, shucky darn, you should not have said that or did that to me”, just doesn’t cover it…

Sometimes we forget....

I don’t know what it is about the doom and gloom
of winter, but it sure drags me out… I have a hard
time getting up. I want to snuggle down in my covers.
No sun light, cold… well, I should be grateful for no snow.

It isn’t the cold so much as the lack of sun. The mountains
are locked into the fog line, everything is grey. Just makes
me feel blah.

And I have 3 and half more months of this. I have things
I could be doing.. but don’t feel like it. I end up with the
ambition of a dishrag. Not even the holidays are perking
me up. But then again, I am not a Christmas person. Hate
the crowds of shopping. Grouchy people, who are on a mission and rudeness seems to be high on their list.

I just wiped out the other half of my post… Instead of the ho hum.
Let’s turn this around. Yea, it is drab out there in the white and grey of the day. But I have a warm house to be in.. others sadly don’t.
As I figure out what to have on the table this late afternoon for dinner, I realize, I have food to fix. And a choice of what that is.
And while I am far from rich, we do have enough money to cover our bills, get food, and buy gas to go where we go. Others do not.

I felt bad, because I had no shoes…..
Until, I met a man who had no feet……

Have a great day, enjoy what you do have..

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.~Epictetus

Christmas Migration...

In about a week, there will be the beginning of the Christmas migration.
The hard times of Christmas. Taking a lot of trust and flow of tears.
Then to be continuted thru the holiday… ending with hopefully a peaceful
migration back.

This is when the airlines get inundated with children. Children who will need
an airline personal to escort them to the proper place at the proper time.
And hopefully the airline will not foul up, like they have in the past. I think last year they lost two children, got sent to different parts of the country.

This is a hard time on the parents involved… and depending on how they handle it, is how well the kids will handle it. It takes a lot of trust on both sides.

I am talking about the traveling children of divorced parents. It is stressful.
As all divorced parents don’t play fair. Sometimes using their children as pawns.
Pawns for their own ego’s. Hopefully time will mellow these parents and they will figure it out, it isn’t about them, it is about the children.

HOW DARE THEY?

For those who read my blog, you should have gathered by now,
that I am a strong supporter of our troops. The ones we have now,
and the ones before… I think the government is lackadaisical with their support,
for health and moral purpose especially.

The nation as a whole should be ashamed of the way they treated our men and women who fought in the Vietnam war. They are doing better this time around,
But still there is a lot more that the government could do. Especially those who come back with post trama problems. Yes, there are a great deal of troops who are taken care of in the hospitals and rehab. But there are a lot who are not.

You hear about the ones who get caught inbetween the cracks. The ones who lose limbs and get letters from the branch of service that they are in, and charged with breach of contract as they can’t fulfil their obilgations to the group. You go, what? The guy is in the hospital with one leg missing and they say what? Letter to their senators and etc. straighten it out, but to put any service family thru it, is disgusting.

But now we read about the many bodies that were cremated,and then were tossed in the landfill. It seems there were 274 bodies, and more body parts that were cremated and then taken to the landfill to be dumped. This was in Dover, Maryland.

HOW DARE THEY? These men were/are heroes. Many of them were burnt, blown up, (that’s why there are body parts) 1762 some odd body parts.
And when asked about this, and asked who and where? The New Jersey Representative was told it would be too hard to go thru the files. And no, they had not intentions of notifying the families involved. It was only when the Washington Post pushed it that they even came out with a number.

HOW DARE THEY? What shameful actions done by the United States Air Force.
Our men and women deserve the highest respect. And what the heck is this going to do for our men and women who are still fighting? Are they going to wonder if their families will get their remains… or will their body be sent to a landfill. How degrading.. And I surely hope heads will roll… pun intended.
Who ever … who ever is respondible for this behavior should be court-marshaled.

Even if there are body parts that can not be identified, still the throw them
in a landfill is disgusting… there has to be a better way.. even if it was the spreading of the ashes over the cemetery.

Snow on the roof, but racer in the heart...

Down the road from where I live as you head to Sandpoint,
there is a 4 lane part of the highway at Kootenai Cut-a-cross Road
light.

Direct right is for turning right, down Kootenai Cutacross Road going to Wal-mart.
Direct left, for turning into Ponderay. In the middle is 2 lanes. One for going
to Sandpoint, and the other for the life of me, I don’t know why they put it there.
As the road narrows to one lane in about 30 feet. And it never fails that
someone will get in that short lane, in hopes of jumping the gun and
out running the straight road traffic.

Well, the other day, I had it. A youngster, for lack of better wording, I will
refer to him as a whippersnapper. He sits there ready to go, and the light
turns green… I push the petal to the metal and out ran him.

I know, I know… road rage. But sometimes, you just get sick of it. And besides
there is some of the old Cis still in here… So I as I passed him, I waved and smiled… Never underestimate an old broad, and her Mercury. Look on his face, priceless.

There might be snow on the roof, but there is a racer still in her heart.

I mention this story on my facebook.. And the comments that came in.. From my daughter-in-laws… ‘’ So that is where your son gets it.” Each one of them. Even
a grandson got in on it…saying it isn’t just the son’s it is all of (family name) men.
Yea, go Nana… Then some old friend reminded me of the time she was with me when I raced the Washington State Patrol car. But in all honesty, I didn’t race the WSP. I was driving down the highway, with such friend, when I noticed I was
doing 55. And it was a 60 mph road. So I stepped it up to 60. My girlfriend just about had a cow… and yelled out.. “Oh, my God, Cis, you are racing a trooper.”
As I looked over there were two troopers in the car, and the passenger one looked at me, like you got to be kidding… I stayed at 60 and THEY pulled away from me… now who was racing whom? But the look on the trooper was funny, and the reaction of my friend was priceless. And 30 years later, it was suprising she still remembered it.

Also when one of my sons came to visit with his girlfriend, we went to the King’s mom’s house. I had a nice 1972 Ford ¾ ton 4 wheel drive pickup… with straight pipes that I loved. When we were coming down a steep hill, I down shifted and the pipes sounded out… I heard his girlfriend say, “now I understand you”, as she looked at my son.

But in all fairness, I came by this honestly. You see, my father’s favorite trick was to sit at a stop light, when there was a younger guy next to him in a hot car.. and revving up the engine… my father .. in his 60’s …. would rev his motor up too…and they would look at each other, daring the other when the light would change.. EXCEPT… my father… while the light was red, would make his car jump forward, and the other guy would run the red light… and if there was a police car around, well, that was icing on the cake. Dad did make sure there wasn’t any cars coming thru the intersection at the time. But he sure had fun with his trick. So you see.. it runs in the family.

Yes, there is snow on the roof, but a true hotrodder always remains inside.

Day of Infamy

The words of President Roosevelt was 'A Date Which Will Live in Infamy'.
And that it has. Even tho, some think that the World Trade Center over shadows
this day and the memory of those who lived during that time.

As a person who has visited Pearl Harbor, a little over 2 years ago, I can tell you that it is still a place of somber. As our little boat approached the memorial, there was great chatter… but as soon as each one went up the stairs and stepped inside, there was silence. Only whispers. And we were lucky to witness a group of chorus singers who were also visiting, started to sing our country’s song. Not a dry eye in the place. These college age singers, pulled on all of our hearts.

Some times during our daily lives, we forget some of the past. And even on this day, some forget. I am glad there are survivors who still travel to Pearl Harbor, to be honored. To remind some who forget.

THANK YOU, Pearl Harbor Veterans … those who are still among us…and those who have gone before us.. and mostly for those who died that day.. nurses, pilots, and so many others… Our hearts are with you specially today. God Bless

All the names of the men who died on the Arizona

the oil still leaks to this day...70 years later

WHAT THE H...

Things that I read are driving me crazy… and I have to
say what Whoopi Goldberg says… WHAT THE HEY?

First off, Newt Gingrich, isn’t he the one who had the great plan for United States, years ago, and it ended up sinking the Republican Party? Around the days of Clinton. I can’t believe that Party. Here they have all the cards in their hands, so to speak, with Congress, and this is the best they can do for leadership…to run for President?
What a shame.

Next up is reading about United States exporting refined oil. They are on the verge of exporting more than we are importing. WHAT THE HELL?
Excuse me… aren’t we the ones paying high prices for oil, because we are importing from other countries? And now you are telling me, that we are on the verge of selling more than we buy?
How and why is that? I believe the words were, we shipped more auto and jet fuel overseas, than it imported in 6 of the 9 months of this year… And we are doing that, why? Are they telling us that overseas pays more for ours, so we don’t sell local? I am sorry, but that just baffles me. We are paying more for airlines because of the cost of fuel… we are paying more at the pump because of high cost of imported oil. Some one want to explain that to this old broad’s mind, because I can’t wrap my mind around that. Are we stupid?
And we can’t fix stupid.

I am not even go there, with the whack job’s who decided to pepper spray other shoppers. I am sitting here, shaking my head. I knew common sense died 50 years ago.. but still.. people get a grip.

One family member's bore, another's fantastic stories

I am sure you all had a family member who use to tell stories of family history.. and some have told of local history. If this member was your father or even your mother, then they were BORING..and was met by the rolling of the eyes.

My father was not one of those… but his brother, my Uncle Richard was. When my husband and I had moved back East for about 4 years, our first rental was a waterfront property, which rented lower for the winter. But my uncle would come to visit us and thrill us of stories of planes landing across the street from our driveway. Some of them were the usual landings and some were a thrill a minute. We were living on a fairly large island for that area… and my father’s family was born, grew up and lived there as young adults. So there is a lot of family history that wove with the local history.

My grandfather, with two friends, started the first theater on the island. A theater that was being restored and opening up soon (at that time). So it was really neat to hear about the building of it and what shows he remembered being showed there as well as the live acts.

Also my grandfather had the first taxi service from one side of the island to the other side. As the mainland didn’t have a bridge to the island and another from the other side to the other mainland. Now there are two bridges and Jamestown is merely a stepping-stone for the traffic from Newport to Warwick/North Kingston area. But in my grandfather’s time, he had horse and buggies that transferred the people from the ferry on one side to the ferry to the other side. He had a grocery, and then gas station combo in the middle of the town where the main part was. Later on starting a Ford dealership there, and in Newport and Middletown on the mainland.

Uncle Richard also worked for Gorham Silver in Providence until the 1960’s. He was a machinist, I believe. Then went to work for a place that made material .. which was a box of wonder for me when he came to visit and brought me what they called ends. So I had all kinds of material to make shirts and shorts for the kids.

Yes, Uncle Richard was a fountain of history for us nieces and nephews.. but the roll of eyes for his son. And now that his son is over 70, it is kind of neat, as he has been come the story teller, which I never get tired of listening to his recount of things in Providence. As he started his own towing service at the age of 16. I sure hope his grandchildren ask the right questions.. as he can tell them so many things about the area they live in.

So while you might not think much of your parents or your aunt’s and uncles boring stories… maybe you should listen and hear what happen in your town, when they were young. Sure is different from the town you are living in now… and you get your own family that weaves with that town history.

Attention, holiday political correct police...

What do you call the holiday when you talk about it in general?
As I have caught flak and see others catch flak for saying Happy Holidays.

This is a term or saying I have had for years.. before it fell from grace of the times of politicial correct police. I have said, I wish you happy holidays… I have written, Happy Holidays on cards… been doing for … what 20, 30 years? I start about this time of the year.

Why do I do this? Because I don’t feel like I have to list each one to say to enjoy these holidays… Do I really have to stand there, or write/say.. Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year… or can I say Happy Holidays?

I do say Merry Christmas, when it is very near that day… and on that day. I greet people the morning of…with MERRY CHRISTMAS…. But in general… I say Happy Holidays.. I also say it with inclusions of other religions too…

I was raised in the town of the oldest Synagogues in this nation.. The Touro Synagogue, 1600’s (before the USA.) so I was raised around a lot of Jewish kids… they would wish us Merry Christmas and we would wish them Happy Hanukkah. And we didn’t get mad when they had Yon Kipper off and we didn’t.
So chill out people…

So for now…HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! On December 24 I will tell you Merry Christmas….. and December 31st Eve. I will tell you Happy New Years!