humptydump-me-eggs-all

The Right Direction

2012-01-31T08:59:00.000-06:00

Shayne here. My mom was moved from one hospital to another on Friday. The hospital she's in now specializes in getting patients moving in the direction they need to go to go home. My mom will have many steps to go through before going from this new hospital to a physical therapy nursing home, if that makes any sense. I saw her yesterday and it was difficult seeing her in the condition she's in. I hope she has the strength to make a full recovery and I'm hoping she'll be home in time for her birthday in April. Again, thank you all.

Great Improvement

2012-01-24T09:46:00.000-06:00

Shayne here again. My mother's condition has improved quite a bit since my last update. She has started weening off the ventilator for four hours a day and is responding to requests from the nurses and doctors, such as moving her toes and feet and blinking her eyes. She is even smiling and frowning some. She may be moved to a physical therapy hospital some time this week, which is a step she needs to take before going home. She still won't get to go home until probably some time in March, but at least she's still with us. I want to thank everyone for their support, prayers, and well wishes.

An Update

2012-01-18T09:52:00.000-06:00

This is Shayne again. My mother suffered cardiac arrest late Saturday night. The cardiologist found a blockage in one of her veins. An angioplasty was performed and a stent was placed in the blocked vein. A temporary pacemaker was placed in her because her heart wasn't working as it should. The doctors decided they needed to perform a tracheotomy yesterday to help her breath better and to improve her chances of recovery. My mom is in stable condition and slowly improving. I will post further updates as needed. Thank you for all the prayers.

A Message

2012-01-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

This is Shayne, Jolie's son. This is an update for those of you who visit her blog and wonder why she hasn't posted in some time. My mom has either been in the hospital or a nursing home for about a month. She initially went to the hospital for severe stomach pain, as well as a very distended stomach. The doctors drained seven liters of excess liquid from her body. They at first thought something was wrong with her liver, but the tests turned out normal. She had difficulty breathing and she has heart issues.
The doctor determined that my Mom needed heart surgery. They performed an endoscopy and fixed something on the right side of her heart. Her breathing improved for a bit and then she was sent to a nursing home for physical therapy.
My mom was initially scheduled to return home on Christmas Eve, but she developed pneumonia. She ended up in the hospital a few days later as a result of disorientation and retaining water. The doctor found an abscess filled with five liters of poison near her colon. They opened her up, drained the abscess, and she's mostly been in a medically-induced coma ever since. She's on a ventilator, although they are now trying to let her off the ventilator for four hours a day. Once she does this for a week, she can come off the ventilator completely. She's expected to be in the hospital for another four weeks, and then in a nursing home for a month. I will try to post regular updates for folks. Send positive thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

"Hell-o and Goodbye to November"

2011-11-30T09:44:00.006-06:00

Dear Blog,

Busy, busy...busy is all I can say. It's been very cold here but we've only had a dusting of snow. No big storms or such. Today I'll order new slippers...real warm ones and maybe a new sweatshirt or two, also.

We have one of those deceiving nice sunny days today. That big old sun doesn't fool me. I know It's colder then it would be to hang out in a freezer out side. Pretty dammed nippy in here.

Our Thanksgiving celebration was quiet and tasty. It was just the old boy and I with the usual menu. I love the smell of the bird when it’s roasting and I seem to get hungrier by the minute just smelling it cook. I actually like the smell of it roasting and the smell of fresh coffee brewing better then I like eating the bird and drinking the coffee.

So okay, as long as I’m sharing I might just as well tell that I get rather goofy smelling wet dirt and pavement when it’s just rained and I love…I crave the smell of diesel fuel coming from the muffler of a huge semi-truck. One of my Dad’s was a truck driver and often left his truck running for hours in the yard thus, I blame him. Why not, hey? I’ve learned that parents always get the blame.

I would chew ice all day long if I could and not get sick or have a gigantic sinus headache from it. The ice cravings started when I was pregnant with my second baby. I had lots of heartburn and ice seemed to help tame it some. I was 18 years old at that time and here some 40 some years later I am still hooked one ice…still hooked on cigarettes. At least I’m over having that killer salt on every thing.

And then:

I read that huge numbers of women crave ice (all of these oral cravings are called Pica). Anyhow, the reason for the ice cravings is because we (who crave) don’t absorb "Vitamin B". I then read that adding a dose of "Chromium" to make the "B" work and stop craving the ice. I tried it and it did work some but since I haven’t stayed faithful to the "C" I eat ice again. One needs to be very careful with "Chromium"…it can be deadly. At least I don't eat dangerous amounts of dirt like so many Southern women do and then there are those who crave chalk. I could get high smelling wet dirt and I've had to pull dirt out of Libby's mouth since she was just a little girl. I used to crave sulfur when I was a kid. I'd search ashtrays for burnt matches so I could eat the sulfur ends off them. I only ate buggers when I was very young and one of my kids did that also. I won't say which one. Go figure all these weird cravings.

Now that you know about my cravings...even the disgusting ones...I’ll get back to the holiday news. I get distracted so easily.

We ended up with way too many leftovers, of course. I mean a 16-pound bird and all the fixings for just us two. Way crazy! Thank goodness for freezers. Next year I think I’ll buy a package of turkey tenders or maybe a small turkey breast. Used to be that for Christmas we’d serve a turkey and a ham with tons of hors d’oeuvres, sides, desserts and drinks…that was in the day when we had a houseful coming to eat. Those days are gone and I’m glad. I don’t think I could handle it now. Lots of work…lots of people. Too much of anything makes it a chore. I’m glad we had those times and back then nothing seemed like it was too much. Back then the Holidays meant more to the kids which made them more fun and important to me. It was worth all of the work, the shopping, the baking and the cooking just to see their happy faces and the delight they had when they got at least one gift they had asked Santa for and even for a few things that Mama bought and wrapped too.

Kevin had a four-day weekend so he tore our old shower out (walls and all) and put a new one in. I don't want to worry about mildew or mold and two or three tiles had broken off so water could get to the wall behind the shower. I love the new shower. Now I'll get new shower curtains too. I have this need to change things up every so often. Adds a little sparkle to my life.

Kevin wants to have a leg of lamb for the two of us this year. I could go for a prime rib roast (Angus Beef) of course. I am fussy about my beef. Then again lamb sounds good too. It might be nice to go out to have a holiday meal in some swanky restaurant. I might even have a cocktail. I used to like a “White Russian”. I haven’t had one in years. I wonder if I’d still like them. I’ve liked every rum drink I’ve ever had so maybe a rum drink would be nice.

We always spend Christmas Eve at Libby’s house with the kids that show up and of course the little boys (Jordan and his fighting brother Henry). They can get along great for a while and then it’s squabbling time. It’d be nice if Daniel would show up with his two (Hunter and Willow). We’ve never had a Holiday with the three of them.

Anyhow, on Christmas Day we all do our own thing. Some times it’s a stay in PJ’s day.

I haven’t done any Christmas shopping yet. No Black Friday for me. I stay home and make it a pink day. I’ll probably just get a few little things or family share gifts and then give them each some cash so they can go shopping after Christmas when the prices are slashed and pick out what they want. I think it’s better than spending the day returning things that aren’t what you want.

I’ll decorate some but I have cut way back with that too. Kevin asked what I want for Christmas and I just don’t know. I’ll have to think about that. He gets upset if I say I don’t want anything. Maybe we can take a weekend away…go to Duluth or maybe take the Amtrak for a couple of days in Chicago. Winter really isn’t the time to go to either of those places. Maybe we should take one of those cheap weekend flights to Vegas.

So I’m off for now. The dryer buzzer just went off and I need to go do a few errands in town. Maybe I’ll get a piece of salmon fillet from the butcher to steam for dinner. I can cook my fish, rice and vegetables all at the same time in my stacker steamer and feel good that I am eating a healthy meal.

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and will have some fun getting ready for Christmas.

Bye Blog, JjB…
-30-

"Rainy Tuesday and Same old, same old"...

2011-10-25T13:09:00.013-05:00

Dear Blog,

So...in this little village that I live in there is one newspaper and one local shopper paper that is put out each week. We, of course, get them both and occasionally I even get the St. Paul Pioneer Express, (which my son calls a "communist rag") or the Minneapolis Star & Tribune Newspapers. I've been cutting way back on the newspaper reading the last few years. I'm sick of all of the bad news and violence in them and they've stop providing the big weekly TV Guide in the Sunday paper. I rarely listen to news on TV either and yet I am inundated with tons of news anyway. It's like osmosis has struck me again. I swear I have always learned by osmosis way more than any other way. Which is why I am human and "Watson" the "Super Computer" will never know things that I do by nature. I also have a soul and as far as I know no one has programmed a soul into "Watson".

So anyhow...the first thing I always read in our local paper is the Obits. I then move on to the birth announcements (looking at who comes in when someone goes out). I move to the citizen recipe, which is what I call the recipe that is accompanied with a photo and a minute bio of the person who submitted the recipe. I then read the senior citizen menu for the week and sometimes the local cop-shop talk, which is a listing of all of the local criminal events. Some of the reported crimes are things like domestic disputes, a locker room theft at the local gym, someone egging a car, a group of local kids getting caught while illegally smoking. Better known as underage smoking, someone stealing flowers from local gardens, someone fainting, a car crash, jay-walking and etc. There is no end to the crime in this town. Seems one of the schools, cop-shop or local stores have their share of bomb threats each year. I read the occasional letters to the editor, which usually just anger me and I totally skip the 5-6 pages of high-school sports.

NEWS FLASH:
Now they are linking violence with soda pop.

So I noticed that one woman in the Obits was 101 years old when she recently died. Another was 86 years old when she died and four husbands had proceeded her in death...HUMmmm! Mostly these past 13 years that we have lived here I noticed that people seem to live to a ripe old age. There's always a scattering of younger people...even a few babies and kids. Lately I have noticed that there are more and more young people in their 30's, 40', 50's and 60's dying. Another HUMmmm! Kind of shocking when I am 61 and all of these people my age or younger are dying and their survivors are their 80 something parents. Just one more moment in life to take a pause...I suppose.

Problem with me is that I am in my 62nd year and I look it and many days what with my different aches and pains and woes I certainly feel it or maybe even older AND YET...in my mind I am still a 15 year old kid. This is not to say that I never grew up or I am some female version of Peter Pan. It's just that some of me has never recognised growing old. Like for instance, in this weeks paper I read about a woman who had died at home and she was 64 years old. My first thought was that she had lived a long life, (which in my mind made it okay for her to die). AND THEN...I thought what hell do you mean Jolie? That only like 2 1/2 years older then me. DAH! Now that does make one pause. Maybe I am Petra Pan.

On to other things.

My baby (Libby) turned 27 on Sunday. Where does time go? On the one hand it seems that she was just born on the other side of that hand it seems like she has been here forever. She had a whole week kid free as Uncle (Shayne) and I had the boys. We did a swap off. And then Henry was here for the weekend also. I am kidded out for a while and Libby is well rested or should be.

It's 46 degrees here today. Dammed nippy. I just turned the heat up a bit ago so I won't freeze to death when I go to take my shower. I think our warm weather days are gone till spring now.

The people around our country and the world are still protesting the lack of jobs and the unequal distribution of wealth by holding the sit-ins. The politicians are still fighting. Another of the world tyrants is dead. Gaddafi has finally been murdered and Libya can start having hope for a new good way of life. Notice that many of the bad dictators are dead now? Notice how they are all dying in violence...just the way they lived? I guess dead is dead. I wonder who is taking their places?

Kevin and Henry raked leaves all weekend. We love all of these big beautiful oak trees till fall and spring when the raking takes over our life. It is too bad that I can't get out and put a dent in the raking. It was one of the outdoor chores I always loved. The wobbly legs simply won't hold up to it these days. Kevin still likes me to come out and sit on a lawn chair to visit and watch him and Henry. I feel stupid just sitting there but it's better then sitting in the house alone while they get to rake my leaves.

I sometimes wonder if Kevin is trying to kill me. He bought me two bags of mini candy bars...Milky Way and 3 Musketeers. He knows I'll eat them. "Woman dead by candy bar. Husband sued by children. Yep, one of these days it'll be headlines for me."

Why do I get heartburn from Vit. C? And why do antibiotics give me a belly ache? So many questions...so little in the way of answers.

This weeks real treat is french bread and Kashi cereal. I'll have pasta for at least two meals. I do love me some pasta. Surely they are wrong when they say 1/2 cup of cooked pasta is a serving.

I got this next bit of wisdom out of a Chinese cookie last week and it was a good message for me. Thought I would share it with all of you.

"No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living."

I sent a couple of quarts of chili back north with Kevin for the week. He'll probably freeze one quart for later. He said he still has two, three meals in the freezer of the lasagna that I sent with him a couple, three weeks ago. I try to have a few things he can take out, heat and eat. Usually a cake or a pan of brownies too. When I am not there to cook he can pretend I am when he eats. He's gotten used to doing his laundry at the local launder mat, which my cousin owns. That is a good thing since I am not crazy about having all of that iron ore and grease that he gets on his work clothes in my washer.

I am so happy that he has work and at this point it looks like it will last a while. He'll need a new car soon as his old Honda has over 250,000 miles on it and it is older then dirt. He hopes to make it through the winter. Me too. It'll give me time to pay off something to make room for a car payment. I don't want to get into a pay Peter...rob Paul situation.

I am still happy, happy, happy about the new daytime cooking show..."The Chew". The host and chefs make me smile the whole hour. They make simple ingredients work well and come out with wonderful meals. Every day they seem to have a theme. This week, of course, they are focusing on Halloween. Fun ideas. I get hungry just watching them. I am pretty savvy in the kitchen yet I always get a new tip or two from all of them. Just goes to prove that one is never too old to learn something new.

Ozzie Osborne is going to be on "The Talk" today so I might watch that for a bit. I stopped watching that show when I found out they fired Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete...but since I get a kick out of O.O. I will check it out today. The scat I read said that the CBS bosses didn't like that Leah R. is a Scientologist and that Peete talked about autism. He son is Autistic. Doesn't make CBS sound good.

Pasta for dinner and a night of searching the tube. I should have all of my chores done by then.

So I'm off now. It's near warm enough to shower and I need to eat. I hope you are all well and finding at least one reason to smile each day.

I love "Summer Wine" on the PBS Channel. I marvel at how those old people run and get around so well. Especially the women with a few extra pounds and in heels. I think I would like England. I sure love their TV programs.

Did anyone see the Northern Lights in our night sky? Such beauty seems to only come naturally. It's a nature thing and so worth watching for.

Robin I so miss you.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Jordan Is A Movie-Buff"...

2011-10-19T10:46:00.005-05:00

Dear Blog,

I've been so busy and not feeling the healthiest so I haven't written. I've been on antibiotics for a couple of days now so hopefully the crud will be gone soon. My Jordan kid is here with me for a few days this week. His school has an entire week off for teacher conferences and such. So he's here visiting and bugging his old Grammy. I sometimes forget how much and how often growing boys eat and drink. I also forget how loud cartoons on TV are. I remember very quickly when they come. Both Jordan and Henry are grazers which means the eating never truly ends. Both boys were here for a few hours yesterday and not too much fighting...then Henry went off with Uncle for a couple of days and then we trade off. Henry has the week off also. I wonder what those teachers really do that week. I envision them dancing in the halls, eating at their desks, chewing gum and blowing bubbles, smoking cigarettes and listening to rock and roll. Perhaps some of the older teachers take long naps in the teachers lounges. That one would be me. (S)

Looks like a gray nippy day here today. We've been really lucky this fall with lots of warm sunny days. One could almost forget what is ahead for us if we hadn't lived in this icebox state for so many long cold winters. When I was a kid I could barely contain myself waiting for the snow to come and it was ever so much fun to go ice skating and even sliding on the rode in winter boots was a hoot. Now I would love to be sitting in a beach side home on some lovely warm island watching the TV news to see how much snow was being dumped thousands of miles from me.

I should've held out for a rich man. LOL

I love the fact the the average citizen is finally coming out in groups all around the country for peaceful sit-ins. We may finally be heard and taken seriously. I understand that many European countries are following suit only with violence. People will be heard one way or another. I don't advocate violence but I also know that people in this country are likely to come to that point too if the peaceful sit-ins do no good. Maybe they should move their sit-ins to the gated communities and yards of the very rich. We're tired of the rich keeping and hoarding all of the goodies. I guess maybe someone has been reading my blog after all...even though for the past year or so I have tried to keep quiet about my political standing.

I'm waiting to see how all of this unfolds and I would not want to be one of the super rich or even a politician right now. The anger, blame and hate is pointed directly at them.

These Republican debates are making them (the politicians) look mighty bad and stupid. It is not helping their cause. They go after each other like rabid dogs and then expect us to trust them when they don't even trust or honor each other.

I was in near shock when I heard that the state of Florida is calling for drug testing on people who receive state aid. When did we OPENLY become Russia? I cannot believe the people in Florida are putting up with it...well, except for that most of Florida is rich and the rich don't want the poor to have anything...not even the little amount that the welfare people typically get.

As if there isn't enough crap going on here on earth we now must worry about what if falling out of space. I think people must have a death wish otherwise how could so many stupid ideas come to fruit?

I was sad to hear that "Dancing With the Stars" eliminated Carson Kressley last night. I loved the humor and energy that he brought to the program. I want Nancy Grace to win...not only because I love her but I also think she has proved to be a very good dancer and she has managed to make chubby look sexy. I think that the two top contenders are Ricki Lake and J.R. Martinez. Bye Carson...you did yourself proud. This is the first year that I have watched DWTS and I've enjoyed most of it. I wish they would eliminate poor Chaz Bono before he does serious damage to his knees. Been there done that.

Jordan is a walking movie dictionary...every other minute he asks me if I've seen this or that and then he shares them with me. Maybe he'll grow up to a film critic. And a chef and a car mechanic and about a zillion other things. Right now the whole world is full of possibilities for him. What a great age to be.

Time to scoot...J. wants his turn on the computer. I hope you are all well and having some happiness each day. If only little bits and pieces. Some is better then none.

I love the new day-time program on ABC called the CHEW. I try to see it everyday. It brings some joy to my day and I most always learn something new.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"So This Is Who I Am?"...

2011-09-28T15:41:00.006-05:00

Dear Blog,

So Diane was here Tuesday last week and we were having a discussion on aging. She's a year older then me and though she has been putting up a great fight with age in this (getting old) battle she has been sliding into the fray pretty fast. She got a new haircut and dye job since I'd seen her last. I think it gave her about 10 years of grace. Some women believe that if they cling on to their long hair they will appear youthful, which usually makes them look like what they are, which is an older woman trying to hold on to youth. Some women look older when they finally cave into a short hair style but I think most of them look younger, perkier and more alive. Hair gets old looking too. It dulls, grays and always seems full of split ends. Most of us have thinning hair also, which can make it look stringy and dull and demands a new style. She was way over due for a short hair cut. She looks so much perkier, which makes her look younger. I TOLD HER THINK NEW CLOTHES, SHOES AND MAKEUP and some accessories too. Very good advice for me too and the rest of us aging dolls. A new look will almost always perk any of us up. Eventually we must adjust to what we look like now and do the best with what we have now.

I said, "I don't know why my aging bothers me so." "I have always been drawn to people who are old and lined and those who are not very good looking." And yet, when it starts being me with the lines getting deeper and the jowls drooping and hanging arm skin I feel disgust and sadness. I finally figured out that the thing that really bothers me is that with the lines deepening from each side of my mouth down to my chin I am left looking like I am angry. Like I have a permanent frown. The extra wrinkles around my eyes don't make them look happy either. They look old and sad. My lips which have always been thick and left people saying I looked like I had pouty sexy lips have shrunk and I even wonder where my upper lip is. I don't look a thing like the me I remember. I've had the same look from the time I was like 3-years-old until I was 55-or-56. After that (me) has turned into some old woman that looks like my Mom did when she was older.

It's not that I am ugly...I'm just not the me I remember. This seems to bother no one but me. Not even Kevin. My kids, grand kids and friends all seem to recognize this new/old woman as me.

Diane doesn't like the old her either. She's looking for special exercises and creams and maybe even some surgery and of course she wants to lose weight too.

As for me...I am looking for a way to become the woman I now see in the mirror and be okay with her. Why did I ever think life would be fun and easy? It's been a roller-coaster ride with many dips and a few highs with lots of lows peppered in.

Time for me to give it up...to give in. End this battle before I waste anymore of my life away. I am who I am and it ain't all that bad. The grandsons (Jordan and Henry) are always telling me that I am beautiful. They are even happy to act as my fashion and makeup and dress-up crew. My consultants on what a grandma should look like. What a pair.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"First Cold of the season"...or...I feel like crap

2011-09-28T14:38:00.001-05:00

Dear Blog,

So both Kevin and I have told the kids not to send their kids here when they are sick...HARK!! I catch every bad germ they drag in and even though those little germ carriers are up and running with their runny noses while hacking out their little healthy lungs I am put down and out.

Here's me...down and out. Even a bit feverish. It will be a (call-in sick) week for me. I'm thinking of making a small pot of chicken soup to have with my orange juice and hot tea. I was so hoping to put this winter gunk off until it is actually winter. Thanks to Libby and that 45 pound ball of snot...Henry J. I have been gifted with it early again this year. The doc won't let me get the flu shot until this is gone so I at least am able to put the dreaded flu shot off for a couple more weeks. I always end up with a low grade fever and all over icky feeling for a few days after I get it. Nothing bothers the old boy. Butt-holey-o.

On a good note...we have beautiful weather here today and we actually have a sunny ski. About a quarter of the leaves have turned colors and the autumn beauty is taking over. I heard that the colors up north...closer to the Canadian border...are like 75% at peak. This is the time of year for a road trip north with the camera in hand. But then again, how many pictures of colored leaves and trees could one possibly want? Still, it would be a beautiful ride. Maybe take a cooler with a picnic lunch and pee can with. I can't go anywhere without some sort of port-a-potty these days. Especially on days when I bloat up and need to take a diuretic.

The one or two squirrels that neighbor Rick has not hoarded...have gone into hiding and are not building new nests in the tall oaks for winter. I am not very fond of old Rick any longer. Squirrel thief.

I've fallen madly in love with the new TV show that has replaced "All my Children". It's called "The Chew" and is a cooking/healthy/nutrition show. It's been on for only 3 days and I have enjoyed every minute of all three shows. One's never too old to learn a new trick. It's on at noon on ABC here. We have the CST. Check it out you might love it too.

One of the good things about fall...beside the kids going back to school...is the new TV programs. Especially for those of us that are pretty much house and deck bound. I am so thankful that Kevin built me these two great decks last spring. They really opened up the outside world for me. And the computer and TV bring the outside world into my home to keep me company. I do wish the phone would stop ringing all of the time with sale calls.

The crochet hooks and yarn have moved (in their basket) back to their winter spot by my favorite TV chair. Richelle sends me a bundle of crossword puzzles every week or two and of course I have books up the wazoo. How do people ever get bored? I never seem to have enough time to get all I want to do, see or read done.

The last of my tomatoes and dahlias were brought in last week. Four deep wine-colored dahlias in a vase has brightened this whole week up. My scruffy little rose bush is still full of the pretty pink roses that seem so delicate and that I so love. I am always surprised that they are the last to give into the weather of fall. There's lots of yard clean-up to do and of course there will be a couple of raking the fallen leaves weekends.

So it's back to stews, root veggies and squash, roast and such again. Maybe one or two more grill meals on the warm days. And life goes on and the weather will get very cold and the snow will turn everything white and I will bring the quilts back out and these darn kids and grand kids will bring me colds and the rest of the crud that comes with little boys who go to school, do lots of homework, and give out big hugs and snotty wet kisses.

UGH!!! Germs.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"LIFE in the SLOW lane sure seems FAST"...

2011-09-26T11:14:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog,

I've decided to put myself on a routine (well, of sorts). Yes, it is because life on the slow lane seems so fast around here. I mean it's like I'm "technically" retired and yet NOT. No-one puts in 120+ hours per month is retired. I guess I simply like the idea of being retired so I have tried to cling on to it. Too bad. Time to get reality. I do like that I am a contract worker . I agree to a contract upgrade my State Tests and can pretty much call my own hours as long as the hours work for my clients and me. I am able to work my own plan and I have seen some successes in my work. Being able to see success in my line of work is not always the norm. It's not like I am working in a doll factory and can see the doll's arm once I attach it to the doll. That would be too simple for me. Why make life simple for a change, eh?

So anyhow, I need to make a routine that works at home for ME and also allows my work to fit in and not become to worn out. Pace myself...which is something I didn't do much of in the old days when I went beat 90 at all times. Now I am on beat 30 about half of the time and have a few beat 50 days part of the time. I didn't believe I'd slow down this much when I was younger (though I did get plenty of warnings from well-meaning older folks). That is probably a good thing or I may have given in to the laziness that youth often calls for.

I'm taking Mondays off just for me. No visitors, no long phone calls...I may even unplug the phone from midnight Sunday to midnight Monday. No house chores. The only cooking will be quick heat-up meals or sandwiches or a bowl of cereal. I will make a larger pot of tea that will last me the entire day. I like to make lots of tea, cool it then put it in a couple of quart-sized mason jars and pop them into the refrigerator. That way if I want a hot cup I just pour a cup and heat it in the microwave or I fill a glass with ice and pour the tea over the ice. If I have everything handy I'll be able to spend Mondays doing whatever it is that I want to do that week.

Mondays will be a day for reading, or painting, or napping or watching movies or writing in my Blog or working on a story. I might even make it a mini-spa day right at home. Perhaps I'll sit out on my deck, sip tea and read or write poetry all day. Whatever I do it will be mine and for just me.

Sounds like a great plan doesn't it. I also plan to take a couple of hours each day on regular days at home to be mine. The hours of work do put a dent on me but I'll stick at it a bit longer since it is working and we can always use the money what with Kevin being laid off from his work so much these last 2-3 years. The money I make is paltry compared to what he makes when he is working full time but it is steady and (so far) is always there. Of course if our wonderful state government keeps taking money from people programs I may well be out of a job also.

Kevin has gotten a taste of tent living and he isn't real keen on it. Of course if it ever comes to tent living we'll do it in the dry heat of the south and head to the cooler mountain regions in the real heat of the summers. He was very happy to find the small one bedroom apartment he's in now before the temps drop any lower. His last morning in the tent he woke to 24 degree weather. Not really doable for long.

I'll probably write more later. Time now to heat and eat. (S)

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"I Like This"...

2011-09-21T09:16:00.006-05:00

Dear Blog,

Anderson Cooper from CNN News fame now has a new TV talk show so I thought I'd check it out today. I've always enjoyed his appearances (that I've seen) on other programs and also think he is one of the best News people I've seen. He has been put in the time slot at 9 AM on the CBS channel where Ellen Degeneres used to be...Ellen D. is now being aired in Oprah's old slot at 4PM on CBS. Oprah went off to (if you can't afford cable you ain't going to see me land).

It seems that the "Suits"...the big boys who control..."Daytime TV" are trying to spice programming up a bit. The stupid asses will never make up for taking the "Soap Opera's" off the air...unless they would put the shows back on and bring all of the actors back. AND...how many men have you ever heard admit to a mistake? They were too blind to see that the Soaps were popular for near 80 years and perhaps...just perhaps...they should not mess with a good thing. DAH!! Plus, it is much cheaper for them to put on bogus reality shows, which have nothing to do with reality, peppered in with some seriously stupid and sad game shows.

Let's face it TV programming has been rotten ever since the writers strike a few years back. I wish we'd get back to 4 or 5 channels of good programs and get rid of all the cable channels that people are stupid enough to pay for just to watch repeats. The reason that the Cable TV channel companies were allowed to charge for their programming was that their programing would be (Commercial Free TV)...well Cable TV channels blast us with at least 14+ minutes of commercials per every hour. Now...TV channels Cable and local networks alike have bombard us with 1/2 hour to 1hour of paid advertising and info-commercials.

If you check out a printed TV guide you'll find hour upon hour of both of those listings on near all of the channels. What a rip-off. Still, one can't bitch too much because we (the public) allow the owners to get away with the piss-poor service and we allow the government to allow yet another group of big business people lie to the public and cheat us out of money. If anything the government has as much culpability as do the business people...especially since they passed laws that have made it so one dammed near needs to pay for Cable TV just to view the original channels. What can we expect from a government who allowed G. W. Bush to be a pretend President when Al Gore legally won the election.

Gosh, I can hardly talk about anything anymore without going into a rant. Seems even a mini-rant will do. I just about burst with anger over all of the things we...people...have given up for technology and most of us don't even see what we have lost. And of course being so helpless to do anything about it doesn't help at all. That could be a whole other post.

So today I watched Anderson Cooper's new talk show. I'm very, very impressed. I'M LIKING IT. He is so real. His mother, the famous Gloria Vanderbilt, was his guest. She looks like a very young and healthy 70 year old and I think Anderson said she is 87-years-old. She's sure lived an amazing and wonderful life. I love how they are with each other. Anderson has followed in her footsteps and has done many, many unusual and wonderful things. Judy Collins is one of Gloria V's best friends and she was on the program and sang the song "Amazing Grace" Glee style; Capella. What a voice. It was a wonderful treat. They talked a lot about the impact that having a child who commits suicide has on the lives of the families that they leave behind. My heart wept as I listened. I teared up right along with them.

There have been two devastating suicides in my family (one was a murder/suicide) so three people have died in this strange manner in my family and it has affected so many people. I agree with G.V. saying one never completely gets over it. My Dad died still asking why his Dad had killed himself. Of course there was never a answer. Not even a note saying goodbye.

Anderson had his Mother share one of her favorite sayings and I think it is worth sharing with you.

"We were not put on this earth to see through each other...we were put on this earth to see each other through." Gloria Vanderbilt.

And then later I was watching "Keeping Up Appearances" on PBS when Hyacinth said, "Richard, do be careful dear of my special made plastic ware." I love, love, love that program and she always makes me LOL. Thank God for PBS, eh?

I'm off for now. Be happy.

Daniel...my son and Robin my friend...did you two divorce me? I never hear from either of you any more and I Miss you guys. Robin I can't even get into a couple of your blogs anymore and the new one that I can get to, to read, won't allow me to post a comment. I'm not a hot potato...you guys can't just drop me and not even say goodbye. Especially you Dan. Well, then again, I guess you can. You have.

Daisy, please tell me that you are still doing okay.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"No News is good News"....What?

2011-09-15T01:44:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog,

I'm not sure who came up with the (No News Is Good News) statement but I figure it must have been someone who didn't want to hear any bad news. My Mom was famous for saying that one and to be real truthful if I started out telling her my problems or even talking about the problems going on in the world she would shut me down very quickly. It must be nice for those who can do that...just refuse to hear or see anything bad and live in their own little fantasy world. Bury their fears deep in the sand what with the garbage in the world never touching them. I want to be that way...I think it'd make life much less stressful and maybe it'd be easier to recapture some of the fun and magic of youth. And here I spent so much of my youth wanting to be an adult. Go figure.

I think one of the reasons it can be fun to work with or be around little kids is that they are constantly learning something new and it's amazing and magical for them. I'm not really physically up to the demands of small critters (or kids) but mentally and emotionally I sure do love being around them. If I could ever be recycled or have a do-over I think I'd really enjoy being a teacher and that old Art Linkletter show (Kids Say The Darnedest Things) is still remembered fondly by me. He must have loved that job. Kids really can be funny and they don't even know it...of course there are those kids that come through one's life like a tornado has hit and oh my...it is hard to remain sunny around them.

Anyhow...Henry started school on the 31st of August and then immediately had a long weekend off (Labor Day) so in total he has had maybe two weeks of school. He decided last Monday that he is quitting school and staying home with Mama Libby. Now every day when he gets off of the bus he tells her he's done with school and isn't going the next day. Libby thinks he's already realized that this is real school (Kindergarten) and he actually is expected to do school work and cannot just play and have snacks. Therefore he's had enough of school.

What goes around comes around...good luck Libby. She did the exact same thing.

Jordan on the other hand just sort of carries on day to day. He's in fourth grade this year and is not overly fond of school either but he seems to be finding his way. I hope that when he gets older he'll be able to get into a charter school that will allow him to focus on his special abilities. It'd be great if all kids were able to spend their high school years doing that. Europe and Asia are way ahead of us on recognizing the need for that sort of education.

I loved school...well except for the mean kids. If the mean kids were kicked out I think school would be a grand adventure in learning for the rest of the kids. People wonder why there is so much violence in schools these days. There always has been but it's mostly been ignored by adults. Now the kids that have been bullied are bringing guns to school so some attention is finally being given. A few dead kids and teachers will do that. And it's no accident that so many people are home-schooling their kids.

Even in college there is much of the same behavior. I'm glad I was 27-years-old when I went and plenty of other adults were back in school when I was. We didn't get caught up in the kid battles. At least it didn't phase me. I'd be taking a couple of classes right now if I could get around better. I love learning new things.

Well here's me going back to bed. I have lots to do tomorrow (household chores and such) and I should probably get to the clinic for my lab work and that yearly flu shot. Kevin rented a one bedroom small apartment up north where he's working now and just in the nick of time. It's been very cold and we've even had frost already so it's mighty cold sleeping in a tent. Plants are dying in all the yards and leaves are starting to change colors and falling off of the trees. In Minnesota one day it is hot and the central air is on and the next day we have frost and the furnace goes on. So anyhow, I'll probably be up there with him part of the time and at home when I work. We don't know how long this job (of his) will last. Luckily we found a landlord who will rent more or less by the week. I wonder how Fat Cat will take to the move? She is such a bossy pampered puss one never knows how she'll react to something new.

One good thing about being there with him is that I might actually get to see my son and his two kids. They live up there. I also have tons of relatives...Aunts, Uncles, cousins and their families there so I'll get to see them some too. It's a real small rural community and I didn't like it much when I lived up there but I'm older now and am mostly home bound so I guess as long as it's warm and I get a TV hooked up and have access to a library and books I will be fine. I loved it when we were in Bismarck, ND but that is a good sized city. Much smaller then what I am used to but much larger then where we'll be at now. I'm always at home where the old boy is at. Still it would be nice to be on some warm beach come cold winter days.

The man who drove up here from St. Paul early this morning to deliver me a wheelchair looked about froze half to death. The new wheelchair is lovely (ahem!!) I just hope I don't need too use it very often. I remember my Grandma W. had wobbly legs and bad knees and was prone to falling. We used to think it was mostly because she was half snookered up all of the time but then my Dad's legs did the same thing and now mine. They were in their sixties and now me. At least I haven't (knock on wood) had to have my veins stripped or had to have stints put in my leg veins like they did. My doctor thought that it's time I through my vanity out the window and get the chair. Lucky Kevin gets to push me around.

I heard Stevie Nicks of the old (Fleetwood/Mac group) sing three songs on one of the daytime talk shows earlier this week and I tell you I was in my twenties again for a few minutes. Really brought me back. Her voice isn't quite as strong as it was back then but she can still put it out there. I think I'll by her new CD.

Okay...I really am going back to bed. Hope you all are well and in good spirits.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"5 AM and here I am"...

2011-09-02T06:08:00.003-05:00

Dear Blog,

What a restless night. For the life of me I couldn't get comfortable all night. Damn...I really was hoping that I'd sleep well and wake with lots of energy. Ha-ha...I haven't woke up with energy for years. I tried sleeping on our bed and spent most of the time rolling around and fighting with the pillow. Then my calf cramped up with a charlie horse that I thought would near kill me. Finally I got up and tried to sleep on the recliner, which sometimes is the best place to sleep. Not so last night and the love seat is never any good. Not even for a nap. I bet now I'll nod off whilst sitting on my computer chair trying to write. Go figure. Just call me Princess...as in "Princess and the Pea". Sleep mostly alludes me. I've determined that those who say sleep is over-rated do not have any problems getting a good night's sleep.

And:

Kevin has no business saying that I am high maintenance.

I'd love to have someone drop about $10,000. at my door and tell me to go out and buy new furniture. A good comfortable bed would be on the top of my list. Although the cheap appliances they offer these days don't stand up for long so I know I could easily get a new range-hood microwave, dishwasher and soon a new washer/dryer set also. I get sick of spending money on appliances every third or fourth year. I feel like I buy the same things over and over again. I am sick of the crappy appliances they sell these days. Nothing is built to last anymore? People used to own and use their appliances for 25-30 years and then complain if they had to buy new. We have become a cheap throw-away world and big business has become filthy rich at our expense. And I do think filthy is the right word to use.

So anyhow...here I am...eating a small cuke and salty cheese and falling to sleep as I type. Cucumbers are sure tasty when they are fresh picked. Problem is I'll spend the day burping cukes. Only two slices of the salty cheese is left so that will be the last of it for us non-salt users. If it's in the refrigerator I'll eat it...thus, it's best not to buy it at all. Gawd...I miss salt. Especially on things like cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, watermelon and sliced apples.

See...now I am nodding off. Maybe I was simply hungry. I don't want to sleep for long. I have a fairly extensive list of chores that I want to get out of the way early so I can drive to the next town over and buy some beef rib-eye steak. They have a terrific sale on them this week...I suppose for the holiday. The store in our town only sells Herford beef and I only buy Angus beef so I generally watch the grocery ads for that town too. Otherwise each store is pretty equal in their pricing so I mainly shop in town and go to the other store when I want to buy beef. Seems every couple of months we need to go to one of the bigger stores to stock up on household things.

Maybe I'll stop at the "Ember's" over there and have me a piece of their good cinnamon coffee cake. They have good coffee and they heat the coffee cake up and bring some butter with it. I tell you...I think I have died and gone back to the old days when coffee cake and coffee with the girls was a weekly thing. It was a good way to catch up on the local happenings too.

For now...I seem to be in need of some more of the shut-the-old eyes. Later then.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Good Bye August"

2011-08-31T21:13:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

Henry started kindergarten today...next year...he tells me that he will be a big kid because he can go to first grade like the other big kids. Jordan doesn't start back until next week...he's a real big kid now. Kids always want to be just a bit bigger...a bit older. I know I always did and every school year helps kids mark their growth. So exciting to be a kid with all the new things to look forward to.

Mothers in Minnesota are doing cart-wheels after they watch their kids get on the old yellow school bus. Summer is over and life is good again...or at least semi-normal. The moms that are lucky enough to work at home can linger over a cup of coffee and have a few quiet minutes to their self.

Goodbye August 2011 and welcome to September 2011 and to fall and to cooler weather and to funny faced pumpkins. And good luck to all of the kids that are heading back to school.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Addendum to July 27th post"....

2011-08-26T11:34:00.113-05:00

Dear Blog,

I am happy...nay...I am overjoyed to attach this addendum to a post I wrote on July 27, 2011. In that post I was expressing my worries and concerns regarding Minnesota's old governor Tim Pawlenty running a campaign for President. I also expressed concern about Michele Bachmann (another Minnesota Republican) who is running for President. Why do these dammed Republicans have to be such all-out whackers? These (what I call the blood Republicans) are true tossers. The blood republican comes to mind as I associate them (the hard-core Republicans) with the street gangs across the country who tack the word blood onto their gang names. The blood groups generally do the most damage on the streets as do the Republicans. Hoods...the lot of them. to me the Republicans are just one more gang stealing the rights of ordinary people.

Anyhow:

That weasel, Pawlenty...after losing in the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll in early August...turned tail and fled from his campaign. I think someone should buy him a t-shirt that says "If I Can't WIN I Ain't Gonna Play" on the front and on the back it can read "I'm a Effing loser and they really, really don't like me". Hell, I should be a slogan writer. The t-shirt can be his consolation prize. I think every one would agree that coming in three out of three makes him the loser. We could send him on an ambassadorship to Tripoli. . Will these "Good Old Boys" never learn that (what goes around comes around)? He can wear his new t-shirt in some far away corner while he sits to eat the big, fat, juicy, purple worms that he has earned. I hear that's what all losers (tossers) wear while they feast on their worms.

Perhaps a moment of clarity will now come to him and he can feel some of what all of the people in Minnesota felt when they lost everything to him and his dictator like rulings that altered so many of their lives. I'd like to see him tie old cardboard or rags around his feet for shoes and be forced to move his family to a very cold alley or under a bridge and eat from trash cans. I hate to wish bad onto people but I feel what he gave he should get in return.

Now people need to wise up to Michele Bachmann. A snake comes in many packages. Even pretty, well-spoken lady-like ones. Hell...they may be the most dangerous of all venomous snakes. People don't see the rot...the black greedy heart until it is too late. Well....I say wake up now folks before you are bit and swallowed hole. Try to see her without her make-up on. Look in her back door.

Michele Bachmann is touted out in front of us as this wonderful woman, wife and mother who is a dedicated born-again fundamentalist Christian. Is that akin to being a Jihad? A devout Muslim? She could dine with the likes of the (now dead) murdering leaders of the middle-east and fit right in? Didn't those fundamentalist leaders use their religious beliefs to blow up towers in America not to mention to kill millions of their own countrymen and women? Hell fundamental Christians in this country don't even give fellow Christians a break. We all know that there are "THOSE" kind of Muslims and then the rest of the Muslim world is condemned and not trusted by the actions of their radical counterparts. M.B is a radical running for President of the United States of America. With her in office we can have our own home-grown terrorist.

To me fundamentalists...no matter their place in the world are a dangerous lot. They mix religion with violence and use both to reign over others. A terrorist Jihad is no worse then a terrorist Christian. Many have died at the hands of those who combine religion with violence. The terrorist use the name of God to spew their vile over the world and gain control. I do not trust fundamentalists of any source.

I hope that the Masses soon wake up and see a snake for what it is. People need to see racist Republicans for what they are. Ask yourself why they (republicans and these ignorant tea party groups) have been against President Obama since day one. Do you get that the (powerful rich) don't want a leader who is working for the betterment of all people. They want to keep the power, keep the wealth and rule the rest of the world with an iron fist. They are not interested in sharing the goodies with the rest of us...the masses. Hell...most of those in power don't even consider the rest of the world as part of their race. Most walk past the poor, the maimed, the hungry and the ugly without even seeing them...much less having any concern over their lot. Maybe they are the aliens that many believe are living amongst us.

M.B. is likely not a terrorist nor a demon but she also is not someone we need for a leader. She has made a career of taking care of the rich by taking away from the poor. Lets not give her anymore power. The majority of the people who are Republicans and in any kind of position of power have proven that they are traitors to our President and our country. They remind me of the racist old south that wanted to own slaves and they certainly do not like the idea of a man of black descent being the most powerful leader of the world. If they manage to topple Mr. Obama they will send this country back two hundred years. This country is in these dire times because of the liberties that have been taken by Reagan and trickled down. The Bush men and their rich friends are living high on what amounts to the blood and sweat of the working class and the poor. I believe that there is a special place waiting for them.

So I say keep a dammed good watch on M.B. and sing a song of joy that one of the devils own was sent packing. Bye, Bye Timmy.

Vote for President Obama again and let him have a proper chance and the time it'll take to get us out of this mess that the Republican leaders of the past and present have put us in. Unfortunately what the Republicans have put us in has also affected the whole world economy in a very negative way. It has become a world wide mess.

Time for the masses to demand our rights and time to equal out the classes. Time for the masses to have food. Someone like M.B. would just say "Let them eat cake".
Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Where's the beef?"...

2011-08-24T12:31:00.006-05:00

Dear Blog,

There had to be twelve or thirteen or hell maybe even more cows slowly traipsing across the bridge. Well the bridge was more of a long, long viaduct that crossed over smaller roads that led in and out of town. The bridge was part of a very fast moving highway. Speeds of 70 or 75 miles per hour are the norm. The highway bypasses the small town…my small town. Seems like the cows wanted to bypass the town too.

So...I say to myself, “What in the hell are cows doing on a highway?” Me thinking that they and their owner must have a death wish. I can imagine what it would do to a car driving 75mph if it collided into a herd of cows? Slow moving cows on a high speed highway...I mean Gawd, what planet am I living on? Did I somehow move back to Montana (where cattle have free range) and forget that I was in the old west again?

Naturally the cattle spooked. It was probably just one chicken-shit cow getting the rest of them going…nonetheless the whole dammed bunch were soon in a slow-motion all-out fast gallop. If you’ve ever watched a fat cow gallop you will know what I mean. The gaucho sent the two cow dogs to herd and slow the goofy girl cows down. Likely, me thinks, he is afraid one of the obese cows might keel over dead from the exertion.

Wahoo…a beef bar-b-q. My mind moves fast to food. I imagine that if I were a vegan I'd be thinking...ooh tofu...when I saw a field of soy beans. The soy beans at least won't be walking on a highway. And then again maybe I would be a fruit fairy if I chanced upon an apple tree. I could become applesauce or maybe apple butter...so sweet...but no beef bar-b-q if that would be the case.

Soon the dogs have the cows herded down the exit ramp off of the highway and onto the main road that leads into the town. MY town. And the next thing I see is Henry in the middle of “Walmart” standing naked in front of the shoe aisle. His boy parts are dangling ever which way because he is running around trying to get to every pair of shoes he sees that he likes. I am mortified.

“Henry! I shout, get your clothes back on right this minute.” “But Grandma says he, I’m trying new shoes on for school.” Where, did this boy get the idea that one needs to be naked to try on shoes? Quickly I get him back into his clothes and soon we are out the door with two pair of shoes that fit surprisingly well even with his clothes still being on his body.

He now has one pair of new shoes for playing in the gym and one pair for wearing to school. It’s very expensive to dress a boy these days. Still the uniforms are bought and paid for and he looks very good in them. As for Libby...she is ever so grateful for her renter's rebate check.

I soon wake up and realize that I was having a fitful dream. So…does this mean the cows were not on the highway? There will be no beef bar-b-q? The boy maybe wasn’t naked in the shoe aisle? Libby and he were not driving me insane?

What would Carl Jung say? Hummm…maybe I need to go buy myself a steak for dinner. Maybe my body needs the protein from some old-fashioned red meat lest I start clucking soon. I may also need to discuss modesty issues with Henry who does drop his clothes off with nary a thought to where he is or who is around when he does it. Maybe I should sit in the car and send just him and Libby in to the stores. Maybe I am too old to be mortified. And it is hard always being the one who has to sleep in the chair.

Some times I wake being more tired then when I went to sleep.

Today I will paint. The easel is set up in my new back deck. I feel a need to be creative. Still, I think I will go to the store and buy me a beef steak first. If anyone needs energy it is certainly me. (S)

Are the tight squeezes and hugs from sticky fingered little boys who give out sloppy wet kisses enough to make up for the sapping of my energy?

I say to myself what will be will be and I know that love and loyalty is often a fleeting thing...thus, I will take an extra nap and I will dream silly dreams while I cherish each moment that Grandma comes first.

Henry is 5 years-old and my Jordan is 9-years-old. Jordan needs his friends way more than he needs a Grandma. Henry still needs his Grammy to hold his hand while he thinks about running naked through a store. Jordan didn't even need to hear "Happy Birthday" from me yesterday when he turned (9). He spent his Birthday with his icky friends. So it won't be long until Henry follows his brother into that next stage of childhood. I must find a way to be okay with being a by-stander watching their lives from the side lines.

Life will move on...with or without me. I'd like to be in for the ride even if I do need to move to the backseat. I do think I need that beef steak today. I am a tired Gram who is trying hard not to feel tooooooooo sorry for myself.

Bye Blog, JjB…

-30-

"Nature...such a beautiful thing"...unhuh!

2011-08-19T10:52:00.011-05:00

Dear Blog,

Picture this...I'm sitting at my desk and I look out the window that is right before me and faces our side yard. I love that I have a window right in front of me. I get lots of natural light and I watch the weather change, the leaves fluttering around in the wind and the squirrels running in their special play from tree to tree. (Of course since neighbor Rick has stolen most of the squirrels away what with the 100 pounds of feed he puts out every month...I don't see many at play anymore. Rick and Georgia do.) I can also get a peek at some of the neighbors what with their comings and goings. It's all rather boring most days...but it is mine. Today I look out and there on my window screen a teeny, tiny green frog is clinging on for dear life.

Oh yuck!! And it moves and it climbs and it brings my mind to all sorts of exotic weird places. Nature.

Who knew...that the rain forest could be found outside of my side window? The frogs of our world (maybe it's a tadpole) is one of God's critters that are often described as being so gawd-awful ugly that they actually become kinda cute. My ~~grand-monsters~~ grandsons would love to get their hands on any frog that they could nab. Not me though. I wouldn't care if the frog would turn into a prince...I still would not want to touch the slimy looking thing. It is a very pretty green but it's bulging eyes makes it a likely candidate for being tagged "alien". Very soon my mind is traveling to Mars. A green visitor from a red planet coming to spy into my window to gain important information to bring back to cure it's species of Lyme disease. At this Kevin would tell me that I have too much time on my hands and too much nonsense in my brain. He would think the frog would be good fishing bait. I wonder what the family back in Mars would think?

Will I forever need to explain...to this man who rarely stands still...that I am a writer? Do I need to explain that my mind and fingers are rarely sitting still? My mind thinks and my fingers must then type. Let me tell you that it is so true that opposites attract. Sometimes that works in one's favor and other times it can be a real challenge. Mostly it is a whole lot of compromising. We (the old boy and I) do get along much better when he is working out of town. The "happily ever after" thing would not last for long if he were here all of the time. I am rather fearful of the day when he retires. One of us may have to move. We can set up weekend visitations and maybe dinner one night each week. The ideal marriage. The ideal union. If one were to ask me.

Anyhow, he will be home tonight and I plan to make a nice chicken dinner with smashed potatoes and a salt-less gravy. No lettuce salad.

And here is why:

The other day I made myself a large leafy green salad from my very own salad garden. We planted several varieties of lettuce this year and I have been marveling at having a fresh picked salad a couple of times each week from my own yard. I always add some of the tiny red cherry tomatoes that grow in huge patio pots right outside my front door and I chop some thin slices of red onion. I also chop a few chives and basil from my herb garden right in the mix and walla I have a delicious home-grown salad. We are both so proud of every thing we grow. Our larger tomatoes (Beef-steak, Pretty girl and such) are coming to fruit out back in our larger garden.

So...Kevin picks me a colander full of variety lettuce last Sunday before he left. He brings the lettuce and other fixings in for me to eat while he is gone. He washes the lettuce and tells me it's all set for me. That man is nothing if not dutiful. The next day I (again) wash the lettuce and the tomatoes and give the rest of the fixings a good rinse. I peel a small cucumber that Richelle had given me that she bought from the "Farmer's Market" by her house. I drizzle a little Italian dressing over the salad and set about buttering a nice Italian bun. I fill my glass to the brim with ice and add tea to it. I'm happy as a lark and feeling ever so good about eating a healthy light supper. I take my first bite marveling at the different tastes that each kind of lettuce brings to the salad. I go with the fork ready to spear out a second mouthful and I see a small green worm (I think they call them inch worms) crawling up the edge of my next lettuce morsel. NATURE.

OMGosh...I near scream. I near puke. I quickly take my delicious homegrown salad with it's homegrown worm and dump it in the trash. After which I couldn't even bring myself to eat my Italian bun. I later went to bed hungry and about half sick just with the wondering if I had eaten a worm in the first bite. I may never eat lettuce again. I may never plant lettuce again. The hell with this farmer eat healthy thing...know what is in our food. Yeah, well I know what was in my salad now don't I? I know tiny frogs and green worms and all manner of other slimy critters are invading our yard and my garden and even my dammed dinner plate. My stomach and my mind cannot take it. Thus, with our meal tonight there will be a cherry tomato, peeled and sliced cucumber with red onion salad served on the side of some sauteed zucchini and green beans. I'll be on the look out for any alien things.

Let the critters stay outside to nibble on the dreaded lettuce. There's lots of varieties for them to enjoy and it certainly is not coming into this house again.

And it's not as if Kevin and I hadn't both washed the stuff. Where could that dammed worm have been hiding? That's what I want to know. So beware my family and friends of what you eat. And I don't want to hear any B.S. about added protein and such. Heck I hardly ever watch those two guys on the Travel Channel Network (Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern) who travel all around the world eating weird things for their TV programs. You know...like frogs and worms and bugs and organ meats and such. (S)

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Changes...Elton John"....

2011-08-17T22:08:00.002-05:00

Dear Blog,

We’ve had such an unusual summer. It’s soon over and school will be starting up again and it’s as if the summer we usually have hasn’t arrived yet. Everything was backwards. It became very hot, very early and tons of rain and many, many very nice days. Some days it was even cool. Also Kevin didn’t work most of the summer and that’s generally the time where his kind of work is constant with lots of over-time hours.

He finally went back to work on Monday last and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the job will last for a while. He’s only had about 11 weeks of work this year and we are eight and a half months into the year. I wonder if it'll even pay to file taxes this year?

I am here as witness that the economy is still affecting people in a big way. It's still affecting many of us in a bad way and still...all that the suits do...is continue with their pissing matches in Washington D.C. Seems they have forgotten that what goes around comes around. The riots in England should be giving American rulers some pause.

He (my old boy) is working about 3 hours north of here so he will only be home on the weekends. He’s staying in our tent…you know…the tent that I bought for when we end up living in a tent city with all of the other people without jobs or a home. It’s a 3-room tent and he likes it. He even slept through a huge rainstorm. He has a Coleman lantern for light and a Coleman stove for cooking and the campground has showers.

As for me I am getting used to being here alone again. I rather like the peace and quiet but it is different. I’m just glad he’s found work. Seems being born to end up being in this baby boom age isn't such a good thing...after all. Finding out at retirement age that Social Security is just a giant Ponzi scam the government used on us to get SS money out of us all of these years is very disheartening.

Did you know that at the time that the (then) leaders in government came up with the idea of social security they knew that the statistics said that the average life expectancy was 64-years of age? ...So they set up a plan that would give us retirement funds and medicare at the age of 65 believing that most of us would never live to see 65 so they would never have to give our money back. And people wonder why we don't trust government.

Well…I’m off to bed. I’ll try to write more news later in the week.

Robin and you too Daisy…I promise to write soon. Oh course I am waiting to hear from both of you too.

Bye Blog, JjB…
-30-

"Thinking"...sorry

2011-08-05T13:58:00.003-05:00

It's just me sitting here on the corner of J & K...waiting.

I hear that ape's are just one genetic degree from being human...hum...that says a lot.

Sometimes the ocean smells like rotten fish and sometimes (in the winter) when it's crispy cold outside the ocean smells like summer.

The smell of pine in the woods makes me feel at home and yet if there is a pine tree in the house for Christmas my allergies kick in. I'm here to say that not everything should be in our homes. At least not in homes where people are allergic to Strong smells.

Central air causes at least two horrible things. One: High electric bills and Two: summer colds, allergies and sinus headaches. I confess that was four horrible things.

Central air also keeps one cool and allows one to sleep when the humidity is trying to suck the life out of our bodies. Good and bad. Yin and yang. White hat...black hat. Summer, winter.

A wonderful afternoon is one where I can take a nice nap.

A nice day is one where no one is sick...like me.

I dream of alone time with just me and a good book and salt-free snacks.

JjB...

2011-08-04T14:53:00.003-05:00

"With neither Grace nor Gravy"...Diana Trent -aka- Stephanie Cole.

"Remembering Buff"...

2011-07-27T19:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

Yesterday I went to visit Buff's old blog. It has been months since I was to his site. I wasn't even sure it would still be up...but I felt this pull so I went to the left hand side of my blog and I clicked onto his name and soon I was there. I had been thinking about him these last couple of weeks. Seems every time I go to a BBQ or I try a new recipe I think of him.

I think Buff was calling me to his site. It was one year to the day since he had died. He died on July 26, 2010. It seems silly even to me that I am still so sad about a man dying who I never met face-to-face. He was a blog friend...and yet I do still feel sad and I do miss him checking in on me and sharing bits of wisdom and tons of great recipes.

So if Buff is looking down on his friends he will see that many of us still miss him and are glad that he was in our small universe if just for that short while. RIP...Buff.
Jolie

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Can you believe it?"...

2011-07-27T16:20:00.009-05:00

Dear Blog,

Can you believe that in 5 days it will be August already? It's true that the older we get the faster time flies. Maybe it's because we move slower then when we were healthy young things. Well...some of us do. I really shouldn't clump us all in one group. I've certainly known some slow, lazy young people along with a bunch of older peppy go-getter's who should be sitting in rocking chairs.

SO: Either way one views it...

Time is flying by very quickly for me. This summer's weather has been so wacky crazy. It rained a lot again last night. First we were gifted with a huge storm sent to us from Sterns County. Sterns County is west of here. Lots of thunder and lightening and a hard downpour that blew in with a fast wind. Finally it eased into an all-nighter of steady rain. Here it is past noon and the grass is still too wet to mow. It's like one day it is miserable hot and humid and the air-conditioner is on...the next day or two it is almost chilly enough to turn the furnace on. Notice I said almost. I have wore socks most of the summer, which is very unusual for me.

Did I mention that Kevin went back to work finally. He worked one 29.5 hour week and is now laid-off again. Slim pickings for work. Mid of summer and there is no work. There's like 900 guys on the bench. "On the bench" is Ironwork speak for laid-off from and looking for work. Anyhow...that 900 is only for the guys in the twin cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) local. (Union) It would hard to even give a guesstimate as to how many other Ironworker's around the state are out of work. More then a tad scary.

And now:

The government wants to cut back on Social Security benefits. People on social security benefits have not receive any sort of raise and now they are being told they will have some of what they already get taken away. Many of the people whom are eligible for retirement dare not retire. Between the crooked Unions and the crooked insurance companies and the government cutting SS payments people already are struggling to pay the high costs of living. As an old Indian once told me "we are sitting in the middle of a heap of shit". She was sober. Now many, many more of us find ourselves in a heap of shit in these here modern days. When we add in the extra high charges we pay to keep medical coverage going all possibilities of retirement come to a halt. Thus, we are finding ourselves between shit and a hard spot with no shovel to dig our way out. Many cannot afford to retire and cannot find work either. I swear I'm going to put up a tent on the State Capital lawn and drag as many other out of work families and their tents with me. We will become as one with our shameful lawmakers. We'll have a BBQ for them of cheap weenies and day old bread.

I just had a flash memory of a time when I was a kid and me and my older brother were pretending (at least we thought we were pretending to be in the old west)...in reality we were. There is no place that is more (old west) then Montana. Anyhow, we took a cast iron skillet (which probably weighed more then I did) with us. We also took some lard and soda crackers. We built a fire from some dried chunks of cow dung an used those stick farmer's matches to light the fire. Then we fried our crackers for a delightful cowboy camp lunch. Maybe we should share a meal like that with the lawmakers. I had a very colorful childhood. Hell...I've had a very colorful life. My cooking has improved since then. (S) I'd probably use bacon grease now and open a can of Bushes baked beans to go with the fired crackers.

Did I mention that my Richelle girl gave me a Kindle? It was a combo gift for my Birthday and Mother's Day and it is wonderful. Small little thing that holds millions of hours worth of good stories. Of course every time I see her I need to have her show me more things to do with it. I love the fact that she keeps adding books to my Kindle. She is also my crossword puzzle and coupon supplier. I get all of her old magazines and books also. She makes me feel like a lucky special Mom. Thank you Richelle. Oh...and she is a good spell checker too. She doesn't get into my writing so she rarely reads my blog. Too bad she will not know I publicly am thanking her. Darned brat...does she know how much of her crap I have read in the past 38 years? She even buys me some of the special foods that I like when she knows I am coming or when she is coming to see me.

Her and Dan bought their new car. It's another (blue) car but this is a prettier (blue) then her last one was. It's a mid-sized Ford and they got a very good deal. She loves it. The woman who fell to sleep and crashed head on into Richelle's car (totaled it) didn't have car insurance. Sounds as if she will lose her driver's license, pay a fine and possibly do some jail time. Hard to feel sorry for her when this state has made it a law (years ago) that to drive you must have insurance. And even if she couldn't afford it, which I know a lot of people cannot then she should have taken the bus.

My cousin (Tooter) who is like 6 months younger than me is already a great-grandpa. It's hard for me to believe since I keep thinking of him as that cousin who played with my younger brother. Do you think we can start calling him Jack now? It'll be like his dad when he died and the obit was about a guy name Francis O. no-one knew who he was because he had been called (Bud) all of his life. Let's not forget that (Tooter) has a brother called (Dooley). Some of my relatives are even goofier then the rest of us and we are all an acorn short of becoming a tree.

I want the politicians to donate 95% of their campaign monies to building jobs and feeding the poor. Who the hell wants to see them on TV and in the News bashing each other and acting like a bunch of jackasses anyhow? We're talking boo co money here folks. Well over 100 million in some cases. Think of the Americans that the politicians could really help. And why are the money makers so against paying a higher tax rate at the expense of the poor and/or working class people losing jobs and programs to help them and yet they can ~~bribe~~ donate to the coffers of the politicians they want to buy?

Tonight It'll be grilled fried potatoes and grilled chicken with a fresh green salad. Some days it is too hot to cook much less to eat so we have been doing lots of sandwiches and salads and veggies. I might make a small pot of chicken vegetable soup with the left over rotisserie chicken from yesterday. Seems it's mostly chicken and fish for meat meals around here. I remember when my Grandma O. boiled her chicken and ate it plain with no seasonings. Even as a kid I knew that was wrong. UCK!! I could see no salt since she did suffer from hypertension but she could have added lots of other seasonings and herbs. Neither she or my Mother were very imaginative cooks. The other side of the family put out lots of wonderful cooks. Eventually I imagine all of us come to eating mainly chicken and fish. Still, if all I did was sprinkle some balsamic vinegar over it...I'd do something to make it not so bland.

The potatoes are ran through the mandolin so they are even in thickness. The heavy-duty foil is sprayed with Pam olive oil spray. Dump the potatoes on the foil with thin slices of onions and a few cloves of garlic. I add a pinch of fresh ground pepper and a little dill weed, a few snipped pieces of chives and whatever else I decide to grab from the seasoning cupboard. Finally I put a few pats of promise margarine on top and wrap the foil tightly to seal it. Put on a hot grill and turn every few minutes so it cooks evenly on both sides. We so love these potatoes and hardly miss the salt and the real butter that we used in the days before heart disease. I highly recommend that people switch to these options before heart disease comes along. Hell...if they do they may never get heart disease at all.

I've been working my bum off with lots of extra paper work for one of my clients. I've also been writing and calling the State Representatives trying to get them to vote right to help the people. The dammed republicans won. The rich won. Many, many programs for education, the poor, the disabled and of course for women and children were tossed or cut. Minnesota is no longer a good place for ordinary people to live. It's a great place for the rich and republicans to live.

I work as a private contractor for disabled people. The state has two definitions of disabled peoples. One is for the physically disabled and one is for the emotionally disabled. I work with the emotional component and with family. As a private contractor I am umbrellaed under a agency (the middle man...if you will) between me and State and Federal funds. Thus, the State does not have to pay any benefits to me or my co-workers. We get a smaller wage the we would get if the State were our direct employer. We do not get any paid holidays, sick days or vacations. We do not get any over-time wages. My days generally consist of 3 (15 hour days and one 5 hour day) no 7 hours over over-time wages for me. The state law makers (on the republican side) have been trying to take these jobs away and leave the disabled to fend for themselves for at least the past two years. Probably much longer then that since when Pawlently was the governor he tried to take every program to help the poor or working class people that he could. And yet he gave a wide berth to the large company owners and money men.

That IDIOT (Tim Pawlenty) is likely the most hated Minnesota Governor ever. Even his own party (Republicans) tried to disassociate themselves from him the last couple of years that he was our Governor. By the by...the ass is now running for President. He and (Michelle Bachman) are both campaigning to be President and they are both horrible choices. I beg you to talk to Minnesotans and look at Pawlenty and Bachman's records if you are even considering voting for either of them. I will literally leave the country if either one of them were to win. I can't believe that people have not even given Mr. Obama a chance to reverse all of the problems that are the legacy he received from Bush and other republicans that had control over the last several years.

Anyhow...what the republicans managed to push through in the last law session is a bogus re-definition of what disabled means...thus cutting many people off their programs completely. They also cut wages by1.5% for the PCA workers who serve the disabled (not giving a decent wage package or any benefits already) wasn't enough for them. Plus, they will take another 20% of wages away from any family member who is a PCA for a disabled family member. I will personally lose $300.00 per month. In essence the State of Minnesota is taking that money from me and all of my co-workers too. Many of my co-workers work for several different clients in order to make enough money to pay their bills and they have no medical coverage. God help them if they fall ill or have an accident.

Soon the "powers that be" will decide to line all of us nobody's up on a wall and take a machine gun to us. Either that or hide all of the people they deem worthy in deep underground bunkers then start a pandemic that will quickly kill the rest of us off. Who the hell will their little worker bees be then? I imagine that they will allow those 25% or so who survive the pandemic to work for them.

We are also waiting for the extra $1.00 or $2.00 charge that is going to be put on a pack of cigarettes. The extra charges -aka- fees on gas. The loss of school programs. At least they didn't cut 40% of the metro bus service and raise the costs to ride the remaining buses. By next year we can count on that getting pushed through. That would be a loss of 40% more workers. The metro cuts would affect the bus drivers...no more jobs and it would be devastating to all of the lower income people who count on buses to get to work and the grocery store and such. Even if these people could still get to a bus the added bus fees that the state wants to tack on to ride it would be more then most people can pay. Many struggle already to buy a bus pass so that they can get to work and keep their jobs. What the hell are the politicains trying to do?

I could go on and on but what good would it do. I have no control. The idea that calling and writing to the congress and the senators does any good...is a myth. It's like believing that the guy on the front of a paperback Harlequin Romance is real and will save me on the high seas and then make mad passionate love to me while peeling me some grapes. That's a myth too. (S)

I'm off now to get those potatoes ready.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Getting Through Summer"...

2011-07-21T16:05:00.012-05:00

Dear Blog,

I have been in a brain fog of mental exhaustion and therefore I have not been in any sort of mood to write. Is this writer’s block? I can’t tell you how many times I have written only to delete it all or to put it into the “save draft” file. Believe me…no one would have wanted to read it. I hope that this fog and semi-depression will pass soon. I hate feeling this way.

The best thing that happened to me today was when Kevin took the vacuum hose and sucked up the nasty flies that got into the house. We never have flies. I can’t figure out where these came from. I so hate flies that try as I might I could not find even a smidgen of sorrow at their passing. As a matter of fact I see two who must have hidden when he had the vacuum out (sooooo) when the old boy gets up from his afternoon soiree…his idea of a party is a nap...I will have him get the vacuum back out for another slaughter. Oh gawd, now I see three of the damn things. You don’t suppose they are climbing out of the vacuum, do you? Anything seems possible around here these days.

I should have a reality show. Trouble is no one would believe it. Have any of you seen the new "Roseanne" reality show yet? I wonder if she goes by Barr or Arnold? Maybe she has a new name altogether. She is still a goofy and outspoken character and I still love her. Too early for me to say if I'll like her show or not. I don't like much of anything on TV anymore. The days of good writers seems to have passed. Plus, the half-hour of commercials for every hour of programming really turns me off and then I turn the TV off.

I so relate with the character Diana Trent on the BBC program called “Waiting on God”. I love when she tells people to bugger-off. The other day she was having a tender serious moment with her niece. She told her niece that she (Diana) was ashamed of growing old…of being old. I so know how she feels. It’s like this weakness of body that comes with age has changed who I am…or who I have always thought I was. I mourn the loss of the young Jolie and I am ashamed of this aging woman who needs more aid with each passing year.

Yes, I have been depressed. I think the two trips to the hospital this past spring really sent me for a loop. Well, the good thing is that I am a red head again…well I’m a number 3 black with a couple of squirts of red mixed in. I at least look a bit more like the old me…or should I say the young, healthy, pretty me. I want a do over. It’s no wonder so many people cling to the idea of reincarnation…I’m sure they want a do over too.

So anyhow, I gained nearly 30 pounds after I was sick and the doctor made a huge change in my medications. Soon I found myself sitting in my doctors office...belly bloated like I am 15 months pregnant with my feet and legs swollen to look like clubs...in a wild fit of tears. I don’t cry very often…haven’t for years…and I especially would not chose to cry in front of him (the doctor). I don’t even like him. It’s hard enough to cry in front of someone that I like and trust. So anyhow, he put me on a diuretic and I have been trying extra hard to eat nothing that has salt added to it. Unfortunately that really limits one’s diet. Dammed near everything that is on a store shelf is loaded with salt. Means a diet of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and salads. I’ve cut back to 2 liters of liquid fluids per day and chew lots of sugar-free gum. I am also more house-bound since I dare not get more then 10 feet away from my bathroom. There's nothing so humiliating as a grown woman peeing in her pants.

“Life is a bitch and then you die” comes to my mind. My one Dad’s favorite saying was “Shit Happens”. My Mom thought that life was one long series of “Feast or Famine”. There is some truth to all of it…still, I try to look to better times and my mantra has become “This Too Will Pass”.

I have now spied 5 flies. I’m moving out.

So what other news is there around here? Well, we have been having extremely hot and humid weather. The index has made the temps feel like 113 or 114 degrees. The actual temps have been in the high 90’s or low 100’s. Two days ago we had a huge thunderstorm with high winds that tore out, split and broke many trees in our neighborhood. The electricity was out for over 10 hours, which of course made for no air-conditioning and a mighty uncomfortable day. It’s still hot and humid outside but the electric is back and ergo it's cool in the house. Life is better today.

The storms have wrecked most of my flowering plants and even my chives were flattened out. They love the heat and humidity but the winds have been their killers this year. We’ve had odd and very harsh weather since early spring.

My daughter (the middle one) Richelle was in a head-on collision a week or so ago. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. She was driving to work and was on a back street, which meant the speed was low (35-40 MPR). Her car is totaled and the air bags went off so she has several bruises from it and from the seat belts and the doctor had to pick some of the windshield glass from her arm. But…she is alive and very lucky. The woman who hit her fell asleep at the wheel. Richelle will be in a new blue car soon...meanwhile a rental car is doing the trick for her.

I recently signed a new one-year contract with my job and passed another State test. I got a 98 (thank you) and I should have had a 100 because the two questions that I got wrong were things I knew. When taking a test on the computer one doesn’t get the chance to go back and change an answer. At least not on the test I took. The minute I clicked “continue” it flipped to a new page and told me if I had gotten the answer right or if I answered wrong. I now work 130+ hours per month. If I worked 30 more hours I’d be full time. Kind of different for someone who is retired, eh?

I suppose I should go and decide what kind of pasta dish I will make for dinner. I have a fresh eggplant to cook too. Breakfast was a half slice of watermelon and lunch was a green salad with a couple of ounces of cold chicken added to it with vinegar/oil for the dressing. I must get that 30 pounds off…so far it’s only been 5 pounds.

My brother Denny (the one who died a year and a half ago) would have turned 60 this past Monday. Would have. My daughter Holly who shared the birth date with him turned 41 that day. I remember when she was born and he was 19-years-old. He happened to be home on leave (that was the Viet Nam days) when she was born. It seemed so special at the time that she was born on his Birthday and he was home when it happened. Funny what one remembers…isn’t it? I am so glad that I have the memories.

I will catch up with you guys soon. I promise. I think I am coming out of my funk a bit more each day.

Bye Blog, JjB…
-30-

"Kaleidoscope"...

2011-07-11T05:20:00.002-05:00

Dear Blog,

Kaleidoscope.

I have decided that kaleidoscope is a great word to describe life. One sees something different every time we look. A little shake up and everything changes and often the whole collides with the small bit one is looking at or…in the case of life …the small corner one is living in.

Kaleidoscopes can be lovely and entertaining and very colorful. Still, if one looks too long the colors become a monsterous jumbled mess. The colors mesh and come at one too fast…they change too fast and one can get caught up in the mess of hues and become lost amongst the hugeness of it all. Soon enough the eyes become weakened and must pull away and be given a rest. Sometimes it’s simply wonderful to see just one color at a time. It’s wonderful to free oneself from the strength of too many colors.

Today I will see pink roses and leave the fields of wildflowers with their brilliance of colors for other eyes to see. The pink roses will be more than enough. More than enough for me.

Bye Blog, JjB…

-30-

"Neighbor Margaret"

2011-06-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

Today Margaret's tarp is up from the grass and tossed over a bench. I still don't know what that was all about. The grass looks like it's survived the 2-3 days of torture. That Margaret is a different sort of duck.

Looks like more rain for today. I tell you the garden and yard loves the wet stuff. For me (after a couple of months) of what seems like non-stop rain...not so much love for it.

Today we are going to the cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) to do some shopping and get that Henry kid. I tell you there is no end to kids. It must be spaghetti or sloppy Joe time again. Maybe potato salad and corn cob too. Always rice krispie bars when Henry is here. They are one of the few things (without eggs) that we can make for him. I hope he outgrows the egg allergy some day. I can't even begin to tell you how many things he can't have because of it. Poor kid. No honey either. Lately something outside has been giving him hives.

I feel like I could nap all day. That's how it is for me on gray rainy days. Maybe I should celebrate the rain like I did when I was young. I could go out to splash, jump and play in it. The rain didn't hold me back in those days...especially in the summer when it was hot. The more the better. I still do love me a good sun shower. It's the weeks of gray sky that drags me down. I wonder how much vitamin D one can take without od-ing?

Don't worry...I'll keep my eye on what Margaret is doing. Silly old gal.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"ALIVE and WELL"...and always so busy.

2011-06-16T12:55:00.022-05:00

Dear Blog,

The neighbor lady has a huge tarp laid out on a big chunk of her lawn. I wonder if she knows she's killing the grass under it? Snoop that I am keeps me guessing at the purpose. Maybe she's planning on making a brick patio over the top of it and wants the grass to be dead. I don't know her well but I figure when a person is in their late seventies or early eighties it's probably safe to assume that she must know that she is killing the grass. A small patio would look good there and she could keep a close eye on us. She keeps telling Kevin that she likes our brick patio.

This has been a busy month. Why does everyone and their sister graduate, have family reunions or get married in June? "Tuesdays in the Park"...live outdoor music concerts...have already started. We've had the first of the summer parades and "Crazy Days" sales. The local merchants put there old stuff out on tables in their store fronts in the guise of super sales. They sell what they can. Last weekend it was the (all-town) garage sales.

There are always little things going on in the spring and summer around here. The town chamber puts on a pork chop dinner with everyone in town invited. When we first moved here it was $1.00 for a pork chop, beans, coleslaw, potato chips and a pop. Now I think it's like $5.00. They over cook the meat so I don't go but they get a real good turn out. I'm not sure what the money is used for.

Even some of the local politicians host big hog roasts and such at their farms. Working hard for votes while saying thanks to those who have already supported them. Of course they work the crowd for donations for their coffers for the next campaign.

There are bake and craft sales at the local churches. Ice cream and pie socials. High tea parties and the library has reading contests for kids and for adults. There are the Friday night drag car races and occasional horse shows. Actions seem to go on around the area weekly. Sometimes cars are parked one after another for a mile on the roadside if it's a huge estate type sale. Everyone seems to have starter plants for sale.

The splash park and huge playground is a big joy and a fun time for the kids. I always hear, "Grandma, I want to go to Mark Park." There's a great pavilion and clean bathrooms and lots of picnic tables and areas for gatherings. A great place to spend the lunch hour and idle away the afternoon while the kids play and get cool and wet.

High-school kids put on car washes. The local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops take turns selling brats and pop at stands they set up in the local stores parking lots. Many fishing contests are held on local lakes. Though there are actually more fishing contests in the icy winter months on the frozen lakes. It is Minnesota...after all.

Bike trails open up and are plagued with bikers, roller-bladers, joggers and walkers. Maybe plagued is the wrong word here. Flushed would be more like it. The kids on the track teams can be seen running all around town. Even old gals (me among others) are seen out futzing around their/my yard. Lots of bobble heads walking around the Sales Barns or Farmers Markets.

My Henry's favorite places to shop...the "Farmer's Market's" have opened up all over the place. The Library is full of kids and a few big people too. The Parks are full of kids at play. It is also full of people walking their dogs and local teams playing softball. People are out playing tennis and golf and even horseshoe tosses challenge some. Baby animals of every variety are strutting around behind their moms on the local farms. They are looking all soft, cuddly and cute. Human babies are being pushed around by moms, dads and even grand-moms in their strollers. Some of the human babies are soft, cuddly and cute too. (S) Not very furry though. Sometimes I look at the cute human babies and I'll wonder what they will be doing 20 years from now.

Local churches hold some Sunday services outside and have many potluck dinners. The Catholic church even hosts a polka mass outside. At least one church offers up a community garden with small plots where people gather together and grow their favorite foods and flowers. All of the churches have some sort of bible camp for the kids. The biggest town event comes in August what with the county fair and carnival. So much living trying to be done in 3-4 short months. Yet..even with all of the extra activities the summer months are somehow a time of feeling laid back and sometimes even lazy. I want to go to the Zoo...at least once this summer and maybe to the State Fair in late August. It is huge. I was surprised when I heard that people from all over the world come here to Minnesota to go to the "Mall of America". Go figure.

The trees are in full bloom. My rose bush (which is the size of a small round tree) has pretty pink roses. We must enjoy them quick since they don't Bloom very long. Beautiful when they do. We have other roses that need pruning. We have planted several banana peals just under the surface of the soil around the roses, which is helping them to grow great guns. Remember these were the roses that were near dead and cost me like .50 cents or a $1.00 about 6 years ago. I didn't really think they would make it the first year. They are wonderful and ever so healthy. There are many big dead branches on trees that need to be lobbed off. They look gawd awful the way they are now.

It's been almost non-stop rain since April. One day (a week or so ago) it was 103 degrees and humid beyond being breathable and the next day it was in the high 40's and the furnace had to be turned back on. Go figure. Good ol' Minnesota weather. Generally the temps have been hoovering around 70.

My side of the family is having two reunions this summer. One over the 4-day 4th of July weekend and one in August and I'm sure there will be a bigger (aunts, uncles and cousins) gathering later this summer with his side also. I don't even know half of them. Heck...I don't even know half of mine anymore. Too many to remember these days. We multiply like rabbits.

Both Jordan and Henry have been here a lot already this summer. Driving me and the "old grouch" batty. Now I know why old people head out to Texas or Florida every year. They need a break...a respite from family and kids. I could use about a week at a spa and a month in a cabin with no phone or visitors. After which, I could spend a couple of months staying at a swanky resort where I am waited on hand and foot by a good looking cabana boy who peels grapes, makes a mean Pina`Colada and feeds me fresh tropical fruit, Delicious salads and seafood each day. I'd only request a good steak a couple of times per week. Give me a good old fashioned grilled (med.rare) Angus beef rib-eye steak served topped with sauteed mushroom, scallions and shrimp. A Jus poured over all. Add a big batch of sweet potato fries and a batch of Grandma Ellen's homemade sauerkraut slaw. Such the daydreamer am I.

And now I have succeeded in making myself hungry.

So anyhow, I am off to eat a p-nut butter sandwich for brunch then take a nap and finally maybe go shopping for a few things. Maybe I should send Kevin out to snoop at what Margaret is doing with that tarp killing off her grass. He made a wonderful rhubarb coffee cake with some of our rhubarb cut fresh just this morning. Very tasty with a good cup of coffee creamed twice. He also many a gazillion chocolate chip cookies. He's trying to kill me with food.

Did I mention that the lettuce, tomatoes and cabbage and many of the herbs we planted are growing rapidly? I even planted arugula this season. Love me a salad garden.

Uncle (Shayne) is coming to pick Jordan up in a bit. The poor kid gets bored with us old folks after a few days. His friend Thomas (the neighborhood terrorist) hasn't been around this week. It's been a blessing and a curse at the same time. No one for Jordan to get into trouble with yet no one to play with either. Jordan and Kevin did spend one day at the lake fishing. They caught 26 pan fish that they kept and about a zillion that they threw back. Tomorrow Henry comes back again. Uffda Mae!! I'm running away from home. A one woman escape. teeheehee....

We had a bit of a scandal this spring. A couple of versions are going around. One is that the man who was the caretaker manager of this mobile home park for the past 10 years or so had a huge fight with the owner (whom is his father-i-law) and quit. He was a great improvement over the owners. The other side of the story is that the owner fired him because he didn't think he was doing a good job and maybe some missing money. Who knows which story (if either of them) is true? Some people hated Joe so they are glad he is gone. We got on well with him and are sort of waiting for the other foot to drop. We've also heard that the park is now for sale. Hard to know what will happen if it sells. Seems most of the mobile home parks (in this state) are gobbled up by the city, county, state or some big contractor only to be torn down. A few months later there sits a "Walmart" or a strip mall or apartment buildings...one on top of the other. Progress....or is that merely profit? Now we are in a hold, wait and see situation. Always something.

I hope all of you who (peek in here sometimes) are doing okay and having a good summer. Keep cool and hydrated.

Daisy stay away from the wild fires and good luck on your move Robin.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Happy Memorial Day"...

2011-05-30T11:38:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

It's raining on our parade.

My Dad was an Army man. He fought in both WWII and the Korean War . He was very proud of his service years. The WWII and Korean Vets were/are a different breed then the Viet Nam Vets. The military people today are altogether a different breed. The people today are not like the WWII, Korean or Viet Nam Vets. Different times, different battles and different thinking and tactics. My other Dad was in France as part of a ski patrol during WWII.

I don't think either Dad (or for that matter) most of their contemporaries put a whole lot of thought into joining up. In their day that's simply what the young boys and men did. They, of course, came home much different men. Some women were in the military back then also but the roles women took on (in the military) were much different then the roles of today's military women.

Many of my relatives are buried in military cemeteries across the country...including both Dads, a brother and a nephew. Many small white grave stones are representing the fighting dead.

This is a day for remembrance. It is a day to honor those who left the safety of their homes to fight for our Nation and also for the one's who died while doing so. I urge you to take a minute to say thanks and to honor their sacrifices.

It doesn't matter if we agree with the wars we have been involved in. It does matter that we honor those who felt duty bound to go off to war to protect the way we, as (Americans) want to live.

When my parents were still alive Memorial Weekend was celebrated with trips to put new flowers on and to clean the grave sites. It was a time to talk about the dead and remember little fun stories about their lives. For me I usually remember goofy things my Dad did...like dancing around in his skivvies telling himself what a fine looking old gray fox he was. Or whistling some goofy tune. The memories of the other Dad are generally of his laugh and he could whistle and sound just like a bird. I remember him yodeling and he was a fine dancer. Memories of my Mom have more to do with her smell and the feel of her soft skin and silky hair.

We always seemed to have lots of family around on Memorial Weekend and we'd have picnics and trips to the lake or we'd have the grill going and everyone would bring something for a pot luck. It was always our first summer celebration. I suppose some people still do all of that but most of the people I know seem to go their own separate ways...plus most all of the stores, car dealerships and such have huge sales. One is more apt to find people at a sale then at the cemetery.

I refuse to go to the huge military cemetery's on this weekend. Those cemetery's are huge and one needs a map to find their way around the mazes of white stones. Even with a map it can take an hour and lots of walking before one finds the grave. So many people are out and about (they themselves searching for graves) that it has become a real hassle...traffic jam and there is nowhere left to park. It doesn't pay to put big expensive bunches of flowers or plants out since the groundskeepers take them away the next day. I've been picking lilacs or daisies to bring. The parents loved both. I go on other days...when I actually go. I wonder if my brother Denny's widow (Irena and their little son Dylan) will find his grave in the maze.

I wonder how many people think to remember and tend to the dead these days? I wonder if any of my kids will tend to Kevin and me when we are the one's no longer here?

Anyhow...for real it is raining and it is damp and cold. No trips today. No celebration...still a good day for memories. I hope it's not raining on your parade.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Shitty Weekend Weather Turns Ugly"...

2011-05-23T09:23:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog,

It was another one of those typical rotten weather weekends. Minnesota is infamous for shitty weather...especially so when people have a weekend off from work and have great plans.

Unfortunately most vacations, cabin and/or motel rentals are mostly booked up to a year in advance. Generally the money is paid, which means you go ahead with the plans and try to make the best of a bad situation. If it's going to rain and storm it'll do it on the parade, camp site, rodeo, softball game, picnic, day at the zoo, at the lake, wedding or family reunion or doing work outside. It's like a given. It's like an unsolicited gift from mother nature that we can't return.

This time it turned ugly and dangerous. It wasn't just a nuisance. Many tornado touchdowns in Minneapolis not far from where some of my kids live. The usual carnage was left behind for clean-up. Downed trees, houses and power lines. Damaged homes, roofs and cars. People looking like they just left a deadly battle field. Startled eyes, mouths gaping, tears and hand wringing become conjoined with the destruction and carnage in the aftermath of a 30 second wind.

Now that is friggin' power.

The photos on TV are blazing proof that mere seconds in time can destroy century old trees and homes. Mere seconds can totally change one's life. Giant trees are pulled right out of the ground...roots and all. Many trees now rest on the tops of homes and cars and in the streets. The winds and trees have torn down power lines and fires can be seen up and down the streets. People soon become frantic, while looking for loved ones and family pets.

And then: A TV News announcer proclaims that this (as tornado's and storms go) was not a real bad one.

No fatalities...no loss of life. Thank God. At least not in North Minneapolis. Missouri, on the other hand, did not fair so well. Last count on loss of life from last night's tornado in Missouri was at 89. Makes the loss that we had here seem like nothing. Those poor people and their families must be beyond devastated. Life can be snatched away so quickly...so unexpectedly.

Summer doesn't look as good as it did back when it was just another shitty rainy weather weekend on its way. And hey...it didn't look good then. The long term forecast for our summer months in Minnesota (according to the weather experts) is for mostly rain and lots of storms. Yippee! I can hardly wait. Rainy weather makes for a poor work situation too.

Libby just called to tell me no school today for Henry...the streets are still shut down. I already know...I got the call from Henry's school at 11 PM last night.

Hell...the terrorist groups can leave us alone. They can save bundles of money and time by simply waiting for the weather to do us in. There isn't anywhere to go to get away from "Mother Nature" and her wrath. Are you sure it's not "Father Nature"? Seems more like a male trait, doesn't it? People balk at such an idea. Then again...Adam blamed Eve and Moses wandered the desert for forty years rather then taking a look at the map his wife offered and it was a man who came up with the name hurricane. What, he didn't know how to spell (her)?

As for today. Still no sunshine. Still gray and rainy and I still hope that this is the worst of it.

Life is so very unpredictable. We make plans and God laughs. I think that's how the old saying goes.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"And this too...is life"...

2011-05-19T11:27:00.022-05:00

Dear Blog,

"Memories"
Jolie-jordan (JjB)

Old woman dead from cancer.

Husband of 55 years (82 years old) cleans her up and puts a fresh nightgown on her before he calls the Doctor and the Pastor of the church to come.

Doctor has the clinic cancel his appointments for the rest of the afternoon.

Receptionist tells patients that the Doc was called away on an emergency.

The Doc has known the woman for most of his life. Death always saddens him. It is hard to be a doctor in the small town where one grew up. It's hard to know everyone who dies.

This one was extra special. This one had been a close neighbor. His mother and her had been great friends. They had learned how to line-dance together in the same class. They had belonged to the senior swim aerobic class for years. Plus, she taught for 35 years at the local school and she was a volunteer Sunday school teacher. She had been his 5th grade teacher. She had helped him with verbs.

Doc treated her for the last fifteen years since old Dr. Johnson had retired. Now he would attend to her death and attend to her husband, John. John had been the Boy Scout leader when Doc was a boy. "Damn! he thought, I could have been a truck driver or a mailman."

She finally seems to be at peace as she lays dead with her eyes closed and her hands folded together over her mid-section. Her body is no longer wracked in pain and she no longer needs to struggle to put on a good face.

She lived to reach 80 years of age and was only 3 days into her 81st year of life. She lived longer then she thought she would. Mostly it had been a good life. A happy life.

They ate lemon custard cake on her birthday. He helped her blow out her candles. Thankfully he'd been kind and hadn't put eighty candles on the cake. There were just the eight. "Times ten.", he teased. It was the same thing she said and did two years ago when he reached the eighty year mark. They were a good team and they both knew she would die soon. Yet they smiled and they pretended she would live forever and always be by his side.

They did not have children. It was only the two of them. There were favorite nieces whom were called. They would come to say goodbye one last time and to offer him comfort and to get comfort from him. It's so hard to let go of someone we love.

She will be mourned and missed. She was already missed. She spent most of the last 13 months at home or in a hospital bed. Mostly she only lived for him. A few neighbors, friends, her brother and nieces stopped by to visit with her but, often she felt too sick to see them for more then a minute or two. It was good for John to have their support. She suspected a couple of the neighbor widows were eyeing John. No one likes to be left alone.

A young mother from the church called her on the telephone a couple of times each week and said prayers and talked recipes, kids, education and gardens with her. She was a bubbly, cheerful sort and always helped her escape the cancer for a while. The Pastor sent over tapes of the Sunday services for her and John to listen to. It almost felt like being there. Especially so when someone would sing off-key. She thought she could tell who it was and it made her and John giggle. The Pastor often stopped by to visit and pray and to offer communion. People were very nice to her and she rejoiced in their kindness. Still, she knew the cancer was carrying her closer to death with each passing day. She tried to ready herself for God. She worried that she was betraying God by wanting so badly to live.

She didn't want to die in the hospital or in a hospice with strangers caring for her. She convinced John to let her die with only him in attendance and in their home. He willingly agreed. He wanted every minute she had left for the two of them. He wanted to care for her needs. He couldn't bear for her to die alone.

His eyes were red when first the Doctor and then the Pastor arrived.

They in turn shook his hand and patted his back and spoke kind words in soft voices. The Doctor spent a few minutes alone with her so that he could sign her death certificate. John told him what time it was when she died. John quickly kissed her on the lips and then on her forehead as she slipped away. He didn't want her to die in fear. He wanted his kiss to be the last thing she felt. Not pain. Not fear. Not regret. He had just finished reading her the last line of one of her favorite poems.

After she passed John sat with her in the quiet listening to his own breathing while he gently put his big hand over her beautiful sky blue eyes. His own blue eyes were brimming with tears as he took his last gaze into hers. He closed her eyes with a finger touch. She could no longer do it for herself.

He told the Doctor and the Pastor that he sat on the bed holding her in his arms for a spell. Then he put on her favorite CD. It was one that he had dubbed for her with a variety of her favorite songs, music and poems. He and her two nieces had each read a few poems. Finally he filled a basin with warm water. He squirted some of her favorite almond/peppermint soap in and with a fluffy cloth he gave her a bath. It would be her final bath. He did, after all, promise her that she would not be left soiled for others to see.

John dressed her in her new soft blue nightgown and matching panties that had been part of her Birthday gift from him and put the soft dark blue slippers from Barbra gently on her feet. Julie, her other niece, had bought her a dark blue turban with tiny pink flowers embroider on it, to go with the other gifts. She most always wore a turban after the cancer treatments had robbed her of her curly white hair. She looked fresh and lovely for her final day. She had on her very best color. She would be pleased.

The vase of red carnations still sat on the dresser with the box of dates next to it. Her murder mystery was open to page 231 and it laid by the lamp on the night table next to her side of the bed. She won't get to read to the end. Still, John thought that she might be okay with that since she generally had the mystery solved by page 20. He would need to remember to bring the book back to the library. John wondered if he should finish reading it for her first.

How can life go on without her?

He carried her to the guest bedroom and laid her on that bed while he freshened up their room. He put clean floral linens and a fresh coverlet on their bed before her returned her to it. He dabbed some of her lightly lemon scented perfume on her wrists and behind her earlobes like he had seen her do a million times over the years.

Finally:

When he was sure that he had done everything the way she would have wanted he lay by her side and held her in his arms. He knew that this too would be for the last time. He thinks he napped upon the softness of her breast as he had so many other times. When he woke it all became real again and he knew she was really gone. It was then that he cried like a heartbroken child cries. The sobs were gut wrenching and he thought that they would never stop. Finally the hick-ups got the best of him and he had to bring himself under control.

The last, the last, the last...kept running through his mind and though the tears and sobs subsided his heart continued to weep and he knew it always would.

It was then that he made the phone calls for the Doctor and the Pastor to come. It was then that he had called the nieces. It was then that he had called the crematory. And now everything moved so fast.

Soon enough…

The Pastor, the doctor and John stood over her while the Pastor prayed for God to take care of her soul and to open the doors of Heaven wide so she could find her way home. Next the Pastor prayed for comfort to be granted to John and all of the others she left behind. At the end they stood together and said the Lord's Prayer out loud. John read Psalms 23 and John 3:16. This gave him some reassurance and comfort and he knew they were the words she would have wanted him to read over her dead body. She had always trusted in the lord.

The three men, who all felt like scared little boys, went to the kitchen…her kitchen. They sat together at the table where she had eaten her last breakfast. The Pastor made a pot of coffee and found the sugar and cream while John prattled on about everything and yet nothing at all. He told them that she had eaten only half a slice of her cinnamon/sugar toast and a few bites of the Irish oatmeal that she loved. She refused the offer of apple juice but she did sip a bit of tea. He explained how black tea was her favorite and she drank it straight with no lemon, sugar or cream. "Dammed awful stuff", he said in distaste.

When the coffee was poured John found his manners and filled a plate with cookies and small bars that niece Barbra had brought over just last night. Food and coffee always brings on calm.

The men ate and drank while John told them of the funeral plans she and he had discussed. He told them that the Crematory people were on their way to pick her up right now. He called them when he called for the Doctor and the Pastor. They will be here soon to collect her. They were coming from the City, which meant they had a two-hour drive. The nieces will be here soon, he told them, to see her before she is taken away. She will be brought to the Church tomorrow. She will arrive in her golden urn.

John wanted to send her off in style. Her style. There will be special readings and prayers. The Pastor will give a personal yet filled with tradition sermon and communion will given. People will be offered a chance to say a few words. Special songs will be sung as solos and all who wanted to join in will share in the singing of the hymns. Some will sing off key and John will have a secret smile. People will be invited to share their memories of her.

The reception will follow the worship service in the community room in the basement of the church. The churchwomen will host it and serve the food. There will be sandwiches of meats and cheeses and bowls of cold salads and heated beans and finger food with a goodly amount of sweets, coffee, tea, milk and juice to eat and drink. There will be pictures of her from her birth to the one John took after her death just today. Her urn will sit next to the pictures of her. It is, after all, her final party. Her final hooray. Her final goodbye.

There will be no trip to the cemetery. She, in her golden urn, will travel in John’s arms…while he safely brings her back home. She will rest upon their dresser. Some day after he has had some time to grieve he will give her things away. Though he thinks the lavender flowered dress that was and still is his favorite will be allowed to hang over her closet door.

John related all of this to the Doctor and the Pastor. They liked the plans and it gave John something to do while they waited for the nieces and the crematory men to come. He needed something to do.

Later as the evening light turned to dark and John was now truly alone he sat at that same kitchen table that he and her had shared for so many years. He was drinking a glass of buttermilk while eating the last of the leftover supper from yesterday. Hum, he thought...our last supper. He'd promised her that he would finish the chicken potpie tonight. He didn’t have much of an appetite but still he ate. He had made a promise to her and it was the very last potpie she would ever make. It was one of the very last promises he made.

He was very tired from the long hard day. He talked to her brother and to what family they had left and a couple of old friends. By the time they came to this age there weren’t many people left to call. The nieces promised to make any other calls.

He finally made his way to their marriage bed. He did all of the things he had done every night for all their married years. Everything was the same except he couldn't hear her breathe. She was not there. He crawled under the covers on his side of the bed, while tears rolled down his face. Finally he reached for her pillow, which smelt of her. He hugged it close to his breast and said (one more time). "Goodnight my sweet Margaret…I love you." As he drifted off to sleep he thought that he heard her say…"I love you more…John. Now go to sleep. Sleep fast…tomorrow is on its way." Well, sort of, he thought. It simply won't seem like tomorrow without her here.

Could it be?

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"New morning routine"...

2011-05-16T10:50:00.008-05:00

Dear Blog,

It's great to be able to go out in the privacy of our new deck -aka- screened porch in the morning to have my cup of coffee or tea. It's still chilly enough for me to don sweatpants and my hoodie but soon enough it will be hot and I can sit out there in my nakedness if I want to. Don't fret kids...I won't want to. Maybe my leopard swimsuit but never in the all-together.

I really enjoy the room, the hot drink, the sound of those pesky morning birds and the waking sounds of neighborhood life. It's a wonderful way to start the day. It's a good spot to read a newspaper, book or do a crossword puzzle. Snoopy people will need to really look (close and hard) in order to see me. And yet...I'm finally able to enjoy the peace and privacy and still feel a part of things.

Sometimes a person simply needs to be alone.

By the way I can tell you where I stand on what age one should stop wearing a bikini. Thoughts of my leopard one-piece swimsuit brought it to mind. My first response when I heard that this is the latest big issue that is being debated on the daytime TV talk shows was..."Who gives a flying F**k?" But...I guess I can weigh in on it. I'll let my one piece leopard swimsuit inspire me. I wonder if anyone ever swims in bikinis? Mostly I think (fashion statement) and I hope the girls and women who are wearng them are using gobs of sunblock.

I think two piece suits are okay for little girls and I know that it's easier to pull down just bottoms if one needs to go pee and they actually get out of the pool to do so. I personally have never worn a two-piece and I would never want to wear a bikini or one of those bottoms that have a string or a thong. The comfort level alone would drive me nuts and I always wonder about the personal hygiene issues women (who wear them) must have. I've also never had the body type. Some women look beautiful in a bikini. I would not be caught dead in one. I am not a fan of men in speedos either.

Can you just imagine a funeral home dressing me is a bikini for the big event? Ha-ha-ha

In saying all of that...I need to say that I certainly don't speak for all women.

Who do you know who really, really cares the age or even the body type of the women who choose bikinis? I figure that as long as we are supposed to be living in a free world we should be able to choose what we wear. Of course, the flip side of that coin is that people also have the right to say what they want about how one looks in said bikini. Thus, if you are one of those people who cares what people are saying about you or to you (and if we are to be honest most of us do) it might be a good time to make a new choice or develop a tougher skin.

I've seen many women who look wonderful in a bikini and they come in all colors, shapes, sizes and ages. I've also seen other women who should pick out a nice skirted one piece swimsuit and sit in their private screened in porch.

Mostly I think we have more important things in this country to discuss. And yet sometimes it's necessary to just be silly and forget all of the serious stuff.

For instance...I'd like to forget my stupid sinus headache that has lingered on for three days. Finally last night I gave myself a face massage and took a vicodin and went to bed at 6:30pm with a cold wet cloth over my eyes. Talk about burning puffed up ugly looking eyes. My head feels much better today. I don't want to be snarky about this issue but maybe I should have done that stuff three days ago. Duh!!! What I should do is make an appointment to have a complete body massage. Loosen up this body to get ready for the summer. Some days I ache all over. Old age and such I suppose.

Kevin has over half of the back deck done now. He plans on being completely done by Wednesday night. It seems like these two decks have taken an awful long time to finish. The weather has been a problem. Hard to run power saws and such in the rain. He has fishing plans eating away at him. Not to mention he'll probably be called back to work soon. At least we hope so. Summers are generally the time for lots of work. Not so much so these days. Mostly people are scrambling for enough hours to keep their insurance benefits going.

And if I ever want to have the long awaited garage sale come to fruition I may need to rent a storage garage. It'll be worth it to pay a months rent to sell all of this extra stuff we have accumulated over the years and set about doing with less and having a less cluttered home. I'm really looking forward to that and then I must forever ban myself from garage sales and thrift stores and such. Like I would need to bring even one more thing into the house.

Time to scoot and get busy. Kevin wants a pot of beef with barley soup for dinner. I don't have a single carrot in the house. Some days life is simply carrot less.

Oprah only has eight (8) shows left. Feels like another chapter of my life is ending with her. First daytime took away my soaps operas and now Oprah is leaving. It's great for her that she will move on to running her own (OWN) network but many of us will not be able to follow her since her new network is aired on Cable TV and many of us can no longer afford cable. You will be missed Oprah. Thank you Oprah for all of the great years of information, laughs, tears, anger and joy that you have provided for the world. You gave me many happy hours. Good luck and much success on your new endeavors. Mostly be happy.

Later then...

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Speaking of Mother's...Mother Earth seems to be flipping out."

2011-05-11T08:16:00.014-05:00

Dear Blog,

OMGosh...the weather has sure been wacky. I think old Mother Nature is in the midst of a mad, mad menopausal episode. Just a few days ago we had snow flurries and we have been having damp, rainy, cold weather for weeks. Then the Saturday before Mother's Day the temps rose to the 70's and it was humid to the point of stinky pits. That was the historic day that Kevin turned the central air on...he is loath to turn it on before June. After that Saturday we went back to semi-cold dreary days with on and off again bouts of rain and low temps. All the while poor Kevin has been working against the clock and weather trying to get our new front deck finished before he gets called back to work.

Well...

Yesterday (May 10th) it was a hot (88 degrees) muggy day with a fairly strong wind. Last night the tornado sirens went wild. Touch-downs all around us and the storm (mega rain, thunder and lightening) was moving at a slow 20 miles-per-hour on it's way east to Wisconsin. People were reporting golf ball sized hail and in some areas they were reporting tennis ball sized hail. All of this took place after dark when people (I) wanted to go to bed for the night. Neighbors were flocking to the storm shelter as Mother Nature raged on. Too dammed early for the tornado season to be upon us. I know other areas of the country have already had tornado's and flooding and such but normally we get them later in the summer. Not a good sign.

If you can't beat 'em...join 'em.

My message to the menopausal old bitch is...rage on. Get it out of your system. Go ahead and have your way with us and then...move on. I imagine Mother Nature/Earth to be like the character (Sophia) on the TV show "The Event". She appears loving and kind but she's really a one-degree or one-percent non-human toxic bitch waiting to spew carnage onto mankind. She's a tornado or a flood, or a wild fire or a hurricane or a tsunami or a cyclone or a earthquake or a volcano bubbling just under the surface waiting to destroy life. Don't trust her, folks.

Meanwhile, as we are becoming more and more disgusted with and hating the spring weather...the yard and plants are loving it. Everywhere one looks it is lush and green. Richelle said she has her small garden planted and the winter garden that we sowed (in the gallon jugs) have all sorts of shoots popping up and we will soon be transferring them into the garden. We plan to put our Dahlia bulbs in this week. He and I argue each spring as to when they should be put in. I think they should have been planted at least two weeks ago. They take a long time coming up and we have a short gardening season here in lovely Minnesota. We generally meet somewhere in the middle (two weeks late for me and two weeks early for him) and take what we end up with.

I so love the Dahlia's.

I bought two bananas yesterday so we can eat them then bury the peels near my roses in the front yard and near the wild rose bush out back. I dug that bush up from a rocky area on the side of a road about 15 years ago. It wasn't much more then a couple of little shoots back then. I've moved it with me at least twice. Now it stands over 5' feet tall and bushes out at least 4' feet. The roses only bloom for a couple of weeks (a light dusty pink) but the bush is full and beautiful even after the blooms are gone. Roses love potassium...thus they thrive when I feed them banana peelings two-three times each season. I'd like to add a couple more of the small rose bushes to the ones in the front. Those roses bloom for weeks and are petite and are lovely little pops of color against the dark trunk of the big oak tree.

A Tip:

This tip came my way several years after I had already planted Hostas, Iris's and other flowers around my many, many oak tree trunks. The flowers and plants look quite lovely and spread out more each year. Half of the neighborhood followed suit and started planting around their tree trunks. One guy even has vines that climb the trunks and they are very lovely.

WELL...recently I read that one should never plant anything under a tree or around it's trunk because eventually the plants will be taking the nutrients and nourishment that the trees need. The trees could very easily die. Who would've thunk it? Not me. Now I feel guilty and hope I haven't condemned 100+year-old trees to die. I'm wondering if it would do any good (at this point) to remove the plants and flowers? I'll call the agriculture department at the "University of Minnesota" and see what they or their "Master Gardener's" think I should do.

Bet the neighbors will be sorry for being copy-cats if all of their trees die. Kevin would say that's what they deserve for copying me. But...I know better. People have always copied me and I know it so I should have done some research before I just willy nilly planted things where I thought they would be aesthetically perfect. Beauty doesn't out-weigh everything. At least it shouldn't.

My thirty plus year old peonies thrive too. I have moved them at least three times. I had no idea that plants could last so long. I guess when people call certain plants heirloom I should have caught on, eh? We planted a 20' foot row of rhubarb (all split from one huge plant that a friend gave to me) last year. It is cropping up beautifully and we should get a good harvest this year. I've noticed though that with many things (like asparagus, grapes, and roses along with most other plants) really take off in the third year.

The neighborhood squirrels are still hanging out across the street at neighbor Rick's house. Seems only "Betty" the old gal that lives in my side yard in the big oak still comes around for a bit every day. She perches on her favorite branch outside of my office window and watches me typing on my computer. She loves to taunt and torture my "Fatcat". Fatcat would love to have her for lunch. Not have her over for lunch but have her be the main course for lunch. (S) Naughty old cat. I suspect that Betty Q. Squirrel hangs out in Rick's yard to get in on the feed. He puts out bags and bags of food for the birds and the squirrels. He's certainly an animal-loving hog. I want my squirrels and even the noisy chipping birds back in my yard where they belong. Rick doesn't even have many decent trees for them to play on.

I think that at least part of the reason he (Rick) feeds them is to drive Arlo (the other neighbor guy) batty. Arlo is always trying to get rid of the squirrels. He blames the squirrels for the many, many holes in his yard. Arlo has worked for years to make his corner lot into a trophy yard. Arlo's cat is allowed outside (which is forbidden here) and said cat is forever on the hunt and (according to Rick) is shitting in his yard and garden. Thus...the two neighbors have waged a mini-war with each other. Oh...I tell you...life in the hood always has something going on. No dead cats or drive by shootings to report.

I suspect that someone has either shot or live-trapped the neighborhood rabbits. There once was rabbits and their cute babies everywhere . I haven't seen any in a couple of years. I miss them too. I am the one who insists on taking long countryside drives each spring to get a glimpse of the new baby farm animals. I mean I wouldn't stop the car to pet a cow or a sow but I would stop to pet or take a photo of a calf or a piglet. I love me some babies. Even human ones sometimes. They can be soft and cuddly too before they turn into sassy girls or rough and tumble naughty boys.

Our new front deck (which should really be called a screened in porch) now that everything is said and done...is a wonderful spot. Kevin still needs to put our new front exterior door in (we're putting in a larger door) and also a new storm/screen door. Then we need to give the walls and ceiling a good wash. Other then that and painting a few heavy-duty coats on the ramp everything is done. We'll do the inside work (door and washing walls) on a rainy day and once the back deck is in place he will wait for a sunny week to paint the ramp. The paint is supposed to dry for 24 hours before getting a light sanding and applying the next coat.

He started on the back deck last night before the storm set in. If the weather holds out that deck won't take long to finish, which is good since it looks like work will pick up soon. Once he's back to work there isn't much time for anything else. At least when he is home he will have a nice...bug free...area to sit in.

Diane came over yesterday so we stayed in the porch the whole time just enjoying the new indoors...outdoors. I have my new table and chairs and a rocking chair and a couple of stools set up. Maybe tonight we will eat dinner out there. I am so loving this room. Next time Richelle comes I'll see if she will take a couple of photos and put them on my blog so everyone can see where I will be spending my summer vacation. Show and tell. (S) It's not a trip to Hawaii but it will last longer.

Neither Richelle (when her and Dan were here on Mother's Day) nor Diane who was here yesterday noticed that my hair is no longer gray/white. Diane did ask if I got it cut. When I pointed it out to them they both said it looks just like it always did before so they hadn't even noticed the change. Diane did say I look perkier now and younger too. What a lift a new haircut and some color can give.

I think Richelle noticed it or had heard about it before hand but was unwilling to comment on it since she likes me with no makeup and my natural gray/white hair. She's always had her own vision of what a Mom and now Grandma should look like and it is not a sexpot look. I've always went for the sexy or at least the pretty look. She's not happy if men flirt with me and she always threatens to tell Kevin. I think she's kidding. Libby always does tell him. Brat.

I hope I can get Shayne and Libby up here for a couple of weekends to help me sort through and ready things up for a garage sale. I really need to get rid of all of this extra stuff and of course the money can offset some of the cost of the new room and back deck. There is a "whole town" garage sale going on over the weekend of the 4th and 5th of June so it would be great to be ready by then. I wouldn't even need to pay to advertise for that weekend.

I'd better scoot. Here it is mid-week already and I haven't gotten much accomplished at all. I have all of the normal household chores waiting for me and plenty of paperwork (budget and job stuff) to do. The rest of the week will be a busy one. I just finished reading a David Baldacci book "Divine Justice" and I dare not start a new book until I get things done around here. Everything falls to the sideline when I have a book I'm into. For now it is time for breakfast and work. Guess it'll be music CD's for the rest of the week.

Take care.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Need I Mention Mother's Day"?...

2011-05-09T07:17:00.010-05:00

Dear Blog,

"Mother's Day (yesterday) was a terrific day. I heard from all of my kids this year which is always what brings me joy. Richelle and husband Dan even drove up and spent a couple of hours visiting with us. Mostly it was a restful day. Much lazing around, eating Chinese take-out, reading and napping. The day had a perfect ending with an hour of Agatha Christie's "Hercule Poirot" on PBS. It was a repeat that I have probably seen three or four times but well worth watching again.

Saturday I spent with Libby doing our "Mother's Day" thing. We went to four different stores shopping (Libby needed new jeans and sheets). I needed to buy Kevin a cheap watch...$11.00. He goes through 5-6 watches each year. I learned years ago that he can break or lose an expensive watch just as fast as he can a cheap one. HARK!! He now gets cheap ones. I splurged and bought myself two pair of shorts and four tank tops. I'll probably not wear them any further then the yard but with the humidity around here already kicking in big time I knew I'd want them soon.

Libby bought me a book of Emily Dickinson poems and took me to lunch. We went to "The Olive Garden" where I usually opt for Alfredo Fettuccine but decided on Chicken Marsala. Delicious as was the salad and hot bread sticks. I ate like a piglet. All that shopping and no breakfast left me empty-belly hungry. All I wanted after that and all of the shopping and the 78 degree day that felt like a 100 degree day what with the high dew point and humidity index...was a nap. So I took a 30 minute snooze in the heat, in the car, while Libby shopped in the "Half-Priced Bookstore". I believe it was the first ever that I didn't go into a bookstore when it was right in front of me. Need I say T-I-R-E-D? Need I say O-L-D? I wonder how many people saw me with my mouth agape while I slept? No pride with old age. We simply don't have the time for it.

Hard to nap whilst watching people come and go with huge bags of books but I managed to nod off for a bit. It was enough to get me through the next store...drive Libby home and then do the hour plus drive to my house. Kevin ate soup and hot dogs for dinner and I ate microwave popcorn before I clonked out and slept for 12 hours. The old grey mare and all of that rot.

I totally missed my beloved "Kentucky Derby" race, Yep...the race that I so diligently wait a whole year to see. Four kids living in the city and not one of them have a TV that I could watch it on. Maybe I can find a replay of it on the web. I so miss seeing all of the beautiful horses and the hats and dresses...and yes...the race too.

So, yesterday Richelle showed me how to add books to the Kindle that she gave me. Kevin showed off the new deck and ramp and Dan showed off his new crossbow. Richelle also showed me how she can play "Scrabble" on her new Kindle (which will be re-gifted) to me in a couple of years. I am so glad I taught her how to take care of her things and how to share. (SMilY FACE) I love the Kindle. Now...if only it had Scrabble on it.

Kevin will be gone most of today. This morning he has his yearly visit with his heart specialist in St. Cloud, which is like 35 miles west of us and then he heads south to St. Paul to his Union Hall to pay for a weekend class that he's required to take for OSHA, for work. Whom ever it was who said life slows down when one gets older was not a working class person. The only thing that seems to slow down around here is our bodies. It just takes longer to get everything done and some things just never get done at all. More dust and mess around here then there used to be. Good thing, I suppose, that our eye sight isn't as good either. I've also decided that if it can't be cooked in one pot it can then be put between two slices of bread and I call it a meal. Kevin hasn't caught on to that one yet.

I hope all of you Mom's out there had a good Mother's Day and if you aren't a Mom I hope you remembered one. Us Mom's like to think we are special for at least one day each year. Jordan and Henry even called to wish me a good day.

That Jordan..."Happy Mother's Day Grammy...I love you." Mostly he was interested in getting back to a game he had bought at a garage sale the day before. He and Uncle spent a wonderful Saturday going to seven (7) garage sales. Jordan and Henry want to stop at every garage sale they see. Jordan (8-years-old) buys all of his tools and tool belts and (now) bowling trophy's at garage sales. He's bought me some great treasures too...like that grimy shot glass with a pheasant on it. And my heart sings. One never knows what they might get gifted with around here. LMAO

Henry called me Friday just to tell me that Mother's Day is coming and I should be looking for it. "I'll be at my Dad's house", he informs me. Actually he was at the "Mall of America" with his other Grandma, his Dad, Uncle Ben, Aunt Tammy and cousin Haley for the breast cancer survivor walk and activities. That Grandma is a breast cancer survivor and they spend every Mother's Day weekend at the MOA.

We're having our first thunderstorm of the season this morning. It's here. Lots of rain but I haven't seen any lightening yet. It's rained for weeks but this is the first of the thunder. Well...I suppose I could have slept through some thunder. People are saying this will be one of those wet summers. It looks like they might be right. Good for plant life but the humidity will about kill me.

Well....enough BS for this morning. It's time to make my morning tea and toast and take my meds. No sodium loaded Chinese food for me today. It'll be water pill and pee central around here today. Take care everyone.

WHOA...I just saw a huge lightening flash and the thunder is really, really loud now. I wouldn't sleep through this. Of course Kevin is. (S)

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"From Tis/Me"...

2011-05-03T10:51:00.005-05:00

Dear Blog,

"Death of a Tyrant"...

Bin Laden is dead. I'm not sure how I feel about this news. It's wonderful knowing a very evil man is no longer on the same earth with the rest of us. At the same time I hate to celebrate the death of anyone.

I find it horrible (but) not surprising that he would use his wife as a human shield...thus ensuring her death. Prick! What kind of man does that? Of course he and his ilk have never valued women. Thus, he would by nature, sacrifice her to try to save himself. To me and many other people around the world it was a cowardly act. Now if we could get the rest of the bad guys I might say I feel safer. I wonder if the Navy Seal that is rumored to have shot him will collect the million+ dollar reward that was on Bin Laden's head? I wonder if there was a reward for Bin Laden's son (the 19-year-old) who was killed with him? I wonder if his son was a tyrant also? Brings to my mind the old saying...(the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree).

Do you suppose God is smiling? I don't think that Bin Laden's death has given any reasonable person a great sense of safety and well-being. He had/has millions of followers that will carry on his tirade and may decide to retaliate with a revenge that will kill many innocent peoples. Strange that even after death he will still be able to have his evilness and hate spread. We like to think of death as the finale...yet, in this case, it could simply be the beginning of new horrors. More terror. More terrorist. Much retaliation.

It looks like one tyrant down and millions still planning attacks. Not much to celebrate at this stage in the war games. Good coup d'état for President Obama and his team.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"I'm Back...sorta"...

2011-05-01T17:00:00.014-05:00

Dear Blog,

I'm back on line again and will continue with my blog. I'll probably not be on as often what with summer coming but I will keep in touch. I'm feeling much better (health-wise) and I'm very happy that spring is almost here. I say almost because we had snow flurries just two nights ago and it has been damp, snowy and rainy and cold for the entire month of April and so far May isn't looking sunny and warm either.

The last half of March and well into April I spent being sick. Not fun at all. I was in the hospital for a 10 day total...two of which I spent in intensive care. The staff there treated me well and seemed to really be on their toes. My regular doctor did his usual half-ass job but the hospital docs were really good. I'm shopping for a new doctor. I may even change clinics and hospitals. I think I trust the "Allina" group more then the "Fairview" group. It's surprising how many people from this area drive the extra 20 to 40 miles to go to a doctor. Looks like I will be one of them. Maybe it's time I become a big girl and go to a "Women's Clinic".

Anyhow...I want to thank everyone who sent cards, called, came to visit and brought me flowers. It's comforting to know that some of you were really concerned for my health and cared enough about me to let me know. Shayne was here a couple of times when I came home to keep an eye on me and help care for me. I don't think I would have eaten at all had he not brought me food and insisted that I eat. Eating was the last thing on my mind.

Kevin (as our luck would have it) after being laid-off from work for several months got a job working a shut-down at the local nuclear plant. A shut-down is a temp job that lasts 60 to 90 days. He was working 7...12's. Which means he worked 7...12 hour days then had 1 day off and worked another week of 7...12's. He worked the 7pm to 7:30am shift plus 3 hours for the round trip drive. When he was home he ate and slept. Thus, he wasn't able to care for me. He's now laid-off again and has been for the last 2 weeks. I think he worked about 5.5 weeks. The extra money helps.

Now Kevin's busy around here. He's been building us a new deck with a ramp for me. My knees don't do steps well any more. The ramp will make it much easier for me to get out and about. He's screening in the deck so me and my "FatCat" plan to spend a lot of time out there this summer. It's quite a bit larger then our old deck so we'll have room for a table and chairs and I'll even have enough room to put my easel up so I can paint again. Happy days. We have a 4' foot lattice wall surrounding the deck so we will finally have a bit of privacy. Much needed privacy. This deck should be done soon (if the dammed rain stops) then he's putting another deck up at the back entrance. It's going to be a simpler deck. A 8'x8' foot with steps and a pergola topper. It won't have a ramp but there's room for one if we decide we need to add one some time down the line. Eventually we could screen it in also. Enough money spent this year. I wonder if we will ever be done fixing this place up?

All of the leaves are finally raked up (via Kevin) and many of my perennials are shooting up and even the rhubarb and chives are cropping out. I hope the deep freezes are over with so we don't lose them. Seems like I have the same worry every year but the plants have always made it. They are pretty sturdy. No hospital visits for them. Of course they are doted on and have a warm mulch covering for the cold winter and they get all winter to get months of good restorative sleep. They don't smoke either.

I'm still working my three-quarter job and I will probably need to for a while since work is so sketchy for Kevin. Some days I don't feel up to it but what can I say...I do like to eat and pay bills. Hopefully after a couple of months I won't feel so weak. Maybe some warm weather and sunshine will help out. The doc gave me another pneumonia shot so that should be good for five years. My doctor (the hospital one) told me I would have been much sicker if I hadn't got the double flu shot last fall. Now...I understand how that crap can kill people. My pneumonia shot was a year over-due so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I had a heavy-duty dose of that. I was so healthy when I was younger. Where the hell did that go?

I quit smoking for about eight days. I was climbing right up the walls. I started again. Next I'm going to try hypnosis and if that doesn't work there is a new laser treatment and aqua-puncture too. Somehow I am going to quit.

I'm getting hungry. I've been watching this program called (Diner Paradise) on the Travel Channel. It's no wonder I'm hungry now. I love diner food. Next it's (Pie Paradise)...I dare not watch it. Henry was here this weekend. What an active kid. He and I had apples slices with peanut-butter for our dip. It was a good snack. I'll pretend that it was a pie. (S)

I had a Birthday in April. I hardly noticed it what with every thing that was going on. The 1st of April was the one year anniversary of my brother Denny's death and the 12th was the four year anniversary of my Mom's death so on top of being very sick and weak I was very sad and teary and depressed. I can truly say I am glad April is over with. My brother (Cody) came to see me in the hospital and in talking with him I found it was also a depressing time for him. I think he was scared that I'd tip over too. He said I looked pretty dammed peek-ed. And I did. I sure felt old and ugly.

I am now a dyed woman again. I was so disgusted with how I felt and looked that I decided to dye my hair. So my beautician held the colors up to my dark parts and said it was a number 3 black and we decided to add a pinch of red to it. It's a warm beautiful color but seems so dark now that I have been light for so long. I guess it'll grow on me and maybe it will make me feel younger. If I feel younger maybe I'll feel healthier too. I forgot how pretty color is. I do perk up when I see it now. Ah vanity, eh? I'm tired of feeling old and I am sure tired of being sick.

Kentucky Derby is coming soon!!! Yea...I can hardly wait. Mayday parades today (too cold) to gather much of a crowd around here. Cino De Mayo in a few days. There's always a big celebration in St. Paul but the last few years (due to local gangs) many of us no longer attend.

So anyhow...I'm off for now. I must eat and then take a rest. It's been a long week-end. I'll try to write at least once each week to keep up with my thoughts and check in on you guys.
Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

Another Mother Update

2011-03-28T18:14:00.000-05:00

This is Shayne again. My mother paid another visit to the hospital for a couple of days. This time it was because of an infection she acquired from the medication given to her to treat her pneumonia. Her doctor completely changed her meds and she seems to slowly be getting better. She will post from the library or elsewhere when she feels healthy enough to do so. I will be posting updates for her in the interim. Thank you for all your thoughts and comments.

Message

2011-03-21T09:43:00.000-05:00

This is Shayne, Jolie's son. She has been rather ill as of late, so that's one of the reasons she hasn't posted recently. She also no longer has internet at home. She's planning on posting from the library after she recovers from her cold and pneumonia. Thanks for visiting.

"Just A Quick Word"...

2011-03-09T09:22:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

Some day's there isn't anything to write about. Some would call it writer's block...I call it same stuff different day. Some times I feel there is nothing newsworthy to write about and I go into a quiet mode. I mean who cares if it is snowing here again? I can say that I am getting a sense of spring...from other people's blogs who are displaying pictures of crocous' in bloom. It does give me a nudge of hope that ours will come soon. Well in 6-8 weeks.

Ash Wednesday today. The beginning of lent and the countdown to Easter. Traditionally it has been a sad and remorseful time of the year for me. I grow very sad about Christ dying on the cross. Maybe that is why we focus so much on bunnies and baskets and such. Anyhow, Easter is very late this year. It might turn out to be great for the little kids of the family. We may actually be able to have a fun outdoors Easter egg hunt for them. Maybe I will wear a dress and a bonnet for when we eat our potato salad and ham topped off with my "Bit of Heaven" Easter cake.

I can hardly wait for the new babies of spring to be hopping around the neighborhood. There is nothing so soft and delightful as are new baby bunnies. I love driving around on the old dirt roads in the countryside smelling the odors that linger from fresh spring rains and looking in the farmers pastures at the new baby animals. I especially think that the piglets and baby lambs are adorable. Okay truth is...if it's not a insect or toad or snake I love looking at and touching it. I think the three softest babies I ever felt are bunnies, chicks, kittens and the upper nose on a horse and the fur on a cocker spaniel are very, very soft also. Even my new baby humans were very soft to touch.

Speaking of animals...Kevin is talking about checking into a (small animal) grooming class. He thinks it might be a neat little retirement business. I want to open a studio and craft business or a soup luncheonette. Don't normal people simply retire? My beautician (Sara) and her sprinkler installing husband are getting a BBQ business going where they will haul their little wagon around to parades and such selling their meats, and sandwiches when they retire. Maybe it would be fun to have a mini donut stand...but I'd be in trouble eating them. I love me some mini donuts. Heck one might even learn something and maybe make some new friends along the way. Get out of the house if nothing else and I don't want to spend every day fishing with the old boy.

It's a way to stay in touch with people and make a few bucks too. We're not the type to walk around swinging a golf club while sipping a cocktail. Although Kevin does like watching golf tournaments. Not so much me. To me it would be like watching bowling or watching paint dry. I'd rather watch baseball and I snooze through most of that.

So anyhow not much new around here. The usual family chores. Kevin is sick with what we think is a cold or virus. I know he is sick when all he wants is boxed chicken noodle soup, crackers and tea and thera-flu and I find him asleep at 5:30PM for the night. He's been testing for a job for the past 6 days and he did manage to go again this morning. I bet he's right back in bed the minute he gets home. Holly's family are all home from work and school with some sort of bug too. Not fun. Knock wood I don't catch any of it. It takes me forever to kick stuff. The rest of them feel miserable for a couple of days and are soon well. It can drag on for weeks with me. I think I'll be drinking lots of orange juice these next few days.

See what I mean...boring stuff. Now I'm off to do a boring batch of dishes and wash a boring load of laundry and eat a boring grilled cheese sandwich. I get weeks like these. I guess none of us gets balloons every day.

Oh...remember those frozen ice cream treats...the one's that have a waffle cone with ice cream then a chocolate topping and a sprinkle of nuts on top? I think they call them drumsticks. Anyhow, Kevin bought a box of them the other day when he was craving ice cream and realized that we don't have room in the freezer for a large container. I was/am so excited because they now have chocolate ice cream ones too. Not just yo' mama's old vanilla. What next...maybe strawberry? Of course my favorite part of the treat is when I get to the last bite at the tip of the cone and find that they are still loaded with chocolate. Gosh...I guess there was something exciting this week after all. LMAO

Later then...

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Nothing But Crap In The News"...

2011-03-03T12:16:00.005-06:00

Dear Blog,

I tell you 8 minutes of News is more then enough to wreck one's day. I try not to listen to or watch or read much in the news these days. Ever notice how little there is in the way of good news?...Of course you have...how could anyone alive not notice and even be effected by local, national and world news?

In less then 8 minutes I was given the latest crap about Charlie Sheen...who I do not find newsworthy in the least little bit. Then there was the question of the USA jumping into battle with Libya. There is the 18 year old girl who stabbed her best friend, a 19 year old mother, to death over a $20.00 loan. There's the twelve year old who is being charged with killing his parents and two siblings and leaving one wounded and in a very grave condition. A 25-year-old local man was killed in a snow mobile crash this morning. His parents are flying home from their Mexican vacation. There is no update on the condition of his girlfriend who was riding with him on that deadly snow mobile ride. She is hospitalized in a trauma center.The weather people are predicting mega flooding this spring due to the record amounts of snow that has already fallen here this winter. Another snow storm is predicted for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The only good thing that I read in those 8 minutes was that Charlie Sheen's twin sons were removed from his home and they are safe (for the time being) with their mother. If someone doesn't step in soon to stop his plunge into total destruction I won't be surprised if the next report we read about C.S. is that he is dead.

Needless to say...8 minutes of news was more then enough for me.

And Then:
I foolishly turned on the television and started clicking channels. I landed on "The View" show for a few minutes. Mistake. I did listen long enough to hear Whoopie Goldberg say, "I will slap the color off of your face if you say that to me again."
It's a black thing I suppose.

It brought back memories from my childhood days. I remember, more then once, hearing, "Wipe that look off of your face or I'll slap it off." Courtesy of Shirley W.
It's a white thing, I suppose.

Just saying here...that life is different and yet the same. Still, I don't remember the news being so gawd-awful back in the day. My day. Then again...I was a kid and didn't listen much to news and that was before the day when we became Global and the powers that be added a daily dose of crappy world news. I remember when our big worry was a cold war with Russia, bomb shelters and the A-bomb. Now the weight of the world rests upon us. And what a truly sick world it is.

Give me a mountain home that has no electricity but plenty of books. When the world finally topples over on itself I don't even want to know about it. It would be nice to live in peace until the end.

Meanwhile it's time to put the chicken in a marinade, iron the three tops that are soon out of the dryer and write out checks for this weeks bills. Then I'm going to indulge in an afternoon of reading.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

Addendum:

I later heard that the ex-wife of Charlie Sheen whom I was thankful that the children were sent home with is herself in some sort of drug treatment. Hearing that I discovered that I had heard or read NO good news at all that day. I must say that I'm not surprised. Good news has turned out to be a very rare commodity these days. Perhaps it always was even when I lived in a child's world.

"Welcome March"...

2011-03-01T22:25:00.000-06:00

Dear Blog,

With the onset of March we have hope of spring. Winter thaws, warmer days and maybe more sunshine. I, for one...am ready for spring. So hooray for March. Hooray for spring and new flowers and new hopes.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Happy 12th Birthday Hunter"

2011-03-01T22:21:00.000-06:00

Dear Blog,

Happy Birthday Hunter. I hope you have had a great Birthday today and many, many more to come. Only one more year and you will be a teen. Oh do I remember those days. Don't grow up too fast. Love you, Gram B.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"He caught me another Bass"...

2011-02-25T09:52:00.008-06:00

Dear Blog,

Not much time left for winter fishing Soon all of the fishing houses need to be pulled from the lakes...state law. Kevin says the ice has a bunch of water floating on the top and it's pretty slushy and hard to walk on. Like I ever would. The point is he treasures every moment he can get out fishing. He was out until dark again yesterday and came back with a mess of slimy fish to clean. Thank goodness he doesn't expect me to clean them. We'd both be disappointed with the results. Filleting fish and doing it well is a gift. A special skill one much hone to perfection. Not for me. Still I do keep him furnished with a couple of sizes of good sharp fillet knives. He swears by the "Rapala" brand.

So...I was pleased that he caught a nice sized Bass for me. I love Bass and Walleye Pike. They are my two favorite fresh water fish. When he catches them they are for me. He's generous that way and lets face it he thinks he is fulfilling his manly (husbandly) duties that way. He really prefers pan fish (Sunnies and Crappies) so we both get what we want. Kind of like he gets the white meat and I get the dark when we have chicken. Sometimes I think those are the things that make a long marriage work. Last week I had a Bass fillet and a Walleye fillet for dinner. OMGosh to die for. I even loved the cold leftovers the next day.

Now I have another Bass meal to look forward to. Sadly Kevin's ice fishing days are coming to an end. The ice won't be safe much longer. Then he'll have to wait for the "Opener" in mid May. The poor man...almost has withdrawals while waiting. He and his brother already have plans for the Opener. I hope he's not going to do the Trout run this year. I am not crazy about trout at all. It's too oily for me.

Kevin might be called back to work next week. Crossing fingers, eyes and toes. I've learned that "might go back next week" can easily turn into two months from now. We certainly can use the money plus he gets bored sitting around the house. In the Spring when everything is thawing and the ground is always murky and wet there's not much to do outside. It's good for me when he goes back to work and isn't under my feet in the house and yakking all of the time. I need heaping amounts of alone time...he needs to yak. Neither one of us are big on using the phone. We like different TV programs and different music. Too much together time is never good for us. Leads to snapping at one another over nothing and everything. We are so dammed human.

Henry called last night to request a hotdish/goulash for dinner tonight. I swear the kid thinks Gram's house is a restaurant. I made one the last time he was here and he wolfed it down. Now it is his favorite so it'll be on the request list often and since I served him cottage cheese with it he'll expect that too.

Buy day ahead. I am trying to get out of going on the metro run with Kevin. The weekend ahead will be enough. We'll see how much he pouts. Our brother-in-law is having a going away party for his youngest son (Luke) who leaves for a stint in the Army on March 8th. The parents aren't happy about it (they'd have liked him to stay in college) but they're trying to be supportive. They want the family to show support also. Luke has always been their "wild child" breaking all of the rules and living up to his expectations only. Scary and embarrassing to his parents. I can't help but think this is another act of rebellion. Been there and done that with kids. Gets dammed old after awhile.

Speaking of cleaning fish...have any of you ever cleaned "Bullhead fish"? It was after the experience I had with that I decided it wasn't something that I wanted to do. It was back when I was married to the second husband and we lived in his home town 400 miles north of everywhere. He still lives there in the same house with a different wife. There is this family that had like 12 or 13 kids. She popped out one little toe-head after another. I remember the Dad worked for the railroad and she was a stay-at-home Mom. Most of us were back then. When I think about it who would she have found to babysit that many kids? The parents were drunks and known for fist fighting in the bars. It didn't take long for the family to end up with a bad name. Small town gossip and all that goes with it.

I had lots of relatives in that town too and had even lived there for a couple of years in my junior high days. So I knew the family and kids pretty well. I hung out with 3 of the daughters. One was my age and the other two a year younger and a year older. I remember that all of the kids names started with a (D) but most of the boys had goofy nicknames. I witnessed some real beat downs at their house. even the girls got in fist fights with each other. They fought over everything. It was well known in the town that if you got into it with one of them the whole damn bunch would come after you. The kids were always into some sort of trouble with the local cops and were big into the drinking and drug scene. They sort of became the teen idols. You know...the bad boy appeal and the fact that the sisters were willing to drop their panties. I remember one of the sisters married a guy who owned a bar and it became a regular hangout for all of the hippie and motorcycle types.

That sister and a couple of her groupie friends went to California one year and came back with gigantic boobs. Hardly heard of back then (late 60's and 70's) even in California and never heard of in that place 400 miles north of everywhere. Hell...lots of people in that area still spoke in their native foreign tongue back then. So here comes these two or three girls with their petite size 4 bodies with these new gigantic boobs probably triple D's. There was more boob in one then all of them had put together before they took their infamous California boob trip. The funny part was that they all three denied that they had done it. Suddenly we were all supposed to believe that they grew these gigantic stand up high never need a bra teats over-night. Years later these women could still be heard lamenting about how hard it was to be a big chested girl and how the guys won't leave them alone. Give me a break.

Remember this was back in the days when the bras were white cotton and we were left with huge imprints in our shoulders from super tight bra straps. It was a time when most of us still war a kotex belt under our white cotton panties to hold a pad in place. The men still wore tidy whiteys or cotton boxers. The women who used tampons were considered risque...and yet these girls walked around bra-less with perky teen boobs that had somehow became perky giants. Scandal, I'll tell you.

Anyhow...coming from a poor family these kids were always scrambling around to find money. Usually they would do odd jobs and later they were big into selling scrap iron, fire wood and finally booze and dope. The sister divorced the guy who owned the bar and bought a bar the next town over. Most of the siblings worked for her one time or another.

One of the early jobs that the sisters had was working for the local "Moose Lounge/bar" cleaning "Bullheads" for the Friday night "Fish Fry". Catholics still ate fish on Fridays so with a large Catholic population in that area there were fish fries everywhere on Friday nights and some even had them on Wednesdays during lent. The school lunches were famous for the tuna surprise that was served on those days too.

So anyhow, the sisters cleaned huge buckets of Bullheads every Friday afternoon for the fry. Some company delivered several 5 gallon buckets of Bullheads and they got their pliers out and got to work cleaning them. They were paid so much for each bucket they cleaned. They took their work quite seriously what with tying their hair up in scarves and wearing old pants and sweatshirts as part of their work outfits. A couple of times when one of the sisters couldn't make it they would recruit someone to help them. I think they talked me into it twice and I thereafter begged off. Made me about puke and I've never cleaned a fish since. I'll eat them and I'll cook them and I even make pickled fish...but I do not clean them. A woman simply has to put her foot down somewhere. I wonder if those gals still clean them?

I do, however have fond memories of those fish fries. They served either Bullheads, deep-fried Shrimp or Beer battered deep-fried Walleye with a side of hot, salty french fries and coleslaw. There was always containers of homemade tarter and Shrimp cocktail sauces and lots of ketchup. Add a cold bottle of beer or pop and walla...one was with their neighbors and all of the bar drunks in sheer heaven. It was a hoot watching so many Finlanders eat fish. They didn't even look for bones. It reminds me of those cartoons where the cat will hold the fish by the tail and put the whole thing in it's mouth and when he pulls it out all that is left is the bones and tail.

So there you have it my fish tale and why I don't clean fish. (SMILE) I'll be frying a mess of fish for Henry and Grandpa this weekend. Now the kid eve asks Grandpa to go catch him some FRESH fish. He watches Grandpa cleaning them and yaks a mile per minute through the whole process and talks about how he is a big boy now and he can go fishing with Grandpa this summer. I remember when Jordan went with fishing that last time. He caught one rather small fish and insisted on bringing it home to show his Tia and Morgan and they (he said) would fry it for the three of them for dinner. Grandpa sent more along for them to share.

You know what they say..give them a fish and they will eat...teach them to fish and they will live. The family that eats fish together stays together...likewise the man who catches and cleans the fish will have a wife that fries them to his liking. Now, if only he would bring me some seafood home. Yum...

Later then. I have a busy weekend til Tuesday ahead.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Tender Gums...but so much better"...

2011-02-24T09:51:00.007-06:00

Dear Blog,

Seems the only places I go these days is to the doctor and dentist offices and to work. I'm not overly impressed by my new doctor. I've seen him three times now and he's not rubbing off on me in a good way. I can't seem to bring myself to trust him. He is a nice man albeit a bit cocky and arrogant like a lot of young people are. In my opinion (which is the one I count on) he still has a long way to go before he can be called a truly good doctor. But for now, for what I need, he is filling the bill.

He is tall, very good to look at and is obviously an athlete. He's very personable and has a handsome smile. He has much to learn about people and about medicine. He doesn't seem to practice medicine because he has a love of people or even because he wants to be a healer. It's more of a income thing. Never a good sign when one is in a people service position. Generally the only people they serve is themselves. I don't want to be one of the guinea pigs while he takes on the learning. That is IF he decides that he needs to learn. He, like most Internists is very quick to order a test or a pill. The old trial by error technique. Bottom line is he doesn't listen well. I need someone who actually pays attention to what I am saying. I don't need someone who is condescending and poo-paws every thing I say.

I've recently become aware of a doctor who has a private practice and isn't involved with the giant HMO machine. She comes highly recommended. She's a medical doctor who's been around for a long while. She believes in spirit and the effect it can have on one's health and well being. I like and need that. My next appointment will be with her.

My blood sugars have gone up a bit. The doctor increased my insulin dose. I think I need more exercise so I have added a few extra things to my daily routine. I am also hoping for an early spring so that I get outside more. The right diet, exercise, fresh air and sunshine seem to be the ticket to better health...attitude and spirit need to be in check too.

I am very impressed with the new dentist I'm seeing. His fees are higher then I am used to but his skill is A-one. I've learned (the hard way) that we get what we pay for. It would be easier if I did not have such an innate fear of having my teeth worked on. Too many bad and painful experiences from the past haunt me. Thus, I have had to force myself to make these first three visits. I am so glad that I did and the worst is over now.

Yesterday's visit was frightening, long and pain free. He removed some old fillings and replaced them plus, he cleaned and filled a couple of new cavities and he did a root canal. My gums are tender today but my teeth no longer ache from the cavities and I can drink hot and cold without pain. Next week I go in for a cleaning and then go from there. When all is said and done I will have a new upper denture and some bottom implants. It'll be about $2,000.00 out of pocket for me but the insurance will pick up the balance. After this I'll need cleaning and check-up appointments about every six months. Those appointments don't bother me. It'll be great to be able to eat raw vegetables again. It feels good to invest in me and my health. I figure if I can spend $2,000.00 on new kitchen appliances I should be happy to spend that much on my teeth.

I'm guessing that this dentist is somewhere between 45 and 50 years. He is average height, thin and looks like a typical nerd. Bald top and wears sensible glasses and office sports apparel. He and his offices are impeccably clean. He is soft spoken and shy. His intelligence simply oozes from him. His assistant (when he was out of ear shot) said that he is not a sociable man. I figure she is not used to being around the above genius level crowd. He seemed relieved when the music I chose to listen (during my ordeal) to was Classical. Apparently we share a common interest in Classical music. I was glad to have something to make the drilling noises fade into the background of soothing music. The dental drill became part of the orchestra.

The main reason that I decided he would be a good dentist was two-fold. One he explained and demonstrated everything that he would do and two...he has the cleanest and best teeth I've ever seen on a dentist...which gives him a great smile. I told him so. I think I made the poor man blush with the praise but I'm glad I told him. He maybe doesn't hear enough good things about himself. Can we ever get enough praise? I think not. I've noticed that he has patients of all ages waiting to see him. From young kids to people in their eighties. And now me. Kevin is next in line.

I am so glad I made myself get this done. I feel better already. Humans are funny creatures. I have a daughter who is afraid to see an eye doctor but will go to the dentist with nary a thought about it. Go figure. It's like many people hiding in their basements when there is a storm while their neighbors run outside to be right in the thick of it.

So there you have it...another venture in the saga of life of a mid-western woman and her daily struggles.

It comes to me that I do all of this body and soul maintenance in preparation of my impending death. I hope the other side will appreciate all of the maintenance I have done. Sometimes I think people have bought into the idea that all of these products that are available to enhance our lives somehow negates the fact that none of us will get out of here alive. I wish we would spend more time doing the living and waste less time on trying to stay alive longer then our slot allows. What happened to the notion that when it's our time to die we will die? Ah heck...that is a topic for a whole other post.

Later Then...

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Off To Bed With Me"...

2011-02-23T20:06:00.002-06:00

Dear Blog,

Rough day today. Seven filled cavities and one root canal later. I only have energy to sleep. Later then JjB...

Night Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Two Cooking Tips"...I'm on a roll here.

2011-02-21T10:39:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

Here's a couple of cooking tips. I mostly do these tips for Libby. She has me writing her a cooking/tip book and wants it written in longhand. It is much quicker and easier to type. My arthritic hands and fingers no longer deliver the excellent penmanship that they once did. My hand writing is looking more like chicken scratch with each year added to my life. Plus, I find it quite painful and my fingers freeze numb almost immediately upon picking up a pen or pencil. I have decided that a compromise is necessary. I will type most of the book. I will cut and paste of tape the typed recipes and tips into her book. I'll the add a few words or a poem or such thing to each page. And this way if I don't get them into her cookbook she can always come here to find them. hope they prove to be useful or at least interesting to someone. Thus, I share.

So my Libby girl since Henry loves corn on the cob I'll give you these corny tip. Get it? Then don't let go!!

1.) Buy fresh corn cob. take off the husks and pull all of the silk off. the tip is to soak them in a bowl of ice water (called a ice-water bath) for 30 minutes. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water slightly sugared and salted to a rolling boil. Drain the corn and drop gently into the boiling water. When the water comes back to a full boil let the corn cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain immediately...do not leave corn sitting to get soggy in the hot water. Put corn on a serving platter and eat immediately. Cover the remaining corn with heavy duty foil to keep warm.

You can either eat the corn right off the cob (there are small grips that you can buy to poke in each end to hold the corn while you eat. If you want to slice the corn from the cob to serve a good way is to use a bunk or angel food cake pan. Put the corn cob on the hole and take a sharp knife to slice the corn off of the cob. The corn will fall nicely into the pan. Discard the corn cobs when you are done slicing.

You can serve the corn with a bit of salt and rubbed with butter or margarine. There are also many recipes for herb and different flavored butters that you can make and use. Many the time corn has been our entire meal. Of course in the summer and fall when there is so much fresh produce available we are also likely to have meals of tomatoes or beets and such too.

Soaking the corn in ice water makes for a firmer juicier kernel. The little bit of sugar and salt simply enhances the flavor of the corn. I have found that I enjoy the corn without the butter or margarine. Still, I do love it best with butter melting down my chin.

If you want to cook corn on the grill simply pull the husks back but not all the way off. Pull out the silk and re-wrap the cobs with the husk. Soak in the ice-bath with a squirt of lemon or lime juice, scant salt and sugar to the water. Let soak for 30 minutes. remove corn (husks and all) from the ice-bath and lay on paper towels to drain a bit. Put on a try and transfer to the grill. Turn the corn a few ties while cooking to cook evenly. The husks will help the corn from drying out and from burning. It take 10 minutes or so depending on the grill temperature. You will end up with wonderfully flavored hot corn. Add butter and more salt (to taste) if you like when eating.

2.) To make a perfect pouched egg you can put a pan of water to boil while you drop an egg or two into a small container (careful not to break the yolk). Add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the boiling water then gently slide the egg(s) into the boiling water. I get the egg container as close to the B. water as I can (without burning my hand) when I am sliding the eggs into the water. I hold a large cooking spoon to drop the eggs into for a bit while the egg forms together. Let the eggs cook to desired doneness. I like mine at 4+ minutes. Many people like their at 3 minutes for a soft boiled egg texture. I serve them on top of buttered toast. These are also good for eggs Benedict or homemade egg McMuffins.

Coddled eggs are similar to pouched eggs but are often baked in a water bath in a ramekin in the oven. You can buy "Bein Marie" or even use a double-boiler to make coddled eggs in. A baked egg can be a delight and a easy way to make eggs for a crowd. You can even use a muffin tin to make eggs for a large group. It's fun to experiment.

A nice brunch meal would be single servings of egg dishes served with fresh fruit and sliced avocado and warm muffins or hot buns. Simply fry a skillet of hash browns or make a pot of roast beef hash. Spray a large 12 muffin (the giant muffin) sized tin with oil then line the cups with thin slices of ham or partially cooked bacon. When the hash or hash browns are browned place a serving on top of the meat. Make a egg mixture (whatever your family likes in a scrambled egg dish or an omelet...pour over the hash/hash brown mixture about an inch from the top. Pop in a 375 degree oven on the middle rack for 13-18 minutes or until done to your taste. Pull from the oven and sprinkle small shreds of you favorite cheese(s) on top of the hot egg. Place the individual eggs on plates lined with a bed of fresh lettuce. Add slice of fresh avocado, tomatoes, oranges and other fresh fruit or berries. I like thin slices of melons. Serve with a muffin or bread serving, butter and fresh jam or honey. Offer juices, teas and coffee and milk.

This is quick, simple and filling and people feel special when you feed them this way. It's like being served a mini quiche or egg tart. You can make a Hollandaise sauce or any other topping your family might like. You could use seafood instead of meat or add veggies or salsa. Use your imagination and you will be delighted with the results.

So there you have it...my tasty tip for today. Enjoy and feel free to share your tips with me. I love to learn and try something new.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"French Toast and Scrambled eggs"...

2011-02-21T08:24:00.005-06:00

Dear Blog,

I've heard the old saying, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." which when you think about it is a dammed stupid saying but, nonetheless it comes to mind when I say that Kevin made the French toast this time around and it was sorely lacking that special touch.

So okay...I love French toast even more then the waffles and pancakes that I love. I also love when Kevin offers to make breakfast and asks what I want and actually cooks what I ask for. I think that sometimes the asking is just to hear himself talk and then he makes what he wants to make anyway. Yesterday he offered up his services and he asked. I said French toast and scrambled Mexican eggs. I would have loved some sausage, bacon or a slice of ham fried to go with it but there was none in the house and I didn't expect him to get dressed in winter garb (a ten minute job in itself) to go to the store to get some.

Luckily we had plenty of almost stale white bread from when Henry was here that needed to use up. So Kevin sets about to make my (our) breakfast. He was happily whistling away in the kitchen...my kitchen which he takes over every time he gets a lay off from work...but that's a whole other post in and of itself.

Soon I was indulging in two pieces (Kevin ate six pieces) of French toast with my sugar-free maple syrup (which is almost as tasty as the real thing) and a small side of scrambled Mexican eggs. I love when the syrup runs into the eggs too. I even allowed myself a cup and a half of coffee creamed twice like I like it and a small tumbler of OJ.

So not wanting to (look my gift horse...Kevin...in the mouth) so to speak...I didn't mention that the French toast was not quite up to par. Not quite up to my standards. I can be such a bitch if my food isn't cooked just right. Yesterday I was trying very hard to be the good little blue fairy that I know I can be if I try really, really hard. I decided that I wouldn't mention that there was not enough salsa in the Mexican egg scramble and no cheese whatsoever. I would simply eat and enjoy the fact that he cooked it for us. I was a good blue fairy.

And:

Next time if he is making the same thing I will say something, in a nice way, like...don't forget the vanilla and cinnamon in the egg mix for the french toast. Make sure to cook mine tell it's really dark (I have a hard time with half-cooked French toast or eggs for that matter). I will measure out the salsa for him and lay out the cheese. I'll gently remind him that the cheese goes on top of the eggs for the last minute of so. And dammit I might go for the syrup that is loaded with sugar. I will have breakfast meat in the house and I will drink two full cups of coffee. After all we only have French toast about 3 or 4 times each year I don't think indulging now and again will kill me...and if it does I will die with a good sweet taste in my mouth. (S)

Today's breakfast...a slice of cheese, a dish of plums sans the juice and a cup of tea. I'm cooking. teeheehee

Who comes up with these crazy sayings, anyhow?

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Two Beauty Tips"...

2011-02-17T14:51:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

Two quick beauty skin tips.

1.) Cut an orange in half. Squeeze the juice out then take the orange and rub your elbows, ankles or any other dry skin areas with it. Let it dry removing any pulp when it's dry. I do it twice each day. It makes a huge difference in just a few days. It even helps with psoriasis. I heard this on one of Dr. Oz's programs a few weeks ago, gave it a try and now I swear by it.

2.) Cut the tip of a Vitamin E capsule off. Squeeze the gel from the capsule onto a Q-tip and rub it gently under your eyes and on your eye lids (being careful not to get any into your eyes). This helps with puffiness and dark circles around the eye area. Let it dry. I do this before I go to bed and wash gently with cold water in the morning.

Addendum:

To help prevent puffiness and dark circles drink liquids (even water) at room temperature. Eat no ice. Cold liquids and ice cause sinus problems which causes the swelling and breaking of surface veins which is what makes for raccoon, tired looking skin and eyes. And who wants that or other sinus related problems? Sometimes, I must admit I do give into the ice which I crave all of the time. It's a pica problem but at least it's not eating dirt, chalk, or clay like many women crave. An added Chromium pill each day helps some with the ice cravings. Looking at raccoon eyes is also a good incentive.
So there you have it.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Surprised and Delighted"...

2011-02-17T14:43:00.002-06:00

Dear Blog,

So imagine my surprise when in my mail I find a second box of the juiciest most wonderful oranges in the world.

Thank You, Thank You and Thanks again my Daisy girl. I am right now sipping on a lemonade concoction. Thanks again, to You. It's juice from the four lemons, one of the oranges and one of the grapefruits with sugar and icy water in the mix and it is wonderful. Just right. Not too sweet and not too tart. I may need to fight Kevin for the last glass. The juice was enough to make a gallon. I should save the last glass for the next day that we see sunshine. I could then haul a lawn chair out to the snowbank and anchor it down. Drag out the huge sun umbrella and a straw hat to wear with my puffy parka and snow boots. I could sit there in the cold temps sipping the lemonade. I'd see where my mind and the illusion I conjure up and the lemonade will carry me. Can you see it now?

My poor neighbors will think I have finally gone over the deep edge. Oh well, maybe they already think that and would just wave as they drove by.

Yesterday I saw my doctor. Just the usual routine old age stuff. They had me answer a few questions about how I'm feeling. Turns out it was a small test to determine depression. No big Skinner diagnosis or anything ..just a general quickie query. Seems the score is rated on the old 1 to 10 ratio and I had a whopping 9. "So what's wrong with you?", he says to me. I, being in a lippy mood tells him, "You're the doctor, you tell me." He asks if he should give me something...he looks at the notes on me that have carefully been typed into the computer system and says, "I see you take zoloft." I need to explain to him that zoloft is great for two things...it stops panic attacks and screws one's libido up. It makes for a great birth control pill. For depression it does diddly zip...nada...nothing. At least that's the way it works for me. Well, says he, "Maybe I should add something.?!"..So I say, "Yeah like maybe sunshine. Like maybe a beach and a new swimsuit and a tall icy cold mojito. Toss in a plate of lobster and fresh tropical fruit and we'll call me cured. Oh and toss in the plane ticket (one way) so that I need never come back and lodging."

Well, needless to say I didn't walk out with the prescription that I asked for but he did give me one for the gout pain I have been in again. I'm supposed to take one pill per day for 3 days. As I'm going out the door I'm thinking, oh yeah that's really going to help. Three lousy little pills. I've got to say that he was right on the nut about that. I took one yesterday afternoon and I can walk again today and am almost pain free. After two more doses I will probably be able to skip rope. I now love that doctor. I still want that other prescription and I really do (like I told him) think this is a situational/seasonal depression. I am the first to admit that our world of upheavel is enough to give any of us pause. Thus, I refused prescription for depression. If I could take three little pills and cure the world or my corner of it, I would. Since that wouldn't help I'll hold out for some sunshine.

Kevin and I went to a local cafe for lunch after my visit to the doctor. I enjoyed a tender beef and Swiss sandwich. Sounds like a strange mix but they heat it and the Swiss is mild so it's not overwhelming. I took a cup of the chicken noodle soup from the hot and cold salad bar to go with it. The soup was delicious albeit a bit salty (probably why it tasted so good). I like the big soft fat noodles they use in their soups. Kevin (who can put away 10,000 calories) per sitting and never gains an ounce had several pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, a large salad and some veggies and a bowl of soup. I marvel at how he can eat. Oh and he polished off half of my sandwich too.

He should be the fat one in this family. Especially so if one is adding up the calorie count. A couple of years ago when I was in the hospital I was on a salt restricted, 1000 calories per day diet. When he was in for his heart attack 3 years ago they were feeding him 850 calories for lunch plus energy drinks, all the snacks he wanted and two other high calorie meals. I know this for a fact because they printed out all of the dietary information on his menu card that came with his meals. Of course when I was there they had my calorie allotment in bold letters. Sick, eh?

So anyhow it was nice to have lunch out while we waited for my prescription to be filled. The waitress is the same waitress that has waited on us for the past 12 years. We've become fast friends so I love the chance to gab with her too.

Well...I'm going to scoot now. Time for my nap. I've been tired what with missing lots of sleep with the gout pain waking me up several times this past week. Seems my small hiatus is over so I'll probably be back in a couple of days with more whining. You lucky dogs.

Thank you again Daisy for sharing with me and I want an update about you please. I am still sending good vibes to you. I have five more weeks of dental appointments and I should be done with that until I need to go in for my next cleaning. KNOCK WOOD. I hate going to the dentist. I have this wild urge to support my local dentist and his family in the style they have become accustomed to. There will be two fillings, one root canal, a cleaning and a few implants to the tune of an estimated $4,500.00. I better get a second job. I will be very happy if my final appointment really is on March 30th. Every Wednesday to the dentist for 7 weeks is more then enough torture for me.

I'm so sick of snow. I'm looking into being hypnotised for smoking cession. Ain't life grand?

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

2011-02-17T08:36:00.000-06:00

Dear Blog,

Just dropping by to wish Dan a "Happy Birthday". I hope you get a chance to do something special for yourself today. Have a steak, drink a beer and have the kids feed you some gooey birthday cake.
Love you, Mom

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Taking A Break"...

2011-02-08T09:38:00.001-06:00

Dear Blog,

So I have finally made a decision about blogging. I am not (at this time) going to shut my blog down but I am going to take a break from it. So the way to keep in touch with me (for those two or three of you who bother) simply go to the side bar and find the e-mail slot and drop me an e-mail now and again. I generally check my e-mail every week or so and I will get back to you.

I have a lot of things that I want and some that I need to take care of. I will be putting my time to those endeavors for awhile. I really have a need, right now, to purge and simplify my life. There is no need to worry about me. This break is a needed and good thing.

Wish me well and I'll be waiting to hear from you gals. Thanks for all of the support you have given me and for the interest you have had in my blog. Thanks for being my friends. Love, Jolie

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

The end for now.

"Dear Blog,"...1000th. Post

2011-01-26T09:09:00.002-06:00

1000th POST HAS ARRIVED. WHOLE LOTTA B.S., eh?

Thanks to all of you who have visited through the years. You will still be able to catch me at Tis/Me until I decide if I'm closing the old Humptydump down.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Winter Blah's"...

2011-01-21T19:06:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

Winter is so dammed long in Minnesota. It's depressing and cold. The worst of it is that we still have 3 or 4 months of it ahead. I often wonder how different my life would be if I would have had 6 more days back in 1982 to wait in Vegas to hear about the job I had applied for. Six days and I would have moved to Carson City right outside of Reno and never returned to Minnesota again. I've had to make myself believe that I am where I am for a purpose or else I would be blaming the world for what I have thought of as my bad luck every time I lived another winter here. It's been many long miserable winters since 1982. There was 174 of us who took the state test for the 4 positions that were open and I was one of the four who was hired. It was six days too late and I was back in Minnesota with literally $1.00 to my name in the worse part of the city in a bus station after a 73 hour bus trip with a 10 year old by my side and a jar of p-nut butter, some saltines and 3 bananas and 6 hard-boiled eggs for her and I too eat for those 73 hours. I can't go on with the rest of the story. Not right now.

I try not to but sometimes I do wonder and think about what could have been had I been give 6 more days.

And then I make myself count my blessings because I want to look for the good in life and for happiness and I can't do that if I let myself sink into a pity party for Jolie. I can't allow myself to remember what was and what could have been. It is so dammed easy to find reasons to feel sad or sorry for myself and so hard to remind myself of all of the wonderful things that I enjoy each and everyday. But I'm working on it. Really I am.

A note to Daisy.

Hi Daisy girl,

I'm sorry to hear you have been feeling low and sick. I cannot even imagine the pain and sheer exhaustion that you are in. Will you get a reprieve for a while now? Sometimes it seems the cure is as bad as the illness and on some days it must be worse. I'm hoping that you are better real soon and can enjoy being outside and in you garden around your roses. I can just picture you in your yard picking fresh fruit and having a nice Caesar salad and fresh squeezed lemonade in a tall chilled glass with lots of ice. I see you with a big brimmed hat on your head and sunglasses shading your eyes with the new Scarpetta book in your hand. Of course you will have your feet resting on a pillowy soft ottoman and the scent of new roses wafting your way as the breeze picks up ever so nicely. If I shut my eyes I can see me sitting in a chair across from you enjoying a good visit and sunshine. I'd probably be sneezing from the smell of the roses.

It's 25 degrees below zero here today and I have no idea how much colder the wind chill might be making it. The people in the news are actually showing some concern for all of the homeless people on the city streets in Minneapolis and St. Paul. How many will die. How many will lose toes, fingers and ears to frost bite. No planting roses for me. No sitting outside on a patio with my feet resting on a ottoman. No naps in a hassock. Heck I'm not even going to crack the door open. I may not even look out the window. I'm drinking a cup of hot cocoa and enjoying my warmed up slippers. I thumbed through two magazines and read the weekly paper. I watched another "Closer" repeat ( I so love Brenda Leigh Johnson).

And then:

I shut my eyes and I think of you and try to wish your pain and the cancer in your' body away. I think of my Robin girl who is in Chicago living alone and needing a way out. I think of my brother Ray with surgery and the great unknown ahead. I think of my brother Denny (who died suddenly last April 1st) and I miss him so much and I worry about his widow. She is having such a horrible time of it. She is from Russia and has no family here. She is trying to raise her three year old son alone in Denver while going to nursing school and grieving for her husband. The government won't allow her father or mother to come from Russia and help her get through this time. I've been her. The mom alone with little kids and no one to turn to. My heart aches for her and I am dammed angry at a world that doesn't care about women and kids and the poor.

And I simply cannot bitch about how much I hate the cold winter. Perhaps having all of you people in my life is God's way of reminding me to be thankful and to count my blessings and to reach out with my heart to all of you. I hope that by me being here and thinking good thoughts for all of you I am doing some good in the world.

The bastards in Washington shot down the medical plan and they do not think for a second about those who are in the streets in 25 degree below-zero weather. They have money, they are warm, well fed and have medical care. They obviously do not care about those who don't...and in my mind I can hear Nanci Griffin singing..."God is watching from a distance."

By the way Daisy, I love the Scarpetta books. I'll have to order the new one from the library. I think I am up to date except for the new one. reading is one of the things that allows me to escape for a while too.

I just heard about a new book store today. It's in Minneapolis and is a mystery/crime bookstore. My daughter (Richelle) and I are going to check it out when I go to spend a Saturday with her. I think one or two of the other girls might come along too. We're going to Cosco and Trader Joe's and then out to lunch. It should be a fun day if I don't peter out too quick.

All of us like oriental food.

There's a place on Grand Avenue in St.Paul that is called "Just Desserts" and boy do they have desserts and fancy decadent cakes so maybe we'll go there and get cake to celebrate Richelle's Birthday since we didn't get together for it last week. We can pretend we are at a fancy tea. Maybe I shall wear a hat and even pretend to be a lady.

I've been dragging butt the last couple of weeks. I haven't done much around here and I haven't even felt like writing in my blog. I think I need a month on some warm beach. Or at least a day in the cities with the girls having fun. I am going to start some sewing projects and start working on a jigsaw puzzle. Maybe projects will keep me afloat. I promise to write more soon.

Right now I am off to watch the last show of "Medium". I will be so sad to see it go. I love the new "Harry's Law" on NBC...with Kathy Bates. Maybe we'll see a few more new shows that are good. I'm so dammed sick of all of the SO CALLED reality shows.

When all is said and done...I will sing a verse or two of my favorite hymn...just for me and you.

"Row, row, row, your boat gently down the stream..merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream."

It is so dammed hard to try to lead a normal life with so much going wrong in the world. I want a fugue.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

Addendum:

I teared up at the end of "Medium" tonight. They ended it with such class but I am so sad it has to end. It is/was one of my all time favorites. Good luck to all of the actors and may they go on to have even greater success. I'll be watching for all of them and I will watch all of the repeats. Jolie...-30-

"Happy Birthday Richelle"...

2011-01-18T12:26:00.001-06:00

Happy, Happy day my sweets. I hope your lunch out with friends and your dinner out with Dan IS FUN. I remember our first adventure with each other on this day very well. It wasn't really a party per say but you were a wonderful gift. You were beautiful then and you are beautiful now and I will always love you.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU MY Petite SWEET"....Love you, Mom & Kevin too...
-30-

"From Robin's Blog"...

2011-01-17T13:18:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

Ever notice how sometimes things just seem to connect and fall into some sort of a universe where they mingle and somehow make sense? Here I will give you three examples of what I mean. First Example happened just now. Like my previous post where I was speaking about me feeling like my voice is not heard...

Well I went to check in at Robin's blog and found a new poem she has put up...it's as if someone heard. Here it is and I know Robin won't mind that I find it so moving and wanted to share it here too.
***************************************************************

I Didn't Say it, but....

TO THE NEW YEAR

With what stillness at last

you appear in the valley

your first sunlight reaching down

to touch the tips of a few

high leaves that do not stir

as though they had not noticed

and did not know you at all

then the voice of a dove calls

from far away in itself

to the hush of the morning

so this is the sound of you

here and now whether or not

anyone hears it this is

where we have come with our age

our knowledge such as it is

and our hopes such as they are

invisible before us

untouched and still possible.

~Poet Laureate

W.S.Merwin
***************************************************************

It touched home for me.
Jolie
***************************************************************

Second example:

The other day when Secret Agent woman was writing a comment on a post on my Tis/Me blog it was about mice and a rat snake...the verification word she got was...ratus. Mingling in a universe or what?

Third example:

A while back I was having a dream where me and my daughter Richelle were up in the north woods...you know that place that is 400 miles north of everything. I was whining and bugging her to take me to and to show me where her hidden blueberry bush stash was. She always picked the sweetest blueberries. When I told her in the morning about the dream she says...emm that's strange I just bought blueberries on sale yesterday. Mingling in a universe or what?

Life can be pretty darned strange. I looked and this is post number 997...time for the countdown.

How are you feeling Daisy? I'm hoping you are feeling well. I'll be by later Robin. Miss you too.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Why more then one blog?"...

2011-01-17T10:57:00.091-06:00

Dear Blog,

People often ask why I have two blogs. Well actually I have four blogs but only two that are connected here. Many people don't even know that I have one blog and many could care less if I write in a blog or not. I originally started this blog as a way to communicate with my Mother, Shirley, whom I could never communicate well with in person and even sometimes found it a struggle to talk with her on the phone. From the time that I met her when I was near 10-years-old just finishing up the fourth grade I had a love/hate bittersweet relationship with her. I don't want to go into great detail about the relationship or about my tenuous childhood but suffice it to say that I don't recall very many happy times...yet, I seem to be able to conger up all my bad memories very easily. I am sick to death of bad memories and would prefer to live in the moment and in my adult world. Much of my little girl world is not a happy place to travel back to.

So since we (Mother and I) could not get along even if we did have a love connection of sorts I felt obligated to do my daughter thing as best I could. My solution was to write little letters to her. I would try to keep it upbeat and newsy. I'd talk about what was happening in my world and I'd throw in a few tidbits about Kevin and the kids and grand kids and even the pets. I'd add a bit about local current events (county fair, local parade, steak fry, snow mobile races, the yard and flowers in bloom). I'd add a few poems, occasional recipe and maybe even a joke or two and say a few words about our neighbors. I think she enjoyed the pet stories and the recipes the best. I had, from the get go, thought that after a year I would compile the stories and events into a home-made book and gift it to her at Christmas with her other gifts. She loved to read and she loved Laura Engels Wilder types of books. She loved the family day to day stuff. I hoped that she would be elated that I had written a book for her and she maybe would get a chance to know a bit about me and not about who she thought I was or who I should be. I, like most kids, always wanted her approval.

To complete my endeavors I even went and found a couple of old books that were classics and were in good shape. I cut the front and back covers of the book off and punched holes on the outside and found pretty lace to put through the pages of the book to hold it together. The first year I gave her a blank book of paper pages made like that to write her thoughts down in. To my knowledge she never did. I would write in the blog and occasionally I would copy her a few pages and send them to her. By the time I thought I had enough pages to make her the book and give it to her for Mother's Day she had died a month earlier. I think I deliberately held off finishing it. I know that I thought she'd never read it and I'd feel let down again. She hadn't shown a lot of interest when I'd send her a few pages here and there. Perhaps she loved every page I sent her and bragged about it to Aunts and friends and such. Perhaps she simply forgot to mention it to me.

To say she was not a gusher would be a mega understatement. She said her mother didn't show a lot of affection either. I know old Grandma O. never showed anything but disgust for me to me...yet after she died my Grandpa O. said I was one of her favorites. Maybe he was just being kind. They behaved as if it was sinful to be prideful or to show emotion or love outwardly. You knew (ha-ha) that you were loved if they fed you and didn't toss you out to the street. Lots of people in Minnesota came from those beliefs. Garrison Keillor writes about them all of the time and tells stories of them on his radio show. He has Minnesotans tagged to a tee. If you've ever heard his "Prairie Home Companion" radio program on NPR you know what I mean. When I hear him talking about the Lutherans I see my Mom.

After she died I felt my writing change and not necessarily for the better. The mood of the world changed and my writing reflected the negative changes around me. The real world scared her. She liked to read about happier days. Days when people struggled but always came out on the top. She liked how a woman struggled to make a perfect pie crust and eventually became such a great pie maker that she won the blue ribbon at the fair. I envy her the happy endings. She refused to listen to or talk about politics or the poor or violence in the streets and never would have worked in my field or with the people I worked with. She didn't even want to hear that they existed.

To my Mother poor people were the little black kids that the missionaries sent money to overseas and got a picture back showing the kid with a milk mustache and a smile on their face. They did not live here in America. Kids in America (in her mind) were all round and rosy and well fed. She lived in the post WWII America and it was a butterfly world and at the end of the lovely rainbows there really were huge pots of gold waiting for all of us. America has Sunshine and blooming flowers everywhere.

So:
It was fun to write a blog when other people would comment and we'd check out each others blog. Many of us actually became friends and learned to care for each other. Like they say nothing lasts forever. People move on to other things. Things happen in their perdonal lives that take them away from blogging. Soon people just get bored and shut down their blogs. Many went underground trying to hide out from people who had begun to harass them. Some died. Soon I heard from very few people. Soon I felt like I was writing to myself and I can do that even better in private. Soon I too was ready toclose the blog down.

I decided, in a last ditch effort, to start a new blog and to try to write about different things. Maybe even some happy things and not focus on world problems. I have done some better with that but it's very easy for me to get over passionate about things that I have no control over and I slide back into preaching. Ever notice how many people in a church sleep through a sermon? Well, I figure my readers probably sleep through about half of what I write. Sometimes I bore myself. I have a few straggling followers...most of whom don't even comment or respond although they do all say they read my blogs/posts regularly when I speak with them in real life. Doesn't help me here in cyber world. And it's not fair that they should be able to keep up with me and never share whats going on in their lives. Maybe I'd like to hear what they are doing too. Maybe I want to hear about their gardens and kids and political worries and jobs and movies they have went to lately. Like my friend Buff (who would still be writing to me if he hadn't up and died) used to say..."It takes a friend to be a friend." Damn I wish he were still alive.

I guess I wanted a place where I would have some feedback on my thoughts. Some debate. Some sharing. It is not working out that way. Thus, I am still on the edge of shutting down. I may simply go to personal journaling and spend other writing time on short stories or essays or poetry. I need to finish Libby's cookbook. I am very near to my 1000th post and I think that will be a good time to end this phase in my life. The idea of different blogs was also a way of exploring the other sides of me. I know there is a funny bone somewhere. And I find it neat to have a blog where I can simply write on my observations of the people I see and even some that I meet. I like the idea of a poetry blog and maybe even a cooking blog. And then again I should be spending my free time on painting.

Maybe someday when I am long gone my kids or my grand kids will decided to give it a read. Maybe they will get to know me and see where they come from. I wish I had journals that my grandmothers kept. What was common day to day events for them would be like visiting a world unknown and yet the same as mine.

So there you have it.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Death In Arizona"...

2011-01-17T08:15:00.042-06:00

Dear Blog,

I know the date on here say January 17th but I wrote this last Thursday which would have been January 13th. I just didn't get it into print until today. It's been my long week end to work so I didn't get here at all. I guess old news is better than no news, eh? So here it is...such as it is.
***************************************************************

The sky is still black. I don’t see the heaps of snow right now. Still I know they are there. It snowed most of yesterday. Big white flakes and there was enough on the ground by nightfall to find Kevin out with his shovel clearing the walk and driveway. Thank goodness for street and entrance lights. From what the weather guy said on TV last night I’m sure he will be back out there this morning. This latest snow dumping was not a big surprise. It’s been warm, in the twenties, and always when we have a warm spell we get bombarded with snow. Most kids and winter people love every flake we get. Me…not so much.

I’ve been lazy and lethargic all week. I haven’t even felt like writing. If I’m boring myself what with my laziness what would I do to those two or three people who check in on me? Some days I feel like I have become the weather woman. One knows they are really, really old when the weather channel becomes what they watch on TV all day while complaining about re-runs. I haven’t come to that yet…but I sure spend a lot of time looking out the window at the snow and ice piling up while moaning to my cat.

I’ve been upset over the killings in Tucson. I’m so sad for the one’s who were killed and their families and likewise I worry for the one’s who were injured. I’m sure they and their people will have a long and hard road ahead. I can’t even imagine what the families and friends of the one’s who died are feeling. I even worry for the sick soul of Jared Lounghner and for the family that raised him. I worry about the danger that Sarah Palin has put her family in with her stupid run of the mouth. God woman...think before you go on National TV trashing people.

It would be wonderful if the dammed politicians (Republican and Democrats, alike) would stop spewing their hate and rhetoric. It’s been over four years since the beginning of the Presidential campaigns and then over two years since the election and the politicians are still fostering their vile hate in the media. These last two years have been riddled, in-fighting and general mayhem. The politicians that are supposed to be working to make this a better world are at the helm of the most of the problems. They have greatly distorted and distracted us from the real issues by plaguing us with bogus concerns. It like a clever game of slight of hand. distract us with mythical illusions therefore the real problems and issues that need tending to are shoveled under the surface. Hark! How do we think Bush was able to lead this country into a bankrupt corrupt hole right before our eyes?

Seems that now the powers that be think we will blame President Obama for the mistakes of the past 50 or 60 years. What are to to expect...more killings or killing attempts at those who back Obama? How far are we going to let this go? How dumb do we want to play? How many lies are we going to fall for? Damn it...when are we going to rock the effing boat? When are we going to start demanding that these politicians be held responsible for their part in stirring up violence? If this incident in Tucson was a TV show (Law And Order) Palin would be put on trial. She would have to face a jury for her crime. Instead she gets to skate and be allowed to get on National TV and spew more of her hate. We have become a nation of gutless idiots being lead by our tail.

And if you have to ask what a redneck is...believe me you are one. Palin doesn't recognize herself either. NOT ME...says she. NOT MY FAULT.

I’m greatly surprised that we haven’t witnessed more violence and killings on our streets. This is not a time to spread hate around. This is a time when we need hope and we need people who can come up with changes that will make our world better. There is never a time for those who entice people into violent acts. I'm not saying that all Republicans are evil and all Democrats are goodie two shoes who spread only love. I am saying that all of their back-stabbing, racism, and anti-President Obama has got to stop if our country wants to heal and become a great nation again.

I want all of the so-called leaders to show a good example. I want them to shut their mouths and get the hell to work making this a great place to live. I want them to work together to find jobs, get a decent medical plan and stop the violence. The best way to stop the violence is to share the wealth so that all people get their needs meant and to find work for idle hands to do. But...to me...the number one thing that needs to be done is to teach by example. Thus...all of the in-fighting needs to stop. Leaders need to work together in a friendly way. They need to show each other kindness and respect. And they need to work for all of the people...not just for the rich.

To me it's almost as if we live in two different worlds. Like we are still in the north (Union) or in the south (Confederate Rebels). It's like the war ended long ago but still rages on. The Union (Democrats) fighting to free and help the people. The Confederates (Republicans) fighting to be elite. To hang on to their wealth at the cost of human life. And since President Obama won the election they have truly proven what a bunch of sore loser's they really are. They have shown how dirty they can be. They have become public traitors and they have tried to block every move President Obama has made that would benefit the common people. I believe they want war. I know they want Mr. Obama out.

To me the way the Republicans have been behaving like a group of bullies (racist bullies) let lose in the playground to rule over the smaller kids. They take away all of the best toys and goodies. The little kids get more fearful and angry each day. Trouble is (as I see it) soon the little kids bring guns to the playground. Guns are great equalizers…bullies die. Unfortunately innocent people die with them just by being in the same world.

A lone killer is one thing but there are all sorts of underground groups and militia’s just biding their time. I think that if President Obama were white these groups would already have spoken. Perhaps they hate having a black leader more then they hate the ruling rich. If they ever get a clue that he is a President for the common people and decide to back him we may very well end up in an all out war. It certainly has happened in other places in the world. War and violence seems to be man’s nature. Too bad so many women are leaning that way also.

The shooter is almost incidental. A nobody. A mental case. If he was thinking at all it was not with a clear mind. Unfortunately there are many like him in all of our cities and small towns. Unfortunately these politicians and groups that spew their hatred and lies in the media are feeding the fire that makes these people act. He probably thinks he is some sort of hero. We, of course see a freak. A killer. His mug shot makes him look insane and totally evil. Scarier yet is the photo's that we see from before the killings when he looked like a clean cut normal kid. Just goes to show you violence comes in all forms and can live beneath the surface of all faces. Palin looks and sounds like an air-head and look what comes out of her mouth.

I think Palin and her ilk should go for a nature walk with the grizzlies. Is Alaska large enough to hold all of the Palin’s in our world? It’s like Palin and the Tea Parties and anti-Obama people have been whispering in that killer's ear. How many other ears do they whisper in? How many more would-be killers are being enticed to do the dirty work for these so called public servants of us citizens? Why are Americans giving the hate mongers and the media the go ahead to destroy our nation and our President?

Maybe next time it will be in front of my grocery store. Supposing it happens in front of your neighborhood grocery store? Maybe next time it’ll be that goofy kid that lives down the block. His family has always seemed a bit off. Social misfits are what they are. They are a harmless bunch but goofy nonetheless. Where have we heard that story before? The Palin’s of the world play to these people. Shame on you Sarah Palin for targeting people. Are you happy now? You might just as well have sited Gabrielle Giffords in yourself. No one is going to blame you any less because you say “not me”. None of us are going to forget the collateral damage. Do you have a plan for the possibility that someone might target you or your family? You need to think before you talk. Words hurt in so many ways. I will pray for you and yours.

So there you have it. I have said my piece. I wish it made a difference. I’d feel a whole lot better if it did. Are we still saying we live in the best nation in the world? Is that because the boys with the guns and a mind full of fear and hate are generally knocked to the ground or are killed themselves before they can shoot several more people? Or is it because we let the Sarah Palin’s of the world have free speech and get away with enticing sick minds?

Ah…I've said enough for today. I keep this up I'll be another Sarah Palin. The pendulum swings both ways. I try not to get suckered into the war but sometimes I simply must say enough is friggin' enough. I must call a spade a spade. A killer a killer and stupid is as stupid does. Sometimes I get sucked in. Do I think eighteen people shot warrents my speaking out?...Yes, I do.

Bye Blog, JjB…
-30-

"Weird Cravings"...

2011-01-12T17:17:00.004-06:00

Dear Blog,

So why would I be sitting here in mid-January with freezing temps dressed in three layers (in the house) wanting a root beer float or a ice cream sundae? The last couple of days it's all I seem to want. Instead I ate a nice lettuce and tomato salad with a slice of buttered bread. Buttered with "Promise" margarine...if one can call that buttered. Maybe I should say margarine (ed) with Promise. That and my cup of mint tea will suffice. Actually it tasted pretty good and hit the spot. I wish I could find Amarillo flavored tea. I used to get it a few years back...well several years back and it tasted so good and was warm and comforting too. I bet a root beer float flavored tea would be a winner. I might just as well give in soon else it'll drive me wild thinking about it.

Yes, Richelle...I did catch it this time (all on my own) I switched it from margin to margarine...unlike my warn to worn mishap last week. I would love to have an editor.

Very sunny and deceiving outside today. It looks so warm when it's really so icy. I had a long visit on the phone with my brother Ray the other day. He does have lots of medical issues going on but he seems to be in good cheer so that gives me hope. He usually sets my mind at ease. I hate that he and my other brothers live so far away. Thank god for telephones and e-mail. I guess we talked for about an hour or so. Always have lots to talk about what with coming from such a huge family and of course we are a lot alike.

Kevin is in a baking mood today. He made banana bread and has bread dough in the oven rising. The other day he made about 60 sugar cookies. They kind of taste like snicker doodles since he dipped them in a cinnamon/sugar mixture before he baked them. I think he is trying to kill me with sweets. I wonder if he can go to prison for giving a diabetic a sugar overdose. Death BY Sweets...a good book title, eh? Anyhow, I've been very good...just had a few of the cookies and plan on boycotting the banana bread completely even though he does make the very best banana bread around. I'm having walleye and veggies for dinner. I'd love to have some grilled pineapple with them but the pineapple in the store this week doesn't seem ripe and is very expensive. The pineapple would be my nod to the postponed Hawaiian vacation and a healthier sweet treat.

I better scoot. It's been such a lazy week. Maybe I need to go out in the cold for a short walk. It might wake me up...either that or get my sinus acting up again. I need to call the library and order a few books. Sometimes it takes forever for them to come in. Other times they'll all come in at once and I hardly have time to read them all. I have about 10 on my list plus a lot of my favorite authors are having new releases that are coming out. I heard or read somewhere that Lee Child has a new Reacher book out and of course James Patterson has a couple of new ones and Linda Fairstein has her latest on the shelves and I think even Lisa Scottoline and John LesCourt have new ones and Sue Grafton must be back with Kinsey Milhone by now. Janet Evanovich should have Stephanie Plum bringing in more bounty. Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci and Vince Flynn all have new books waiting for me. Not to mention the ones already on my list. So many books so little reading time.

This coming weekend on Saturday Kevin and I are going to plant our winter garden. I'll explain more about that later. Yes...we are planting outside, in January, in Minnesota. On Sunday he has to go down (to St. Paul) for recert training and testing for his job and the following Saturday he goes again for more testing and recert of his CPR. Always something going on.

Hope you are all well and having a good week.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Lazy Day"...

2011-01-04T14:56:00.013-06:00

Dear Blog,

I am worn out. After the last couple of weeks before Christmas and then the week between Christmas and New Year's and working my 4 day weekend...I am totally worn out. I swear I could sleep all day today. I do have lots of paper work to do and I need to study a bit for a test I must take for the State for my license/job. We'll see if I perk up later before I start that or else I may fall off to sleep while doing the reading for it. And me telling Kevin I'd like to go back to grad school. What?...Do I plan on sleeping through it?

I suppose it would be stupid to go to grad school after one has entered their sixties still, I have the itch and I'm sure there would be other oldsters there too. Many of us had to interrupt our educations to raise families and help pay the bills while we did so. Problem is that as we get older we tend to find new interests which may have nothing to do with our previous under grad work. I feel like I am well burnt out in the working with people thing. I don't have the fight in me anymore that one needs to make major changes, which is more then half of what working in social areas is about. I could be a professor and rile the young bloods up. That would be a good fit. Trouble with that is that I really like to be my own boss and call my own hours. Grad school might just end up being a treat for me...not a means to an end to find a job.

Maybe I should forget grad school and just opt for some classes that would be interesting for me. I love anthropology, any kind of Art course would do...maybe sculpture or pottery. I've always wanted to take some of the master gardening courses and a class on food preservation (canning and such). Learning to use a Serger and a knitting machine would be grand. Maybe learning how to weave and taking some advance sewing classes. I could brush up on my Spanish which I have all but forgot over the years and maybe take French also. Some writing courses and joining a writer's group again would be a hoot. I've always wanted to learn sign language. I suppose I could write a cookbook but heck there are so many of them out there already. I love home decor...maybe I should study that. So many interests...so little energy. I dare not take a political science course...I'd get so riled up it would be the death of me. OR...I'd be sent off to finish out my years in a prison or a nut-house for choking one of those cocky young republicans to death. I dammed near flip-out listening to or seeing them on TV.

I wonder what happens to all of the things we know when we die? Seems like a waste that those things would die with us. Perhaps that's why we become parents thinking that we could leave what we learn for the next generation to pass on. It irks me that if a person was to die of a sudden (which so many of us do) who would finish reading that book we are in the middle of. Would the book ever have an ending? Who would drink that last glass of juice or finish off the tube of toothpaste or water the plants or cancel the dental appointment. I hate to think of being dead and having so many things left unfinished. I always want to read a book to it's end. I generally am in the middle of two or three books at one time so if I couldn't die until I reached the end of the book(s) or the end of the toothpaste tube or such...I'd never be allowed to die. Does anyone else ever think of these things? I mean what if I had a piece of cake waiting for me? I wouldn't want to die and leave it behind. I certainly would not want Kevin eating my slice of cake. Richelle, will you please finish reading my books?

So....
Moving on to other things.

After finishing up with my client I took Libby to do a couple of errands and then we spent a lovely hour or so at the "Half-Price Bookstore". Yes, we did find some books we wanted and both left with smug smiles on our faces and an urge to get home to peruse through our treasures. It's the only place I know of these days where I can spend $20.00 and come home with a whole bag full of entertainment. I dropped Libby off and put the car on home. Me being very happy that I had clear roads. About thirteen miles north it starts to snow big fat flakes...Hark! says I..."I didn't know it was supposed to snow." About then I was feeling icky and faint which is my body's way of giving me the cue that I need to eat. I'm a diabetic and I know that I need to eat every couple of hours and yet I always get busy and forget. Here it was like 2PM and I hadn't eaten since a piece of toast about 8AM. So for safety's sake I stopped to have lunch. I went to the "Old Country Buffet" , which is about midway home. I had planned on stopping in at a store in the next town over to pick up one of their beef pot pies to bring home for lunch. They have the very best beef pot pies around.

The OC Buffet used to have good food. No so anymore. I don't know if they have new management or new cooks or have just decided to cut back on the better food that they used to offer...whatever the case may be...they are no longer a great place to eat. They had 3 kinds of soup which were all greasy or lumpy with a fake cheese base. The mashed potatoes looked like runny soup, the gravy was thick and lumpy and the hot-dishes we all yucky looking. The fried and baked chicken and the baked fish were all overcooked and dried out. Thankfully the salad bar had lots to offer and was fresh, the bread was hot from the oven and the skimmed milk was icy cold. For $6.24 (senior priced from noon to 3PM) my lunch of salad, milk and bread hit the spot, tasted good and did what it was supposed to do to level me out. The rest of the drive home went swell. Well...except for the heavy snow that fell all the way home. The roads got slushy. I noticed only a few slick spots here and there.

I near fell through the door when I got home thinking of a warm quilt, hot tea and a nice nap. Well, that was not to be. Our refrigerator (old as dirt) finally took a puke. It lasted a couple of years longer the we thought it would so I really can't complain too loudly. So since the oven on my stove had went kaput well over a year ago and only three of the four burners still worked we decided to go ahead and buy a new range too.

Back out into the snow we went. I wheeled and dealed with the vendor and got $200.00 knocked off the price and got the delivery and hook-up price cut in half. He agreed to take the old appliances with him and gave me two calender's, a new ink pen and a receipt. Today I am looking at my new stove and refrigerator. I went with black ones this time and opted for the model that has a pull out bottom freezer drawer. I've been saving money for a while now so I was able to pay cash without dipping into emergency monies. I certainly do not, in this economy, need one more payment. Every time I get a small personal stash saved something comes up. I guess, I'll not get to Hawaii any time soon. Time to start saving again.

And now:

When I sit in my kitchen baking something good I can read about Hawaii in some travel magazine and sneak peaks at my new black appliances. They really do look smart in my kitchen. Everything is black now with the exception of my microwave/over the stove fan. It'll be that way for a while. Next, I suppose it'll be a new washer/dryer, water softener or hot water heater. We replaced the furnace and central air system a couple of years ago. Always something, eh? There's so many hidden expenses to owning a house.

Kevin is laid-off work again. I'll have to find something for that man to do. He'll drive me crazy if he is under my feet all of the time. Thankful am I that he likes to go fishing. He's always happy as a little kid when he can come home with a mess of fish. He is a real outdoorsy person and sitting in the house with me can drive him crazy in a short order. I hope that by the time he retires we can build a nice big garage with a shop for him to putz in. He'd be much happier finding something to do. Maybe I'll set up a small sitting area with a coffee pot and small refrigerator, microwave and TV so his buddies can come and visit with him while he's futzing around. A place for him and the other old farts in his gang to hang out.

Well, I'm off now. I'm making a pot of ham and potato soup and have leftover chicken to make a small chicken noodle casserole with and I have reading for my test to do. I'll write more...maybe tomorrow. Robin, my girl...I'll write to you real soon. Daisy I hope you are having a okay day. And all the best to the rest of you. Keep warm.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"HAPPY NEW YEAR"...2011

2011-01-01T13:18:00.009-06:00

Dear Blog,

OMGosh! Do you believe 2011 is here already? Seems like just yesterday that it was 2010...gotcha!

So okay...maybe you caught it. I used to ask the kids..."Did you catch it?" if they said, "Yeah, yeah we got it Mom." They’d roll their eyeballs at me as if to say."How lame." Then I'd tell them..."Well, hold on to it then." They still don't know what to make of me. I still find motherhood a total mystery.

Time to bid 2010 goodbye and if I am to be totally truthful I'm glad to see it go. I wish all of the rough times would go with it. These last few years have been difficult one's for the world. Time for some good news and good days. Time for new jobs, good health and happiness. At the very least it's time for things to stop getting worse. That will be up to the powers that be. The big money boys that are in control. I know that I sound like a broken record always harping and squawking about the same things. I suppose I hope if people hear it enough they will start shouting for change soon. I'm more then ready for a new CD disc. I'm ready for a whole new genre.

I can't come to grips with the vendors who raise prices continuously and yet have the guts to complain and say they are not making a profit. Bunk!! Could they possibly think that any one of us believes that? When they can double, triple and quadruple prices in a year and serve up smaller amounts of products at the same time that goes way beyond a profit and becomes a gigantic rip-off. Have you picked up a can of Campbell's soup lately and looked at the size of the new triple priced can? It looks like the size of a toy can of soup one might find in a set of fake toy foods. Today we saw a can of Campbell's Chicken Gumbo soup it was $1.95 for a miniature can. We put it back. So much for using Campbell's for cooking. It would have cost us near $6.00 just to add it to the sloppy Joe's to make a decent sized batch. The Joe's were great without it. With their personal greed they are putting people out of work and causing many people in this the so-called richest nation in the world to go hungry.

It's a dirty dammed shame. It's no wonder that people around the world hates American's. They are bunching us...the masses, the common people in with the greedy vendors and big business men who control product and prices. They don't realize that milions of us have no rights at all. Wake up world...before they no longer have a reason to allow us to live.

If consumerism is what the experts really think is the answer to restoring our economy then why hasn't the government put a freeze on all of these price hikes? People cannot consume when the prices are so high. Are the vendors simply trying to grab as much as they can before we have a total collapse of the economy? They put a freeze on SS payments in 2008 and haven't given a cost of living raise since then. Not even the lowly 3% that was generally expected. Yet food, gas, medicine, hospital and clinic visits, along with the costs for everything else has seen 100+% increase in the same time period. Jobs and homes have been lost by thousands of workers. Many families have been forced to file for bankruptcy and are now part of the growing number of homeless people in America.

Many small businesses have shut their doors, while many huge companies have lain off thousands of workers, put a freeze on wages and taken away benefits. And there are those huge companies that have out-sourced the jobs. These company owners are dual thieves. They rob the American workers who now have no work and they rob the people in third-world countries by giving them wages way below normal pay standards, they make them work long hours often in horrible working conditions and give them no medical or other benefits.

Crime has risen in great leaps and money that was once eared for housing, schools and state hospitals and social programs has been spent on our over-swelling prisons. We now have more state and federal dollars going to feed and house prisoners then help poor women and children. The latest news that has been ebbing slowly through the channels are rumblings about taking food stamps and SS monies away from the poor people who live on them. The truly frightening thing is that rumbles are around for a bit and then bingo they become laws.

There is a hushed underground group of government lawmakers and their businessmen supporters trying to make laws that would put debtors into prison. They would literally make it against the law to be poor. Like we are going back to the archaic days of yore. What next legalized slavery again? Poor people either put in prison or bonded out to slave for the rich? Union's are already pretty much dead. Reagan saw to that. And if one was indentured they would not be in a union anyway. These same lawmaker's want to privatize the prison system in the United States. It will be at that time that we will see who the real criminals are in our country. I'm certain that many prisoners will die at the hands of their care giving watchdogs. Fuck birth control or abortion...let's just allow prisoners to be killed and send thousands of child-bearing aged women and young men be sent to war to die. Look at what happened when Hospitals, clinics, and dental offices became privatized and ran by rich businessmen.

To me a rich businessman in this country is by far a worse criminal then many of the small time crooks that are now sitting in prison. They steal from thousands and they are the opposite of a Robin Hood. His legend was to rob the rich to give to the poor that the rich had taken everything from. Rich men steal to make themselves richer and do not look at the cost to those who they steal from.

There are also rumblings of the many underground militia groups coming together to wage a revolutionary war. The time would certainly seem right for them to gain many, many followers what with so many hungry, discontent, homeless Americans whom are tired of watching the rich get richer off the rape of the poor. They are tired of seeing their kids go without. They are tired of going without themselves. Kevin actually watched one woman (before Christmas) in the store in tears over the high prices knowing her kids would not be getting any of the items they wanted. The vendors had gorged and raised prices too high for lower-income working families to afford. Many could not afford to have a holiday meal. Mostly handouts are what they and their kids would get.

Here's me hoping that these problems will be worked on this year. Here's me hoping that it won't take a revolution to see these changes come about. And that we can soon say that Capitalism, (which is the word to describe a group of the greedy rich who take and horde all of the goodies while they watch the masses go without and die) has left the building.

It may very well take a revolution to see real changes. If that is what it takes to make the necessary changes I say so be it. All I know is I feel changes are on the way. And though it may not feel like it right away I think that in the long haul the changes will make for a better way of life for millions of people.

Perhaps those who have refused to work with President Obama to make some positive changes that would benefit thousands in this country rise out of poverty will look back on what they have caused. I would hate to be rich in this country if there is a revolt. I'd not want to be one of the lawmakers that sold out to the rich. Actually I'd like to be somewhere in a mountain cave safely hidden away from it all. I feel that we are coming to an era in our history that will someday be known as a time of great changes that brought about a real equalization. A time when our species will finally band together to become a whole.

Any one make any good News Years resolutions? I did. Lets see if I can manage to stay with it.

Later then. Welcome 2011...I guess.

Bye Blog, JjB…
-30-

"Peaceful Christmas"...

2010-12-30T14:29:00.190-06:00

Dear Blog,

Christmas was very peaceful this year. Last year a bad winter storm, illness and bad driving conditions kept us home and alone. Which wasn't bad either. Just different. This year it was just our little family...the four kids, their mates, the two grandson's (Jordan and Henry) and Kevin and I. Kind of low-key and intimate.

We met at Libby's house on Christmas Eve...ate pizza and drank pop and nibbled on all of the goodies that Richelle had baked and brought. She keep confiscating the can of rosettes from me and passing them around. I thought it rude and a bit unfair since every one in our clan knows the rosettes belong to me. I wait all dammed year for these tasty delights. Every time I saw evidence of powdered sugar on lips or chins...I thought...traitor. They simply smiled and kept chewing. Brats!!

The first thing we did was play the dice game...winners got to choose a present and then when all the presents were gone they could play the steal part. We never did get around to the stealing part since the two boys...Jordan and Henry...could no longer wait to open their real Christmas presents. They, as usual, made out like a couple of bandits and both were very happy with all of their gifts. Every one else seemed very happy with what they opened also. They too had all sorts of treasures. Kevin and I were totally delighted just watching everyone having a good time and trying to guess what was in their packages.

Kevin was most happy with his brand new super-sized Stanley steel thermos jug and his can of Folgers coffee. My favorites were the 8"x10" inch photos of the boys, the two ornaments (one snow woman and one snowman) that had grandma and grandpa written on them and a bunch of books that I've been wanting. Two "Katherine Anne Porter" books, and a book of "Eudora Welty's" short stories plus, two memoirs. We also have some new gift cards, candy, movies and scads of other little things. Great gifts...thank you kids.

Everyone ate good, got nice gifts and best of all no one was real sick (Morgan is at the tail end of a nasty cold) but was well enough to join us and have a good time. The best for me was that everyone enjoyed being together and we had a great family gathering. Driving conditions were good. My stomach started to act up toward the end of the evening (the pizza and sweets, I suppose) so Kevin and I decided to drive home and return to Richelle's house for Christmas day. As it turned out I sent Kevin and stayed home to be near my lovely bathroom. Dammed touchy stomach. I inherited the touchy stomach thingy from my Mom. My two Dad's could eat anything. Cast iron guts is what Mom used to say. I slept most of the day and Kevin brought me a doggie bag, a gallon sized zip-lock bag of turkey carcass and bones and one with the leftover ham bone and Jordan home. What more could a woman ask for? My provider brought me a plate of Christmas dinner plus leftover bones for at least two kinds of soup and my boy to cuddle with. Ain't love grand!?

Jordan stayed a couple of days then Uncle came to get him. Seems he missed his Tia and friends and new Christmas stuff. He got in trouble when I found out he had been lighting matches and Tia says he has been in trouble at home a lot lately too. I probably (in the whole scheme of things) over-reacted. It frightened me to think he could have burned the whole house down while experimenting. In my heart of hearts and after I cooled down I admitted to Kevin and then he had to admit it too that I experimented with matches when I was about Jordan's age. I don't believe there are many of us who haven't done the same thing. It's got to be even more tempting and thrilling for a boy who's in Cub Scouts and wants to be a hunter/camper/army man. Oh...and Tia tells me he wants to own a garage and be a mechanic. A boys, boy all the way. Headache for Tia these next few years. I should buy her a big bottle of Excedrin's.

Kevin went back up to the Canadian Border to work for 3 very long days and is now home and at the lake walking/sitting on ice to fish. I have one more load of laundry to dry and fold and then maybe I'll read. All I need to do when I want supper is heat a bowl of ham and bean soup I made yesterday add some sour dough bread to make toast to sop up the juices. Add a glass of cold milk and I'll have me a fine supper. I will be content. Thanks for the ham bone Richelle. Kevin plans on eating fresh fish but he may end up with soup and toast as well. Just because a person (Kevin) is hungry for fish doesn't mean the fish want to be his food.

It's been a balmy day with temps in the low 30's today with...get this...rain and fog. When the temps drop tonight and in the morning we will have roads covered in ice. Jeremy, Henry's Dad, is going to drop him off here tomorrow. So it will be either spaghetti, sloppy Joe's or chili for tomorrow night. I hope he starts liking other food soon. (S) Well he does like breakfast sausage and p&j toast. If the roads are icy Jeremy better not be on them with him. I'd like to say he knows better...but...

The scary thing is that people get so cocky about traveling in bad weather. Just a few hours ago a couple and their dog died in a plane crash not more than 9 miles from here. The news announcer said it was due to weather. People really need to pay more attention. Maybe I should mention the crash to Jeremy. The roads are generally more dangerous then the sky.

Last night I read two short stories from my book of "Katherine Anne Porter" short story collection and they were terrific. I haven't read her works in years and I am so pleased to find I still enjoy them. She writes what would be considered a bit flowery (wordy) for these modern times but she was right on target for her day.

Last week I rented two movies...the new "Wall Street...Money Never Sleeps" one with "Michael Douglas" reprising his original role. I liked it and it is in keeping with the times. Similar to reading an article straight out of the "New York Times" newspaper or watching a "Law and Order" program where they act out the front page current events. I especially fell in love with "Carey Mulligan" and think she is one of the most beautiful young actresses I have seen in years. She's a very talented actress and I predict that she will go far. She played Michael Douglas' character's estranged daughter. Her lover was played by "Shia LaBeouf" who proved to be another younger actor with a great talent.

The second movie...the one that left me sitting on the edge of my chair is titled "Salt" with "Angelina Jolie" in the lead. "Liev Schreiber" was in his element too. I won't say much lest I give away the great plot but I do hope this one has a few sequels or becomes a weekly TV show. I don't expect that a star like "Angelina Jolie" would take on a TV series but I could easily see someone like "Jennifer Garner" (who did so well as the lead in "Alias") be the TV version of Evelyn Salt. I am always so awestruck by Jolie's acting. She is so beautiful as to be distracting yet her acting even outshines her beauty. I do like her as a brunette. Yet even the blond hair could not hide her beauty. I say BRAVO. "Inception" with "Leonardo DiCaprio" is what I'm renting next. And...it sounds as if we can next see "Carey Mulligan" as a blond "Daisy Buchanan" in the new remake of the "Great Gatsby" with "Leonardo DiCaprio" playing the great "Jay Gatsby".

So that's what I have been up to. How about any of you?

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Merry Christmas to all of our Family and Friends"...

2010-12-25T08:46:00.003-06:00

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and have lots of wonderful food and goodies and get some nice things from Santa too. Thanks for all of your well wishes and greetings to us. Since I didn't write a group letter or a poem this year...I will post a poem I wrote a few years ago. I'm not sure if it is recycling or re-gifting...either way I hope it will do. Remember the Christ in Christmas. Remember the Holy Baby.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS"

Love from, Jolie and Kevin
***************************************************************
A CHRISTMAS DREAM

2005

I had a dream of Christmas...as fine as a dream could be.
The lady Rockettes were a dancing out by my Christmas tree.
Long legs kicking high in fine silk stockings.
Red hats spun upon their lovely heads.
Smiles from bright red lips seeming to seek out me.
They danced in merriment out by my Christmas tree.
The ladies wore red velvet outfits with white fur for the trim.
The music was ever so pleasant as they danced again and again.
A large choir was singing songs of love and Joy.
And Santa was in his sleigh...brimming full with toys.
Fat snowflakes were falling heavy to the ground.
And lights were lit in houses all through our small town.
The cider was hot and spicy. The cookies...crisp and sweet.
People wore their Christmas best. Decked to the halls.
Kids came in bubble coats with thick hats and scarves and mitts.
They shuffled their booted feet at play in the snow.
Some had skates carried over their shoulders.
Some tugged their sled with rope snugged in a small tight hand.
Large logs threw off red-blue flames giving us light and warmth.
The baby Jesus asleep in his cradle with his family in a row.
Bright floodlights staked out in the yard making him aglow.
I go to him with my blanket...he looks so very cold.
I have no fear...I am safe when he is near.
I wish for peace and all that is good in this coming New Year.
Happy Birthday baby Jesus. The great I AM.
And:
Merry Christmas to you, one and all. May you have dreams of
fun and magic. Try to remember the many promises you need to keep.
Enjoy the dancing...the music and the song.
Remember to give the children of our world sweet guidance...dipped in love.
Remember good treats to eat. Remember that little boy. The one who taught us to love,
to hope and to have joy. The one who died with nails in his hands and feet.

WE WILL CELEBRATE LIFE, LOVE AND PEACE...FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Salutations from,
Kevin, Jolie-jordan & our Family
***************************************************************
Perhaps next year won't be so busy and I'll write something new for all of you.
Love & Blessings from me to all of you. Jolie

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Response to your' comment, Daisy Girl"...

2010-12-23T15:16:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

As usual I am wordy thus my response to Daisy's comment in the "Turkey/Car" post will be here. I'll have you all know that I missed a repeat of my beloved "Closer" today so I can write when it is peaceful around here. That Kevin yaks the whole time he is in the house. A bit hard to either ignore him or tune him out when I am trying to write. So when opportunity knocks I figure I'd better grab it. It's knocking...he is gone fishing. We'll probably be eating fresh Sunny's tonight. Maybe I should peel up some spuds for French fries. Russets for him and a yam for me.

He worked only two days last week and was laid-off this entire week and got a call to go back up by Canada next week to work for four days. So it'll be small check, one week unemployment check, then a day short paycheck and who knows what the week after that will bring. Not a good year or time of year for Ironworkers. His boss said he may be sending him to a small border town on the North Dakota/Montana border for January to finish up a job there. I won't be pulling up stakes to go with him for a month. I have to hold down the fort here plus I work 120 hours per month and cannot leave my clients high and dry and I have my Fat Cat to care for. I will be here writing, reading and sketching in my spare time. Oh...and there is that afghan to finish crocheting also. At least if that job does go in ND he won't have to re-sign up for unemployment after working four days. One can't claim unemployment and work at the same time. Just a tad against the law. So you need to sign up again even if you just work 3 or 4 days and get laid-off right away again. It's a pain in the behind but better then not being able to pay the bills. And those pesky bill collectors want their money on time too. Go figure.

Perhaps if he works in January in ND there will be work here come February. Cross fingers, eyes and toes.

Anyhow...my Daisy girl, here is my response. I hope your next blood tests are better and I am very glad you are feeling well enough to enjoy Christmas. Please know that my prayers are with you every step of the way.
***************************************************************
Dear Daisy,

Good...I'm glad that I'm not the only person who names eatables. (Smile) I like the ex idea but my kids would not like it if I said pass me a slice of Ed or Art. Then again I have threatened to get the skull and crossbones design tattooed on each of my shoulder’s and have their names tattooed below them with the letters RIP running through the design. The kids don't go for that either.

Generally I don't vary much on my holiday meal menu's either. There have been a few years when we have had prime rib beef roast or a nice leg of lamb...I did the pork crown roast a couple of times and two or three times I have made baked whole white fish with stuffing. A few times over the years if they have been lean years we have made roasted chicken and been dammed glad to have it.

When I was coming up (always in the north) in a mainly Scandinavian/Irish clan the holiday meals were almost always the same and generally the same people contributed the same food each year when they came.

Snacks and appetizers were generally things like pickled herring, cheese balls and cheese spreads and crackers or small pieces of holiday breads like rye and pumpernickel and cheesy herb, two or three kinds of pickles, green and black olives, a cold cut tray. There were candy and nut bowls and small bowls of applesauce and a cream of wheat/cranberry pudding like sauce, homemade cranberry sauces and just bits of this and that. Later when a few of my cousins married the local Italian gals new Italian snacks and treats were added. It was a family feast and everyone brought food to share. Well...most everyone. There seem to be those in every family that show up and say something stupid like..."Oh, was I supposed to bring something."

On Thanksgiving the main meal was turkey, mashed potatoes/gravy, squash and yams, the ever-famous green bean casserole (my Aunt Verna used those potato chip sticks instead of the dried onion pieces) the real good salty ones that come in a can. The casserole was a favorite even back then. I'm not sure they even sold the dried onions at that time I am talking 40+ years ago. Very delicious, indeed. Creamy coleslaw was/is a must. For holidays I generally add bits of walnuts, small bits of pineapple and apple to the batch. There is a large bowl of hot buttered corn. Stuffing (here too, there is generally two or three types of stuffing). I agree one can never have too much stuffing...especially when there is good gravy to pour on it. There is lots of home baked buns and breads served with a variety of jams. there was a bowl of mayonnaise for those who wanted to make turkey and bun sandwiches later while they are playing porker or get up from a nap.

And I swear my grandma W. and my aunts were the best cooks and bakers in the world.

Christmas was generally ham, mashed potatoes/gravy and a cold potato salad, deviled eggs, coleslaw, yams, squash, buns and delicious homemade baked beans. Oh and generally we had scalloped corn (my cousin Janny's favorite) and scalloped potatoes.
There were all sorts of cookies (Scandinavian and Italian) and of course gingerbread and sugar cutouts. Mexican wedding cakes were included too. Again everyone brought something. There were also a variety of pies, sweet breads, puddings, and homemade candies. Sometimes my Aunts would make huge pots of Klub...a Scandinavian potato dumpling stuffed with fried bacon and onions and topped with butter, salt & pepper and cream or half& half. So fattening, filling and even better the next day fried in butter. OMGosh...to die for.

There was homemade lefsa (a delicious flat bread made from a potato base). Sometimes it would just be heated and buttered and sometimes buttered then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and rolled up. It was great to slop up the bean juices and ham bites. It made the meal complete and it reminded us where we came from genetically.

One of my favorite treats was when My Grandma W.... the little drunk whom I greatly loved...and who could cook and bake anything would make extra pie crust dough and roll it thin then add sugar and cinnamon and bake. She'd break it up into bits and pieces and oh my...to die for. She also made the very best donuts and breads and buns in the world. My Dad said I must have got her soup making gene. He said she could take almost nothing and make a wonderful pot of soup.

Many people don't know it these days but when I was growing up most of the lefsa was home made and cooked right on the top of a hot wood burning kitchen cook stove. It often was a meal on it's own. Another poor man's food that is cherished to this day.

One of my favorite holiday treats (I have so many) is still potica and baklava and my number one favorite is rosettes sprinkled with powdered sugar. I do still love hard Christmas candies...but I especially love anise, fudge and divinity home made caramels and taffy.

Everything in moderation these days but as a kid...holidays were the special times of the year when kids could pretty much indulge in any and every thing without getting scolded. Kids also did the clean-up. well, at least us girl kids did. I'd wash and Janny (my 3-years-older and wiser cousin) would dry. We had lots of girl conversations while cleaning up and doing the dishes. I would give a lot to do dishes with her again. We would be talking about those old days with all of the family around. She's been dead for 22 years now and I so miss her.

New year's and Easter meals where mostly a repeat of Christmas. We ate mostly plain and simple meals throughout the year so when everyone came together for holidays and brought food to share we really did have a feast. Of course there was that one cousin that always showed up with a small bowl of jell-o or nothing at all. (S)

Two of my favorite Scandinavian treats are cream cheese with a spicy steak sauce poured over and served with crackers or Melba toast rings and brie cheese baked till the cheese inside oozes out and bubbles with Lingonberry jam poured over the top. I take a cracker spread a dab of Brie and then spoon a bit of the jam on top. OH YUM. I must always pace myself on the appetizers or I'd never get to the main course. And I can never think of dessert until two or even three hours after the meal.

The spring, summer and fall holidays are all about grilled fish and meats, cold salads and finger foods and the desserts are generally melons, berries and other fruits. Much different eating styles come summer. Maybe a tray of cupcakes.

I fear this has turned into another post. As usual...miss gabby Abby here. And now I am starving again. I swear I talk myself into food.

The meals were never so grand with so many different kinds of appetizers and treats when it was just our small nuclear family but we did always have either a turkey dinner or a ham dinner and a couple of appetizers and some baked goodies and candy and usually a pie with ice cream for dessert. Always my Dad had to have pickled herring and lefsa. And my Mom always had to have rosettes. Us kids loved it all. Well...I guess a couple of my younger brothers didn't like cranberry sauce. The fools.

When I had my own family I'd sometimes vary the types of meat but even I seem to come back to the same basic meal we always had for holidays as kids. Richelle is trying to make her meal into a meal to satisfy two different families who are now joined thus she is serving turkey and ham and some of the special things that we serve with each meal...thus the coleslaw and deviled eggs. We'd never have deviled eggs if we weren't having ham. Coleslaw we would have with turkey and with ham. I'm surprised that she didn't ask me to make a cold potato salad and some scalloped potatoes to go with the ham...but hey, I ain't saying a word. She has Holly (my eldest daughter) bringing pickled herring and pickles. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-laws are all bringing something too. I think I better stop and get the lefsa...just in case no one else thinks of it.

So anyhow...that is probably more then you wanted to know...but once I get on a roll...away I go. I'm so glad that we are still supposed to have decent weather and good roads for the holiday. I can't tell you how many years Christmas plans have had to be canceled or changed.

Feel well Daisy girl. So only 63 degrees huh?...Poor thing. (smile) I've heard is pretty bad in Californis right now. I'm not surprised the rain my affect your weather pattern. I remember when Yellowstone National Park was on fire back in 1988 our sky in Minnesota was off colored and showed the affect of the smoke for many weeks. Some of the prettiest skies I've ever seen but very spooky too. I could see how California's rain would affect Arizona somewhat too.

I hope the rest of you my family and friends are all happy and well too. Too bad none of you ever write to me. Maybe when I am someday when I am long gone my kids will read this blog and some of my other writings and learn about me. Won't they be surprised to find out who their mother really is/was?

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Shut It Kevin,"

2010-12-23T13:41:00.003-06:00

I will not...can not toughen up. Your' frozen wife. Jolie

"Ever have banana bread spread with cream cheese?"

2010-12-23T12:41:00.010-06:00

Dear Blog,

I must have heard or read somewhere about spreading banana bread with cream cheese. I'm sure it didn't simply, one day after 60 years, pop into my head. Someone...somewhere planted the seed. I tried it and now I have a great new treat that I love. Go ahead, give it a whirl and you may find that you love it too. Oh so good with a nice cup of hot tea or...sometimes I'll sneak a cup of coffee, fresh brewed and creamed twice.

Have you ever tried Mexican coffee? I used to love it back in the day when my stomach could still take coffee. It is very strong and they add about half of a mug of hot cream and lots of honey or sugar to it. Since I do not like my coffee sweet I omit the sugar or honey. I get enough sweet when I'm dunking my cookies into the brew. Kevin and I took a trip to Mexico one year and even he fell in love with the coffee plus, the hot cocoa is to die for. I think they add a bit of Cayenne pepper to it. It does have a bit of a bite. It sure warms the innards.

Kevin and I fell in love with Mexican baked goods, especially the pastry. It went great with the strong coffee. Even now I search out Mexican bakeries when I go to the twin cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). My favorite is in the Mexican burro in South St. Paul. They have food in there that you'd never find in an American store even if they do have a Mexican food aisle. I love the baked goods. They use seasonings, flavors and spices that most American recipes don't call for and they are not as sweet. Very satisfying...none the less. They offer up several little bodegas in that neighborhood. There are certain times when one can be too white in that neighborhood. I always recommend early morning hours for shopping. I like to snoop around other ethnic stores also. Libby proclaims that much of the ethnic food makes her want to puke. You know...fish heads, cow tongues, brains, blood sausages and the like.

Here in Minnesota the closest drink that comes to mind that I could compare to the spicy cocoa I have had in Mexico is called "Hot Mint Patty", which is a cup of hot cocoa with a shot of Peppermint Schnapps mixed in and gobs of whipped cream on top. Another snappy drink is "Russian Tea", which is a blend of equal parts of tang, sugar and instant iced tea put together with a cup of boiling water and a shot of vodka. Either one of those two hot drinks will knock a cold right out of you. Just don't try to drink them and then drive or walk home from town. Let the local cop on duty give you a lift. Oh...remember no booze in the kids drinks...even though it might be very tempting. I can see that after a few days of listening to a whiny sick kid one might want to knock them out. LMAO

I like me an occasional "Bloody Mary" too with green olives thrown in. Like maybe I'm thinking poor man's martini. In that case stir...don't shake and my ice should be slivered. You can call me 0014 and leave the stir stick in the glass with the Tabasco sauce near by. You can find me down on 77 Sunset Strip...I'll be the one in red sitting next to the infamous Guy Noir feeding him a tale of woe while hoping the Garrison Keillor who's voice we all know and love will show up and join us.

Doing much baking for Christmas? I went looking (on the Web) for a recipe of some sweet rolls we used to have when I was younger and I came across some tips. I know these secrets from all of my years of baking and learning to bake from the females of my youth but I'll share them here for my girls and anyone else who may not know or remember them.

These are tips for using yeast. They are simple but can make all of the difference between a flop or a winner:

Dissolve three packages of dry yeast in 3/4 cup of warm water (NOT HOT WATER OR YOU WILL KILL THE YEAST). When you see the yeast begin to bubble, this means the yeast is good, add it to your dry ingredients.

If you are using dry yeast from the bulk jars, "Fleischmann's Bread Machine Yeast", 2& 1/4 tsp. = 1 pkg. of dry yeast. 3 pkgs. of dry yeast = 1 large cake of fresh yeast.

Libby, I will put these in your cook book. Your welcome. (S)

The recipe I was trying to find was one for Kolachi, which I remember as a Slovenian sweet roll with almond flavoring and filled with bits of almonds, apricots and dates. It was wonderfully decadent. I didn't find the recipe. I will need to call upon my great culinary skills to try to come up with a good simile. I imagine it was a recipe that Grandma K. came up with.

Yesterday I went in for my Christmas perm and I am dammed beautiful. Well, if you like that white haired Grammy look. TeeHeeHee. Apparently lots of people do since everyone and their husbands were talking to me in the stores where we went shopping. Kevin, the old fool, is my watchdog. It still bugs him (after 28 years) if some man talks to me or offers to reach something down from a high shelf for me. At 5' tall there are many things I'd need to climb to reach. Kevin: "Why are all these guys stopping to talk to you?" What? Does he think I'm winking at them or something? I tell him that maybe they think I look approachable. Ever notice how many crabby people are walking around in the store these days? I wouldn't stop to talk to them either. He conveniently seems to miss the women who I chat with. I tell you, he's a nut case.

I'm short, round and have white shiny hair (and now it has soft curls again). And even with the falsies I still have a great smile. I look like every one's mother, sister, grandmother , favorite aunt or best friend...of course I am approachable. Which is why, back in the day, when I was in cop school they thought I'd make a good undercover cop. No one would ever believe I was one. Since I switched programs I didn't become one either...undercover or otherwise.

Anyhow, I had a great visit with my beautician and we laughed our butts near off swapping stories and sharing our news. We both have some real goofy experiences and people in our lives so the time is always lively and fun that we spend together. I told Sarah...that my hair is more white every time I leave there. Not my fault says she.

So once I was beautiful again (even though I didn't have my eyebrows on) Kevin and I went to one of those dollar stores and picked out a bunch of little things that I will wrap today for the dice game that we'll play at Libby's tomorrow night (Christmas Eve). It's an old game that I think I've played at every Tupperware party or baby or bridal shower I've been to over the years. Everyone sits in a circle and the little prizes sit in the middle. We pass the dice around in a small cake pan ( for shaking the dice in) and whoever rolls a pair gets to pick a gift. When all of the gifts are gone the game becomes a game of steal and whoever gets a pair gets to steal a gift. I'll set the timer for like 8-10 minutes and when it goes off people keep what is in front of them. I might change the rules so that when you steal one you have to leave one so that hopefully everyone ends up with something. You would not believe how they love to steal each others treasures. What a hoot. Sometimes the game can get quite lively. I figure it's a fun thing to do while the pizza's are cooking. Keep this family on their toes.

My friend Diane was telling me she was doing the same thing with her family. I figured it sounded great since we are mostly giving out cards with money in them...this way there will be gifts for every one to open...not just the two little guys. Of course, some on the women may end up with a pack of army men or a coloring book or action figures and a kid may end up with a dishtowel or a can of kippers or a coffee mug and the guys may get a tweezers, nail file or a bottle of bubble bath. Makes me remember when my cousin Janny was telling a story one time of how her mother (my favorite Aunt) gave her bubble bath for Christmas when she only had a shower. I told you...I hale from goofy people. More proof, eh?

Today will be a swell day. Kevin is going for a day of fishing. Yippee!! I get the house to myself. I feel a nap coming on and gifts to wrap and pants to hem and I have a bug to make some corn bread for supper. I like to cook up a few breakfast sausage links and add a can of green chillies, a can of drained corn kernels and some diced onion to the mix...bake and serve it hot with my "Promise" margarine and maple syrup and a couple of eggs. Where, oh where did the butter in my life go? I fondly call this my super breakfast supper meal. Very confusing for my Henry boy who looks at me with big questions in his eyes and says, "You mean a dinner supper meal, right Gram?" We confuse Henry. He, poor kid, comes from a goofy family too.

Next week when Jordan is here for a few days I will make pannekoekens and sausages. We all love them. But first he and I will have a special treat on Christmas night after we get home from Aunty Richelle's. I'm sure we will be hungry again by then. The minute Jordan's baby teeth came in we and he discovered that he loves shrimp. To be precise he loves shrimp cocktail or peel and eat shrimp. None of this deep fried stuff for him. Yep...even back then he spent lots of time with his Grammy...that would be me. Now when we go out to eat he and I fondly delight in shrimp. Luckily for me he is now big enough to peel his own shrimp so I can dig into my own plate full. He now also enjoys, crab legs, lobster, mussels, scallops, fish cakes and all of the pan fish and white fish we feed him. He even loves tuna fish sandwiches and salmon. Not so much pickled fish.

Once in a great moon (which is also the name of one of the Chinese buffets we go to for such delights) our local grocery stores will have a good deal on shrimp cocktail rings. They come fresh frozen with cocktail sauce. I prefer my homemade cocktail sauce but the shrimp is great. This week for the holidays they are having a terrific sale on them so walla...we are having one of our favorite treats. I'm going to serve them like uptown. I'm getting out a couple of my champagne glasses. I'll line them with lettuce and fill them with cocktail sauce and line the rims with shrimp and light some candles and get some non-alcohol bubbly and we will feast. Some day a long time from now when I am long gone from this earth it will be one of Jordan's fun Christmas memories. Everyone deserves to have good memories of their times with their Grams. Kevin hates shrimp so I will need to come up with something else that is special to him. Maybe a plate of fudge and a near beer.

Time for a nap. I'm thinking too much about food. Oh well...after our New Year's Day feast I will be watching every pea I put into my mouth. I want to take 30-40 pounds off by summer. I might just as well indulge in and enjoy my food fantasies now. Wow...Christmas Eve tomorrow.

Later then.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"SO Mom...what about the turkey in your' car?"

2010-12-21T01:39:00.167-06:00

Dear Blog,

The phone rings..it's daughter number two (Richelle). I hear, "So Mom, what about that turkey in your' car?" I say, "How did you know I have a turkey in the car?" She says, "Libby, tells me all...you have no secrets from me." I go on to explain that the turkey is wintering in the car because we have no room in the freezer. We earned the turkey with a turkey card from our local grocery store. I will do a later post or should I say rant about that. I asked for either two-10 pound turkeys or for the butcher to cut the 20 pound frozen bird in half with his blade. Ten pounds of turkey is plenty for Kevin and I to have a meal, plus two leftover meals (usually hot turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy and a turkey noodle casserole and a 4 quart pot of soup with turkey salad sandwiches.

The store butcher did not co-operate with us. Thus, the huge bird in the car. Even when all of the kids were home and we could use a 20 pound bird I'd buy two smaller birds. I think the smaller birds are moister and more flavorful. I hate dry turkey. Richelle will be basting that bird every 20 minutes. Maybe I should have her put a few slices of bacon across the top. That's what we did in the old days when all the turkeys were huge. We did that with pheasant and partridge breasts also to keep them moist. Very yummy. White game bird can be very dry.

Now...for those of you who don't live in the frigid north 500 miles from everything it may baffle you when you read of a turkey wintering in the family car. If truth be told there is also a 1/2 gallon of ice cream and several other things in a cooler on the deck outside. I usually put our extra food in a brown bag and sit it out there but my brother suggested using the cooler and it is working great. Looks better to have a blue cooler tucked away in the stead of a brown bag. Thanks David. (S)

The hideous winter weather needs to be good for something.

Anyhow, the middle girl wants my turkey. "How big is the turkey in your car?" "Oh," I say, "probably about 19 pounds." She says, "Can I have it...I have 17 adults plus Jordan coming and my turkey is only about 11-12 pounds?" So after work today Kevin and I dropped it off. It goes from our trunk to her trunk but there will be no wintering in the car. The turkey is trading life in the icy car with roasting in a hot oven come Saturday. For a few glorious moments it'll be the lovely center piece of the table scape for Christmas. The turkey will sit browned and proud next to it's buddy...the ham. I wave goodbye to the bird with promises of seeing it soon in it's dress up clothes. For those of you who do not know me well and are probably thinking I am making a joke I must say that often times truth is stranger then fiction. Teeheehee...At least I hadn't named it.

I've been assigned to make coleslaw (I do make a mean batch of the stuff) and I get deviled eggs duties too. Plus, Kevin and I have been invited to help prepare the meal. There goes that night in the motel and morning in the pool and hot tub idea right out the window. The money we save on the hotel will pay for the perm I'm getting tomorrow. One needs to be curly and put make-up and a decent outfit on for Christmas. Richelle would not like me showing up in my p.j.s. We will be blessed with smelling wonderful aroma's all morning. I get hungrier by the hour while the food is cooking. Maybe Richelle will make us some fresh pop-overs and/or lemon cranberry scones for breakfast. oh yum.

I don't know my son-in-law (Dan's) side of the family very well. What I do know of them...I like. They will be at dinner also. It should be a very nice day. Good food, good people and wonderful thoughts of baby Jesus being born so long ago. Jesus has had a huge impact on my life and saved me many times. Faith is an awesome thing. My faith has brought me through some horrible times and it's kept me somewhat level headed in the good times too. Christmas (for me) is a good time to remember and reflect.

It is a chore sometimes to separate what I call the real Christmas (a holy time) with the commercial Christmas that abounds in our society. I so love both. And when I truly look at it they are both about being joyous and kind and gifting and receiving gifts. I love the idea of a baby being born to give the world hope and life and I love jolly old St. Nick with his reindeer and sled flying around dropping off gifts of love on Christmas night. I love the music of Christmas. I love the magic of Christmas and the wonderful foods and great Church services. I love people being a bit kinder during the season. I love the extra smiles and greetings. When things are really good it can be wonderful to have family and friends to share in it.

My Jordan boy will be coming home with us after our Christmas day feast at Richelle's. Good...he can watch movies and cuddle with me and keep me company and help his old Grammy make a pot of soup. He loves to cook with me. Him and Henry both have two weeks off from school for their winter break. OMGosh, they will both be trying to hang around here. Kevin signed up for unemployment today. He will be hanging around too. Someone save me. Pleazeeeeee.

If I could have one wish it would be that all of us (around the world) could enjoy Christmas and the magic it brings. So when I say my Christmas prayer I will say thank you to God for the gift of Jesus and for that jolly old St. Nick and for the turkey bird and fixings that we will roast and eat. I will wish that for (at least) this one holy day the world will share in joy, peace and happiness. Me and the world could really use it. This past year seems to have been an extra scary mean one and it seemed to drag on forever. My hope is that this next year will be much kinder and better.

And if I were granted two wishes...my second wish would be to winter in the south. Where is that darned Genie when I need him? Gosh, he'd give me three wishes.

See you on Saturday turkey bird. I'm having visions of turkey bird and stuffing smothered in gravy. Slap gravy on it and I will eat anything. And I ain't just ho..ho..ho..ing about that.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"I'm Just Saying"...dammed cold and snowy here

2010-12-13T09:22:00.053-06:00

Dear Blog,

If you've watched the National News programs in the last few days you have likely seen what our lovely winter weather is bringing to us. There's 17-18 inches of new snow...much of which is piled higher in big drifts due to very high winds. Many roads and highways across the state have been closed down. Oodles of cars, trucks and even snowplows are still sitting in the ditches. The temps are in the 12 to 15 below zero range. I'm not sure what the wind chill factor is. Kevin looked at the thermometer a while ago and it has warmed up to a balmy 8 degrees below since about three hours ago. He checked the temp when he went to town for coffee with the "Boys"...other old farts that are up at 4-5 AM and it was 14 below at that time.

Soon he came through the front door with a thin layer of frost on his beard. Probably some snot dribbles too. Wouldn't you think the old fool would stay home and drink his morning coffee here? Hard to B.S. with yourself and the cat...I suppose. He is so snoopy. Always has to be in the know. And don't be fooled...those old men gossip more then any group of women ever would. The men seem to argue about everything. Some always know more then the others do. About half of them are Republicans and the other half are Democrats so political spats are on the top of the heap come coffee time. Nothing is sacred or taboo. They debate every dammed thing. Some days he comes home all spittin' mad.

He tells me it is new battery time for my car. He had a hard time getting the engine to turn over this morning. Last year we bought one for his car. Makes me wonder why he felt compelled to take my car out and about on the bad roads.

Anyhow...he tells me it should warm up by Wednesday. We are supposed to have more snow come Wednesday and Thursday. I suppose I will bite the bullet sometime this week before then and do some last-minute shopping.

Burrrrrrrrrrrrr...gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I will look like a fat brown bear in the new faux fur coat he bought me last winter (at the end of the season for a very good price) and I look oh so cute in faux fur (S). I hope I look like a warm brown bear.

Today my fashion statement shouts of practicality and warmth. Beige bra, pink t-shirt topped with a burgundy sweatshirt...blue panties, dark gray sweatpants, heavy socks and pink fluffy slippers. Kevin heated my slippers in the dryer for 15 minutes so they are toasty warm. Now you know why I have kept him around for 28 years. I think it was Dr. Phil who said something like..."If mama ain't happy ain't no one going to be happy." Ever notice that his wife (Robin) always has a huge smile on her face. Perhaps old Phil heats her slipper too. Anyhow...I am quite the beauty. Just missing my stocking cap and who knows that may still be an option I choose.

My friend Diane is coming tomorrow for our yearly Christmas get together which is going to be a tea party...for two. I really must bake today. I do have a white cake with home made coffee flavored cream cheese frosting...I hate canned frosting...still, Diane has a sweet tooth almost as big as Kevin's so it will be a baking day for me. I even bought a few ounces of fancy tea for her and I to try with our lunch and cookies. Once a year is all I can afford this expensive tea. Maybe I should lace the tea with a shot of bandy...just to warm our innards up. We'll have a real old-fashioned tea party. One must always have cute and tasty sandwiches and all sorts of cookies, bars and cake treats and most importantly chocolate covered peanuts or a box of mixed chocolate candy to have a truly successful tea party. A snifter of bandy goes a long way too. I need to find my trusty old copy of Peter, Paul & Mary out of the VHS box of tapes and put it on for us to enjoy and sing along with. No one does Christmas music better. I always need to provide her and me with shawls or lap afghans so we stay cozy.

Speaking of cozy...did I ever tell you that Richelle's oldest cat's name is Cozette and we all call her Cozy? She is a huge, fluffy, fat, black cat and she can be meaner then hell. She does love me...her Grammy though.

Pardon me, I digress...yet again. I'm so easily distracted.

At least baking will warm the house up some...very nippy in here this morning...and it will smell good in here too. I'm nibbling on a few goodies that the neighbor brought over last night. I like how people share at Christmas. Kevin gave 4 or 5 of our neighbors a goose for their Christmas. Some years he gives fish. Lots of the oldsters don't get out hunting or fishing much so they are over joyed. We generally get baked goods, canned pickles and pints of home made jellies from them. Lovely eats.

Yesterday I made a 6 quart pot of beef vegetable soup and a meal of creamed mixed veggies. Cleaning out the crisper always makes for more then one meal. Today's breakfast is a bowl of the veggies. I know...go figure. I try my damnedest not to waste therefore I sometimes have very strange meals. A bit of tea and a slice of toast and I'll call myself full. I only hope I don't find myself sitting in te bathroom all day.

I'm off..hope everyone is keeping warm and having a great day.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

Addendum:
1.) The work slow down has begun. Kevin is down to three days of work per week until the new year and maybe a total layoff at that time. If we are lucky a miracle job will come through.

And:
2.) We try to make light of the snowstorms and the cold but in truth they can be very dangerous. Sadly two people died and more were injured in a house fire in Minneapolis last night before a fire truck could get to them. Seems the fire truck got stuck in a snowbank or drift a block or two from the fire. Dammed tragic and something like this always seems to happen right before the holidays. Makes my heart sad. Such a tragedy. I'm sure that all prayers are welcomed for their families and for the firemen who could not save them.

"In answering Daisy"...blogger decided I was too wordy...

2010-12-10T15:54:00.009-06:00

Dear Blog,

Per the norm I have written too many characters to fit in the comment spot thus I have decided to put my answer to you here...Daisy. Why does Blogger care how many characters are in a comment anyway? I did hear a bit of scuttle-butt about the web is becoming too crowded and exhausted to house any more data? I wonder if it is true? Gosh, I hope not. So anyhow...here goes Daisy.

*******************************************

Daisy Girl,

I'm so sorry to hear that the chemo has taken you for a loop. I hope it has eased up some by now (Friday today). Maybe since it was your last dose…they gave you a bit more for good measure-or-perhaps it has taken this long for it to build-up enough for your body to get sick from it. Maybe the anti-nausea medication has worn off. What does your doctor say? I so hope it doesn't keep you down for long. You have been doing so great. Fingers, eyes and toes crossed. Try to take it easy girl and get some extra rest and eat what you can. There’s always that pot smoking idea. No need to suffer if you don’t have to…is what I say. It couldn't be any worse for one then all the medications the doctors prescribe. One of mine is used to poison rats, for cheese...sake. Get it? My alternative for taking the lord's name in vain. I guess I could just say cheesecake. LOL...OH boy, I'm on a roll today.

Maybe you could write a story about that “surfer girl” you wanted to be. Send your husband off to the library to get you a couple of good Audio Books to listen too. I find it a real comfort when someone reads to me. Admittedly it’s most always some narrator. It seems rare for people to read to each other these days. I will read to any one who will listen. I’m always reading something from the newspaper to Kevin. I’ll say something like, “Wow, Dad…listen to this.” He and Libby (my youngest daughter) would get the giggles when I’d read the local police reports out loud to them. Some small town crooks can be so stupid that they become comical relief for us.

Kevin knows everyone who has died in our area for the last 10-11 years since I faithfully read the obits to him each and every week. You know what the universal THEY say..."the spouses that read the obits together stay together." Okay...truth is that is what I tell Kevin. (LOL) Anyway... I find that it's fascinating just reading some of the old-fashioned names that we don’t hear much these days. Kermit…was one of my favorites. I was reminded of the Sesame Street frog and his Miss. Piggy.

And you must always remember that one is never too old and it is never too late to get your hands on language tapes. You could then say…"When I had my cancer treatments I learned how to swear in German." I bet swearing in the French language is down right beautiful...like poetry. My two grandsons (Jordan and Henry) who are brothers and who each spend a lot of time with me love when I read to them. I make up great stories for them too. Life can always be made better with stories of make believe. I even enjoy true stories, at times.

Have your’ hubby get a couple of art books that you can browse through. Nothing like beauty to get your mind away from worries and pain for a bit. I recommend Georgia O’Keefe and Andrew Wyeth for art books. Both are so different from one another in their work and different with their medium use too. Both are wonderful painters. Reading their personal history is very interesting also. Photography books are also a good choice. I'd start with Ansel Adams if you like scenery and with Dorothea Lange if you like real life human shots. Again, in my opinion two of the greats. I'm really into contemporary American artists. There is a whole world of art available...these are just a place to start.

I also recommend getting children's picture books. The stories and rhymes are simple and pure. Artist's, like Dr. Seuss used his unique artistic talents to illustrate the characters that make his whimsical tales pop to life. Books of poetry are also wonderful reads...even if you find that you might misinterpret them.

If you like a good biography…I recommend the biography of Katherine Anne Porter called “Life” written by: Joan Givner. The life she (KAP) made up for herself is almost better then her short stories…although I love her short stories. She is one of my all time favorite women authors…there are many and she is up near the top of the list. Also there are books of her collected short stories available. They are quick reads and if you find that you like her style (not all people do) you can find lists of all of her writings at the library or from the Web. I think that at one time or another I have read them all.

I’ll make a list of my favorite authors and post it soon. I have been promising a couple of people that I’d get to it so now is as good a time as any. I am a ferocious reader. I devour books of all kinds. My favorite poof books…the fun ones…are always mysteries. I’ll recommend a few series that I have enjoyed to you. Just give me a day or two to compile a list. Now that I have seen a list of what you read I'm sure I can introduce you to many authors and their series that you will really enjoy. You may already have read many of them. They are mostly contemporary American authors. Although no-one as ever topped Dame Agatha Christie for me. Her Miss. Marple (Mary) and Hercule Poirot still remain my favorites books and movies. Many actors have taken on the roles but my favorites are "Geraldine McEwan" as Miss. Marple...although Helen Hayes was good too and "David Suchet" as Hercule Poirot. Have you ever seen them?

Oh…and movies. Rent movies. “Turner and Hooch” with Tom Hanks…always make me laugh (LOL). Also I liked “Shirley Valentine” a British film of a woman coming of age…featuring Pauline Collins. “Calendar Girls”…with Dame Helen Mirren and a bevy of other older sex pots reminding us that there is beauty at any age. I was totally fascinated by a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow called…”Sliding Door”. “ Paradise Road” featuring Glenn Close, Frances McDormand and Julianne Margulies is a worthy watch. A powerful view of how women can bond to find a way to get through difficult times. “Passion Of Mind”…Demi Moore is one of my all time favorite modern day mysteries.

I’m not sure how many times one can watch “Wizard Of Oz” or “Gone With The Wind” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “Heidi” with Shirley Temple in the lead…because I am still at it.

If you want to scare the cancer away try watching Jimmy Stuart in his Alfred Hitchcock movies…Rope, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo. I have been in love with Jimmy Stuart as far back as memory takes me. I can always get lost in his movies.

Anyhow maybe you will find something in this list to occupy and entertain you. I’m just thinking here of ways to maybe help make this time better for you.

Don’t watch the movies…”Sophie’s Choice”…Meryl Streep or “Steel Magnolias”…Sally Fields or "Shindler’s List” Liam Nielsen or “Heidi”…Shirley Temple or any other films of that ilk. They are my favorite movies for their depth but I cried all the way through them and was sick in my heart for weeks. I, a masochist no doubt, have watched them many, many times. They remind me of how good I have it even when things are bottomed out. Overwhelming emotion some times is too much.

Sounds like your techno Christmas plan might do the trick. This is the first year with the cash options for us. It may be the one and only year after I see the reactions. Cross your fingers. It was so much easier when they (my family) were young and when they lived near by.

Oh…and I do remember the “Shiny Brites” I’m sure I have some in one of the boxes in storage. I bet one can still find them somewhere but they’d not be as dear as the precious old ones that belonged to our favorite Grandma's.

Chin up sweetie…try a nice cup of "Plantation Mint Tea" and some toast. Helps settle my stomach some and the tea always relaxes me. Comfort food...that's what it's all about. My maternal Grandmother and my Mom always gave us "milk toast" it was warm milk poured over broken pieces of buttered toast (toasted hard and dark in the oven) with a dash of salt and pepper sprinkled on top…one brother begged for sugar on his. Poor man's recipe for what ails you. (S) I don’t think it had any medicinal properties but it was a great comfort food and it was great to have something warm that someone made especially for you when you felt like crawling into a corner in a ball.

By the way if my other blog won't let you post a comment...you can post it on this one. I, of course, read them both. Oh yeah...that's right...I write them both. LMAO...

Take care Daisy girl…Jolie

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"The Thing Is"...

2010-12-07T09:14:00.007-06:00

Dear Blog,

The thing is that it gets harder and harder each year to buy gifts for Christmas. First, just getting out the door and doing the shopping has gotten harder what with the bum knee and the cold body. Then there's the money angle...never enough of it to keep up with the constant price hikes in the stores. The grand children are all getting older and they like electronic gadgets and gizmo's that are not only expensive but are off Gram's grid of thought. A what? It does what?...I understand things like sleds and skates and coloring kits, craft kits, pj's, slippers, small home made quilts, scarves, hats and mitts, cars, puzzles, dish sets and so on.

There's 9-11 adult (kids) depending on who is with a mate and there are 8 grand kids, plus Kevin's parents and the donation I make to the Mission to help pay for holiday meals for the poor and/or homeless peoples. Then of course there is the mitten tree, the coat drive and the "Toys for Tots" and generally a few turkeys go to the local food shelf. It adds up.

I plan and save through-out the year so that I have money set aside for the holiday food and gift giving. I started this when my oldest was a baby and he is in his 45th year now. I joined a Christmas Club at our local bank and sometimes would go with only a dollar or two to deposit each week. Come the following November I would get my money from the bank and go Christmas shopping. That was way back in the day when $300.00 to $500.00 was big money and bought enough for everyone on our list plus wonderful food and treats. Not so these days.

I'll never forget those super lean years when it was friends and a few good-hearted strangers that made Christmas possible for me and my kids. We've been very blessed.

What I mostly worry about these days is that what I give is not what they (the family) want. With that in mind I now understand why Kevin's mother decided, some fifteen years ago, to give everyone cash and a batch of cookies. I used to think it so impersonal to give cash but these days I'm thinking that it is really the only way to give them something that they personally want. They get to go to the store the day after Christmas when prices are slashed in half and pick out exactly what they want. No waiting in long lines to return things.

I figure that for the grand children their parents can take the money and buy the gifts they know the kids want. Or they can buy say one gift to wrap and put a tag on that says from Grammy and Grumps then let the kids shop for what else they might want. Jordan is into hardware type stores so he most always gets a gift certificate for "Home Depot". The kid is eight-years-old. Go figure. So I'm thinking a box of candy and maybe a tin of popcorn for each family to share and individual cards with some cash. I think once I bite the bullet and do this it will then be a new tradition and not just something I talk about.

So any of my kids who read this...the money is on the way this week. Get something small to have under the tree. Kids love to see brightly wrapped presents.

I'm off now. I've got lots to do as usual. Semi-retirement does not mean a whole lot when it takes double or triple the time it once took to get things done and one must allow for nap time too. (smile)

Our tree is up and it looks ever so lovely albeit small. Now if it would just stop tipping to that one side all would be well in my world...at least for today. How did I ever get everything done when I was young and had a house full? Kevin's working out of town again this week so I don't have any special deadlines. Maybe I'll do a couple of crossword puzzles before I start with my household chores. I've got to exercise my brain, right? I'll have me some tea and toast and ease on into the wifely duties. Have a good one.

Robin if you don't write to me soon I'm coming to Chicago.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Who Knew?"...

2010-12-02T11:48:00.018-06:00

Dear Blog,

I was watching a forensic program on TV the other night and I was simply amazed, yet again, by the science of it all. It wasn't until recently that I even took a notice of forensics and it's role in solving mysteries and crime. Oh, I knew some about DNA testing and such but I had no idea how complex and intriguing forensic science is. I love a good mystery and wading through the red herrings is great fun and keeps the mystery exciting. Well, to me, forensic science is like reading a excellent whodunit mystery and I now have great respect and awe for the nerds that so brilliantly solve the mysteries and often in doing so they put the bad guys and gals away. It makes the old saying "crime doesn't pay" a crafty truism...at least for those who are committing the crimes. I tell you...these nerds are using their brains to go to places where I have never tread. I no longer view them as a group of ghouls. It totally amazes me how many types of forensic scientists there are and how many great teams and great minds it takes to get to the right answers. I would love to be called a nerd if I could do the good that these brilliant people do.

Like so may others I was taken aback by the dead bodies being cut up and examined by strangers (not that I would ever want anyone that I know cutting up my body). All of the CSI type TV programs displayed oodles of cut up bodies, blood and guts...it made me near puke and at first I thought that the "powers that be" are nuts to be putting this gory crap on the air. I saw it as more violence with blood and guts being splashed into our homes...and then...I became caught up in the science of it all and I didn't even see the blood and guts any more. I saw the compassion and the drive that these scientists have. They literally work for the dead and their loved ones. I became intrigued in the science and techniques and brains that it takes to do forensics work. Now, I am hooked. I know longer see the dead bodies as gore...I now see them as people who in most cases have either died violently or mysteriously. They deserve people who are able and dedicated to finding the answers to their untimely or unexplained deaths. Is any death ever really timely? Perhaps when one is old and dies peacefully in bed when their bodies have decided to shut down.

And...forensics doesn't stop or even begin there. Forensics almost has a life of it's own. One find can lead to another and often in the end many lives are saved because of these finds. There is an old case that was recently in the headlines about the mysterious deaths of hundreds of local peoples (over a lifetime) who all lived in or near a small northern town in Montana. Seems every one had a good idea what was causing the deaths yet they covered it up for years because it was the livelihood of the community. Forensics was able to go in and pinpoint specifics that proved without a doubt what the culprit was. What I find even more scary than the people who had suspicions yet chose to hush it up or worse they covered it up is the fact that in knowingly doing so they endangered the lives of thousands of others by shipping this product to innocent peoples.

This deadly material was sent out over the waterways and highways and later it was put into peoples homes and offices and in products that people use...all over the world. There is no real way to measure or to know how many people have died because of this thoughtless, careless greedy act. BUT: Because of forensic science laws are enacted to stop these types of dangerous reckless behaviors. These behaviors are then called the crime that it is. Forensic science becomes a life saving force and I love that it puts the criminals away too. At the same time (because of forensics) many people who are innocent are now being freed. Forensics is a win/win science. Love those nerds...or those "Squints"...as the character "Seely Booth" calls them on the TV program "Bones".

If you want to check out the small town killers in Montana...look up deaths in "Libby, Montana". If you get the urge to be a Squint...I am sure you can find many, many more cases just like this in every state...even the one you live in. People need to know. People need to demand that these practices are stopped and yes...I think that the people who turn a blind eye or who deliberately cover these things up should pay for their crimes. Many have paid with their lives or their families and neighbors lives. I want all of the top dogs who do cover-ups all over the world to pay for the greed that has so often allowed for the masses to die. These greedy bastards who profited off of the lives of the workers and other people by knowingly sending air-born poisons out to the world need to be held accountable. How can it be construed as anything but a biological attack? It's akin to deliberately spreading an air-born disease. I see no difference. The law may be murky on this but I am not.

So:

The forensics program I watched the other night actually identified the killer by the way he constructed sentences. Specifically his use and non-use of compound words. Neat, huh? One of my English professor's knew I was writing papers for people. He recognized my style and caught on immediately. I knew that the one's who hired me were cheating but somehow I did not allow myself to see that I was too. I thought of it as making money. He informed me that he thought of it as cheating for profit.

I learned a great many things while I was in college and one of the most important things I learned is that no matter what you want to call it...doing a bad thing is wrong. I also learned that people who really read can always find a way to identify you through what you write. That Prof could become a forensic scientist. He gave the other person an (F). He gave me one too (the only one I ever got) and he encouraged me to become a tutor through the college. I did and I worked for the VA also. I taught people how to write a decent paper and my money came to me honestly. A person can be caught even when they don't think what they are doing is wrong. When people are desperate they can find a way to justify anything. Forensic science stops them dead in their tracks. The professor stopped me. It helped that I am basically honest and didn't want to be thought of as a cheater. The added bonus was that I learned more by teaching others. I was eventually one of the editors on the college newspaper and for the college literary magazine. The college awarded me a grant to buy a Nikon camera that I needed for my work. Being honest did pay off in more ways then one.

Get on with it Jolie:

So, back to the forensic program. Once the man was identified as the killer through his writing a forensic mathematician was brought in to identify his specifics. They viewed the video tape from the store to measure the man.They were able to tell how tall he was, how heavy and even his shoe size. They couldn't see his face but with measurements they were able once again, to connect him to the murder. The video showed him purchasing a bag of dog biscuits. The clincher to solving the case was a receipt in his jacket pocket stamped with the date and time (which matched the time and date on the video) and it showed a purchase of dog biscuits. How callous can a man be to first murder his wife, then load her into her car, then drive a mile to the grocery store...go in and hide his face from the camera and buy a bag of dog biscuits...leave the store and walk home to have breakfast with their three kids and feed the dammed dog biscuits to the dog? He casually left his wife's dead body in her car to be found by strangers. The man now lives in prison.

Forensically...we all leave our particular trace evidence. When a person can be caught and found guilty of a crime because of his sentence structure and compound words it should give us all pause. After they identified him by his writing style all they had to do was find proof...and they did. If criminals out in the world had any brains (and who is to say that they do) they'd stop the behavior and go straight. Forensics (I would think) would be the best deterrent a legal system has ever used. Prisons sure haven't deterred many. Before now many people thought they could never be caught. Not so these days. Big brother in the form of forensic science has become a mighty tool for law enforcement. Sooner or later forensics will get them.

Bottom line...crime does not pay. I hope the message is getting out there. Seems these types of TV programs will help in more ways then one. Even criminals and killers watch TV. Since these programs have been on many colleges have reported a huge jump in the numbers of people, especially young people, who are going into forensic science programs. So okay...maybe sometimes blood and guts is good learning tool. Seems even the popular kids want to become nerds these days. TV has made being a Squint sexy and cool.

I, myself, am completely blown away by all of the ingenious tools that forensic scientists employ to find answers. I especially like that they can catch people who do horrible inhumane things to others.

Bye Blog, JjB...

-30-

"Out the door with November"...Christmas month is moving on in.

2010-11-30T08:31:00.024-06:00

Dear Blog,

I'm starting to feel a bit better so maybe I'll finally get my butt out of this funk I've been in and actually get with the planning of our Christmas. Maybe I'll get one of those (live) small princess Pine trees. They are so pretty with just a few twinkling lights and the Pine smell isn't too overpowering like some Pines are. If I manage not to kill it over winter I have a perfect place I can plunk it in the spring. Princess Pines usually won't withstand the cold winters that we have so I may be bringing it back in the house come next fall. First I need to keep it alive after Christmas.

I don't decorate near as much as I used too. Much smaller home now and generally we are at the kids homes for Christmas. This year (like every year) Libby is hosting Christmas Eve at her house. Generally we all go there and lug food along or Kevin and I go early and do the cooking. Libby is not a cook. I think this year we will opt for something quick and simple like pizza and pop. No sense having a big heavy meal on the Eve and doing it all over again the next day. The "Cub Foods" store on the North side, not far from Libby's house, sells the best pizza's ever from their deli. I think we'll get a few of them to pop into the oven. They come pre-made and you bake them at home. The grand kids get antsy waiting to open presents. It's near impossible to get them to eat. Pizza is quick.

I suppose we could make a couple of large pans of lasagna (one has to be veggie) and have some garlic-cheesy bread and a big tossed salad (Richelle) makes a real good salad that has Mandarin oranges in it. She also brings lots of home made baked goodies. We each get to pick out our favorite goodie. We get to take a container home plus she puts a couple of trays of everything out for all of us to share that night. I'm even going to allow for a cup or two of coffee...twice creamed. No tea for me that night. Holly buys a mean case of soda-pop and Shayne is pretty good at picking out chips and dips. (Smile) Yep...we all have our talents. Libby supplies the house and grand kids.

I suppose we'll put it to a vote (lasagna or pizza). Maybe Richelle could make a pan of lasagna and I could make one. I like hers better then mine and Libby refuses to eat any one's but mine. I make the veggie one for her. She hates meat. It was, what I thought of as, one more clever way to get veggies into her diet when she was a kid. She fell in love with it. My vote...Pizza. Tasty, quick and easy.

I think it was last year that we made a large crock pot of Swedish meatballs with that yummy white milk and sour cream gravy with tons of mashed potatoes, veggies and salad. That went over really well. Many times we have done finger foods...little BBQ mini wieners, meatballs, cold and hot salads, buns and all sorts of appetizers. I'm thinking simple. Maybe last year was the year that we didn't get together. Seems to me that Libby's whole bunch was sick and maybe us too. Anyhow, we've had lots of good years and lots of food. Hard to remember what was when. Life runs together sometimes.

Years ago when we had the big house (we used to live in a three-floor log home) we hosted many holidays and birthdays and parties. It was nothing to have 93-100 people show up. Everyone came with some sort of food so we had enough for everyone and lots of different kinds of dishes. We both have huge families. In here we feel crowded if anymore then four or five of us are here. Lot less expense and work now. (smile)

On Christmas day Richelle is hosting. We'll likely stay at her house after we leave Libby's house on Christmas Eve night and help with the cooking in the morning. I think she has quite a few coming what with Dan's side too. When the celebrating settles down we will head home with a couple of doggie bags for later and revel at our new gifts. We will nap and watch a movie or two and drink eggnog and say something like...well, that was fun but I'm glad it's over. After we nap we'll rehash how the grand kids reacted to Christmas and their gifts. We lead a pretty simple life these days. Mostly we like it that way. Maybe we'll splurge and rent a motel room and get up in the morning for a swim and some good time in the hot tub before we go and eat. The hot tub makes these achy old bones feel good for a while. Maybe we won't cook at all this year. That would be a treat too. (smile)

So:

You know how I usually complain about the cold weather?...of course you do. Well I'm hear to say that this wasn't always the case. I used to ice skate until I practically turned blue...both as a kid and as a young mom. I also used to walk all over the place...again as a kid and young adult. I'd bundle up, throw a scarf over my mouth so I wouldn't breathe in too much cold air (cold air can really make one's teeth and lungs hurt) and off I'd go. As kids me and my brothers and friends went sledding, tobogganing and skiing and we played a wicked game of "King Of The Mountain" (of snow) and we made snow forts (we called them igloo's) and we threw snowballs and made snow angels and built snowmen & women. We'd howl if our Mom's said it was too cold to go out or if we didn't have anymore dry mittens. I can remember Mom having the oven on with the door opened and our mitts laying on the door to dry. We didn't have automatic washers and dryers back in the day. Sometimes we could talk her into letting us wear socks for mittens when she got tired of us whining.

And yes...I still like to eat snow. Kevin still likes to shovel it and he has long since prepared for winter what with the growing of his heavy mustache and beard. He's getting his ice fishing house and fishing gear ready to go. The house will be too heavy to sit on the ice for his first few fishing trips...still, he is raring to go. Old fool will likely fall through the ice one of these days. He scoffs at me when I say the ice isn't thick enough. We keep his life insurance policy up.

Well:

That was then and this is now. Now I have arthritis and I never seem to be able to get warm once I have gotten cold. Now the cold makes my body hurt and my balance isn't so good anymore. I find the ice that I once could run on is now a dangerous enemy just waiting to pull me to the ground. Cleaning and scraping the car off is a major chore. But...what I can say that has not changed is how beautiful a fresh layer of snow makes an otherwise barren ground and naked trees look so wonderful. So far there is only one of tire tracks on the road. Most people are inside keeping as warm as they can...just like me.

Looking out the window to my side yard is like looking at a fine painting of a winter wonderland. We've had about 3 inches of fresh snow over night and it has made my view beautiful and clean and even with no visible sunshine it is cheery and bright. The branches on the trees look heavy and pregnant with the new wet snow. Some of the thinner branches still have a glint from the hoar frost that has remained. All of my neighbors roof tops are covered and the yards and road gleam from little white crystal like flakes that keep dropping. The snowfall is light now but it's coming steady. I wonder how much more we will get? It virtually seems to shouting out..."I am here to stay." The squirrels are not out and about running through the tree branches this morning. Probably sitting cozy in their nest sipping squirrel tea and peaking out their window like I am. If there is a bird left in town it is hiding and my "Fat Cat" hasn't tried to slip out the door in days.

A good day to bake goodies and maybe a meatloaf too. It's a maple oatmeal and dunking toast morning and it will be a hot cocoa afternoon. Soups on.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Marmie, I have given up on you"...

2010-11-29T10:51:00.003-06:00

In the altogether.

Jolie-

"Good luck today Daisy"...I have my fingers crossed.

2010-11-29T10:50:00.003-06:00

Eyes and toes too.

Jolie-

"So Robin...where are you?"

2010-11-29T10:49:00.000-06:00

Okay girl...surface please. I miss you and I worry too. Has Keith come to your house yet?
J-

"The day After"...

2010-11-26T10:15:00.021-06:00

Dear Blog,

Today I am thankful for leftovers. Oh..and we have sunshine. Glorious sunshine. Of course, it's like 2 degrees above zero and with the wind chill they say it's negative 20 degrees. I...myself have not ventured out the door and am in no hurry to do so.

Jordan and I are eating shrimp cocktail rings for breakfast. He wanted egg salad sandwiches (which he has me make every time that he is here) but I found the shrimp had thawed...so it'll be shrimp which is his other favorite food. I like it pretty good too. I know, I know...generally it is oatmeal and toast around here on a cold morning. I say, "Hey, break tradition and live dangerously once in awhile." We can always have our egg salad sandwiches and bisque of tomato and herb soup for lunch...and of course leftover turkey foods for dinner.

Now I need to find something for Jordan to do today. It's way too cold to be out doors for anymore than a few minutes so it'll be something indoors. I don't want him sitting in front of the TV or the computer all day. I'm thinking I'll have him help bake cookies. Maybe I can have Grandpa get the Christmas tree and ornaments out from storage and we can decorate. I'm thinking we can get started on a new jigsaw puzzle and maybe play a few games. Perhaps some reading time. I know he is 8-years-old now but he still likes me to read to him...and he's been listening to audio books with me since birth. Some of the best orators for kids...especially for fables and fairy tales and such (that I have heard) are Meryl Streep, Glen Close and Mia Farrow. Most readers for kids are excellent. Mia Farrow even does mythology and makes it exciting. We have a video that she narrates. Both he and I love it and the best audio "Velveteen Rabbit" is read by Meryl Streep. That's been a bedtime favorite for years. Heck...I'm 60-years-old and I still like people to read to me.

I have several different kinds of kids card games, regular kids games, dozens of Disney movies, kids books and scads of craft stuff so we'll find plenty to do. I'm going to use coercion to get him to agree to a wee nap with me. Grammy loves a good nap. (smile)

I was thinking back...trying to remember if my grandma's did anything special with me when I was at their houses as a kid. Grandma O. used to bake banana nut cake with banana flavored frosting for us but she was not the type to play games or read to us. She was kind of a mean old broad most of the time.

Grandpa O. wasn't around much. He was a "Merchant Marine" and would often be gone on the boats for many months at a time. He was a very quiet man until he was on a toot. When he was half-snookered up he would tell us kids all kinds of stories about his sea travels and his early childhood and young man days. I later learned that his stories were mostly fibs. I don't even care..I would gladly listen to them all over again. I sure loved listening to them. He used to tell silly jokes once in awhile and Grandma O. (the crab) would scold him and call him an old fool. "Cecil, she'd say, stop filling their heads with nonsense." He'd also show us card tricks and he tinkered a bit with magic. He was good enough to impress us kids. He played cards with us and give us change and candy. I saw him go into the DT's a couple of times and be carted off to the hospital. That was scary enough to stop me from ever becoming a booze hound.

I loved that old fart and he is still the ugliest man I have ever seen. Yes, he was even uglier then Richard Boone (Palidin on the "Half-gun Will Travel" TV series). He was uglier then Tommy Lee Jones and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. I think his ugliness somehow made him special. Big honkin' booze nose and all. I remember that he was a huge man and had huge hands and feet. His wife, my Grandma O. was barely 4' 10" tall. what an odd pair. They stayed married till death.

My Grandma W. was a sweet quiet little thing who didn't play games or such but she did bake all of the time and us kids always had our fingers and hands in the dough and she always encouraged us grand kids to tell her our stories and dreams. We'd sit for hours with her looking at the wish books (Catalogs) that she got in the mail. She was a very good listener. Grandpa W. was another crab. He use to say things like, "Why don't you dammed brats go home." And he was always nagging at my Gram. When I was 10-years-old he hung himself in the village jail. He was drunk. She became a drunk and when he died she found a boyfriend and for the last few years of her life they had a very good time and he was always good to her. It was a love story called Tina and Niles and they embarrassed my poor aunt Verna to a near early death. Like I always say, "This ain't fiction folks, this is family."

I wonder what kind of memories the grandchildren that know me will have and tell some day?

Here's a recipe for the cookies we will try. I found it in our local newspaper yesterday. I'll let you know what we think of them the next time I write. They sure sound like they'll be yummy. I think I'll switch out the usual vanilla flavoring for almond flavoring. I love almond flavor. Maybe there is some Italian in my genetic background that no one has ever told me about. I happen to have a whole container of ricotta cheese here so this recipe was very timely. I only used one container of ricotta cheese when I made lasagna a while back. I made a half batch of what I used to make when the kids were home and Kevin and I still ate it for a week. Next time (unless I happen to have freezer space) I'm going to cut it down to a quarter batch. This learning to cook for two has been a challenge. Mostly with wondering what to do with the left over ingredients. Maybe the old boy is right...we may need to buy a larger freezer.

"Italian Christmas Cookies"

1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
15 ounce carton ricotta cheese
1 tsp, vanilla extract or almond or orange
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Beat in the ricotta and flavoring of choice. In another bowl combine the flour, salt and soda then gradually add to the creamed mixture. Blend well.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes OR until lightly browned. About 9 minutes in my oven. It helps if you know how your oven heats and what altitude you are in. Remove the cookies to cool on wire racks.

"Frosting"

1/4 cup softened butter
3 to 4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 to 4 tsp. milk
couple of drops of food coloring or colored sprinkles or both

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. I'm going to use orange flavoring since I am adding almond to the cookies and I like the two flavors together. Add milk gradually until you get a nice spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies and immediately decorate with sprinkles. Store in the refrigerator. Yields 8.5 dozen.

They sound yummy to me and it's a good thing to do with a grandson on a cold winter's day. I'm thinking cookies with our afternoon tea and Jordan's milk.

He can help peel and chop the veggies for the turkey soup later too. I will have me a chef in the family yet.

Think I'll save the soup making for tomorrow. Might even whip up a batch of dumplings...although some of the best dumplings I have ever had are when I buy a container of those "Pillsbury Grands" buttermilk biscuits. I either halve or quarter them then drop them in the pot. They come out light, fluffy and delicious plus they are quick and easy. Jay-Beau loves his dumplings with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and the Promise margine that we use. Some kids don't like dumplings...then again some kids don't like anything. He wouldn't touch any of the Hubbard squash yesterday and it was very, very good.

Oh...yes Daisy, I do crochet. Do you? If so you should check out some of the free patterns on the web. Right now I am finishing a afghan that I started last year and put away for the summer months. Usually I have some sort of project that I work on during the winter months . Last year I found that my arthritic fingers didn't work as fast and I could only work on a little at a time. I refuse to give it up until I absolutely must. I really like to crochet and it is very relaxing. I must admit that the year I crocheted mittens and hats they turned out very odd looking. I made the kids wear them anyway. I guess it's not the worst thing a mom can do to kids. But...they thought so at the time. (S) My daughter, Richelle, has this hand knitting tool that she uses to make hats, scarfs, blankets and such with. She moves right along on there. I have one also but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet.

Well...I'm off now. Jordan is chomping at the bit to get his fingers on the keyboard and I need to shower and take my morning pills, make the bed and get ready for a day of play. Have a good holiday weekend everyone.

Update: Libby says she got lots of good deals (in the middle of the night) doing the black Friday shopping spree. They went home, ate breakfast and are back out for their second round. "Yes, Mom...we are still alive." I really hate not getting the good deals myself but I don't miss the crowds. She is still young enough to enjoy it. She sounds dammed right giddy.

Bye Blog, JjB...
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"HAPPY THANKSGIVING"...

2010-11-25T09:26:00.000-06:00

TO ONE AND ALL...

JjB...
-30-

"The Goofy things that I find in my e-mail"...this one is worth sharing

2010-11-20T09:48:00.001-06:00

Dear Blog,

My sister-in-law sent these little strange facts my way. I'll share them here with you. I hope they bring you a morning chuckle. They got a giggle out of me. Enjoy. Thanks Scarlett.
****************************************************************************************
1.) If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(Hardly seems worth it.)

2.) If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(Now that's more like it!)

3.) The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
(O.M.G.!)

4.) A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
(In my next life, I want to be a pig..)

5.) A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (Creepy.)
(I'm still not over the pig.)

6.) Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
( Don't try this at home, maybe at work.)

8.) The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.
(Honey, I'm home. What the...?)

9.) The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.
(30 minutes. Lucky pig! Can you imagine?)

10.) The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

11.) Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity.)

12.) Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Something I always wanted to know.)

13.) The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(Hmmmmmm......)

14.) Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.
(If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

15.) Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
(Okay, so that would be a good thing?)

16.) A cat's urine glows under a black light.
(I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)

17.) An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that.)

18.) Starfish have no brains.
(I know some people like that, too.)

19.) Polar bears are left-handed.
(If they switch, they'll live a lot longer.)

20.) Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(What about that pig??)

21.) (And God love that pig!)

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Future King"...

2010-11-20T07:39:00.006-06:00

Dear Blog,

Seems all of England is celebrating the news of a Royal wedding. Even in America where our forefathers left England and fought a bloody war to get away from a monarchy there seems to be much excitement being festered by the media. "Frontline" carried an hour of the Royal plans and all of the morning and evening News programs gave it coverage and NBC pulled out a special "Dateline" hour to discuss the Royals and the upcoming wedding. Yes, our media folks have already given the up-coming nuptials a hefty nod and I imagine we will have months of the plans and speculations put in front of our faces before the big day arrives. It'll be like being saturated with another campaign coverage. By the time they finally do get married we'll be puking on wedding news. Good way to keep people focused on frivolous gunk in the stead of what we should be paying attention to.

Wouldn't it be grand if the Prince and his bride-to-be would make a statement saying that they want to have a $100.00 wedding? That they would choose outfits from their already over-stocked wardrobes, get a handful of dollar roses from a little grocery store, order a couple of sheet cakes and serve punch, tea and coffee for the reception, give the priest $50.00, pay for the wedding license and blood tests and call it a day. All of the wedding gifts could be donated to charity and the millions that would be spent on a huge wedding could feed the hungry pay and for job development for all of the jobless and poor in their country. They could make the joining of their lives more about the marriage and less about the fanfare of a big wedding. They could help others while setting a good example to the world in giving back and sharing the wealth. For once they could be remembered for giving and not for the taking.

Already I have heard or seen many statements about the bride being a commoner.

Come on folks...do any of us really think the Royal family is somehow better then her or any of us? They have money...but so do lots of people these days. They could be so much more then jet setters and nutcases.

I figure they should be dammed thankful at the chance to get some good (common-stock) blood into their veins. Mutts are generally stronger and live longer then breeds. The Royals of the world positively ooze craziness, which seems to stem from generations of inbreeding. Craziness and quirkiness is a major theme for the Royal camp. There is only so many close relatives that they can breed with before they have a weak line.

Did you hear the bit about the Queen running around playing catch and release with bats? Need I say the term batty old lady probably originated from Royals of long ago and has trickled down the generations.

I wish Kate a barrel full of good luck and fortune. The wives of the men in that family don't seem to fair well. I noticed that he "Prince Wills" bolts out ahead of her and she is practically running to stay a step or two behind. I'm used to men who walk with me or let me go first. Looks like she will never be allowed to walk anywhere but behind him. He doesn't even look back to see if she is there. His Royal Highness just assumes that she knows her place. Oh well, at least she will be famous and rich. I just hope she doesn't end up like Diana did. Perhaps before long she can play batty with the Grammy Queen.

Someday she may be the new Queen of bats. Or will she simply be a Princess by her marriage to the King. Seems to me the future King (Wills) just has Princes for a Grandpa, Dad and Uncle and Brother. Didn't Queens use to be married to Kings and didn't the wives of Kings use to be Queens? They've lost me in all of their Royal-ness. I never got how Elizabeth was a Queen married to a Prince.
And how could a lowly Prince father a King?

We live in a very strange world. Just look at what interests and entertains us. Yes...even me.

Bye Blog, JjB...
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"Head Colds"...

2010-11-16T09:22:00.017-06:00

Dear Blog,

It's that time of year again. Everybody and their neighbors are walking around sniveling and coughing. I'm not even going to whine about it. Just drink lots of juice, water and tea. Of course I'll take my vitamins and eat chicken noodle soup too. I made a large pot of homemade soup this past Sunday...sent a quart down to Libby's (they are all sick too). She is more into that boxed chicken noodle soup and little Henry likes the canned soup that has a ton of soft noodles. Whatever works is what I say. We have a long winter ahead. We will be eating lots of soup. My Jay Beau likes anything I put in front of him. Even the smell of it cooking is a gift to him and me.

Kevin says he's craving breaded pork chops so I'll fix him up a couple of them sometime this week. I can always tell when I haven't made something that he likes in a long time when he starts asking for it. Generally he just eats what I make and doesn't make many requests. Just this past week he has said things like we haven't had this or that in a long time. He's wanting the chops, some chicken fried steak and gravy...some Swiss steak (simmered with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and celery) I usually add some spaghetti sauce and I serve it over noodles or potatoes. He also wants some chopped steak and mushrooms smothered with gravy. He is ready for winter meals. He likes salmon patties or loaf with the creamy white sauce that I make. It's a real simple sauce. I take a can of cream of mushroom soup and mix it with a cup of mayonnaise (or miracle whip) and then I add milk and stir until it's a nice gravy consistency. I use dill and celery seed, a pinch of salt, 1 T. mustard and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning. I used to add Kikkoman (soy sauce) but it is way to salty for us these days so I just give a few cranks on my salt grinder...we use sea salt.

We are definitely seasonal food eaters. A couple of months ago it was food on the grill, lots of cold salads and baked beans and cool drinks. Now it's soups and stews, hearty casseroles, meat and potato dishes, winter squash and other root veggies. Bowls of jello and ice cream are quickly traded in for warm bread and rice puddings...served warm with sauces...apple crisp and bars and pies, muffins, cookies and cakes. Hot cereals with raisins, craisins (dried cranberries) and nuts replace the boxes of cold cereals. Melons, berries and grapes are exchanged for apples, oranges, grapefruit and lots of fruit juices. The bread machine claims a spot on the counter top and biscuits are often in the oven. Nary a lone hot dog or hamburger bun comes into the house unless the grand kids come and ask for sloppy Joe's. Yep, we are seasonal folk. I wonder if the people in the south change their diets for the seasons or if it's just us northern cold weather people?

So I guess what I am really saying is that with the onset of head and chest colds, Vick's and cough syrup and hearty meals, snow shovels, car window scrapers and such...winter is here. I actually had my winter coat and gloves on the other day to go do errands. The week before that I went to town in Capri pants, short sleeve blouse and clogs. No wonder we all have colds. It's the dammed quick weather change. Our bodies are saying, whoa there...slow down. If we keep warm and dry we may just make it through the next few months. We have in the past.

Poor Kevin was sick all weekend and he even stayed home from work yesterday and I tried to get him to stay home today but he insisted on going. All Americans should have his work ethic. Still when he is sick I wish he'd get more rest. He's getting soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and OJ for dinner tonight and then off to bed. I'll probably finish up the leftover sloppy Joes.

So far I'm not whining but don't fret it is bound to come. Likely it will come to that sooner rather than later. LMAO

Keep warm folks.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"They want to keep me in the house"...preferably pregnant and barefoot too. Been there...done that!!

2010-11-06T08:31:00.169-05:00

Dear Blog,

Damn...wouldn't it be great if one day...just for shits and giggles I'd open AOL or a newspaper or turn on the TV News and I'd read or hear something good about the politicians that are supposed to be working for us?

Why do I keep forgetting that this is a country where service and doing one's job and caring for one another has become a dead image of a time in our past? Talk about beating a dead horse. Talk about effing evolution. We've gone from a near blind sense of patriotism (sending every young man in the country out to kill or be killed in a war) in the name of staying united...to a borderline revolutionary state in just the past 70 (or so) years. In one short century we went from having our feet grounded on earth with a slow day to day life of caring for our families and neighbors...to existing in a satellite world of futurology.

Our lives seem to be flying by us...because they literally are. And to this wit we have become a united group of separatist. Oxy-Moron or what? It's no wonder the whole dammed world needs Prozac or one of her sisters. It's become impossible (as the old guys used to say) to tell our ass from the whole in the ground. More to the point which hole should we be most concerned about?

It's like we're taking some sort of multiple question test. You know...the dual tests that teachers use as a gift to the stupid people in the class. They (the clueless) get a chance to pass while the teacher gets to mind-fuck the people who know the answers. The test is in front of you and you need to pick a-b-c-d or e (all of the above) and you had better know what the teacher believes is the best pick. Mostly people guess. A large percentage of us automatically pick (c) hoping that by riding the middle we may be at least half-way in the right lane and get a pass on the test. We have, with some certainty, failed the test of life...miserably.

I believe that most of us are on a blind quest for survival while not being aware that we have already left the room. The rats of the race are legions ahead of us and try as we might we simply aren't catching up. Yes, we have with some certainty failed the test...miserably. To this point we are still alive. I concede that there may still be some hope. I do not, however, believe life will ever feel safe again.

Yeah, yeah...bulk at what I'm saying, if you will...then look around you and see the huge populace that relies on futile hopes and drugs just to live in this modern day world. We have designer uppers and downers for the rich and we have rat poison and fertilizer for the poor. And for you who tell yourself and the world that you don't use anything to get you through...here's a small check list. Think of that morning cup of coffee or tea. Think of the sugar you consume each day. The pick me up pill. The put me down pill. The headache pill that is loaded with caffeine. The green tea that makes you pee...a whole bunch. The glass of wine with lunch or dinner. The beer or cocktails after work. The black-out drunk on the street has simply found a quick way to escape the realities of a dead-end life.

Who should we fear the most? Should it be the murderous drug cartels or the government sanctioned mega rich pharmaceuticals? There has been an alleged drug war being battled for my entire life. The cartels and the government sanctioned pharmaceuticals are the winners. We, the masses are the losers...in more ways then one. The winners have greatly aided the world leaders in keeping the public (us) at bay. How can people focus on the real issues of the world if we are all being drugged into submission? We can't and we don't. How better to keep the people down?

But...let us not minimize or deny our own complicity. We've allowed our world to become entrenched in drugs. Our world seems safe only when we are blinded to our surroundings. We remain numb. Our view is always slightly askew and distorted. We have become brain-dead sheep. We go blindly off to slaughter. I could write forever on what all of this numbness has done to our common psyche...why bother. If we didn't (knowing) choose this path...this rapid evolution into separateness we still cannot claim innocence. We have joined in the ride. If we are what we eat...we most certainly are what we do or don't do. We are guilty of our duplicity...of our part in changing our world. All of us want our piece of the pie and we generally are not concerned if others go to sleep hungry while we eat the treats.

God gave us an inch...we stole a mile. God is watching from a distance.

We have become the gimme children of the world. We want everything given to us in the right here and now. We want our due on demand. If what we want isn't given to us willingly we feel we are free to take what we want. We claim entitlement. We are not concerned about the fallout or the cost. Mostly we have forgotten that there is always a cost. We so rarely take a moment to consider what that cost will be before we take what we want. Snatch and grab. We are the pay later people. Is it worth it? Are we ever happy or even remotely satisfied when we bring home the prize? When will enough be enough? I fear that we will never treasure Eden. I fear that we won't even recognize it in our quest to grab a larger slice of the pie.

Again today...in the short time that I was await at the check-out area in the local grocery store...I witnessed six (6) people checking out in the self-serve aisle with a line of other ever-so harried people waiting to get their turn to serve themselves. The manager hates it when I tell these people that they are stealing jobs. Most of the idiots don't even get what I mean and to be honest the one's that do get what I'm saying don't give a crap that they are stealing jobs. They are in too much of a rush to be bothered with what this new self-serve trend will do to the thousands of jobs across the country that people now count on. These jobs will be gone. Thousands will be left without work. The self-servers deny what the duplicity of their behavior is doing to change the job market. The self-servers will be the one's shouting the loudest when these people no longer have work and are forced to seek out government monies so that they can survive.

We have taken away a system that has been in affect since the beginning of mankind and replaced it with a machine. A long time ago I heard that when man decides he is smarter then God...the world will end. The world has already ended for millions around the world. The cultural gap designers did not take the cost into the equation. Pay later. Later has come.

Ever try to find a full-service gas station, a working pay phone, a cop when you need one, a doctor when they decide a nurse can do their job? Try finding a clerk standing at a checkout aisle waiting to serve you. Humans have become obsolete. Have you actually heard a human answer a telephone lately? How do you feel when you are answering questions that a machine is asking you? Do you like a menu being read to you by a machine while prompting you to push a gazillion buttons? How many times have you waited on hold only to have the telephone (the machine) disconnect or tell you that you have been on hold too long so (Hey, you get to do this all over again). Yeah progress is grand and it saves us so dammed much time. As if.

Do you have any idea how many telephone operator and reception jobs have been lost since say 1990? Do you have any idea what the jobless statistics are in this country. Do you complain about (YOUR) tax dollars going to welfare programs? Do you spout off saying something to this affect..."Let the lazy sons-a-bitches go get a job."? I think it has become the favorite line of the republicans. Will you ever admit that your' duplicity (in part) has caused these people to lose their livelihoods? I think not...the pointing fingers rarely points at self. It would surely belie the truth or our intentions if we were to accept our part in the blame.

The local store manager has his hawk-eye out for me. I think he has several hidden alarm buttons that his minions can push if they see me in the store. He doesn't want me telling other customers and the few remaining human clerks that they are doing harm to the world. He ushers me to a check-out even if he has to open the register himself and scan my groceries over the little x-ray machine and bag them and quickly show me to my car. He gets red in the face...even though he tries to maintain a smile when I tell him I don't want my food scanned...could he please use his digits to punch the prices in? He turns a darker red when I refuse the plastic bags telling him that plastic is an infinite natural resource (oil) that greatly pollutes the earth. It's paper or cloth bags for me. I explain that we can, at least, plant a tree.

Yesterday I asked him if he goes to church on Sundays. Not that it is any of my dammed business. He said, "Well, of course." I then asked him to say a special prayer for all of those people that he and his employers are putting out of work. The man hates me. Perhaps he prays for his enemies too. I'm sure that's the list he would have me on. Does he pray that I'll stay out of his store? I could remind him that since his store drove the smaller grocer who never used x-ray machines...out of business...he is stuck with me. I let it go. I didn't want him to tip over in a mad rage. He'll be on the look out for me again next week.

Outside of the Farmer's markets and a few corner grocery stores scattered here and there all of the other stores are doing the same thing. In a few short years the only humans (if any) that will be in the stores will be the shoppers. We will service ourselves on machines and cameras will keep us from stealing. Following that short period of our evolution I predict that all of the stores will shut their doors and become abandoned ghost stores. Soon we will never have a reason to leave our homes. I wonder how many people are already paying their bills, ordering their food and other needs from the Internet? For that matter how many people write a real letter or send a hand made or a hand picked gift or a card through the mail. Do people bother to make photos anymore? So many of us have already lost the human connection. The human link. We have become one with a machine.

Yep...we are rapidly evolving what with our clever use of machines. It won't take long for humans to become extinct. That's probably the best anyway. Look what we are willing to do to each other to get what we want for ourselves. Seems the one thing most of us do agree on is that our politics stink. Seems that science fiction has become real life and humans are becoming an age old myth.

Somehow the part of life that we once knew as the circle of life has become a series of connect the dots and no one wants to play that old stale game. The dots remain apart and slightly askew. The circle of life has become an animated movie about animals and it is called "The Lion King."

Hell...this isn't even a rant. It's my sadness of the wanton destruction and death of human life that I see. Heartache and hopelessness pours from my soul as I watch some part of our lives being destroyed which each new day. I fear for my children and my grandchildren. I'm so very sad that we are coming to this end...we are becoming a science fiction world.

And yet:

I understand just desserts. We failed on our watch and this roller-coaster life has near shot off the tracks.

The God I know is surely weeping. The gods that others know are surely rolling with laughter. And for those who believe in nothing...well, they are already a machine.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-

"Parmesan Bird"...

2010-11-04T11:55:00.013-05:00

Dear Blog,

Here's a recipe that I recently tried. It's good and it's easy so I'll share here. What did we learn in kindergarten? Sharing and washing our hands and how nasty some of our new found friends can be. We will focus on the sharing and washing hands here today.

I found this recipe (in our local newspaper). Yes...I do read the newspaper. So okay...I mostly read the obits, wedding and recent birth announcements, the senior dining menu, the police reports and the recipe sections. Sometimes I read the letters to the editor if I want to find out what the locals are complaining about. One of our "Special-Ed." teachers sent this recipe in. It's quite timely. This is bird hunting season and this is a big bird hunting area. One could use pheasant or partridge breast. If no wild game is available go for turkey or chicken. I used goose breast. Other dark meat choices could be Grouse Hen or wild Duck.

"Yummy Parmesan Bird"

1/2 cup Bisquick
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 pheasants with bone and skin removed
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 package dry onion soup mix
1 soup can of milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Grease baking dish. Mix the Bisquick with the salt and pepper then dredge the pheasant breast through the mixture. Place pheasant meat into the greased baking pan. Combine the milk with both soups and spread over the pheasants. Cover with foil and bake for one hour in a 375 degree oven. Remove the foil and top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 more minutes. Serve with potatoes, noodles or rice. If you are short on pheasant feel free to use goose, turkey or chicken.

Richelle...Dan should like this recipe. I'd serve it with sage stuffing and have a nice cranberry relish on the side.

Libby...I'll put this recipe in your book. It'll be labeled under "Chicken Parmesan".

Enjoy.

Bye Blog, JjB...
-30-