Football

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I like football more than most women do. I have my favorite team and know alittle about the players on it. Enough that I can hold a conversation about Coach Cower...will he stay or won't he?' I know about Ben R., and how he should not have been playing the first three or four games because of his accident and the coach was wrong to do it. I know a little about each player.

But it seems to me that there is a football game on every day now and I wonder when they are going to start feeling as though our lives are saturated by a game where men chase each other around a field and get paid millions to knock someone with a ball down while we barely make ends meet at times.

All I can say is thank god for our second t.v. so I don';t have to watch it with my super duper hubby every night. *s*

Winter blahs

I may be wrong but I think I have the winter blues. I did not know what to do really about it as I often do not even feel like getting out of bed on such days.

My daughter got me a prayer journal this christmas. I have always kept some form of journals and often find myself trying to remember when something happened life so I pick up a journal to see if the answer is there. I was able to ascertain that one of our cats is ten years old the other day when I was paging thru one. This morning I decided to look at the new one she got me and it is the type that has meditations in it or short stories that inspire one to do things. The story I read was about a man who felt as I do on some days and he decided to try walking. Someone suggested it. Well, he could not walk far but he decided to keep track of the steps he took and make a goal to add twenty steps each day. In order to do this he had to have a pedometer but since I do not have one at this time, I am measuring it in distances until amazon sends me mine.

After reading it I forced myself to get out where the sun is shining some today and walk. Guess what? I do feel better and I feel that things will work out, no matter what. I hope to keep this up all year. I wanted to share this though with all you others out there who may be having the winter blahs.

Boxing Day

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Today is Boxing day. I first heard of this when I was a child. I do not recall who told me about it then butI somehow had visions of men in various areas boxing in a ring and people celebrated it. They did nto take the time to explain it to me so I continued to think that way til my friend in australia talked of it. She tried to explain it but it still was not clear to me until I visited AC's blog. His blog is always very infromative.

We still have no snow but it looks like some will come soon. Just when I do not want it.

Daughter called. She is finally, officially engaged. His parents do not know yet. They may not be happy as they wanted the couple to live together for five years before thinking of marriage or children. My daughter said no to that and the wedding will be on Aug. 18 in New York if the approve and if not, it will be in our backyard as both of them want an outside wedding.

My eldest moved out. I hope she is happy where she is living. I am not sure how that will work out. She seems happy and I am glad for her.

The day started out wrong. First off, there is no snow and will be no snow for christmas this year. That saddens me. Not that I love snow but all my memories of the best Christmases are those that have snow. In our little town there was a man who owned some horses and a sleigh. We would bundle up on christmas eve and go caroling (yes this is really did happen). It was like being part of one of those christmas scenes on a card. Then we would all go home and our parents would have hot chocolate and cookies waiting on us.

But we are having a green one this year.

Then I went to get the mail and found my very chatty daughter left us with a 300 dollar phone bill. Fa la la la....Yah. That made me happy....Not. I cannot pull that money out of my butt that is for sure.

We went to this lovely shop where they make blown glass figures. I really wanted to buy a figure for my friend but there was that three hundred dollars looming over my head. I did not get her anything and when I got home hubby told me he got Cindys hubby a gift and I should have gotten Cindy a gift. So we had more shopping to do.

Before leaving I had to go to the bathroom. I flushed the commode and it would not work. We went down to the basement to see what could be wrong. My basement was flooded with....yes, you know what was floating around in my basement. It was gross. I can still smell it and it has been over six hours since we aired out the basement.

Then my daughter informed me she was moving again. She moves alot. I just shrugged and wished her well in her ventures. Wish I could move sometimes......

Not to long ago there was a big bru-ha-ha over the people in walmart not saying merry christmas to people then this year wal mart told them to say merry christmas if they wanted to. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't care if they say merry christmas or not as long as I get good and friendly service there.

I have been a christian for a good many years and believe that my saviour was born over 2000 years ago in bethleham. But he was not born in December so we are not really celebrating his birthday as so many believe. Everything I have read indicates he was born in the spring. The shepherds slept out with their sheep during lambing season – spring and fall, not winter.
He may have been born in early Sept or late Aug., also but he surely was not born in the winter.

I think Christmas is a retailers dream and every year it gets worse. We have forgotten what it really means. Most of think it is Santa Clause and his eight raindeer that are the important ones. Not Christ. I really think jesus would be saddened over the way we have commericialize his birthday. Or, the day we celebrate his day anyway.

Pictures to share....

Some time ago I told you I was doing a quilt for my mil's birthday. We celebrated her 79th in November and these are some photoes I took. There is one of her and I under the quilt and the rest are of her looking at it and my neice and her husband holding

My daughter has cancer. I have known for a few days now but it is not an easy thing to write about. She cries and says it is her fault because of choices she made and she has the hpv virus that so many young girls have today. It is mindboggling the numbers of young girls that are affected by this dreaded disease. One that I know of right now is 17 and has been told she only has about 6mos to live. Maybe a few months more than that.

I do not know what my daughters prognosis is at this time. I do not know how they will treat it as they are trying to figure that out now.

This damned disease is very hard to talk about. I keep thinking she is only 25 and it is not fair but I have to keep thinking she will be okay. I know of several who have had it and they have turned out okay and are either in treatment or it is cured. I keep thinking that she will be one of the lucky ones. I have to think that.

Sigh....It is a cold and windy night out but warm for november. I was expecting snow but was too warm for it. I guess it is the dampness that has been hanging around for about a month that is getting to me.

So much is happening right now. It is a busy time of the year. Should be a happy time but hectic is more like it for me. Am I the only one who thinks we put too much in store for these holidays? For thanksgiving, a big meal is a must it seems for all. We will be having 2 this year. Our thanksgiving then Mil will be 79 and we are planning a big surprise for her the Saturday after thanksgiving. I am more excited about that then I am turkey day. I have to make scalloped potatoes for 40 people. With all the grandkids and her sisters as well as kids, that is how many will be there. Wish me luck with it. I will need it.

Books

I love to read. I think I learned to love to read when I was a lonely little foster kid being shifted from one home to another. I never could get close to friends during those first few years in the system because I would always lose whatever friends I had made so Books became my best friends. I didn't care what the book was about sometimes. I would read whatever had words in it.

Sometimes I would curl up in a special place and lose myself in the book for hours. Most of the time it would be my room or a favorite chair but when I moved to my last foster home, it was the attic. I would stay there for hours and read.

I would lose myself in all the Trixie Beldon books, the Hary boys series, and the Bobsy Twins. Later it was nancy drew.

I loved Horses and BLACK BEAUTY by Anna Sewell was my all time favorite when I was growing up. I cried when Beauty got sold and Ginger died. It was so sad. I loved MY FRIEND FLICKA, THE GREEN GRASS OF WYOMING, and there was one about an arabian stallion that a young boy raised. Oh, I cannot forget the BLACK STALLION SERIES.

As I grew into a teen I learned to love all the romance stories. The comic romances and such. I had a dark period where I would root around for some real crime books and read murder stories but that did not last long.

While I was growing up, my childhood was basically a happy one for a child that was being shifted from one home to another. But I never felt I had family or roots in the real sense. I would curl up in the attic read about the girl with the beautiful horses that lived with a family that cared about her and dreamed I would find one like that too. I would often immerse myself in the world of the young boys such as the hardy boys and walk with them as she sovled each mystery and Nancy drew was my sidekick in many adventures.

I could lose myself and become a totally different special person. I loved books feel they kept me sane and happy at times. They still do....

When it's peach picking time in Georgia....this is a very old country song that was going thru my head recently but it was....when it's apple pickin' time in Pennsylvania....Oh, I love this time of the year and I love smelling the smell of fall in the air. Clear crisp smells of fall in the woods. And the apples...

It is fall and apple picking time here in Pa. My favorites are the Northern spy. They are a tart crisp apple that does not cook up when you make a pie. I Have a bushel of them and a half bushel of Macintosh for eating. I love them. It has been cold and blustery this a.m. and I thought it was the perfect day for an apple pie and an apple crisp.
Apple Crisp
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup light brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
8-10 apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
Cut the butter into the oats and sugar with a pastry blender until there are pea-sized clumps. Blend in the cinnamon, salt and chopped nuts. Put the lemon juice in a large bowl and slice the apples into that bowl, tossing after each addition. Sprinkle on the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg (if desired).
Toss well. Layer half the crumb mixture in the bottom of a buttered crockpot.
Press down lightly.
Add all the apples and then another layer of the crumb mixture. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Stick a spoon or piece of crumbled aluminum foil under the lid so that steam can escape during cooking. This will allow the top and bottom to "crisp." Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

I got up early this morning to hear hubby playing the t.v., the same t.v. he yells at me about every night because he likes to go to bed about ten and I am a night person. Well, he gets up and five and blares it. He thinks that since he is up, we should all be up.

My eldest has decided she is not going to leave home for awhile so we are going to build her a room in the basement. She is really not capable of living on her own and we are glad she came to that decision. She is mentally ill and has the maturity of someone who is about 13 or 14 so it is not like a normal person making that decision. She has attempted it and it has not worked. So we are satisfied with this decision. She may change her mind tomorrow, who knows for sure.

We did have to go and see our youngest today. Hubby is speaking with her now. It is strained but I think things will work out. I hope so. If they do not work out soon, I am going to rip my hair out and run to the woods screaming...maybe they will come to their senses then. I don't think hubby is right, nor do I think she is right in waht she is doing. I think they both need to come to their senses though before it is too late.

Maybe tomorrow things will be better. I doubt it.

Mil is back from Ohio. I am glad she is. She is one that I can talk to. I have no problems with his side of the family. I only had issues with the one sil and once she realized her fight was all one sided and people were not going to pile onto her wagon, she stopped and we now get along okay. There is like a truce of sorts between us, I guess you would say.

One of those nights...

I slept two hours last night. I have not been able to sleep because of some problems with my feet. I have nueropathy in them from the diabetes and I have not been sleeping at all. That is one of the reasons I have not been on as much. I cannot sit for long period of times nor can I lay. Just one of those things I have to deal with and I wanted some of you to know that is why I have not been to visit your blogs as much. When it is acting up, life is miserable around here but I am glad they have not had to remove my feet yet.

Later all.............

after thoughts on the amish shootings.

Today the gunman was laid to rest. Acccording to the news reports, over half of the 70 people who showed up to see this man laid to rest were members of the amish community who showed up to show support for the man's family.Such a vast difference on how those of us in our part of the world would have handled it. We would be ready to run her and her children out of town simply because they reminded us of him. We would be out for vengence instead of willing to forgive them for what they have done.

This is an exerpt from a local paper....A grieving grandfather told young relatives not to hate the gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolhouse massacre, a pastor said on Wednesday.
"As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man,' " the Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN.

How many of us could say that if this has happened to us. Here are some things you may not know about these people.

The farmlands of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country are among the most productive in the nation. But many of the farmers here are different from most Americans; different by choice. For these are the Old Order Amish and Mennonites, also known as the "Plain People". Our Amish neighbors have been employing horse-drawn power since the days when horsepower had a whole different meaning! In comparison to our fast-paced society, the simpler, family-centered Amish way of life holds a special fascination.

These people trace their heritage back hundreds of years, and yet, despite all the time that has passed and the many changes that have taken place in society, they still live and work much as their forefathers did. Their families and their farms are their top priorities, second only to God.

The Amish are very devout in their faith. They believe in the literal interpretation and application of Scripture as the Word of God. They take seriously the Biblical commands to separate themselves from the things of the world. They believe worldliness can keep them from being close to God, and can introduce influences that could be destructive to their communities and to their way of life.

The Amish have long preferred farming as a way of life. They feel their lifestyle and their families can best be maintained in a rural environment. While they do not permit the use of tractors in their fields, these old order Amish groups do use modern farm equipment pulled by teams of horses or mules.
These old order groups do not own or operate automobiles, believing that cars would provide easier access to the ways of the world. You will often see their horses and buggies on our local roads.These traditional groups wear plain clothing styles, which has earned them the name "Plain People".

It is the simple, peaceful lifestyle of these plain people that attracts such a curiosity today. Many wonder how these people can survive in their supposedly backward ways. Well, they're not only surviving - they're thriving.

Since 1960, the Amish population in Lancaster County has almost tripled. Their separation from the rest of society actually helps to strengthen their community. Amish children attend Amish one-room schoolhouses through the eighth grade. Amish worship services are held every other week in one of the member's homes.

Socializing is an important part of Amish life. The Amish have a strong sense of community spirit, and often come to the aid of those in need. Their barn raisings are a good example. Neighbors freely give of their time and their skills to help one another.

They are also quick to help those who are not amish. I often think we should be more like them but I would miss my computer too much.

I don't understand why.....I never will

5 girls dead in Amish school shooting
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer 59 minutes ago
NICKEL MINES, Pa. - Two more children died Tuesday morning of wounds from the shootings at an Amish schoolhouse, raising the death toll to five girls plus the gunman who apparently was spurred by a two-decades-old grudge.
The toll from the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week rose twice within a matter of hours Tuesday with the deaths of one girl at Christiana Hospital in Delaware and a 7-year-old girl at Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey.
Five additional girls were hospitalized.
The Bush administration on Monday called for a school violence summit to be held next week with education and law enforcement officials to discuss possible federal action to help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath.
State police spokeswoman Linette Quinn said the two girls who died early Tuesday had suffered "very severe injuries, but the other ones are coming along very well."
One girl died about 1 a.m., and the 7-year-old girl died about 4:30 a.m.
"Her parents were with her," hospital spokeswoman Amy Buehler Stranges said of the 7-year-old. "She was taken off life support and she passed away shortly after."
Authorities said the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, wrote what authorities described as suicide notes, took guns and ammunition and went to a nearby one-room schoolhouse, where he opened fire on several girls and took his own life, authorities said.
Roberts, who was from nearby Bart Township and was not Amish, did not appear to be targeting the Amish and apparently chose the school because he was bent on killing young girls as a way of "acting out in revenge for something that happened 20 years ago," said state police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller.
"This is a horrendous, horrific incident for the Amish community. They're solid citizens in the community. They're good people. They don't deserve ... no one deserves this," Miller said.
The names of the dead were not immediately released.
Of the injured, a 6-year-old girl remained in critical condition and a 13-year-old girl was in serious condition at Penn State Children's Hospital, spokeswoman Buehler Stranges said. She said the names of the children were not being released.
Three girls, ages 8, 10 and 12, were flown to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where they were out of surgery but remained in critical condition, spokeswoman Peggy Flynn said.
Roberts brought with him supplies necessary for a lengthy siege, including three guns, a stun gun, two knives, a pile of wood and a bag with 600 rounds of ammunition, police said. He also had a change of clothing, toilet paper, bolts and hardware and rolls of clear tape.
He released about 15 boys, a pregnant woman and three women with infants, barred the doors with desks and wood and secured them with nails, bolts and flexible plastic ties. He then made the girls line up along a blackboard and tied their feet together.
The teacher and another adult fled to a nearby farmhouse, and authorities were called at about 10:30 a.m. Miller said Roberts apparently called his wife from a cell phone at around 11 a.m., saying he was taking revenge for an old grudge. Miller declined to say what the grudge could have been.
"It seems as though he wanted to attack young, female victims," Miller said.
Miller told NBC's "Today" that Roberts lost a daughter "approximately three years ago" and that that may have been a factor in the shooting.
He said a teacher had to run to a farm house to call police because there wasn't one at the school, in keeping with Amish custom.
Parents refused to fly in planes — again in keeping with Amish tradition — and had to be driven to see their children at hospitals, Miller told "Today." Some were taken to the wrong hospitals in the confusion, Miller said.
From the suicide notes and telephone calls, it was clear Roberts was "angry at life, he was angry at God," and co-workers said his mood had darkened in recent days, Miller said.
In a statement released to reporters, the gunman's wife, Marie Roberts, called her husband "loving, supportive and thoughtful."
"He was an exceptional father," she said. "He took the kids to soccer practice and games, played ball in the backyard and took our 7-year-old daughter shopping. He never said no when I asked him to change a diaper."
"Our hearts are broken, our lives are shattered, and we grieve for the innocence and lives that were lost today," she said. "Above all, please pray for the families who lost children and please pray too for our family and children."
The attack bore similarities to a deadly school shooting last week in Bailey, Colo., but Miller said he believed the Pennsylvania attack was not a copycat crime. "I really believe this was about this individual and what was going on inside his head," he said.
On Friday, a school principal was shot to death in Cazenovia, Wis. A 15-year-old student, described as upset over a reprimand, was charged with murder.



Those children were totally innocent. It was so sad hearing from the cop who held a 6 year old in his arms while she died and from the young boys who survived and prayed while their classmates were being shot. This cannot continue. It can't....But I don't know how to stop them now. To kill these kids out of revenge over something that happened over 20 years ago is so unthinkable........My heart aches for these children's families and the families of all those children who have died thru violence.

It started out as one of those rather blah, dreary fall days where it does little but drizzle rain but the clouds slowly parted and we do have some sun peeking thru right now.

You know from some previous posts that we have been having issues with one daughter but she did call today and ask me for a recipe of her favorite casserole which is meatloaf on the bottom of a pie pan then bake it for about 45 min. then put valveeta cheese and melt it on then put mashed potatoes on top and bake for another fifteen minutes. Very good recipe for anyone who is looking for something to do in a hurry. I was just glad she called and we did talk for awhile. I am keeping those doors open for her. I want her to know she is loved and cared for no matter what. I felt better after she called.

As you can see the new cat is settling in just fine. She is a very lovey dovey cat and I am so glad we have her. We took her for her shots and she was a real trooper. She is getting fixed next month and the vet says she is about 9 mos. old now so we are going to keep her from our other cats in her own room where she has claimed one of the chairs. She is very indignant when anyone even suggests she move off it.

Another vent

Not really a vent. I am too tired to be venting today.

For months we have suspected that our youngest has been living with her boyfriend. She never said anything but he was always there and we just never asked. We were waiting on her to tell us. She finally did today. I was not surprised and not really angry but upset because it goes against what I feel is right but I have told her it is her life and I will love her no matter what.`
Any mistakes she makes now are her mistakes and she will have to deal with them.

My husband was ready to disown her but I think it was the typical fathers reaction to the fact that his baby daughter is a woman now and he is up set with what she is doing but he will come to grips with it.

But why does this bother us so much now that we know about it? I think it took alot of nerve for her to come and tell us about it. I meant that in the best way. I think she was scared that we were going to disown her or whatever and she was already rejected by one set of parents. What would it do to her to be rejected by us because she is in love and thinking with her heart instead of her head?

Sometimes I think he is too protective of her and just has to know when to let go. I think our kids are always going to do things we may not agree with as long as we are alive but there comes a point where we just have to say, you know what , it is your life, kids, you live it. We have done what we can....

It does not help that I feel like I am being pulled in two different directions either. I can see where she is coming from and understand his feelings too. Still, he needs to let go.....

I am on someone's 'list' now.....

Three years ago our neighbors called and accused my husband of shooting their dog. He did not do it. We do not shot dogs. We find homes for them or return them to their owners if they have lisecense. These people have always let their dogs run loose with no liscense. I was even bit by one a few years ago and did not do a thing but clean it up and hope the dogs did not have rabies as I did not want to cause trouble with them. They had six of them this summer running loose and raising hell here. They came down here and harassed our dogs. Our dogs are in the house mostly but I was afraid they would attack them if they were outside and six on one would not be much of a fight. Since one of dogs very small, it would be no fight at all for her.

Last week they tore a fawn apart. A doe and her twins were running from them and one was not fast enough. Poor baby was ripped apart. It could have been I child. We called the dog catcher and now they are going to be sited for not having liscense and stuff.

I will cost a pretty penny but I am tired of it. They will not take care of their dogs. I take care of mine and keep them under control and I think they should too.

tv quiz

Going to try this. Copied from Thersea who copied it from someone else.

Instructions: Bold (or change the color) of all of the following TV shows which you've seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime. Bold and Italicize a show if you're positive you've seen every episode of it. If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).

24
3rd rock from the sun
7th heaven (this one was a must see when my kids were growing up)
Aeon Flux
Alf
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
American Idol/Pop Idol/
Canadian Idol/Australian IdolAmerica's Next Top Model Germany's Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5Babylon 5: Crusade
BattlestarGalactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beavis & Butthead
The Ben Stiller Show
Beverly Hills 90210
Bewitched
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Brady Bunch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Chappelle's Show
Charlie's Angels
Charmed
Cheers
China Beach
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Coupling
Cowboy Bebop
Crossing Jordan
CSI - only because of reruns
CSI: MiamiCSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dallas
Dancing with the Stars
Danny Phantom
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci's Inquest
Dawson's Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadliest Catch
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next GenerationDesigning Women
Desperate Housewives
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (new Who)
Doctor Who (series 1-26)
Dragnet
Due South
Dungeons and Dragons (old cartoon)
DynastyEarth
2Emergency!
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Falcon Crest
Family Guy
Family Ties
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Flamingo Road
Frasier
Friends
Full House
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan's Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Green Wing
Grey's Anatomy
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Head of the Class
Highlander
Hill Street Blues
Hogan's Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Invader Zim
Invasion
Iron Chef (Japan)
Iron Chef (USA)
Ironsides
JAG
Jackass
Jeopardy
Joey
John Doe
Kath and Kim
Knight Rider
Knots Landing
La Femme Nikita
LA Law
Laugh-In
Laverne and Shirley
Law & Order
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: SVU
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Magnum P.I.
Malcolm in the Middle
Married...With Children
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission Impossible
Monk
Moonlighting
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
My Family
My Favorite Martian
My Life as a Dog
My Mother the Car
My So-Called Life
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
Mysterious Cities of Gold
NCIS
Night Court
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure
Numbers
One Tree Hill
Oz
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Perfect Strangers
Perry Mason
Picket Fences
Pirates of Darkwater
Pokemon
Power Rangers
Prison Break
ProfilerProject
Runway
Psyche
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (British)
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Samurai Jack
Saved by the Bell
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scooby-Doo Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
Small Wonder
So Weird
South Park
Spaced
Spongebob Squarepants
Sports Night
Square Pegs
St. Elsewhere
Star TrekStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis - New season
Stargate SG-1 -Newseason
Supernatural
SurfaceSurvivor
Taxi
Teen
Titans
Teletubbies
That Girl
That 70's Show
That's So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Colbert Report
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Pretender
The Prisoner
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
thirtysomething
Three's Company
Top Gear
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Upstairs, Downstairs
Veronica Mars
WingsWhat Not To Wear (US)
What Not To Wear (UK)
Whose Line is it Anyway?
(US)Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Witchblade
Will and Grace
Wonderfalls
Wonder Woman
Xena: Warrior Princess
Young Hercules


That is alot of shows but I am older than some of you. *sI*

Rainy day blues got to me....

Today was one of those days where I just did not want to get out of bed. It has been raining about three days now and today was one of the worst. I just wanted to take a pain pill for my arthritus and pull the covers over my head. But something stopped me. Something who had other things on her mind.

It was Phoebe. Phoebe is the feral cat I tamed for my daughter. Of course she liked me better and my daughter said she did not want a cat now and this is the second cat she wanted but decided after the last second that she did not want it. Both my kids are great for wanting animals then not wanting them after they get them and Mom inherits them.

Not to worry. I love this cat. She is marvelous and loves me too. I am happy and she is happy. Our world is happy......

Well, I've done it now..........

Years ago I had a great friend. She was like a sister to me. I honestly thought of her in those terms. Our husbands were best friends and so were we. I often babysat her kids in the summer and they were like my own kids. Two of the sweetest boys who grew into fine young men, despite their dad.

We would have remained friends if her husband had decided it was time for them to move closer to his mother and the woman he would eventually leave her for. You see he always ran around on her and I think she felt we all knew things and were not telling her once she found out he was a cheater. I did not know for sure but I suspected. Had I known would I have told her? I don't know. There are times when I think it is best to turn a blind eye. I think she was happy not knowing what he was doing.

Anyway, I had been contemplating writing her a letter and finally decided to do it today. Nothing great but just a note to let her know I was thinking of her and the good times we used to have.

I really do miss those times and if she does not respond, that is okay. I know I made an effort to try and reconnect with her.

Nudge the balance

Nudge the Balance=================
A 91-year-old woman died after living a very long dignified life. When she met God, she asked Him something that had really bothered her for a very long time. "If Man was created in God'simage, and if all men are created equal, why do people treats other so badly?"

God replied that each person who enters our life has an ability to teach us. It is only through these lessons that we learn about life, people and our relationships with god confused the woman, so God began to explain:"When someone lies to you, it teaches you that things are not always what they seem. The truth is often far beneath the surface.

Look beyond the masks people wear if you want to know what is in their hearts. Remove your own masks to let people know who you really are.

When someone steals from you it teaches you that nothing is forever. Always appreciate what you have. You never know when you might lose it. Never take your friends or family for granted, because today and sometimes only this very moment is the only guarantee you may have.

When someone inflicts injury upon you, it teaches you that the human state is a very fragile one. Protect and take care of your body as best as you can, it's the one thing that you are sure to have forever. When someone mocks you, it teaches you that no two people are alike.

When you encounter people who are different from you, don't judge them by how they look or act, instead base it on the contents of what is in their hearts.

When someone breaks your heart, it teaches you that loving someone does not always mean that the person will love you back. But don't turn your back on love, because when you find the right person, the joy that one person brings you will makeup for all of your past hurts. Times a thousand fold.

When someone holds a grudge against you, it teaches you that everyone makes mistakes.

When you are wronged, the most virtuous thing you can do is forgive the offender without pretense. Forgiving those who have hurt us is often the most difficult and painful of life's experiences, but it is also the most courageous thing a person can do.

When a loved one is unfaithful to you, it teaches you that resisting temptation is Man's greatest challenge. Be vigilant in your resistance against all temptations. By doing so, you'll be rewarded with an enduring sense of satisfaction far greater than the temporary pleasure by which you were tempted.

When someone cheats you, it teaches you that greed is the root of all evil. Aspire to make your dreams come true, no matter how lofty they may be. Do not feel guilty about your success,but never let an obsession with achieving your goals lead you tongues in malevolent activities.

When someone ridicules you, it teaches you that nobody is perfect. Accept people for their merits and be tolerant oftheir flaws. Do not ever reject someone for imperfections over which they have no control."

Upon hearing the Lord's wisdom, the old woman became concerned that there are no lessons to be learned from man's good deeds.God replied that Man's capacity to love is the greatest gift He has. At the root of kindness and love, and each act of love also teaches us a lesson.The woman's curiosity deepened.

God, once again began to explain:"When someone loves us, it teaches us love, kindness, charity,honesty, humility, forgiveness, acceptance, and all of these can counteract all the evil in the world.

For every good deed,there is one evil deed. Man alone has the power to control the balance between good and evil, but because the lessons of loveare not taught often enough, the power is too often abused.

When you enter someone's life, whether by plan, chance orcoincidence, consider what your lesson will be. Will you teach love or a harsh lesson of reality?

When you die, will your life have resulted in more loving or more hurting? More comfort ormore pain? More joy or more sadness? Each one of us has thepower over the balance of the love in the world.Use it wisely!"Don't miss an opportunity to nudge the world's scale in theright direction!

Pass this lesson of love on to those you love and those you havehurt, and those that have hurt you, hopefully with each person that receives this, there will be far less evil and a great deal more love!~Author Unknown~

drive

Your Driving Is is: 41% Male, 59% Female

According to studies, you drive both like a guy and a girl. This means you're a pretty average driver, with typical quirks. Occasionally you're frustrated and or a little reckless, but that's the exception - not the norm.

Do You Drive Like a Guy or a Girl?

She's home again...

I opened the door and saw my daughter walking up the driveway dragging her knapsack. I know I should be glad but all I could think of is , well, she's home again.....She left last night to god only knows where with someone she was talking on the net too and showed up again today.

She was alive and I was grateful for that. I would never want any harm to come to her but she is 24 and almost a street person. I say almost because she has a home to come to when no one else wants her around. It is hard for some to understand what it is like to have a person like this in your life unless you have experienced it.

She is bipolar, manic depressive and has other mental health issues. She often will not take her meds and it is a day to day struggle with her.

But she is ours and she is home.....now what??

Black Family Cooking

I am not black but some of my friends are and when they show up for dinner, I try to do my best to entertain them. My cooking is great. They never had any complaints but one did say he would like it if I would try some food that he is more familiar with so his wife sent me this cookbook called THE BLACK FAMILY COOKBOOK. It is fabulous. I have found some great recipes in this book but no one one can convince me collard greens is good. No one. And fatbacK? No way am I gonna eat that. I have been told that it is good but...............well...........I think I can pass on it.

I have a couple that come out to visit us quite often and it is often at thanksgiving time. He is trying to get me to do the cornbread stuffing but my husband is such a traditionalist and only wants the regular stuffing and I am too lazy to do both.

Ashcake is a cake that has been made from the time of slavery on and it was baked in the embers of a fires ashes. Remember, slaves had to make do with what they had and some fabulous recipes came from those who had nothing.

Hoecake was a bread which slaves baked over open fires and they used the on the blade of a hoe. Today the term can be applied to a large biscuit that is traditionally made and saved for the man of the house.

Hopping John is a dish made of rice and black beans. No one knows how it got it's name and it is served on New Years day.

Pot LIkker....When greens have been cooked "down to a low gravy", the cooking liquid that has absorbed all the nutrients is the pot likker (a corruption of pot liqour). The african habit of consuming the "pot likka" provided the extra nutrients that saved the lives of many slaves and masters alive during the antebellum period.

Sop..dipping bread into sauces and juices.

I like the book because it not only has some great recipes I may not have tried if not for these friends but there is a history lesson on most every page.

Thoughts on saying good by

My husband is one of those people who has to say good by to people. No matter who they are or where we are, he insists on saying good by and wants me to say it to.

I do not like saying good by to people. I think it was because when I was a kid, I said good by to so many people and they they were gone forever. My dad when I was two left us.

When I was six I remember very vividly the day them came to take me to the Williard Home in Indiana Pa. I remember my mom standing by an old stove crying her eyes out saying she would see me soon. It was months before I saw her and years before I ever slept under the same roof she did.

Each time I moved into a foster home, I thought it was going to be my home for life. For three years I was shifted from one home to another. I said so many goodbyes to people I was starting to care about and never saw them again.

I said my final goodby to my foster mom in 1980 and to my biological mom in 1995. I said good by to my fil in 1989. I don't know how many more goodbyes I will have to say. It is not easy and I hate it every time I have to say it even if it is just for a few hours.

I would rather say "I will see you later" and wave then utter the words good bye.

George bush Says............

Ladies and gentleone's. Glad ya could make it. Want ta talk to you about healthcare.

It's important. Everyone needs your health. Without it, what can you do. And with it, there are only limitations, which means you can do anything.

Some people say its not hard work. But you know how I feel about that. It is hard work. And you know I am President. What does a President do? I make decisions. I lead. I am a diversion. And I am a leader. I love that part of me. I just get up every morning and I lead.I didn’t come here today to talk about me. I came to talk about me. Your health insurance.

Right now many people think they have no health insurance, because it’s too expensive. They’re wrong. Americans want to own things. We've proven this throughout the ages. No matter what your age is. Young and old. And everyone in between. Including the baby bloomers, who are only now coming of birth.

I've developed the ownership society. That’s what I call it. Americans own more homes than they can handle. Especially, the rich are no exception, even you.

I want you to own your health. So I have decided to pick out Health Savings Accounts. These are accounts where you can put your own hard earned pennies apart and save 'em all up. When you have 'em all saved you can hand 'em right over to the docs. It's your own money. Because you own it.

Plus, the docs get a tax break on your money because they own the business. So you get a tax break. And then your money gets another tax break when the docs spend it. Then I take all the tax money you gave and I give it back to everybody. This includes you. That’s right. You. Wherever your money goes it keeps getting a tax break. When it’s all gone we give it to the Defense Department. They then fly over to Iraq and give it to the Iraqis and to Halliburton where it is spread out evenly. Iraqi truck drivers get fifty cents an hour and the Halliburton guys get $100,000 a year. That’s why the Iraqis want? Freedom and democracy? It pays better. Anyway, your money is safe with me. So sign up for a Health Saving Account and watch it grow with me.

And I have some icing on the cake for you. No one is going to escape bankruptcy. When you don’t own anything anymore we are not going to let those who do escape with anything. They have to pay back what they can, because it’s only fair. If you are sick and have nothing, then is the time to help. So help yourself to hard work. Its neighbor helping neighbor.

That’s why I’m not helping out in New Orleans. Those people just need a little encouragement and encouragement is free. So they don’t get any money. It’s like tough love or like hard luck. So you have your choice. Love or luck. Everyone wants it when they get it but don’t know it. That’s why I’m President. To figure things out like this. I like hard work and I'm your President. And I’ll work right along with you, but don’t come too close because we can work apart like Republicans or we can work alone like Liberals, so let’s separate the two for the benefit of all Americans, not like them.

And if we get too close people will talk. They’ll think we’re gay. And I’m for the sanctity of marriage, so let’s keep our distance and play it safe. Do it for the Constitution. It’s America. Not the liberals.
There is too much bi-partisanshit in Washington and we’re going to clean it up. I know all about the lobbies. The hotel lobbies are the worst. Ya just stand in the lobby and nothing ever happens, except you get to check into your room. It’s gonna stop. There are 14,000 lobbyists in Washington and I don’t know one of them. And only one. And his name isn’t Jack, as in Jack Abraham. I swear that isn’t me with him in the picture. It’s a look alike. Maybe it’s Jeb. But he helped me out in the 2000 election, so I’ll let him slide. I’m glad I came here today to level with the American people. They need to be leveled.

And don’t tell me we don’t need a level playing field. It can’t be on a hill or it will slant. For sure. So let’s level it out and all stand straight, not like on a sunken ship tilting into the wind.

This is good.

I like this crowd. Crowds are almost like alot of poeple.

The docs are hurting. All the OB/GYN docs are leaving. Some have left. The womenfolk are running after them. It can't be forever. Don't think that just because docs have three or four SUV's and a couple of homes on the beach and in the mountains that it is all fun and games for them


Lot's of people are suing the docs. Its called irrigation. If we can stop the irrigation we can stop the suits. Docs don’t need suits. They have other clothes to wear. It’s the ownership society. We need irrigation reform.

Anyone can have a Health Savings Account. All you need to do is sign up for a $10,000 deductible policy and have $5000 to open the account. So just sign up. Don't even know what you are signing because its safe as a crap shoot and you'll take it up the kazoo. It’s as easy as 1-2-3, which is like counting single digit numbers starting at 1 and ending on the button at 3. It’s called ownership. It’s America. It’s rugged. Cause I'm from Texas, even though I passed through Greenwich, CT on the way, and stopped off at Yale and Harvard to nail things down, before I decided to talk funny like this.

I want you to think I am stupid because the stupid bird gets the worm and I'm the hen in the fox house, like you. Shrewd as a nickel. And as sharp as a blunt object.


The docs are hurting'. We gotta help 'em. If all the OB/GYN docs leave town, what’s gonna happen to all the yeast infections. If you think bird flu or AIDS is a problem, ya haven’t seen yeast grow. It’s like a blob. If we have that much yeast around it will affect the beer market. Heh, heh, heh.



So hop onto the wagon with your $5000 and get a deductible for $10,000. It means you can’t get sick until you are already sick and paid up with $10,000 of your own hard earned tax free money. Its is a good deal for everyone who will never have insurance of any kind.

And don't blame it on minimum wage. Anyone can live on $5.15 an hour if they apply themselves. Its hard work. And God is behind you. All it takes is God and working 3 jobs, living in the back seat of your car, and taking those math and science courses at the local college. So gas up that car and go to college. I did. And look at me.

We don’t want anyone suing the docs. So stop it. They are pestering me. Everyone who has a yeast infection here, "raise your hand". OK. Now stop applauding. OK. Now applaud. OK. Put your hands down. There. It’s settled. Everyone wants to help the docs and get the Health Saving Account.



Everyone's hurtin' today. The drug companies too. Their drugs are triple and you get much more, that’s for sure. We're trying to get the price down. But they won’t listen. We watch them like a hawk. And they can raise the prices as much as they want but we’ll keep watching them. They can’t stop us. If you are elderly and you need prescription medications just check out my new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Part D.? It? S called Part D because A, B, and C were already taken. So we came up with D.

If you are old don’t worry. You won’t be around long so what’s the point. And you have my plan as a backup. The drug companies charge triple what they do in Canada but we can still cut the pills into thirds. All ya need is a good eye and a sharp knife.

We have a big program in Afghanistan to open up the heroin market. It’s a success. They are now producing 90% of the world’s heroin drug traffic. It’s another American success story. And it affects our kids too. It’s good for America. We need competition. China isn’t going to take over our heroin production when we can get it directly from our friend and ally Afghanistan. Not while I’m President.

I took $12 billion away from the college student loan program. Some people say? Why? I say, Why not? Besides college kids can’t be trusted. Would you trust a college kid with $12 billion of your money. I doubt they’ll ever pay it back. We can spend it in Iraq. And in Iraq its money well spent? cause it’s for freedom and democracy, not partying in some frat house with a bunch of liberals. Christian colleges. That’s a different story. They got the faith. So we don’t tax? em.

So lets all work together on all of this. It was good to see you today as I always have. The liberals don’t understand and it not their fault. They're using hindsight, not wisdom, like my teeth. Ya can’t have 20/20 foreskin and expect to see anything in true prescription. 20/20 is 20 divided by 20 which equal 1. So what do liberals know anyway? That’s why we need more math and less science.

And God Bless America because you like to hear me say that. And why not today. You can't win an election without God. Try it. It will never fly. If you don?t say "God" people, like you, will start to think something is fishy, like I don?t like the Bible. And God was a fisherman if I remember right. He caught the Bible in the net and created good things from it. Just like I am trying to do, with the help of you, because we are all in this together.

And remember, 70 million Americans don?t have health insurance of any kind. They?re not poor either. They?re smart. Why have health insurance when you?re not sick and how sick can they be if they are still alive. If they?re alive they can work. If they can work they can work hard and do hard work. And if they can do hard work it can be for minimum wage. Hey, we can?t all be illegal Mexicans making $10 an hour. They come from far away places, like Mexico, to put bread on their table. So we can?t deny them. They?re our guests and can apply for the ?guest worker program? so they can sneak over the border and we won?t lay a glove on them. As long as they go deep into the heartland and enjoy America with the rest of Central America, China, India and wherever you come from. It?s a gravy train, so don?t miss it. Hop aboard.

So why have health insurance when you can own your own. We gotta help out the insurance CEO?s. They?re hurtin? buckaroos. They got big penguins when they retire but they can?t spend it ?till they finish with you, so let?s all help ?em, in the Spirit of New Orleans. If you want your health just vote Republican ?cause we?ll sell it to you, for a dime on the fraction, if ya know what I mean.

We?ve gotta a lot of work to do here in the heartland of America. We?ve got Multiplication Sclerosis to attack. And we have Parker Son?s Disease. That?s a downer ?cause ya shake all over. We can cure cancer in your lifetime, so live a long time so we can make it. And don?t get it or it will be over for you. AIDS too. I?m going to pay a lot of lip service to AIDS and my good friend Karl Rove told me to tell ya. I got a vision. It?s about the world. I call it the Vision of America. No one is sick. No one is poor. No one is stupid. No one is Black. And we are all happy about it. OK. You can stop applauding. Even that soldier with the one arm. Heh, heh, heh.

Some people look at other people and say, ?What da F**k?. I look at people and say, ?F**k ?em?.

America can do better. That?s why I?m here. We can do better. Look at me.

I already came up with a cure for the Bird Flu. Don?t touch any birds. That?s it. Case closed.


Did ya notice the evildoers are gone. I haven?t mentioned ?em since a while because I don?t want to scare you until it?s time. I traveled up on the pile of rubble and with the bullhorn said, ?Let?s get da folks who knocked da buildings down?. And did we get them. Not on your life. Why kill the goose that is laying the gander. They can lead us to others. And those others will lead us to still others. And then even more. Kind of like how Mary Kay Cosmetics works. So if ya know a terrorist don?t turn him in. Just follow him. And let me know. Dial 1-800-Hi.It?s Me I?m At The White House, and then leave a message. My secret code is #2. That will get ya right ta me.



So I?m inviting all Americans to climb the pile of rubble with me. Bring your bullhorn and we?ll hug a fireman together. I wish I was at the World Trade Center on 9/11 ?cause I would have jumped too. It was hot. And it was high. And I would have been right there behind you, health insurance or no health insurance. They?re all fallen heroes. And they fell a long way to prove it. But we can only go up from here. And we will, ?cause this is America. Freedom and democracy are on the march in Iraq. And so are the pink elephants. Heh, heh, heh. Hey, if ya can?t laugh at least ya can cry.

Did we know 9/11 was going to happen? You bet your bottom dollar. And I can prove it. Condi told me she had a memo that said they were comin? with planes and they will fly into our buildings. And they flew in. I knew it. I said to her, ?Holy Shit?. So we went on vacation ?cause it?s stressful knowin? stuff like that. So you?re either with me, or I?m against you, as they say. And it happened. Just like that. Poooof. It?s nice being right but ya don?t want to get caught at it too many times.


Don?t listen to the Liberals because they know what they are talkin? about and that?s the last thing we need right now. We need to shoot from the hip because we?re not going to hit anything anyway. So why aim our sights on anything. It?s fruitfuless.

The liberals will just take us down the path to sanity. Is that what you want? No. I didn?t think so. We?ve been down the path of sanity before. Did it work out? You bet your bottom dollar it did. So why do it. They only have solutions. They never have any problems. America isn?t like that. We always go for the goal. And after the goal we go for the neck..

I?ve been your President for five odd years now, or thereabouts. And remember what I said before I said all this. I?m not a divider. I?m a tire. When I took over this nation it was one. But I made it diverse. I brought it together into many. Some will tell you I can?t divide. But I can. I?m a tire. Tires bridge people together into a single string. I?m the bridge and you?re the string. End of discussion.

All the liberals want to do is complain and have peace and balance the budget, and have prosperous times. We can do better than that. We can have our cake and eat me too. Better to spend a dollar now than have a dime saved in the future when inflation deflates it into a nickel. They can chew on that.

Liberals want to redefine marriage. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. Marriage is like a coin. You have two sides: heads and tails. That?s marriage. Men are the heads and women are the tails. So let?s flip the coin. There. See. It came up heads. Now I?ll flip it again. Whoops. It came up heads again. It?s suppose to come up tails. It tried this at home and it worked there. Anyway, don?t be a one-sided coin. God started marriage. Why screw it up now. Marriage goes back millions of years, before evolution. That?s my stand.

If my son was gay I?d still love him. But I wouldn?t shake his hand. Everyone?s gotta draw the line somewhere. Someone in my office has a lesbian daughter. I?ve never met a lesbian who wasn?t a daughter. So how bad can it be. It?s Dick Cheney. Sen. Kerry let that cat out of the bag, so I didn?t say it first. Nuff said.

Let’s talk about cloning. Cloning destroys life. If there was two of you it would destroy life. I’m for life. Clones are against life. Don’t be a clone. Be regular. Clones are like gays. It’s not normal. So let’s not do it. If God wanted more than one person he would have created more. God didn’t want clones around. It’s too many. It’s almost two of the same person. It’s like looking in a mirror, so don’t. People are different so we might as well keep them the same. That’s why I’m not a divider. I’m a tire. And remember your one times table. One times one equals two. If we go beyond that we are in unchartered territory. Clones. So let’s move on together, as one.

As you know, me and my bride, Laura had twins. We only had sex once but two people popped out. Figure that one out. Anyway, twins are not clones. My twins don’t even look alike so they are two different people. Some twins look alike. That’s called identical. That’s not clones. So don’t confuse the two or you’ll never tell them apart. Clones are separate. They are two different people. Twins are identical. So they are not. Let’s move on so we can discuss a lot more and wrap this up in its entirety.


Americans are the most conductive workers in the world. It’s called conductivity. High is good. Low is bad. So just remember that. Ford just laid a lot of people. Some say 30,000 people got laid. Some say more. As the amount of people go down, conductivity goes up. Before Ford became a car he was a person and he was very conductive because he had no people. He didn’t even have his assembly line or mass conduction. Then he started hiring people. Things went downhill. And he started the famous Ford assembly line. Conductivity started going down. And people started buying lots of cars so he hired more people. It got worse and worse. Every time he hired more people, he sold more cars. He wasn’t a good businessman, like me.



So where did Ford end up. Down, that’s were. But he smartened up; or smartened down, always in the right direction. Now he’s doing fine. Laying off lots of people. Sending ?em to China, India, and Indiana. Overseas. Ford has a long way to go before it becomes conductive again. It still has 130,000 employees that have to get laid and then that will be the last of it. We can’t compete with China. They have over one billion Chinese. We only have a few and they live in Chinatown. Some of them are software programmers and the rest deliver food. How can we compete with that? It’s easy. And we’ll never do it. It’s hard work. We can do it. So hop on the board. With me. Your President. I’ve got it all figured out. If you can’t trust your President who can you trust him for? Tell me that.

How many people here today are liberals? None. Good. They wouldn’t let you in if you were. Heh, heh, heh.



So just sit back and enjoy the ride cause I'm safe and the more you like me, the safer I get.And God Bless America. Because He has the time. And I can’t do all the work. I’m only the Preznit.

Tomatoes anyone?

I am up to my armpits and tomatoes. The sauce is boiling and smells so good but there are more of them out there. We have had a great year for the garden. Seemed to have rained at the right time.

I wanted to show you some more pics of my flowers and one of my favorite trees. I love trees, especially this ash tree in our front yard.

Why?????

I feel rather sad today. Not because of anything that has happened to me. I have had a great summer. My girls are doing okay. My husband and I are both healthy and so is my mil. But all around me people are suffering. One friend just lost her two sons. Another lost her mother, one lost her grandmother and several others have loved ones or family members in dire health. I feel helpless as I do not know what to say to them. I do not think that God causes these things but what do you say when someone is suffering and they want to know why their loved ones are being punished. I look at my friend who is a wonderful christain and wonder why she lost her two sons the way she did. Another friend lost two children to suicides and one had cancer. I asked myself hundreds of times why this had to happen to that gentle, kind woman who never harmed anyone.

A young online friend contacted me and told me his grandmother died suddenly. She was 96 and died in her family home surrounded by those who love her. Why can't we all die that way?

Sometimes I am angry with God but most of the time I just do not understand why.

such a tragedy

Sunday morning we found out that two brothers we know were killed in such a freakish way. Scary how it all came down.

2 brothers die in crashes

Photo Gallery
Steven Kerr
Jeremy Kerr




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By Brian C. RittmeyerTRIBUNE-REVIEWMonday, August 7, 2006
Two Butler County brothers who loved to spend time with each other were killed in separate motorcycle crashes about 100 feet and 90 minutes apart.
Steven Kerr, 37, of West Sunbury, was fatally injured Saturday when he crashed into a sign, police said. Upon hearing of the crash, Jeremy Kerr, 29, of Venango, sped toward the scene to try to help but crashed into the back of vehicle stopped in traffic because of the first wreck.
Jeremy Kerr had the 2004 Suzuki, his first motorcycle, for only a couple of weeks, said his brother, Randy Kerr, 39, of Venango Township, Butler County. Steven Kerr had been riding for a few months after buying his motorcycle this spring.
"They really loved to go out and ride together," said Randy Kerr, whose family includes two other brothers and a sister. Steven Kerr "loved to spend time with Jeremy. They clicked together."

Randy Kerr said his brothers went riding together Saturday afternoon but somehow became separated.
State police said Steven Kerr left the road on his 2000 Kawasaki motorcycle and hit a speed limit sign about 8:55 p.m. as he traveled north of Route 38 in Center. It was unclear if he was wearing a helmet.
"Jeremy found out about it, and he went racing to the scene of the accident to see if he could help his brother," Randy Kerr said.
State police said Jeremy Kerr was speeding and not wearing a helmet when he crashed into the rear of a minivan around 10:30 p.m.
"He died 100 feet from where my other brother died, in traffic that was sitting and waiting because of the first accident," Randy Kerr said.
The driver of the van, Veronica M. Smith, 25, and her passenger, Donna Smith, no age given, both of North Washington, had minor injuries.
Randy Kerr said Jeremy was buying his motorcycle from Steven, who had received it in a will from a friend who died in a crash on the same bike.
"I don't know why Steve crashed. Jeremy's crash was just ... because he didn't understand motorcycles. He didn't know what he was doing," Randy Kerr said.
Steven Kerr was married and owned a general contracting business. Jeremy Kerr was divorced, the father of two girls, ages 9 and 5, and a union block layer. Both had served in the military -- Jeremy Kerr in the Navy, Steven Kerr in the Army.
Randy Kerr said Steven was a hard worker, and Jeremy was an avid weightlifter who loved his children.
"They were just great guys," Randy Kerr said. "They were the best brothers a brother could ever have. If you ever needed them to help you, they were there. We loved each other, and we were there for each other."
A fund to help Jeremy Kerr's daughters has been established at Farmers National Bank in Eau Claire, Butler County, in the name of his mother, Nancy Kerr.



The motorcyle the one rode was involved in a wreck in june and a guy was killed on it.


It is such a great family and my heart bleeds for all of them. The Two little girls are dolls. I hurt for all of them......

Much to my surprise

I came on today and found my pic of taters had been deleted from my photbucket album. I guess my daughter did it. So that is why you will not see it on the blog here. I was going to look for another one but have decided to let it just pass. I know what he looked like and do not have to have a pic up there to remind me. He was my special kitty and I will try to make this one a special one for Kris.

Back again....

I have not been in for awhile because my daughter has spent most of the time on the computer while she was here and I did not get much computer time. Only later at night but again I got my email done, I was ready for bed.

While I still mourn the loss of our pet, we have a minor miracle of sorts. This is a feral cat that is the short haired version of one of our other cats and my daughter always said she would love a short haired version of Ronnie. Hubby and I have decided to tame this one for her. Any hints will be welcome. I have not named it as I do not want to bond with it or have it bond with me. We cannot get much more than a few feet from where it is til it bolts on us.

We think it is female and we are going to take it to our vet and have him look at it. Well, I have some blogs to visit so will be back tomorrow.

We almost lost him....

We almost lost this one. My daughter wanted to get him neutered and we agreed becuase it is part of being a responsible pet owner. Well she took him in on a wednesday and I went up thrusday to see how he was doing. I looked around and he did not come running to me. I ask where Taters was and she said, "Did you come to see me or the Cat?" I said the cat and she told me he was still at the vets. I asked why.

She started to cry and told me he had a reaction to the anesthic and they did not know if he was going to live or not. When we went to see him he would not awaken and we tried to get him to stand but he was like a limp rag. He was there a week and it ended up costing alot more than we had planned but he is such a sweety and my daughter loves him so.

Now he is afraid though. Each time she opens the door, he runs and hides. He will stay hidden too for quite some time. We have to coax him out but I hope he gets over this.

Posies

I am bored tonight and could not think of anything to do so I uploaded the pics of some of my posies. The top one is of my day lilies and the bottom one is where I was playing around the other night and took one of some sun flowers by my back porch when it was dark. I liked the way this one turned out.

Is it just me?

I picked up the paper this morning and saw where Isreal bombed the beirut airport and I thought what the hell are they doing? More of our soldiers were killed. Others were accused of rape and murder of an entire family. North Korea is lobbing bombs towards Japan and perhaps our western coast if it would reach that far. Do these people have any clue as to the amount of pain, sorrow and suffering they are causing?

And, I mean the man in the white house when I say 'these people'. He is causing much pain and sorrow through out the world by his actions.

That is why I wonder if it is just me who is afraid to read the news any more? I purposely refuse to listen to some of our news cause it is all so bad it seems. Children killing children, rape, murder and a war that seems to be a never ending conflict as well as our own little war in iraq.

Sometimes I feel like the whole world has gone crazy and I am one of the few sane ones left in it.

Why does anyone have to kill for any reason? It is just pointless to me. Some might think the end justifys the means but I it seems to me like there is no end of men wanting to kill other men just because they want to be king of the mountain. How many of you remember that childhood game where someone goes on top of the mountain so to speak and he stays there til someone pulls him off. If no one pulls him off he is declared king. Some of these world leaders remind me of young boys playing that game.

Is it a flower?

Last year I had a weed growing in my flower garden. Not just any weed but one that was huge. I marched right out there and yanked it out. My husband came home and started screaming about me pulling his flower out. I said it is not a flower, it is a damned weed. "It's a flower. If if comes up again let it go." Well I looked out this year and saw this thing growing in my garden again. My husband glared at me and said don't touch that flower. "It's a weed, " I hissed. "It's a flower," he said.

I asked my friend who knows about flowers. Was she any help. She says 'It is a thistle." I said, 'It's a weed." She said, "Well, it all depends on how you look at it. I would leave in the garden with the flowers cause when it blooms, that weed will draw in all kinds of butterflies and hummingbirds."

So the weed will stay. I guess flowers, like beauty is all in the eye of the beholder. *s*

34 years

Hubby and I celebrated our anniversary by going to dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant then to see the movie Cars. It was a cute movie but not one you think you would like to spend your anniversary watching but we enjoyed it.

Funny, the night I met him, I did not think I would marry him. We had what you call a whirlwind relationship. We dated five months and he proposed then we got married three months later. Who would have thunk it would have lasted this long. I mean, he is a virgo and I am an aries and every thing about us is opposite.

He is a neatnik and I am laid back and like the 'lived in' look. He is a day person, up at dawn most days and I am a night person. He is trim and I am not. He is not exactly skinny but he is smaller than me. I believe we are together because we both had to learn to compromise. We both stopped trying to change each other years ago and just accepted the fact that we married someone we could not change and it was either adjust or drive each other crazy. Love won over and we have been happily married for 34 years but it takes work and compromising on both sides.

Here is how I feel about it.

Burning the flag seems to have been a hot topic on some of the political chat rooms I go to and I really have to think about this subject before going on on a tangent of some sort.

I respect our flag. I fly is proudly and fly it daily out in our front yard. My husband was in the service and several of my uncles as well as my brother fought under that flag. I get teary eyed when I say the pledge of allegiance. ( I get teary-eyed over the Stars Bangled Banner too but for a different reason.*s*).

I realized that blood has been shed over that flag.

But does feeling as I do about 'Old Glory' make me a better citizen then the man or woman who burns the flag in frustration or anger over some of the things our government is doing? I may not like what they are doing. I may shake with anger and want to throttle them for doing it. But may they always have the right to do it as long as they are not bringing harm to anyone while doing it.

As long as they have that right, it means we are still living in a country that is free and we can show our displearsure at the people who run this country, in a manner that they see fit. I want to have the freedom to burn that flag if I so choose. You see, I understand why they do it. They want to shock us as much as anything. No one can really think that george bush is going to look out is window and see someone burning a flag and think, 'Oh, dear, I had better bring the men home now.'

They just want to get a reaction out of the rest of the country. They are not going to get one out of me.

Another rainy day. I have some pics of my columbines I want to post. They are fancy columbines. My daughters paid me a surprise visit. I wish they would let me know when they are coming. I like to keep my weekends open for things hubby and I like to do but they think they can just drop in un announced. Well, we are enjoying it all anyway.

I have to take my dog to the vets this week. He has severe diahrrea and I think it is a parasite. I might get one of them to go with me.

Sick people are all around me....

Why do people feel they have to tell me everything I do not really want to know about their lives. Especially their sexlives. I do not mind discussing my sexlife with certain people. Mainly when I am joking about something or, on occasion, some of my on line friends have asked me a question and I will answer. I will do so honestly. Well, as honestly as possible without sounding crass.

But enough is enough. I had a lady today tell me her boyfriend who lives about 30 miles from here sent her a video and some beastiality was involved. I was floored. Why would she tell me this disgusting stuff? Well, as it turns out , he thinks my dog is lovely. He is lovely. But the guy wants to take pic of her having sex with my dog. The S.O.B's want to molest my dog. I told her that if I caught them near my dog, I would be screaming for the cops and scream to high heaven. That is sick. I wanted to kick her ass. I am still fuming over this. I am keeping my eye on that dog, believe me.

Cats and their special gifts

My cats love me. I know it. I knew gizmo loved me the day she gave her firsts mothers day gift.It was Mothers day and I was laying in the yard thinking of what a glorious day it was outside with the sunshine and puffy white clouds in the air. I was feeling happy and seren when I saw my cat come towards me. She stopped right at my lawn chair and dropped a huge rat right at me feet. I let out a scream, fell out of the chair and gathered myself up without tripping somehow and ran down through my yard. My husband came out wanting to know why I was screaming like a banshee and all I could do was gasp and point to my cat who was sitting there with this perplexed look on her face. The rat was racing towards the house and I screamed again and ran inside.Then there was that warm spring day that I opened the window in my bedroom and laid down for a nap only to wake up with Fuzzy, my gray cat standing on my chest with a bird in her mouth. I tried to take the bird from her and she let it go and I spent the next hour trying to get the bird out of my bedroom.Oh, and I must not forget the mouse she brought in dropped on my favorite lazy boy chair. I had to set it out on the porch for a three days before we could get the mouse out of it. Did she feel bad about it. No. She didn't care. You see, cats love you but they really expect you to let them do their thing and you are supposed to bow to them. They do not bow to you.They are not like dogs you know. Dogs come when you call. Cats say, leave a message.....

Funny how time passes

I was sitting on my couch looking at some old photos of when my kids were younger and yearning for the days they still lived here when I realized that Kris's adoption birthday will soon be here. You see, my kids get to celebrate two birthdays. The day they were born and the day they became ours. I feel that both days are important and we try to do something special on those days. Or, since they are working, on a day close to that time. She likes chinese so we may take her out to a chinese dinner and maybe a movie. We shall see.

It really does hardly seem like she is a a young lady ready to graduate from college next year. She barely resembles the skinny little girl with freckles and a mop of wild curly red hair. She was tough kid who had a tough life and they did not think she would ever amount to much of anything. They referred to her a sorta trampy and she was only a child when she came here.
She was a woman in a child's body. One that never had a childhood because she was left to care for her younger brothers and sisters and she was not old enough to take care of herself, let alone all five of them.

They did not give us much hope of her ever amounting to much. They were wrong.

I told her the time will come that if she so chooses she can go back to those people and stand before them and tell them just how wrong they were about her. Not shove it in their face but let them know the trampy little street fighter just needed someone to give her a chance to make something of her life.

I think alot of kids are like that. They are tough on the outside and hurt on the inside because no one really cares about them. All they need it a chance in life.....

A wonderful memorial day

I think this past memorial day was one of the best ones I have had in a long time. All of our family was together and for once theire was no bickering and fighting. I think as we are getting older, we are realizing how silly all that was at one time. Our mother in law is aging and we are all trying to make what might be her last holidays with us, enjoyable ones.

I do have some pics of my tulips I wanted to share with you.

4 wheeler vent

A business near us had to shut down and put 6 people and the owner out of work. Oh, it iwas a small business and some people might find it no great loss because of the number of people put out of work, not to mention a good man having his life ruined because some kids decided to ride a four wheeler on his propet and one of them wrecked and was severly hurt.The girls parents decided to sue for a large amount of money. They sued and won such a large amount, the man decided he could no longer operate his business because he money she won, wiped him out. He had signs up but there is little that can be done even if the signs asking them to stay off are there. I don't know if he could have won if he let it go to court or not but I would have taken them to court had it been me.

I was told by a state trooper that if they come onto my property I was to take their keys and ask them to walk off the property then call the cops to report them. They would make them remove the four wheelers.

I am not anti four wheelers but I do think they should not be on my property unless I give them permission. And I should not be responsible for what happens to them when they are on their without my permission. I was always taught to respect other people's property and not to do anything on their property without asking permission.


With all the deaths being caused by these things, I have to wonder why there is not more outrage over the kids being killed on them. Some that are killed on them are ten and under. That is way to young for kids to be driving them, I don't care where they are driving them. There should be an age limit and they should be liscensed. Those kids that were almost killed were thirteen and fourteen. I feel sorry for the kids that are hurt and many whose lives are ruined because to their injuries or they have to live with the fact they lost a loved one because their parents allowed them to ride four wheelers without an adult around to supervise. My friend lost a twelve year old son to such an accident. He was driving and it flipped over, killing him. While I sympathized with her, I wanted to grab her and scream, 'He was twelve! Why in the hell was he driving that thing? Couldn't you say no to him once?" He always got what he wanted to so he got a fourwheeler for his birthday.......

I had to stop and save this for awhile because I get bent out of shape and so frustrated when I think of how lax the laws are where these dangerous machines are concerned.

If you own a four wheeler, please treat it with the same respect you would a car and do not let young kids ride them unsupervised. Before riding it on someone else's property, please ask. If they say no, move on.....

I had a very good day to day. My youngest is moving out and we decided to give her our couch. It was the one we had in the family room in the basement. We had two couches, on chair and a day bed there. I decided to make her room into a sewing room so I am bringing the day bed up there tomorrow. I want to fix it up so I can sit there and quilt while watching some of my shows. I have been tearing it all out and moving stuff in. I felt kinda sad about it all but she must move on. I did not want anyone holding me back from life and I will not do that to her.

I cried while hubby and I moved the stuff but had my tears dried when I got to her apartment. It was a nice visit with her and she is coming tomorrow. She has her cat, taters with her. Yes, I parted with taters and was so worried about how he would relate to her roomies cat and they are like the best buddies. I was happy for both the cat and my daughter. Sounds weird, I know but that is how I felt.


All and all, it was good day. :)

Lost Arts....

Recently I made my daughter a quilt. She took it to college and showed to some of her friends. They thought she bought it from the amish. When she told them I made it they were amazed. They could not believe someone made that by hand unless they did it for a career. I never liked to think of myself as an artist but the quilts I make are my own designs. I do not follow anyone's pattern. Most are quilted by hand, not machineTherefore, her art teacher told her I am an artist working on a type of lost art.

I think there is something sad about the fact that so many things that we once did for enjoyment or necessity have now become a lost art.

Jelly making is what I talked about in a previous post. It too, has been on the list of lost arts. So is canning. It is so much easier go to store and pick things up. But it is better for us? At least with canning or making your own jelly, you know what is going into the food you eat. You don't know that when you walk into walmarts and pick up some chicken, exactly what that chicken ha been fed and I think that is a great problem today.

There are other lost arts fading away and someday we will wake up and realize just how special it was to know how to do those things.

Jelly

Recently I was talking to some young women and they were wondering how in the world anyone would make jelly. Now these are bright young women and I like them alot so I tried to be very patient and explain to them how one makes jelly. Two of them seemed impressed but one said she would never eat jelly again.

I know women have to work and they do not have the time to make things at home like they once did and I understand that. I also feel a little bit sad when I realize how much they are misssing out by not knowing some of these things or sharing that time with their mom doing it. Some of my best memories are of picking strawberries in the summer, or other types of berries and helping my foster mom pour the hot jelly into jars while we listened to the latest tunes on the radio or she talked about life on the farm as she grew up. She made it fun and made some great memories for me to look back on now.

I have made every kind of jelly imaginable. Rose Jelly, violet jelly, dandelion jelly. All kinds of berry preserves and jellies.

Oh, I have some jello out there....maybe I could make some jelly out of it? *s*

Okay, so I bargained with God.....

I stood out on my front porch and surveyed the soggy mess that is my front yard then looked to the heavens and said, 'Please God, send this rain to Arizona or some other place that needs this rain. We don't need it any more.' Did he listen? No. It is still raining. *sigh* I tried to think of all the things I could tell God, I would do if he would agree to do this but I am such a good girl, there is no way I could improve upon myself. *s* So I guess we are stuck with the rain til it moves out of here. A month or two I will be complianing cause there is no rain so I think I shold just decide to be satisfied with what we get.

How depressing

It know it should be a great mothers day and all that but my husband had to get out some pics to show us that he took of my daughter and I falling asleep on the couch. She was on one end of our reclining couch and I was on the other. The depressing thing was, when I saw my pic, I did not see me but I saw my mother lying there with her mouth open, snoring. When did I turn into my mother?

I was once beautiful, young and had a figure that made men turn their heads. Now, I am nothing more than an embodiement of my mother. How sad is that???:(

Attention Dog owners...cats too if they are like one of mine and not picky

Attention Dog Owners
>
>
> Please read this and make sure to pay close attention to what you buy
> and what your dog eats when out and about. Pass this along to other dog
> owners and lovers.
>
>
>
> Verified by Snopes
> VERIFIED ALSO BY GOOGLE
> Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted
> me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and
> family. Please tell dog owner you know.
> Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa
> Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled
> and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog
> Calypso, decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a
> large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats
> something new but wasn't acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom
> woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half way through the
> walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.
> Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further
> investigation on the company? s website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to
> dogs.
> Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that "It is
true
> that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can
> suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual
> dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it."
> True information about the mulch can be found here -
> http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoa.htm This site gives the
> following information:
> Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and
> other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called
> "Theobromine".
> It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really
> attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already
> occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution ? check what you
> are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in
> your gardens.
> Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate ?
> especially dark or baker's chocolate ? which is toxic to dogs.
> Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a
> xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog
> that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean
> shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of
> the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the
> presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.
> Please email the manufacturer at michellemessick@hersheys.com and request
> that accurate information about this product be posted on the packaging to
> avoid further tragedy.
> PLEASE GIVE THIS WIDEST DISTRIBUTION
>
>