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2:29:00 AM NaNoWriMo I joined the National November Writing Month but am not doing very well. I might have to quit, so I don't mess up the stats for the region. Maybe I can catch up, but it's looking grim. 2:27:00 AM Wednesday, November 08, 2006 Election Yesterday the time went by pretty fast because we were busy. Almost 600 people voted in our precinct, but this time we finished at 7:00 and got everything packed and closed and ready to go at 7:15. It was good to visit with people I hadn't seen for a while. I do get tired of explaining the machines over and over again, but that's why I make the big bucks. Yep, $75! I don't want to think about how much that is an hour. I like sitting at the machine and printing out the numbers the best. It's not so interactive, and I'm not on my feet. Mostly though it's good to see all the people voting and taking it seriously. I don't understand why people don't vote but wish some hadn't. I knew the marriage amendment would pass and wasn't at all surprised because I know where I live. At least some of us made our views known and voted against it. I don't know why people get so upset that gay people exist and don't want them to have the same rights the rest of us have, but then I don't understand a lot of things. I do wish it weren't part of our constitution. Some of the voters were confused since the wording in the amendment was difficult to understand. A large Church of Christ ran full-page ads in the local paper explaining it and telling people to vote YES, so anyone who read that or went to most of the churches knew their stand. The Episcopal Church where I'm a member wasn't one of them, and the Methodist Church I grew up in didn't teach me to be judgemental and exclusionary. Well, apparently I got over that, didn't I? Harold Ford, Jr. ran a good race but unfortunately didn't win. It's really difficult for Democrats to win national elections in Tennessee. I miss the Solid South. Now we have to hear Corker's whiney nasal voice that is even worse than Frist's voice which I didn't think was possible. Those Corker ads were the slimiest, dirtiest I've seen for a long time. Thank goodness we don't have to hear any of them again for two more years. Every commercial break had several political ads during them to the extent that almost no products were advertised. I'm glad that's over. Ford did carry Dickson County and our precinct, so I'm happy about that. Just wish the state had gone in that direction. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi! That's really exciting! She's third in line of sucession to the presidency and the most powerful woman in our government now. We now have the majority in both the House and the Senate. That makes dealing with the next two years a little easier. I don't know if the budget will recover for a very long time. Not only was the budget balanced when Clinton left office, but there was a surplus. Now we're in greater debt than imaginable. Maybe something can be done to control all this spending and bring some more money into the treasury. It has to happen. No more Rummy! Enough said. I'm tired today from the long day on my feet yesterday but happy with the outcome of the election. (well, mostly) 8:16:00 PM Saturday, November 04, 2006 Let the Dancing Begin! Tickets went on sale today at noon for the Dancing with the Stars tour, so I was online like a vulture to get tickets for it. Linda and I are going and are really looking forward to it. Two of my favorite professionals Cheryl Burke and Maksim will be in it. Cheryl is dancing with Drew Lachey and Maksim with Willa. Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Joey Lawrence, and Ashly DelGrosso will be on it, too. Here's the list of all the dancers. This is so neat!! 2:38:00 PM Friday, November 03, 2006 E-Voting Linda and I went to the screening of a documentary by David Earnhardt about voting reform tonight in Nashville. The title is Eternal Vigilance, and it focuses on the 2004 election. There are some clips from it on their website that are quite illuminating and informative. Election reform is bipartisan because we need to know that all our votes are counted honestly and correctly. Check out the clip about Clint Curtis and the problems in Ohio. One precinct had over 600 voters recorded by the workers, but somehow George W. Bush got over 4,000 votes from there. The inequities go on and on from voters being excluded to the software being compromised by code being written that changed votes. That's in the Clint Curtis part. If we had paper receipts that verified our votes that had to be left at the voting place for auditing purposes and recounts if needed, it would help a lot. A Nashville accountant Athan Gibbs designed TruVote which provides a paper record and much more. Here's an article about him and his invention. One of the people at the screening tonight said that his software is auditable and could be used with other machines. This is something that affects us all and we need to be aware and involved because no matter what we believe about higher or lower taxes, how our tax money is spent, and ways we want to improve our country, it doesn't make any difference at all if we aren't voting for the candidates we think we are. My goodness, we go all over the world to see if other countries have legal elections and Americans believe it is one of the cornerstones of democracy! Why then do we allow it to exist here? It's not just the machines but other methods as well that we need to be aware of. Go to the polls and watch the lines to be sure people are getting to vote. Volunteer to be a poll worker. Pay attention! No matter what your party affiliation, we all need to work together on this. It's criminal. 10:56:00 PM Thursday, November 02, 2006 Photos of the Beamish GrandBoy! Check out the pictures from the weekend over there in the Photo Album under New Photos. C'mon, you know you want to. Earl said the ark could also be a pirate ship depending on its location. This ark is at Charlotte-Fagans Methodist Church where Mother and most of my relatives attend. Others were taken at my house. 10:31:00 AM Schadenfreude It's not often I take delight in the misfortunes of others, but in Ann Coulter's case, I'll always make an exception. I can only hope she goes to prison and is befriended by Big Bertha and pisses everyone off as much as she does me. Read and hope along with me! 10:05:00 AM Saturday, October 28, 2006 Weekend with The Boy, Day 2 Today was great! We had a calm morning filled with reading, Teletubbies, eating, and playing. Then we went to Mother's and visited there a bit before going over to her church for Brendan to play on the new wooden Ark they have there. He calls it the park. It was such a pretty day, and he really enjoyed playing on the swings, slides, and other things there. Then we all went to Zaxby's for lunch and then shopping at Goodwill for some long pants and to Wal-Mart for a new car seat and some shoes. The one I have was given to me by Mother's neighbors Patti and Philip who are so good to her when Will and Mitch outgrew it. It's become so hard to fasten that it's driving me nuts, so I got a new one that will last for many years. He needs one a little larger anyway. I have it in the middle of the back seat which is the safest place and works well for us. I can't remember if the middle seat has a shoulder strap there or not and am thinking it doesn't, so I might have to put it on the side. I wonder if the Honda Fit has a shoulder strap in the middle seat and will check it out to see if I can ever actually see one. That's the next car I'm planning to buy, but they can't keep them in stock. I tried to see one last week when Rachel and I went to Clarksville. We stopped at Jenkins & Wynne, and the salesman said the only way anyone could be assured of getting one was to pay a $500 deposit and take what they get. I won't do that until after I actually see one and can get the color I want (the red or blue one). I'm not planning to get one until next year, so maybe they will ramp up production and more will become available. I thought this was some sly marketing ploy until Aled said there's a 6-month waiting list for them in Europe, so maybe they are selling that fast. Well, the point of this post was to describe what a wonderful day we've had and how I digressed! Brendan has been so good and fun to be with. I rocked him to sleep with "Away with Rum" by his request although I don't sing all the verses of it, just the ones about fruitcake, cookies, water, and peaches. Then I also sang "Wild Rover" (Clancy Brothers version) and "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" since there's nothing like variety. I also taught him to sing, "I like bananas because they have appeal." We have several inside jokes and other things we say to each other. He's asleep now, and I'm thinking about the time change tonight. I heard they are planning to start DST earlier next year and end it later - from March until November. If they're going to do it 8 months, why not just have it all year? I do manage to babble in print! ADD blogging! 10:47:00 PM Friday, October 27, 2006 Day 1, Night 2 He had his hair cut, and it's not so great but at least shorter than it was. I'm not happy with it and can't wait until it gets longer, so it can be shaped better. The last one he had was great. Not this one. We went several places and had fun. It took a long time for him to go to sleep, but it finally happened at 10:45. I'm really tired. 11:35:00 PM Weekend with The Boy Brian and Melissa brought Brendan here last night while they attend Brian's 15-year reunion at Sewanee. I can't believe he's been out of college 15 years! They'll return Sunday afternoon. Brendan is a handful! If he were more like his father was as a child, this would be a piece of cake; however, Brendan is in constant motion, requires interaction, touches everything, and is exponentially energetic! I'm not. I'm already tired. I love him and it's fun to be around him. He's quite entertaining and sweet. I don't know how grandparents bring up grandchildren, though. OK, we're going out into the world for a haircut and some play time. 12:23:00 PM Thursday, October 26, 2006 Two Groups Seems that the 50's and 60's have been politicized into people who long for the 50's being the good people who have family values and are for all that is moral and true. While the 60's people are unpatriotic, tree-hugging, baby-killing, drugged out, atheistic, vegetarian peaceniks. Yes, I see some contradictions there, too, as well as a black-and-white dichotomy that goes beyond the extreme. You know that saying - there are two kinds of people: those who put people into two categories and those who don't. I'm going to continue this on the Observations blog. Link to it is over there on the left titled Mutual Admiration Blog. See you there? 11:17:00 AM Tuesday, October 24, 2006 And Yet Another Question I found an answer to this question but still don't quite understand why they chose an Abraham Lincoln reference as their symbol. I was wondering why the gay Republicans call themselves Log Cabin Republicans. This is what Wikipedia says about it. 10:14:00 AM Another Question Why do men have their sports coats buttoned (usually one button but sometimes two) and then when they sit, unbutton it? It must be some kind of man rule they learn in the man's underground newsletter. Who knows this? Who can make up an interesting reason for it? 1:10:00 AM Monday, October 23, 2006 Question How do they make that Lexus that parallel parks itself? I just saw a commercial for it. Is this true? I could use some help when I attempt parallel parking and believe a car that costs as much as they do should be able to do that and more! 10:05:00 PM Sunday, October 22, 2006 Dracula Mother, Paige, Virginia, her daughter Becky, and I went to see Dracula at the Renaissance Center this afternoon. Tina and her son Matthew were in it as well as Kelli Woodard who is a former student from Challenge Class. They did a good job and did it as a sort of melodrama which was hilarious at times. Mother and I went to Ruby Tuesday to eat afterwards. It was so good to see Virginia and Becky again. She's 14 now and so cute. It's been a fairly lazy weekend which I've enjoyed. Sometimes those are good. Next weekend won't be lazy at all because Brendan will be here for three days while Brian and Melissa go to their reunion at Sewanee. 10:57:00 PM Monday, October 16, 2006 Worst Yard Sale Ever! All that work for nothing! Only around 15-20 people stopped by but apparently didn't like my stuff. I sold $7.95 and Molly $2.50. Considering that the ad cost $20.50, and we also paid for stickers, poster board, and markers, we lost money on it. I spent days gathering things and getting them ready for the sale, too. We took everything to Goodwill which should have been done in the first place. However, it's possible I wouldn't have sent some of those things there to begin with but would have sent some to Women Are Safe, the battered women's shelter, which I will do with some other things I still need to get rid of. I do have items I'm planning to take to someone to take there because many of them escape with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. Also it was fun visiting with Molly, so that part was good. I'm having some withdrawal about some of my stuff even though I can look around and see all kinds of things that still need to go. When sorting through clothes and shoes, I'd remember when I wore them and what I was doing then. I can still have those memories. Next will be the books. I can chart my life from the books I have since they go through all the stages and interests. I read fiction for pleasure but buy lots of non-fiction. I get some for bibliotherapy. My first stops when I have to deal with something are the library and book stores (or Amazon as the case may be). That means I have books on child rearing, the women's movement, sex (remember The Joy of Sex and Xaviera Hollander? I learned a lot from those), divorce, helping children deal with divorce, spiritual help, self-help, Jungian psychology, Joseph Campbell & Robert Johnson & Clarissa Pinkola-Estes and all kinds of helpful people, books about teaching, decorating, every kind of diet book, lots of cook books (I like to read them), exercise and fitness books, cancer, diabetes, adoption/birthmothers, and shelves of books about writing. Maybe I need to post some book reviews. It's harder for me to get rid of books, but I think I will part with some of the stages I'm no longer interested in. I'll definitely keep the writing and mythic books and some of the fiction that I know I won't read again. Who am I kidding? I'll keep lots of the books. The grandchildren can sort through them and learn about their grandmother. So, like Psyche, I'll sort through all these seeds with no help from the ants Eros sent her and do the best I can. I attach emotions to my stuff and will always want things around me - just not all cluttered and chaotic like they've been for too long. Also like the Jungian interpretation of Psyche, Eros is part of me and the help comes from inside myself. I'm finding that strength and getting in touch with what helps me heal. One thing I'm doing is thinking about how the house will look when I redecorate some of it. I found some cabinet knobs I just love at Lowe's. Melissa hinted that they'd give me knobs for Christmas! Yea!!   I'm going to paint the kitchen cabinets and walls primary colors, which will be a lot of work since they are varnished and the walls are those sheets of paneling that have to be primed and painted with oil-based paint after cleaning and sanding them. It's going to be worth it and look cheerful in there. I'll take before-and-after pictures for you. I guess I'll have to wait until spring to do this since ventilation is vital with that primer. It will be fun planning and getting ready for it in the meantime. I have other rooms to work on between now and spring that require no painting. Fun, fun! 1:28:00 PM Wednesday, October 11, 2006 Rushing to the Finish Line I haven't posted because I'm frantically trying to gather things for a yard sale I'm having Saturday. I've only had two of them about 25 years ago, so thank goodness for Molly who is coming over Friday to price and arrange things. She and her mother are professionals, so that's going to make this possible. I have so much stuff. Whatever I can get rid of this weekend will help that much. I haven't gotten to it all yet and will have another one when school is out in June. Anything between now and then will go to Goodwill or Swap 'n Shop. Those are my plans anyway. We'll see. Wish me luck. 5:23:00 PM Tuesday, October 03, 2006 Happy Birthday to Me! Today is my birthday, and I've had a really good time. I had some birthday greeting phone calls, and Mother and I ate lunch at the Corner Bistro. I got free dessert since it was my birthday and asked for tiramisu. I couldn't eat it there and brought it home with me to enjoy later which I did, and it was delicious! Then Mother and I went to Lowe's where I spent my birthday money on some organizers. I just love going to office supply and home & garden stores. It's like going to the source of some of those shows on HGTV even though I've been going to them since way before HGTV existed. I've been on a low-carb, house decluttering/organizing, money-saving mission and am obsessed with it right now. That's what it takes for me to stay motivated. I've been following the eating plan in Protein Power, which my internist told me to do, and I'm feeling so good and like myself again. It's great! It's also amazing how crappy I've been feeling for years. Celebrating being alive the way I did when I survived cancer wasn't the way to go with all that. It gave me more problems which I'm now having to deal with. So now I am. Wish me luck! My brother brought by some peanut butter fudge he made me for my birthday. He makes the best I've ever eaten. It was a big batch of it, so I put it in little bags that went into the freezer. Eventually I can eat it and will have that to look forward to. But first things first. Sunday Mother, Brian, Melissa, Brendan, and I met at Fido for brunch and then went to TACA, the really good arts and crafts show at Centennial Park. Brian called about a week ago to ask if I knew what he wanted for his birthday. I answered, "Yes, when do you want me to keep him?" So I had Brendan here Saturday afternoon overnight while Brian's friends had a party for him. Here's what he said about it on his LiveJournal entry. They had lots of fun and apparently an awesome cake. It sounds decadently delicious. There are photos and everything. Sunday was a lot of fun getting to be with family and out in the great weather. Today was a good day - beautiful weather, loving company, delicious meal, and fun shopping. I've been wondering about the best birthday I've spent. As a child, it was my ninth birthday when I got my Toni doll. As an adult, there have been many enjoyable ones. What about you? Which birthday was your best one? 7:47:00 PM Thursday, September 28, 2006 TV Shows Any discussion of Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, or the new shows? What a surprise they kept all four finalists on PR. They've been creative all season with projects and decisions. There's an article in New York Magazine about how Jeffrey might not have done the sewing for his runway collection. He's pretty unlikeable, but I didn't think he would cheat. Kara and the shoes were a big deal last season, but this is more serious. I'm looking forward to seeing their collections. Monique just might win on Dancing. She danced well on all the dances so far. I like a lot of them this time and love watching the pros dance together, especially Maksim and Cheryl. Maksim is great to watch even if he's just standing there. I tried to like Smith but just can't. I really don't like any of the characters on there, and Virginia Madsen barely gets to act. Class is good which was a surprise since I haven't heard much about it. Have any of you seen it? I like Shark but expected to. What new shows do you like? 10:23:00 PM Wednesday, September 27, 2006 Irony For all my life I never won door prizes. I could count on it. Yet I'd go on and write my name on the little piece of paper and drop it in the box or look on my program or under my seat to see if I had the winning number or do whatever they required. Never, ever won. It was entirely predictable after a while and was my reality. I joked about it. Then I retired and joined the local retired teachers' group and continued my losing streak. Until I became president of them and have won all three of the last door-prize opportunities I've had. Very odd. I've won a door prize at our last two meetings, the one where the nominations were announced and this latest one when I presided for the first time. Then I won one at that meeting with the state officers. What is ironic about all this is that I'm working to get rid of clutter from my house and am winning more stuff to bring into it. I haven't even created a vacuum yet for nature to abhor. Maybe door prizes are like cats. When you don't want them to come to you, they can't stay away. 11:41:00 AM Thursday, September 21, 2006 My Family Mother and I went to Green Hills to the dental hygienist today. We met Brian and Brendan for lunch at the Belle Meade Buffet and then visited a while outside where there are some benches and a brick planter Brendan enjoyed walking on. We had a good time since the weather was beautiful today, sunny and cool. Earlier I went to Wild Oats to find some lotion I like made by Zum. They were out, so I bought some of the spray. It's frankincense and myrrh, so I can smell like the Baby Jesus. When I told them about it, Mother ignored me, but I like to think she was amused and just didn't want to encourage me, the way she's always done. But I know she laughed inside. Brian asked if I had any gold. I didn't mention that gold has no fragrance since I didn't want to run rings around him logically and make him feel bad. (I am not mad.) I thought all this was environmental, but Kathy and I have found that it's genetic since she got in trouble with her adopted family for talking and joking so much. Her "smart mouth" would have earned her praise and laughter with her biological family. We say or indicicate, "Way to go! Good one!" when someone gets in a good line. Now she's appreciated for her wit by others besides her husband. We joked around that first night she got in touch with me after we'd been talking a while. She said she never felt rejected, to which I responded that they must not have told her about the dumpster. She didn't miss a beat and said they'd left that part out. So remember about genetics, folks! Some things you just can't avoid. 11:03:00 PM Tuesday, September 19, 2006 Weather I just love fall, and this cooler weather is wonderful!! It makes me feel so good and energetic. I'm outside more and enjoy it. Fall and spring are my favorite seasons. I just love the clear blue skies, crisp coolness in the air, colorful leaves, and the end of summer. Spring is like an awakening - leaves and grass are budding and becoming green, flowers are blooming, and winter is over. I'd like to be able to go to Arizona during the summer to dry out every year. In the Flagstaff area it's 15-20 degrees cooler than it is here with about 1/4 of the humidity. Low humidity is the secret of happiness. It's great to have my friends Paige and Carl back in Dickson. I've missed them and am so glad they're living nearby again. What season(s) do you like? Where would you live during the different seasons if you could? 1:22:00 PM Hello again! Blog, what blog? I have a blog? Why yes! And here I am back from an uncharacteristic period of silence. Unfortunately, nothing particularly interesting has been going on in terms of travel or adventure. I've just been doing my regular thing except working a bit more at the vitamin store. I think what happened is that I got tired of sitting at the computer after that marathon family history experience. I have been reading your blogs and keeping up with what's going on there. Several things have happened since we last communicated. I was wrong about Rockstar Supernova since Lukas was chosen by the band. Dilana was in the final two, and I believe she'll have a career that will be better than if she'd been with that band. I hope so. The fall season has started on TV. I watched the much-anticipated Studio 60 last night and was so happy to hear Alan Sorkin's dialogue again. I've already set the DVR to record the series every week. Surprisingly, I like Men in Trees because I don't care for Ann Heche since I think she horned in on what was a huge milestone in Ellen DeGeneres's life. It's like she was doing it for the publicity, but who really knows what goes on with other people. Men in Trees reminds me a bit of Northern Exposure and makes me want to visit Alaska not during the winter. Somehow I missed the finale of Project Runway last week but will watch the repeats of it this week. Fortunately I don't know who won but hope it's Michael but think it could be Jeffrey. I'll also gear up for Top Chef which begins its second season next month. Of course, Dancing with the Stars has also returned, so I will be watch that, too. Yes, I know I watch too much TV. 1:02:00 PM Thursday, September 07, 2006 Roots Our county is doing one of those heritage books that I wasn't particularly interested in, but my cousin Debby eventually guilted me into working on. I started on it late, of course, and then wanted the entry for our family to be accurate. The sentence that sums up my life is, "You know, if I'd started on this sooner, I could have done a good job." I'm an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs, and my cousin Emily, who conducts seminars on it, said the "P" stands for pressure! So true! We put it on ourselves for sure. So this means that I've been totally engrossed in this during all my free time for the last couple of weeks. Fortunately, my cousin Beverly West and my friend Paige Walk the genealogist have researched the Pentecosts and shared that information with me. I couldn't have done this in so short a time without their help. Other cousins came to the rescue and answered questions and provided stories of their own. It's been good to be in touch. Mother was a valuable source of course, and we've been on the phone comparing notes and going over things constantly. It's made us want to do more of this for ourselves and to compile our own history. I want to find out more about the Raymonds, too. After getting involved in the Pentecost history, I didn't want to leave out the Durhams and started on that one. Mother had most of the dates I needed, and phone calls to my Aunt Pauline gave more information. I want to go farther with that, too, and know that Uncle Jim researched our Durham genealogy, so I need to get copies of what he did. It all mushrooms and becomes a mystery to unravel. I'm looking forward to seeing the heritage book when it is available next year. Most of my ancestors came from England with the exception of a couple of Cherokees and someone Scottish. Otherwise, just about all English. I believe this requires a trip there again. I didn't get to stay long enough before. 6:53:00 AM Rockstar I think it's going to be Toby. Based on the last couple of shows, I'm pretty sure they're going to choose him. They like the way he writes and engages the audience, and that EVS thing has caught on. He and Dilana gave the best performances with the band. I'm a Dilana fan and have enjoyed all her performances. This has given her exposure that I hope will help her have a strong career. I want her to win but have noticed a change lately with the fickle audience. The band probably made up their minds early on and knows who they want. Guess we'll see soon. 6:46:00 AM Wednesday, August 30, 2006 Rock On! This post is probably written just to Chris since I don't know of anyone else who reads this who also watches Rockstar Supernova. I had a strong feeling that Ryan would be the one to go this week. I'm not sure who it will be next week since it's pretty close with some of them. My favorite is Dilana. She's amazing. The first week I thought it would be between her and Lukas, but that changed. Now I think it will be between Dilana and Toby. I like Storm except for the thing she does with her mouth. So who's next, Chris? Magni maybe? The ones chosen for performances with Supernova have been Dilana, Toby, and Lukas in that order which makes me wonder if they might be eliminated in that order. Guess we'll find that out next week. Btw, Lukas didn't look right with them, and Dilana did a much better job performing "Lithium" than he did. She was mesmerizing! Anybody else watch it and have any opinions? Heidi I don't have any strong opinions yet for a winner of Project Runway except that I really like Michael and his designs. Kayne is too over the top and is in the right business designing beauty pageant gowns, but I like him and think he'd be fun to know. Uli does good work and seems nice. Jeffrey and Angela are beyond irritating, and Laura is pregnant again! Vincent is a trip but has grown on me. So who knows? I love this show and enjoy watching it. I got Tina hooked on it and am working on Jackie now. She also watches Dancing with the Stars, so we can discuss that. My niece Amy watches these shows but doesn't read my blog that often, so we don't get to discuss TV shows as much as we would if we were more in touch. 8:01:00 PM Thursday, August 24, 2006 Generation Connect Ronni Bennett chronicled an exchange between Millie and the creators of a cartoon wishing her 81st birthday greetings on her blog and wrote about how the generations communicate through our blogs. It's an interesting post and the videos are entertaining and sweet. I thought about how some of us have been communicating intergenerationally and internationally through our blogs for the four years I've been writing mine. First of all, former students Amy Nickens and Ariel Dunham encouraged me to do it and then helped me with it. Friends and family members read and comment on here and have been from the beginning. Then Alistair Coleman joined in and brought me in touch with his readers and friendships formed with people I've never met. So this isn't news to me because my life has had people of all generations included in it since I taught school. Now blogging just gives us another outlet to keep in touch and to meet people. I love it and look forward to what's coming next! I don't know if other parents experience this or not, but an added benefit/problem is learning about events in your children's lives on their blogs instead of from them directly. Almost always this is great, but there are times I'd like to have heard about something in a conversation. Blogs are just another means of communication and why we do them. It's good to have all these methods, and I wish we'd had cell phones, email, etc. when he was in college instead of only that phone in the hall of his dorm. To his credit, my son does keep in touch and calls just to talk (often with the added pleasure of the little beamish grandboy usually in the background). Wow, what timing! The phone just rang, and it's Brian! 9:35:00 PM New Mnemonic Devices! Kids everywhere will have to learn new sentences and other clever methods to memorize the planets, which will now be easier by one to list. Poor little Pluto has been de-planetized from its former status and is now called a dwarf planet along with the newbie Xena. I heard about this final decision today when I was in the car listening to NPR. You can read more about it here. 9:35:00 PM Day Trip of Sorts Sherrill Hooper and I went to Columbia to a leadership conference conducted by the TRTA (TN Retired Teachers Association). It's a pretty drive there, and we learned what's expected of us regarding membership reports and records. You won't be surprised to know that there is much more to this presidency than I was lead to believe. That's how it is, and I should have known. I enjoy getting to know the state president, lobbyist, and others who are in the state office. So maybe this is good for me in some ways. 9:10:00 PM $JK Interesting article about J. K. Rowling and her money. It's one of my favorite fantasies to imagine what I'd do with millions of dollars. It's not likely to happen but is fun to think about. 9:00:00 PM Monday, August 21, 2006 Good Scary News!! Alistair Coleman world-famous blogger of Scaryduck: Not Scary, Not a Duck has written a book that is now on sale in bookstores in the UK (but not here yet) and on Amazon! It's title is Tales of Mirth and Woe. Congratulations, Alistair, and well done! 8:02:00 PM Sigh I noticed even more than I used to that when I eat the way I should, exercise, get enough sleep, stay active, and spend some time outside that I feel very good. In fact, if I watch too much TV, drink wine, eat desserts and junk food, and sit around being slothful, I feel like crap. There's no justice in the world, is there? 9:52:00 AM Sunday, August 20, 2006 Life, the Journey First of all, I love Ronni Bennett's blog Time Goes By. Thousands of others read her blog besides me, so she has quite a following which is wonderful. She should because what she writes about so eloquently and articulately inspire and remind us of the complexities, humor, and experiences of living a passionate life. She's organizing her links to other elderbloggers and asked us to let her know what category to put ours in. The only label that came to mind for mine is "Babbling" since that's what I do on here. As usual, I don't have a plan or focus for it. When I began writing it, I wanted to let family, friends, co-workers, and others know my progress during chemo for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. After I lived, the drama was gone, and so were most of my readers. However, I was in the habit of writing it and have been babbling about my life ever since. Other readers have replaced a few of the ones who left, and some are still with me. Thank you for hanging in here with me. :-) 10:32:00 AM Thursday, August 17, 2006 Retirement When I retired, my mind joined in. I don't think as well as I used to and can't remember things. Today at work two of my friends were in there talking about when we all had lunch a couple of years ago. I don't remember it at all. Nothing came back to me when they described it. Nada! At first I thought they were messing with me and making things up, which would have been possible, but apparently we all actually did have lunch together. I've always been oblivious, but not about things like that. I did a dingbat thing which isn't really that unusual, but this really irritates me. The containers that my diabetic monitor test strips come in have numbers on them. The nurse emphasized how important it is to be sure the number on the monitor is set to the same number of the test strips. The ones I'd been using since I began testing 6 weeks ago were # 17. This morning when I took the test strip canister out of the elastic part that holds it in the case, I noticed that it had # 15 on it. Crap!! So the last 24 times I've tested were wrong. I changed the number on the meter and tested again, and there was a 14-point difference. Crap again!! Since not testing is like driving without a speedometer, using the wrong number is like having a speedometer that isn't properly calibrated. I couldn't understand why my glucose readings were so low a few times since they've never been that low before. Now I know. Very frustrating. It's not fun sticking needles in fingers as it is without having it be for nothing. 6:23:00 PM Tuesday, August 15, 2006 Voting This is an article about our new electronic voting machines, Hart eSlates. It makes me feel even better about then than I did after we were trained. It's a long article, but you can scroll down to the eSlate section. Here are excerpts from the article in The Austin Chronicle by Lee Nichols: Unlike Hart's major competitors, the eSlate does not use a touch screen. "I had trouble with calibration issues on the touch screens," Travis Co. Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says, meaning that the onscreen "buttons" that the voter presses sometimes slip out of alignment with the proper sensors underneath the screen. "Not all of them, but some of them. It's what happened in Dallas [during early voting in the 2002 general election, on ES&S machines]; you end up maybe casting a ballot for the other candidate and don't realize it. They've done some things in the industry to try to improve it since I first looked at it, so in fairness to them, I think they have improved their product, but at the time I was doing the review I found it troubling."My problem with any of them is that I'd like a paper receipt that assures me that I voted for the candidates I intended to. I hope they'll add that since we get receipts from transactions we make. 11:28:00 PM Keep on Dancing! Well, I'm getting ready for the new fall season of TV and with it comes Dancing with the Stars. Sure, the word "star" is used loosely, but we all know that. Here are the new contestants for the third season of it. I'm counting on those of you who watch it to discuss it with me. Chris, is that one you watch? Anybody else follow it? 10:46:00 AM Friday, August 11, 2006 New Post on Other Blog Jackie has written a new post on our other blog. For a very long time Jackie and I have said that racism exists everywhere. If the South had a monopoly on racism and ignorance, I'd move. She already did but not for that reason. It's more overt in the South. You know where you stand with people by what they say and how they act. In other parts of the country, they are sneakier about it, but it's still there. Large cities are segregated with little pockets of different nationalities living in communities with their own shops, restaurants, etc. Some of them never know much about anyone else except on television. In smaller towns, we get to know each other as people instead of stereotypes even though the ethnic mix isn't as varied. We still have a long way to go as Jackie's post indicates. Mister Rogers: We want to raise our children so that they can take a sense of pleasure in both their own heritage and the diversity of others. 1:31:00 PM Thursday, August 10, 2006 What if? You know how sometimes we think about which celebrity we'd like to look like? You do it, too, right? I'm not alone in this. Way back I used to want to look like Jaclyn Smith but didn't think my personality would do well looking so classically beautiful, so I chose Sally Field (as in who would play me in a movie) since I was used to being cute and witty. Then later on I decided I'd love to look like Salma Hayek since she has a fantastic figure and very pretty face which my personality could handle. Well, I'd probably flaunt my body and look at myself in the mirror all the time. Maybe I'd get used to looking like her. Lately I've wanted to look like Heidi Klum but not be German. (not that there's anything wrong with it ... but the personality thing again .... I'm not organized and efficient enough to be German) So I'd have to be a Southern Heidi Klum. I'd like to see what it's like to be tall, and she's fantastically beautiful with a curvy body. I don't want to be stick thin like too many models and actresses, as you can tell from my choices here. Apparently, I've also decided that my personality can adjust to looking like a Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated super model just as easily as it could to being a lottery winner. (well, we hope so anyway) Don't get me wrong. I'm OK with who I am and how I've looked all these years (well, I'd like to lose some weight for a variety of reasons that involve health and looks too of course), but this is a past-time that I indulge in occasionally. The reality of the situation is that students said I look like Raymond's mother, Doris Roberts. I saw her at a screenwriting conference in Nashville several years ago and told her this. She wasn't impressed. What about you? Who would you like to look like if there were a magic wand? 6:59:00 PM Tuesday, August 08, 2006 Twists and Turns Check this quiz out to see how well you know the plot twists of some movies. I missed 3 of them bacause I hadn't seen those movies. Yes, there are movies I haven't watched! It's interesting. Post your scores and comments, so we can discuss. 2:58:00 PM Friday, August 04, 2006 Vote Early! Vote Often! The voting went on and on last night. I didn't realize how lucky we were to leave around 9:00 pm when I heard that some people were still voting way after 10:00. Mother said she heard midnight. Marilyn was right about its not being a good idea to introduce the new voting machines at the same time we had the longest ballot in eight years. Local elections always bring out the voters, and we had a few that were heavily contested. At the Board of Education where I vote and worked, we had around 458 voters using three machines. Those will be sufficient in November when the ballot is short, and we'll have gubernatorial and senatorial elections which I hope people are interested in as much as the local, but that's not always the case. Almost everyone liked the new machines and said they were easy to use. With all those appellate judge reviews on there, the e-slate machine had eight or nine screens of candidates, depending on if they voted in the city election or not. Then the summary page of candidates was four screens! Attitudes were good while voters waited in the hot room (there was a/c but with the door opening and closing so much and crowds, it couldn't keep up) for anywhere from twenty minutes to over an hour and a half. Apparently we had it easier than some places. People chatted and were polite and considerate of each other. Maybe I'm used to large groups of high school students which is why I noticed that. I was exhausted last night when I got home and was greeted with no electricity because it went off on our street. Brigit kept meowing to me as if to complain about my being gone so long and then stumbling around trying to make my way in the dark to light some candles. I went outside with a flashlight and encountered the neighbors across the street who told me it hadn't been off but about ten minutes. We have suicidal squirrels in our neighborhood who short out the utility wires now and then. Other neighbots and I called the electric department, and they sent a truck out. The electricity was back on around 10:00 pm. I fell into bed around 11:00 and got up this morning at 7:00. I called Mother, and she asked me what I was doing up so early. She's definitely a morning person and gets up around 5:00 all the time (which comes once a day as far as I'm concerned, but I had to get up then yesterday to be at the polls at 6:15). She used to tell me I missed the best part of the day, so I told her to tape it for me. I'm still tired today from standing most of the fifteen hours I was there and explaining how the new machines work. Also not eating anything but a light breakfast and sandwich for lunch didn't help. I needed something else around dinner time. I did really enjoy this, though, and am impressed with the organization and efficiency of the election commission. Way to go, Luanne Greer!! (my cousin) The official at our site, Vanessa, was calm, efficient, and organized, too. I believe in voting and am glad to participate in the process. Quite a few of the ones I voted for won but there were some disappointments. Based on my past voting choices, this turned out better than I was afraid it would. Now if only the national elections will follow suit! 11:06:00 AM Tuesday, August 01, 2006 HELLLOOOOO!! Is anyone reading this? If so, please identify yourself and let me know. I'm so needy that I have to know if you're out there. Oh, please. Thank you very much. 2:48:00 PM Sunday, July 30, 2006   Charlotte These are photos of the courthouse in my hometown. The front and back are identical and so are the sides. It sits on a hill in the middle of the small town of just over 1100 citizens surrounded by a wide street called "the square." The post office where my mother was assistant postmaster for most of the 20+ years she worked there is down from the left corner in the picture on the right. The new courthouse is right across from the old one. That monument in the front is a Civil War memorial. Offices are housed there in what is known as the oldest courthouse in the state which this article elaborates on. Court is held in the new one, and most of the county officials work there. A retaining wall surrounds the bottom of the hill and has iron rings along the top where horses used to be tied when people came to town. It was built in 1804, which is practically new by European standards, in the frontier town that missed being the capital of Tennessee by one vote. I have many memories of the courthouse. Election day was a big event when I was growing up because there would be tables with food for sale on the courthouse yard and people all around voting and staying for the results. We'd stay late into the night waiting to hear what happened. As a teenager, it was fun to visit with my friends and flirt with the boys. It was a festive atmosphere. We had places on the square to hang out. My uncle's grocery store was where the new courthouse is now, and I loved that place. It was so much fun to be around him, his business partner, and the others who worked there. Mother started out working at the original post office until the new one was built. There are still some of the old buildings along the square, and people still say things like "where Bernadine's Grocery used to be" as well as other landmarks that have been torn down or changed to other businesses. My cousins own the Hickerson Hotel where they have a bistro-type restaurant with events on Friday nights. The county jail used to be off the square near the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which was used as a hospital during the Civil War. It's still there. This article relates some of the history of it as well as a photograph. The jail is in another location now. I guess some of the buildings need to be renovated or torn down, but change isn't all that welcome in Charlotte. New Voting Machines I worked at the election commission office Friday for early voting. That building is in horrible shape and has been there for ages. Another cousin is the commissioner, and she asked me to work during elections. We have new voting machines now and had to be trained on them. There was a steady flow of voters Friday, and we explained how to use the machines to every one of them. I was tired but not as tired as all of us will be Thursday. Friday was from 8-4. Election day we have to be at the polls around 6:15 and stay until voting is finished. The polls close at 7:00, but anyone in line at that time can vote, so I imagine we won't leave until at least 8:00 or later. It's taking longer to vote this time because of the new machines and longer ballot (about 8 screens). All those judges (2 or 3 screens of them) and local elections for county officials make it the longest it has been or will be again for eight years. The general election in November will be a breeze after this one. I really like our new voting machines. There is a paper receipt that is produced at the end of the election as well as a memory card in each machine and the main one. The information is also on the hard drive. Numbers are recorded, the memory card is sealed, and other safeguards are in place to insure accuracy. I do wish each voter received a record of who they voted for and am not sure why this isn't happening. There's a bill in Congress for this (H. R. 550) which I hope passes. We got new voting machines all over the state mostly because of access for disabled voters. Each precinct has one machine which is for handicapped people. Others can use it, too, but it has headphones, Braille, and other accomodations for those who need them. The guy from the voting machine company who trained us said that the reason for the problems in Florida was that those chads were supposed to be emptied much the way paper hole punches need to be. They hadn't been emptied, so the chads filled the boxes to the point that the votes couldn't be recorded properly. What incompetence! Good grief! Voting has always been stressed in my family. Mother would ask, "Have you voted?" and "What number were you? How many voted?" as long as I've been voting. When I was so sick, Mother drove me to the poll to vote in the early voting. It's very important to her, and she was among the first there Friday when I helped with the voting. She's a remarkable woman, and I'm fortunate to have her for my mother. I'll let you know how it goes Thursday. I'll be at the Board of Education building which is my place to vote and am taking lunch and snacks since it will be a long day! 2:17:00 PM Thursday, July 27, 2006 If...? I saw this on a couple of blogs and thought I'd post it, too. If you could watch only five TV shows for the rest of your life, what would they be? Here's my list: West Wing Seinfeld Frasier Mary Tyler Moore Designing Women What are your five? 10:27:00 PM Monday, July 24, 2006 Yo Blair! Enough said. 11:12:00 PM Euphoria 2 This is the second fall school has started without me and the first full year of retirement. I've noticed that the euphoria is exponential. I thought about my friends spending this week in in-service and know what they are experiencing. Then after all the speeches, meetings, and motivational speakers, they get ready to meet their students for the next year. All the preparation, anticipation, sleepless nights, and anxiety are a matter of course. They have new literature books for the English classes, new teachers, and old friends waiting for them. There will be countless papers to grade, announcements to hear, names to memorize, desks to straighten, deadlines to meet, bells to ring, and so much talking. Some of it doesn't change but then it's never the same either. Rough calculations estimate that I've taught over 6,000 students during my 40-year career (37 in Dickson County, 3 in North Charleston, SC, as well as GED classes, homebound students, course recovery, Watkins College, and some private art classes). Now you know why it's not a good idea for former students to say, "Remember me?" when it's been so long since I taught them and they've changed so much. So even though I know what teachers are experiencing now, I'm so glad I'm not there with them. I love it when school starts without me! When my college roommate, her husband, and I were reminiscing Saturday night, I thought about choices we made then. All of us spent our professional lives in education. Barb taught elementary school and John was an elementary school principal in Paducah, KY. We're all retired now. During the conversation we mentioned this guy I dated my junior year and how I should have married him. Then I started thinking about how my life would have been different if I'd done that or gone to New York to try to be an actress and realized that not only my life would have altered but so would all these people who are part of my life now. Interesting about roads not taken, isn't it? I guess that's why that poem is so popular. 10:15:00 PM Sunday, July 23, 2006 Gibberish I decided to check my guestbook since I hadn't looked at it in a long time and noticed someone broke into it and changed my questions. At least I certainly don't remember putting the question, "Is that your natural hair color?" on there or "May I get you something to drink" for that matter. Very odd. Spammer types also left many entries with gibberish on them. I don't know why those people do that. It's really strange. So I went through and deleted all of them and read the real entries from the beginning. I've been writing this blog for over four years now and wish I'd known how to add a comment feature earlier. It would have been helpful at that time when people wanted to respond to posts. Anyway, I've cleaned up the guestbook and realize that people have signed it and planted flags on the map, too. Thanks!! I appreciate it. Photo Show I drove to Paducah, Kentucky, and back today. Earl and his daughter Margaret entered photographs in the annual competition they have there, so I drove up to the reception and awards ceremony. They didn't win this time but have in other shows. My college roommate Barbara and her husband John live in Paducah and met us at the reception and then for dinner afterwards. A friend of Earl's rode there with him, and Joy McKenzie, my friend who is head of the photography department at Watkins College of Art and Design and Film School and juror of the show, also went to dinner. It was great to see everyone again. Barb and I pick up where we left off and carry on as always. We were roommates for the entire four years at UT-Martin and are still close. It was so much fun. Tomorrow Brian, Melissa, Brendan, Paula (Melissa's mother), Mother, and I are meeting at Fido's for a birthday brunch for Mother and Melissa. What a social weekend with people I love I'm having! 1:49:00 AM Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Newspapers From The Tennesseean, Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Same-sex marriage ban will accomplish nothing To the Editor: I have been thinking about the fears many Americans have about gay marriage. So deep-seated are these fears that amending the constitution of a state or our country is actually thought to be a solution. ("Voters to get say on gay marriage," July 15) Now that Tennessee's voters will have that opportunity this fall, I think it is time to ask a few questions. In what specific ways will gay marriage hurt or threaten the institution of marriage? Will banning gay marriage improve the communication between heterosexual spouses? Will the ban lower heterosexual divorce rates? Will parents suddenly find more time to spend with their kids? Will your relationship with God improve? Will it bring world peace? Will corruption disappear? Will gas cost less? Will it make us energy independent? Will terrorists hate us less? Will our nation be more secure? Will health care become a non-issue? Will jobs stop moving overseas? Will pension plans be reinstated? Will our violent crime rate go down? Will education improve? Will you get a raise or a promotion due to the ban? Will air and water pollution go away? Will your food taste better or be more nutritious? Or will you have simply institutionalized an ugly prejudice, giving legitimacy to fearing and hating what you don't understand. Our kids will learn that solving a debate equates to banning the opposition, hardly a beacon a freedom. Folks, I think we have more important things to deal with, and better ways to resolve our issues. Alan Powell Nashville 37205 editorialresponse@earthlink.net (I thought it was well-written and made some good points. I appreciate Vicki's emailing it to me.) This article from the Nashville City Paper covers the voting quite well. Here's an excerpt from the entire article: "It's important for Tennesseans to know also that this amendment is absolutely unnecessary," Tarkington said. "Tennessee law already defines marriage as between one man and one woman. That's already state law. This simply takes it one step further by enshrining discrimination into the constitution," he added. 11:34:00 PM Deadwood I've been catching up on Deadwood and watched the first two seasons on DVD. I tried to watch it last year, but it's not the kind of show you can jump into the middle of. In fact, if you miss an episode, you can't catch up the next time. It's an interesting show and historically accurate. HBO gave David Milch, the creator and head writer of the show, a year to research it. He also read H. L. Mencken's book about language in America, so all the profanity mixed with Victorian speech is there for a purpose. The commentaries on the DVDs are entertaining, especially the one with Keith Carradine (Wild Bill Hickok) and Molly Parker (Alma Garrett). I like listening to David Milch comment on them, too. Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant were useless commenting together but funny. Now I'm watching season 3 on HBO on Demand and regular HBO. Quote from David Milch when he was on Craig Ferguson's show: There are no winners and losers in this endless tedium of life. 10:45:00 PM Faith & Reason Bill Moyers conducts interviews that cause me to think about concepts I like to consider. Those times with Joseph Campbell were wonderfully enlightening experiences. Now with Faith & Reason, his discussions with theologians, writers, scholars, and others continues to inspire and illuminate. I hope I can do justice to what Jeanette Wilkerson said on a recent show. I'd never heard of her or read anything she's written and enjoyed hearing her speak. She's from England and grew up with very conservative fundamentalist Protestant parents. Her mother banned all books from the house with the exception of the Bible and a few books about the Bible. Wilkerson bought books with money she earned and hid them under her bed. One day her mother saw one of the hidden books, gathered them all, took them out to the yard, and burned them all. She told her daughter that you never know the dangers of a book until it's too late and you've seen inside it. This caused Wilkerson to memorize text because it could never be taken away from her. Later on she fell in love with a woman, and her mother told her that she couldn't be with that woman and still live in her house, so she moved out. As she was leaving, her mother said, "Why do you have to be happy instead of normal?" 4:26:00 PM Tina New post on the other blog by Tina. Go! Now! Check it out! 2:58:00 AM Monday, July 10, 2006 Parrot Boy Brendan has the same freakish memory that his mother has for songs lyrics, stories, and all kinds of things. Melissa also knows all the plants of the world, how to draw them, and their scientific and regular names, along with all the other information she's ever learned. It's amazing. You don't want to play trivia games against her, especially when she and Brian are partners as they usually are. (even though Sally and I have beaten them because of the luck of our questions hahahaha!) In our family quite a bit of our conversation consists of inside jokes and references to movies, songs, books, TV shows, and whatever strikes our fancy. We're an odd group but friendly and often entertaining (at least to each other and ourselves). When I was keeping Brendan a couple of weeks ago, we were at Mother's sitting in the den. Mother and I were talking, and Brendan was in a chair across the room listening. In an effort to join the conversation, he looked at us solemnly and expounded, "My name is David Kidney. I have a Master's in Russian literature and a PhD in biochemistry. For the last 18 months I've been deworming orphans in Somalia. What about you?" Well, Mother and I looked at each other and were agog (don't often use that word but it applies here). I told her he'd heard it somewhere, but I wasn't sure where. Then I asked him to repeat it, and he did verbatim. Later when we were at my house, he said, "Exercise causes endorkins. Endorkins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands." I answered, "No, they don't" and wondered where that came from, too. I like "endorkins" and think I'll start using it. Good word. I googled key words from both and found out where. Do you know? Both are from the same movie. That's the only hint you get now. I'd seen the movie a few times because, like Melissa, I really like it but don't have it memorized like they do. Any guesses? No fair googling until some people have guessed! 3:39:00 PM Graphic Novels Have any of you read any of those graphic novels? I've only recently learned about them. Maus is one that keeps being mentioned when I checked into them on Amazon and was on the reading list of a young adult literature class Tina took at Lipscomb. The author won a Pulitzer Prize. They are long comic books and have been mentioned by the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) and by publishers as being very popular. I've been in a cave, right? Let me know what you think about them and if you've read any of them. Thanks! I should add here that my son has a comic book blog Noetic Concordance some of you might be interested in reading. Brian and Melissa have plans to create a comic book and perhaps graphic novels, too. They could market them at those geek conventions they attend. 12:21:00 AM Saturday, July 08, 2006 It's Only Rock 'n Roll I also watch the rock star competition, which is much easier for me this year because I like the guys in the band and didn't like INXS but watched it anyway last summer. I didn't like the one who won last time which worked out since I didn't plan to watch INXS anyway. This year the band is the newly-formed Supernova, organized by Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. The other band members are Gilby Clarke from Guns N' Roses and Jason Newsted from Metallica. There are some awesome singers on this competition and many of them women. You can watch their performances on the website for Rockstar: Supernova by clicking "Rockers" and their performances. The most outstanding ones were Dilana who sang Nirvana's "Lithium" and Lukas who sang Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell." So far I'm not so crazy about Magni, Phil, Chris, and Matt (who was the first eliminated). Zayra I'm not so sure about. Other performances that rocked were Toby's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (B0b Dylan), Jill's "Piece of My Heart" (Janis Joplin), Patrice's "Somebody to Love" (Jefferson Airplane), Dana's "The Only One" (Melissa Etheridge), and Josh's "She Talks to Angels" (The Black Crowes). Even though I've been a rock fan for decades, as you might have figured out, I'm not familiar with all the songs and groups they have to choose from. Still, I am enough of a rocker to know who I like and do enjoy the performances. If any of you watch this, let me know, so we can discuss. 11:23:00 PM Kudzu If you don't know what it is, you've never been to the South and seen it all over everything. I posted a link to an article about it that I enjoyed on Dew on the Kudzu. Check it out and be warned! 1:43:00 PM Thursday, July 06, 2006 The Institution I was married from 1965-1975 and never did again even though I came close a few times. When asked why I'd never remarried, I usually just said that I was more of a relationship sprinter than marathon runner. I think that's right. In fact, Sheryl Crowe said basically the same thing in an interview in Vanity Fair. Crow says her romantic relationships never seem to lead to the altar.A friend told me that if I'd wanted to be married, I'd have done it by then (when we had that conversation many years ago), so I must not want to be married. Probably true. I've been a finishing school for men who, after me, went on to get married - sometimes more than once. I admit that I'm not the easiest person to live with and that lots of people get on my nerves. So there are reasons. 5:38:00 PM Tuesday, July 04, 2006 Happy 4th! What did you do for the 4th? Cook-outs? Movies? Swimming? What? I have been reading and puttering around the house. I'm keeping Brendan tomorrow and will drive to Bellevue to meet Melissa and stick around there with The Boy. I read some of my older posts and noticed that I used to be more interesting than I am now. I'll try to do something about that. 4:39:00 PM Sunday, July 02, 2006 Good News! Paige and Carl have sold their house in South Carolina and will be moving here to the one they bought by the end of the month! I'm really glad they'll be back. I've missed them while they've been gone and look forward to this so much. Now we have to find Carl a job of some kind. He's bored with retirement from being an engineer for so long. If anyone knows something that he might be interested in part-time or more, let us know. 6:10:00 PM Friday, June 30, 2006 Testing Check out our other blog and take the Rebel or Yankee test. It's fun and interesting to see where the various expressions are from. My score was 97% Dixie, so I guess I'm a Dixie Chick! Too bad I can't sing. 8:06:00 PM Thursday, June 29, 2006 LS, Part 2 I keep being sleepy all the time. I guess it's the Byetta. Week 2 of this is making a difference since I don't feel as good as I did at first but will keep on with it to see how it is when I get used to it. If it keeps on like this, I'll talk to Dr. Ross. I worked today and will tomorrow and Saturday which means I've worked there at the vitamin center for a whole year now since I worked three days all by myself when they all went to the convention where they are now. It's been fairly uneventful which is fine. How are y'all doing? Anybody doing anything fun during your vacation or going anywhere interesting? I hope so. 7:34:00 PM |
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