Post election blues...

I am very grateful that my candidate won this election and has four more years to keep attempting to get this country moving farther in the correct direction.

That being said, I am disappointed, and saddened by all of the hatred, racism, etc., spewing from so many sources.  We are all Americans first, and should be trying to resolve issues for the good of us all.  It is disheartening to see so much misinformation posted on social sites.  Unfortunately,  many folks don't check to see if these stories are true, they just join in on the hatred bandwagon and forward/share it with all of their "friends", so the circle of negativity keeps growing.

I suppose that one of my biggest aggravations is that so much of this hate-mongering is coming from people who profess to be such loyal Christians...to me that is blasphemous to the most extreme level.  When I was young I was taught that God is love, Jesus certainly championed the importance of love.

God please continue to bless America, in spite of our many faults.  Please help our government officials work much harder to find common ground, to learn the importance of, and to implement the art of compromise.  Thank-you!

More Yeats...

On the other side of the cemetery.

He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens'embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats

Under Ben Bulben...

Will have to do a few W.B. Yeats posts for my brother, though I'm not even sure if he reads my  blog?

"Under bare Ben Bulben's head

In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid,

An ancestor was rector there

Long years ago;  a church stands near,

By the road an ancient Cross.

No marble, no conventional phrase,

On limestone quarried near the spot

By his command these words are cut:  

Cast a cold eye

On life, on death.

Horseman pass by!"

Legend of Diarmuid and Grainne

Back in the days of arranged marriages, the High King Cormac Mac Airt, betrothed his lovely young daughter Grainne, (Gra-nay), to the much older warrior and leader Fionn Mac Cumhaill, (Finn MacCool).

Alas, Grainne's heart yearned for a younger warrior, Diarmuid, (Dermot).  Diarmuid returned her love, so they eloped.  Fionn pursued them for many years, but as I was told he eventually moved on to other things.

Grainne and Diarmuid were living in a cave in the mighty Ben Bulben, when Diarmuid, (who loved to hunt), heard of a mighty chase of a great black boar.  Diarmuid could not resist, though Grainne begged him not to join in on the hunt.  He was mortally wounded in the fight with the boar on the slopes of the mountain.

Grainne begged Fionn (who had great powers) to heal Diarmuid, but he refused. Diarmuid died, and Grainne shortly after, of a broken heart.  The lovers are said to be buried in the cave where they last resided...

This is the cave on the back side of Ben Bulben, (the little white dots are domestic sheep).

Toodle-loo!

This is finally the day!  We leave this afternoon...  I'm excited, and anxious in a nervous way all at the same time.  This is going waaay out of my comfort zone, but so looking forward to seeing this dream realized and lived to the fullest!

Hope to have some photos to share next time you "hear" from me.  :)

Coyote should be howling in Gaelic soon!  ;)

Cyclops

My daughter got a web-cam yesterday...  As I'm sitting here blurry-eyed, early in the morning, I feel as if the computer is staring back with one eye aimed directly at me.  I'm wearing a ball cap to cover my bed-head, but still feel self-conscious wondering if any of you will be able to see how much crappier I look at this hour?

The Ireland trip draws nearer, the excitement is palpable.  I have myriads of lists of things to do/pack floating around in my head...still this eye is staring at me!

Had fun at the farmers market yesterday with Mom.  All I was going to get was wheat bread from the Amish girl who is always so sweet...but ooh, local honey!  Right beside one of my favorite winemakers with a new batch of red raspberry...YUM!  :)  Then over to the Plaid Peacock for a couple of small gifts for our future tour guides!

This is homecoming week, so hit several stores with my daughter in preparation for the few days during the school year when full uniforms aren't required.  I really don't care much for shopping, (especially on the weekend), but we managed to have fun in spite of the chaos.  She finally decided on who to portray for character day, and a series of mini-miracles helped us find just the right items to pull off the look she's going for...don't think that I'm allowed to tell yet...  :(

Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes, 2 years in a row!  My Panthers stomped whoever they were playing!  Jr. and Tony are in the chase!  Life is good, in spite of the eye of Sauron ever watchful!

Like Pip, I blunder forward with my day to day routines, noticing that Fox, (guardian of the family, especially in travels), is popping up everywhere I turn.  So I believe that in spite of my curiosity and nose for finding trouble, this "fool of a Took" will escape the ever watchful eye, by following hobbit logic... "The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm."  Soon I'll be sipping a Guinness across the pond..."It comes in pints?!!!"  ;)

My apologies to any of you who aren't Tolkien-nerds, and therefore probably do not comprehend large chunks of this post.  My best advice to you would be to get The Lord of the Rings movies, books, or BOTH and catch up on the fun already!!!

Countdown begins! :D

September is here!!!

In less than 3 weeks Mom and I will be on our way to Ireland!!!

I don't think it will feel real until we meet our tour guides at the Dublin airport.  I'm hoping to get some photos to share with those of you who actually look in on my little blog from time to time.  :)

Erin go bragh!

Rain! :)

Woke up to a blissfully cool and rainy morning!

Got some of the dust off of my wellies!  :)

Flowers even got a little taste of rain, not just "city-water".

After the drought we've been having here this summer I will try very hard to refrain from ever singing "rain, rain go away" ever again!  This year we are grateful for every drop we get!  :)

Intolerance

Why can't folks quit judging others and just focus on what they could/should do to improve themselves and the world around them, WITHOUT feeling the need to run anybody else into the ground?

Why waste your life hatin' on folks whom you do not even know, and telling them how they will be judged...reality check time, seems to me that spreading hatred is a pretty bad thing to be judged for!

My husband has a line that says:  "Whenever you are pointing a finger at someone, look at your own hand and see how many are pointing right back at you!"

Confessions of a worry-wart...

I've had a LOT on my mind lately, I guess too much for the amount of quiet time to compose all of those thoughts into anything that makes much sense...

This morning I'm concerned about two little girls, 8 and 11 years old who have gone missing near a lake in a small town not very far from us.  I pray that they will both be found unharmed, but I'm worried...  and I'm trying not to be judgemental...

I've always been VERY protective of my kids, step kids, grand kids, any kids in my care, to the point of irritating the hell out of them, but I wouldn't change it because I always knew where they were and that they were safe.  I remember lining them up before we would go to the public pool, (where yeah, I know there are lifeguards, but they are "kids" too...), and explaining all of my rules, making sure that they understood EXACTLY what I expected from them, (for example if you're going to be out of sight to use the restroom or something, tell me), they all knew that if any of my rules were broken we would leave immediately whether we'd been there for 2 minutes or 2 hours.

My youngest is nearly 16 and when she rides her bike over to her Grandma's house, (about 5 blocks away), I insist that she texts me when she arrives, and when she ready to head home.  I know that I am overprotective but nothing is more important to me that trying to do my best to keep her safe...

It's been very difficult for me as the kids grow up and I have to let them make their own choices, good and bad.  I'm proud that they usually do pretty well, but still worry a lot when they make poor decisions, or when they are struggling through rough times...  I understand mentally that worry does nothing to help them, and that it can in fact harm me health wise, so I try to do more praying than worrying, but my anxiety issues sometimes win the battle.  I know that their guardian angels are doing their jobs, guiding and guarding my kids through all of their days and nights, but I really miss KNOWING for certain that they are safe and sound...

Please say a prayer for these missing girls and all children of the world suffering in any way...THANKS!

Great day, mostly...

This Father's Day my curmudgeon actually heard from most of the kids!  He doesn't make a fuss, but I know that it hurts him when they blow him off.  Maybe they are growing up after all, whatever the reason we'll take it.  :)

My favorite NASCAR driver, (since his Dad died), finally broke his losing streak!  JR!!!  :)

On a different note, my son is running off with a group of hippie/gypsy types...  I am hopeful that they are good folks and that he will have a memorable and fun experience on this adventure, but as a mom I'm nervous...  He doesn't have a cell phone, promises to write, but what if I need to get a hold of him?  Guess they'll be gone for a year if all goes according to "plans?"  Hoping for the best, prayin' that his guardian angels are on full alert!

Gotta go get our walk in before the temp hits 97 or more today!  Ugh, it's only June...

R.S.V.P.

Reponde sil vous plait?  In English means please reply... 

I understand that many folks lead incredibly busy lives, or are in super-busy phases of their lives (such as raising very active kids, etc.), but I feel that we are in a very sad time when people are too busy to reply to someone who has taken the time to say, write, text, e-mail, facebook, leave a voicemail, or contact them in any other way.

I mean hey, somebody has taken time out of their day to acknowledge YOU, they were thinking of you today and made the time to let you know.  Isn't that truly a precious gift, deserving of even the briefest of responses? 

I know that sometimes I can be overly sensitive, but when someone completely ignores my attempt to acknowledge them in a positive way, I feel as if I've waved at them in public and they just pretended that they didn't see me and walked away a little faster without even waving back...it is hurtful.  I know that there are times when I get busy and forget to reply too, I feel bad when I realize it, and guilty for being upset with someone else...

Sometimes, I get angry and swear that I'm done with "so and so"!  But later when I calm down I remember my Grandma once mentioning how much my Grandpa enjoyed my letters, how he would re-read them and smile...  I never had a clue!  Grandma would write notes and send cards on special occasions and "just because", but Grandpa NEVER wrote, if she hadn't mentioned it, I would never have known that someone so very dear to me even cared that I wrote...

I understand that he probably only completed 8th grade and may have been self-conscious of his spelling or penmanship, and that being from an old German family affection wasn't really spoken of that much, instead it was shown in sharing fun and special times together, usually involving food and a lot of laughter!

I remember walking out to the garden and he would point to these little brown papery globes on these little plants, he showed me how to ease the papery cover back and pop the golden ground cherries out from their casing and into my mouth, still warm from the sunshine and bursting with sweetness!  (My daughter grew a bunch last summer which brought those memories back with every sweet bite, I know I've shed a tear for every ground cherry she harvested, and there were an awful lot of them!)

I also recall catching my first fish with Grandpa, a beautiful little "sunny".  Honestly, I thought that it was much too pretty to eat, but I couldn't be such a weenie and say so in front of Grandpa, he was proud of me, and I wasn't gonna mess that up by being a sissy girl!

Grandpa made the most excellent potato pancakes...each time it was a major event, (he could be a bit of a ham), I adored him!  He would grate mountains of potatoes and fry them to crispy perfection, I liked mine with sugar sprinkled on top, Grandma still has his recipe, but it's him that I miss, they could never taste as awesome without him...

But I digress...my point is that we should all TRY to make that extra effort to acknowledge those we love/care about and let them know how special they are to us.  None of us know how many years, months, days, hours or minutes we have left in this world, I don't want to be wishing I had written that note, or made that phone call, etc.  I want to have another good memory to hold on to for the rest of my days! 

Love isn't love until you give it away, so I'll keep sending my sappy notes and such, whether I get responses back or not...  *virtual hugs & kisses*

"May your compassion reach out to the ones we never hear from."
~  John O'Donohue ~ 

Support our troops every day, with just a couple of clicks

Please help feed hungry Veteran's every day, just click on the link below, then again on the blue "click here to give it's free" button.

http://www.theveteranssite.com/tpc/VET_linktous

THANK-YOU!!!

A gaggle of goslings...

When I lived in Cody, Wyoming (for a brief while in the 80's), one of the things I missed a lot was the honk-honk of Canada geese flying over.  I missed seeing their "v's" flying over, hearing their honking, and probably most of all seeing the little fluffy goslings growing into gangly awkward tweens and eventually beautiful graceful adults which actually mate for life.  :)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

My Curmudgeon made fajita's last night, 'cause he knows I love 'em and used to get them on campus every May 5 back in the day...he spoils me so!  :)

Some more flower pics:

forgot name, love the color

firewitch/cheddar pinks

violet

lily of the valley/ladders to heaven

columbines

Passports are here!

Mom and I both received our passports yesterday and we are SO excited!  We don't actually leave until September, that seems like an awfully long time right now, but I'm sure it'll be here sooner than we think.  I'm hoping to take about a bajillion photos, hopefully get a few worth sharing!  Look out Ireland, we'll "soon" be on our way!



"May the Angel of Wildness disturb the places
Where your life is domesticated and safe,
Take you to the territories of true otherness

Where all that is awkward in you
Can fall into its own rhythm."

~  John O'Donohue  ~

For you Mom...

I can hardly wait for our trip to the waters and the wild!!!

(Turn the sound on before you click the link.) 

Love ya,
Deana

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2Ff7YIYQfnreM&h=GAQGY3I_EAQFq-PmCki8ZTuKGDRrsQHbfyneAxrozjT4qPA

Here is the poem:

The Stolen Child by William Butler Yeats

WHERE dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.

Reading buddies...

Last week I started volunteering as a reading buddy for first grade students.  I decided to do this because reading is SO important for helping children keep up with the rest of their education.  The kids in this program are already behind their classmates, I'm hopeful that our team will help them catch up.

The children I've met so far are very intelligent, but for whatever reasons they are struggling.  I'm finding that the girls are little chatterboxes, (once the initial shyness wears off), but the boys, (so far), are more reserved...maybe that's not the exact word, but less willing to visit openly.  One little guy acted ashamed and told me "I don't read very good."  I just smiled and told him that's why we are here, to practice and get better!

I've only spent a couple of hours with the kids so far, but I'm enjoying meeting these little characters.  I hope that we can help each other out through the little friendships we are developing, while sharing books.  :)  Maybe I should have become a librarian?  ;)

Love this...

...

May I have the courage today

To live the life that I would love,

To postpone my dream no longer

But do at last what I came here for

And waste my heart on fear no more.

~  John O'Donohue ~

A little peek of spring in Iowa...

Crocuses:

Bluebells:

A barge on the Mississippi with my first name:

The Emerald Isle???

Mom & I have been daydreaming about our trip to Ireland for years, without really believing that it would ever actually happen.  About a week or so back, my husband says ta me, are you gonna keep talkin' about it, or actually go while you're healthy enough to do it?  At first I was in shock, and a bit scared, going so far from home, what about all of my quirky little rituals, etc.  Then we started talking about luggage, season to go, activities to try, CASTLES to see, passports to apply for!  It's starting to feel like a real possibility and we are SO excited!  I don't think that Mom has ever been on a plane before, and I haven't been for at least 16 years, and that was just to the west coast... 

Irish eyes are smilin'!!!

Spring fun!

Yesterday when my curmudgeon and I entered the grocery store, we saw a large figurine of the female brown M&M, we simultaneously blurted out "Oh it's THAT kind of party!"  Then he proceeds with "wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle!"  I'm wondering how long before we get banned from the store?

My crocuses are blooming, which is always exciting and gets me to thinking about warm sunny days!  Wonder what we'll plant this year?  Will we go back to the home improvement store and get the awesome swing that I nearly napped in the other day? 

Last night was the first night of spring break for our daughter, (the caboose, only child left at home).  We made homemade pizzas, which have over the years evolved to each of us preparing our own full sized pie.  Mine is mostly veggies, my daughter's mostly sausage, and my curmudgeon's everything that we didn't use...and then some, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, sausage, baby shrimp, mushrooms, black olives, green olives, onions, cheese, cheese, cheese!  Must have weighed about 3 pounds, takes much longer to cook than ours did!  Everybody had full happy bellies, even our mooching furry-girls!

It's supposed to get in the 60's again today, sunny and gorgeous!  I have a 2 hour parent meeting, then I'll be free!  Maybe we'll roll over to our most favorite cupcakery and pick up some "necessities", they aren't open on Sundays so we must plan ahead!  ;)

Enjoy spring, doing whatever makes YOU happy!

Braving my fears to "pay it forward"...

Twenty some years ago I received a blood transfusion before a medical procedure, so yesterday I finally returned the favor and made a blood donation to the Red Cross.

As some of you may know, I have anxiety issues, so this was a day of facing my fear, (no not of the needles, I've had plenty of samples drawn over the years).  They give first time donors this huge packet of questions, and possible complications, so my mind starts reeling!  What if I develop one of those rare but possible side effects, what if , what if, what if?  I made it through the interview and was deemed donor-worthy.

Now onto the odd donor chair/bed thingy.  I'm grateful to one of my daughter's friend's parents for talking to me for the first couple of minutes to help distract me, that helped a LOT!  When the fellow, (vampire, hahaha, no he was a super nice guy), started asking me if I was feeling dizzy, or getting warm, etc., I told him about my anxiety, and that it's probably best not to tell me a symptom, or I will develop it!  He was very patient and let me stay there an extra couple of minutes, because I did not want to pass out or something stupid!

Next, I made my way over to the juice and bags of cookies!  Found a bag with Ernie Keebler's smiling face, sat there chatting, ( to another lady I know, not Ernie), and munching for the required 10 to 15 minutes to ensure I was recovering.  Another gal I know walked me to the door to ease my worried mind, and my husband had the car all warmed up for me when I finally got back to him.  Whew!

I missed my nap, so it wasn't a very pleasant evening, as I was still concerned about developing complications.  I drank my fluids, watched some comedies, and read a book until bedtime finally arrived, and surprise I woke up this morning!  Life is good, and I feel that I've repaid my debt.  I don't know if I'll ever muster up the nerve to donate again, but I feel accomplished to have managed this time. 

Lent already!

Got several things I'm attempting to work on during this season, probably the most challenging is to TRY to stop being such an angry driver.  That's going to be difficult in this town, and during this time of year when the weather can change so drastically with such short notice.  I hope I get some credit for at least attempting to better my behavior?  ;)

Good luck to all of you who are trying to give up a bad habit, or start a good one during the Lenten season, I know that I'll be asking my angels for a lot of help!

Ol' Coyote, new tricks?

Woohoo!  Finally made a decision, after picking my teenage daughter's brain, and purchased a Kindle.  It's like a library in my hands, and being a major book nerd that's frickin' awesome to me!  Downloaded about 20 classics, some of which I've read, others not yet, all of them FREE!  Heaven, I'm in heaven...

Valentine's Day, hubby got me a card that in a nutshell said he loves me more than beer, if ya know him you understand what a huge compliment that is!  Ha ha ha!  Then we ran into a friend of ours yesterday, and while chatting, find out that her husband gave her the exact same card, of course his response is "Great minds think alike", yeah, okay honey!  ;)

Gotta get the girl to school, go walkin' with Mom, then hubby wants to hit the cupcakery...AGAIN, which means I'll need to walk some more!  ;)  It's a vicious cycle, but I like it!  :D

Hypocrisy in health care, insurance, and politics...

Okay, perhaps hypocrisy is too mild of a term, how about blatant sexual discrimination towards women's health issues?  That sounds more accurate to me.

I can not comprehend why it is VITAL that most insurance companies will cover Viagra and other drugs for erectile dysfunction without a second thought, yet balk at providing birth control for women!  Why is a man's pleasure more important than the ability for a woman to decide when she is ready to become pregnant?  Having a child seems to be a much bigger issue than, (pardon my bluntness), getting laid!  (Which as we all know often leads to the former.)

Politicians are constantly butting heads over how to balance the budget, and how we should or should not cut welfare and other such social programs.  Many seem to value potential human lives in eutero, but hey once those kids are born you're on your own ladies!

I am pro-choice, not because I believe in abortion, but because I believe the choice of whether or not to bare a child should be between the potential parents and whichever God they believe in, if any.  I live in a city where there are far too many children running loose, many without enough love, supervision, or discipline, but easy accesss to booze, drugs and weapons!  Their mothers chose life, yet shirk the responsibilities that go along with that choice.  Are they any better than the women who made the choice to terminate a pregnancy because they knew they were not ready, or capable of handling the responsibility of raising a child?  I don't think so.  Spare me the argument that adoption is such a viable option, for some yes it probably could be, but for most, no way.  Most folks who are looking into adoption want healthy babies, with verifiable information, not crack/meth/cocaine/etc., -babies!

Anyone in the modern world who understands anything about science knows that overpopulation of the human species is doing more damage to this planet, (and the other life forms on it), than any other factor!  Access to safe, reliable, and affordable birth control should be a very high priority issue world wide.

Okay stepping down from the soap box...

Are you ready for some football?

Super Bowl Sunday!

Honestly this year, (who am I kidding, most years), I'm all about the food!  I will be cheering for Eli and his Giants, not because I'm a big Giants fan, but because I'm the anti-Patriots fan...they beat up on my Dolphins waaay too much!!!  ;)

We've already seen many of the new commercials online, or on the Today Show, kind of takes all of the fun out of it when they release them early.  Think my favorite is the Pepsi one with Elton John, (though I was always a Coke person when I drank pop).

I'm wishing that the actual game started earlier, by the time all the hype is complete I'll be overfed and checking to see what time the new NASCAR season really begins!!!  Zoom zoom zoom!!!

Hope that everyone has a safe and fun day, no matter who you are cheering for, and please don't drink and drive, or text and drive, or sext and drive, etc., etc.

Seriously? "Birthers" are still at it!

Crazy!  Evidently folks in Georgia still don't believe that President Obama was born in the United States and are trying to take this non-issue to court.  How many times does he have to prove he was born in Hawaii?  His birth certificate has been released and verified as legitimate so back off already!  Even O'Reilly, from Fox News has accepted the fact that this is ridiculous, and we all know how thick headed he can be!

Done with this morning's rant, must prepare to dodge some of the crazies on the road...ugh!!!

Pawn shops

I had never visited a pawn shop until this week, so far we've visited 3.  I was relieved that on our visits we did not encounter any of the drama we see on/in the reality show pawn shops!  Glad we are in Iowa.  :) 

We are currently in search of a full sized violin for my daughter, which are evidently hard to find, why am I not surprised?  *wink*  She just started playing the violin this year and is able to use a school instrument for now, but this summer she doesn't want to be without the opportunity to practice.

Of course she also wants another guitar, so we are looking at those too.  Her electric isn't enough, wants to add an acoustic to her slow-growing collection.

I've been surprised at how nice the folks at the shops are, but they all seem to have that thrift shop odor, no matter how tidy they appear...the shops have the odor, not the folks working in them!  Ha ha, guess I worded that pretty awkwardly, maybe I'll go back to bed.

Enjoy your Sunday, the calm before the Super Bowl next week!

Snow Day! :)

Yippee!  So as everyone else snoozes, I can dig up a couple of old pics to share and maybe ramble a bit of silliness...

Took this shot of the frost on our living room window a couple of years ago, got it on the local news too (hee-hee)!  It's frosty like that again this morning.  We probably should install a new more efficient window, but I LOVE to look at the patterns in the frost! 

It's like a magical fairyland where all is beautiful, although cold!  I can gaze into the swirling frosty fronds and go to Narnia, have tea with Mr. Tumnus, visit Mr. & Mrs. Beaver, maybe even have a chat with Aslan...  Or slip into some other imaginary world just a lovely.  Jack Frost creates beauty on my window that far surpasses any of my artistic abilities.  My frosty window is one of the few things I actually enjoy during these bitterly cold days!  (Well, besides curling up with a fun book.)

Then again there are the squirrels...

I do love watching our squirrels.  We toss out all sorts of things to keep them plump during the winter.  It's fun to watch them hide things in the spruce trees for later, (in hopes that the blue jays won't find them first!)  Of course Crazy Dog loves to "hunt" for the chubbies when she's not too busy trying to find her football in the snow...but we'll save her adventures for another post someday, unlike me she loves every minute in the snow!

Me thinks he doth protest too much!

Lately Queen Cat has decided to become Daddy's girl...  As he sits comfortably in his lazy boy, (whilst exercising his thumb on the remote control), she often leaps onto his lap and proceeds to love-up "Daddy" as well as his throne!  Of course my Curmudgeon, (aka: Daddy), blusters and complains about this "damned cat"!  But as this photo will show, indisputable evidence that he is also scratching her royal highness, and do I see a hint of a smile on the old man's lips?  You be the judge:

The snow is actually quite lovely, (now that I know I don't have to drive in it today), maybe we'll get enough to take down the snowshoes and take a romp?  Be safe and warm, don't forget the cocoa!



Nightmare, thy name is politics!

What is it about politics that turns ordinarily sane individuals into raving lunatics?  I thought that once we were done with our caucus season here in Iowa that we could enjoy a reprieve, but though things have improved, (the phone doesn't always ring at mealtime, and the hateful commercials are gone, for a while), the yammering of who's the biggest jerk, and who should be nominated for sainthood continues...ugh!!!

Personally I don't believe that a truly honest person can get anywhere in the political world, so even the folks I like enough to vote for better not expect me to blindly follow them anywhere!  One of the most frustrating things to me is the fact that it's virtually impossible to have a reasonable discussion with a person who has a different opinion during this insanity.  There are so many self-righteous folks out there preaching hatred in the name of God, that really gets me fired up!  The God I believe in loves all of his/her children and encourages us to TRY to do the same, not just bicker and finger point!

Anywho, as Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."  Which in this case means that's all I'm going to say about that...for now, but I could say PLENTY more hahaha!

One final note, thank-you President Obama for the part of your health care plan that extended the age of coverage for adult children to 26!  Of our 4 kids in that age group, only one of them has a job that provides health insurance at this time, it's very comforting to know they are still covered under our plan, so thank-you again!

Mom & Dad's 50th!

Today my parents celebrate their 50th year of marriage!  I am so fortunate to have them for my folks, they have always been the epitome of what is genuine, honest, generous, and kind, not just to our family but to all whom they encounter. 

Yesterday we gathered for a brunch, and my brother honored them with an eloquent speech and a touching song he had written just for them.  They are so humble, and seemed a bit embarrassed about all of the fuss, but I can not think of anyone more deserving of such praise!

Have to share a photo, (taken by a lovely lady at the restaurant who so graciously offered to snap a few group shots, so we could all be in the photo together), my folks are the cute ones in the middle of the couch!  It kind of reminds me of the Culhanes from Hee-Haw!  Ha ha!  :)

 
Happy 50th Anniversary Mom and Dad, love ya both SO much!!!

Why?

Having a rough time enjoying the beauty of this incredible weather, 53 degrees above in January in Iowa!  Yesterday my man and I took a little road trip, but my mind kept turning to the fact that old high school classmates were burying their 21 year old daughter who lost her battle with cancer.

This morning I clicked on facebook to see how everyone was doing, only to discover that another youth was shot down in cold blood last night!  Only 17 years old, an Upward Bound student like my daughter, the grand nephew of a family friend, gone too soon.  If the local paper is correct the suspected gunman is a 15 year old!

All I can do is pray for all involved, including the person(s?) responsible...when will we get to a state of grace where all of this violence will cease and we can learn to love one another as God intends for us to do?

Sorry for the preachy-ness of my posts lately, but I feel so powerless to do anything but pray that things improve in this crazy world...