2010

Happy New Year everyone. Hope the next 12 months bring you happiness and good health.

Golf

This is for you Dave. My niece's husband is a Pro at this course. The pictures are wonderful. I don't play golf but I would sure like to go to this place.



http://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/clear-creek-tahoe


http://clearcreektahoe.com/about-cct.php

To Funny

Last night I rented some movies to watch since there was nothing good on TV. Husband hasn't watched a movie for some time but decided to forgo the first part of the football game to watch with me . When the movie was over, I popped the CD out of the CD player and Husband said, "did you rewind that?". I told you it had been a long time since he watched a movie. Really -he was serious.

A Wish for You

Kindle the taper like the steadfast star
Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.
~Emma Lazarus, "The Feast of Lights"

Happy Hanukkah you all.

NOB

Quite frankly, I don't care how many women Tiger Woods has slept with.

Happy Thanksgiving

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~Author Unknown~

Reprinted here courtsey of my wonderful sister-in-law

Gobble Gobble

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

There's a new mouse in the house

Right after I got my first new computer in August, my wireless mouse, that I have been using or the last five or six years, died a quiet death. I dug out the mouse that came with the new computer and it seemed to work fine – except for the pesky wire. When I got my second new computer I started using the mouse that came with it.

I haven’t been happy with second new computer. I have been grumbling to myself about how I should have gotten a laptop in the first place and why can’t things just work right all the time. The computer seems slow. Slow to open programs, slow to switch from one document to another, just very lethargic.

Yesterday I bought a new wireless mouse. Who would have thunk it? The new mouse makes all the difference in the world. I can now fly from one place to another in the blink of an eye. Who would have thunk it?

Sometimes you have to take a chance

I have been very vexed (one of my son-in-law's favorite words) of late. The ceiling in my office has fallen down. Do you know how difficult it is to find someone to fix a hole in the ceiling? Very. I have been trying to ignore it. If I don't look up, it's like it isn't there - until some more of it falls on my head.

Last week as I was going to the bank I saw a pick-up truck with "Plastering" written on the side. Soooo - I walked over to the truck and the four, big, rough looking men inside (they didn't look so rough from a distance) and said "do you do ceilings"? They said "yes". Long story short, I gave them my NAME, ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBER. How stupid was that? On the way home I realized what I had done became more vexed that ever.

I agonized all weekend expecting to be murdered in by bed at any moment. But, as it turned out, they sent out two very nice, rough looking men today and they fixed my ceiling, doing a excellent job, in about three hours for a very modest charge.

Sometimes you just have to take a chance -but I don't think I'll do it that way again.

Amen

From Garrison Keillor's column in the St Petersburg Times this morning

Regarding the Senate and Congress -

"Any legislative body in which 41 senators from rural states that together represent 10 percent of the population can filibuster you to death is going to be flat-footed, on the verge of paralysis, no matter what. Any time 10 percent of the people can stop 90 percent, it's like driving a bus with a brake pedal for each passenger. That's why Congress has a public approval rating of 25 percent".

"Health care is much too complicated for Congress. The whole issue should've been handed over to a blue-ribbon commission of living, breathing economists — let them draw up a plan and defend it and stand up to the ranters and rug-chewers — and let Congress do what it does best, which is to uphold virtue and decency and to denounce narrow self-interest and partisanship, and then go to lunch".

SM says -
I have long said that Congress doesn't know what it's doing most of the time. Who elects these guys anyway? Oh right - we do.

Freedom of Speech

The Atheist’s put up a billboard outside of Tampa last week. It says, “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone”. People are upset. One man interviewed said “that’s just ridiculous – everyone here is a Christian”. I wonder – does he know everyone personally? Did he do a survey or take a poll?

There are those who want it taken down. Apparently the Constitution works for these folks if you believe what they believe.

Some will say they don’t want their children to view such a thing. In my opinion they should view this, and anything they see or hear that they don’t agree with, as an educational opportunity. Discuss it with you children and tell them why you don’t agree with it. And simply saying “it’s wrong” is not instructional

The Constitution grants everyone the right to freedom of religion and free speech. Just because it’s not your religion or your opinion doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to have it.

Happy Halloween?

Two adorable lighted ghosts for the bay window - $14.00

Green light bulb for the front door - $4.95

Two big bags of candy - $8.70

Trick or Treaters -0

Halloween su.. (oops) - is very disappointing this year.

Another New Computer

I am now on my 2nd new computer. The ASUS I got in August was always difficult to turn and impossible to turn off at the box. If it froze and had to be shut down I had to crawl under my desk and shut it off at the power source. Last Sat I couldn't turn it on at all. Every hour or so I would wander back to my office and try it again - and again. I had daughter come over and try but she couldn't get it on either.

Sunday I took it back to BestBuy. Daughter and son-in-law had purchased the unit when I was home bound with sick husband. Fortunately, son-in-law had purchased the BestBuy Warranty (something I never do). They couldn't fix it so they had to give me a new one with everything the old one had or better.

I now have a new Gateway with the new Windows 7 and a little more memory. I don't know if I like it or not. At times it seems a little slower but that may just be me.

Achoo!

Miss Manners addressed the topic of sneezing in today's paper. She is against the sneezing into the crook of your arm that health officials are advocating. Although it is better than releasing your germs into the air or into your hands, Miss Manners wants everyone to carry a clean handkerchief with them at all times. It should be kept within easy reach, in and outside pocket or tucked into the cuff or decolletage. After you use it, you should put it back for future use. Yeah right - I'm going to stick a snotty little piece of cloth between my boobs and carry it there all day?

Miss Manners is also against the practice of hugging and kissing as a way of greeting. This I agree with. She feels that the proper way to greet someone is just a handshake. This I don't agree with.

I stopped shaking hands a long time ago when I played tennis. It is really gross to play three sets of tennis in ninety degree weather and then have to shake someone's sweaty hand.

I understand handshaking. The open palm shows the other person that you have no weapons and come in peace. The problem is that you never know where that other hand has been...... does everyone wash their hands after they go to the bathroom? How many people have just picked their nose? You get the picture. So, I will not be shaking your hand when next I meet you. It's not because I'm not glad to see you, it's just that I don't know what you have been doing with that hand.

Fall - Where Are You?

One of the complaints I hear about living in Florida is that there are no season changes. I have never found that to be true. Every year I have always felt the subtle change from summer to fall. It is not as dramatic as it is in the North but it is there all the same.

Not this year. We have gone from ninety degrees to forty degrees in forty-eight hours. One day we have the AC on the the next the heat. We didn't get one night with the windows open and a light balmy breeze that makes for a deep, dreamless sleep.

I enjoy winter in Florida but I would rather not have it in October.

Give me one week

Obama went to New Orleans and is being criticized for not staying long enough. I'm sure if he had stayed longer he would be criticized for that too.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have one week when no one criticized anyone for what they did or didn't do? One week when if you couldn't say anything nice you didn't say anything at all.

Do you think the world would come to an end?

Work. Work, Work!

I am going back to work. This is a really good thing. It will be part time - a few hours a week, but something to stimulate my mind. I will be working for a Property Management Co. I will be doing bookkeeping and trying to get them off paper spreadsheets and into the computer. I can't wait to get started!

Well, husband's shoulder is healed and we are back to some sort of normal on that front. I actually think he is a bit better than before. Two months of Physical Therapy did a lot of good.

We have found the leak in the pool. It's not fixed yet but at least we know where it is. We knocked three holes in the deck to find out it wasn't there so now they have to be repaired also.

The chimney has had some work done on it but the roofers have not come yet. I'm hoping by next week.

My sisters-in-law came to visit. It was wonderful. We had a good time.

Also got the garage door fixed.

Now if nothing else breaks for a while I will be a happy camper.

Have a job interview on Thursday (yes. I am going back to work). It's just a few hours a week but anything to stimulate my mind.

Farm Town on Facebook is consuming me - mind. body and soul. I have faithfully recreated my grandfathers farm and I have actually made of list of what crops give the best return based on their cost and the time it take for them to be ready to harvest. If anyone cares - cabbage is your best income crop.

See - I really need something else to do!

The sky is falling!

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

No, wait - it's just the ceiling in my office. I have a leak in the roof around the chimney. Last month it was the air conditioner, before that husband broke his shoulder. I sure as hell hope that things really do come in three's and not more because I really need a month with out some sort of catastrophe.

Oh! Oh! What do I hear? Why of course - thunder. It's going to rain. Get out the buckets!

I'm probably wrong, but......

At a time when business's are closing, people are losing their homes to foreclosure and the jobless rate is at an all time high - what does it say about our society that we will spend 1.3 BILLION dollars on a new football stadium? What was wrong with the old one?

The Dallas Cowboys new stadium is gorgeous and I know will be used for many other things beside football but still, in these economic times, it just seems excessive.

Another Bad Commercial

In semi-darkness a man holds up an energy efficient light bulb and says "Americans are always finding more ways to be responsible". Then an entire celling of light bulbs (think Las Vegas) come on to light up two over priced cars. Just because one bulb is energy efficient doesn't mean its responsible to use a thousand at one time. Who are the morons that write these things.

What's Up with this?

Ok - what's up with the tennis dresses at this years US Open? Sharpova looks like she is going for a space walk, Wozniack looks like she is going to the prom and Venus Williams has her dress on inside out and it has a very bad hem job. Another girl had on a flapper dress with a bow on her butt. Are they trying to out do each other in some weird fashion category? Usually it's only the Williams sisters with the strange fashion sense.

Stop It!

I encourage people to vote by telling them if you don't vote you have no right to complain and we all love to complain about the government. The Health Care Reform Issue has taken complaining to a whole new level.

This is suppose to be a debate so we can come up with a solution to the problem. What I have heard so far is not a debate, It's just yelling and screaming. Yelling and screaming gets us nowhere. It just tears the country apart.

So, people on both sides - lower your voices and take turns, which means that half the time you need to shut up and listen to what the other side has to say.

So Many Things, So Little Time

Sorry I haven't posted for some time but you know how it goes - the more time you have, the less you get done.

I've been getting used to my new computer and the new Microsoft software. Word, Excell, etc. - everything is there just in different places and it's taking time to find all my tools.

And then there is my Farm on Facebook. My God that thing takes a lot of time!

Husband is gaining ground with the very efficient help from his Physical Therapist. She is absolutely wonderful. I think he will be better than he was before the fall when she is done with him and his shoulder finally heals.

The compressor froze up on the AC unit today - when it rains it pours. The unit is eleven years old and, of course, out of warranty. The repairman said he could put in a new compressor for $1500 or get whole new unit for $2000 with a ten year warranty. I guess this was a no brain er. So, we now have AC again and the temperature outside is so cool we will be sleeping with the windows open tonight - guess we could have waited a little.

Love, Love, Love

I just love my new computer! Probably more memory, etc than I need but then again, you never know.

Oink Oink

One-A-Day Vitamins have come out with two new vitamins just for teens. One is for girls and one is for boys. The one for girls was developed to promote "good skin". The one for boys is to promote stronger "muscles".

How sexist is this?

Guess what kind of a pig thought this one up?!

What Have I Done to Myself?

Daughter signed me up on Facebook on Saturday. I just wanted to be able to see her page and maybe my sister's. Not that simple.

I now have a farm with crops growing all the time so I must go harvest every day - I never have enough money to plant all my plowed land - I need more pine trees for a proper wind break for my crops - I accidentally bought a chicken so she is pecking in the tomato beds all day and my dog won't quit barking.

This dam thing is addictive. I can't stop. Do they have a Rehab Facility in Farm Town?

If you have a farm, please send me some pine trees so I can protect my crops.

If you can't find me, I will be in the corn field.

Crash & Burn

My computer crashed and burned this weekend. What a mess. Thank God (or whoever) for daughter and son-in-law. They hoofed it off to Best Buy with my old tower in hand and picked out a new one for me. Geek Squad transferred all my files from the old tower to the new one so almost all is good. Somehow during all this, I lost all of my Genealogy files. My Family Tree is bare. This makes me really sad. So many of hours of work gone. Why the hell didn't I make a hard copy? It's going to be so hard to start all over again.

I have been complaining for some time about my computer being slow and blaming Fios. Apologies to Fios - it was the computer. I now have good speed - not lighting - but good.

New tower is a little hard to turn on. The button doesn't seem to work right when you press it straight in but maybe this is just a quirk of this particular computer. We shall see.

Who Am I?

My husband fell and broke his shoulder last week. It is his left shoulder and he is left handed so he can not do anything for himself. He is still in the hospital on a Rehab floor.

Last night I was feeding him his dinner when a male nurse, that I have seen several times before, walked in and said "are you a relative"? I politely answered "yes, I am his wife". What I thought was - no, I just wander around hospitals at night looking for someone I can feed.

The Best & The Worst

There are a couple of commercials running right now that I think are exceptionally good.

The first is the Prius ad that has all the vegetation and trees and even the sun made up of brightly costumed people moving about in unison. It's very innovative and visually pleasing.

The very best I think is a Travelers commercial with a scruffy little dog worried about his bone. He hides it in the house, buriers it in the back yard and even puts it in a safety deposit box in the bank but he still worries about it all the time. Then he gets Travelers Insurance and his worries are gone. The background music makes the commercial.

The worst are two Geico commercials. The cave man ads are gross and I didn't think they could be topped but I was wrong. Even worse are the two eyeballs sitting on the "money you could be saving with Geico". They make no sense and are really creepy.

That's my opinion, let's here yours.

WTF

Happy 4th of July!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July and during your celebration, remember to say thanks to all those wounderful men and women in the military who have fought and are fighting now so we can enjoy the freedoms we have.

Excuse Me?

Am I the only one on the planet that thinks memorializing a child molester is wrong? The NBC Evening News spent almost all of it's time tonight extolling the life of Michael Jackson. Hello! The man was a pedophile!

Now I know, someone is going to come back with "he was never convicted of those charges". Well, O.J. was never convicted of murder either but we all pretty much know he did it.

I guess if you are rich and famous you are A OK in the eyes of the world not matter what kind of a sleazebag you really are.

On the News Tonight

Vortex 2 is a two year study to understand tornadoes. As we speak, 100 scientist are running around the Midwest chasing tornadoes. This is a two year study costing 14 million dollars.

Now, chasing tornadoes is fun. I've done it, but my question is - will this study stop tornadoes? Will it lessen the damage or reduce the deaths from tornadoes? If this is the case then 14 million is a small price to pay. But - I don't think the study will be that beneficial. I think this may be a colossal waste of money.

In the great scheme of things, 14 million isn't much but it could do a lot of good somewhere else.

OK! OK!

I have been chastised by Wendysworld for not blogging enough.

I generaly only blog when I have something to rant about and right now the only one I am ticked off at is the Governor (see previous entry). I'm still so mad at him I can hardly speak.

The pool is finally clear but the new pool man hasn't shown up yet and the lawn needs mowing again so I'll probably be getting mad real soon.

Summer is here with a vengeance and we have expanded our Water Aerobics classes so I will be teaching a lot. In addition, I may be going back to work part-time the end of July so that will reduce my time on the computer but I will really try to keep up.

I don't know how you facebook people do it.

On another note - Congrats to Roger Federer on his first French Open win. It was a good match and a win well deserved. He is such a gentleman.

What the Hell is he thinking?

Govenor Charlie Crist, who is running for the US Senate, lost my vote this week. He signed into law SB360. This bill, in general, guts Florida's (Re)Development Law. It basically says that developers do not have to pay for infrastructure to support their development. There are also many environmentally sensitive areas that will now be open for development.

I understand that this will be a good jump start for the economy but the long term damage will be devastating and irreparable.

There is also a list of local State Senators and Representatives who will not get my vote again based on their vote on this bill.

I haven't found one person who thinks this is good for our state but apparently what the people of Florida want doesn't matter.

Why do we keep electing these idiots?

Randon Thoughts

Octomom, Jon & Kate plus 8 and the entire Hulk Hogan family - ENOUGH ALREADY!
Please, just shut up and go away - nobody cares.

I'll be getting more sleep in the future - Conan O'Brien is no Jay Leno.

I now have a new pool man, except he hasn't showen up yet - one more guy that I pay but never comes when he says he will.

We Must Never Forget

It's to bad we set aside only one day a year to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Every day should be Memorial Day.

As you go about your daily life, if you encounter a man or woman in uniform, please take a moment to thank them for their service. It's the very least we can do.

#$%@&*# POOL

Pools are like boats. Your happiest days are when you get one and when you get rid of one. But, unlike a boat, pools are harder to get rid of. Your saddled with the damm thing until you sell your house.

I can remember when taking care of the pool was my husbands job and I know it wasn't this hard.

Thats all for this little rant - I feel much better now!

A Banner Day for All

I write another Blog called Pool Ladies. It is an informational blog for the women and occasional man who take our Water Aerobics classes. I post schedule changes, special events etc. I also created an email group so we can get information to them immediately when necessary.

I do this because the need is there. Yesterday, I was named Contract Employee of the Quarter by the city’s Parks & Recreation Department for going above and beyond the call of duty in promoting our Aquatics Classes. I never expected to receive any recognition but it’s kind of nice when someone notices and says “thank you”.

Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday. Happy Birthday baby!

Yo Ho Ho & a Bottle of Rum

I'm thinking that this Somali pirate thinks he has died and gone to heaven.

I'm betting that life in an American prison is better than freedom in Somali.

He will receive 3 meals a day, a bed to sleep on, clean clothes, free health care, TV, probably a room all to himself and an education if he wants it.

Let's just hope he doesn't write home and tell his buddies about it.

Disclaimer: This is an opinion - to which I am entitled.

Hooray For Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled, in a unanimous decision, that a state law limiting marriage to a man and a women is unconstitutional. Iowa joins Massachusetts and Connecticut in allowing same-sex vows.

I always knew Iowa was a great state to call home. My roots run deep in Iowa soil. Even though I have lived in Florida for 36 years, when someone asks me where I'm from, I always say Iowa.

Iowa has always been a progressive state. It has one of the best educational systems in the country and right now it is the number two state in wind powered energy production. The windmills standing in all the corn fields produce 12% of the state's energy needs. Last year they were able to sell power to North Carolina and they are just getting started.

Hooray For The State of Georgia

There is an article in today's St Pete Times titled "Ga. wants drivers to speak English". It says that the Ga legislature is considering a bill that would require new drivers to take a written test in English without a translator or other aid.

Some employers and immigrant advocates worry that it would keep people unfamiliar with the language from being able to work.

I say, if you want to live and work in the United States - learn the language!

I could not go to Mexico or France or Italy and live and work without knowing their language so why shouldn't people coming here be required to learn English?

I applaud the state of Georgia. I hope the bill passes.

Dave at http://ratherthatworking.blogsopt.com wrote an interesting blog called "Saving the News Gathers" regarding the demise of newspapers. I agree with Dave and think it is really sad. The daily newspaper has been a part of my life since I was a little girl.

When my sister-in-law and brother-in-law moved to a small town in western NC, there was no newspaper. This was very hard on my bother-in-law so three times a week he would drive to a town 20 miles away to get a copy of USA Today. After a while he cut it down to twice a week and then down to once. Finally he stopped altogether. He hasn't read a print paper in two years and says he doesn't miss it at all.

I subscribe to the St Petersburg Times but will probable go to just the weekend only when my subscription is up. The paper really doesn't have much news in it now anyway - just advertisements.

I do worry about the cartoonist. Cartoons are really an important part of the paper for me. Reporters can get other writing jobs but I really hate to see the demise of good cartoons. Perhaps we should put then on the endangered species list.

Time marches on but sometimes it's hard to keep up.

All Done

The new windows are in and the new blinds are up. I couldn't be happier. Home Depot did a fantastic job on the windows.

Of course, when I told my husband that the blind man was coming to install the blinds he said "that should be very interesting to watch". He thinks he is so funny.

I have used this company before and they are a small, family owned, local company. I like to use small, local business whenever possible. These people need all the support we can give them now and they actually are the same price if not better than the big box stores.

I hope that's all the home improvement projects I will have to do for a while.

Although...... The pool still isn't finished. Lesson learned - Don't hire friends.

Boring

This has been a very boring weekend.

How boring was it, your asked?

It was so boring I actually got dressed, combed my hair, put on makeup and went to Nala's (my daughters dog) puppy obedience school graduation. Woo Hoo!

Check Sonja's blog. I'm sure there will be pictures.

Hurry, Hurry

They measured for the new windows yesterday. It will be 2 to 3 weeks before installation. It can't happen soon enough for me. The window above my computer lets in so much cold air, my hand is frozen to the mouse.

A new project - maybe.

Our house is about 37 years old and has many of the old roll out style of windows used in Florida back then. Although nice, because you can open them when it's raining, they now don't close properly and cold air seeps in and AC seeps out. Thus we have high heating and cooling bills. It is time to replace them. I called Home Depot and after much discussion I signed a contract with them. Last week the project manger was to come and measure so they could order the windows and pull the permits. When I didn't hear from him I called and he said he hadn't received the paper work yet but there was a big meeting the next day and he would call me after that. No word, so I called again. Project manager, due to layoffs, has lost his job. Never fear I was told, new project manger will be out next week and all is well with Home Depot. The job will be done and they will stand behind their work. That 20 year guarantee will be good.

I'm not holding my breath. Guess I'll just get out more blankets.

Didn't your Mother teach you anything?

If you are going to an event where there will be television cameras everywhere and there is a good possibility you will be on camera - for all the nation to see - why in the world would you chew gum? Yes, I'm talking about you, Tipper Gore (although I know you will never see this). Why does anyone chew gum in public? It is really disgusting.

Rose Parade

I just watched the Rose Parade from Pasadena, CA. Once again, the floats were elaborate and magnificent. I think they were more interesting this year than last. Lots more creativity.

But - (there’s always a but)

Interesting fact – the amount of food used on one float could feed a family of four for a year.

In these hard economy times, people are losing their jobs and there are many families of four without enough to eat. Perhaps this kind of excess is unnecessary or at the very least, should be scaled down some. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a parade but perhaps a different kind of parade.

We need to pull together to get through these tough times but it looks like some just still don’t understand that it will take all of us.

Is there any other country that has as many displays of excess as the United States does?

I’m just saying.