tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208923462024-03-07T00:15:27.328-08:00Dust Bunnies of the MindRandom bits of fluff that have been floating around in my mind. I'll be linking to my other blog, all about food, Recipe Junkie and in the side bar.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-42245526028914514952013-07-19T08:50:00.001-07:002014-07-27T16:53:12.226-07:00Three Types of People<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my early years as a financial advisor I had a mentor who
gave me probably some of the most valuable information and advice ever in my
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was meant in the context of
being a financial advisor and how to deal with people with whom you are going
to be trying to help achieve their goals in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A financial advisor doesn't just deal with
people's money, although that is the main function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help people invest and become wealthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also are to help them achieve their long
term goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you want to retire at 58
and move to Costa Rica?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is your goal to
put your children through college? Is the goal to pay off your home and live a
quiet life painting the landscapes in your part of the world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Travel the world in your retirement years?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Write a book?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Start a new business?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give an
endowment to your favorite charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
job is (was... now that I am retired) to find out what it IS that you want to do
and to help you achieve it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to
help, it is a two way relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
advisor ......advises and the client follows the advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Working together to help the clients live the
dream.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it is in this context that I got this advice and found
that it is applicable to every aspect of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are basically three types of people that you will meet
as an advisor (and in all of your life as well)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first is <b><u>People You Can't Help</u></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to help them. They want to be
helped. They know they need help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
they don't have the means or ability to achieve what they want or what you
would like to do for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of
wasting a great deal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>your time on them,
give them what advice you can and refer them to another agency to get
help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do what you can and sadly.....move
on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second is <u><b>People You Can Help</b></u>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the bread and butter of your practice
(and in your life).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people also
want to be helped. They know you can help them and you can work with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have the means. They have the desire.
They will take your advice and give you useful feedback.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will know that the path forward is not a
straight one and will have some potholes and bumps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The People You Can Help are a joy to work
with and the feeling of pride and satisfaction in spending your time and energy
to achieve their goals is immeasurable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Spend your time with these people and your business will thrive and you,
as the advisor, will have a wonderful life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third category is <u><b>People Too Stupid to Help</b></u>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is where an advisor can go wrong, ruin
their practice and develop ulcers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
people are just too stupid to help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don't be fooled or sucked in because often they have a lot of means
(money) and it is tempting to try to court them as clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They won't listen to you. Refuse to take your
advice and when things go wrong will blame you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They will suck up all of your time asking you to explain over and over
and over the most simple concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
still won't listen. They expect to be treated special if they are the ones with
the deep pockets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people just
cannot be helped because they are TOO STUPID TO HELP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Run away from these folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Refer them to someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Refuse to take them as clients and if you
have taken them on as clients before you recognized that they are the third
category.....nicely fire them and refer them to some other advisor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My stock phrasing, was something along these
lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Mr. and Mrs. Client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been working together now for some
time (<i>no we haven't because you just won't get your head out of your ass and
pay attention or follow my advice....and you argue with everything I say</i>), unfortunately I just don't think that we
are compatible as a team. My philosophy as an advisor doesn't seem to be compatible
with yours (<i>I want to make you money and you seem to want to lose it and ignore
all of my professional advice.</i>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I
believe that it might be for the best if you found an advisor that can give you
the time and attention that you deserve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I regretfully think that you should search for another advisor as I
can't service your account any longer. (<i>Find some other poor schumck who has more
patience that I do and don't let the door hit you and your fat portfolio on the
way out.</i>) Followed by a letter stating similar concepts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The three types of people concept has been invaluable in my personal life and in
my time spent commenting on various blogs and chat rooms in the internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I thank my long ago mentor mentally all of the time for giving to me this pearl of wisdom. </span>Just realize that some people are
just......Too Stupid To Help and distance yourself from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time is too precious to waste on the stupid.</div>
Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-33994693955722789212013-03-21T10:21:00.000-07:002013-03-26T15:32:35.326-07:00Knitting. What! There's Math? AKA. Swatching Sucks<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Being thoroughly sick of making hats and scarves for gifts,
I have decided to make a sweater for myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So...I'm sitting on the couch, swatching. Grumbling and cursing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Dumbplumber (my everlovin' sweetie of a
husband) who rarely pays attention....I swear I could dye my hair green...but
....I digress......</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He asks:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"What
are you making"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"A swatch", I say or more correctly, bitch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The knitters will understand and feel my pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swatching is the bane of a knitter's
existence and requires math.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(dun dun
dun duuuunnn<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>scary music sound)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
those non-knitting people let me explain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swatching is when you knit a
bunch of samples to find out if your knitting gauge and number of stitches will
make your project be the right size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Attempting to explain to The Dumbplumber, (ladies...don't attempt <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this at home. Especially if you have both had
a drink or two.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me explaining:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"You
have a pattern like <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/paperboy-cardigan" target="_blank">THIS one</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>...that I plan to make.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorlu9OwPot9FRvhH-tfKvHjqijT42FYcJBKs0Y-8xOSDZSIRo6lrGFxESuckBeDI0bA5jCqU5WwdQg0PY5yaXrxxO5O3_Mtl-2i3Mry2BbsQs8YfKM-7-TAJzIyO6XEI-zrpw1Q/s1600/ONeillCableCardi1_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorlu9OwPot9FRvhH-tfKvHjqijT42FYcJBKs0Y-8xOSDZSIRo6lrGFxESuckBeDI0bA5jCqU5WwdQg0PY5yaXrxxO5O3_Mtl-2i3Mry2BbsQs8YfKM-7-TAJzIyO6XEI-zrpw1Q/s320/ONeillCableCardi1_medium.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
There is a
suggestion on the yarn, size of needles and the number of stitches per inch and
the number of rows per inch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can
knit this gauge....you are in like Flynn (whatever that means).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not. Then your sweater will fit Godzilla
or your sweater will fit a midget, but certainly not YOU.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdfpVo9afcuEqo3jltwzXf096eVgp7uswiSyOU4W42s3xbPXHs3Kf_Zjyf4frfj8QvD9Dc1SRZDCHe4Vz7W53LWln-z_dIWWR3F4fC8F_7qdeuVinEhyphenhyphenCDyhG1Gcz4gqso9EI_w/s1600/ONeillCableCardi2_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdfpVo9afcuEqo3jltwzXf096eVgp7uswiSyOU4W42s3xbPXHs3Kf_Zjyf4frfj8QvD9Dc1SRZDCHe4Vz7W53LWln-z_dIWWR3F4fC8F_7qdeuVinEhyphenhyphenCDyhG1Gcz4gqso9EI_w/s320/ONeillCableCardi2_medium.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
For example </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. The pattern calls for 20 stitches to equal 4 inches on
size 7 needles</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. The pattern calls for 60 stitches for a particular piece:
say a part of the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the piece
should equal <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>60/20 = 3 units<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So...then 3 units should be 3 x 4"
=<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a 12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>inch piece</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All well and good, until you substitute another yarn and
when you take into consideration that each person has a different style and
tension in knitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also if you use a different yarn, it may not
knit up the same.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If my
gauge works out to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>16 stitches = 4
inches then the piece will be much larger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
60 stitches/16 stitches =<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>3.75 units<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3.75 x 4 =<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>15 inch piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
THREE inches too big on just one piece!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Multiply this effect over all of the other
parts of the sweater and you have a gigantically larger than you want sweater. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go the other way and assume you have MORE stitches per inch
and then your sweater <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will be tiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All that time you spent knitting will have
been wasted. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only way to know your gauge <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is to make a swatch, which is to knit, in the
pattern, a 4 x4 inch (at least) section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Boooorrrring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what is worse
is to not make a swatches and make a sweater that no one born on this Earth can
wear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don't swatch you will be
wasting hours upon hours of time. Even though this is boring beyond belief,
it's better than not doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so
on."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until the Dumbplumber's eyes begin to roll backwards in his
head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dumbplumber having listened to all of this above reasoning
(or rather bitching)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Asks: " So what do you do with this stuff you are
knitting now?"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I tear it up and roll it back into a ball", I
say.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staring at me in disbelief......"You are f***ing nuts.",
says he.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I can't disagree.</div>
Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-32295291706923099202013-03-13T09:28:00.001-07:002013-03-19T17:21:34.213-07:00We Took A Sunday Drive and Had a Picnic.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This last weekend we finally had a beautiful sunny day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have had months of sub freezing
temperatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between Christmas and the
first week of February,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we had only <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>20 hours where the temperatures were above freezing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There still is snow and ice that are lingering
in the shady spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, as always, this
too shall pass and spring is in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, The Dumbplumber and I decided to take a Sunday drive and have a
small picnic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arriving at a client's house to sit on their overlook,. we
borrowed <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their view for a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a lot of absentee or seasonal
clients for which we do various plumbing maintenance services: like winterizing
so the pipes and pumps won't freeze and break, then recharging the systems in
the spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting on a bluff of
ancient lava rocks and looking at the beautiful view, we ate fried chicken,
chips and fruit salad and tried to fend off some crows who felt that we should
share.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The view is spectacular </b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/87ab3243-8e59-45e4-978c-2a3b88458986_zpsf5d12de3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/87ab3243-8e59-45e4-978c-2a3b88458986_zpsf5d12de3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Majestic Mt Shasta close up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/Cranes_zpsaa9d0779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/Cranes_zpsaa9d0779.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Hill Cranes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next we decided to drive up to the next valley, over the
mountain and at an higher elevation, to see what was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The geology of the area is that these valleys
are the remnants of glacial lakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
spring the valleys are full of water from springs and are the perfect areas for
the multitudes of migratory that come through. Ducks and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Geese are common in the thousands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time we had the exciting moment of
seeing hundreds of Sand Hill Cranes in one place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, I severely lack camera-foo
abilities and was unable t see where I was aiming due to sun glare so this is
the best photo I could get.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Driving along we also saw a sight that while unpleasant, is
a fact of life in the 'outback' of rural Western living. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liberal and urban heads are exploding
everywhere.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/c395aad1-2d73-4028-b4c5-e0030d72127f_zps6e912662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/c395aad1-2d73-4028-b4c5-e0030d72127f_zps6e912662.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Am I a really evil person, because one of my first thoughts
was......what a waste of fur?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coyote
coats are the most beautiful things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeah....I guess I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life in
the country.<br />
<br />
Note: these photos were re-sized to be small enough to post. The actual links are<br />
<br />
Here: <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/majesticMtShasta_zpsdc576475.jpg" target="_blank">Majestic Mt Shasta</a><a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/majesticMtShasta_zpsdc576475.jpg" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/majesticMtShasta_zpsdc576475.jpg" target="_blank"> </a><br />
<a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/valleyview-1_zpsf4971a31.jpg" target="_blank">The Wider View</a><br />
<a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f213/Lugnut67/coyoteonafence_zps676268f4.jpg" target="_blank"> Coyote on a fence</a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-73855755489851847652012-10-03T09:42:00.000-07:002012-10-03T09:45:52.098-07:00The Circle of Life: Sometimes It Just Gets Broken<br />
The Circle of Life: Sometimes it just gets broken and there is nothing to do but to deal with it. <br />
<br />
By Circle of Life, I mean where you grow in several stages. This is MY perception of how it works based on my experiences. Your results may vary, as they say in the commercial disclaimers.<br />
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<b><u>Stage One:</u></b> as child dependent upon your parents to guide and mold you. For a while your parents are as Gods. They are wise, all knowing, the source of comfort and everything else that a young child must have.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Me</td></tr>
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<u><b>Stage Two:</b></u> Soon, you grow into a teenager straining to find out who you really are. Ah...the teen years. Teen age angst. What a trial for the parents. You go out of ways to assert your independence and to just be contrary to all authority. There is an ongoing power struggle between teen girls and their mothers, sons and fathers. At this point you realize that maybe the parental units are NOT perfect or God like. You've seen the cracks in the facade in some ways. Perhaps it is the party where someone got a bit too drunk, was having fun and became embarrassing. Maybe an uncomfortable argument between the parents. Everything your family does is now worthy of an eye roll or two. <br />
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<b><u>Stage Three</u></b>: Thankfully we grow out of that teenager stage. You go out on your own. College, maybe. Get a job and an apartment of your own. Move to another town. Now you begin to realize that life is more than being a child or an obnoxious teen dependent. The bills keep coming in and you suddenly realize that ....<i>Woah.....someone has to clean the bathroom, change the toilet paper roll and buy the food and all that stuff. This means I have to keep going to my job! and I can't just spend all my money on fun things.</i> Maybe that home and family thing was worthwhile. Still figuring out who you are you experiment will all kinds of things. You might occasionally think about your parents and the fact that they were young at one time and remember some of their stories, if your parents were of a mind to share their own youthful indiscretions. But mostly, it us all about you and your new exciting life.<br />
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Somewhere between stage two and three, you discover SEX. You are sure that it has never been this way for anyone before. You are special..... THEN suddenly it dawns on you that your parents have had sex too. At least once or twice, depending on how many siblings you have. <i> Eeeewwww!</i> <i>This may require that I rethink my views of my parents and think about why they dropped us off at the theater every Saturday so we kids could spend the afternoon watching bad B movies...... Naaah.</i><br />
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<b><u>Stage Four:<i> </i></u></b> The real relationship stage. You find a boy or girl that you like a lot and you discover that the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RygF-LToJfY" target="_blank"> 'way of love'</a> is not all that easy. It might work out and turn into marriage or you might find out that it is just a way of woe. Suddenly, your parents seem to be more understandable. Those arguments and quirks that they exibited that were so embarassing to you, make some sense. You might be able to confide in your mother or father and even ask for advice. They aren't Gods like they were when you were small, but.....somehow as you have gotten older, they seem to have gotten so much smarter. Amazing how that can happen.<br />
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<u><b>Stage Five:</b></u> Marriage and children. If you manage to make it past stage four, you are now married and have children of your own. There is a moment where it dawns on you, perhaps when you are changing diapers or getting up yet again in the middle of the night to feed the baby or walk the floor at 2 am trying to console your colicky child.....<i>WOW. My mother/father did this same thing for me.!!! And I took it all for granted.</i> As a new mother or father, you will now be able to reach out to your parents for advice and ask them. <i>How did you handle this problem. What was it like for you? </i>(They THEY are now Grandparents and working their way through their own Circle of Life.) <br />
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Now, you can talk woman to woman or man to man. You parents are morphing into friends and confidants. People. Not just parents, but people who have pasts, likes, dislikes. As your own children grow and you deal with the intricacies of a marital relationship, this friendship grows ever more strong.<br />
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<b><u>Stage Six:</u></b> Finally, you have gotten your children through their teen years and you also remember just what a little prick or bitch you were to your own parents. (I apologized to my father at that point.) Your children are in Stage Three. Ahhhh. At last. The empty nest. Free at last free at last. Adults without young children and you can do the things you put off while raising the family. Travel. Go to resorts and experience fine dining. Sleep IN on Sunday and walk around the house in your underwear without a snotty teenager rolling eyes at you. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three Generations</td></tr>
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<u><b>Stage Seven:</b></u> Finally. Grandchildren of your own to spoil. Now you are the valued source of information. <br />
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Somewhere in these last stages, you begin to realize the mortality of your parents and yourself. Life isn't eternal as you think it is in your teen and young adult years. Friends, family are dropping like flies and you realize that time is precious. You'd better spend as much of it as you can with your parents if they still exist and your children and grandchildren before the circle stops spinning..<br />
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Such is the circle of life. Wheel within wheels. We are all on the
circle at various points. But....sometimes the circle breaks as it did
for my mother and for the rest of us.<br />
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My mother was in a very bad auto accident when I was just 20 yrs old. (Just ending stage 3 and entering stage 4). It was a roll over accident where my father was driving them home from a fun weekend in Reno and fell asleep. She was in a coma and the doctors told us that she wouldn't live. It became apparant that she wasn't going to die, and remained in a deep coma for over 6 months. We were told that she would be a vegetable. Long story short....(Too LATE!). She eventually woke up from the coma, didn't recognize us, didn't know who she was. She was in therapy for a long time until the insurance ran out. She couldn't speak for some time, wasn't ambulatory and couldn't take care of herself. Once at home, we had to take turns caring for Mom.<br />
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My mother was 38 years old when this happened. As a young 20, self absorbed twit, I still thought of my parents as being old. Now I realize how very young they were. All of their dreams and hopes for the rest of their lives had been shattered.<br />
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My father was racked with guilt. He worked nights and my brother and I filled in while he was sleeping and working. Brother was still living at home and trying to go to school. It was very tough for him. I was living in San Francisco, working full time and going to college. Every weekend I would come home and give Dad and Brother a break. We learned how to do range of motion exercises so her body would not atrophy, hand feeding. You haven't lived until you have changed your mother's diapers. <br />
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In the next 8 years she gradually go better to the point where she could speak, walk and even begin to bowl again. Before her accident, she had belonged to a league and had a chest full of 300 game pins, something she was proud of. She was never able to work again, something that she missed very much. The head injury caused my Mother to have some mental and emotional instabilities and large gaps in her memories. My father retired from working, got a payout from the Typographical Workers Union, and they began to travel. My father wrote many travel books during this period and my mother was able to enjoy some of the traveling. This was a happier time for them and for the rest of the family.<br />
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I had a child at the age of 28 and my Mother was happy and proud to be a grandparent. But still there was this inability to lean on her because of her condition. Not a lack of love or affection. She was just not the same person as before the accident.<br />
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Two years later my mother was in another auto wreck with another even more severe brain injury. Standing in the hospital corridor, we had a family conference and were forced to decide on whether to "pull the plug" and let our mother, my father's wife......die. We did.<br />
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So, the circle was broken. My mother did get to see her grandaughter for a couple of years. We did get to have Mom around for almost 10 years after the first dance with death. I am still very close to my Father. He has since remarried for over 20 years now to a very wonderful and patient woman. We are like good old time friends who respect each other and enjoy each other's company and who just happen to be also related as father and daughter. <br />
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In my youth, I was always proud of her and her accomplishments and her career. But those are more abstract. Every day, I wish that I had gotten to really "know" my Mother and discover the woman that she was. I wish my daughter could have had the time to know her grandmother as something other than stories people tell. I think of all the opportunities we have lost. It makes me very sad. I wish she was still here to see how wonderfully successful her Granddaughter has turned out and how proud she would be of her Great Grandson.<br />
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Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-80759066335717048152012-09-29T09:31:00.001-07:002013-01-18T07:41:02.950-08:00Scanning the PastI'll admit it. I'm a compulsive clipper and saver. I clip out recipes from magazines and file them away into categories. When I go to yard sales I buy old cookbooks. I especially love the small books put out by clubs and ladies associations. Interesting regional books. Old cookbooks that are a view into what our lives were like in other times, like the depression or the roaring 20's.<br />
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I have binders and shelves full of crafting magazines. McCalls, Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, American Home Crafts. I have clipped and saved crafting ideas and instructions from magazines for decades, since the 1960's when I started crafting. Boxes and files full of old and yellowing clippings that I can peruse when looking for a new idea or an old idea that is new again. Decorating and house ideas. Yardscapes and gardening ideas. We actually used many of those as inspiration when building our house.<br />
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Often I look at these old ideas and get great inspiration. Other times I just laugh and wonder......what were we thinking? Seriously. Using styrofoam meat trays as an art form? Who would want to wear</div>
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THIS or even spend a great deal of time making such a monstrosity.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG the 70's What were we thinking</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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What self respecting man would wear THIS. Why in the world did I ever clip this and save it<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really Ugly Trout Sweater</td></tr>
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Some ideas are still interesting and inspiring. Classics that don't go out of style. I think I will be making this sweater this winter for myself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aran Sweater</td></tr>
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What?!! What are you looking at?? I'm not a hoarder. Everything is organized and neat. ORGANIZED I tell you :-)<br />
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Well. Enough is enough with the piles of clippings. Now that I'm retired and I have time to get back into the things I love to do. Cooking and Crafting, it is time to get into the 21st century already. I am now in the process of scanning the craft clippings into PDF or JPEG formats. Now I can clutter up my computer with files instead of my filing cabinet.<br />
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Scanning the past and saving the ideas. Now if I can just bring myself to actually throw away the clippings after I have scanned them. Nope.....not a hoarder.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-41762686352775336862012-09-27T08:21:00.002-07:002012-09-27T08:29:34.011-07:00Skip the Debates....Let's Have a DuelThis morning, Dumbplumber (my ever lovin' hubby) and I remarked how completely sick and tired we are of the never ending blather from the talking heads about the upcoming election. Sick of all of them from Fox to CNN to NPR. The latest is all about the debate preparations for Obama and Romney: who is going to be better at answering the stupid media questions, who has a more soaring oratorical style and who can blather more than the other guy.<br />
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In fact, one talking head said "We are awaiting dueling speeches from the candidates." Hell.....why don't we just skip the speeches part and go directly to a good old fashioned duel. It was good enough for Andrew Jackson. Romney vs. Obama at 20 paces with pistols. Or swords. Ooooo I know....Light Sabres.<br />
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However, since everything associated with Obama is racist, and probably a white dude like Romney aiming a gun at Obama could possibly construed as racist, I suggest we use stand ins to take the place of the candidates.<br />
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My suggestions:<br />
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<b>Ted Nugent can stand in for Romney</b></div>
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<b>Michael More for Obama</b></div>
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Put it on Pay Per View. Watch the money come rolling in.<br />
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Genius. Right????<br />
<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-7305786027639683572012-09-24T10:08:00.000-07:002012-09-24T11:12:03.416-07:00Proof: No one is serious about the Green MovementThe "Greenies" is my name for the eco-nazis who want to save the earth by limiting our consumption of water, energy, food, lightbulbs and just about everything else. They want us to watch our carbon footprint and save the Earth. They nag us about everything and won't be happy until we all are living in a Luddite world, huddling in the dark and chained to our hovels by high gasoline prices, high energy prices and eating sticks and twigs.<br />
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Well, I have proof that they are not serious. That they are full of shit and don't really mean any of the things they tell us. That they don't live by their own rules and did I already mention.....full of shit.<br />
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When you check into a motel or hotel, you are gently chided ...<i>.nagged at</i>....to save the planet by conserving, turn off the lights, set the A/C at a higher temperature. Hang up your towels and not have your sheets changed to save the water. Don't take a long shower. Don't let the water run when you are brushing your teeth. Ok. Not a problem. I don't change my sheets daily at home anyway and I can use the same towel more than one time.<br />
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BUT....here is the proof that they don't really mean it and it is all just eyewash. Proof that the Green Movement is all about controlling the proletariat and nothing about actually conserving or taking care of the environment.<br />
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A few days ago, The Dumbplumber, and I checked into a hotel we like to stay at for a little R&R. It is next to a great steak house and we can have some cocktails, walk to the restaurant, have some more cocktails and not worry about driving or getting a DUI.<br />
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Coincidentally, we were booked into the very same room that we had 3 months before. The same room that we complained about the toilet tank leaking through the flapper all the time. About every 5 to 7 minutes a gallon or so of water would leak and the tank would turn on. Wooosh. The Dumbplumber being an actual.....wait for it.....PLUMBER, informed them at the desk of the leakage and that a $4 flapper would fix the problem.<br />
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Did they fix it....HELL NO. Again. Water wooshing all night long, every 5 to 7 minutes. Dumbplumber finally got up and turned off the water supply and in the morning the tank was bone dry. So....not only is this annoying, we got to thinking about the amount of wasted water running down the sewers. I'm all about conserving and not wasting, but I'm not making a religion of it like the Greenies.<br />
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<u><b>Here's the math. </b></u><br />
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24 hours a day X 60 minutes = 1440 minutes<br />
1440 minutes / 5 minutes = 288 gallons of water down the toilet in one day<br />
288 gallons X 365 days a year = 105,120 gallons a year<br />
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105,120 gallons x 10 (at least) other leaky toilets in this hotel = 1,051,200<br />
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Over a million gallons a year in just this ONE hotel. There are probably at least 10 other hotels losing similar amounts of water so now we have 10.5 MILLON gallons of wasted water. <br />
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So.....Not only are they wasting enormous amounts of water, the water bills must be enormous as well and the costs are passed onto the hotel patrons. If they were really serious about the crap they lecture us about, they would have taken the Dumbplumber's advice in the first place and fixed their leaking toilets. <br />
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When the Al Gores of the world downsize their houses, quit flying around in personal jets. When the Michelle Obamas of the world start eating what they expect us to eat and stop flying around in huge jets at OUR expense. Then I might consider taking their advice. But, THEY aren't serious and we can't take them seriously either until they start acting like it.<br />
<br />
<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-35672288709258397832012-09-24T09:20:00.003-07:002012-09-24T09:20:32.579-07:00Hello Blog...Long Time No See Hello Blog...Long Time No See.<br />
<br />
Wow. It has been months since I have posted anything to you. I know you must feel neglected as a blog so I promise to try to pay more attention to you. But really, life has been rather busy so some things just end up on the back burner. It doesn't mean that I don't care about you as a blog or want to make you feel unnecessary. Seriously. I will try to do better and make it up to you by posting something new once in a while.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15115422951538885247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-85159786103347703392012-04-22T12:33:00.001-07:002012-04-22T12:33:37.460-07:00Celebrating Earth Day.....MY Way.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Earth Day</div>
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Wow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm really out
of the loop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was just informed that
today April 22 is earth day.</div>
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We were busy the last couple of days celebrating Hot Rods
with massive fire breathing carbon belching<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>engines Demon 4 barrel carbs. (not the kind that Al Gore is concerned
about either!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GMC 6-71 blowers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the mother of all engines the blown and
injected 426 Hemi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drinking and
checking out the Rat Rods, Resto Rods and refurbished classics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coolest one we saw was a 47 Buick slant
back, lowered air suspension, all leather handcrafted interior, kick ass stereo
system....weighing in at 4200 pounds of steel, chrome and glossy green paint
and probably getting 10 mpg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera this year, so here are some
shots from previous years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoReGmn4hsnFBvQg3RnOPgmOvypLCCj0vmq3JdizF8sooMIFwPtazXoc8YX72G_DpMRjs9uiL9PJZpOmiOjGixgYPa0NAlsrwmwoPkAWam9D9CbEHWNHu4FnZLEGGTcFga8C0/s1600/orange+and+red+fenders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoReGmn4hsnFBvQg3RnOPgmOvypLCCj0vmq3JdizF8sooMIFwPtazXoc8YX72G_DpMRjs9uiL9PJZpOmiOjGixgYPa0NAlsrwmwoPkAWam9D9CbEHWNHu4FnZLEGGTcFga8C0/s320/orange+and+red+fenders.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJNs6AA1h4CKpUtvWSrTSCQMZ1q-WZ4Ry-2WoFDMnl3j5rxrUzqwZ1G__3CN7dLvZlQGDSKUuOETBC_wlSxThn93DmEZyySkBaanyJH387G9Z0yHAd0esaNvjNQzHiv1C0f9p/s1600/P1010039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJNs6AA1h4CKpUtvWSrTSCQMZ1q-WZ4Ry-2WoFDMnl3j5rxrUzqwZ1G__3CN7dLvZlQGDSKUuOETBC_wlSxThn93DmEZyySkBaanyJH387G9Z0yHAd0esaNvjNQzHiv1C0f9p/s1600/P1010039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJNs6AA1h4CKpUtvWSrTSCQMZ1q-WZ4Ry-2WoFDMnl3j5rxrUzqwZ1G__3CN7dLvZlQGDSKUuOETBC_wlSxThn93DmEZyySkBaanyJH387G9Z0yHAd0esaNvjNQzHiv1C0f9p/s320/P1010039.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuOVUm1jX94XoqVaH5i5v7sGsCiL9_9ezFsecFFf-9MK9cMNm3xQy09I783PVaPIFmLiftt362s_k6ukwQitwGWos_j6bt8qJ5ZplbBMQy5hy8fjchkT_MYZmVPa_uu2MtTwT/s1600/P1010042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuOVUm1jX94XoqVaH5i5v7sGsCiL9_9ezFsecFFf-9MK9cMNm3xQy09I783PVaPIFmLiftt362s_k6ukwQitwGWos_j6bt8qJ5ZplbBMQy5hy8fjchkT_MYZmVPa_uu2MtTwT/s320/P1010042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DXGK7IyAnWd86nkuny3DZ4CBbAOMIclWdUX9ai5bB9B-pDumax_1Tl5S4kO7OswmlJsBMhD1lZKEpp6s9TETmivxJJ1EqpFQG6X55ebxt69NcgPyhSe66g_nofbsNFCUlVz6/s1600/P1010040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DXGK7IyAnWd86nkuny3DZ4CBbAOMIclWdUX9ai5bB9B-pDumax_1Tl5S4kO7OswmlJsBMhD1lZKEpp6s9TETmivxJJ1EqpFQG6X55ebxt69NcgPyhSe66g_nofbsNFCUlVz6/s320/P1010040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
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As you can see, we are all torn about almost missing Earth
Day.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now that we are back home, I guess we'd better on that Earth
Day stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So today we will</div>
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<br /></div>
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1. Turn the pump back on in the well to start irrigating the
garden, orchard and lawn.</div>
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2. Hose off the decks and clean with a mild TSP solution to
get rid of the dirt and moss that keeps trying to grow in the shadiest area.</div>
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3. Pile up the rest of the orchard and tree trimmings and
burn the pile before the ban on burning is in effect.</div>
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4. Spray around and under the decks for yellow jackets and
paper wasps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are definitely looking
to establish homes there and it ain't gonna happen on my watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DIE!!!</div>
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5. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prepare a BBQ for
this fabulous sunny afternoon and bake a cherry pie with the frozen cherries
from last season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is going to be a ton of cherries and
plums again to judge by the blossoms and busy bees. So we had better get busy
emptying out the freezer and get ready.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We will have country pork ribs seared over carbon emitting
charcoal briquettes, potato salad, green salad, fruit salad and French
bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe some daiquiris or
margaritas while we are waiting for the meat to cook.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Probably not the approved sanctioned 'green' activities for
Earth Day, but ....hey.....you celebrate the way you want and we will celebrate
in our own way.</div>
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<br /></div>Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-4994713318634719042012-03-04T09:54:00.002-08:002012-03-04T10:50:14.634-08:00A Perfect MomentThe other day I had a perfect moment in an already pretty
good day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
You know.... one of those moments when you realize that
everything is GOOD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite what you
hear, it can be good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things are fine,
peaceful, calm and happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you are
suddenly thankful for the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
the small things that make life worthwhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When everything somehow comes together to create that moment of
perfection.</div>
<br />
I was:<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Standing at the sink</b>:
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>listening to random selections of music
from my computer. Preparing to make a new recipe that I have never tried
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An upside down caramel apple
cake.</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Peeling the apples</b>:.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apples that we had picked from our orchard
last fall. September.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first year
that we have had such an abundance of fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The entire valley was filled with an unusual abundance of fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were begging to give away the
abundance because no one wanted to waste the fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had kept several bushels of apples in the
pump house and these were some from September.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Marveling at the ability of this wonderful fruit to still be crisp and
golden delicious from months ago.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Looking through the
garden window</b> above the sink.: watching the light snow falling over the
fields across the river below the bluff. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see the geese settling in to weather
the storm. Watching them navigate through the snow and landing onto the field
below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So happy to have to have this
view of nature and beauty instead of looking at the tired, dirty, soiled backside
of another building.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<strong>Thankful for my warm snug house: </strong>heat from the Wolf Range preheating adding to the warmth in the house. Bright and cherry (even on a snowy day) from skylights and windows that face the sun.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Appreciating the
lovely kitchen</b> that my husband and I designed and built, 11 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A kitchen where everything is exactly where I
want it to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything at my
fingertips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spices, flour, utensils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My kitchen is a well oiled machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Anticipating how this
recipe might turn out</b>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hoping that
it will be a "keeper".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Waiting
for my husband to come home from YET another hard day of physical and dirty
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Work that he loves and work that
keeps us able to enjoy this life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
appreciate how hard he works...so now that i"m not making the big
commisions in stock trades....I peel the apples.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Listening to the music with half an ear</b>....suddenly
it all jelled, when this song played<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xIkUiD8N81k" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<br />
<strong>It had it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong>A perfect moment in a really great day. Life is GOOD.</strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
AND the cake turned out fabulous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://recipejunkie.blogspot.com/2012/03/apple-upside-down-cake-and-perfect.html" target="_blank">Here is the recipe on my other blog</a>.<br />
<br />
**Added: I laugh everytime I watch this video because the people dancing are just hilarious.</div>Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-86474537594464175972012-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:002012-03-02T10:48:26.487-08:00The Universal Train Ride: More musings on life and deathIn comments Windbag made the observation that some deaths are just like mule kicks.<br />
<br />
It is true.<br />
<br />
We <strong>expect</strong> that people who are older and infirm are going to die. It is just the natural way of life. We have the time to get used to the idea. Gradually accept that the end is near. The sand is visibly running out. We can rationalize the death because we have been able to come to terms with it.<br />
<br />
You may think: "She was so ill for such a long time it is a mercy." "He has had a long and productive life full of family and friends. His legacy will live on." Or even "He led such a terrible life with drugs and alcohol that it is no wonder that he didn't go sooner." And so on.<br />
<br />
It's a kick in the gut when someone young is suddenly gone. Suddenly. With no warning. No gradual acceptance. Just ...wham...boom....gone. <br />
<br />
When I was young, I had a good friend who was pregnant at the same time as I. <em>(I must say here that I don't have a lot of very close friends and haven't had very many women friends in my life. Perhaps 3 or 4. Lisa was one of those) </em> We shared the experience. Our two young families bonded through the experience. We were like family.<br />
<br />
Through the good and bad, we shared the experience. Anticipation of what our babies would look like. Would it be a boy or girl? Healthy...God willing. Will my baby be smart, beautiful, handsome, athletic. Laughed at stories of the physical side of pregnancy. Morning sickness. Inconvenient bodily function accidents. We laughed and worried together. Supported each other and drew strength from each other.<br />
<br />
Her beautiful daughter was born just 4 months before mine. The children played together and became like sisters.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, at the age of 30, Lisa had a seizure while driving to work to her job as a nurse in the local hospital..... and ran into a tree. Suddenly her 2 1/2 year old child was motherless and her young husband was a widower. No warning. No explanation. Just....wham...boom....gone.<br />
<br />
The funeral was attended by friends, who were also in their 20's and 30's. Each and everyone of us had been slapped in the face with our own mortality. Stunned. Mule kicked. The two girls didn't understand, of course, what was happening and continued to play happily with each other, as always. Unaware that things had changed forever in the wink of an eye.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguC9WOsoTcSzx1pLqFhdXa56j7hVWs_HxJ2NzR92gWdXyq605jvGGGgnKaGFEqdeAOfrcNv8HuDwfBa9yA_jOJZtW73a4m4upNyUM5EfJudwtddoxASHjSTbOxtlX7NiGHtFY_/s1600/1st+birthday2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguC9WOsoTcSzx1pLqFhdXa56j7hVWs_HxJ2NzR92gWdXyq605jvGGGgnKaGFEqdeAOfrcNv8HuDwfBa9yA_jOJZtW73a4m4upNyUM5EfJudwtddoxASHjSTbOxtlX7NiGHtFY_/s200/1st+birthday2.jpg" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keagan's First Birthday </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Watching their innocence, I thought, this could be me. This could be my daughter who is motherless. Who would grow up and never know me, except as a story told by someone else. It could be me who was suddenly gone and I would not have the joy of watching my daughter grow from a baby to a woman with children of her own. <em>As has happened....did I mention that I am a new Grandmother with a fabulously smart and talented Grandson :-)</em><br />
<br />
From that time on, I was aware that each moment could be my last. It could be anyone's last. <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">So....what does this have to do with the Universal Train Ride?</span></strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Get to the point will ya!</div>
<br />
We are all on the same train going down the tracks. Some of us get on at different stops, before or after each other. We all have different designated stops to leave the train. Some people, like my friend, have a very short train trip. Others have a long ride. However, you never know when your stop is coming up.......until the conductor calls your name.<br />
<br />
So....enjoy the train ride, because you will not know how long or short it is or when your ticket will be punched. I try. Sometimes I fail, but most often I am enjoying the ride and the scenery.<br />
<br />
I wonder what the destination will look like. I hope it is nice.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-8172561457550550042012-03-01T09:12:00.001-08:002012-03-02T10:29:53.621-08:00Sand in the HourglassSad news today. Andrew Breitbart <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is dead
at the very young age of 43.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a
tireless champion of truth and fighting against the liberal media propaganda
machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But....this post isn't really
about Breitbart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be plenty of
people who can recap the life and importance of what Breitbart has accomplished
and what his work means to all of us.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
This post is about something that I and my husband have
discussed and have been thinking about more and more as time goes on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All around us we see friends and family
getting older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes with grace. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes not, railing against the enviable
and denying the reality of age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see
our friends and family facing failing health, failing minds and eventually
death. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFS8Jr6kZdN6yUkLah9GQMdRGPHryrtCqj_0WrGLH3NnpR_zlpZYL7qq8erX2nMM_9eeql_SxCPQIaP77KV9zzeBeblytnLNIJt3nBDzsY7iTNKjQiP6jlnW7fT-vO8xknnUGt/s1600/hourglass-body-type.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFS8Jr6kZdN6yUkLah9GQMdRGPHryrtCqj_0WrGLH3NnpR_zlpZYL7qq8erX2nMM_9eeql_SxCPQIaP77KV9zzeBeblytnLNIJt3nBDzsY7iTNKjQiP6jlnW7fT-vO8xknnUGt/s320/hourglass-body-type.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
We see ourselves.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
We are all born with a certain amount of sand in our
hourglass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been allotted just so
much time here on earth.<o:p> What happens after the sand runs out? Who knows. Doesn't matter. </o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p>What matters is what you do and how you act now.</o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
It is obvious to us that at the ages of 62, that there is
now more sand in the bottom of our hourglass than there can be remaining in the
top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much sand?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knows?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We may have just a few grains left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We may have many more years of sand to enjoy.<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
One thing for certain is that the sand in the top of our
hourglass is worth more to us NOW than it was 50 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those days the sand was something we
didn't think about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was an endless
amount of sand to be wasted and frittered away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
We didn't appreciate the meaning of the sand in the
hourglass because it was full on the top.<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Now that the sand is running out, every day is a treasure to
be appreciated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don't have the luxury
of being oblivious to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wasting
the remaining grains on meaningless anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With people you don't like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
drudgeries that can be avoided.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I plan to use my remaining sand on the little, peaceful
things that make me happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spend my
grains of sand by being with people that I love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Enjoying the activities that may not be changing the world
or impacting society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just appreciating
that each day and each grain of sand is a precious gift.<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Today: I will read a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bake an apple tart with the remaining summer apples from the trees in
our orchard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throw some grain to the
quail in the snow and from my office window, watch the woodpeckers and great
northern flickers enjoy the suet squares in wire baskets nailed to the trees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps finish a knitting project and peruse
my craft books to plan the next one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
will call a good friend who is in assisted living, because tomorrow, her sand may run out.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I will enjoy cocktails and dinner and conversation with my
husband.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snuggle together under our warm
down comforter with the cat trying to sleep in the middle of the bed while it
snows outside.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I will be thankful that we still have some sand left and
appreciate every grain.</div>Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-36521276514195073542012-01-18T08:27:00.000-08:002012-01-18T08:29:32.483-08:00Defending Paula DeenBig news!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Earth
shattering in fact....evidently, if you consider the amount coverage that this has
been getting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More important than the
kudzu of deficits that are swallowing the earth's economies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More devastating than Obama's gun running
scheme. Fast and Furious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bigger
than....well, you get the gist.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Paula Deen, the queen of butter and Southern Style comfort
food, has diabetes and the food police are doing a happy happy joy dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AHA!!! That's what she gets for forcing all
of her viewers to eat red velvet cake, fried chicken with gravy, macaroni and
cheese and other such items that the food Nazi's despise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Serves her right!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right??<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wrong.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p>P</o:p>eople are <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/17/anthony-bourdain-paula-deen-twitter-diabetes/" target="_blank">attacking<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deen</a> because she has diabetes, has
continued with her show and is now endorsing a diabetes drug<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"<strong>Anthony Bourdain</strong> is .....mocking the
butter-loving chef for poisoning Americans with unhealthy food ... and now
trying to profit off of their illness."<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
She is POISONING us!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>OMG!!!!.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Run for the hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be sure to dodge all those buttermilk
biscuits, hams and sweet potato casseroles while you are making your dash to
safety.</div>
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>In defense of
Paula Deen</u></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on people! it
is just a cooking show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a diet
plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is showing you how to prepare
certain dishes that are the hallmarks of a certain cooking style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nowhere and at no time does she say that you
should eat all of these things every day, three times a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
If you don't have the common sense or self control to eat
sensibly...well, I don't know what to tell you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe you shouldn't be allowed outside and
you should let other people make your decisions for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh.....wait.....that is just what the Food
Nazi's want to do.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
They want to control every aspect of your culinary life by
eliminating ingredients. Demonizing certain foods and certain companies that
provide food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can we all say
McDonald's....hmmmm?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The want to force
their ideas of diet and food upon you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Now, I don't think you SHOULD eat a pound of butter or stuff
your pie hole with pie until you are fat and diabetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it should be your choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go ahead. Eat your life away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
It should also be my choice, our choice to not have to pay for your
self inflicted health condidtion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is why I strongly object to Obama Care and Socialized Medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But.....that is a rant for another day.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Let me make a disclaimer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Dumbplumber (my hubby) has Type 2 diabetes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It runs in his family and he was diagnosed
about 10 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We didn't know much about being diabetic. We had to research and learn how to live. </span>So, I know what it
is like to change your life, change your diet and be aware of what you are eating. at all times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It is hard. It isn't always fun.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The keys to controlling diabetes are diet and exercise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His condition is controlled by this and a
minimal dose of oral medication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does
this mean that we will never be able to enjoy a piece of cake or a favorite
comfort food ever again? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do we have to
wear a dietary hair shirt and eat tofu daily?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<br />
Of course not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I post many recipes on my cooking site [<a href="http://recipejunkie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Recipe Junkie</a>] that are certainly
high fat, high sugar and would throw The Dumbplumber into a diabetic spiral if
he ate them all at one time or more than just occasionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave
Paula Deen alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She not only shows us
how to make good food, she can now serve as an example on how to live a good
life with diabetes.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
We have learned that you CAN have your cake and eat it
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just in moderation.</div>Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-721697907872088642011-12-24T09:54:00.000-08:002011-12-24T11:19:18.821-08:00The Best Ever Christmas Display: Our International HoldiaysIn a previous post I mentioned my conflict about Christmas as an adult. This got me to remembering some of my childhood Christmas experiences and one of the best ever Christmas displays. This is going to be a long post, but ...hey....I'm blogging for me! Not you.<br />
<br />
I'm indulging myself.<br />
<br />
Let me preface by saying we spent many of our Christmas holidays in Mexico. My grandmother and my Dad's younger siblings lived there from the mid 1940's to the late 1960's. 30 years as legal residents of Mexico and they had two places to live. One was a very modern apartment in Mexico City and the other a wonderful rustic old villa in Tequisquiapan.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dqtWjnpFNWE56fq8pW7KoEUSZN_3SCFb5-CQdSM_N7pKBV1dWlhXU1i_tvNBUM_ZO4eG1tvu0PtGh2JwnpE_V7GM5pdWFWt2ObrWAYfibYkdyceWxk72fRsUJacSoMBB8Wph/s1600/tequis3-w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dqtWjnpFNWE56fq8pW7KoEUSZN_3SCFb5-CQdSM_N7pKBV1dWlhXU1i_tvNBUM_ZO4eG1tvu0PtGh2JwnpE_V7GM5pdWFWt2ObrWAYfibYkdyceWxk72fRsUJacSoMBB8Wph/s320/tequis3-w.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aunt Rae in the courtyard Tequis....after college</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXpB6HsR9-2GIodf6k_05Hv7dBFReVqhHUYjNbwFeME0k4roUyhZxwLeYF__FX9PG64EbLISPBfTjNLWwQSKu8vQHrZZ0sR78aGL8B2wEns7Kd7F94itIZ1Gqyh0AgQ0DBInGv/s1600/tequis-w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXpB6HsR9-2GIodf6k_05Hv7dBFReVqhHUYjNbwFeME0k4roUyhZxwLeYF__FX9PG64EbLISPBfTjNLWwQSKu8vQHrZZ0sR78aGL8B2wEns7Kd7F94itIZ1Gqyh0AgQ0DBInGv/s320/tequis-w.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One side of the courtyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My aunts and uncles were going to the College of Americas or high school in Mexico and since it was Christmas break, our family usually spent several months traveling to Mexico and just visiting. From the late 50's until the family moved back to the States our Christmas was international. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWud-ut_hzb7nGMV9lxmWscCYVvRmGIYwdYXaCA0n5X8QXvwrYe83gv6McB2CvP5wHfVW7AY8ZRBgQizsnCimZlwhn4cqT2muJd5hloTv8TT1nyktgzopmWWEV9zBhZHWU40L/s1600/Acapulco_family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWud-ut_hzb7nGMV9lxmWscCYVvRmGIYwdYXaCA0n5X8QXvwrYe83gv6McB2CvP5wHfVW7AY8ZRBgQizsnCimZlwhn4cqT2muJd5hloTv8TT1nyktgzopmWWEV9zBhZHWU40L/s320/Acapulco_family.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1960 Family in Acapulco.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Acapulco was a favorite spot. At that time it was a resort town for the Mexican elite society and especially the favorite of the college students. As kids, my brother and I loved it. Warm sands, surf and we were able to be pretty much on our own, running up and down the beach and body surfing. There were no 'helicopter' parents in those days. <br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Some photos from that time. My brother being a butt and refusing to smile because he didn't want to have a photo taken. Ahhhhh. family memories...lol.<br />
<br />
Aunt Rae being very "glam" on the beach in front of our hotel. That's my grandmother in the back. Uncle Owen, being a studly high school senior.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<em>(AAARGH I give up...blogger will not let me position the photos on the page how I want or let me resize them!!. )</em> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfMq4VcecJwN8TzzBdzqbWSY4EujwUcGbqVvLqsIwopLj4rHuzj9_r7iaozPWt2jC6rUEaQ3VQBhlq-kiG5lp4XARf27DIb5gdzIqkwHogQBqZ4pjsXSf428yUbhiQot98R45/s1600/Rae_Acapulco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfMq4VcecJwN8TzzBdzqbWSY4EujwUcGbqVvLqsIwopLj4rHuzj9_r7iaozPWt2jC6rUEaQ3VQBhlq-kiG5lp4XARf27DIb5gdzIqkwHogQBqZ4pjsXSf428yUbhiQot98R45/s200/Rae_Acapulco.jpg" width="184" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rae.... College age</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRHDRgCytVw_lGzcMagLErCIh7ZjngMZZoK1XdK8lojSo0nAyrbTmDCqkry3GRcICVV92LRTRuTY3dTfXCp4yj3j_OOreN0YiIG6C-aiGIA76AkcmbMRqKZDLCEt3-iiDIgBo/s1600/Owen_acapulco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRHDRgCytVw_lGzcMagLErCIh7ZjngMZZoK1XdK8lojSo0nAyrbTmDCqkry3GRcICVV92LRTRuTY3dTfXCp4yj3j_OOreN0YiIG6C-aiGIA76AkcmbMRqKZDLCEt3-iiDIgBo/s200/Owen_acapulco.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Owen...high school</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But, all this digression leads me to to the most awesome Christmas display ever. Even though we were not immersed in Santa and Rudolph, I believe we got a better understanding of what Christmas is all about. The Christ Child. Baby Jesus. <em>(description of the display after the jump)</em></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
In the lobby of the hotel we were staying, they had a large diorama (I think that is the term) or display. It was a low platform about 5 feet square, with dirt mounding to a hill in the middle of the space. On top of the hill was the stable. There were little trees and bushes. Rocks and paths wandering through the landsape. Tiny sheep, cattle, horses, chickens, pigs scattered about. Small people doing activities. In the stable were Mary and Joseph and <strong><em>way off</em></strong> in one corner on the path were the Three Wisemen. There was a beautiful crystal star hanging over the stable. It was very detailed and very cool. It was also fenced off to keep us kiddies from messing with the diorama or playing with the figurines.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Every day we would get up and look at the progress of the scene because at night, the staff would come and rearrange the scene. Each day, the Wisemen would be just a bit closer up the path. The animals and people would also be moving up the hill. Mary and Joseph would move around in the stable, too. It was fun to see it and notice the changes from yesterday. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
On Christmas Eve....all the pieces were so very close to the top of the hill. The excitment would be building each day because we knew how this story would end. FINALLY, on Christmas morning.....there was Baby Jesus in the manger!!! TA DAH!! All the Wisemen were in the stable and their gifts were placed before the manger. The animals were peering into the stable windows and the figures of the people were doing the same and some kneeling reverent figurines had been place close on the path and around the building.<br />
<br />
Christmas was here!. Then we opened our presents. Went to church and later a brunch back at the hotel, because we had fasted for communion. THEN......off to the beach to swim and surf. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The traditional Christmas swiming and surfing and Margaritias for the adults.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My Christmas memories.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-45201425308769666402011-12-22T10:34:00.000-08:002011-12-22T10:36:22.409-08:00Flip Side of the Power of PrayerSometimes I think that the world is coming to a final judgement day when I read some of the articles on the net.<br />
<br />
The other day there was an extremely<a href="http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=110683"> disturbing story on the internet</a>. Among the many disturbing articles out there, this one really got to me because in my mind pets like dogs, cats are innocent beings that should be protected and cherished and animals should never be abused or treated cruelly. Yes....yes. We eat animals and death is part of that process. But, there is no excuse for abuse in that process. People who abuse animals are the lowest form of life and deserve no sympathy.<br />
<br />
A Brazilian woman who is a nurse beat a small puppy to death, in front of her child. I couldn't bear to look at some of the still photos, much less dare to link to the video that was taken by an outraged neighbor. Too horrible and too inhuman to contemplate. The video was posted on the internet by the outraged neighbor when the police would do nothing. The ire and and well deserved venom that is being heaped upon the woman who beat the dog is incredible. <br />
<br />
Millions of people around the world literally hate this woman.<br />
<br />
This got me to thinking about the Power of Prayer and positive thinking. The power of positive thinking in healing yourself and praying for the healing of another. There are many inspirational stories about prayer and groups of people praying that seem to have resulted in miraculous cures. <br />
<br />
As a somewhat agnostic person, my personal take on prayer and positive thinking is....what can it hurt? Why not be positive? Why not if you believe in a higher power combine your thoughts with others to create a bigger channel to the higher power? A larger and clearer signal uploaded to the higher power or to God. <br />
<br />
If you don't believe in God, and want to go more scientific, there have been studies to try to quantify the results of a group prayer. Inconclusive so far. Maybe it could be that the energy from our brains, telepathy, psychokinesis.....who knows.<br />
<br />
In regards to the Power of Prayer and Positive Thinking, what if there is a flip side. The power of group hate. Millions of people thinking negative thoughts about YOU. Millions of people literally wishing you dead or wishing terrible things upon you. <br />
<br />
Millions of waves of "negative vibes" wafting her way. Millions of minds engaged in group hate<br />
<br />
I wonder if this woman from Brazil can feel the hate.<br />
<br />
I hope so.<br />
<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-24442641357204802112011-12-19T15:43:00.000-08:002011-12-19T15:44:07.070-08:00Reading My Husband's MindSoooo. The other day the Dumbplumber pipes up and says something like. "He told me the other day that he would be able to have me over tomorrow to do that thing."<br />
<br />
I'm thinking to myself, who is "he" and what "thing"? My husband is always thinking and then just jumps right into the middle of the conversation without any preamble or context. It comes from having a busy mind and being preoccupied, but damn! it is frustrating.<br />
<br />
I said--(snarkily)------> "You know, we have been married now for 18 years and I still haven't quite gotten that mind reading thingy down pat yet."<br />
<br />
<i>He said: "Well, it is easy. Here let me give you some clues</i><br />
<i>. </i><br />
<i>...humina, humina, humina.....TITS</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>..humina, humina, humina.....BEER</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>..humina, humina, humina.....TITS</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>..humina, humina, humina.....HOT RODS</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>..humina, humina, humina.....SEX</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>..humina, humina, humina.....SCOTCH</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>..humina, humina, humina.....FOOD oh ..... and TITS</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>See...it IS easy to read my mind."</i><br />
<br />
Oooookaaay. Thanks for the clues.<br />
<br />
<i>He also said: "If you don't post this you don't have a hair on your ass."</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
Well, I don't have a hairy butt, but here is the post.<br />
<br />
Who makes me laugh and smile every day. Dumbplumber...that's who.<br />
<br />
<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-7492630946652848252011-12-17T15:22:00.000-08:002011-12-17T16:22:18.204-08:00What I Love About Christmas.....What I Hate About ChristmasAh...the most wonderful time of the year. Ring ling a ling. Christmas is here. Fa la la la la. Bah humbug.<br />
<br />
I'm always conflicted about the Christmas season. There is much to love and much to not love. <br />
<br />
In the past, before marrying Mr. Dumbplumber and when I was working for minimum wages at a crappy job, standing on my feet for 8 hours a day and living in a crumbling shamble of a marriage, Christmas was a time of stress and hardship. With no money and no happiness in my life, I "put on a happy face" for my child. Keeping up the fantasy of Christmas was tiring, discouraging and depressing. We didn't have family close by so we rarely had any gatherings of relatives. No Norman Rockwell Christmases. Christmas was also a time to remind me how alone I was and isolated from family. We had presents, mostly hand made because I couldn't afford much else. I was the only parent who participated in the Christmas decorating or the Christmas spirit. We did have good food, cookies, candy, cakes and all the trimmings. THIS I can do on a shoestring. <br />
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Christmas to me, as an adult, always represented deprivation, hardship and inadequacy. My daughter didn't know this and her memories of the holidays are good. My job as a parent was successful: to protect your child and allow them the joys and fantasies of the holidays. <br />
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Things are different now and money isn't an issue, but the stress is still there. Like a cat that has been conditioned by evil scientists with shock treatments, I still am wary about the holidays. My wonderful husband says......GET OVER IT. So I try.<br />
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Today, there is much to like about Christmas and much not to like.<br />
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I love to give presents. To think about what the person needs and wants and to see their appreciation of the gift is priceless. To try to find just the right thing for each person. I still hand make many of my gifts because I like to do so. It isn't out of necessity now, it is out of love. <br />
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I hate wrapping presents. I don't do a very good job because I'm impatient. My packages look like a team of Chimpanzees did the wrapping. Frankly, I really don't see much point in spending lots of money on wrapping, bows, glitter and all that stuff. The package is going to be ripped open and the effort put into making it "pretty" is going to be burned in the trash barrel shortly after Christmas along with the other boxes and trash. Those gift bags that can be used over again are a brilliant invention.<br />
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I love decorating the tree. Each ornament.....mostly hand made from salt dough, knitted, quilted from fabric scraps or assembled from feathers from wild game we had killed and eaten, has a memory attached. Granted some of the memories are not so good, but others are. The fun that my daughter and I had making the hair of Santa's salt dough beard with a garlic press. The time we were able to buy a special ornament, that ceramic skating teddy bear or the glass prism stars.<br />
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I hate decorating the tree, because all the while I know that I will have to clean up all this stuff. The prickly tree will attack me and leave welts that itch and last for weeks. The lights become impossibly snarled. Each ornament will have to be put back into the boxes or wrapped up for protection. Knowing that as time goes on after Christmas, the tree will begin to look sadder and sadder and eventually be thrown out to be burned. What a waste of time. I'm always tempted to just throw the whole tree out with the lights still attached.<br />
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I love the cooking. What a great excuse to make mounds of goodies. To try out new recipes and give the results to friends. The holidays are a cooking fanatic and recipe junkie's best time of the year. Inviting family and friends over for a big feast is something I look forward to.<br />
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I love the fact that Christmas is when the days begin getting longer and that we are turning the corner of the short days, dark cold nights to the promise of spring and summer. To every season...turn turn turn.<br />
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I hate that my birthday is just after Christmas. January 6. Epiphany. A birthday party was always an afterthought. I think I had 3 birthday parties as a kid. Everyone else was burned out by the holidays from Halloween through New Years. Who wanted to have yet another party? Generally, it was just..."Oh...here is an extra gift for your birthday under the tree". I suppose it could be worse, my father's birthday is Christmas Eve.<br />
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In addition, many of our Christmases were spent in Mexico visiting with our relatives who lived in Mexico City or traveling to and fro to get there and back. Most of the childhood memories I have of Christmas are those with a Mexican tradition, not American.<br />
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I love some kinds of Christmas music. My favorites are the traditional tunes that are about the religious nature of Christmas. THIS is one of my favorites.<br />
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I hate the Christmas music that is everywhere beginning shortly after Halloween it seems. In the grocery store, on all radio stations. If I have to hear Santa Baby or Rocking Around the Christmas Tree one more time, I'm going to find a department store Santa and beat the crap out of him. Ho....freaking HO! I think Christy Lee must have finally biffed it since we aren't bombarded with her advertisements. Thank you God. Having Christmas shoved down our throats 24/7 really doesn't put me into the holiday spirit.<br />
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Which brings me to one of my biggest hates about Christmas. I HATE the merchandising The commercial buy buy BUY THIS STUFF attitude. The relentless shoving of products and brainwashing of the children to demand ever more gifts and ever more expensive gifts. I guess this goes back to my first issue of poverty and Christmas. As a parent, you often just can NOT get that Barbie Dream House, new bike, game system or whatever. The children, especially those who still believe in...you know who....don't understand this and when the gift they have their heart set upon getting isn't there, they think that maybe there is something wrong. Did Santa not like them this year? Were they bad? Terrible children? So in order to not disappoint your young child and to not appear to be an inadequate failure of a parent in the eyes of your children, you cave into the merchandising frenzy and go into debt for toys and items that often are just later discarded or wear out.</div>
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I try to think about the good things, remember WHY we have Christmas and to appreciate how much better my life is now. You do need to have experienced the downs in life to appreciate the good fortune you have..... and I am very blessed indeed. </div>
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Merry Christmas. Have some delicious cookies and don't let me wrap your presents for you.</div>
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<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-8292583503776105572011-12-05T09:29:00.001-08:002011-12-05T09:57:35.811-08:00Life Is A Series Of Re-RunsWatching the Occupy everywhere movement, their fervor and the breathless coverage by the media.....It occurs to me, looking back from my lofty years (61) that life is often a series of re-runs. Events and patterns happen over and over.<br />
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When you are young, it seems like everything that is happening to you and that you are experiencing is happening for the first time. And for you....it is. The first time. The first kiss, the first time you have sex, the first shooting star, your first foray into politics. The experiences have power and are unique because they are happening to YOU. And as we all know, when you are young. you are the center of the universe.<br />
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The Occupy kids are full of sound and fury and mostly sincere in their efforts and feel like their actions are going to <i><b>change the world</b></i>. I well remember the feeling. Kids 40 and 50 years ago felt the same way. Vietnam protests, marching on government buildings, civil rights....even the violence are all re-runs this time around. Same slogans, same energy.....same.<br />
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Recessions: the economy sucks today. Guess what kids....it sucked pretty bad 30 to 40 years ago during the Carter era. We thought it was the end of the economic world then. To the adults of that time, it was just another milder re-run of the Great Depression.<br />
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Another way to put it is: as you get older suddenly your parents seem smarter. <br />
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Life is a series of re-runs. Nothing new under the sun. Even the Romans experienced the same social ills that we are experiencing now. <br />
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<i>"Rome--SEPTEMBER 4, 476AD. </i></div>
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<i>Rome falls. In the centuries preceding, Rome had been
overrun with illegal immigrants: Visigoths, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Ostrogoths,
Burgundians, Lombards and Vandals. They first assimilated, many working as servants, but
soon came so fast they did not learn the Latin language.<br /> </i></div>
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<i>Though militarily superior and marching on advanced road systems, the highly
trained Roman Legions were strained fighting conflicts worldwide, and
eventually troops had to be brought home from the frontier outposts, such as
Britain.</i></div>
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<i>Visigoth King Alaric, Vandal King Geiseric, Attila the Hun,
and finally the barbarian King Odoacer, committed terrorist attacks, wiping out
whole cities, until Rome itself was eventually sacked and looted.</i></div>
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<i>Rome had been weakened by a large trade deficit, having
outsourced its grain production to North Africa, and when the Vandals captured
North Africa, Rome did not have the resources to retaliate.</i></div>
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<i>Citizens of Rome were kept distracted with violent entertainment
in the Coliseum and Circus Maximus. The Roman Emperor kept citizens appeased
with welfare and free bread.</i></div>
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<i>One Roman commented:"Those who live at the
expense of the public funds are more numerous than those who provide
them." Tax collectors were "more terrible than the
enemy."</i></div>
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<i><br /> Rome was crippled by huge government bureaucracies and
enormous public debt."</i></div>
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It doesn't mean that just because these same things occur over and over that we shouldn't try to make a difference. The Civil Rights Movement certainly did make a difference. What these repeating patterns or re-runs mean, is that we need to pay attention and learn from our mistakes.<br />
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To the OWS kids.....you really aren't the center of the universe and you are not unique. <br />
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Been there, done that and still have the ragged tee shirt to prove it.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-40960027783867850252011-11-29T09:32:00.001-08:002011-12-06T08:13:11.921-08:00Red Lobster Biscuits: NAILED IT!Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuits are heavenly. People have been looking for the recipe for a long time and as the Red Lobster web site says......the recipe is a secret.<br />
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Sure....they tantalize with some tips <i>"we will share a couple of well-kept secrets for making our much-loved
biscuit: do not over knead the dough and make sure you use baking soda
as one of the ingredients."</i><br />
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There are a lot of recipes out there that try to emulate the product. Most use Bisquick or some version of that type of biscuit. But.....they are wrong.<br />
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<i> </i><br />
Reverse engineering the product, I realized that one of the main ingredients was missing from all of these recipes and that Red Lobster has been lying to us for years. I don't blame them.....the biscuits are to die for. What is the missing ingredient? YEAST. The texture of the rolls shows that they are clearly yeast raised, yet they do have the properties of baking soda and baking powder raised rolls.<br />
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What type of rolls have these characteristics......Angel Biscuits....So I
went back to one of my old cookbooks and brought out a recipe and
tweaked. Messing around in the kitchen, doing what I like to do.....cook. I have <u><b>nailed it. </b></u><br />
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Here is now revealed the super secret recipe for Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Dust Bunny Queen...posted on my Recipe Junkie website. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ENJOY</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://recipejunkie.blogspot.com/2011/11/red-lobster-cheddar-bay.html">Cheddar Bay Biscuits ala Red Lobster</a> </b></span></div>
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<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-6977863537118519882011-11-27T10:14:00.001-08:002011-11-28T07:00:51.286-08:00War Horse: A Movie I Wll NEVER See.Spielberg is out with this movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/">War Horse</a>. I'm sure that as the trailer says, it will make us laugh and cry. Probably mostly cry. Geeze. I'm an easy mark for a tear jerker movie, especially one with animals. <br />
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The main reason I can't watch this movie is from my family history. My Grandfather was a veterinarian and in WWI for the US Calvary, he went to the Hell on Earth that was the European battle fields. His task was to try to take care of the horses. Horrible!! The horses suffered incredibly. The men who took care of the horses, like my Grandfather, who cared for the animals suffered, because they were overwhelmed, pained and changed by the slaughter house and meat grinder that the animals AND humans were thrust into.<br />
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Unlike men who can be deluded into participating in war; animals have no concepts of patriotism or really much interest in politics. The fear and terror that they must have experienced is unimaginable. The betrayal of the trust that they put into humans. The pain and suffering. <br />
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I understand that the use of horses at the time of WWI was necessary. The military was in a transition from human and horse power to the more mechanized and impersonal wars that we have now. Heroic horse calvary charges were standard.
Here is good short film about the reality of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDCO9myKB4">WWI War Horses.</a><br />
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So, while Steven Spielberg will have made a movie that will move us to tears and laughter, the ending will probably be sweet. Boy and horse reunited. Stirring motivational music. Uplifting heroism.<br />
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I just can't bring myself to sit through a whitewashed version of the horrors of WWI to reach the happy ending. YES. YES. I know that no real animals were hurt in the movie and the technological effects of the film are likely to be fantastic.<br />
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When this is what Spielberg is showing us<br />
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When THIS is the reality<br />
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As much as I would love a happy ending. I'm afraid that I'm much too cynical and realistic to see this movie. Plus.....I think I would need a box of Kleenex to be able to get through the event.<br />
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If I'm wrong ....and you can assure me that I won't be sobbing by the end of the movie....give me a review.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-70968065744894613782011-11-24T16:41:00.001-08:002011-11-24T17:12:39.582-08:00Thanksgiving. What am I thankful for?So much. So many things to be thankful for in my life.<br />
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Life has at times been good, been bad, been indifferent. Today I am thankful for all of it.<br />
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My husband. Our health. Our family. Our friends. Our house. Our hard won possessions. Our LIFE.<br />
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Thankful that we can wake up in the morning in a warm house under cozy blankets to a hot pot of coffee (made the night before). We can open a refrigerator full of food and <i><b>choose</b></i> what to eat. We have nice warm clean clothes. How many people in the world today don't have this comfort, this luxury of food and warmth?<br />
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Sitting in front of our separate computers....me in the office with the french doors open and cat on lap while the Dumbplumber sits on the couch with his feet on the coffee table and laptop on his knees, we have the information of the world at our fingertips. We share this information and listen to music. How magical is that? <br />
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Thankful for my wonderful husband who keeps me grounded. We will have been married 18 years in the coming spring and it seems like just yesterday that we met. Every day we enjoy each other's company and look forward to being together. Lovers and friends. Arguments are rare. Probably the advantage of age, where we both have learned where to take a stand and which stands are even worth taking. I'm so thankful for the lucky happenstance that brought us together. <br />
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I'm thankful for the beautiful and scenic nature setting that we live amongst. Today we took a drive in one of the five trucks(!) we own, while the steaks that we are cooking for Thanksgiving are marinating<i>. (The traditional Thanksgiving BBQed steaks lol ...that's another story</i>). This in itself is a luxury. To be able to drive someplace on a whim. Around the valley floor and up into the the piney woods. Back to feed the quail, the finches and set out more suet for the woodpeckers and flickers. The peace and beauty of being able to sit in a comfy chair by the window sipping a cocktail and watching their antics.<br />
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Thankful for our minds and senses of humor. Thankful that neither of us is (knock wood) is suffering from Alzheimer's. Thankful for our health. Do we have some health issues. Yep. Dumbplumber has diabetes, which is controlled and other than the normal aches an pains that come with 60 years of living, we are healthy and active.<br />
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Thankful for our families and their health, success, well being and happiness. We miss those who have gone ahead of us and treasure those who still remain.<br />
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We are aware that all of this could disappear in a heartbeat. A literal heartbeat. One major medical event or accident from disaster. This fortune that we have, can evaporate through no fault of our own. Through forces beyond our control. Wars. Famine. Political unrest.<br />
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But......<br />
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Today.....life is wonderful. Thank you God.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-38253464403454939602011-11-15T08:04:00.001-08:002011-11-15T08:36:59.087-08:00Another Chemo HatMy friend, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy and is now in the middle of chemotherapy with radiation therapy yet to look forward to, has lost her hair and eyebrows. Fortunately, she is a strong personality and has handled all of this with grace and humor. Her husband is a rock that she can lean on and is a pillar of strength. As friends, there isn't much you can do to help and you don't want to intrude or tire her out with too many visits or be overly sentimental. She isn't that kind of person.....and frankly neither am I. That is probably why we get along and she is one of a very few women in my lifetime that I have counted as friends.<br />
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There are not many things you can do, but there is one thing that I CAN do. Knit hats. You lose much of your body heat through your head. When you have no hair.....the loss is really significant and noticeable. Not only is your head cold.....you are freaking bald. Now, I know that many men are bald and not happy with that situation, but society readily accepts the sight of a bald man. A cue ball bald woman not so much. So to be warm and to not appear freakish, women who are going through chemotherapy tend to wear hats during the day as well as night. Fancy hats. Frilly cute hats. Warm snugly hats. Hats with a sense of humor. <br />
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Since she is not a frilly person or a person who wears dainty pastels [<i>neither am I</i>], the hats I have been making are bold, sensible, warm and comfortable. This is a cabled brim hat. The pattern is from<a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/PATTcoronet.html"> Knitty.com</a>. Man, it is amazing what you can find on the Internet. For those of you who may be interested in knitting or crochet, I really suggest you sign up for <a href="http://ravelry.com/">Ravelry.com</a> It is a huge on line community of people who love to craft, creative and more than willing to share patterns and tips.<br />
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<b>Cable Brimmed Hat</b> </div>
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They say that after Chemo and Radiation, your hair grows back in differently. Sometimes it is curly where it was straight before, sometimes it's even darker or a different texture.<br />
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So while my friend is waiting for her NEW hair to grow in she has another hat to keep warm.<br />
<br />Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-76590021232592479292011-11-07T08:02:00.000-08:002011-11-07T08:08:52.633-08:00Jobs, Jobs, Where are the JobsAs we known unemployment is high. Very high. The reports say 9% or 14 million people are out of jobs. Actually, the reports are wrong. It is worse. The government statistics are manipulated to hide the pain. In some counties in the North State, State of Jefferson, where I live the UI rate is pushing 20% or higher. Demographic groups such as young adults and blacks are over 30% unemployed.<br />
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Many who <i>were </i>collecting unemployment, or to be more precise <b>being paid not to work</b>, have run out of UI benefits.<br />
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Yet, we see productivity reports which show that in the United States<a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod2.pdf"> productivity has been rising. </a><br />
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How can this be? We are more productive, yet there are more people not working.<br />
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Well, the answer is simple. Technology and efficiency. Manufacturing businesses can make the products with less people. Who needs a flotilla of secretaries or bookkeepers when you have computer programs to do the work. Printing shops that employed skilled technicians are replaced by laser printers and desk top publishing programs. <br />
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So where are the jobs? Just like in the past when the majority of people in the US were employed in agriculture and farming and those industries were made more productive by mechanization, the unemployed people had to migrate to other areas and find NEW kinds of jobs.<br />
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They didn't have unemployment insurance to give them months and years of leisure time. They didn't have the luxury of being able to sit around and whine that their old occupations were no more. They had to find new jobs in other industries. They had to <u><b>create new jobs and create new industries.</b></u> The industrial age was a time of unprecidented economic expansion and innovation. The innovations and inventions of those times are the foundation of our society today.<br />
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So.....where are the jobs. The NEW jobs?<br />
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<b><u>First:</u></b> You need to get the government out of the way so that people can be innovative and entrepreneurial. Rules, regulations, fees, licenses, fines all set in place to supposedly protect the public are in fact the main impediment to new job creation and are meant to reduce competition by new challengers to current industry and businesses.<br />
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Now, I'm not suggesting that we have a free for all in industry or production or businesses. Safety of food, safety on the job and product quality are important. You want to know if you buy something to eat.....it is safe. You want to know that if you hire a professional to do a job for you, like your Doctor.....they are competent. If you want to have a builder repair something in your house....you would like to know that they will be able to do the job. However, we don't need the government in the middle of EVERY transaction.<br />
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The rules and regulations need to be sane and encouraging of new businesses. <a href="http://homebasedbaking.com/cottage-food-laws/"> Cottage food laws</a> in California are (hopefully) in the <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19272069">process of being relaxed</a>. If we had the restrictive rules and regulations today during the industrial revolution, just think of the food products and giant industries that would not have been developed. General Mills, Coca Cola...the list is long.<br />
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<b><u>Second:</u></b> Instead of wailing that you can't get a job in your old occupation, look for new opportunities. What do people need? What would the people who have money and jobs want from you? What kinds of jobs or services cannot be outsourced to another country or be outsourced to a computer or robot?<br />
<br />
Just a short list of services:<br />
<ul>
<li>Babysitting/ Nanny service</li>
<li>Home maintenance and repairs</li>
<li>Cleaning services</li>
<li>Landscaping</li>
<li>Plumbing</li>
<li>Building and construction</li>
<li>Auto repair/maintenance/detailing</li>
<li>Computer repair</li>
<li>Assistance services for the elderly or disabled</li>
</ul>
Are these glamorous jobs. Probably not in everyone's eyes. Do people need these services. You bet. Can you make a decent living and even hire other people to work for you...Heck YEAH.<br />
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<u><b>Third</b></u>: What kinds of things or products are in need or would be innovative that you can make or produce. What resources do you have in your area? The Cottage Food industry is one possibility. Hand made goods. <span class="st"><i></i></span>Artisanal goods. Can you manufacture something that would be distinctive, reasonably price and use local talent? Should you.... can you, team up with others in your area to create new industries and new products?<br />
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So instead of wailing that jobs are lost, outsourced or that you can't do what you used to do.....look upon these tough times as an opportunity. Opportunity to create something new, to learn something new. Sure, it might require you to sacrifice, to lower your standard of living for a while, to work long hard hours, to maybe move to another area, to get out of your comfort zone.<br />
<br />
Society moves on and industry moves on. To stubbornly stand in one place will just leave you behind as others do take advantage of the new opportunities and move on to new prosperity.<br />
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Don't be a loser.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-42469477474053094292011-11-03T16:45:00.000-07:002011-11-03T16:46:31.185-07:00How Quickly It Turns: the weather I meanJust a couple of days ago I was able to sit on the deck in the afternoon and sip a glass of wine in the sun in these fabulous Indian Summer Autumn days. Waiting for the leaves to really begin falling so that we can rake and burn. Suddenly, the weather has turned into our normal October/November fare. Cold, windy, rainy and snowing this evening.<br />
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Sadly, I think I have missed the optimal rake and burn cycle, yet again on the leaves. Just like last year we will have mounds of soggy leaves that can't be burned or that will create smudgy pillars of smoke. Ah well, compost material.<br />
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When the weather turns, so do my thoughts of cooking turn to warming meals. Long cooking stews, soups and casseroles. So, while The Dumbplumber is napping after being out in the cold all day long; winterizing homes so they won't have broken pipes next spring, I'm making <a href="http://recipejunkie.blogspot.com/2011/11/clam-chowder-for-snowy-day.html">Clam Chowder</a>. <i> (check out the recipe on my Recipe Junkie blog) </i>and will try to finish the next Chemo hat that I'm knitting for my friend.<br />
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I think that I'm really getting the hang of this retirement stuff.Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20892346.post-32463641667333928662011-10-30T09:56:00.000-07:002011-10-30T10:00:28.272-07:00A Beautiful SundayIt is a beautiful Sunday. The weather is clear, crisp and still warm enough to work outside in shirtsleeves.
To get into the mood and ready for a leisurely Sunday drive this afternoon to view the magnificent colors
....A little Nat King Cole.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8kP8jPa1wCg" width="420"></iframe>Dust Bunny Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13341429444562280127noreply@blogger.com0