Thursday, April 30th, 2009
5:48 A.M.

All we hear these days is Swine Flu. Now granted, it could have a lot of potential becoming a world wide epidemic --- which, with the now more popular word used through the media since bird flu, a pandemic...I still question the coverage. Sometimes, I take it seriously what I hear and read, while other times I question the severity. I do know from what I've heard through CNN, the world wide concern for this flu virus is that there is no immunity....it's a new strain of flu. Which in all reality, through the eyes of a scientific research lab, that would scare scientists/CDC, right? Then, on top of that, there is a total shutdown of schools if only one student is infected...and staying HOME? It's like a child...when they first get dirty...the dirty actually helps BUILD immunity. As with measles...once you have it, your body has built a huge barrier naturally, and you then are no longer susceptible to measles. At times, it's good to be exposed to certain viral infections. But the school closures and wash downs, what's with that? According to the health officials of our nation, there are no worries pertaining to the swine flu. Yet, we have this pandemonium and severe reaction from the officials when a new case is exposed to the media? We're told that it passes from human to human in 2 to 7 days. We're also told that this developed first in Mexico. Now, how the heck do they know this? Even if the first case WAS in Mexico, do we actually know that that WAS the first onset? There is a whole world out there people. The first case may have gone unnoticed in some far off land, or right in your very own country and no one realized it was swine flu. I tellya, media and how all these issues are handled by government, by schools, by doctors and such...it BLOGGLES my mind. One 'specialist' on local TV tells us that the surgical masks will not deter the germ. While another national TV station tells us, it's VERY effective. Another tells us to quickly get over to the pharmaceutical store and purchase one, 'cause they're not staying on the shelves...[oh, and it's best to buy THIS product, because it's more effective]. While again another article says don't use the masks, get to the store and make sure you get a goodly supply of hand sanitizer. I don't know. I just don't know what to think, nor how I should react to all this. I do know that I will continue to live my life...why not? If you think about all this swine flu hoopla, and you're running scared, you just may trip over your own feet, staying in your house and not living....oops, I fell, and I can't get up....I'm gonna die. But, not from swine flu, by gawd, I stayed home, in fear, just like I was told. I didn't go out into the crowds 'cause I didn't want to get the flu. Everyone is staying home....how the heck is anyone gonna find me, here, lying in my own room....I'm gonna fade away into nothingness.





[all cartoon images found on the 'net this morning, no infringement intended. I don't take credit for the humor, but I liked 'em!!!]

Wednesday April 29th, 2009 1:50 A.M.

Join -Wordful Wednesday

Being that I went searching through my photo albums [hard copies] for a photo of the farm from yesterday's posting, I spotted some photos of some beautiful wild flowers that I took from the desert southwest. Tucson, to be exact. When we had a rainy winter, the wildflowers really put on a show for us in the Springtime. And the desert landscape is actually MORE beautiful [you really have to learn to appreciate the desert] than it is any given day. So, I thought I'd take a moment to scan these while I had the scanner turned on...to show and share with you:




some plants you're seeing - the pink blossom on top left is prickly pear. the yellow to the right is brittlebrush I believe the blue in the background is Baby blue eyes...or commonly known as desert bluebell.

the pink in the bottom photos, I believe is Parry's Penstemon along with a species of agave [think tequila!]...the white blossoms below the agave is desert star [the tree in the background is Arizona's state tree --palo verde-- meaning 'green stick'; it has bright green bark.] More prickly pear and pink blossoms with yellow wildflowers to the right photo.








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TODAY marks the President's hundredth day in office. And I thought I'd share what I received in an email from the DCC.

"A lot of attention will be given to this largely symbolic day, and the truth is that what we do every day after it will be just as important -- if not more. But our accomplishments in this time have been remarkable, and they're having real effects on people and communities throughout the country. You built the movement that made this possible, and it's up to you to show Americans that real change can happen when ordinary citizens work together."

In order for y'all to witness first hand what has been done within the last 100 days, you can follow me on a journey to each state...an interactive map that shows what the President and his staff/and Congress have done since the 20th of January.

Here's the link:
THE CHANGES STATE BY STATE

- - -

Now mind you, I appreciate the candid and overwhelming show that which the President has obliged us..a showing of what his office is doing, actually day by day. I'm not sure wholly if indeed he is not spending too much. But I remember my economics class, almost every time we attended, the teacher would always say, "You have to spend money, to make money". Which is true if you're into investments. I can't help but say 'we're spending money we don't have tho'. So, I'm trying my hardest to see it through the investor's eyes....he is investing in our country? I will not voice any points of view other than that one just stated. For me, it will take an entire term before I have a strong opinion of that which I think he's doing right by us. I do know that he is better than our last leader!!!

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
5:15 A.M.

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"Down On The Farm"


eeeeeigh, eeeeigh, oh!

And on this farm............

My grandparents were farmers. Does that surprise you? In Nebraska? What else is there to do in that state? If you're not associated with the Nebraska Cornhuskers [college] then, you're farmers. [kidding!] Anyway, they had a gazillion kids. I had aunts and uncles galore. All were birthed to help around the farm. My maternal grandparents had a section of land on both sides of the country road...that's equal to 1280 acres. On one side of the road there were fields of corn. On the other side...where the house, barn, chicken coop, windmill, creamery house, a smoke house, and wood shed, the land was fenced in and cattle was raised. There was also a pig pen for their own consumption [what I mean is, the hogs were raised for pork...not for marketing/selling as the cattle was]. They raised chickens for eggs and poultry. They had sheep for butchering. A goat or two [I was not much on watching the goats...they eat everything!!! including the dress right off your back if you're a little girl and happened to be near them, but on the other hand, I ♥ goats' eyes!]...and they had a few geese. Oh and horses....work horses!! What we called draft horses. Big ones...like Percherons. I remember the one I used to get to sit on with my father....a huge dappled gray. It was so pretty. Of course, I was way too young to ride one by myself...it was always with a grown up. And they [the horses] were never saddled; rode bareback or they were hitched to a plow or a wagon.

Above, I mentioned the creamery? Well, by the time I was born, my parents [once farmers themselves] were now living in the 'city'...city life. And I was raised on homogenized milk. And I remember tasting milk straight from the creamery [where the milk is run through a separator to extract the cream from the milk, straight from the cow...still warm] at my grandfather's home.....oh, gag city. And the ham from the smoke house? Again, raised on 'store bought' foods....I liked the ham that had water added....NOT the home cured, smoked, dry ham. It was like eating salty, worked leather. Spoil't I was!!!! ......but, dahling just gimme Park Avenue. Well, at least a local grocery store where the food is already prepared like what I'm used to consuming. But hey...wait....I still love home grown veggies. Can't beat that, but the home cured meats? Nope. I like the additives. LOLOLOL

On the other hand, my paternal grandparents [photo on sidebar] were pioneers in their own right. Stories I could tell you about my grandfather, when a young lad --in the early 1880s, traveled across the great plains from the Canadian border to southern Nebraska in a covered wagon. [He owned a butcher shop once settled]. But how he loved to tell the story. And my grandmother's NYC upbringing, only to end up on a prairie, teaching school....what a tale of strength for both g-parents. When I think about it all now, it was like Little House on the Prairie...with my maternal/paternal sides...getting together, the Olesons and the Ingalls family-all wrapped into my family. I love the history of a family's genealogy. We have preachers, teachers, dressmakers, civil servants, military heroes, entrepreneurs, government workers, etc, etc, etc. But what I always remember from early childhood most was the family spending time.....




DOWN ON THE FARM.

Monday, April 27th, 2009
4:02 A. M.

Doing a Google Search today on the newest outbreak of Swine Flu, I came up with this as the page header...
...thinking I was being alienated from our own world, I had to figure this out. I'm always that way. Something puzzling me, I tend to research. As I clicked on the header, I read that it's Samuel Morse's birthday today. And then, I type in my new search "Morse Code"! Well, behold....I see that there is an Online Conversion for codes. I typed in the above code and came up with letters...only letters --close to Google itself, but in error -
[G G E O O L] Spelling Nothing in Particular. Spelling Google itself would look like this: --. --- --- --. .-.. . [stop] Okay then, I had to see just what Hootin' Anni looked like in Morse Code. Here is my blog title:

.... --- --- - .. -. .----. .- -. -. ..

Wanna use it for fun then, for yourself? Here's the link for the conversion.



PS...I forgot for a moment, just what I was in Google for, so now I need to go back and read about the symptoms of swine flu.
.-. --- ..-. .-.. -- .- --- [roflmao]


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While visiting other Photo Hunt participants...most yesterday since I couldn't be online Saturday....I was shocked that the blogger [I can't remember who] had that Bea Arthur had died. Did I already say I was shocked? The program that she costarred in with 3 others that was long running on American television, The Golden Girls, was one I have watched now that it's in syndication. I knew Estelle Getty had passed on last year at the age of 84 or 85 from cancer. Now Bea Arthur too? From cancer also...at the age of 86! Just days ago. My heart is saddened. But I had to go out and see if Rue McClanahan [born 1934] survives, 'cause I remembered reading that she too had cancer. In her bio on the 'net it tells me she still is with us, and has conquered her breast cancer. Now that brings me to Betty White [born 1922]. A favorite of mine from the days of her marrying Allen Ludden. She is so ditsy and so funny. I always enjoyed her humorous ways when playing her characters....and being an avid animal lover, that makes her tops in my book. Ms. White is still 'with us' at this writing.

The Golden Girls will always be something to watch and remember the days when the girls could get themselves out of precarious predictaments and love men....and put up with Sophia's picture this from Sicily...things of that sort...and enjoy the quiet humor of the aged women of this world.


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Still on the entertainment issue, but a different direction,.....books! Over the weekend I finished the book, Henry and Clara. In fact last night, I read the very last two chapters. It was just an okay read...nothing spectacular to write home about. But, still interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. It's just that there was not enough detail. I know, I know, it was only a work of fiction...a novelized historical account of mostly Clara...when she was a young girl and how she doted on her step brother [Henry]. Married him at an older age that most women in the 1800s would consider spinster. Thing is, in the novel, it just doesn't delve into much of any of the 'true to life' history of the couple. A bit disappointing, but still a slow, but good read. I won't go into detail how it ends, 'cause in history, if you know it, you will know anyway.... Now, I have had this next book lined up to read when I completed Henry and Clara.....entitled Hitler's Niece. Altho, I've never had much interest in Adolf Hitler, I have watched some very interesting programs on the History Channel about the man...and his evil ways. His love for Eva Braun, and his hideaway ---appropriately called "The Eagle's Nest" because of it being built on a hill's cliffside as eagles are known to build nests...... many have tried to destroy it, to no avail. The history still exists behind the walls; if only they could talk. Eva Braun is also an interesting part of German history....the two [Eva & Adolf] finally did marry, but two days later they both committed suicide. Yet, his niece....She too supposedly committed suicide. But from hearsay, Ms. Raubal was another one of Hitler's love interests....becoming fascinated with Geli. History states they lived together. Geli's mother, was Hitler's half sister. So, I'm hoping that this novel based on fact will be interesting. Time will tell. I hope it will be a little bit more fulfilling than the last book I read. Not too dry, and not too sparse in detail. Only one can hope. As I do.
Inside the dust jacket, some words: "In Septermber 1931 a 23 year old woman was found dead in the Munich flat owned by Adolf Hitler. An unfinished letter on the desk and his handgun on the floor beside her. She was Geli Raubal, the darugher of Hitler's widowed half sister, and as Hitler later melodramatically claimed, the only woman he ever loved...."
First published in 1999,

Sunday, April 26th, 2009
6:32 A.M.



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Sunday Stealing:

On with Sunday Stealing Meme...but first: Sorry I wasn't around to visit a lot of you yesterday...we were getting the house ready to paint the exterior. The trim around the brick, the eaves, the front porch, cleaning hurricane shutters, and power spraying around the patio...now that the covering is off the patio...being that that is done, we can move forward and do some much needed painting! So, after that was done, we went and picked out some exterior paint and all the implements needed to begin that. It was a long day for us. But now we can begin. I've been wanting this done now for about two years, and having Bud take all the dark roofing down, around the patio and living room and dining room...it is time to move to the next step before hurricane season begins. In doing so, going around the house I spotted that the huge tree in the front yard is insect damaged...it's beginning to split from the ground up...so I did a lot of calling around for tree surgeons. Ewwwwwww. I hate to see it go, but it must be taken out otherwise, it will break in a windstorm and damage either OUR house or the neighbors. Bummer.



Sunday Stealing: The Mud Meme

1. What are your current obsessions? Painting the exterior of the house. I want to get it all done before the rainy season [June!]

2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? Jeans!!! Jeans, jeans and more jeans.

3. What's for dinner? Turkey meat loaf, Garlic/Butter mashed potatoes, always tossed salad, and chocolate-dark cherry oatmeal bars.

4. Last thing you bought? Cat food!!!

5. What are you listening to? The water running...Bud is in the hall bathroom shaving.

6. If you were a god/goddess who would you be? Isis? She was worshiped as the ideal mother and wife, matron of nature and magic...I guess I do do magic with growing flowers/plants in my garden; that's nature and magical. As for ideal wife and mother? Well, that is possibly a misnomer then.

7. Favorite holiday spots? Home. And I also love to go shopping in the early part of the holiday season to view the sparkles of the city & watch the kids with Santa Claus.

8. Reading right now? Henry & Clara. I only have a couple more chapters to read. Then, I think I'll begin reading Hitler's Niece.

9. 4 words to describe yourself. Sexagenarian, Old-Country, Fair, Female

10. Guilty pleasure? Right now it's Ferrero Rocher Chocolate

11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? Jeff Dunham and his cohorts.

12. Planning to travel to next? I'm a homebody. Next place would be Houston probably. Or along the coastal highway.

13. Best thing you ate or drank lately? See #10.

14. When did you last get tipsy? Oh my....only once...when I was a teenager. Ummmmm, it was my wedding shower...a local establishment was rented out...with lots of friends. In fact ONE friend called Bud and had him come pick me up and drive me home.

15. Care to share some wisdom? Don't dwell on the negative!!! IN FACT --the best way to forget troubles is to wear TIGHT, UNCOMFORTABLE SHOES.

OR.....If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it will always be yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But, if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food,uses your telephone, takes your money, and doesn't appear to realize that you had set it free....... You either married it or gave birth to it.

16. Nicest thing anyone’s ever said to you? "You have great looking legs." I'm still told that. A lot. At least something on my body has withstood the ages. LOL

Saturday, April 25th, 2009
12:40 A.M.


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PHOTO HUNT 2009 THEMES

PROTECTION


I had a very, VERY difficult time with this prompt! I just couldn't come up with any ideas at all. Something unique. I thought of cactus needles...which protect the plant. I thought of rose thorns, cat's claws and teeth, a lock, the alarm system keyboard in our home...things like that. But they just didn't really appeal to me for the subject this week. Too common, I think. Tho, still...what do I do? Well, I came up with an idea while going through my photo album and realized it was looking me right in the face...literally. So, here is the pair [one of three pairs] that we have in our yard/inside our home. They're called:




FOO DOGS [or Fu dog] Foo dogs are really lions. Behind their aesthetic appeal is a rich history of legend and tradition. The lion is known as the proud mater of the feline race. It is not indigenous to China, although lion artwork and sculptures were imported gifts to the emperor. The lion does not occur in Chinese primitive art, but was introduced later in connection with Buddhism as the defender of law and protector of sacred buildings. Lions are often placed at temple gates and porticos of houses. Sometimes, they guard tombs. Stone lions in front of official buildings were originally put there to scare demons. The conventional Chinese lion is sometimes called the "Lion of Corea" or the "Dog of Foo," because it was found at the threshold of Buddhist temples. The lion is sacred to Buddhism and is sometimes presented as offerings to Buddha. Some Buddhist deities are occasionally depicted mounted on this beast. It is an emblem of value and energy, those indispensable complements of wisdom, and was embroidered on the court robes of military officials of the second grade. The lions are always presented in pairs, with the female on the left and the male on the right. The male lion has his right paw on a ball, which represents the "Flower of life" The female is essentially identical, but has a single cub under her left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". However, Japanese adaptions state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death.

This pair is quite old. They've been 'protection' for over three decades. We've had them since Colorado. Bud had them anchored to our two gate posts on our long driveway where we lived. And they were then packed and moved to Arizona where he had them on our Oriental mini-bridge in our back yard...one on each side. Then, yet again, they were moved with us to Texas. They're now set out near the back yard gate under a potted fern on each side of the gate. Trust me, they're not in very good shape any more...they've been chipped, repaired, broken, repaired and touched up with blue enamel paint. But, they're still with us.

Friday, April 24th, 2009
12:10 A.M.
My 55 Fiction today is _ _ _ _ _ Becomes You. Scroll down below Show N Tell, or CLICK HERE



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I just finished her this week! I've been working on her since about Halloween of last year. I actually started for one purpose. To send it off to my daughter, Irene. But she got pushed to the back burner [the doll that is, not daughter, lol], and I stuffed her away for a while...nearly forgetting about her all together. The main pattern I used for her was one I found online and had them send it to me. It's for a kitchen witch. You know? Those little charmers that are supposed to keep your kitchen and your dishes and cooking from any foul/harm? Ya, those are the ones.

Then, instead of making her a 'flying witch'...when I completed her with her yarn finishing touches the other day, I thought she was cute, just sitting there with her basket. I do have the broom for her in case Irene wants her to hang somewhere...but, in the meantime, she's gracing the library/computer room. She's made with wire, stuffing, rick/rack, doll hair, country print plus a checkered undergarment, felt slippers with red felt soles, soft sculpture face and hands with a peasant scarf on her head. Her eyeglasses are just molded wire rims. The broom is styled with 'Harry Potter' type broom....I gathered twigs and cut a small branch, wired it and then stained and glossed it. I think Irene will like her. Thing is, I'd like to have her named. Got any suggestions? HELP?!!!!

Here are some more photos:









...End Show n Tell
COMMENT HERE if you'd like to skip my Flash Fiction 55 below.

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A Friday Meme with fiction...55 words, no more, no less. Try it, it's a fun challenge!!
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_ _ _ _ _ Becomes You

Taking law of survival into my grasp;
him I slay!
Keeping my being,
my purpose now fulfilled,
I inject my wrath; lovemaking done today...
The hourglass of time, he'll soon decay.
Die! Death! No remorse for me.
Survival of the fittest.
Now, as generations before me;
Offspring in due time...
I endure.
I climb away.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
12:39 A.M.





Have you ever found yourself sitting and chomping away at food, or a snack, and you end up reading the label or the backside of a box/package...all the while, as you chew? Me too. And for today, I thought I'd let you play along with me. From the back side of a cereal box, I read this:




1] A fruit, by definition, is the fleshy part of a plant that is protecting the seed. Which by definition then, tomatoes, olives, avocado, and even cucumbers [which we call vegetables] are actually fruit. [true: at least according to this box]

2] The 'fruit' of the cucumber, when squished, explodes to scatter its seeds up to 25 feet away.

3] Which fruit does the gorilla sleep on?

4] Fill in with the correct country, these New Year's traditions:

In _____, red is a lucky color so it's wise to ead red apples & cherries. To ring in 12 months of good luck in _____, eat a grape on each stroke of the clock as it chimes midnight. Leave lemons and limes on your friends' doorsteps in ______ to bring them luck.

5] What do you call a not so pretty cross between a grapefruit, an orange, and a tangerine?

6] You can't use FRESH pineapple or kiwi in gelatin since they have chemicals that break down protein, leaving your dessert soft & runny.

7] Is the fool a silly person or a kind of dessert made with fruit?

8] A banana plant can grow/produce up to 200 bananas in clusters. What are the clusters called?

9] What do you call TWO bananas?

10] Which berry is nicknamed "thimbleberry"?

11] Lemons have MORE sugar than strawberries!!

12] How do you make a lemon drop?

13] In the 18th century peaches were poached in cochineal*, a red dye from a beetle, to give them a rosy color. Cranberries float because they have 4 pockets of AIR in each of them!!







* By the way, I've seen this all over the Tucson area when we lived there, and in the Southwest deserts....it's like a fungus, but beneath the 'wooly' substance is eggs/insects of the cochineal. I've seen it on just about every prickly pear cactus I came near.

My Wordful/not so Wordless Wednesday You Tube post is HERE
[a slideshow video of a WWII aircraft carrier walking tour]
---or scroll below this entry for Earth Day.




Today is Earth Day...
If we as a group do not respect and take care of our own planet, we would not be able to stand on the firm land and view such godly, inspiring views of our trees silhouetted at dawn or dusk; as I am showing here today. We would not be able to continue survival as we know it today...it's our responsibility for now and for future generations. So, what better way to show off our world than to show you what you can see standing [Northern Hemisphere] in your yard, looking East before/and just after sunrise....

Venus & our MOON...
taken from my cellphone:






Moon & Venus @ 5 a.m.
from our garage...framed in the window.














Looking to the horizon over
rooftops...the moon & Venus
[to the left of the street light]
5:15 a.m.
















From our yard
Looking East...
at just before sunrise
around 6 a.m.













A few minutes later....
the sun is on the horizon
Venus & moon still
flying high...in the wild blue yonder.
6:35 a.m.

Wednesday April 22nd, 2009
12:04 A.M.

Join -Wordful Wednesday


Last Saturday for Bud's birthday I surprised him by taking him on a walking tour of a special place that he's been wanting to see. Granted, we have toured this before, about 7 or 8 years ago when we stopped by the city on a vacation...and as yet, living here in the city for nearly 5 years, we haven't gone back 'til this past weekend. It's more for tourists or WW II Naval enthusiasts, and oftentimes they hold special privileges to cub scout and boy scout troupes. It's always crowded. And quite a fascinating place to visit....

Enjoy the slide show video I composed and published with You Tube----
[if you click the enlargement option for full screen view you can read the small print on them better]





A photo tour of the USS Lexington Aircraft carrier of World War II era...now a museum permanently dry docked in Corpus Christi Harbor, Corpus Christi Texas. The Flight Deck, the Bridge, the bow, the stern, and a walking tour of sections of the ship that are open to the public. The USS Lexington is the first naval vessel to have female crewmembers aboard. Nicknamed the "Blue Ghost" by the legendary propagandist, Tokyo Rose....because it was not painted the typical camouflage paint of all the other U.S. aircraft carriers.

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED BY ME!
No copying or stealing allowed under United States Copyright Law.

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
2:05 A.M.

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Once Upon a Time....

ONCE UPON A TIME I had a lot of these miniature gnomes and fairies that enchanted our garden. Now, with the erosion and time, only a few are left to make our world a bit more magical. On some days, when the winds are still and all is quiet, I can hear the faint giggles and carryings-on of such whimsical ventures they have; flitting around the flowers and playing tricks on one another...Shhhh, be real quiet and perhaps you can hear the bewitching antics and feel the thrill of the sunny day here in our imaginary, mythical and mystical world in the Hootin' Anni's compound called a back yard....




















Once Upon a time in the land of mine
Fairies were aplenty
and Gnomes were hiding

Now their wings are kept together with bubble gum and twine
Fairy friends down to 6 but once were twenty...
and the Gnomes? The gnomes're still residing.



~ The End








- - -

I was pretty upset yesterday afternoon when a bunch of contract workers came to the door and told us they needed to dig a trench in our backyard!! The utilities easement goes 10' on each side of our subdivision's yards [both sides of the fence line] In fact I was a bit furious....why didn't they go to the yard behind us and tear THEIR yard up? But no....they wanted to come in and tear up our sod, and our flower beds to run a line for the neighbor; he is renovating his house,...making the garage into an office. Well, la di da!! I knew I hated phones, now I have another reason. Well, anyway, I was outside with the workers the entire time...making sure they didn't dig in the wrong place and tear up our sprinkler system and do too much damage to the turf. When they were done after about 3 hours, I stood right beside 'em, making them replace the sod and put everything back where they found it.

While I was outside with them, and trying to stay out of their way and still watch them...I sketched a drawing of a religious picture I want to start painting. I'll need to scan my sketch or take a photo of it to show....in the meantime, I'm going to clip it up to my easel and start painting this morning after the sun comes up and there's enough light for me to work on it. I can't wait!!

[the photo is NOT our yard, I didn't even think to take photos! --I found this on the internet looking for a trencher like they had to use here.]