Long long time ago, I had one of these. Not quite a 'fancy smanchy' one like this tho. Thing is, I've always enjoyed looking for unusual rocks as I go walking. I found a really NEAT 'rock' on Corpus' North Shore when we vacationed here years ago. Yes, I packed it in my suitcase [it is medium sized -about the size of a small cantaloupe...and VERY heavy] and it came back home with me. It was long before airport security. LOL Anyway, I always knew it was a piece of some kind of petrified wood. It still has the 'bark'. And I still have it! Yep, you got that right...I moved it with me. The rock/wood is back home again. LOL Perhaps, in its native land. Okay, so thing is, I began getting curious about the petrified wood that I so lovingly packed a few times. It's been outdoors in our yard. And I see it as I do yard work. Now the curiosity got the better of me. I have access to internet these days [duh! Well, I didn't have access long long ago when I found the wood] and I started searching around. For what, I didn't really have a clue. Then, doing some Texas research, I came upon a site that talked/told about petrified PALMwood being Texas' State Stone. [Louisiana has the petrified wood as their state fossil]. I clicked on the link. Yessiree...that is what I had. At least, I think so. It's called petrified palmwood. It's found along the eastern shores of the state...and also along the borders of the two states inland. Hmmmmm. The more I researched the more I found that it's actually found throughout most of the lower counties of the state. One county in particular...the county seat, George West, is just a few miles north of us here in our part of Texas. When it gets to be winter time again, I'm gonna take a day's jaunt up there and drive along the country roads....see if I can find more.
Okay. So, enough gab. Why I want another rock polisher/tumbler? We have landscaping rock around the back foundation of the house...along the patio and between the patio and one of our elevated rose gardens. It's sized between pea gravel and river rock. Anyway, many times I've pulled weeds from the rock. And I've noticed small pieces of what appears to be petrified wood in the landscape rock. Now that I found out about it being Texas' state stone and a fossil....I'm in their like a bitin' sow!! I've picked up many, many pieces that I've found and hoarded. Now I want the TOOL to clean 'em properly!!
Stay tuned...I've photographed some of the pieces and will blog about it. Someday this week. Hopefully, Show N Tell Friday. I just yesterday emailed a geologist here in town. He emailed me back, and asked that I send some pictures to him. And I just forwarded some photos of the 'rock' I found. Maybe he can identify them through the photos. Hopefully. I'll perhaps know if I have the just 'wood' or in fact have found Palmwood! Or perhaps, not EVEN wood. It sure looks like wood to me! LOLOLOL
When we bought this car, new, and right off the transport truck, I took the 'car dealership' logo off the trunk after we got it home and a few days later, I drove to the Marine Corps Recruiting Office here in town and got a new 'pride' sticker [we've had one on each vehicle we've owned since 1990]...replacing the dealership metal tag with this....
"Ruby" Red car... Red Emblem USMC Proud Parent Tho our son, Erik, is not an ACTIVE Marine any longer, one Marine motto is "Once a Marine, always a Marine" And I'm still proud he served the U S A!!! [By the way, the car's interior is gold...Red -scarlet actually, and Gold are USMC colors!]
Monday, June 29th, 2009 6:05 A.M.
Church Lady has graciously accepted the hosting for this week's Fun Monday. She asks us to show the purse we carry with us [or for men...their wallets] --and then to show the stuff inside the purse. Well, first off so many mentioned that we did this before, and in my way of thinking...no matter if we DID do it before for Monday, there are always newbies, or ones that haven't done it yet before. So...I think it's excellent. And I'm pleased she came up with the idea...
Now, for my purse. Check it out...
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See the red ex? That is my whole photo...In other words, I never carry a purse. Well, let me correct myself. The only time I do carry a purse is when we go to functions like concerts and I want to 'hide' my camera in the lining. Yep, I do do that. When the ticket stubs say "No Cameras"...I hide my digital in the lining of the purse. I'll put my cellphone in the purse and then the keys and my debit card in there...along with prescription eye glasses. Then they check you at the door...my digital is hidden, and I take the banned photos!!! [Trust me, I'm not the only one breaking 'the law' of concert attendances] [When I go shopping, I take with me only my card, ID, and cellphone...all fitting in my pockets. You see, when I purchase clothes, if the item doesn't have pockets, I don't buy!!! ---I learned to NOT carry a purse after I was continually approached for 'hand outs'...people asking me for a dollar for bus fare, etc....when I'd then see the same panhandlers on another corner, with their brown bag of liquor and their mouth with a cigarette....taking MORE money from the kind hearted.] I learned from a self defense class a while back, living in Denver ---they target ladies; alone, carrying bags to their cars from shopping...hands full of their purchases, and the purses in carts/and or/over the shoulder --we women make ourselves a prime mark.
For lack of a purse full of stuff, including all the valuables one carries inside, I feel more safe, AND!---I've not been harassed since.
Sunday, June 28th, 2009 4:50 A.M.
To view only my Unconscious Mutterings, CLICK HERE
Join Here A – An advantage you have – Being a senior citizen...there are quite a few quirks with the age I am at right now. B – Blue or brown eyes – kinda bloodshot red right now...but if you look closer, BLUE C – Chore you hate –Let's put it this way....there really isn't a chore I LIKE!! D – Dad’s name –I knew him and always called him...DAD [never was on a first name basis with him] E – Essential start of your day – After my morning routine, right? It'd be Blogging F – Favorite color – Purple G – Greatest thing you’ve ever done that made you feel really good – I don't think I've ever done anything in the category of GREAT. But, in recent past, being bold enough to walk up to the Secret Service and ask to see [campaigner] President Obama and then ask for his autograph and getting it...made me feel really good. H – Habit you have – more of an obsession...BLOGGING again. I – Issue you hate that the world tries to make you pursue – World and Local issues as reported...let me explain a bit. These days, I rarely believe what I read, or see through the eyes of the media. It's all such 'sensationalism' that I can't stand the thought of it much. I DO continue to read....but the TV news? It's so unbelievable that I have learned to HATE it. [Not to devalue or impugn anyone's love/obsession for M. Jackson, but for the last few days it's all been about him...you'd think he was the leader of the WORLD the way the media is covering the loss. -for instance, the lovely Farrah Fawcett died the same day...at first, it was covered by the media...but! when they got word that M. Jackson had been hospitalized...everything else was not newsworthy!! For the media, the world revolved around the man. There ARE other things going on. Why even when Princess Di's death was in the news, the media did not dwell on it as much as this. Bits and pieces of other world events were added to the CNN programming back then. Why, my word!--- if my memory serves me correctly...9-11 was covered extensively, but think about it...1000s died!!! Not to mention Anwar Sadat's assassination, Nixon's death, Reagan and the deaths from WARS!...Again, as always, news is what brings in revenue...the money making top story is M. Jackson.] He died people, (people, as in CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, E, Entrainment Tonight, Larry King, Late Night Shows, Local Media, National Media....) let's move on with our lives now, happenings of the world or our country....forgot the economy? the threats? the white house? the job securities?...huh? Enough already news people!!! The only people that I can empathize with for their loss, a deep loss, is a son - his parents, a brother - his siblings, a father - his children...he is now gone from them.
J – Job title – Retired K – Kohls or Target – Neither, really. If I had to chose between the two, it'd be Kohls. I never DID like Target. [For both stores, I go there once a year...and that is to see if they have anything different that I don't have already...for Halloween] L – Living arrangements – You?---where you are, and Me...where I am. M – Music you like – All music except Rap. Rappers seem to be hate mongers with their lyrics. N - Nicknames – One that has been with me like......forever. That's Goomba.
O – Overnight hospital stay – A few. After surgeries and births of two kids. P – Pet Peeve – You don't want to get me started....I have hundreds. It'd take forever and eternity to list 'em. [first one this morning is: I just cleaned and scrubbed the kitchen counter top...get up this morning and it's all cluttered again!! I can't ever keep it clean and de-cluttered for more than a few hours!] Q – Quote that you like most – I have miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep. [Robert Frost] R – Right or left handed – In some cases I can be ambidextrous. S – Siblings – Four T – Time you wake up –. Whenever [see the letter J for Job Title]
U – Underwear – A new brand....Anni's Secret....NOT Victoria's, but Anni's!! V – Vegetable you dislike – Okra, Asparagus W – What makes you run late – Never late, never early...just whenever I choose. I'm always on time more or less. Again, retired and no fixed schedules. Dr.'s appointments are the only thing I have to keep track of time. X – X-rays you’ve had – Dental and Mamograms Y – Yummy food you make – My own version of Lasagna. Z – Zoo animal – T-I-G-E-R!!!!! Reid Park Zoo Tucson, Arizona What I loved about Reid Park was the fact when you walked through the turnstyle to enter the zoo...the first exhibit to the left was Asia....the TIGER.
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Play along with your subconscious; Sunday's Word Association. Join here.
From a blog post of mine from a long, long time ago [March, 2007 to be exact]...a 'flag'. Which to some [ME!], they are iris. My mom and mother in law both used to call iris, 'flags'. It's the first thing I thought of this morning when I read the prompt for the week....flags...iris.
"Flag (Iris) - Beautiful bulbous or tuberous plants numerous in kind and wonderfully varied in beauty. The plants are for the most part hardy, and have much diversity of habit and color, varying in height from a few inches to 6 feet. They may be conveniently divided into two classes—those with bulbous roots, which are now called Xiphions, and those (the greatest number) with creeping stems."Does anyone really know how they [the iris plant] came about being called 'flags'?
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Military miniature flags...flying from our bookshelves in the computer room [U S Navy-hubby's & U S Marine Corps-son's]
The flag of the United States Navy consists of the Seal of the Department of the Navy in the center, above a yellow scroll inscribed "United States Navy" in dark blue letters, against a dark blue background. The flag was officially authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 24, 1959 and was formally introduced to the public on April 30, 1959. The flag of the United States Marine Corps (also known as a standard or battle color) is scarlet with the Corps emblem in gray and gold. It was adopted on January 18, 1939, although Marine Corps Order 4 had established scarlet and gold and the official colors of the Corps as early as 1925.
For Friday's Flash Fiction 55, scroll down, or CLICK HERE
My show n tell this week isn't really anything that needs to be explained. It's a ceramic Tea For One [teapot/teacup]...with a Frog in a lily pond. Take notice of the 'rest of his body' after you take the teapot off the cup. [2nd photo] Kinda like, he's under water? That's my impression.
...End Show n Tell COMMENT HEREif you want to skip the rest of my Friday Blogging.
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For Want of a Nail
Did you have something that was so pounded in your head when you were a kid that it stuck in your brain for decades? Many many times as I grew up, when I thought that I was smarter than the average adult...you remember how 'stupid' your parents were when you were a teen, right?...my little ego that was too big for my britches. My dad used to recite a proverb/rhyme to me to show me that my ego would get in the way and things didn't turn out as expected and I was at a loss. He always set me straight with just a few words, but never condemning me. They were:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Thing is, I belong to a paint shop group online and I get images sent to me to make my own graphics. As I opened my email account to check the newest images sent, the title of one was "for-the-want-of-a-nail". Now I wouldn't normally do this, but when I opened the image I thought it was so darned cute, I had to share it...see the nail at the king's feet? [see image] It certainly made me think of my dad how he'd nonchalantly shared with me those words of wisdom for my actions/thoughts and how he'd subtly remind me that the small things are important too to be a 'winner'.
A kingdom was lost...in other words, something of great importance may depend on an apparent trivial detail! Don't forget the small things in life, they're just as important as accomplishing the larger things that you may think are MORE important.
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A Friday Meme with fiction...55 words, no more, no less. Try it, it's a fun challenge!! Join Here
Function f is a rule that assigns to each real number x in its domain a unique real number f(x) in its range. F is the function and f(x) is the value of the function f at x. Always refer to f(x), or y if y = f(x), as the function. ....WHATEVER!!!
Thursday, June 25th, 2009 3:00 A.M.
For Thursday Thunks, scroll down below Thursday 13, or CLICK HERE
Today marks the 133rd 'anniversary' of a day in history that the Native Americans took a stand. And had victory. Many deaths, but...in my way of thinking, tho there were fatalities, it was a victory for a short while...If you know your American history, the Native Americans were gravely cheated by the United States Government. I'm not so sure that I too would want revenge if I were of the Sioux Nation. Afterall, if you think about it....they were trying to protect their land. Some land was sacred. Protecting their people and countryside from any harm is what wars are. They too, in a way, were all but patriots of their own right. And you have to give 'em that!! I still, to this day, think that the Native Americans are being cheated by their own government. There are still reservations [tho, it pleases me to no end that they now have a repertoire of abilities beyond the control of the Feds....with casinos....and the USA can not collect any tax...yippee for them, high 5!!]. My husband is an avid supporter of General George Armstrong Custer - the epic story. Until I said once [granted I didn't know beans about this guy through history until I married Bud]....I said after listening to him and reading some of his huge collection of books on the subject....I said [ya, I'm getting to it] "To me, the man was a glory seeker". "He wanted his name in the history books as a great Indian slayer!!" "The greatest White Man, ever!" From that point on, my dear Bud has tamed his fascination with the legendary general and has come to realize that maybe, just maybe I am right. I personally have said over and over, the Indians have and had every right to kick ass.
The day of infamy is the day of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. June 25th, 1876. Once known as Custer's Last Stand.
1] There are different accounts of how many U S 7th Cavalry died there in the brutal retaliation of the Sioux Nation with a surprise attack. Accounts are in the hundreds...but the exact count will probably never be known. Anywhere from 250 to 270 souls of the American Cavalry lost their lives. 16 officers died.
2] The infamous battle took place near the river...Little Bighorn...on the land now belonging to the Crow tribe....called Crow Agency, in Montana, USA [photo from our vacation albums]
3] Top Left -George Armstrong Custer - 4]Right is brother, Thomas Custer. 5] Center, Chief Sitting Bull [Oglala Sioux - of the Hunkpapa tribe] 6]Bottom Left -Benteen - 7]Right is Reno [photos courtesy of the internet]
8] Have you ever heard the song: Please Mr. Custer?
9] George Custer married Elizabeth Clift Bacon on February 9th, 1864. [my birth day] According to Captain Frederick Benteen, chief of scouts Ben Clark, and Cheyenne oral history, Custer had a sexual relationship with Mo-nah-se-tah during the winter and early spring of 1868-1869. Mo-nah-se-tah gave birth to a child in January 1869, two months after the Washita battle; Cheyenne oral history alleges that she later bore a second child, fathered by Custer, in late 1869. [also according to legendary facts, she died at the battle...so, who really knows the truths of this?]
9B] From Wikipedia: In 1938, Joseph White Cow Bull [Anni's Note: he was noted to be the one who personally slayed George Custer at the battle], an Oglala Lakota veteran of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, went with David Humphreys Miller to the Little Bighorn battlefield and recounted to him his recollections of the battle. Among his recollections: "While we were together in this village [on the Little Bighorn River], I spent most of my time with the Shahiyela [Cheyenne] since I knew their tongue and their ways almost as well as my own. In all those years I had never taken a wife, although I had had many women. One woman I wanted was a pretty young Shahiyela named Monahseetah, or Meotxi as I called her. She was in her middle twenties but had never married any man of her tribe. Some of my Shahiyela friends said she was from the southern branch of their tribe, just visiting up north, and they said no Shahiyela could marry her because she had a seven-year-old son born out of wedlock and that tribal law forbade her getting married. They said the boy’s father had been a white soldier chief named Long Hair; he had killed her father, Chief Black Kettle [sic], in a battle in the south [Battle of the Washita] eight winters before, they said, and captured her. He had told her he wanted to make her his second wife, and so he had her. But after while his first wife, a white woman, found her out and made him let her go. Miller asked White Cow Bull, "Was this boy still with her here?" and White Cow Bull answered: "Yes, I saw him often around the Shahiyela camp. He was named Yellow Bird." [photo of Yellowbird aka Yellowtail, courtesy of the 'net]
10] The 7th Cavalry departed from Fort Lincoln [North Dakota] on May 17, 1876, part of a larger army force planning to round up remaining free Indians. Meanwhile, in the spring and summer of 1876, the Hunkpapa Lakota holy man Sitting Bull had called together the largest ever gathering of plains Indians at Ash Creek, Montana (later moved to the Little Bighorn River) to discuss what to do about the whites. It was this united encampment of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians that the 7th met at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
11] A painting depicting Custer "Yellow Hair" at the battle, dying. [photos from our guest bedroom wall.]
12] Irene's first vacation trip away from her home? ...And where do we take her? Yep, you guessed it! Custer's Battlefield [called that back in 1971, now it's Little Bighorn Battlefield]. This is the year that she said loud and clear while we were in the Crow Agency's Gift Shop/Restaurant ---"Look at all the dirty people." Run by Native Americans with 'dark skin' of course!! I coulda died!!!
13] The exact number of Indian warriors participating in the battle has never been determined and remains controversial. It has been estimated that in the overall battle the warriors outnumbered the 7th Cavalry by approximately three to one, or roughly 1800 against 600. In Custer's fight, this ratio could have increased to as high as nine to one (1800 against 200) after his isolated command became the main focus of the fighting. Some historians, however, claim the ratio of the Custer fight to be as low as three to one. At any rate, Custer's detachment was certainly outnumbered and was caught in the open on unfamiliar terrain. Native American casualties and wounded vary also...as few as 36 dead (from Indian listings of the dead by name) to as many as 300. The Sioux Chief Red Horse told Col. W. H. Wood that the Indians suffered 136 dead and 160 wounded during the battle.
~...End Thursday 13 COMMENT HERE if you'd like to skip Thursday Thunks below
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1. Someone knocks at your door. You answer it. It's a kid from the local school selling candy bars for a fundraiser. Do you buy one? Yes, and oftentimes I've purchased several at once.
2. The end of the world is tomorrow and you are out of milk - do you go buy some? Of course. Why waste a day on trivial things like the end of the world...live for the day. I think I'd buy milk to pig out on southern cream gravy on a pile of mile high mashed potatoes.
3. Have you ever picked up the phone and called someone that you hadn't talked to in years? Not really, I don't like to use phones...but I've had some call me. They finally got the hint tho, I don't use phones unless absolutely necessary.
4. Whats on your computer desktop background?
5. What was the very first movie you saw in a movie theater? Ben Hur [yikes! That was 50 years ago, too!!]
6. If you had to take a 10th grade science test, do you think you would pass? Oh yes...science and english were my favorite subjects in school.
7. Describe heaven. Dunno...never been there. YET! But, since the world is coming to an end tomorrow...I may know the day AFTER tomorrow?!!!!
8. Has a place that you lived ever been infested with some sort of insect or rodent? Termites...I'm in Texas!!!
9. When you were a youngin', did you hide in the clothes racks at department stores? No. I was shopping with my father most times...he was a strict disciplinarian. I would have been tanned on the rear if I did something that wasn't right in his book!
10. Is there anything in your vehicle that is broken? Not that I know of....I did put a scratch in the back bumper, doesn't that count?
11. What is something in your house that people would be surprise[d] to find? That's difficult. Thing is, the one item they WOULDN'T find in our house that may surprise them is we have NO LAND LINES - or land line phone jacks for phones!! We refused that when we bought the home.
12. Do you agree with the death penalty? Yes. I feel that if the crime was high enough to take the rights/lives of the innocent...then, the rights of the guilty have been taken away also.
13. Whats your favorite type of bear? Bear? or BEER? [okay you caught me....I read 'beer' first then realized it was bear] Bear would be one that wasn't at one time even really a bear, and that would be Panda!!! Ummmm, I think I learned that the Panda was once considered of the raccoon family, but DNA now proves it's lineage is bear-like [atho bears in their own right were also once considered distantly related to swine. Science has now proved that theory incorrect also]...so see...I WILL pass that science test. I just know a question regarding the panda is on it!
14. Where was the last place you went? To the refrigerator for some o. j.
15. What if that person knocking at your door earlier was an adult selling candy bars... would you buy one? Was he good looking? Ummmm, world ends, remember? I'll take all kinds of candy with me....yessirree.
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 3:00 A.M.
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In downtown Corpus Christi, on the famed Water Street, there is a section of the city devoted to music celebrities that are in some way, closely associated with South Texas. Here at the Water Street Market there is a South Texas Music "Walk of Fame". Just as Hollywood, California has the Walk of Fame near the historic Mann's Chinese Theater...Los Angeles, we too have something in common with Hollywood. LOL.
Bud and I walked around the area a few days back and I took the cellphone out and shot all the 'stars' I could find. Some are quite hidden. There are, in the area, restaurants, gift shops, and outdoor seating/eating. It's quaint. The metal art sculptures add a special touch [tho, I think some are quite gaudy!] to the ambiance. Personally, I've only heard of just a handful of these music celebs. Kris Kristoffersen [from Brownsville, Texas], Freddy Fender [from San Benito, Texas -died while residing in Corpus Christi], Sam Neely [from Corpus Christi], and Bill Haley [lived in Harlingen, Texas]. Funny thing, there is one....Selena. Let me add my thoughts.... Around here in this city, you'd think she was the angel of all of us. And I never heard of her until we moved here....Selena. She was from Texas; made stardom status at a young age, but was murdered here in the city by her most avid fan. There is a bronze statue of her near the sea....part of the entertainment section of the huge complex downtown is called the Selena Auditorium. Hmmmmmm. I really still don't know who she is, and I'm not sure I've even heard her music.
Since this is TAILS your summertime memory needs to be a real memory of yours. It can be from last week, five years ago, a childhood memory, etc.
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Each and every summer when my parents were alive and our kids were young, they'd make a special effort to have a summertime evening of making homemade ice cream.....
We'd have the real heavy cream, rock salt, the ice cream maker [hand held crank], table salt for flavoring, sugar, along with tons of vanilla, eggs. Mom had spent all day cooking and preparing fresh strawberry syrup from the strawberries in their garden, and dad would make his famous homemade hot fudge. From the freezer there'd be broken bits of black walnuts from their tree the season prior. As our kids grew, each summer they'd look forward to having that special evening with my parents and that homemade ice cream. It was a fun time....oh to go back to the 'good ol' days'!!! The photo is Bud holding the maker while Irene took her turn at turning the crank/handle. The whole process took hours, and the anticipation for our kids was like watching a dog sitting with all the attention of a bone...and the mouths drooling!!! All the time, during the churning and cranking of the ice cream maker, once it began to get thickened, it was my mom's privilege of 'sample tasting'. She'd bring out her plastic spoon cache for just that purpose and taste test...we'd all watch in contemplating the next step...whether it'd be chow down time, or more cranking....she'd say "More vanilla"...out came the bottle of vanilla. Or "More salt"...then someone would sprinkle in more table salt. Or she'd say "Just a few more cranks and it'll be perfect!"...Boy oh boy, the smiles then!!! By the time it was finished and ready to serve and eat, it would be dark and the patio would be lit up with japanese lanterns....out came the bowls and spoons .....pig out feast ahead!!!!
This is my very first time participating in Ruby Tuesday. And I wanted to show the shadow box of some Oriental Trinkets. Some of the pieces are red soap stone. A couple of red crocheted doilies. But the main feature is the red beaded, heart chain....a close up below---
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PS...well, we have our first tropical storm of the season, Andres [the "A" is for Pacific Ocean...not an "A" as yet for the Atlantic]. But, for us here in the Gulf, no worries. It's on the Pacific side of Old Mexico,.....heading toward the resort town of Cabo San Lucas!!! Predicted to go in to hurricane forces before it's over and out to sea.
Monday, June 22nd, 2009 5:20 A.M.
My Post Today is Long!....It's More Politicking...again
Our hostess this week wants us to choose one entree that, if a dream come true, it'd be without calories/cholesterol/diet points...what would it be? And then, do the same for a dessert. I did protest tho. I could list at least 100 things each. What a dream that would be, huh? Okay, just one. I'll work on it. The dessert would be easy....PIES!! Fruit pies...tart, sweet, fruity, blueberry, cherry, apple, lemon....any fruit pie. Let me at 'em!!!
I've had pizza in just about every large city in the United States...from old deep dish in the greater Chicago area, to the west coast and east coast delis. Even had pizza in Old Mexico made with Goat Cheese. [ewwwwww!] But I swear, I always love going here for take out orders...it's got the best cheeses and the saltiest tasting thin pepperoni and wonderful and flavorful freshly ground black pepper. [When I make homemade pizzas anymore, I have to add peppercorns now!] Peter Piper's Thin Crust New York 3 Cheese Pepperoni Pizza.
Blend of mozzarella, cheddar, smoked provolone. Topped with pepperoni and special herbs and spices and lots of crushed peppercorn [fresh black pepper]
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A close runner up [just in case the pepperoni is all recalled for e-coli or something].....
Jason's Deli. Their Sgt. Pepper Sandwich. Roast beef piled so high and thick you can't get your mouth around it gracefully to actually take a decent bite. Added are sweet grilled onions, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, and green bell peppers. All toasted crispy with my favorite cheese...provolone. Served with a huge slice of dill pickle, chips and your au juis! Delectable.
~...end Fun Monday COMMENT HEREif you'd like to skip my political stance on the Health Insurance issue.
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I've sat by idly, listening to and reading others who already have their country's healthcare system. I've not commented...but now I take a stand. Granted, the cost of insurance, ANY kind of insurance [tho it's a whole 'nother area I'm feeling the pinch of unfairness targeted to those who live in a hurricane area along any of the coastal states in the USA...it too is quite unfair] is a fact of life in America. But, I'll focus only on the proposed healthcare plan today; my opinion. America has the most elite and finest health care in the world. At least that is my view. We have some of the finest hospitals. We have our own insurance plans, as individuals. We also have country-wide Medicare and Medicaid for those non-insured individuals who can't afford insurance. Even derilicts and street people...we ALL have 'insurance' when it comes to health care. [I've been over night in hospitals and I've been there when people off the street have been shot....the hospital staff doesn't take the time to find out if they're insured!!!.....they perform the necessitated duties of saving a life....no matter Who or How they'll pay for it!!!] I guess some just don't realize it. Now, I have others that are online friends that live in other parts of the world who have a national health care system. They have told me over and over again [a gazillion times!] that their national health insurance is a GOOD thing. This is where I strongly disagree. I've heard stories of staph infections, lackidasical performing physicians and medical staff in other countries that boggle my mind! I'm considered a liberal when it comes to politics. But with this issue, I'd be looked upon as a conservative. Again, we are a nation of top medical...be it medicine research, hospital staff, doctors, medical facilities, VA,....you name it. The cost, without insurance, is exorbitant; that I know. Thing is tho, you go to any hospital and you will see that anyone without insurance is never turned down....it's not fact...what you hear about those without insurance are turned away...there is ALWAYS help for those who can't afford. What the media tells you is an untruth. At least that has been my views when I'm in hospitals and doctor's offices. No one has ever been turned away...there are agencies out there that will help in costs. The cost is there, and it's taken in...absorbed by the facility themselves. It's an issue that is brought up during this hype; this push for nation-wide health care. Again, I disagree. Reason is, with nation wide health care you will have within a few years another trillion plus dollars and it'll be increasing year after year; up to some cost that will NEVER be paid....it will be a colossal financial burden to our country now and in the future. A huge indebtedness to the medical field. And the cost?--------it will go to ALL the tax payers. Your property tax will skyrocket. [if you look at the 'fine print' of your property tax for property owners, you have fire, police, schools, etc....broken down INCLUSIVE---for those that rent...your rent will go up because the rental landlords will have the extra tax added...and the cost will be extended to you - there will be extra for medical/hospitals with national health care]..your sales tax will skyrocket, your food tax will be instigated again [they're now talking about taxing soda pop because sugar creates obesity -perhaps diabetes, and in turn creates illnesses that brings them to the doctors or hospitals....kinda on the level of cigarette tax being to pay for the huge medical issues that tobacco addiction creates]. Still, another issue I truly believe will happen...when the private doctors are dictated about costs and the caregiving are written as laws by our government, the actual service will be devastating. The excellence will plummet. You'll go into a facility with a broken bone....expect it to be fixed properly....and have to return over and over....why? Because the surgeon, specialists, physicians, nurses, medical staff, need our return visits to help bring in the expected income they need to continue. Or, you'll have a long extended stay in the hospital room [remember the sterile, cleanliness will not be there like it is now!] because the facility will be in need of government kick-backs....and we all know a body heals better and faster if allowed to go home and recoup sooner. The sterile issues will not be as highly regarded. The equipment to perform such modern miracles will become outdated...remember, the government is 'governing' now that a national health care insurance is taken over....the whole system will become just as any other country run scheme works in our nation. It will all be governed. And the taxpayer will pay for the shoddiness!! With your TAXES going up and up and up [Medicare is already part of income tax]. Tho, I'm still not one who likes doctors at all....period, there have been times they have saved my life and my loved ones' lives, and I'd prefer to leave the healthcare as it is today.Addendum: 7:45 A.M. Sebelius [democrat], interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday, said that people must also bear more responsibility for holding costs down by taking better care of themselves. Health care adviser Melody Barnes said the administration's plan would redirect money "so that you are efficiently and effectively using it."
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor said a government-administered plan "will increase costs. It will reduce choices and essentially it will not allow you to keep what you have."
See? My point, exactly. Governed health care isn't all it's cracked up to be...you don't win...you lose the excellent services you have now and lose integrity, money, efficiency and it'll cost you MORE. And I'm a registered Democrat. The Republicans have a valid argument, I think. I want choices, I don't want to be dictated on who, how and why I pay out for services that will soon become governed by the USA. I want the freedom to choose and pay for what I get through my own free will.
Sunday June 21st, 2009 4:45 A.M.
--To skip my complete Sunday chat & photos blog, AND view only my Unconscious Mutterings, CLICK HERE --OR to view only my Sunday Stealing Meme post CLICK HERE
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[Bud says it's a caracara, I think it's much too large for being a caracara! More a bald eagle size ---we were about 1/4 mile away from him. The Southern Caracara has a striped breast...this was too solid in color. Look to the bottom, left center --taken from the car/road]
Yesterday morning, before sunrise, Bud and I drove about 30 miles from home and crossed into the National Park....Padre Island National Seashore. It was a most beautiful drive! No one on the highway, and when we got to the visitor's center [of course being so early everything was closed] and parked...we walked to the seashore. Best thing ever!-----no one was on the shore either! We had the whole Gulf Coast to ourselves!
When I woke up Saturday morning it was 84 degrees {Fahrenheit}. That was about 5. I quickly got the kitties fed, and showered and got dressed to go on our excursion. The time of complete silence except for the waves and the birds singing was something we both needed. To take a long, quiet walk and reflect on our week past. We didn't even talk...it was more or less giving way to our silent thoughts and mixed emotions of Leah's passing and just how fragile life is. We walked about an hour and a half one way along the shore with the wave action beating on our feet. The warmth of the sun coming up and a new day beginning was all we needed. The serenity of the beach when you're by yourself is quite healing.
By the time we got to the pilings before entering a camping area along the shore, we had walked over a mile [they have mile posts along the dunes] and I stopped and combed the beach for shells. The tide was too low and the current didn't wash many ashore, so it wasn't too fruitful. Bud stood by the pilings as I searched the sand for 'goodies'. At one point, I looked over at Bud and he motioned for me to come forward and see what he found. I traipsed toward him all the while looking down at my feet in case I spotted a super keen shell; found a few, but nothing worth noting, except for a beautiful stone that just may be the Texas State Stone ---The petrified palmwood. I need to do some more researching online before I feel more positive tho...
...anyway, by the wooden pilings, on the drier side, there were two of them. Two rays! I thought they were utterly creepy. Being that they were mutilated [someone had neatly clipped off the 'wings' of both!] And being that they were drying up ...it wasn't too pleasant. You'll need to enlarge the photo, but fair warning, it's not really all that enjoyable unless you have the curiosity of a cat. The 2nd one was nearby, at the next wooden piling. I was wondering if someone caught these and brought them ashore, or they got stranded too close to the beach when the tides shifted.
But after that, our silence was broken. We talked while we began walking back. Now, the dunes to the west of the shore are more or less off limits. There are warning signs all over the area to stay on the beaches and being more a protected area for wildlife such as foxes, coyotes, deer, bird nesting, oh...and SNAKES...they advise you to not enter the dunes. Which I gladly oblige. The whole concept of snakes makes me leery of getting even too close to the beginning of the dunes!! But, while walking back, we moved closer to the dunes and followed coyote tracks...I enjoyed viewing the 'artwork' of the shifting sands ---
Of course, with snakes on my mind as we traversed way too close to the grasslands, this lousy booger jumped out of the hidey hole and made ME jump outta my pants [not literally, figuratively speaking]....darned critter. As he stopped to eyeball me, I snapped the photo. All the time, I heard a faint snicker...he was laughing for the fact he knew he scared me more than I scared him. After I got over the shock/fright, he was delightful to watch as he skimmed the hot sands from one hiding burrow to the next.
When I came upon a small clearing without much vegetation and no wooded area...I climbed a dune. Yep, you heard me right the first time. Hey, it was an open area. Trust me, I DID keep my eyes to the ground and even tho I know there are rattlers and coral snakes out in this area, I wanted the wide open space for me to view. I'm sure they would have been in the open, warming up from the cool evening...using the sun and warming sand to heat 'em up. So, I quickly snapped this photo, and then another...
The quiet walk along the shore, in the early morning, was very therapeutic!!
COMMENT HERE if you'd like to skip over my Sunday Meme Participation
1. I've come to realize that my last kiss...was to 'say' goodnight to Bud.
2. I am listening to...the air conditioner hum while Winston is snoring as he sleeps on the entertainment center that is next to the desk.
3. I talk...way too much; probably.
4. I love...shopping, blogging, reading, baseball, eating. And not necessarily in that order.
5. My best friend/s...is many, many miles away from me in Colorado.
6. My first real kiss...was in 4th grade. Me and Bobby L!!!
7. Love is...a lifetime gift.
8. Marriage is...the best thing that has ever happened to me.
9. Somewhere, someone is thinking...about fighting wars and protecting a country. [sad state of mind that I think of this first off, isn't it?]
10. I'll always...be smiling 'cause I'm generally a happy person.
11. The last time I really cried was because...it was heartbreaking.
12. My cell phone...is laying on the desk as the computer is reading the photo chip to upload them for my Sunday post.
13. When I wake up in the morning...I check the outdoor temp from the atomic thermometer. It was 85 today and not even 5 a.m.!!!!
14. Before I go to bed...I read if I can.
15. Right now I am thinking about...how to complete this sentence.
16. Babies are...the future.
17. I get on Myspace...
18. Today I...will water plants outdoors to try and keep them alive during the heat/drought, cook something, and will watch baseball on TV.
19. Tomorrow I will be...a day older than I am right now.
20. I really want to be...just me!! ~...END Sunday Stealing COMMENT HERE to skip over the Unconscious Mutterings below
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Play along with your subconscious; Sunday's Word Association. Join here.
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Divorce :: Tammy Wynette's song 2. Napkin :: ring 3. Camera :: shy 4. Leather :: neck [nickname for a U S Marine] 5. Fractures :: breaks 6. Flip out :: gone wild
7. Coroner :: Ducky [NCIS character]
8. Atomic :: energy 9. Liz :: -zie Borden 10. Leave :: it to Beaver.
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THOUGHTS & PRAYERS!! My son, Erik, has sent in an application to the private, highly prestigious, Rice University... for his PhD degree....He has to be accepted!! PLEASE KEEP POSITIVE THOUGHTS and pray for him that he is honored to have his lifelong dream come ture. A PhD, and from Rice University!! He won't know the outcome for a few months...he needs all the support he can receive.
Retired, living in the coastal area of the Gulf of Mexico. -enjoying the sand and surf. I'm a daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother of two grandsons. I enjoy music, movies, beach combing, pencil sketching, crocheting, and dabble in watercolor painting. Recently, a new obsession: learning photography skills.
"The trouble with theocracy is that everyone wants to be Theo".
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MY POLITICAL SOAPBOX So many times, I've read comments posted by our own citizens under political articles about USA. And these citizens [the ones that vote for our leaders] keep referring to our country as being a Democracy!!! Let me tell you...... THE UNITED STATES IS NOT a DEMOCRACY...it's a REPUBLIC! There is a difference. You recite, and/or read "...and to the Republic, for which it stands..." In a Republic, the sovereignty or 'power' resides in the people of this country themselves, whether one or the majority of the populace. In a Republic, one may act on his own or through his representatives as he chooses to solve a problem; for instance elected politicians. Further, we, the people have no obligation to the government; instead, the government, being elected officials and paid salaries by the people, is obliged to its owner, us - the people. So, when you go vote: remember, YOU ARE THE SOVEREIGNTY or power of the dominion - The United States of America, and YOU LIVE IN A REPUBLIC ---oust those who make you believe otherwise.
~Hootin' Anni
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Long long time ago, I had one of these. Not quite a 'fancy smanchy' one like this tho. Thing is, I've always enjoyed looking for unusual rocks as I go walking. I found a really NEAT 'rock' on Corpus' North Shore when we vacationed here years ago. Yes, I packed it in my suitcase [it is medium sized -about the size of a small cantaloupe...and VERY heavy] and it came back home with me. It was long before airport security. LOL Anyway, I always knew it was a piece of some kind of petrified wood. It still has the 'bark'. And I still have it! Yep, you got that right...I moved it with me. The rock/wood is back home again. LOL Perhaps, in its native land. Okay, so thing is, I began getting curious about the petrified wood that I so lovingly packed a few times. It's been outdoors in our yard. And I see it as I do yard work. Now the curiosity got the better of me. I have access to internet these days [duh! Well, I didn't have access long long ago when I found the wood] and I started searching around. For what, I didn't really have a clue. Then, doing some Texas research, I came upon a site that talked/told about petrified PALMwood being Texas' State Stone. [Louisiana has the petrified wood as their state fossil]. I clicked on the link. Yessiree...that is what I had. At least, I think so. It's called petrified palmwood. It's found along the eastern shores of the state...and also along the borders of the two states inland. Hmmmmm. The more I researched the more I found that it's actually found throughout most of the lower counties of the state. One county in particular...the county seat, George West, is just a few miles north of us here in our part of Texas. When it gets to be winter time again, I'm gonna take a day's jaunt up there and drive along the country roads....see if I can find more.
