Life in Weyers Cave

I had to give a talk (20 minute sermon) in church today. Last night as I finished writing it I was loopy from Percocet, but it went okay anyway. But I got it done and it wasn't too bad. Just a bit rambly. I got up, reviewed it, and printed it this morning. Didn't realize until I turned to the last page that it wasn't all there. Apparently the printer had run out of paper and the last page never printed. lol Good solid B talk, though -- I didn't flub too badly. And I felt comfortable ad libbing the ending. But a wild day nonetheless. The poor organist has three small children with her and the youngest, barely a year old, played the organ and cried during the songs so I had to take him out. Then for the last song, I was back in the chapel. The lady who conducts music was in the nursery with her little one and her husband motioned for me to conduct the music. The organist was in the nursery as well so Cathryn jumped in and played the organ for me. She had never played th...

  Faraday has enjoyed sitting on the towel under the warm lamp on my desk. Until David came in and started drilling. Whoosh. She disappeared. We have NO IDEA where she was hiding. She came out cautiously when the drilling stopped and David left the room, then zipped back into hiding when he reappeared.

I had three computers to fix yesterday and got the most important one done. Apparently the new Internet Explorer is incompatible with McAfee. And David and Cathryn enjoyed working together on the stereo wiring project in the house. Now there are lovely little fiberglass shards in the carpet and my feet hurt because I don't like wearing shoes. I love warm fuzzy socks, but my feet get hot, then cold, then hot, etc. So they are off, then on, then off, etc. And you can't get the fiberglass out. Hmm. No, I don't like sandals either. My feet are overly sensitive, okay? *hides head in embarrassment* Can we please stop talking about this??? Geesh! It is really great having Cathryn home. She is so sparkly and fun and positive. She is non-demanding and has gotten very helpful. And Dianna is leaving in just a few days. :( The two are great together and I know Dianna is upset that Cathryn couldn't have moved back her visit so the two could have spent the month together. We are doi...

We love Marvin Goldstein in this house. He has been a personal friend for twenty years. He was a realtor when we moved to Tallahassee for David's college, and both sold us our house -- working to get us a deal when David's income was $6000 a year -- as well as selling it -- to a Jordanian Muslim family on Easter Sunday. We are grateful for his piano music which has been soothing and peaceful and often helped me refocus my feelings when the kids were young and life was hectic. He is a key player in the Peace Through Music movement that tries promotes peace around the world by showing the international language of music. I don't particularly like the songs on the home page of his site where others are singing. Look at the albums and listen to some of the ones with him playing alone, or with the orchestra. He has now become a big-time musician in the LDS church, and has given concerts all over the world. I have been on his mailing list. He is working to build it up, with occa...

Last night we stayed up late playing Apples to Apples. I don't remember who won (though not I), but we all had fun. Christmas is such a great family time. We really missed having the boys here. Cathryn didn't get up until 9:30. The girls ran through the obligatory ribbons that keep them out until the parents are moving in the morning. Then they distributed our gifts. There was nothing of great value or import, but it was a pleasant time nonetheless. It is nice to be spoiled a little. Now Cathryn has her nose in a book (go figure!), Dianna and I are on the Internet, and David is snoozing in his chair. We will have company for supper, so I will spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning today. Allen called and said he got to skydive last week and scuba dive with whale sharks today. Yup, he's pretty happy. I left a message for Bryan. I hope we hear from him.

My sons are far away and I miss them so much it doesn't seem like Christmas. I took the girls out to lunch with Felicia and her fiance today at Applebee's. Then we went to bother Dianna in the bookstore. I have made gingerbread, angel food cake, and chicken pot pie, so I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. Am I ready for Christmas? Decidedly not, but have resigned myself to the fact that it will come regardless. David has been wiring the house for me so I can have the stereo playing throughout the house. Cathryn has been enjoying helping him, plus he is teaching her about electronics. Cathryn plays the piano whenever she gets a chance, which is often. It is wonderful to hear her banging out melody after melody. Dianna and David play as well. I feel I should have learned! The Lowe's always said that they felt teaching their children to play piano was as important as teaching them to read, and I adopted that philosophy. I am grateful my children all enjoy music. I have a box...

Ever since my sister told my kids I cheat, which I DON'T, they think it is open season to call me a cheater every time I win. Admittedly, that is most of the time, and I am very competitive (and lucky), but I DON'T cheat. Tonight, we played a great game of Upwords -- Dianna, Cathryn and I. We didn't keep score and admittedly some of the words were borderline, but we had fun, and when we ran out of tiles, we just took them off the board. Then they decided to play Monopoly. Dianna was the banker and Cathryn the real estate agent so I couldn't "cheat". David joined us. It wasn't my fault I was the first to land on the properties. I got Park Place, David got Boardwalk, Dianna got Mediterranean and Cathryn got Baltic. All of the rest of the colors were split up and nobody had more than one of a color, except I had two greens and Dianna had two yellows. I had two railroads and nobody had Short Line. So Cathryn and Dianna got the great idea to combine Mediterrane...

She's HOME and she looks great!

Cathryn was supposed to come home today, but there were storms all over the country. She had her flight canceled from Minneapolis to DC and was put on standby for the next day at 5:45. But then she found she could take a flight to Raleigh so grabbed that. She got in at half past midnight and my brother Jeff picked her up. I think he had some pizza with him so that means she will love him forever. I'm not sure who is going to pick her up in Raleigh, a four hour drive tomorrow. I had the flu yesterday and it looked like David was catching it today. Plus his asthma medicine has run out and he didn't order more, so he isn't sleeping well. Yeah, well, it is 1:30 in the morning so I'm not sleeping well either. Sleeping is tough. I have a great airbed and wonderful thick sheets, and I really enjoy sleeping next to David. But between the dreaded CPAP mask which rubs my face raw and makes it so I can't sleep on my right side (facing David because he understandably doesn'...

I posted about the book Porn for Women not too long ago, about things that turn women on such as lowering the toilet seat, doing the dishes and vacuuming. It is true that men are pretty clueless about such things and have to have things spelled out for them in simplistic terms. They can't read women's minds the way women can read men's minds. However, it is fairly simple to read a man's mind because it has so few things on it: food, sports, cars, ummmm - maybe one or two other things depending on the guy. However, after pondering the post, I realize that men also need to be reminded that there are certain actions that absolutely turn women OFF and flowers, candy and doing the dishes will not fix it. Here is my short list. I am sure the female readers will come up with more, but men, I do suggest you memorize this if you would like to get out of the doghouse. Anger/temper tantrums (yes, this is first for a reason) Porn (no, she really doesn't want to look at it with...

We didn't have the promised ice this morning, much to the dismay of thousands of students (and teachers). I had my early morning physical therapy appointment and then came home and attended to Christmas chores. I worked on cards and presents and decorating the tree. I had business to work on as well so I kept busy all day, but I never seem to get enough done. Is it just me, or were the days longer five years ago? I got so much more done!

I went to the Museum today because my friend Hilda was supposed to be there with her fifth graders. But it rained and we had three of the five classes and then they left. Lizbet still has no calf. She was standing up chowing down hay today so that means it will probably be a few more days. It would be miserable to have a calf in the cold rain. It is supposed to be icy tomorrow. My friend asked what one can do with ice. My list: slip fall collect insurance chip melt skate stay inside and drink hot chocolate or hot herb tea make a fire and cuddle with someone you love watch everyone ELSE slip and fall get your Christmas cards done Assuming the ice knocks out the power and you can't drive anywhere, what would you do?

Lizbet the cow is pregnant and was due last week. But no baby yet. She was lying down today and huffing and puffing. I feel sorry for her. Pushing out a 100 pound baby with sharp hooves would be tough. Today we had 850 visitors, mostly high school and middle school students. We had groups as large as 70 at a time. We started by teaching the tradition of throwing beans at the windows and yelling and ringing cowbells to scare off the evil spirits. We did this for each class that came. At one point, I grabbed the evil Bellschnickel mask and took the switches (sticks) and ran and chased Jay who was telling them to throw the stuff at the windows. When all was said and done at 4 tonight, Heinrich and Tristan, the two roosters, didn't want to go into the roost for the evening. Stinkers. Tristan wasn't too hard to catch, but Heinrich really put up a fight as Laura and I chased him around for fifteen minutes. We finally caught him in the compost pile. Yuck. We got some new cat treats fo...

Do you ever feel you just want to stop the world and get off for a break? I had a rough night last night, went to bed in lots of pain and didn't sleep well at all. Then David woke me up at 7 and reminded me of Breakfast with Santa at 7:30. It was well organized and they let me go at 10:00. And I loved seeing all the little kiddies who wanted to talk to Santa. Then I spent the day getting ready for Christmas Dinner at church tonight. Costumes for the 20 plus kids for the nativity, sweet potatoes for 75, write up the words on a board to Frosty the Snowman, find music to play for the talent show, get leftovers from Breakfast with Santa, get canned goods for food drive, and for heaven's sake (literally) don't forget Baby Jesus! It was a bad back day. It took several trips to get my stuff all in the church and organized, then find someone to play the piano so I could play the talent show piece, organize the kids music, etc. There was a long slow line for the food, and by the tim...

I stopped at Peggy's house today to drop off some papers and she has several kittens to give away. But the little black and white one is SO adorable. She came running up to me as I came to the house and insisted I pick her up and she just cuddled with me the whole time. She really liked it when I bent my arm and she could just sit comfortably in the crook. At one point, she got up and I put my arm straight out and she walked to the end of my arm (on the jacket) and just stood there, so trusting. I had the hardest time putting her down. NO! NO MORE CATS! David is really allergic. But if I were in the market, this is the one! I'm in love.

Did I tell you that Dianna posted pictures of me eating sour vinegar lentils on her blog? At least she POSED for this!

I woke up this morning and got ready for my doctor's appointment and going to the Museum, only to realize after about an hour that it was Sunday, not Monday. Dang it! But I have had a relatively quiet day and gotten a lot done. Now I realize that Christmas is in just over three weeks. Cards, decorations, presents, where will I find the time and energy to get it all done? How did I ever do it in the past with kids around? Why is it that I seem to get so much less done in a day now? The idea of presents is the worst. Allen in Djibouti wants bug repellent, dryer sheets, Gold Bond and water flavor packets. I have decent lists from the others. Nieces and nephews and the husband? Mom, inlaws, friends? This gets harder every year. I think it is way more exciting with kids around.

Okay, the worst is over. Now, well after church tomorrow, I can relax. Lord John, my retired client who calls me Lady F and writes books, had me pick up his computer so I could print out his latest book for him. He wanted it double sided on the pages. When I went to drop it off, he admonished me to sip some brandy tonight. Hmmm. I had a ball doing Gingerbread Houses with the children at the church party today. Please click on the link if you had children there. After the party, there was a second party at church, a birthday party for Stephen. We took Dianna out to Texas Roadhouse for her birthday dinner. She had to sit on a saddle and let everyone in the restaurant laugh at her. But it was apparently worth the ribs. Happy Birthday, Dianna! We love you.

The last concert is not over. One of the basses got sick so I switched over at the last minute. It is fun to play bass, a much deeper richer tone. But definitely harder. Dianna came along to the retirement village to hear this last one. Now I have to prepare for kids for a party tomorrow. I am making the shells for houses tonight. I used to do these things by the hundreds, but I haven't in so long. The costume turned out great. The picture hardly does it justice. I've been on time to teach the 6:30 class all week. Now can I get some sleep? Someday.

Pick ONE question and answer it. What is the best Christmas gift you every got? What is your favorite part of Christmas? What are you going to do to make Christmas better this year? What pet peeve do you have about Christmas in general? How many Christmas presents should kids get? What is a reasonable budget? At what age does this diminish? (You can count these as one) I'd enjoy hearing responses.

Taught the 6:30 class. All four kids were there and were great. They were attentive and polite. Made it to the Physical Therapist where he tortured me for two hours. Came home to finish the costume. Oops. You know how you take your foot off the sewing machine pedal it is SUPPOSED to stop moving? I had to reach around behind the machine and turn it on and off every time I wanted to adjust the material. It looks awful. So I made it to the concert with a passable outfit far below my standards. That's okay, I have it back and will rip out the crummy seams and do them by hand. We played well enough. It was at the retirement village. Now the pressure is off and I am going to take a quick nap since I got up so early. Aw, do I have to cook dinner?

I tend to get tunnel vision on big projects, where I forget everything else until the next project is done. But I have a whole series of tunnels this week. I will substitute teach the early morning church class and be there at 6:15 every morning, have four concerts, one doctors appointment, two business appointments, and two Christmas Parties. Then Saturday morning is the kids church party where I have to be ready for 25 gingerbread houses and the costumes for the nativity scene. David will be going out of town Friday and has been really sick. After I had been up for a while this morning, I felt I could go to church and even recorder. I haven't coughed up anything so I can't be too contagious. The first hour of the morning is the worst. Hmm. Should I get up at 4 instead of 5 then? Karen sent me a ten dollar Restaurant.com gift certificate. They say there are doing it to help everyone with the bad economy but I think they just think it is great advertising. Click here and send a...

I'm sick. Just a cold with a sore throat. I'm not really miserable (yet) and cough drops keep the sore throat livable. Two problems. Half of the people in my church are quite old. I really don't want them to get it, particularly with a pot luck after church today. Do I go? The other, worse, problem, is recorders. I have been working on this costume for two days for a guy who is in his late sixties, but we have several people in their eighties. I don't like to have a single germ around them. But we have little concerts Monday, Tuesday, Thursday AND Friday of this week, and I definitely hold the group together. If I go, I would have to pretend to be perfectly healthy, which I could do. But this germ would be really miserable for them. Stupid cold!

I believe that this video can solve all of our energy problems. 100% natural. All you need is grape jelly, a white carpet, some duct tape, and a cat.

The best news is that my nephew Forrest is over the hump on his heart surgery on Tuesday. They had to burn out an extra nerve, then got in there and found out the position was too dangerous so froze it instead, taking much longer and I'm sure being more difficult for the doctor. But all is well and he is home and enjoying life again. What a huge relief. Tamtam told me not to worry, but heck, that's my job! That's what I get paid for! And to make bad jokes. Like Forrest having a heart of ice. We went down to Mother's in Raleigh for Thanksgiving. Brother Gary and his family came as well. Of course Tamtam was in Atlanta with Forrest and her family. Bryan flew up! What a great treat! It has been a long time since he joined us. We had our traditional lunch at "the club". There's nothing like family, is there? We had to drive back to WC yesterday since Bopnopper had to be at work early this morning. I think this is the first time Bryan has been here in nearly t...

  and he loves his chickens.

  We have six new chickens! This one is Tristan!

At the German Museum, Misha the cat loves to sit by the warm kokelofen all day. This is an ingenious setup of baffled bricks with a small oven (in the next room) at the bottom which holds on the warmth of the fire and keeps the living room warm without smoke. She is patient with large crowds of children and just sits curled up and enjoys being petted from time to time. If a child is too rowdy with her, she patiently leaves! Yesterday we had school groups of eight year olds all day long. Misha endured the first four groups and then decided to make herself useful. As Jay was talking to the group, I entertained a smaller family. The family was just leaving as Misha arrived, with a large, dead, present in her mouth. She proudly dropped it in front of me on the stoop and I quickly shut the door. Ten minutes later, the group was still going on, and I peeked outside. Thankfully the cat and rat were gone. I started to go out and Misha came a-running to me, rat in mouth. I controlled the scream...

My oldest son deployed yesterday. That alone makes me want to go crawl into bed in tears and never come out. He is going to places where people want to kill him. The logical, rational side of me must overcome these feelings. I know that nobody in his group has been killed since the 1960s. I know that he isn't going to Iraq and won't be on the front lines. Let's not get overdramatic here. How many other mothers have had sons who went to wars? Historically, many never even received word of what happened to their sons. They just never came home. I can't help but compare my life as a mom to my ancestors or to others in the world today. Thanks to our wonderful military and our Constitution, we have it better than anyone in history. I'm grateful for our country and our freedoms. But I will be an emotional mess until he comes home.

Dianna told me about this new book at the bookstore: Porn for Women. The women stand around and thumb through it, point, and giggle in groups. It has a bunch of pictures of guys (I guess, that's not really what we were looking at - I think they have clothes on, so don't get the wrong ideas), but it is what they are doing and saying that is so great. One is actually, get this, putting the toilet seat DOWN and saying "Honey, I know you like it better down so I am doing this for you" or something like that. One is washing dishes, another vacuuming, one is saying "after I finish the laundry I'll take the kids off for a while so you can have a break". Swoon! David keep saying that guys are "visual" and get turned on by what they "see". I keep trying to explain that women care about how men act. After 27 years, he does show sparks of understanding from time to time. Maybe I need to get him the book. The visuals might help him understand the...

The primary purpose of this blog, of course, is to keep up with my children scattered across the country. And soon to be across the world. One question I often get is "Mom, give me your recipe for..." so I need to start posting the recipes that I know they want here. Then they can find them when they need them. Crepes 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk 2 eggs 2 tablespoons oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Mix together until smooth. Put 1/4 cup in hot oiled 8" crepe pan. Rotate pan until mixture covers bottom of pan. Cook until dry on top. Flip with wide spatula. Cook another minute. Remove onto plate. Put wax paper between crepes so they don't stick. Fill with cream cheese, jelly, chicken salad, whipped cream, etc. and roll up. Top with gravy or powdered sugar, depending on filling.

Of course anyone offended by the words "Merry Christmas" is probably going to give you a lecture someday about how intolerant you are. To combat this negative thinking, the Liberty Counsel has given a list of stores where Christmas is and is not allowed. If you go into a store where it is forbidden, be sure to smile and tell the clerk "Merry Christmas". I pity those who work in these stores. They probably realize the policy is as nutso as you do, so will appreciate it.

I was so grateful to see this clear explanation of how to handle the new digital television signals. This is a fun video.

Dr Pepper to Deliver On Its Free-Soda Promise Friday, November 21, 2008 LOS ANGELES — Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality. The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in America if the album dropped in 2008. "Chinese Democracy," infamously delayed since recording began in 1994, goes on sale Sunday. "We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us." Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site. They'll be honored until Feb. 28. Dr Pepper is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. ********************************************************************* So now you can get a free one and compare it to ...

Prices look like they will be crazy for the next month or so. The monitor yesterday was a different price every time I looked. I have seen some great deals. Who know WHAT will happen with cars! It has been a long day with me going a hundred miles an hour all day long. Breakfast meeting, lunch with a friend, and errands in between. A miniblind broke again. These are the ones with the "lifetime" warranty that cost a fortune. They still look good, but the strings keep breaking. Turns out a "lifetime" has been redefined as five years. Who can afford to replace their blinds every five years? That's nuts. Last night I had friends over for dinner and cooked a nice meal for a change. Chicken crepes, spinach cornbread, carrots with thyme -- low fat stuff. We worked on learning to use the knitting machine, but finally had to give up and decide it is broken since the needles keep falling. Well, there are ways to learn more.

Anyone need a new computer monitor for Christmas? People are buying this one from Dell with free shipping... $106 total... 17" flat screen. (Karen said $106 -- it is showing $100 for me but I don't know about the shipping)

I have had three Vista laptops knocked dead after the last update release in the last few days. Are you backed up? Let's see. I blame ..... Chuck Norris.

Yesterday it "spit" snow from the sky off and on all day. Today we woke up to a dusting of snow on the cars and on the ground. Winter is going to hit this year. Food hasn't appealed to me for the past week. I stare at the fridge and the cookbooks and nothing looks good. Yesterday when I got to the German Farm, Sally and Jay had made chicken/carrot soup. With LOTS of thyme. It really hit the spot. It was cold outside, cozy inside, and the nummy soup made life perfect. My clothes are hand-me-downs, and quite well patched. Sally and Jay were gone for an hour and I was all alone, with no visitors. Just eating the soup and washing the dishes. In a 1688 house without a bathroom or electricity. I couldn't help realizing how happy I was and what great blessings I have in my life. Then I pulled out Gail's recorder and Adair's 18th century German music and played for a while. The music resonated beautifully in the house. I didn't get to play with the chickens since ...

Yup, first one in a long time. "The Christmas Sweater" I didn't get all emotional. It was a good book, but not the tearjerker I thought which is probably good. There is a Cathryn in it who is "the nicest person ever". *grin* A good thought-provoking book about what is really important in life. Mom sends me home with Dad's old papers and I have to go through them and pretty much toss them, after carefully making sure it is okay. He was so meticulous in the paperwork he did. But what really matters now is how he treated his family. Nobody ever doubted how much he loved my mother. Okay, and his cat. Next week is his ninth "birthday in heaven" as Mom puts it.

I was on Facebook and found someone with my same name with a picture of a cute little honeybee with a big smile and green antennae! And get this, her son is a paratrooper. Doo DOO Doo doo

Bold the things you've done: 1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new ...

First I had a breakfast with the group where we give and get a bunch of referrals back and forth. There are 15 in the group and they are all very nice. A chiropractor, realtor, investment counselors, bankers, insurance sales, florist, plumber, cleaning contractor, building contractor, etc. The "deal" is that we look for business for each other and promise not to let each other down. Someone had to leave last month because he didn't honor a price. Integrity is a big deal. I have gotten several good leads for computer sales there and enjoy my weekly breakfast. I got some beautiful gold material to make a Madrigal outfit for our director Jeff. Jeff is so wonderful to have in the recorder group. He is a professional percussionist and played with the Miami symphony. I must admit, the four guys in the group right now make it much more fun. So the gold material with a deep brown velvet cape is going to be just awesome. Next I stopped by and picked up a Madrigal hat that needs a ...

I don't want to hear about any more computer problems. I don't want to fix any more computers. I don't want to think about computers. I hate computers. I want to interact with people about real things. I want to talk about cooking and kids and politics and the weather. I want to clean out the garage or paint a room or learn how to use my knitting machine. I watched broadcast television tonight for 20 minutes tonight. I saw a McDonald's commercial. How many years has it been? I had lunch with a friend, then worked on her computers rather unsuccessfully for two hours. I had a new client, nice guy, in Broadway, with a new computer. I had three phone calls from friends with computer problems today. My brain hurts. Allen is now supposed to be deployed in two weeks, on the 25th. He hopes it goes through this time. Now I need to go work on the computer for an 8:30 presentation tomorrow.

Last week I had such a bad day with the back pain, but I must admit that overall it is really getting lots and lots better. I am ticked off at all the dead ends I went through before I found out that Physical Therapy might help. My PT's name is Tobin! How cool is that! But he is absolutely incredible and to think, he is just a quarter mile from the house. When I am in pain, I know exercises that relieve it pretty quickly. Today was Museum day, always lots of fun. We had Germans from Bavaria today, two sets. There was a fire in the kokeloven - it heats up bricks which keeps the house toasty warm. I didn't want to leave the warm rooms. Also, lots and lots of school groups. My chickens are still upset about the weasel a month ago. They are not as friendly and not laying as many eggs. Dianna got a HF ham radio from a young man she went to school with tonight. No comment. :)

I don't know why I raced to get home this morning. I just like being in my own house. I made the trip in record time, just a few minutes over four hours with stops for gas, eating and having to stop at four stations to find the gas. I got great mileage on this trip because I was able to keep with the No Ethanol gas. The stations I stop at all agree that No Ethanol is a huge selling point and lots of people agree they get better mileage, but they say they may be forced to go to the Ethanol stuff. I wish they would start advertising "NO ETHANOL" and get people talking about it and thinking about it. The Marine Graduation was flawless. 676 new Marine recruits who had spent four months in Basic Training and I am sure were more than happy to stand for an hour in wool uniforms (I think they were wool) in the hot South Carolina sun knowing that as soon as it was over, the rules would be relaxed and they could enjoy food, friends and family. They said any restaurant in town would...

I had an 8:30 business networking meeting, a 10:30 appointment to check out another skin spot, a quick trip to Costco and then drove to Hilton Head. David arranged a nice room with his points, very welcome after nine hours on the road. And that is all.

Yes, I am negative, because I have lived through a "nice" President (Carter) who was a Democrat with a Democratic Congress. I have waited hours and hours in gas lines that ran out of gas anyway, had to deal with getting gas on odd or even days, had toilet paper shortages, dealt with double-digit inflation, 21 1/2 % interest on my home mortgage, and unemployment over ten percent. I remember well the Embassy in Iran being taken over and our President being too weak to handle the problem. So let me get the predictions out of the way, then I'll shut up. All you people with stars in your eyes for the Anointed One can tell me I am wrong, and then time will tell. I predict inflation over ten percent within a year. Actually, it will be significantly higher but the government will find a way to make it seem lower. The reasons: ethanol, the bailout, the money handouts, gas prices going over $4 again. It will have started in the Bush administration and particularly under the Democra...

Voting was very simple at 3 this afternoon. No line to speak of. I am glad it is all over except the counting (and arguing over the counting). I would like to go to sleep and not wake up until that is done. I have been doing great on with the physical therapy on my back, but "backslid" yesterday. (lol) So much pain last night! And still this morning. I have no clue why. Last night David and I went to a Mexican restaurant, Jalisco's, in Staunton. It was wonderful and the best service! I had a shrimp and tilapia dish. I actually DO wonder if a small allergy to shrimp causes swelling in my back. Hmmm. Still, I would highly recommend the restaurant. Today the phone rang all day long. Plus I talked to Belgium for an hour. I heard banks there just quit giving people their money, and since pretty much everyone has direct deposit, it was quite a problem! Gas had gone way up and is down now. It was a crisis but they say it is over. Allen hasn't left yet for Africa and now p...

Here are Obama's "campaign promises:" Taxes • Give a tax break to 95% of Americans. • Restore Clinton-era tax rates on top income earners. • "If you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime. Not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. Nothing." • Dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. • Give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create in the U.S. • Eliminate capital gains taxes for small business and startup companies. • Eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000. • Expand the child and dependent care tax credit. • Expand the earned income tax credit. • Create a universal mortgage credit. • Create a small business health tax credit. • Provide a $500 "make work pay" tax credit to small businesses. • Provide a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to families. Energy • Spend $15 ...

It all comes down to trust, doesn't it? Who do you trust more? And I'm not talking Obama/McCain. It is more the sources from which we get our news. By calling themselves "mainstream media" and never identifying a political preference, many reporters are able to convince the listeners that they are impartial. Fox, which identifies the political leanings of its reporters, is seen as biased. Besides, nobody likes the yelling when they let people disagree. People don't like to choose -- they prefer the nice, neat package of "truth" presented by the mainstream media. This has been the strangest election of my lifetime. McCain was quickly anointed the Republican nomination, before many had a chance to vote. Early in the primaries, Clinton was the presumed Democratic nominee and liberals were crossing party lines to vote for McCain, because he was the most liberal Republican running. So McCain got the nomination. By then Clinton had lost a primary or two, and ...

This is the worst Halloween ever. No kids, no costumes, no candy. Well, we did have blood. Dianna wanted pumpkin for dinner and while she was cutting it she got a good chunk out of her finger. I tell you, you gotta keep the sharp objects away from that girl! I loved this essay from Orson Scott Card , even if he is a Democrat. Please click on his name to see his essay. Personally, I think the election should go to someone who will do the following. These is my platform: 1) Admit global warming is a farce. Believe in conservation because it is the right thing to do anyway, just not as crazy as the zealots. 2) Believe in nuclear energy 3) Get us off foreign oil. Drill here, drill now AND look for better alternatives 4) Have a good score from Citizens Against Government Waste 5) Balance the budget 6) Immediately stop all government payments to illegal aliens. Send those who get medical care or are in legal trouble home as soon as they are able. Others will go home once we stop paying them...

Hours and hours of testing and trying and patience and I have learned some things about my dead computer. The master hard drive is bad - I think. The computer said there was no operating system and when I plugged it up as an external hard drive on another computer, you could read the file structure, but not access the files themselves. This of course is the big fancy super fast, super expensive drive I got and now read on NewEgg that many are busting after 18 months - two years and I got almost two and a half years. But is that all? No, I can't put in more than two gig of ram. For some reason, when the hard drive went funky, I got ram problems. Does that mean it is the ram or the slots? I don't know. I also can't start the computer with both monitors plugged in, only the smaller one with the blue plug. Maybe if I put the blue plug in the larger one it will work, but both monitors work fine on other machines with blue or white. If I put in a diagnostic disk, it just hits an ...

I am really overwhelmed with too much to do right now, and seem to hit a lot of brick walls along the way. First, my own computer is in miserable dire circumstances downstairs and I think the motherboard is out, but it is too much for me. I can't even get in to BIOS and it says there is no operating system. Then, I got one last night "just to put some ram in" -- a present from a her brother, used, but he just stripped the ram out. I thought it was XP but she said it was 2000 and it says it is 98. I don't do 98. It won't turn on. No operating system as well. It is really not worth my time to do squat with a 98 machine. I had a client Ron last week want me to set up the wireless router he had just bought. I had someone else from the company go, but then the next day he got a power surge that zapped it and it won't work. I went over to check it out. The modem is fine, but the router is a new top of the line thing I had never seen before and I couldn't get it ...

I went to see Dr Glick today, a really cool guy who went to William and Mary AND majored in Chemistry like I did, but he was a couple of years ahead. He is a doctor who works with some guy you may have heard of -- Patch Adams -- and often takes off on international trips with him. How cool is that! He punched me with needles and told me there is a ying and a yang and my yang is off. Gone. Well, not much. My yang is taking care of myself and relaxing and looking for quietness. He said I am so busy trying to do stuff for others that I leave myself out of the mix. Which makes me feel even more guilty because I am not earning much money right now so where the heck does my time go? He's right that I do very little for me. But I still don't know where it goes. Well, today it went to doctors. And bills. And Facebook. And talking to people on the phone. Hmmm. On the way home I stopped and bought myself a new blouse and some Halloween socks and some bamboo socks. I haven't bought an...

The link for stopping annoying email forwards is http://www.stopforwarding.us You put in a first name and email address and it will send an anonymous email politely asking them to stop with the forwards.

On Saturday, we had another day at the Biltmore House. It took us over an hour to just get through the basement! There is one huge room that is a normal basement room where the young Cornelia who grew up there apparently had painting parties with her friends and painted huge murals on the walls. How cool is that! There are exhibits of how the house was built. It has very little wood and none in the structure, so that it is safe from fires. The kitchens, pool, bowling alley, exercise rooms, refrigerators, and laundry are there as well. I was amazed at the relatively small kitchens sizes for such a large home. The views were no less spectacular there than the rest of the house. After that we went through the greenhouses and some gardens. Wonder where my camera is? Pictures later... After that, Riverbend Farms on the estate was a lot of fun. It was interactive adn we saw the demonstrations of making butter, the smith, and the woodworkers. A country store, some clogging, live country musi...

Dianna and I drove down to Raleigh on Wednesday and picked up my mother to take her to Asheville. We met up with my sister Tammy who drove up from Atlanta at a Bed and Breakfast for a few days of girls only rest and relaxation. We got in yesterday afternoon and went to dinner last night at a restaurant on a little street full of small restaurants that reminded me of Europe. Most of the food is grown within 100 miles and it is green -- solar hot water heat. The food was outstanding. Dianna had duck which wasn't very fatty and well prepared. I had a veggie plate. We got back to the B&B and a small string band was playing in the foyer. Afterwards, they showed off their instruments. They let Dianna play the mandolin and tenor guitar and she did great. Now she wants one, of course. This morning we had breakfast downstairs, and then went to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lots of neat stuff to look at -- quilts, pottery, furniture, calligraphy, woodworking, baskets, et...

One thing I have learned as an adult is that ALL kids are jealous of the others. If you ask all of my kids who is "the favorite" they will point to someone else. Okay, now that they are grown and understand it, they will kind of point to themselves. We all thought when we were growing up that Jeff was the favorite. After all, he was the cutest. He was the one the charmed the free bunny out of the guy with all the bunnies at the display counter. And dad was so overwhelmed he built a way cool bunny cage. And Jeff was the one who got a trip on a private plane to Atlanta with Dad for the whole weekend. And he had the private handshake with dad "Friends together, pals forever." And he got the special Dingo boots. And the pants with the most pockets EVER. My grandma Gretz said she was allowed to have favorites and made no bones about the fact that Jeff was IT. Jeff had a special book about him called Jeffie's Party that she found and always had to read to him. He was...