Labor Day weekend. already!

It doesn't seem like it should be here, not yet! Spring and summer surely go too fast, anymore. The next month will be some of the best weather we have during the year. cool nights and warm days, leaves will start to turn and then comes autumn. Sort of makes me melancholy...

The pickling yesterday went very well. 10 pints of spicy dills and 2 of carrots. Hoping to find more produce this next few weeks so I can put up tomatoes, freeze peppers and corn, and make more pickles. Once everything is prepped, the process goes very fast. I get into the swing of it and *voila* there are lovely jars, all sealed and nice, smiling at me from my kitchen counter.

As I mentioned before, we took the rv to a park 20 miles away for the weekend. Had supper, lit a bonfire and sat around, chatting, until after midnight. Was a very nice evening. I'm vaguely surprised we both didn't fall asleep in our chairs... Tonight we will probably do the same thing. And tomorrow night. Haven't decided when we will bring the rv back. Suspect it will be after Himself gets off work Tuesday. Tonight we will have brats, just for him. I don't much care for them but he likes the things. Making up a batch of jerk marinade for chicken tomorrow night and then, Monday, it's big thick t-bones with sauteed mushrooms in red wine. mmmmm good

A little bit about a lot of things

and not very much about anything.

I have this stupid bathrobe. It's blue gingham and is about the ugliest thing this side of a warthog. I also has lace. Ugh. Anyone who knows me, even slightly, knows that I am not a gingham- and lace-type person. It's a Grandma Bathrobe for someone with blue hair who likes pink and has a fluffy white dog. I have this stupid bathrobe because, after looking and looking and looking, I couldn't find one single solitary decent cotton, lightweight PLAIN bathrobe anywhere.* It also sports a 6 inch tear down the right side seam over my hip. This comes from me walking around with my fists stuck in my pockets. That will lead to needles and thread and general hilarity at my inability to either thread or hold a sewing needle.

Also have a nasty sinus infection. With the bizarre weather, the damp, the rain and all that, allergies have been bad for everyone. For those of us who are allergic to mold and mildew it has been just miserable. Have been putting off a trip to the doc because she will give me some monster antibiotic that does bad things to the gastrointestinal tract. We live with that simply because the monster stuff is the only thing that begins to touch the infection. The ones I seem to have the worst problem with are the ethmoid and sphenoid, the small ones back in the skull. Clearing infections in the others aren't too hard because they drain more readily. Those hidden ones don't clear so easily, though. A friend has the same problem and she gets the exact same symptoms I do: dizziness, sensation of plugged ears, pain in the face and around the ears, postnasal floods (icky,) gagging, sore throat... the whole nine yards and more. We commiserate with each other because we both get sinusitis at the same time. Maybe we're long-lost twins?

Have run out of mineral supplements so have ended up dehydrated. Rely on those to keep things in balance. Otherwise, I end up with a UTI, irregular heartbeat and usually have to make a visit to the emergency room to get hooked up to an EKG. There they always tell me the same thing: you have a UTI, irregular heartbeat and are dehydrated. OK, I already KNEW that. Fix me. Then they give me potassium, magnesium and zinc. Just what I take here at home, faithfully. And, of course, bill me 2000.00 for the whole mess. Pays to keep the minerals on hand, I'd say.

Haven't decided if I am pleased about going camping this weekend. Will be nice to get away from the Herd for a couple of days. Won't be nice that, more than likely, the campground will be overrun with loud, drunken, and obnoxious country-music lovers. Attempted to get Himself to wait until next weekend but he is tired and wants a break. He also wants to go golfing, for some reason. I golfed back in the days when it wasn't "cool." Decided about 10 years ago that I didn't enjoy it and wasn't going to do it anymore.**

Have a bunch of cukes brining. Will get them cut into spears, in jars with dill and garlic and cayennes peppers and sealed up. We eat a lot more spears than we do sliced pickles which is nice because they're a lot easier to prepare. When DS2 gets his hiniey around he can bring up my water bath canner, jars, the lifters and all that stuff from downstairs. Kids are useful for many things, mostly hauling stuff around. LOL

The shower has been taken care of for today. Hot water is a wonderful invention, isn't it? Gets you clean and helps clear out sinuses. Sort of. LOL I won't go into any detail about that as it is just gross-out material.

The dog has been out and back in several times this morning. It's only 9:30 am, too. Goofy little beast. I need to get more peroxide in those ears but that involves chasing her down and clamping her head between my knees. She can move pretty fast for having a ticky backend, too. Besides being short as she is means she can get under the dining room table.

Have been wearing the knee brace less and less. It's back to around 75% which is doing pretty well. Most things work just fine but still can't extend the joint to go down stairs in a normal manner. The ligaments are still a bit touchy and have been warned not to put any strain on them. So I try not to. It's nice to be able to get dressed without putting on the brace. The degree of injury was such that the healing process took a long time to get started. It was worrisome. Doc said that, since I'm not a young'un, it was likely to take much longer than it has in the past but I didn't expect to get up to almost a year. The first three months there seemed to be no discernible progress at all. By March it was a lot stronger but still wobbly. Now I can walk almost normally for pretty long distances without pain, nor does the joint feel loose.

It's turned out to be a gorgeous day. Not too warm, not too chilly and sunny. The second hatch of cicadas is singing, too. Good day to be alive, indeed.






* That includes every last damned clothing and department store at the MoA. Yes, we went to every last one. For someone who hates shopping that is like having thumbscrews applied only more painful.
** That was around the time when it became "cool." Courses are now overrun by VWP in golf carts who have flying saucers embedded in their heads.

A baldfaced grab for power

Article from the Manchester guardian:

Safe in our Cages

This is a horrifying concept. Who decides what constitutes proper usage? Who can possibly imagine black suits showing up at the front door because your usage "pattern" has changed. What the hell business is it of anyone's if I choose to change my patterns? So I don't read science blogs today and instead am reading the OCU website? So what?

This is a baldfaced and outright grab for absolute oversight and power by politicos and their minions. Foisting the "war on terror" repeatedly on the public gives them leave to institute draconian measures that violate civil rights and our privacy. In the name of "safety" they take our liberties and spy on our private lives.

It is beyond the possibility of my imagination to believe that any guvmunt entity which is given this type of power will not abuse it. Rather, abuse follows as sunset follows the day. There can be no arguing about that as it has been demonstrated time and time again throughout history.

Other than the pursuit of power and self gratification, what use does this proposal have in reality? None. Believing they can find "terrorists" by sifting through millions of usage records is just plain stupid. In light of that, I do not think that is the end purpose of this gross monstrosity. I firmly believe it is nothing more, nor less, than an outright grab for power.

If someone can give me a better explanation, please do...

I am expecting

a veritable blizzard of sheriff's sales this fall and next spring. Not only have the fees for licensing vehicles doubled, property taxes have gone up another 20%.

People who are being laid off, losing their jobs, working 2 or more jobs, selling things, just to get by.... how do the taxing authorities deal with this?

Raise Taxes.

Folks are selling their newer model vehicles and buying old junkers just to cut down on the fees and insurance.

People are also scrambling for every last penny and doing without to be able to have the money to pay property taxes next month.

At the same time, kids must be fed, bills must be paid, there's clothing and heating and water...

This is predicted to be a very, very hard winter, too. With temperatures hovering well below zero, there is likely to be a big mess.

Food prices continue to rise, costs for water and sewer are going up...

I am scared for people. I'm scared for those on fixed incomes. For those living paycheck to paycheck. For those who simply won't be able to make it through the next year.

The food pantries and soup kitchen in town are reporting a big increase in people needing help. People have already lost their homes and, because that impacts immediately on your credit rating, can't find an apartment so they are living with relatives, in vehicles or something similar. I don't remember seeing anything like this since the mid-80s and I remember how bad that became.

What in god's name have we created? A guvmunt with no interest in the citizens it is supposed to be keeping an eye on. Law enforcement that borders on a gestapo mentality. Conscienceless speculators making money hand over fist causing despair and tragedy as a direct result of their actions. Greedy commercial bankers writing loans that couldn't possibly be paid back. Energy companies price gouging.

Just plain folks are looking to a future that probably doesn't exist, at least not in any form we are familiar with. What is in store for us? Our children and grandchildren? Anything? Some days it doesn't seem so.

And to make sure I offend someone else, here is a non-PC question: Why should we, the taxpayers, be paying for Medicare for retirees that can afford quarter million dollar motor homes? The system is bankrupt as it is and my opinion is that people who have that kind of money to spend on toys should be able to afford their own medical care.

Mercy, that's all I can say... we need it.

Funnies from P.J. O'Rourke

Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.

Because of their size, parents may be difficult to discipline properly.

Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely.

Even very young children need to be informed about dying. Explain the concept of death very carefully to your child. This will make threatening him with it much more effective.

Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.

I like to think of my behavior in the sixties as a "learning experience." Then again, I like to think of anything stupid I've done as a "learning experience." It makes me feel less stupid.

Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope.

Never wear anything that panics the cat.

The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person.

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going.

The Belle is in fine form today...

Celia Rivenbark's latest

I just love that woman.



"uglier than a bucket of armpits.."

ROFLMSAO

Dangerousness?

If this doesn't just beat all:

Cuba arrests dissident rocker, band says

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuban police have arrested dissident musician Gorki Aguila on a charge of "dangerousness," fellow band members said Tuesday.

Hebert Dominguez, the bass player in Aguila's punk rock band, Porno para Ricardo, said police detained Aguila at his home at 10 a.m. Monday.

Aguila, the lead singer, was arrested as he was about to record the final songs of the band's next record, according to a statement on the band's Web site.

"This new episode of harassment and persecution is occurring just as Porno para Ricardo is in the middle of recording its new record, which eliminates any possibility that this repressive escalation could be described as a 'coincidence,' " the statement said. "In Cuba, the voice of the brave is silenced by the regime, which doesn't hesitate to use intimidation and force."

An official at the state-run press office said Cuba had no comment on the arrest.

Cuba uses the charge of "dangerousness" to prosecute those whom authorities believe are likely to commit crimes. Under Cuba's penal code, habitual drunkenness and anti-social behavior are signs of a "state of dangerousness."

Dangerousness. Yeah, well, dumbassery obviously isn't confined to these United States.

Dumbassery from Ohio

That administrator* really needs to get her head out of the nether regions. That photo doesn't appear, at least to me, to be showing a naughty outfit. It just looks like "cheerleader appropriate attire."

Now for this particular Lolli-person, "administrator appropriate attire" would be clunky shoes, ankle length skirts and a shirt that buttons around the wrists and up under the chin, kind of a modern day Gibson Girl without the cute factor. Sounds like a deal to me.

The Cincinnati Enquirer/Leigh Taylor

Aug. 26: Monroe High School freshman Sarah Ihle wears the offending cheerleading outfit.

Parents of cheerleaders at an Ohio high school are frustrated with administrators for uniforms they say come up short in the classroom.

Monroe Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli told WLWT TV that cheerleaders were instructed to wear long shorts and T-shirts underneath their uniforms at a pep rally Friday.

"The skirts that the cheerleaders wear are very short, and they're very tight and they're slit so they can do the gymnastics that are required of a cheerleader," Lolli told WLWT.com.

Lolli said the skirts are allowed only during assemblies and games.

"You want to have students wear appropriate clothing during the educational period of the day, and then after school, wear the appropriate clothing for the event," she said.

The uniforms have not been an issue in previous years because the district's dress code was not specific on required length for shorts and skirts. The policy was clarified earlier this year, requiring that the bottom of shorts and skirts be no more than 3 inches above the knee.

Parent Becky Daniel said the school's dress code should not apply to cheerleader's uniforms.

* Just so someone is offended, I suspect that admin. to be a fundie whackjob. So there.

WTF?

This isn't dumbassery. This is just scary.

Cedar Rapids bicyclist beats, kills pedestrian

CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) — Cedar Rapids police are looking for a bicyclist who hit a man in the head and killed him.

Police say Jerry Hurt was walking along a street Tuesday afternoon when a man on a bicycle rode up, got off the bike, picked up a blunt object and hit him in the head. The man then got back on the bike and rode away.

Police responding to a report of an assault found Hurt in the road. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Have people taken leave of their senses? Who could possibly expect to be assaulted by some crazed velocipede rider? Here you are, walking down the street, minding your own business when, out of the blue, some whack-job pedals up, jumps off the bike and whales you upside the head with a blunt object.* I think the lyrics of the old song don't say anything about "there she was, just a'walkin' down the street, singin' look out baby it's a weirdo with a stick."

Makes a person think twice about leaving the house without a 24-hour bodyguard.



* A mailbox? Parking meter? What?

Dumbassery from Iowa

No, really??????

Man jumps from car, is seriously injured

By LAURA ANDREWS

A young woman is comforted at the scene of an incident Tuesday that left Charlie Kropf, 20, in critical condition at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa. (Globe Gazette photo by Arian Schuessler)

MASON CITY — A Mason City man was in critical condition Tuesday evening at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa after he jumped out of a car and was struck by another vehicle at 1:22 p.m. Tuesday.

Charlie Kropf, 20, jumped from the rear passenger seat of a vehicle driven by Shirley Kropf, 71, Mason City, according to a Mason City Police Department press release.

He was struck by a vehicle driven by Stacey Lester, 33, Clear Lake.

Lester was eastbound in the 3700 block of 12th Street Northwest. Kropf was traveling westbound.

The accident remains under investigation by the Mason City Police Department.

OK, now really. REALLY! What did that guy think he was doing? How could anyone in their right mind jump out of the back seat of a car into the path of oncoming traffic.

Darwin Award nominee.


ETA: This guy has since died. It's too bad that, at 20, he had to choose such a dumbass thing to do.

Helicopter parents

No thank you. Once the kids are out on their own we will continue to be available for them but they must learn to live their own lives without interference from us. It's hard to step back and watch them fall, fail and hurt but, if they are rescued all the time they won't learn to stand on their own.

"The first year will be a testing ground for developing new ways of being a part of your child’s life. Many parents seek to maintain as close a relationship as possible, and this can be good (or not so good) for you both. With cell phones, text messaging and e-mails, regular unintrusive contact is possible, but it can be carried to an extreme. These are known as “cellular leashes” held by “helicopter parents,” in which parents demand that their children call every day (or even more often) and monitor their child’s every move.

While there are no clear statistics on how many “helicopter parents” there are these days, it’s likely that many mothers are challenged by finding appropriate ways to be involved in their children’s life in the transition year. The National Survey of Student Engagement recently reported that 86% of first-year college students were in “frequent contact” with their mother, and 71% communicated frequently with their fathers. While parental involvement was shown to enrich a student’s college experience, too much involvement is not a good thing. Parents should know that the same report concluded that college students with higher levels of parental involvement had significantly lower grades.

How much is too much? Becoming a “coach on the sideline” seems a better metaphor for this time in order to mentor, and not meddle. After a few days or weeks, you might even start to feel a delicious sense of relief at not having to parent 24/7!"

It's vitally important to be able to discern between growing pains and real trouble. Too many parents have looked at their children through the lens of their own needs and desires, leaving little room for the child to develop their own sense of self. A child who has been forced, pushed, into being an athlete, a scholar, a musician, an artist, has had few opportunities to roam the frontiers of their own talents. How can we expect a child, confined inside his parents' lens, to be able to stand on their own?

That also leaves little room for the parent to be able to step back and see their offspring as separate human beings, with wants, needs, emotions, of their own. A parent who has spent the years of their child's life projecting their expectations on that child will have a very difficult time separating themselves from the child, mentally and emotionally. Keeping the apron strings tied tightly ultimately will lead to rebellion or an adult who can't function independently of the parent.*

We want our crew to be fully functioning adults, able and willing to stand on their own, support themselves and make their own decisions. They are individuals, as different from us as they are from each other. That we intend to respect.

* I know someone like that.

Pooturs suck

Had a short power failure late yesterday afternoon.

Guess what?

This pootur is all forked up.

Haven't had time to figure out what exactly isn't working right and don't much feel like fooling with it today.

So, ppppppppttttttttttttt to you and your dumbassery, computer.

grrr

This isn't a big issue but there is something wrong with the sound on this pootur.

No updates for drivers and everything seems to be working correctly but I can't play music or videos with sound. Have been having intermittent problems for a couple of months but it is now no sound but those annoying system sounds.

I am planning to go through msconfig and figure out if everything is loading properly. Then uninstall a couple of programs and see if that works. If not, I may end up disabling this sound stuff and putting in a different card.

It isn't as though sound is vital. I could get the portable cd player out to listen to music but having sound is nice.

I can't use Naturally Speaking, either. That is something I miss. Was just figuring out how to get it integrated into email and blogs and so forth and things went "kablooey."

Legal boredoms

Himself and I have to make an appointment with an attorney to update wills, power of attorney, advance directives and all that legal stuff make necessary by the sad state of our society.

Since he is a professional driver and that is one of the most dangerous jobs (according to industry statistics) he is very worried about being incapacitated, or worse, killed, and having his train wreck of a family step in and push me totally out of the decision making process. Then he thinks they could come over here and start stripping the house and taking anything they could get their hands on.

Legally, that is a grey area but, by the time I could muster cops and attorneys and so forth, the Rotten To The Core bunch would have already sold everything or taken it back to whatever hell they came from.

He is also adamant about getting married. He feels that is the final, and possibly only, way we will be able to keep those locusts away from us. I am still hesitant, though. We've been together 14 years and you'd think things wouldn't change just because it's "legal." I'm afraid they will change and for the worse. He doesn't think my fear makes any sense at all. I have to agree with him. It's irrational but real. Just because the first time was a sad and painful experience doesn't mean this would be. Pain is unavoidable and neither of us are perfect, far from it, but we don't have problems that are any worse than most folks.

I am not sure what has moved him to come to these decisions at this particular time, though. I am wondering if he has heard something or knows something he isn't telling me. Not about him or me but something about his family. I do know he was remembering what they did when his grandfather because critically ill, which was go 180 in opposition to the old man's wishes. Perhaps that was the trigger?

If something happened to me, I have every confidence that my kids wouldn't even think about keeping him out of any decisions. Once they got over their initial shock about The Mom taking up with that Wild Man, they have lived with him and have learned to love him regardless of his lunacy.

Decisions, decisions, decisions... makes my head spin.

Great food blog

I love this guy. Other than being an interesting fellow, he posts marvelous recipes. Even better? A lot of them are Greek.

I adore Greek food. The freshness of the ingredients, the dill, mint and various herbs used in seasoning, the ease of preparation...

I think if I ever get a chance to travel, I want to go to Greece.

Maybe I'll just stay there.

He has posted a technique for baked potatoes that is similar to what I have done in the past. The difference is the seasoning, Montreal Steak seasoning. That is something I probably wouldn't have thought of trying.

I will this afternoon, though. Am grilling round steak which is marinating with a chipotle/herb mixture. The taters will be sliced almost all the way through, pour over melted butter, sprinkle in the seasoning, wrap in foil and bake them. mmmmmmmm yummy!

Thanks, Peter! Your recipes and photos always make me drool.

Should never, ever have looked.

Ever.

I know better.

Now I'm hooked.

Food Porn Daily