Vermont is home to Phish, the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain, Ben & Jerry’s, Magic Hat and... Governor Howard Dean!
It is hard to believe, but it’s been almost ten years since that sunny day in June when Governor Dean announced his candidacy for President. So much has happened since that joyful weekend, and if you haven’t been back to Burlington for a while, here is your chance.
We are planning a Dean for America-worthy 10th anniversary reunion on Sunday, June 23, 2013 in Burlington to celebrate all our supporters, volunteers, staffers and, of course, the enormous impact Governor Dean has had on American politics! Come on back and reconnect with old friends and colleagues, rediscover the beauty of Vermont in the summer, and reminisce about the good old DFA days.
Here are the details: What: Lunch picnic and party with Governor Dean and the Dean for America Team Where: Oakledge Park in Burlington When: Sunday, June 23 from 11am-3pm. Friends and families welcome!
For updates and to find out who else will be there, Like us on Facebook!
Help us spread the word! Forward to this email to fellow Dean campaign supporters, staffers and friends! We’re looking forward to seeing so many of you there!
- The Dean Campaign Reunion Team
P.S. Were you staff on the campaign? If so, fill out this form for more information about an informal staff party that Saturday evening!
From a comment on a thread at Balloon Juice (about the rebuttal speeches last night):
47 flukebucket Says:
Anybody following Barack Obama is going to look like a peckerwood. There is just no avoiding it. He is professional. They are amateur. I am enjoying this while it lasts. Once Obama is out of the picture in 2016 we will have to go back to the half assed representation we had gotten used to.
WOW PUDDLE! What a fantastic review! You certainly have a way with words. One can get to the review thru your link above or simply go to the books page.
They list in the order of newest first. Something new that they are doing is taking a few quotes and listing how many said similar things. Interesting.
Puddle, also many thanks for posting about the book on FB! Spreading the word is a HUGE help in getting sales for Burt. He's really getting excited about the sequel. He has the part about Cody, WY and San Diego, CA written. Just about done with the Canary Island portion, then he has to weave them all together in a timeline.
We get a proof in PDF form that we can highligh and add sticky notes to for editing purposes. If any of you ladies would like to pre read the next novel and send us back edits, it would be most helpful. Plus you get mention in the front of the book! We've found this to be an excellent editing tool for us. But then you may not like reading the book on your computer screen.
It's hard for me to edit because I get caught up in the story so it has to be a really blatant error otherwise I miss it. I'm not a very good editor. :o)
Thanks again, Puddle, for the wonderful review and I'm so glad you enjoyed the book.
Barb I would love to help proof anything that you and Burt want to send me! And I promise to be wuick about it I have done typesetting, proofing all kinds of docs and done various editing throughout my adult life. Don't let my careless blogging fool you, I have a pretty good eye, I can scan a page in 2 seconds and tell you where there are too many spaces... anal sometimes, yes. that would be fun!
Barb, you hit another one of my techie blindspots: can't get an adobe reader on this computer or anything else that'll read a PDF. (Even the kid has tried and given up in frustration.)
I did send a list of typos via email to Burt, but I spect most have already been caught, since my copy was printed November 2, 2012.
Thanks JO! I suspect Burt will be ready to do this in another month or two. The weaving together is the challenge and a good eye is needed there as well. And sentence structure. The story sometimes gets away from Burt and he doesn't notice that the sentence structure is not correct.
Puddle, actually, there were a great many edits caught thanks to our certifiable OCD friends. No one caught the ones you did though so we really thank you!
We will get a "PROOF" copy of the next and send to you for your edits, but then you'll have to send it back. Media mail is the way to go as it is cheaper than regular mail. Yellow highlighter on edits with notes where necessary.
Shirlee, I don'tknow if you have electronic reading methods or not, but if you don't and you'd like to help edit, we can send you a "PROOF" copy as well. We can order only 5 "PROOF" copys and they are clearly marked "PROOF".
Everyone seems to catch most errors, but everyone catches some different from all the rest. Amazing procedure, editing is.
Oh, and another really cool thing about self publishing is that we can still go in and make changes before more are ordered. Both the paperback AND the Kindle. And we acknowledge the person that helped edit in the front of the book.
I'm trying to get Burt to put little snippits of his reviews on the back as they are EXCELLENT! Better than reviews you see on mainstream books.
I think the way you and Burt are going is excellent. I have a book queue right now, so can't get to Burt's Rare Earths yet, but will soon.
It sounds like you have good proofers and editors, so I'll hang back at this point. David loves "My Kindle" and I haven't used it. I guess I'm just a book fuddy duddie at least for now. I'm glad you asked, though Barb, and maybe someday I can be of service too.
I enjoyed your review, Puddle, fun to read and unique.
My best wishes for the continued growth of Burt's audience. I just signed up for a program called, Goodreads, which links friends and books. Has Burt done this? I have a friend, Mim Neal who wrote Treelines, a memoir, which is also on Amazon. I wrote a review for her book, and in her message she asked us to join Goodreads. If you need more information, Let me know.
Great excitement here for Burt's book--congrats to all. I am like Pat--computers, etc are OK--but not for reading a BOOK. I need paper and cover in my hands. I would be glad to look at one of your proof copies--if you think it would help. Have put together a number of bibliographies while I was working. Detailed, but not quite the same as proofing a book.
Man, I'm angry at old guys with wilted weewees and those who wish to make money off of them! This past week, baby has been spam bombed with cialis/viagra links. I've had to go to capcha and full moderation. So far, I've discovered spam back to a year and a half ago, and have deleted literally thousands of "comments." Each deletion is a minimum of five separate clicks. My right arm aches all the way to the shoulder, then across the top of the shoulder to the spine. I'll prolly never catch all of it.
Used to be that someone actually had to click a link for them to make money; now, it seems they can make money just by depositing multiples of their links wherever they can.
Well, an unexpected delight of going back years on baby is seeing stuff I'd forgotten. . .
Evanescence of Pain, Persistence of Joy
Eight months disgorging my guts in public places; three with a numb thigh, and heavy corset in heated weather; 22 and one half hours of labor; thinking I'd likely not do this again
Waffles on this mother's day morning Watching him work, sweating a little muttering under his breath as we carry a wall back into a small room
Remembering the look of wonder: at one, holding a dandelion's white head, and blowing -- the flower's children sent forth to the next greening, growing, flowering
And the one who came after, quick and bright and hot. Rushing into the split between today and forever as if there were not midnight, no dawn Blood and tears, and doing it again and again
Fathers both, now, and I am grown old mourning what I can no longer persuade my body to do; things left undone And the bright nodding heads of their children dreaming not quite yet of their children
All of us ~~ link after link, move the gears of time forward. Life seems like this: Stopping in the middle of the poem to make chicken salad. And just now the raucous spring song of a Carolina Wren breaks the peace with joy
Memorable lines, the last three perfect. You are a poet, an artist, a humanitarian, a teacher, a friend.
Beautiful place your website and this blog
Off to slumber now. Happy Valentines everyone. Isn't love and friendship so much more than how it is portrayed, the recognition and appreciation of another individual with a wholly different way of perceiving, experiencing, interacting, and dreaming. I think love takes many lifetimes.
Shirlee, it will be a while before we're ready to do any editing. He still has a way to go. has to contact the tourist bureau in the Canary Islands for some local info that he can't seem to get off Google Earth.
Thank you for the love, Listner. You'r always so descriptive. Love back at you.
Happy Saturday, everybody. Sunny and lovely here--50's--daughter Brenda is picking me up this afternoon for a visit to the Weatherspoon art gallery at UNCG. Off to see more Matisse and Picasso from the Cone sisters collection.
I am torn--can't decide if I should continue to contribute $$$ to DFA. Seems to be an appeal to help with the gun problem--any advice? Is DFA currently well managed? I trust Howard implicitly--don't know about the rest of the gang. Any advice?
Shirlee, think you've missed a day in there somehow, lol! Hope you had a good outing!
DFA? I wouldn't; but that's me. I'm still pissed about what they did/didn't do with the blog. Agree with Free Spirit that they've just in the bidness of keeping themselves in a job, and Mainefem that they're terrible money managers. Still: better than the other side, so.
Oh, yeah--thanks Puddle. Well, it is all Brenda's fault! We started our week-end earlier because the meeting she was in finished earlier than she expected! We had a great Friday as usual--just earlier.
Thanks for the DFA advice--sort of what I was thinking. Sad.
Warmer today, already in the 50s. We had our snow, a mere two inches, and a very dry, light snow. According to NPR, this is the worst drought in the West in 1000 years. Not good.
About the Howard Dean website. I'm glad they are working for gun control. I'm not sure anything could have been done about the deterioration of the blog. I'm remembering your assessment, Puddle, that in time, group efforts peter out and dissolve, and I think those people who used it as a propaganda forum are everywhere. At some point it becomes repetitive, and the propaganda is dogma, and there's no point.
I listened to excerpts of Obama's speech to Chicago high school students, and it seemed to me so honest, so realistic, a direct call for action to citizens and community to stop the violence, to befriend each other, to recognize the loss, deprivation, and hurt that young people in particular feel when a family is bereft of cooperation, love, and harmony. He says in his speech that he missed his father, would have loved and needed his father. He talked about consequences becoming ever more serious without correction when kids are young.
Once again, he seems to me, a person needed for our time when families are so vulnerable, have so much to contend with economically, psychologically, and with respect to stability. There's a lot of mental illness, I think, in our culture.
Supreme GOP warmonger Lindsey Graham announced his intention to introduce a Senate resolution praising Obama for his assassination program. Michelle Malkin criticized her own staff for attacking Obama and wrote: "On this, I will come to Obama's defense." Others vocally defending Obama included John Bolton, Peter King, Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann.
All purpose flour 1 stick butter 3 pounds trimmed boneless troll chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 2 red onions, chopped 6 large ripe tomatoes, skinned, quartered, then halved 3 cups dry red wine 2 14 1/2-ounce cans troll broth 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, quartered 1 cup turnips, sliced 1 cup parsnips, sliced 1 cup zucchini, chunked 1 pound fresh portabella mushrooms, cut ends off of stems, slice stems and caps 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Place flour in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, coat meat with flour; add to pot and brown on all sides. Using slotted spoon, transfer to plate.
Add potatoes, turnips and parsnips; simmer uncovered until meat and vegetables are almost tender, about 25 minutes. Add squash; simmer until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and 3 tablespoons basil, 1 teaspoon nutmeg; simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 6.
(You skin a tomato just like you do a troll: lower slowly into boiling water, wait, lift, run under cold tap water, and slip the skin off.)
Two 11 ounce bags of white chocolate chips 3.5 Cups Cheerios 3 Cups Rice Chex (small box) 3 Cups Corn Chex (ditto) 1 Pound plain M&Ms 2.5 Cups mixed nuts (salted, no peanuts) 2 Cups small pretzels (Eagle Snacks work well)
Get a really big metal bowl and place it over a large sauce pan/pot containing about an inch of water. Put this over medium heat.
Dump in the chips in the bowl and stir with a rubber spatula (every now and then) until they’ve melted smooth. You can walk away from time to time but be careful not to let the water get too hot or the cocoa butter will bog.
Dump everything else in the bowl and fold over and over until the hunks and chunks are well coated.
Spread the mess out on parchment paper or freezer paper and set in a cool place until it sets solid, then break it into pieces and seal in tins.
Dole this stuff out carefully. It is highly habit forming.
The blog housekeeping is turning out to be coupled with unexpected blessings: I'm having to read every entry from the beginning. And there's some lovely stuff there. Memories.
This was a pretty serious attack: random, but thorough. . . Of the *hit* entries, some only have one spam; but some have up to thirty two. I'd say because of the four multiples that no opposable thumbs are involved, lol!
I have 44 pages of a hundred posts per page. Working backwards from 44, after two fairly solid days, I'm on page 41--going to be a long term project. . . .
Actor and environmentalist Robert Redford previously wrote about the planned rally, "This is the beginning. The beginning of a real battle, for America's future." Redford echoed activists' call for Obama to take action. "President Barack Obama's legacy will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in solving the climate crisis."
Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke argued, "The time is right for this rally." In the wake of Obama's comments on climate change in his State of the Union Address, Beinecke wrote, "We want him to know that when he takes these bold actions to stabilize the climate, the American people will support him every step of the way." ***** I will be one of the cheerleaders. :-)
Shirlee, hope your luncheon went well! Always nice to have peeps you love come to you, eh?
Pretty damned cold here today. Still waiting on Spring! (Soon!)(Please!)
Barb, I'd be delighted to be part of the next proofing project for Burt. You might want to stagger the proofing. No sense having several peeps find the same error. And due to a phenomena called Proofreader's Devil, the more errors there are to be found, the fewer *will* be. . . . When I worked for the accounting firm, I sometimes had to do three or four run throughs before it was *clean* enough for a good proof, lol! (That was of course with people who spoke numbers not English, and typists without spellchecking).
wonderful puddle! reading jc's post actuslly made me sob. I miss her. she was a wonderful woman and brought a lot of joy and a huge amount of common sense to every conversation that we had. so good natured but damn you knew when somebody stirred a hornets nest with her! I wish I had the chance to talk to her one more time, I wish I had known when it was time to say goodbye dammit!
Ya, Jo, me, too. . . . That was one *lovely* human, being.
BTW, to answer Jessica's question, which I missed at the time: Fish Smell Pork. . . . Chinese are really anal retentive about what spices go with what meat, fish, vegetable. . . . Garlic goes with fish. Period. Except, for fish smell pork where they use garlic with pork, hence, fish smell pork, lol! Can't tell you how tired I got of them ruining beef with anise.
Pretty day: made it over freezing, and the garage just picked up my car. Realized I haven't gone further than John's store since before Thanksgiving. Luck holds, and I'll be making it to town for blood tests on Friday. Will try to throw in a little grocery shopping and maybe a laundromat visit. Live Large. . . .
Yes, I surely do miss JC. I still tear up at her memory.
Speaking of blog stuff, I have saved a bunch of bats, cakes, pies, mugs of beer etc that all those creative people made. I should share some of those occassionally.
Nite bestest blog in the whole whirl!! WhooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooOooOoO ..........==========||||||||||..........|""| ..........._|.. D E A N ...|.|.|___|""""""""""|…|[(< ..........|___________|.|__.._.._.._.._.._.._||_ ............( + ).....( + ).....( + )( + )( + )( + )..\ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ……..V....I....C....T....O....R....Y......2....0....0.....8
Isn't John McCain making a fool of himself with his arguments against Chuck Hagel? His latest--he is pouting because he didn't receive a copy of some memo. Glad we worked so hard in 2008 to ditch him!!!!!
He probably received the memo - didn't bother to read it! Kerry delicately pointed out that briefings had been held but not everyone attended. Those that didn't attend were screaming the loudest. Probably same happened with McCains memo. He's becoming more and more irrelevant. Or, as I like to say, "John who?"
Same thing with Palin. They're trying so hard to keep her relevant because they think she has such mass appeal amongst the rubes. Obviously Murdock is smarter than the RNC and the TeaParty.
Woke to a gorgeous wedding cake world. Which is now melting rapidly. My guess is that it will be toast by dark. Enjoying, as I spect there are not many more of these left in this winter.
. . . .♥ . ♥. .♥ .♥ . ♥ . ♥. ♥ . ♥. ♥ . ♥. .♥. ♥. . . . . .||...||...||...||...||...||...||...||...||...||...||..|| . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~♥ H A P P Y ♥~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~♥ B I R T H D A Y ♥~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~♥ S H I R L E E ! ♥~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (________________________________)
hmm, going to have to put more spaces between the hearts in this Word version for this blog. It's a little more oval than it appears in Word. I'll wait until Jo has the new one going though to test there first. I'll add some here and see what happens. ♥♥ ----------------♥-♥♥-♥ --------------♥------- ♥ -------------♥-------- -♥ -------------♥------- - -♥ -------------♥------ -- ♥ ---------------♥--- - ♥ -----------------♥- ♥ -----------------/|\ ------------------} ------------------{ ------------------} ------------------{ ------------------}
Well, my goodness--thank you all--yep it was a wonderful birthday. Because we are a far flung family--involved several phone calls. Always good to hear from their voices--although we have a wonderful family website on myfamily.com--so we really do keep tabs on what's what with each other.
Birthdays seem to become more special as I get older. Hope the same for you all!!!!
Another Happy Birthday wish, Shirlee, a day after. Yes, birthdays are the only day that belongs to us.
You are a Pices. By the way, my mother's birthday is also on the 20th and John Kneuble, a writer, artist, and teacher (he wrote the scripts for Hawaii Five O) died on the 20th 21 years ago. I had the privilege of visiting him a few days before in Samoa.
My mother would be 101 yesterday.
May your year be fortuitous and happy. And, Pices is the opposite of Virgo, which Puddle and I have as our star sign.
A whole inch and a half of snow here. And, yesterday, a bird rehabilitater and researcher put a wooden box on one of our Ponderosa pines to attract the Northern Saw-Whet owl. We'll see. Thy are tiny, fit in a hand. They eat mainly or only deer mice, of which we have lots.
I had noticed that, Pat--but thought ah, Pat ALWAYS goes back and corrects her spelling. See how much we are learning about one another here in Jo's Place!!!
Feeling sad. Just discovered an old and very good friend died. Three years ago. I've been searching periodically since communication just ended then. No obit. Emails unreturned, phone unanswered. But this time, a memorial thread from her senior book group.
We went through divorces together. Heck, we went through grad school together. She was one of few friends who ever made the too long trip from DC to here.
I went through the death of her own true love with her, and she with me, and mine. My first thought: Oh, good--now she and John are together. And deaths of parents. And the alcoholics in our lives: she, many--sister, husband, child. She was the one that got me to my first Al-Anon meeting.
We're supposed to get snow tomorrow and Monday. Sigh! I'll take it, the cold, the blizzard, the moisture.
Barb, I had a notice that you tagged a photo of me on Facebook and so did two other people, a Ruth Williams, and someone else. I think that was a spam. I've received so-called messages from friends on Facebook, which are really links to advertisements. I think this may have been done to my photo as well. Just delete the message.
And now, I'm going to go listen to Les Miserables again. I just love the music. "Master of the House" like Mark Twain's insane rhyme on the train runs through my mind over and over. I also love, "Bring Him Home". I haven't cried at movies in years, but I did seeing Les Miserables.
Hope you get a good night sleep, Puddle. Take good care of yourself.
Yes, the first real snowstorm this winter, about 5 inches or more, and holding more moisture, not the fairy flakes so light they disappear before they touch the ground.
It's cold out there, but so glad for the snow.
Thanks for your poetic wishes, Puddle.
We listened to Robert McDonald, Governor of Virginia, on NPR. Honestly, the Republicans are without logic, without honesty, without fairness, without civility, without values with respect to the common good. How long, Oh Heaven, will people put up with them. As expected,he blamed the Sequestor on Obama, is refusing to take the Obama Care expansion of Medicaid, paid for 100% by the Feds, too bad for those poor citizens who can't afford Medicare, they'll just have to die.
Son*in*Maine: The girls and I made a snowman this morning that they promptly dubbed "Frosty" and they were convinced that he would come to life. Unfortunately he fell over (the snow was very wet) shortly after we came inside. I went back out and removed the evidence. Next time they looked out the window the snowman was gone. They were initially upset, but then were sure that he had come to life and was running around town. Later when they were upstairs playing I went back out and quickly reconstructed him closer to the house. Squeals of glee when they noticed!
Me: That is awesome!!! Will you need to move him again after nightfall?
Son: Possibly. I told them that even magic snowmen can sleep for a long time. Of course now they want him to talk...
Me: Of course they do. Maybe the snow wasn't quite the right sort for that. ;-)
Surprise week-end here--daughter Dana from Cinci flew in--plot here between Brenda and Dana --to get her here from the airport under the guise of Brenda's boss lady calling for a late Friday afternoon meeting :) That Brenda always gets the details right--I was totally surprised, we had a great week-end and we are all back in our respective quarters!
Glad you had a nice weekend, Shirlee, and all is well, everyone sagely home. (typo, I meant safely, but maybe, sagely fits.)
Took Molly Magee for a walk. We have about 7 inches of snow. It actually looks like winter here.
I recommend the program on NPR On Being with Krista Tippet host. Tonight the Dalai Lama's interpreter will be on. You can watch them on your computer if you go to The Google and put in On Being. It's a fine program.
Good morning fine folks. Good to see all in good spirits and good things happening.
We had our Full Moon Poker Game last night and started off with a Root Beer Tasting. We tasted 7 different root beers and noted our impressions. Just like a wine tasting. Then we ranked them all and were surprised that we were all so close to the final average.
Then we brought out the ice cream and finished off the root beer in floats. Much fun was had by all. We plan to do the same with ginger beer and cream soda.
A great way to encourage friends to keep in touch. We've been having Full Moon Poker for over 30 years and some of the original folks still come. All of them full blown lefties so the political discussion is quite fun.
We have a cool clear day today, I'm going to town for shopping since I'm out of nearly everything, and the next three days are scheduled for more ice pellets and snow. . . Gonna skip/reschedule the blood draw and the doc's appt to warmer weather: *this* is nuts.
Well, skipped town, lol! Neighbor offered to pick me up some stuff from local store, so let her. Still do have a big shopping trip in the future, but can delay it for a bit longer.
Pat! This morning the Grands found Frosty standing on the front porch landing at the top of the stairs! :-D PS: May your drought soon e history!! ♥
Shirlee...Such a LOVELY birthday surprise!! I hope the Happy Birthday memory glows in you for a long time to come. ♥
puddle...Sooo glad you got to stay home snug. I'm very grateful to your neighbour, Nancy!! ♥
Thank you for the trip down memory lane with jc!!!! ♥♥♥
Jo, do you recall a Dean Blogger named Jovana? She is coming to Vermont to visit me later in March. Also...how about we organise a Blogger Bash to coincide with the 10th Anniversary of the Dean Campaign? The main thing is getting the word out, taking a head count (and names) and finding a time during the Dean event when we could all slip away to Flatbread or VT Pub & Brewery or somewhere.
Thanks, Listener--it was a lovely week-end--and will be well remembered--at least until some of my gang come up with something else.
When my 75th birthday came around Brenda planned a two stage surprise birthday for me. She was here in GSO and made total arrangements with people in Palacios--some she had not met. There was a family party--all except one of my young'uns made it. Then the next day there was a community party at the local bookstore--and yep surprised again. That was wonderful also. Palacios is a special little multi-ethnic shrimping village--still self contained--local paper, bank, grocery store etc. intact!!
Love it, Listener. What a great Mom and Grandma you must be.
You remind me of Miss Betty, my elementary school librarian. She told us stories, and everyone of us was a character in a story at some time. It was magic.
Shirlee, how wonderful to be so loved and appreciated. You must have given much in your life to people, and it all comes back to us.
What fun I've had on Facebook. Thanks, Jo, for some help. I couldn't remember the names for the two parts of a village in Samoa. I put it on Facebook, and people responded. Siufaga and Luma, one near the ocean, one at the back of the village at the harbor.
Then there was a demon pig that ran around. He was evidently very frightening. I couldn't remember his name, but after the various responses, I remembered, Nifoloa, Big Tooth.
I really need a community now for memory, and there is joy in that.
Prayer request: Tanner has radiation in the morning. It requires him to stand still for about 40 minutes. That seems tough for someone feeling well, but for Tanner who has spent much of the last few days nauseous, or sleeping, it seems extra hard! Please pray for him that he will be able to do it and it will go by quickly for him.
Just wondering--a good friend posted a rant supposedly from Bill Cosby on facebook. I didn't get past the first paragraph before my snopessense started tingling. It was *nothing* like the Cosby that I know, so I googled it, and sure enough, fraud. And it's been going around for at least seven years (and got his birthday wrong, too, lol!) http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/billcosby/a/I-Am-76-And-I-Am-Tired-By-Bill-Cosby.htm
Hate mail is nothing new, but what I AM wondering is why are *so many* born without any snopessense at all?
Thank you, Puddle, for the candles, I've thought of Tanner off and on all day. My hopes are that this will be the curative for him. How difficult it is to see children suffer.
More snow here, though still not a foot. I said I would take a month of snow storms if we could heal this drought. I wonder, do you suppose the snow gods heard me?
Wishes for Tanner from GSO. Been having a bit of a problem with my internet connection through ATT-- Brenda stopped by and got SOMETHING working--for now.
Lovely sunny day here--I delivered some family tintypes to the restoration photographer across the street.
My young'uns ended up with a LOT of photographs from almost all sides of the family. Treasures.
Nice day here. Cleaned out a closet, emptied the kitty litter, did the dishes, took Molly Magee for a walk, read up on Samoan legends, etc.
I met Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn when he performed at the University of Michigan. He had the longest fingers I've ever seen. He just touched my palm, didn't shake hands. He was a wonderful musician. He said, "I'm just an instrument," when he won the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow in 1958. He said the people are honoring classical music.
What a wonderful experience to have heard him play.
Pat, he's been sleeping most of the day. When he's awake, he has pretty bad stomach pain. The graft period evidently takes weeks, so keep him in your heart.
This has been a wretched winter, at least compared to the last several: bitter, windy, ice, ick. I am ready for spring, dammit!
Greetings all! Shirlee's daughter here -- She wanted me to post that she is having computer issues and it might be a few days before she gets back online!
I'm hoping to fix it this weekend. Don't want her to be off-line for too long!
Hope everyone is doing well -- wishing that spring would get her soon!
Thanks, Brenda! We don't want her off line for too long either!! I fully sympathize, though: very long history of dialup and lousy phone lines. Give her some hugz, eh?
97 comments:
Howard is still my guy!
This was too funny, too true, not to post, lol!
Well done, puddle! I love Joe, it was fun watching his expressions during the SOTU!
Wonderful, Puddle--thank you!!!!!
Speaking of Howard, from my inbox...
Deaniacs!
Vermont is home to Phish, the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain, Ben & Jerry’s, Magic Hat and... Governor Howard Dean!
It is hard to believe, but it’s been almost ten years since that sunny day in June when Governor Dean announced his candidacy for President. So much has happened since that joyful weekend, and if you haven’t been back to Burlington for a while, here is your chance.
We are planning a Dean for America-worthy 10th anniversary reunion on Sunday, June 23, 2013 in Burlington to celebrate all our supporters, volunteers, staffers and, of course, the enormous impact Governor Dean has had on American politics! Come on back and reconnect with old friends and colleagues, rediscover the beauty of Vermont in the summer, and reminisce about the good old DFA days.
Here are the details:
What: Lunch picnic and party with Governor Dean and the Dean for America Team
Where: Oakledge Park in Burlington
When: Sunday, June 23 from 11am-3pm.
Friends and families welcome!
For updates and to find out who else will be there, Like us on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/DeanCampaignReunion?fref=ts
Help us spread the word! Forward to this email to fellow Dean campaign supporters, staffers and friends! We’re looking forward to seeing so many of you there!
- The Dean Campaign Reunion Team
P.S. Were you staff on the campaign? If so, fill out this form for more information about an informal staff party that Saturday evening!
https://docs.google.com/a/echoditto.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dElnSloxemVqa29nWHEyZi1ndDczWHc6MQ
From a comment on a thread at Balloon Juice (about the rebuttal speeches last night):
47 flukebucket Says:
Anybody following Barack Obama is going to look like a peckerwood. There is just no avoiding it. He is professional. They are amateur. I am enjoying this while it lasts. Once Obama is out of the picture in 2016 we will have to go back to the half assed representation we had gotten used to.
There will not be another Obama in my lifetime.
Barb, got a review up at Amazon. My first!
http://www.amazon.com/Rare-Earths-Burt-Webb/product-reviews/0615619037/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
Barb, got this link from the email Amazon sent me, but not seeing it if I just get to Burt's page. . . .
nice review, puddle! xo
Thanks, Jo! Glad it's accessible, lol!
WOW PUDDLE! What a fantastic review! You certainly have a way with words. One can get to the review thru your link above or simply go to the books page.
They list in the order of newest first. Something new that they are doing is taking a few quotes and listing how many said similar things. Interesting.
Puddle, also many thanks for posting about the book on FB! Spreading the word is a HUGE help in getting sales for Burt. He's really getting excited about the sequel. He has the part about Cody, WY and San Diego, CA written. Just about done with the Canary Island portion, then he has to weave them all together in a timeline.
We get a proof in PDF form that we can highligh and add sticky notes to for editing purposes. If any of you ladies would like to pre read the next novel and send us back edits, it would be most helpful. Plus you get mention in the front of the book! We've found this to be an excellent editing tool for us. But then you may not like reading the book on your computer screen.
It's hard for me to edit because I get caught up in the story so it has to be a really blatant error otherwise I miss it. I'm not a very good editor. :o)
Thanks again, Puddle, for the wonderful review and I'm so glad you enjoyed the book.
Barb I would love to help proof anything that you and Burt want to send me! And I promise to be wuick about it I have done typesetting, proofing all kinds of docs and done various editing throughout my adult life. Don't let my careless blogging fool you, I have a pretty good eye, I can scan a page in 2 seconds and tell you where there are too many spaces... anal sometimes, yes. that would be fun!
wuick = quick...! LOL!!
Barb, you hit another one of my techie blindspots: can't get an adobe reader on this computer or anything else that'll read a PDF. (Even the kid has tried and given up in frustration.)
I did send a list of typos via email to Burt, but I spect most have already been caught, since my copy was printed November 2, 2012.
Thanks JO! I suspect Burt will be ready to do this in another month or two. The weaving together is the challenge and a good eye is needed there as well. And sentence structure. The story sometimes gets away from Burt and he doesn't notice that the sentence structure is not correct.
Puddle, actually, there were a great many edits caught thanks to our certifiable OCD friends. No one caught the ones you did though so we really thank you!
We will get a "PROOF" copy of the next and send to you for your edits, but then you'll have to send it back. Media mail is the way to go as it is cheaper than regular mail. Yellow highlighter on edits with notes where necessary.
Shirlee, I don'tknow if you have electronic reading methods or not, but if you don't and you'd like to help edit, we can send you a "PROOF" copy as well. We can order only 5 "PROOF" copys and they are clearly marked "PROOF".
Everyone seems to catch most errors, but everyone catches some different from all the rest. Amazing procedure, editing is.
Happy Valentines Day to all my wonderful Bloggie friends. I love you all.
Oh, and another really cool thing about self publishing is that we can still go in and make changes before more are ordered. Both the paperback AND the Kindle. And we acknowledge the person that helped edit in the front of the book.
I'm trying to get Burt to put little snippits of his reviews on the back as they are EXCELLENT! Better than reviews you see on mainstream books.
Good Morning,
I think the way you and Burt are going is excellent. I have a book queue right now, so can't get to Burt's Rare Earths yet, but will soon.
It sounds like you have good proofers and editors, so I'll hang back at this point. David loves "My Kindle" and I haven't used it. I guess I'm just a book fuddy duddie at least for now. I'm glad you asked, though Barb, and maybe someday I can be of service too.
I enjoyed your review, Puddle, fun to read and unique.
My best wishes for the continued growth of Burt's audience. I just signed up for a program called, Goodreads, which links friends and books. Has Burt done this? I have a friend, Mim Neal who wrote Treelines, a memoir, which is also on Amazon. I wrote a review for her book, and in her message she asked us to join Goodreads. If you need more information, Let me know.
Off to Estes today. Hope your day is a good one.
Great excitement here for Burt's book--congrats to all. I am like Pat--computers, etc are OK--but not for reading a BOOK. I need paper and cover in my hands. I would be glad to look at one of your proof copies--if you think it would help. Have put together a number of bibliographies while I was working. Detailed, but not quite the same as proofing a book.
Use your best judgement :)
Man, I'm angry at old guys with wilted weewees and those who wish to make money off of them! This past week, baby has been spam bombed with cialis/viagra links. I've had to go to capcha and full moderation. So far, I've discovered spam back to a year and a half ago, and have deleted literally thousands of "comments." Each deletion is a minimum of five separate clicks. My right arm aches all the way to the shoulder, then across the top of the shoulder to the spine. I'll prolly never catch all of it.
Used to be that someone actually had to click a link for them to make money; now, it seems they can make money just by depositing multiples of their links wherever they can.
Well, an unexpected delight of going back years on baby is seeing stuff I'd forgotten. . .
Evanescence of Pain, Persistence of Joy
Eight months disgorging my guts
in public places;
three with a numb thigh, and heavy
corset in heated weather;
22 and one half hours of labor;
thinking I'd likely not do this again
Waffles on this mother's day morning
Watching him work, sweating a little
muttering under his breath as we
carry a wall back into a small room
Remembering the look of wonder: at one, holding
a dandelion's white head, and blowing --
the flower's children sent forth to the
next greening, growing, flowering
And the one who came after, quick and bright
and hot. Rushing into the split between today
and forever as if there were not midnight, no dawn
Blood and tears, and doing it again and again
Fathers both, now, and I am grown old
mourning what I can no longer persuade
my body to do; things left undone
And the bright nodding heads of their children
dreaming not quite yet of their children
All of us ~~ link after link, move the gears
of time forward. Life seems like this: Stopping in
the middle of the poem to make chicken salad.
And just now the raucous spring song
of a Carolina Wren breaks the peace
with joy
jjl
8 May 2011
Ah, Beautiful, Beautiful. Brings tears. Thank you.
Memorable lines, the last three perfect. You are a poet, an artist, a humanitarian, a teacher, a friend.
Beautiful place your website and this blog
Off to slumber now. Happy Valentines everyone. Isn't love and friendship so much more than how it is portrayed, the recognition and appreciation of another individual with a wholly different way of perceiving, experiencing, interacting, and dreaming. I think love takes many lifetimes.
♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡
Just wanted to send you all some love.
♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡♡♥♡
Beautiful poetry Puddle, thanks for posting,
Shirlee, it will be a while before we're ready to do any editing. He still has a way to go. has to contact the tourist bureau in the Canary Islands for some local info that he can't seem to get off Google Earth.
Thank you for the love, Listner. You'r always so descriptive. Love back at you.
Happy Saturday, everybody. Sunny and lovely here--50's--daughter Brenda is picking me up this afternoon for a visit to the Weatherspoon art gallery at UNCG. Off to see more Matisse and Picasso from the Cone sisters collection.
I am torn--can't decide if I should continue to contribute $$$ to DFA.
Seems to be an appeal to help with the gun problem--any advice? Is DFA currently well managed? I trust Howard implicitly--don't know about the rest of the gang. Any advice?
Shirlee, think you've missed a day in there somehow, lol! Hope you had a good outing!
DFA? I wouldn't; but that's me. I'm still pissed about what they did/didn't do with the blog. Agree with Free Spirit that they've just in the bidness of keeping themselves in a job, and Mainefem that they're terrible money managers. Still: better than the other side, so.
Oh, yeah--thanks Puddle. Well, it is all Brenda's fault! We started our week-end earlier because the meeting she was in finished earlier than she expected! We had a great Friday as usual--just earlier.
Thanks for the DFA advice--sort of what I was thinking. Sad.
We are getting light, damp snow here in GSO in February! Yuck. Good day to stay inside with a book. Stay warm all.
Good Morning,
Warmer today, already in the 50s. We had our snow, a mere two inches, and a very dry, light snow. According to NPR, this is the worst drought in the West in 1000 years. Not good.
About the Howard Dean website. I'm glad they are working for gun control. I'm not sure anything could have been done about the deterioration of the blog. I'm remembering your assessment, Puddle, that in time, group efforts peter out and dissolve, and I think those people who used it as a propaganda forum are everywhere. At some point it becomes repetitive, and the propaganda is dogma, and there's no point.
I listened to excerpts of Obama's speech to Chicago high school students, and it seemed to me so honest, so realistic, a direct call for action to citizens and community to stop the violence, to befriend each other, to recognize the loss, deprivation, and hurt that young people in particular feel when a family is bereft of cooperation, love, and harmony. He says in his speech that he missed his father, would have loved and needed his father. He talked about consequences becoming ever more serious without correction when kids are young.
Once again, he seems to me, a person needed for our time when families are so vulnerable, have so much to contend with economically, psychologically, and with respect to stability. There's a lot of mental illness, I think, in our culture.
Well, have a good day today.
Thanks, Pat--I always love the way you word praise for our president. I try--but it never reads so eloquently.
The more insane of the repugs speak out:
Supreme GOP warmonger Lindsey Graham announced his intention to introduce a Senate resolution praising Obama for his assassination program. Michelle Malkin criticized her own staff for attacking Obama and wrote: "On this, I will come to Obama's defense." Others vocally defending Obama included John Bolton, Peter King, Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann.
sea
go away little troll.
Troll Stew
All purpose flour
1 stick butter
3 pounds trimmed boneless troll chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 red onions, chopped
6 large ripe tomatoes, skinned, quartered, then halved
3 cups dry red wine
2 14 1/2-ounce cans troll broth
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
1 cup turnips, sliced
1 cup parsnips, sliced
1 cup zucchini, chunked
1 pound fresh portabella mushrooms, cut ends off of stems, slice stems and caps
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Place flour in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, coat meat with flour; add to pot and brown on all sides. Using slotted spoon, transfer to plate.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in same pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Mix in quartered/skinned tomatoes , then wine. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add broth and sugar, then troll meat and any accumulated juices. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
Add potatoes, turnips and parsnips; simmer uncovered until meat and vegetables are almost tender, about 25 minutes. Add squash; simmer until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and 3 tablespoons basil, 1 teaspoon nutmeg; simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 6.
(You skin a tomato just like you do a troll: lower slowly into boiling water, wait, lift, run under cold tap water, and slip the skin off.)
Love your humor, Jo. Thank you again for this safe place.
White Trash
Two 11 ounce bags of white chocolate chips
3.5 Cups Cheerios
3 Cups Rice Chex (small box)
3 Cups Corn Chex (ditto)
1 Pound plain M&Ms
2.5 Cups mixed nuts (salted, no peanuts)
2 Cups small pretzels (Eagle Snacks work well)
Get a really big metal bowl and place it over a large sauce pan/pot containing about an inch of water. Put this over medium heat.
Dump in the chips in the bowl and stir with a rubber spatula (every now and then) until they’ve melted smooth. You can walk away from time to time but be careful not to let the water get too hot or the cocoa butter will bog.
Dump everything else in the bowl and fold over and over until the hunks and chunks are well coated.
Spread the mess out on parchment paper or freezer paper and set in a cool place until it sets solid, then break it into pieces and seal in tins.
Dole this stuff out carefully. It is highly habit forming.
The blog housekeeping is turning out to be coupled with unexpected blessings: I'm having to read every entry from the beginning. And there's some lovely stuff there. Memories.
This was a pretty serious attack: random, but thorough. . . Of the *hit* entries, some only have one spam; but some have up to thirty two. I'd say because of the four multiples that no opposable thumbs are involved, lol!
I have 44 pages of a hundred posts per page. Working backwards from 44, after two fairly solid days, I'm on page 41--going to be a long term project. . . .
Whew, Puddle--sounds like a tedious task!!!
Found this (now spam free, but not troll free, lol! I kinda liked crayon, yanno?) Especially for Shirlee: http://eatapyzch.blogspot.com/2005/12/radical-militant-librarians.html?showComment=1360301118477
Environmental rally:
Actor and environmentalist Robert Redford previously wrote about the planned rally, "This is the beginning. The beginning of a real battle, for America's future." Redford echoed activists' call for Obama to take action. "President Barack Obama's legacy will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in solving the climate crisis."
Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke argued, "The time is right for this rally." In the wake of Obama's comments on climate change in his State of the Union Address, Beinecke wrote, "We want him to know that when he takes these bold actions to stabilize the climate, the American people will support him every step of the way."
*****
I will be one of the cheerleaders. :-)
sea
Shirlee, hope your luncheon went well! Always nice to have peeps you love come to you, eh?
Pretty damned cold here today. Still waiting on Spring! (Soon!)(Please!)
Barb, I'd be delighted to be part of the next proofing project for Burt. You might want to stagger the proofing. No sense having several peeps find the same error. And due to a phenomena called Proofreader's Devil, the more errors there are to be found, the fewer *will* be. . . . When I worked for the accounting firm, I sometimes had to do three or four run throughs before it was *clean* enough for a good proof, lol! (That was of course with people who spoke numbers not English, and typists without spellchecking).
WaaaaaaaaaaaayBack Machine (unearthed by the spam hunt. . . . )
http://eatapyzch.blogspot.com/2006/01/four-things-meme_15.html?showComment=1142967540000
wonderful puddle! reading jc's post actuslly made me sob. I miss her. she was a wonderful woman and brought a lot of joy and a huge amount of common sense to every conversation that we had. so good natured but damn you knew when somebody stirred a hornets nest with her! I wish I had the chance to talk to her one more time, I wish I had known when it was time to say goodbye dammit!
Ya, Jo, me, too. . . . That was one *lovely* human, being.
BTW, to answer Jessica's question, which I missed at the time: Fish Smell Pork. . . . Chinese are really anal retentive about what spices go with what meat, fish, vegetable. . . . Garlic goes with fish. Period. Except, for fish smell pork where they use garlic with pork, hence, fish smell pork, lol! Can't tell you how tired I got of them ruining beef with anise.
What treasures you are turning up, Puddle. Thanks for the memories :)
Pretty day: made it over freezing, and the garage just picked up my car. Realized I haven't gone further than John's store since before Thanksgiving. Luck holds, and I'll be making it to town for blood tests on Friday. Will try to throw in a little grocery shopping and maybe a laundromat visit. Live Large. . . .
Yes, I surely do miss JC. I still tear up at her memory.
Speaking of blog stuff, I have saved a bunch of bats, cakes, pies, mugs of beer etc that all those creative people made. I should share some of those occassionally.
Nite bestest blog in the whole whirl!!
WhooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooOooOoO
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............( + ).....( + ).....( + )( + )( + )( + )..\
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……..V....I....C....T....O....R....Y......2....0....0.....8
Don't know how these will turn out, we'll see.
OOOOOO Pretty cool!
Isn't John McCain making a fool of himself with his arguments against Chuck Hagel? His latest--he is pouting because he didn't receive a copy of some memo. Glad we worked so hard in 2008 to ditch him!!!!!
He probably received the memo - didn't bother to read it! Kerry delicately pointed out that briefings had been held but not everyone attended. Those that didn't attend were screaming the loudest. Probably same happened with McCains memo. He's becoming more and more irrelevant. Or, as I like to say, "John who?"
Same thing with Palin. They're trying so hard to keep her relevant because they think she has such mass appeal amongst the rubes. Obviously Murdock is smarter than the RNC and the TeaParty.
Woke to a gorgeous wedding cake world. Which is now melting rapidly. My guess is that it will be toast by dark. Enjoying, as I spect there are not many more of these left in this winter.
whitznd! It melts my heart that you kept the Dean train! I did too. :-)
Keep posting what you have! :-)
My car's all fixed, including windshield wiper (don't know how they did it).
AND
Tanner's in today for a bone marrow transplant. http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=tanne
Happee Birthday Ms Shirlee ~~ hope it was a *grand* one!
Was Wednesday Shirlee's Birthday?!
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♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~♥ H A P P Y ♥~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~♥ B I R T H D A Y ♥~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~♥ S H I R L E E ! ♥~~~~~~~
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♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
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(________________________________)
WOW! So sorry to have missed! Happy Birthday indeed, Shirlee! And many many more.
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hmm, going to have to put more spaces between the hearts in this Word version for this blog. It's a little more oval than it appears in Word. I'll wait until Jo has the new one going though to test there first. I'll add some here and see what happens.
♥♥
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Interesting. I see I have a lot of work to do on it. Nite, bestest bloggie in the whole whirl.
Well, my goodness--thank you all--yep it was a wonderful birthday. Because we are a far flung family--involved several phone calls. Always good to hear from their voices--although we have a wonderful family website on myfamily.com--so we really do keep tabs on what's what with each other.
Birthdays seem to become more special as I get older. Hope the same for you all!!!!
Another Happy Birthday wish, Shirlee, a day after. Yes, birthdays are the only day that belongs to us.
You are a Pices. By the way, my mother's birthday is also on the 20th and John Kneuble, a writer, artist, and teacher (he wrote the scripts for Hawaii Five O) died on the 20th 21 years ago. I had the privilege of visiting him a few days before in Samoa.
My mother would be 101 yesterday.
May your year be fortuitous and happy. And, Pices is the opposite of Virgo, which Puddle and I have as our star sign.
A whole inch and a half of snow here. And, yesterday, a bird rehabilitater and researcher put a wooden box on one of our Ponderosa pines to attract the Northern Saw-Whet owl. We'll see. Thy are tiny, fit in a hand. They eat mainly or only deer mice, of which we have lots.
Have a good day.
Good news for everything that doesn't slither, lol!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/21/1188822/-Three-quarter-of-Americans-are-not-Republicans
Thanks for the link, Puddle--lots of interesting opinions--as always on Kos!
Metaphors be with you.
Lady--you are way ahead of me! too much birthday cheesecake here.
Good Morning,
Argh! Pisces, not Pices. Darn, I thought it looked wrong. I'm losing my spelling ability.
We have about 3 inches of snow. did I ever think that I'd pray for snow?! Winter is not my favorite season, but how much we need it.
Not much news here, working on poetry, decluttering, everyday efforts. Have a good day.
I had noticed that, Pat--but thought ah, Pat ALWAYS goes back and corrects her spelling. See how much we are learning about one another here in Jo's Place!!!
Feeling sad. Just discovered an old and very good friend died. Three years ago. I've been searching periodically since communication just ended then. No obit. Emails unreturned, phone unanswered. But this time, a memorial thread from her senior book group.
We went through divorces together. Heck, we went through grad school together. She was one of few friends who ever made the too long trip from DC to here.
I went through the death of her own true love with her, and she with me, and mine. My first thought: Oh, good--now she and John are together. And deaths of parents. And the alcoholics in our lives: she, many--sister, husband, child. She was the one that got me to my first Al-Anon meeting.
Pat, btw, so glad you got some substantial snow. Wish you more. Living with drought is a drag.
Good Morning,
Too cute: Michelle Obama on Jimmy Fallon show on NBC doing a Mom dance. Here's a link.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/23/michelle-obama-dances-like-a-mom/
TRENDING: Michelle Obama dances like a mom - CNN (blog)
Frankly, it's refreshing and joyful to see a First lady who is hip, who is smart, cool, kind, wise, confident.
Thanks for your sympathy about our drought, Puddle. Fort Collins may not have enough water for the city next year. It is very serious.
Other than that, glad to be alive, grateful, and happy to be here.
Quiet, warm, dry day here. Slept badly last night so wasted a big chunk on a catchup nap.
Seem to be getting into a sort of spring cleaning routine. Last night/today the crockpot got a full spiff up.
Not looking to be gloriously warm this coming week, but neither to be nasty bitter cold. A suitable pre-spring.
Hi,
We're supposed to get snow tomorrow and Monday. Sigh! I'll take it, the cold, the blizzard, the moisture.
Barb, I had a notice that you tagged a photo of me on Facebook and so did two other people, a Ruth Williams, and someone else. I think that was a spam. I've received so-called messages from friends on Facebook, which are really links to advertisements. I think this may have been done to my photo as well. Just delete the message.
And now, I'm going to go listen to Les Miserables again. I just love the music. "Master of the House" like Mark Twain's insane rhyme on the train runs through my mind over and over. I also love, "Bring Him Home". I haven't cried at movies in years, but I did seeing Les Miserables.
Hope you get a good night sleep, Puddle. Take good care of yourself.
I did. Pretty warmish bright blue day going on here. Gotta find something to wash, lol!
Good luck with your blizzard, Pat. May it be bigger than you expected, and as big as you can bear without danger!
Yes, the first real snowstorm this winter, about 5 inches or more, and holding more moisture, not the fairy flakes so light they disappear before they touch the ground.
It's cold out there, but so glad for the snow.
Thanks for your poetic wishes, Puddle.
We listened to Robert McDonald, Governor of Virginia, on NPR. Honestly, the Republicans are without logic, without honesty, without fairness, without civility, without values with respect to the common good. How long, Oh Heaven, will people put up with them. As expected,he blamed the Sequestor on Obama, is refusing to take the Obama Care expansion of Medicaid, paid for 100% by the Feds, too bad for those poor citizens who can't afford Medicare, they'll just have to die.
Awful.
correction: should read, too bad for those citizens who can't afford medical insurance.
Phone rang, I picked up, brain fragmented.
Son*in*Maine: The girls and I made a snowman this morning that they promptly dubbed "Frosty" and they were convinced that he would come to life. Unfortunately he fell over (the snow was very wet) shortly after we came inside. I went back out and removed the evidence. Next time they looked out the window the snowman was gone. They were initially upset, but then were sure that he had come to life and was running around town. Later when they were upstairs playing I went back out and quickly reconstructed him closer to the house. Squeals of glee when they noticed!
Me: That is awesome!!! Will you need to move him again after nightfall?
Son: Possibly. I told them that even magic snowmen can sleep for a long time.
Of course now they want him to talk...
Me: Of course they do. Maybe the snow wasn't quite the right sort for that. ;-)
Son: Exactly.
Surprise week-end here--daughter Dana from Cinci flew in--plot here between Brenda and Dana --to get her here from the airport under the guise of Brenda's boss lady calling for a late Friday afternoon meeting :) That Brenda always gets the details right--I was totally surprised, we had a great week-end and we are all back in our respective quarters!
I'm laughing, really cute story, Listener.
Glad you had a nice weekend, Shirlee, and all is well, everyone sagely home. (typo, I meant safely, but maybe, sagely fits.)
Took Molly Magee for a walk. We have about 7 inches of snow. It actually looks like winter here.
I recommend the program on NPR On Being with Krista Tippet host. Tonight the Dalai Lama's interpreter will be on. You can watch them on your computer if you go to The Google and put in On Being. It's a fine program.
Shirlee, what a *lovely* birthday present!! And bless Brenda for getting it right!
Pat, really glad for your seven inches!
Good morning fine folks. Good to see all in good spirits and good things happening.
We had our Full Moon Poker Game last night and started off with a Root Beer Tasting. We tasted 7 different root beers and noted our impressions. Just like a wine tasting. Then we ranked them all and were surprised that we were all so close to the final average.
Then we brought out the ice cream and finished off the root beer in floats. Much fun was had by all. We plan to do the same with ginger beer and cream soda.
A great way to encourage friends to keep in touch. We've been having Full Moon Poker for over 30 years and some of the original folks still come. All of them full blown lefties so the political discussion is quite fun.
Happy day to all! XOXOXO
Sounds like great fun, Barb. I long ago noted that Lefties are a great deal more fun than Righties. Righties are so bloody constipated. . . .
We have a cool clear day today, I'm going to town for shopping since I'm out of nearly everything, and the next three days are scheduled for more ice pellets and snow. . . Gonna skip/reschedule the blood draw and the doc's appt to warmer weather: *this* is nuts.
Wow, Puddle--you have that one for sure--"Righties are so bloody constipated." gonna treasure that one.
Have fun in town :)
Well, skipped town, lol! Neighbor offered to pick me up some stuff from local store, so let her. Still do have a big shopping trip in the future, but can delay it for a bit longer.
HAHAHA Puddle! As long as you don't have to go out in the ice.
Pat! This morning the Grands found Frosty standing on the front porch landing at the top of the stairs! :-D PS: May your drought soon e history!! ♥
Shirlee...Such a LOVELY birthday surprise!! I hope the Happy Birthday memory glows in you for a long time to come. ♥
puddle...Sooo glad you got to stay home snug. I'm very grateful to your neighbour, Nancy!! ♥
Thank you for the trip down memory lane with jc!!!! ♥♥♥
Jo, do you recall a Dean Blogger named Jovana? She is coming to Vermont to visit me later in March. Also...how about we organise a Blogger Bash to coincide with the 10th Anniversary of the Dean Campaign? The main thing is getting the word out, taking a head count (and names) and finding a time during the Dean event when we could all slip away to Flatbread or VT Pub & Brewery or somewhere.
Pat... that is "BE history"! LOL!
Jo: ♥
Thanks, Listener--it was a lovely week-end--and will be well remembered--at least until some of my gang come up with something else.
When my 75th birthday came around Brenda planned a two stage surprise birthday for me. She was here in GSO and made total arrangements with people in Palacios--some she had not met. There was a family party--all except one of my young'uns made it. Then the next day there was a community party at the local bookstore--and yep surprised again. That was wonderful also. Palacios is a special little multi-ethnic shrimping village--still self contained--local paper, bank, grocery store etc. intact!!
Love it, Listener. What a great Mom and Grandma you must be.
You remind me of Miss Betty, my elementary school librarian. She told us stories, and everyone of us was a character in a story at some time. It was magic.
Shirlee, how wonderful to be so loved and appreciated. You must have given much in your life to people, and it all comes back to us.
What fun I've had on Facebook. Thanks, Jo, for some help. I couldn't remember the names for the two parts of a village in Samoa. I put it on Facebook, and people responded. Siufaga and Luma, one near the ocean, one at the back of the village at the harbor.
Then there was a demon pig that ran around. He was evidently very frightening. I couldn't remember his name, but after the various responses, I remembered, Nifoloa, Big Tooth.
I really need a community now for memory, and there is joy in that.
Well, long day, so I'll say good night.
From Megan:
Prayer request: Tanner has radiation in the morning. It requires him to stand still for about 40 minutes. That seems tough for someone feeling well, but for Tanner who has spent much of the last few days nauseous, or sleeping, it seems extra hard! Please pray for him that he will be able to do it and it will go by quickly for him.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=tanne
Just wondering--a good friend posted a rant supposedly from Bill Cosby on facebook. I didn't get past the first paragraph before my snopessense started tingling. It was *nothing* like the Cosby that I know, so I googled it, and sure enough, fraud. And it's been going around for at least seven years (and got his birthday wrong, too, lol!) http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/billcosby/a/I-Am-76-And-I-Am-Tired-By-Bill-Cosby.htm
Hate mail is nothing new, but what I AM wondering is why are *so many* born without any snopessense at all?
Thanks for the candles! He's getting the marrow right this very minute. What an achingly long seven years it's been. Hope this ends the worst of it!!
Thank you, Puddle, for the candles, I've thought of Tanner off and on all day. My hopes are that this will be the curative for him. How difficult it is to see children suffer.
More snow here, though still not a foot. I said I would take a month of snow storms if we could heal this drought. I wonder, do you suppose the snow gods heard me?
Take care, thoughts here for all the friends.
Wishes for Tanner from GSO. Been having a bit of a problem with my internet connection through ATT--
Brenda stopped by and got SOMETHING working--for now.
Lovely sunny day here--I delivered some family tintypes to the restoration photographer across the street.
My young'uns ended up with a LOT of photographs from almost all sides of the family. Treasures.
Hi,
Nice day here. Cleaned out a closet, emptied the kitty litter, did the dishes, took Molly Magee for a walk, read up on Samoan legends, etc.
I met Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn when he performed at the University of Michigan. He had the longest fingers I've ever seen. He just touched my palm, didn't shake hands. He was a wonderful musician. He said, "I'm just an instrument," when he won the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow in 1958. He said the people are honoring classical music.
What a wonderful experience to have heard him play.
Any word on Tanner, Puddle? Thoughts his way.
Pat, he's been sleeping most of the day. When he's awake, he has pretty bad stomach pain. The graft period evidently takes weeks, so keep him in your heart.
This has been a wretched winter, at least compared to the last several: bitter, windy, ice, ick. I am ready for spring, dammit!
Greetings all! Shirlee's daughter here -- She wanted me to post that she is having computer issues and it might be a few days before she gets back online!
I'm hoping to fix it this weekend. Don't want her to be off-line for too long!
Hope everyone is doing well -- wishing that spring would get her soon!
Thanks, Brenda! We don't want her off line for too long either!! I fully sympathize, though: very long history of dialup and lousy phone lines. Give her some hugz, eh?
New thread!!
YAY!
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