Saturday, July 31, 2010

Sunglasses and Sunny Smiles!

You know how annoying commercials can be...you're right into the movie and all of a sudden another round of commercials begins to roll...and roll...and roll....and sometimes they'll even play the same commercial back to back!!!!That drives me nuts!!! But, to be fair, there really is an art to advertising.  They have an average of 30 seconds or less to communicate all that information, in as artful way as possible.  That's no small feat! I have difficulty in composing a single thought in that length of time!! So a great deal of advertising, for me, is frustrating, and there are some that are just plain disgusting...like the seniors sex night Polident commercial...that one drove me to distraction, until I finally wrote a letter to to the company, which must have been part of a pile of letters to the company, because low and behold, they stopped airing it!!! Power to the People!!!  Which brings me to my final point...commercials I love!!! Yes, there are some, and currently the one I am particularly fond of is the Subaru Outback commercial.  You know the one where this attractive couple are enjoying their "getaway" in a variety of spots "outback" in some desert looking place.  Part way through the day the guy realizes that he's lost his sunglasses.  They must have been a pair of those designer sunglasses...the really expensive kind...because they now turn around and revisit every spot that they've been all day!  They drive and drive, stopping here and there throughout desert land, looking and looking...but to no avail!  It's now dark, and they revisit a cave, whereupon the woman, who is now at the wheel, honks the horn to see if he's okay, and a flurry of bats accompanies him out of the mouth of the cave.  As he lifts the hood of his sweatshirt to protect himself from the bat guano, he finds that his sunglasses have been safely tucked into his hoodie the entire time.  He grabs them, and looks sheepishly at the woman in the vehicle, while shrugging his shoulders ...and then it happens...she tilts her pretty head, and then smiles the most beautiful smile you have ever seen!!!!  But that's not the best part....well it is and it isn't!!!  You see, every time she does that ...that smile tilt thing...I think to myself..."You are every person's dream....I would want you as a friend, a mother, a sister, a daughter... I just want you in my surroundings...No wait...I want to BE YOU....I want to be that woman who drives all day...looking for something that's not really lost at all, and then just smiles a beautiful smile when whatever it is finally discovered!!!"   Because we all know the reality...imagine being him and realizing that you just wasted the entire day looking for something you had all the time...that in itself would jump start my neuroses...ask someone to GO BACK for something I had forgotten....forget it!!! The last time I did that I got a major dressing down, enough to humiliate a 2 yr. old and I was 40 at the time!!..Then the "finding" of them would result in an explosive assault, followed by years worth of dirty looks whenever the item "sunglasses" were raised....it may even end up on my tombstone..."Here lies Sally....she lost her sunglasses and screwed up our entire day!...we have finally forgiven her!!"; So perhaps that's another reason why I love it so much...it's kind of like watching a fairytale, with the perfect ending! I just get a warm fuzzy feeling all over...and everything, for the moment, is OK! ...and it only took 30 seconds, and has no side effects!! What could be better!

Here it is... Enjoy, and let m know if you have better one!


Friday, July 30, 2010

Moonlight Swim

Well it's six a.m. and I haven't been to bed yet!  Here I go!! Had my night meds including 2 sleeping pills but no luck.  Matt was in the same boat so at about 3:30 we took off down to the lake, and he went swimming and I walked the dogs and paddled.  The moon looked beautiful, it's beams dancing across the rippling water, sending out a sparkling light which I couldn't catch on camera, but I did try! We tied the dogs' leashes together, and attached a flashing bulb to Ollie's collar so we could keep track of the two of them even in the dark. That worked pretty well. We stayed for an hour, and then returned home.  Matt was certain that he wouldn't be able to sleep and we should both just stay up and go back to the lake come sun up.  Well I suggested that he might want to try to lie down, and sure enough now...Matt's sleeping...Ollie's sleeping...Dudley's sleeping....and me.....well I'm writing this post!!! The day is beginning, and the sun is shining.  I wonder what this day will bring, and how much of it I'll see!!!!!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Courageous People In sickness and health

Just watched a documentary called "A Lion in the House" which follows some families who have a loved one in a "critical care" situation.  What is glaringly obvious is that their world's have changed completely, and usually by one critical event...or a shocking diagnosis...one minute life is going along just fine, and your worried about the messy living room, and how much noise the kids are making, and the next minute none of that petty stuff matters...in fact even stuff that is important (such as paying your bills, and going to work) becomes the irritating noise in the back of your head, that's interfering with your ability to keep all your   focus on your child, or mother, or husband' or wife!!!!!! Everything around you fades away...life is now about getting through the minutes, days, and hours. surviving the treatments and diagnoses and then more treatments.  I watched these family members doing all they could do to make their family safe, against this monster called illness and disease. I was awed at their ability to keep going...their ability to stuff all their fear, and emotion, way down deep where it can't infect their child, their brother, their father...and then put one foot in front of the other, every day, for as long as it takes.  Courage is all around...it is in the eyes of the patient getting prepared to have that next treatment that they know will make them sick...it is in the eyes of the mother who holds down her child, despite the screaming, and maintains a calm demeanour while her heart is breaking, it is in the eyes of the doctor who enters the room with sadness in his eyes, but pulls himself together while he shares bad news with a patients family.
I am so blessed.  My children have all been healthy, and I feel as if I don't appreciate that gift enough.  I have taken it for granted and that must change.
How about it?  Do you take your health and that of your family for granted? Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Sexuality Puzzle

I don't remember there ever being so much talk about sexual orientation amongst teens than in the past 10 years.  I'm all for supporting kids through this process, as adults who may understand all the family dynamics involved, and whether parents are supportive or not, but I worry that these days there is a trend to claim other than straight sexuality for the shock factor.  The resulting backlash can be dangerous when young people are so vulnerable.  A person's sexuality is a personal thing, and I don't understand the apparent need to be flagrant about it...providing pictorial essays to prove the fact.  When the motivation is to shock...the result is shock...and the result of that result..is to be offended that they're shocked!?...It just becomes more and more mixed up. The following youth website has more insight than I do...but they also suggest caution in making any sexual declaration in your early years.
http://sexualityandu.ca/teens/orientation-1.aspx
When I was a kid, I had a crush on my camp counsellor Sydney!!! I thought she was the coolest thing.  That was a natural part of being an adolescent...now I would be made to feel that I was gay.

..."Your sexual orientation is a reflection of your sexual and emotional feelings toward people of the same or opposite gender. Although some people know early on that they are homosexual, others go through a confusing period where they wonder: Am I different? Could I be gay? Are my feelings just a passing phase?


The answer is there is no single answer. Your sexual orientation will emerge over time, probably little by little. You shouldn't label yourself as gay just because you've had homosexual feelings or even homosexual encounters. These experiences are very common among people your age. "

I have a personal experience here, that affects my judgement.  I met a man who, after a while, revealed to me me, that he had been severely molested by 2 men for many years, and this had confused his sense of himself, and his sexuality, or so he said.  It was a difficult time for us both, but I felt it must be more difficult for him, as he was going through the process of dealing with such horrendous events.  The confusion about sexual orientation had not been immediately revealed to me, and by the time the abuse was revealed, we were already in a pretty intense relationship.  I asked the questions..."are you gay"..."don't you think you should deal with this"..."it doesn't just go away?"...He always answered the way he knew I wanted him to answer..the way that would keep us together instead of apart.  Years later I understand how vulnerable he was then, and I also understand that if I had been wiser, and had better self esteem, I would have ended the relationship right then and there...but I didn't.  I loved him, and I couldn't imagine kicking someone out of my life at a time when they needed so much support.  But the result was a whole lot of misery and pain later.  A lot of unkind words were spoken over the years.
I am not homophobic!  I do not like or dislike someone because of their sexuality!  However,
i also wouldn't date anyone who was confused about their sexuality, and I think it is wrong for individuals who are unsure, to get involved in a romantic relationship with anyone.  It just isn't fair.  If that somehow makes me "homophobic" then I would debate ur definition of the term. And that's all I'm gonna say about that!
 

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Conversations with God

As anyone who has read my blog knows, I live with my 13 year old son, 5 birds, 2 dogs, and 1 very fat cat!  We also have an XBox live and a computer with Internet (obviously or I wouldn't be talking to you now!)..which means I do spend quite a bit of time on my own.  Over the years I've developed a habit of talking to God out loud...when previously I did it in my head.  As you also know, if you've read my blog, I am ill, so I don't get out much, but on the occasions that I do, my little habit can be disturbing to others...say in the line for the bank machine...while picking vegetables in the produce aisle...while walking my dogs down the street!!  People already think I'm, how did someone put it..."out there"...but apparently that was a compliment!!! Anyhew, I though that since I'm "sharing" with you I'd let you in on a conversation that I had with God just this morning following watching....what else...CNN!
It went something like this...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hate this God...look at what's going on down here....do you see it? Of course you do you're God...but every thing's upside down...all hell's breaking loose...heinous tyrants and child molesters run free while little children are dying of starvation in a world full of food....This is insane God!!  How can this be...you're a "loving God"...can't we just feed the starving for awhile until the world sees how much better things could be if they got involved?...Just for a year...six months even?  People are getting millions and millions of dollars to make a movie...or play a game...come on God...help us out here!!  What?...I know You gave us "free will"...but free will sucks (excuse my language)...free will is way out of hand!! You've got to rein us in Lord before we implode!...You can't?...You won't....free will again...I get it...but I don't like it!!  Okay let's look at things a little differently....like...say....a game show, and You're the Host...Adam and Eve had 2 choices....door #1...a peaceful place to live out their lives with no worries, wars, or starvation...or #2...free will!!! Eve talks to a snake and then the whole of civilization suffers. Okay God, they were CRAZY ...who in their right mind would pick that...what?...Oh yeah...lots of people as it turns out...and they think we're crazy!!  Well couldn't we just change things up a bit...You know the whole "reality" TV thing that's going on down here...how about we create "Global Survivor" and You of course are still the Host.  Give us some little activity (not too strenuous...remember David and Goliath) and then we all get  to vote them off.....week #1...Osama Bin Laden...poof....week 2...Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ...poof...week 3....(you see where I'm going with this)...Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir...poof ...You said don't hide you're light under a basket...no...we'll snuff the suckers out with a coconut!!!!...Great plan eh?... Okay...I know what's coming next...it's not up to us to take a life...You're decision...no votes...no doors...well one door right?  "Knock and the door will be opened"...But could You at least give me a hint about this "End Times" thing...I mean it's looking pretty darn bad....floods, famine, etc. and it's coming up on 2012?  just a little hint?  No?...What's that You say?....Just be ready...okay...talk to You later. Over and out!!!

And that's how it goes with us.  A little banter here, a little banter there...and a whole lotta soul searching in between!!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Roman Polanski-rewarding a deviant

In March 1977, film director Roman Polanski was arrested and charged with a number of offenses against Samantha Geimer, a thirteen-year-old girl[1] – rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under fourteen, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor.[2] At his arraignment Polanski pleaded not guilty to all charges,[3] but later accepted a plea bargain whose terms included dismissal of five of the initial charges[4] in exchange for a guilty plea to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse.[4][5]

Polanski underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation,[6] and it was expected that he would only receive probation at his sentencing. However, upon learning that he would likely face imprisonment and deportation,[5][7] Polanski fled to France in February 1978, hours before he was to be formally sentenced.[8] Since then Polanski has mostly lived in France and avoided visiting countries likely to extradite him to the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski_sexual_abuse_case

So the little slime bucket stayed away from North America, and continued his professional life basically unimpeded...just as if he wasn't  a rapist...people adore him, think he's brilliant...couldn't begin to imagine the reality of what he has done.  He helped that along by minimizing the circumstances, claiming the sex (with a 13 yr. old) was consensual, not mentioning the drugs and alcohol he poured down her throat before he raped her.  No...those little details were conveniently left out.  There was so much pandemonium over what happened to Polanski in the legal process, which was a mess, that the public's interest and awareness faded before all the facts were pronounced properly.  The so called "Judge" was unable to separate himself from his fascination with his own notoriety gained from this case, and how popular his opinions would be in the legal and entertainment world. While he struggled with changing his decisions, Polanski took off, as detailed in the wikipedia link.
Over the years interest faded, until an HBO documentary, and another film, revived the public's awareness, and brought the criminal and legal issues back into the limelight.  It started ironically, with Polanski's lawyers wanting a pardon for Polanski (!), and pursuing litigation against the Judge in question.  The little twerp has no shame!!  Then there were requests for Polanski to be returned to the United States to face his original rape charges... 

"Last September, the "Rosemary's Baby" director was arrested in Zurich on the basis of a U.S. extradition request stemming from a 32-year-old sex charge. In 1978, Polanski fled America after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles.

He was freed last Monday after Swiss authorities declared that the U.S. had failed to provide records of a January hearing that would have shown Polanski had already served his sentence
"I'm not sure what I will do hereafter," Polanski told Swiss station TSR on Saturday. "For the moment I'm happy to be free."
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/19/roman-polanski-happy-to-be-free/

So 8 months of "house arrest", and it's all good for Roman Polanski...he's happy he's free!
Maybe the woman who says he raped her at age 16 will have better luck seeking justice...but I doubt it.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Shirley Sherrod

Racism is a "hot potato" issue and everyone who dares to venture close to this topic will usually be branded a "racist". 
So let's start by defining what racism is according to the dictionary as follows...

rac·ism   /ˈreɪsɪzəm/ Show Spelled[rey-siz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.

3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

Origin:

1865–70; < F racisme. See race2 , -ism
Related forms
racist, noun, adjective
an·ti·ra·cism, noun
an·ti·ra·cist, noun, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

The other day a woman by the name of Shirley , Georgia Director of Rural Development, Sherrod was called to task regarding statements she made about an experience she had 24 years ago and spoke about at an NAACP sponsored luncheon in March.  A blogger had found and taken a segment of Ms. Sherrod's speech and loaded it on to you tube ( our source for all serious news!) and it quickly produced the uproar the he surely intended, and culminated in the firing of Ms. Sherrod, and then the subsequent International discussion that ensued.
Was she being racist...the quotes that were plucked out of context would support it...check out definition #1 above...then read on... Shirley Sherrod openly admits that her experience with white people had been seriously tarnished by the murder of her father when she was young.  The killer was white...the witnesses were black...it never went to trial.  She had promised herself that she would help her black brothers and sisters whatever she did in the future.  Then the turning point for Shirley arrived...
"The first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm, he took a long time talking but he was trying to show me he was superior to me. I know what he was doing, but he had come to me for help. What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was, I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," Sherrod said.

"I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough," Sherrod said. "So that when he, I assumed the Department of Agriculture had sent him to me, either that or the Georgia Department of Agriculture, and he needed to go back and report that I did try to help him."

In the video, Shirley speaks about referring the white farmer to a white lawyer, thinking the latter would be more sympathetic because of his race... "So I took him to a white lawyer that had attended some of training that we had provided because Chapter 12 bankruptcy had just been enacted for the family farm. So I figured if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him."

So what do you think so far?  Sounds like she is having trouble seeing past this man's colour, and over to the issue at hand...helping him save his farm?  This is the point where your "racist" viewers turn off the video...the time when they state categorically..."See...she's a racist handing out money to black people only..."
That's at point 22 minutes...the video is 43 minutes long!! You can watch it in it's entirety...

What have they left out...the part where the white farmer comes back because the white lawyer won't help him...he doesn' have any money!!!  Shirley shares that this moment was pivotal in her life, as she realized it wasn't about race...it's about money and power vs. poor and powerless.  She determined to help anyone who was powerless to help themselves, regardless of the colour of their skin....Now that's pretty racist dontcha think?
There's one race we should all be concerned about, and that of course is the "Human Race".  We get so caught up in picking the needles out of the haystack, that we spoil the hay...the most valuable part.
None of us are immune to the effects of this skewed racism.  A few years ago Canada was sited by the UN as being "racist" for using the term "visible minority" on it's census forms.
"UN calls Canada racist for 'visible minorities' tag
Canada's use of the term "visible minorities" to identify people it considers susceptible to racial discrimination came under fire at the United Nations Wednesday - for being racist....the Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - also questioned other terms used by the federal government, among them "ethnocultural communities."
By Can West News Service March 8, 2007 "

UNITED NATIONS - Canada's use of the term "visible minorities" to identify people it considers susceptible to racial discrimination came under fire at the United Nations Wednesday - for being racist.
The world body's anti-racism watchdog says in a report on Ottawa's efforts to eliminate racial discrimination in Canada that the words might contravene an international treaty aimed at combating racism.
Members of the watchdog - the Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - also questioned other terms used by the federal government, among them "ethnocultural communities."
Other highlights of the report include a call for Canada to provide welfare to undocumented immigrants and failed refugee applicants; an expression of concern about "racial profiling" in Canada; and a recommendation that Canada pass laws to prevent Canadian transnational companies from trampling on the rights of indigenous peoples overseas.
Released Wednesday, the report presents the committee's findings after its members last month grilled a Canadian Heritage-led delegation on Canada's anti-racism policies.
All countries that have signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination must appear periodically before the committee to explain how they are respecting the treaty.
While the committee's recommendations are not legally binding, Ottawa says it is taking note.
"Constructive suggestions made by the committee may be useful to Canada in order to enhance its implementation of the convention," says Canadian Heritage spokeswoman Dominique Collin.
Eliminating all forms of identification would raise the question: How can minorities be helped or protected if there is no definition of who they are?
"I don't think the committee members could have realized that Canada's use of the term 'visible minorities' is aimed at ensuring positive discrimination," says Martin Collacott, a former Canadian ambassador to a number of Asian and Middle Eastern countries, and currently senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think-tank."

I don't know what the real answer is, because even when people are trying to help, they are slandered for the mere distinction.  My little country village has little in the way of cultural diversity, and having lived in more diverse areas, I know that we are missing the blessing that come with sharing our cultural backgrounds and traditions.  We are a village of 1000 people, but the good thing is that our town (20 min. out) is growing in diversity, and hopefully this will have an impact on our village makeup.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

mel gibson's fall from Grace

It's always disappointing when someone who is revered for their talent turns out to be an absolute moron in real life!!  What is even sadder, but interesting, is that so many "atheists" are revelling in the fact that gibson wrote, directed and produced "The Passion of Christ".  As always, when someone  professes to have faith and then falls, it becomes a reason not to believe in God!!  Having faith, and living out your faith is a daily struggle, because we live in the world of sin...and if we are honest about it, I don't think that anyone can really dispute that evil is all around us, temptation to do evil is all around us, and the difference between Christians and non believers is that we/I know that I am struggling with things that non believers may not consider sinful, and I believe that my life will be much improved if I follow what Christ wants for my life...to love each other as He has loved me...what a strange concept!  Clearly mel is not loving Oksana as Christ has called him to do, and he should be condemned for that.  But the "worldly" truth is that if mel gibson comes calling with a film to be produced, he will produce it....if mel gibson approached actors/actresses and offers them million to play a role in his film, they will do it...if mel gibson produces and directs a film, and releases it to be shown in theatres, it will be released, and he will make a fortune, and the likelihood that he will suffer any consequence is minimal,  Just like Roman Polanski, it is okay in this world to rape a 13 year old girl, and continue to have unimpeded fame and fortune!
Any world that re veers and rewards individuals who commit heinous acts, usually with money and more fame, is misguided, confused, and ruled by evil, not good.  We, you and me, have the power to join together and fight this system of behaviour, from the bottom up. Don't buy that ticket, see or rent that movie, listen to or buy that CD, read or download that book.
For those individuals who are excited about the fall of Christians, I say it is strangely sad that some would take comfort in someone elses fall from grace, while at the same time denying it exists?

Friday, July 16, 2010

The Destiny of Darfur

The Associated press has recently released this article about the current situation in Sudan.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gndJKm5SlklOBRhtc1v_-KST_GmQD9GVMB180
As the article demonstrates, the Sudanese Government led by President omar al bashir, continues to ignore Universal Disgust of the practices of genocide on the African people of Dar fur, and raises the finger at the UN and everyone in it, by systematically removing aid workers from Sudan, and jailing reporters who dare to share truth with the world, about his tyranny.  Years upon years are going by, and nothing is being done to stop this.  The Geneva Convention made it a crime against humanity to commit genocide, and we finally have called it "genocide" (how long did that take, and how many died before that title was issued) and still there is no action....Why?  This Evil Tyrant has been charged with war crimes, but not arrested....why?  I don't understand, in this era of communication, technology, and super sleuthing...why are people like this man, still walking the earth freely...Just like other terrorists at large, this man needs to be stopped.  Is it just because his victims are poor black Africans??  If he were here in North America, practicing the same sort of evil, would we be so cavalier about it?  Our voices should be crying out...no...screaming out...to end this man's practices and his life. There is no forgiveness for men like these...I truly believe that if we were in Old Testament times, the very hand of God would reach down on this man's head, and pop it, like the insignific  ant pea that he is...and we would cheer and revel in his demise!!! Okay.....breathe!
Quite simply the destiny of Dar fur is in OUR hands.....what will we do?......

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Crazy truth about Life

It's a funny thing about life...when you're young all you can think about is when you get to be grown up...you practice having intense relationships in your dreams...you crave the day when you can drive a car...when you can have ur own place...when u can have ur own money...go out whenever u want...blah...blah...blah..!! Once you get to the point when you have ur own car...have ur own job...have ur own place...have ur own money/debt...all u can think about is what ur going to do when u get ur next job...place...car...more money...what u'll do when u reach ur goals...but the goals and desires kepp changing and before u know it...somehow...sometime...u start looking back...and the really funny thing is that the cars...the jobs....the places...and the money/debt...is/are...in the grand scheme of things...pretty unimportant.  The only thing that's important are the people and the relationships, and how they have helped to shape who you are, and how that has shaped other people's lives who have shared, in a big or small way, in your life.  It's those moments in time when you have been truly authentic, and allowed the real you to embrace someone and potentially change the course of their lives!  That's a pretty huge thing...it's the best thing...it's the only thing that will make your life significant.  It's hard to share this simple truth with young people, beacause...well...they're young people!! They are, by nature of their condition, somewhat ...or very ...self absorbed, impulsive, and feel knowledgeable beyond their years, and now a days being knowledgeable beyond their years is a pretty consistent condition for teens in our present culture.  Being 13 now is way different than being 13 when my older sons were 13, and way way different than when I was 13 (obviously...I rode my dinosaur to school!!)..so it's very hard to impart wisdom to these kids, especially Biblical wisdom...because if I'm not relevant, they surely can't gain anything from a book written more than 2000 years ago!!!!! They think!!!But these are the years that this wisdom can guide and guard them from so much pain and dissappointment...knowing that you are loved beyond all measure, and no matter what happens, you will continue to be loved, and valued, and seen as a precious gift to be cherished...to be wrapped up in that love changes you...strengthens you...protects you from making choices that would harm you, because you don't need more attention than you already have...you fell safe and at home in your own skin.  There is no ulterior motive, no measure to achieve,...just safety and love and "peace that surpasses all understanding". In my own adolescence I didn't feel that confident in my lovability...I felt that on the list of "needs" priority...my needs were last on the list, and I carried that notion throughout my life...I still have a hard time with boundaries and saying no...but I found a way to solve it...I just don't have relationships, I don't go out anywhere!!! I have enough on my plate that I struggle with anyway...I can't look after anyone else!! That may sound terrible, but it's true, and I just live with it!!  But kids I meet, I still want to share that truth with them, and I hope that one day God will give me the chance to do more for our youth.  Thatis...if I can ever get out of this house!!!!  Well so much for serious,,,,time to lighten up....next time!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

102 uses for Duct Tape!

If you've been anywhere in the eastern part of N. America in the past week then you know that it started by being hot (following 6 days of rain, a welcome relief for my poor fibro racked bones), then it was hotter than hot...then it was suffocatingly hot (with accompanying bouts of angina)....followed by overwhelmingly ridiculous hot!!  It was...in a word...HOT!  We began this heat wave adventure in good spirits, and looking forward to a much needed drying out, but as the week progressed it became more and more difficult to cope with the less pleasant side effects of the heat, and a hot house...those being....no sleep...no apetite...no energy (less than my low normal!)...no food...no will to shop...feeling faint, and suffering with angina.  We spent Monday - Wednesday at the lake, which is our usual method of escaping, but usually once we return home, the house has cooled, and we're comfortable and nicely tired enough to sleep...this week that was not to be.  No matter how late we came home, the heat was hanging like a lead curtain throughout the house, increasing in intensity the closer you got to the upstairs. By Wednesday when leaving the house I began to wonder if I should be going to the Lake, or the Hospital, and by the time we got home I knew that I had to do something to survive.  2 years ago I purchased 2 air conditioners, which had stayed neatly tucked away in the upstairs closet ever since.  I had to get these installed...it was our only hope.  Since I don't have a man, and the situation was dire, I wrestled one of the AC units out of the closet, and down the stairs...it was not a pretty site.  Once I opened the box and began reading the instruction manual (the first 5 pages being "warnings") I realized, as I wiped the sweat away from my burning eyes, that this manual was written in gobbledygook...that language that looks like English...but really has some other origin!! The words all pull together in what is supposed to be a sentence, however, no matter how many times, or how slowly you read it...it makes absolutely no sense at all.  My hopes were dashed...I almost wept.  By Thursday morning my stubborn little self, was on the phone trying to find a "handy man"!!! A fellow was recommended to me, and able to come that afternoon, so we stayed home and sweat ourselves out while waiting for his arrival. By the time he arrived I was exhausted, but clinging to the fact that I would soon be the happy owner of a cool house!  I had him bring the other AC unit downstairs, through the blistering heat of our upstairs (1/2 storey), and he then began to toil over the instruction manual himself ....reading...sweating...reading...re-reading...more sweating...groaning...(you get the picture!!)...after 2 1/2 hours of reading; sweating; and installing some parts on the main unit, he announced that he didn't feel that he had the right equipment or know how to complete the job properly, and then he left!  I was devastated and dashed...my hope for coolness and a night's sleep were gone.  I lay down on the coach and applied wet cloths to my body, praying for some kind of rejuvenation.  After about an hour  I came to my senses....I would not be daunted by this silly manual, meant to dissuade mere mortals like myself from installing air conditioners by themselves...it was pure propaganda...the type designed to waive any and all possible responsibility, from injury and or death...from a paper cut to electrocution, and I would NOT be marginalized...I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR!!
So over the next 2 days I installed those air conditioners, one by one, with every woman's most important household tool...Duct Tape!!!!!!  By Friday night Matt, Oliver and Dudley were all basking in the coolness that is now our first floor...just don't go upstairs just yet!  I suppose that at some point in the near future I will probably have to relent and ask another male to come to my home and install my AC units properly...but for now it's just kind of nice to know that despite being old, ill, and just a little bit crazy...I've still got it!!!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Dolly Parton and the hamster

So I'm watching Dolly Parton, and Kenny Rogers, on Oprah...everyone singing those songs that everyone, fan or not, knows the lyrics to.  This takes me back to being 19, and having basically "run away" from Victoria BC where my parents lived briefly (that's how I got there, being unsuccessful at providing for myself, and my cat) and getting on a midnight train to Edmonton, with my boyfriend, who was 10 years my senior.  We sat in the dome car all night watching the mountains go by, the pristine snow sparkling in the light of a full moon! Incredible!! So what does that have to do with Dolly you say?  Well when we got to Edmonton, we had nothing but the clothes on our back and a small amount of money.  We found a really sleazy one room apartment, and bought 1 pot, 2 plates and a set of cutlery each.  We searched for jobs, and when we found them (a Bookstore for me, a contracting job for him) we decided we would splurge....so we went to the pawn shop and bought a little tape player and every Dolly Parton tape we could find!!!!  That little music machine provided hours of entertainment, and drowned out the sound of the inebriated couple next door as they fought on and on...and we sung "I will always love you" and other such songs!!!!  I remember we wanted a pet....and we could afford the pet...it was the cage we couldn't quite manage....so we got the hamster anyway, and it lived in the crisper container of the fridge...no, not in the fridge...the container was out of the fridge....we didn't need it anyway because we didn't have enough money to fill both crispers !!! We eventually "moon lighted" from that apartment to a better one room apartment! I also remember that winter in Edmonton is cold...when I say cold...I mean "deadly" cold.  Having come from Victoria, I didn't have any boots, and was wearing those little Chinese slippers, black cotton, with a little strap.  My feet got very cold going to and from work, but the interesting thing about the cold in Edmonton is that it actually "speed freezes" your flesh so quickly, that you don't realize that you can no longer feel your feet until about 2 hours after you're back inside!!!  That's presuming that they don't just come right off when you remove your shoes!!! It's the "thawing" not the "freezing" that is so incredibly painful.  It almost makes you want to just put your "shoes" back on and go back outside for awhile!!!! Anyway...it's funny how these things go...how things link together in a quirky kind of way!  the best thing about Dolly; the hamster; the weird neighbours; the cold and the man is...that I got a "Paul and Andrew" out of it ...so they're worth more than losing a few toes!!!...if I had lost any toes....which I didn't...but you get the point!!

Monday, July 5, 2010

A Thought About Commenting

Commenting, I realize, is an extremely frightening thing to do.  It is akin to leaving a voicemail...once you've left it...it's left...no way to retrieve it; erase it; take the words back.  I do need to point out that it is the same in general conversation....a word spoken perhaps in jest, can sometimes be explosive...but we don't seem to be as reluctant to talk as we are to leave messages or comments....funny that!!  Anyway, my point is, that there's really no need to be anymore scared of leaving a comment than you do when talking...the risks are the same, but no one knows who you are if you don't want them to, so it's really alot easier.  You can type whatever you want, and I can't *69 you to see who you are!!
But you see for us "Bloggers" the comment is EVERYTHING!!!!!....it's our "life's blood"...it's what we need to course though our veins, and keep us breathing in and out and to be perfectly frank.....right now I'm pretty darn anaemic!!!!!!  Please save me from myself....
I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!!!!!!


I love gummy bears...no chocolate...no chips...but a nice big bowl of gummy bears is all I need to make me happy.  So when Matt told me I "had to see the gummy bear song" I was hesitant...it's never good to humanize one's food source...ask any farmer...that's why they don't name "hannah" the cow, because they know that sometime soon "Hannah" will be hamburger...and there's something wrong with having a hamburger named Hannah....don'tcha think? So you understand my hesitation!! Anyway, as you can see I did watch "the gummy bear song" and I'm sharing it with you.  I have been able to distance myself from the aforementioned difficulty mainly beacuse he's green....I don't eat the green ones...well that's not entirely true...If I'm really hungry I will combine the green ones with a whole lotta red or orange ones because they are my favourite, (duh..of course...who likes lime anyway?) and I scrunch them (red, orange, yellowish) around the "greenie" in order to overpower his greenie taste!!!  There's also something odd about the singing greenie gummie bear....not that being a singing greenie gummie bear isn't odd enough already but....I think he was in a fight....with Mike Tyson?! Just sayin!!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Wimbeldon World

From previous posts, you may have read that I spent a lot of my time as a youth, playing tennis, and drinking, and sometimes playing tennis after drinking, which I don't recommend! So it naturally follows that when the great English Tennis Championship is on....I'm an enthusiastic viewer.  Also it's hard to cheer for SVU (Special Victims Unit), and Animal Cops...and I suppose you can cheer for Cesar Milan "the Dog Whisperer"...but it always comes out with a Spanish accent, and then I can't let go of it!!
But cheering for tennis is almost as awesome as cheering for Canada, with one big exception...Canada was not the underdog!!!!  I don't know why, but that is consistently my position....cheering for the underdog.  I remember the first Wimbledon that I was actively cheering, and that was when Margaret Court played Yvonne Goolagong in the final, and I was certain that Evonne would win....she had to....her story and her struggle demanded it!  I watched it with my grandmother, and she knitted while I wriggled around trying to be quiet but blurting out a cheer here and there.  Granny didn't think that anyone would beat Margaret, and she didn't want me to be too disappointed when Evonne lost!!...But she didn't lose!!!! When the press interviewed her she said the cutest thing....she was worried about dancing with the male winner...and was going to cheer for the shorter boy...she being just above 4 feet herself...things sure have changed...whites are no longer whites (with the exception of Wimbledon) and the most provocative in this line is Serena Williams...did you see her recent "tennis" wear, which resembled a black lace corset with red accents!!!  The noise at the Championships no longer comes from the spectators, but rather the players seem to be competing not only for scoring prowess, but also volume of yelps!!! The tennis racquet's are made out of something that NASA created, and if you serve at less than 100 mph, your game needs work!!  The game no longer varies from baseline to net...but is played almost entirely 5 ft outside the baseline...probably because playing inside the line could result in massive injury!.  My grandmother and I loved to watch tennis together, all the while her knitting needles clicking rapidly, but she never lowered her head ( I found that almost as engrossing as the tennis)...and I remember her saying emphatically that ..."they shouldn't allow aces...it's cheating!"....I wonder what she would say today....what do you think Granny?