Downfall of the Aftermath

As those of us who are intelligent understand, this type of weather is the new normal.  We have had 7 national weather disasters this year and had 14 last year.  Those who deny global warming and our role in it, will not be spared the forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, or micro bursts to come any more than the rest of us.  We were spared the worst as I posted recently.  But while waiting for Sandy to arrive and a full 12 hours before we felt the strongest force of her dance, I looked out my formal room (I call it the library) window and saw this tulip poplar in the center of the photo leaning away from his compadres.  This tree is over 100 feet high and all the poplars that are the same height on this part of the yard have been compromised due to a septic drain field which was put in when we built the house.  We had lost another tree just like it and only a few feet from it last year.  I checked on it every 10 minutes and it continued to lean more.  I was fixing a snack when...

I did not see the actual fall, but was not surprised.  More firewood for next winter.  Another section of deer fence to repair!  We also lost the lovely little wild fruit tree down at the dock.  It was such a little tree, but its roots had sat in the brackish water too long.  It had provided many lovely little white blossoms each spring, but will do that no longer.

During the noon of Tuesday, long after Sandy had checked out and checked in up North creating more disaster, I went down to the dock at high tide.  The little dock platform on the right was not even visible.  Still this flooding was not as horrible as it could have been.

But I think the biggest surprise was when I opened the front door just before the tree fall and saw my old Mazda with its sad expression.  I had clearly neglected it way too much after the purchase of my new car.  While my new Camry sat safe and comfy in the garage, the Mazda was left outside in the wind and rain.  I stood in the doorway and saw the Mazda which sat like a small wet mammal wanting to come in and dry off!  It had ruined the lawn  in its crossing I noticed.

(Hubby did drive it here in the shelter of the garage.
Sandy does not have a driver's licence and you should see what she had done to other cars!)

Creep 'em Out!

Well, I did not lose electricity and am feeling very happy about that.  At least one large tree down in the front yard out by the drive way.  Waiting for sunrise to see the yard, although there will continue to be rain throughout the day.  Sandy is still leaving a trail of life-threatening devastation to the north of me with broken levees flooding entire towns, terrible fires reducing dozens of homes to ash and 3 foot snow blizzards to the west and north.  May we all hope those continuing their watch and wait are safe and may we send some relief to those who are now devastated.

Watching and Waiting

Sitting here in the early morning dark listening to the rain and wind gusts outside move ominously around my house.  It is very different from other storms in that I am hearing the rain pelt BOTH the front and the back side of the house at times.  I am guessing that everything outside is as drenched as a soaked sponge.  No large gusts and no downed trees but the ground is becoming less able to hold roots of those heavy giants.  The worst of this storm will hit us tonight when it is dark again.  Tonight will be the long dark ride of dread with predicted 70 MPH winds along with the hours and hours of rain.  We will sleep in the basement as we usually do because of fear of several large trees falling on our heads!

I am waiting for daylight to see what the water levels at the dock are. 

Yesterday I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Not sure how that helps, but it does!  Hoping my kids and their kids are safe throughout the next 24 hours.  Keeping up as best I can with friends on FB as they work their way through this storm.  Trying to plan for two days of food without electricity.  It is getting colder and we have stocked firewood, but it is on the front porch and may be wet and we may have to move to the garage to dry before we can warm ourselves by its fuel.

As this storm has evolved and I watch the news it appears we are going to be just south of the eye and going to get the worst of the winds which are on the Southwest side of the storm.  

Waiting impatiently for daylight.....

Hurricane Pasta

As I write this, Hurricane Sandy is just off shore from the north part of the state of Florida.  We are getting scary reports about how this will be a 'perfect' storm when it meets up with a strong cold front bearing down from the Northwest even though it has been downgraded to a tropical storm.

We have spent the day moving patio furniture, getting the boat off the lift and on a trailer, and checking what errands we may have to run tomorrow to prepare for any loss of electricity for an extensive time.  We have filled the kiddie pool with water, frozen plastic jugs of water, checked our flashlights, finished all laundry, moved canoes and the kayak to shelter and started to eat lots of food from the fridge.

Hubby also made the first harvest of his oyster mushrooms which he "planted" or whatever it is you do with mushrooms last spring behind the tool shed.  They are sprouting...like... mushrooms.

I checked out the fridge and felt we needed to use up as much cheese as we could in the event we lose electricity next week.  Hubby went to the store for some half and half while I shredded some sharp Provolone, some Fontina and broke up the little bit of some left over blue cheese.  I melted butter along with all the cheese (nice and rich) and when hubby came back I added about two cups of the half and half that he bought..cream would have made thicker sauce, but I do draw the line somewhere.  Then I added salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Once the cheese was melted I discovered that we had a small package of turkey bacon and a leftover package of frozen peas.  I microwaved the bacon and added it along with the frozen peas into the sauce along with the first harvest of the oyster mushrooms which I had cleaned and sliced.

 

I also had a small bottle of white truffle oil which I drizzled over the top...just to make sure there was enough fat in this meal.

I cooked linguine al dente.  Then poured on the sauce and hubby "roughly" chopped fresh basil as a garnish.  Way too much fat in this soup, but with a hurricane on its way in a few days, I felt justified.   This made up recipe may now become known as hurricane pasta at our house in the future.

If you do not hear from me in a week or more...it must mean there is no electricty here due to the storm.  Wish us luck!

Meet-ups

It is such a gamble when you agree to meet-up with a blogger that you have never met but have followed for several years.  You may know more about them then you do some members of your family.  They know where you stand on politics, religion, and life, because they have followed you for several years as well. You both know where you can agree to disagree and where you can be so totally in agreement that you can laugh out loud.  I guess the only time it would be of concern is if one of you was not very honest on your blog and portrayed yourself as something other than what you are.  (Then to add to the mix, you bravely bring you husband along who has no idea who you communicate with on blogger or even why you do it.  Throw in that fish out of water and who knows where the day will end.)

It seems, to me at least, to be the anomaly of blogging.  People are so straightforward and honest when writing to 'virtual' strangers and more reticent when talking with real live folks each day.  Perhaps it is because we have to live or work with those 'live' folks and cannot dare to trample on feelings or embarrass them.  If it goes awry with a Blogger, we just stop visiting and push the delete key on our blog roll.

I am sure that professional writers who blog have a much different take on these meet-ups because they ARE the writer.

The greatest tension of the day was that we drove up in the new car, the car without a dent, scratch or smudge.  We were going to park near my daughter's house and metro in, but since the cost would be almost the same, we parked downtown.  We found a place to park in the Bowels of Hell.  Behind Union Station and several levels below ground and below the Kaiser health building and the Securities and Exchange Commission is a public parking area, one where you do not have to pay by the month or give up one of your limbs.  It is an enterprise run by a company that parks people every which way and leaves only room to pass by inches in the entry and exit.  $15 for the whole day, which in any city is a steal!  BUT the place is crammed and you have to loan your keys to young men who speak little English and they park your car for you in spaces in underground garages where you never should park a car! It is not without exaggeration that hubby turned over his keys with much trepidation, thinking our little Camry was on her way to a chop shop and never to be seen again.

As luck would have it I suggested that we meet at a restaurant that unknown to me had closed a year ago and I left my cell phone in the car in the Bowels of Hell.  What an auspicious (always wanted to write that word) beginning.

In spite of errors we successfully met up with Mage of Postcards and her husband yesterday for lunch.  She is an aficionado (always wanted to find a reason to write that word as well) of architecture.  So we met up at the beautiful building of Union Station in Washington, DC which is a little more than an hour's drive from my home.   I recognized them holding hands as they walked through the archway toward us.  They were on their last day of a 10-day trip, and I swear, even though confined to a scooter most of the time, Mage hit EVERY SINGLE place of significance in the city.  And she is not the type who 'scoots' through an art museum, for instance.  She reads up before she gets there and then reads all the information while she is there.  She explained why the netting was stretched above our heads in the Union Station lobby.  It seems that debris may still be falling from the earthquake a few months ago.  Then before lunch ended her husband took my point and shoot camera and showed me a feature that I probably read about years ago and yet never used!  Mage (or as I later learned to call her Maggie) has a newer model of my same camera.  I now have even less excuse for blurred photos.

All four of us are talkers which meant there was little in the way of silence during the entire lunch.  We laughed and hugged and people watched and took photos.  An outside observer would think we were long lost relatives who had found each other after decades.  While many bloggers have meetings of each other lots of time, this was only my second meet-up of a Blogger, but I am most satisfied that it turned out much as I optimistically expected and I hope the same for them.

Chinese Apples and Wine

The world is a better place due to wineries and I am looking forward to the day when they are available on all country trips...well, at least that is my opinion. We stopped at this winery in the photo above in the apple country in Pennsylvania last week. It has only been in existence for about five years.  Yes, my European and South American readers can turn up their noses at this. We are babies in this industry, at least on the east coast, and  I admit, most of the wines reflect that in lack of sophistication.

This winery is called the Hauser Estate Winery and the building itself is brand new. I was told by the visitors center staff in the town when asking for directions to the winery to look for a lovely building on a hill. Well, one person's "lovely building" is another person's new and somewhat boring rock structure.  They do have the catbird's seat on the hill, though.

This view is across an agricultural area known primarily for its apple orchards.  One can purchase a glass of wine and sit out on a very large patio and drink in the scenery along with the fermented grape juice.  They even have shawls and wraps near the door to borrow on cold days.  On our day there was no need for anything but a light sweater.

But this post is more about the conversation that I had with the woman who poured our (my) wine.  (They have apple cider for those who want a less strong drink.)  She is the (one of the?) granddaughter(s) of the man who created Musselmans apple products in America, most famously you may know the applesauce.  Her mother and two aunts have built this winery as their new enterprise and 80% of the grapes they grow are used in their wine.  The daughter went on to say that they were moving into the wine industry because it now was cheaper to import apples from China to make applesauce then to grow them in our own country.  It now is cheaper to import apples from China to make applesauce in this country then to grow the fruit in our own country!  We no longer manufacture most things in this country...we don't even grow fruit economically it seems even with the rising costs of fossil fuels!  What would Johnny Appleseed say?  Or, perhaps, he viewed this on a much smaller more personal scale when he took his trek.

The Rolling Stone

 Dear Diary,

We are putting miles on the new car.  Hubby was beside himself with planning for a road trip.  We seem to be moving into this relationship where he is the little kid with all the fun ideas and I am the old mom trying to keep things normal.  It actually has some balance to it, because I am a bit of a stick in the mud.  God forbid I should die tomorrow with my sticks still in the mud, which is hubby's greatest fear!

We took a tour of the new Gettysburg Battlefield and Museum and other stuff in the Pennsylvania area and then did a traditional old folks leaf peeper drive down the West Virginia and Virginia skyline.  Hubby did the driving and I did the photography...no surprise.

He was just beside himself with all the buttons and adjustments on the car.  Every five minutes he was checking how much gas we were saving, how he was charging the battery going down hill, how the cruise control worked, and resetting the trip odometer.  Conversation from his side consisted of, "We are currently getting 66 MPG!"  "I have a range of 400 miles left."  "Look how this engine takes these hills!"  "Isn't this a smooth drive?"  Yes, this is "my" car.

I, on the other hand, fiddled with the radio controls listening to satellite channels of public radio, CNN, smooth jazz, traffic and weather, and the SPA channel.  That last one is the one to listen to while driving past the golden, red, orange, peach and lime yellow trees in the mountains.  It is very Zen although hubby said it was putting him to sleep.  I did get a chance to use the seat warmer one morning which I must say was worth every penny.  Weather was cooperative for the most part and we needed neither heat nor air conditioning as we drove along.  We did open the fancy moon roof for a short time, but the wind going over head is a little noisy...maybe if we were younger with better hearing?

The car is now covered in dusty streaks, the floormats have leaves, and we feel we have broken her in.  We did stop at Harper's Ferry yesterday hoping to walk around, but could not find parking.  Actually, that is not true.  There were two parking spaces left below the train station, but both were over small puddles and hubby refused to bring wet shoes into the car when we would have to get back in!  So we drove on!  (Yes we could have parked down the road and taken the shuttle...!)

Now I am back going through hundreds of emails and deleting every single political request for support.  I am so done with this election!  I now must go through the 300 photos I took and delete most of those.  I hear you sighing with relief on that one.

Meeting up with a blogger next week, although we have not set an exact time or place.  Meeting up with grandkids to check out the Halloween fun on the 31st.  Finishing up on a volunteer gardening committee until next spring.  Time to put up my feet and let you know how I feel about the J.K. Rowling novel next.  Eventually I will get back to reading all your blogs.

Seven Sunday Recalls Because It is All I Have

1.  Hubby and I were watching the "Barefoot Contessa" which is a cooking show in the United States.  I have not decided that I watch her because of her good and delicious recipes  or because the intermission is shots of her lovely Connecticut gardens accompanied by some nice jazz.  Anyway this week it was boned leg of lamb.  She lifts out the largest cut of meat I have ever seen and I just had to comment, "That is not a leg of lamb...that is a leg of sheep!" 

2.  During a grocery shopping trip we noticed a grenade decal on the back window of an automobile.  Hubby commented on it.  I explained that it was probably seen by some folks as a tool just as we would look at a decal of a garden spade.  We do live in a military area and that driver may have just returned from Afghanistan where weapons are common and a daily part of life.

3,  I have owned my new car about 5 days and driven only once more since getting it home.  I really like it, but I am not in love with new cars and do not create errands to run just to get it out of the garage.

4,  I learned that  new cars have thick sun visors.  My garage door opener and deer gate opener do not clip over the visor very well. As a matter of fact, my garage door opener fell in my lap while making a turn the other day which was an unexpected startle.  I have to find an auto store to buy a new visor container.

5.  I hate more when I lose a thought than when I lose money!  Losing less money and more thoughts these days.

6.  I invited two Mormon Bishops for an oyster lunch this past week.  One is a very good and old friend, a former Green Beret and parachute jumper now in his early 70's and the kindest most gentle old soul.  No, we did not talk politics or religion.  It never ceases to catch me up short to find the bravest and most dangerous men are very pure old souls deep inside.

7,  I see Halloween and Christmas decorations in the stores everywhere.  Both have become such terribly commercial holidays.  While I am having fun creating photographic Halloween cards, my favorite holiday is still Thanksgiving which is so often overlooked, but has a message that resonates with me.

(The photo has nothing to do with this post.  Just wanted to show how rich people can grandfather in stuff and then totally rebuild it.)

My First Time

Do you remember one of your first times?  Probably only the very first?  You look a little confused by that statement.  Let me explain.

Yesterday I drove my brand new car home for the first time.  I purchased a Toyota Camry hybrid XLE.  It has 90% of the bells and whistles but none of the post production add-ons.  I paid about $1,000 more than the lowest target price recommended on the various web sites I visited and close to other prices given on other sites.  I might have gotten the seller down another $400/$600, but I admit I just wanted to get out of there.  I did discover after I got home that I also got the floor mats which I had not asked for, so I am happy.

Earlier in the week I could not get the seller to provide me with some negotiating enthusiasm until I started searching on-line and his dealership got my name and information via the Internet and emailed me.  He suddenly wanted my business once again. He asked if I was shopping around and I said, of course!

Well, we went to the dealer after working on the museum grounds today and the deal ended up taking half as long as I thought.  Learning how the navigation system, radio, heated seats, gas saving systems, etc. worked took much longer.  The dealer linked up hubby's phone via Bluetooth to the car and now I have dozens of stupid names to sort through in making a call.  Hubby adds EVERYONE to his phone.  (During this week I am going to learn how to delete contacts from the car's database!)   I was encouraged by the salesman to get my own "Smart" phone.  I am not sure why I want a phone smarter than me...it hasn't helped hubby much that I have noticed.

Anyway, after much training I was finally able to kick both of them out of the car so that I could drive this little beauty home.  I get 60 (90?) days of free Satellite XM radio so I selected a nice jazz station and put the car in drive and enjoyed the ride back to my house.

By the time hubby brought home the "old' car that had been a love only 15 years ago, I had decided we needed to celebrate by eating out.  We headed to my favorite Italian restaurant with him driving so that I could have fun with all the buttons and displays as we headed there.  We had a delicious Italian seafood dinner with several glasses of wine -- me only as hubby does not drink. and is therefore, always the designated driver.

We got into the car and both noticed weather had turned colder.  I turned on the heated seats with such decadent pleasure.  I no longer had to wait until my butt warmed where I sat!  On the way home it started to drizzle and in the dark there was some quick discussion on how to turn on the wipers.  Hubby fiddled without success and I directed without solace.  Finally we admitted it was too hard to read buttons on the lever and other symbols in the dark and I looked for the cabin light.  There were a lot of buttons to select overhead.  I pushed a few randomly waiting for light.  Soon I realized as my face was becoming damp that I had pushed open the moon roof in the rain!  I had had enough wine that I got the giggles and it took me some time to find the button to close the roof of the car once again.  We finally got the wipers going and the right station on the radio and began to enjoy our ride home once again.

Now for the part of the story that brought us back to earth.  We approached the bridge over the river and noticed traffic was very slow up ahead.  Once we got to the other side of the bridge we saw lots flashing lights and a detour sign.  As we left the bridge to detour from the main highway we were able to see across the median a good sized truck in the ditch sitting cross ways and just a few feet away was a sedan with a crushed roof and covered with white fabric to prevent those of us driving by from seeing the scene beneath the crushed roof as our headlights made the turn.  We slowly passed as two ambulances arrived and the rain started in earnest.

We came back to earth with a jolt and hoped those involved would be safe as we were reminded the real reason for automobiles, getting easily but safely from one point to another.

Argh!!

I am in the process of buying a car and want to warn others who might be entering this dark period in your life.  Make sure your health is at its peak.  Make sure your finances have no surprises.  Make sure your marriage is rock solid.  (When we went looking for a 2012 model at a Ford dealership last week, hubby took the side of the salesmen encouraging me to look at the 2013's and compare because they didn't have any 2012's of the model currently on the lot!  It is not polite to argue in front of the salesman and gives him an advantage.  Fortunately this salesmen was about 18 and didn't know quite how to handle a domestic dispute.)

I remember when I went out to purchase my very first car after landing my first real job. I was on cloud 29.  My Dad went with me and I had total faith in his ability to cover my back.  I knew absolutely nothing about buying a car, and perhaps, my father did not know much more.  I had the down payment and took over the monthly costs with no help from my parents.  But I got this beauty and loved it totally, even though it proved not to be the guy-magnate that I thought it might be.  Hard to believe that is not a toy car, isn't it?  (What might be harder for you to believe is I still wear the same style, not the same actual clothes, as in this photo!  And I only weigh about 40 pounds more.)

Car purchasing is such an agonizing experience for most people because the industry hires people to sell you a product based on their commission and not a fair salary.  The price on the car is a huge secret fudge figure.  They give salespeople a bag of tricks and then they begin to wear you down to a nub by stalling on everything from whether they really have the model they told you they had to adding tons of stuff to the total cost.  Can someone explain to me why floor mats cost as much as carpeting for a house?

I know that the first rule is to NEVER fall in love with anything you test drive.  Be able to walk away.  That is not a problem with me.  I have no ego tied to any vehicle I purchase these days.  It is about comfort, convenience, safety and cost.  I test drove a "luxury" Toyota Avalon and in all honesty did not feel much different (except for space) when compared to the Camry that I drove immediately after.  It has been 15 years since I purchased a car, and as a result, the bells and whistles that impress me are standard features on cars these days.

I have been saving money for several years to be able to pay cash because I cannot make much by investing the money and then applying it to car payments and paying the increased cost that is worked into that deal.  Others tell me that is not true, but I do not see it on my statements and numbers.  I also have a serious psychological aversion to paying for anything on time, so that is pre-paid therapy in my mind.  I will put as much of this purchase as I can on a credit card to get the points.

I am hoping by next week to have this whole thing finished.  I emailed the Toyota salesman yesterday, but he is taking his time to respond.  Hubby wants me to push it, but I kindly explained that there is more than one 2012 Camry in this state that has one of the 4 colors I like and all the features.  I do not want the salesmen to think I am in any hurry...and in reality, I am not.  My old car got an oil change this week, a $37 fix on the AC and the mechanic told me it is fine and should run for quite a while longer.  (It is going to my son who spent more than the cost of this model on a ring, if you will remember.)

If you are interested I will keep you posted.  If you have advice, I'll certainly listen.

Discussion for the Masses

I am sitting here in my bed with laptop at hand.  Hubby is waiting for the United States Presidential debates to start in just minutes.  I cannot watch them in real time before I go to bed.  It will start my mind like a squirrel in a cage or a hamster on a wheel and I will be up all night!  Thus I am recording the debate and will watch it tomorrow with breakfast.  I will play the DVD quickly to make sure the talking heads on the news shows do not skew what I am seeing before I see it.

The moderator, Jim Leher, is a great old man who has provided many, many years of great news for me.  He gets criticized because he is not aggressive enough.  It appears that many people do not know what the role of a moderator is.  I also think that attitude means too many people think politics is about fighting and the presidential debate is about war.   They just don't get that it is about enlightenment and elaboration, as much as is possible in this powerful environment.

Everything is so fine tuned, as I think they had to agree to 25 items regarding the debate.  I doubt it will reveal much that I don't know about either candidate, but maybe they will surprise me.  I also doubt that it will change anyone's mind except for the rare independents who are still undecided.  Got an email from the President stating that he was getting ready for tonight's debate but he would still like me to kick in a couple of hundred dollars to help him win.  That sure warmed the cockles of my heart. 

How many millions of dollars of negative ads do they think citizens can watch before they totally tune out everything?  It is wasted money.

Anyway, below this graph from an artist on that famous Mad Magazine is being passed around on Facebook and I thought it was humorous enough to post regarding the debates.

For those who are not U.S. citizens, please forgive us.

Constipated Zen

It is true that it is has been a longer gap than usual for posting.  I  have been waiting for some profound thought to give me stimulus for a wise, intelligent or even humorous post...an exception to the rule.  I have been waiting for something to write that elaborates, enumerates, or illuminates.  I noticed the other day that this blog has shrunk in followers which is a nice bit of evidence on how boring I have become.  Of course, I would continue to write even if no one read this, because I do still write for my own creative outlet.  It is like eating and pooping...I just have to do it.

Alas, my dear brain has entered a far dimension these days...maybe I left it in Aruba with that curious blue lizard?

Maybe  I gave it too long a rest after finding my future daughter-in-law and I are in such a magical and wonderful space together and I do not want to tamper with that by thinking too much.

Maybe I have absolutely emptied it - my mind?  That is a scary thought.

Wait!  I am trying to find a focus here!  It is like knocking on the door of an empty room for conversation.  No one answers because no one is in there.  I open the door and there are just dust bunnies and faint shadows and the hollow sounds of my footsteps.

Death and politics.  This is all that seems to sneak into my thoughts when I let it..  And certainly both of those subjects are not small enough to write about nor safe enough to even consider these days.   Beauty and peace find their way to my other blog, so that outlet is well satisfied, and not surprisingly, that blog has grown in number of readers. 

You know that I am going to die, if not imminently, and I know the same about you.  I cannot change that by writing about it.  ("if you mean 'famous' or 'superior' you want eminent; if you mean 'impending, about to happen' that is imminent; and if you mean 'present, inherent,' your word is immanent.")  That was tricky.

You know who I am going to vote for and I might know the same about you, but since we are adults it is unlikely we will change each others minds if we are not in agreement.  The world, especially Europe and the Middle East, seems to be collapsing.  The poor are getting very poor which means dark days ahead globally.  So, should I write about that?

That leaves puppies and babies and what I ate for breakfast..since I am on my own this weekend it was a biscotti with coffee..  Maybe I should post a photo?  Nope, this is not Facebook...........Guess I will go see what is happening there.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

The island of Aruba is hot, hot, hot.  And I do not say that because of the effect of the voluptuous body below in the string bikini.  (I thought I had excluded her from the serenity of this lovely pocket beach.)  Throughout the afternoon, as we walked back from swims in the water, every single person was talking about how cheeky she was...and much to my reader's disappointment I did not get a photo of her facing sea!

Okay, enough!  With the magic of photo-shopping, lets remove her from the picture, shall we.?

Does it still look hot?  No?  Well it was!  It was so hot, that while we could walk on the sand barefoot, we went directly from the water to lie in the shade of the Palapas, palm frond covered tables, each and every time.  Only mad dogs, Englishmen and ladies in string bikinis would lay out in the noon day sun.  Below are my fair haired son and future daughter-in-law shade bathing, both with enough Irish fair skin to practice safe sunning.

The difficulty for photographers, such as myself, is the hot flat sun.  Everything is over-lighted within an hour of sunrise, and each photo tends to lose any depth and colors are washed out unless the lighting levels are changed later by software.  Thus my eye was drawn to shadows in taking photos.

This is an early morning photo from our east facing balcony.  I never saw anyone on any of the other balconies the whole time we were there.  Of course our free condo balcony did face the parking lot!

We spent a good deal of our time seeking the shade of trees and buildings and yet I still came back with a really good tan.  Go figure.  The other thing that would draw my eye was the shadows beneath large cactus on hikes.  Sort of a tempting/not-so-tempting approach to sitting in the shade.

The other respite that was welcome was spelunking.  Aruba has a number of caves.

 
It is interesting to see how many people while afraid of the cave residents (rattlesnakes and bats) did not mind "hanging out" in the cool shade for a while.  On the other hand, I tend to neither fear nor want to cuddle with either.

Restoration

What a busy vacation!  One whole week of beaching, snorkeling, eating at fancy and not-so-fancy restaurants, hiking, touring, going to festivals, swimming in the pool, shopping, and of course, photographing.  But in the very center of all the activity and in the physical center of the island itself I found my center and some restorative peace.  We visited the oldest church (rebuilt of course) and while I have mixed feelings about visiting churches on remote islands from outside religions by non-natives, the simplicity and honesty of this one calmed my spirit.  There were no bells, whistles, gold leaf or tragic icons to call to the attention of a distant god who might have forgotten them.

Inside was one lone soul praying quietly in the cool shade and whom I did not frame in the photograph.

Behind the church was something even more refreshing and inspiring.

I do not believe in traditional religions but I do believe in the power of prayer.  I slowly walked this maze and said to my self with each careful step "Peace on Earth. Goodwill Toward Men."  I held in my mind the embassies across the globe with their hardworking diplomatic corps wondering if they will be called home without warning on this day or if they might face a greater challenge through no fault of their own.

And then we took a tourist photo for remembrance.

I Am the 1 Per Cent!

We have certainly had the luxury of travel often in our retirement, and my son, on this recent trip with him and his future wife, pointed out that, if my retirement income was rated globally,  I am among the 1%.  I am retired but get to travel when I want and pretty much where I want.  You may very well be among that group also.  All you need to be a part of the global 1% is an income of $34,000!  No, you cannot travel when or wherever on that income, but the perspective of this figure pretty much makes you sit up and realize how lucky you are to be in this strata.  It also makes you wonder how much of your life is producing waste and could be better budgeted and more generous.

I only have one home, do not keep money offshore to avoid paying my fair share of taxes, nor send my business manager to a Caribbean island for 6 months so that the IRS cannot reach her, as an acquaintance of my son's did!  I have this status, not because I am brilliant or sneaky, but because I lived and worked overseas for the first 7 years of my married life and did not have to pay for my housing or the cost of an automobile during that time.  Since both my husband and I had a combined income during this time we invested every dime that we could and that gave us the head-start that we needed to have the retirement we are now enjoying.  It was luck and the willingness to live outside my country in a country that had water and electricity just often enough to keep me comfortable.

I will not have this luxurious life-style I now enjoy if the stock market crashes once again.  I have no respect for Wall Street folks as the money they make has nothing to do with improving the United States or the lives of its citizens or creating jobs.  How much money does a billionaire have to have before he invests in a small business or two?  Their supercilious lobbying forces will destroy this country again thanks to the "non-activist" Supreme Court Judges that were appointed under conservative Presidents and passed the Citizen United ruling.  This country has been bought and if you want a voice you had better demand the repeal of Citizens United from your representatives.  I mean this in all seriousness.  Both parties are beholden and only if we take back our country (perhaps with a third party), will we return to a true democracy.

I say this because I have done my research carefully and read the data.  You can scream the dangers of class warfare all you want, but the rich are not suffering in anyway in this.  WalMart family has more wealth than the combined 40% of the lowest income of our society.  It is no where near a class war until they have reached the wealth of the combined lowest 4%!!  It is up to you.

Back!!

Tabor is back but not quite ready for prime time blogging.

Did You Know...any of these Thursday 13? #37 in a Boring Series

When the hurricane crossed all those Haitians who are still living in tents 2.5 years later after donations of over a billion dollars from around the globe, you may be wondering where all the money went.  You can go here and check on the charity of your choice and see what it (claims) did.  The explanations are pretty generic and there is some controversy over this.  I donated to Shelterbox which is not on this list, but also is not a charity that works for long term support but rather immediate disaster assistance.  Here is another take on this.

The recent LIBOR scandal where Barclays manipulated the rates to borrow unsecured loans actually is now coming back to this country to bite institutional investors such as pension funds that may have used LIBOR based derivatives and lost money.  Yes, this sounds complicated, but simply it means we still need greater regulation of banks.  (And there should not be anything that is too big to fail in my opinion.)

Parents are now getting renters insurance for their college bound kids because they have so much expensive stuff that they bring to college.  When I went to college we were not even allowed to bring a portable radio.  Times have changed.

A Sirs Barbet Capito fitzpatricki  is a new species that was found in Costa Rica this year, actually just this summer!  It is a beautiful bird and amazes me that we can still find lovely new animals this high on the biology tree in my life time as we continue to remove rain forests and mountains to mine diminishing resources.

All grant and loan programs from State and Federal governments are socialistic in nature and the job of government (I feel in a democracy) is to provide a minimal social support floor for businesses and individuals.  But it might surprise you to learn that the Energy Loan Program (designed to help businesses fund high risk research efforts for energy resources) was started in 2005 under a Republican Congress and the Solyndra business was number three on the list for funding (high priority) under the prior administration 5 days before Obama took office.  High risk means high chance of failure and even some drug companies get this socialist help.  Of course we heavily subsidize the oil and gas industry and have for decades.  I hope they can soon turn a profit without our help.

No matter which president gets elected and which health plan is instituted your health costs will go up.  We are the huge demographic bubble of aging boomers and everyone is going to be stuck with paying for all us old folks going through the health care system before we die, unless they kick us to the curb and the rich are the only ones to get comprehensive health care.  Medicare will have to change.

Speaking of being old and penniless, Casanova at age 60 was forced to take a position as a librarian to Count Joseph Waldstein who lived in Bohemia in Castle Dux 60 miles north of Prague.  This castle is now open for selected touring.  Casanova's life, by the way, seems to have been much more complex than just adding up amorous conquests.  And, irrationally,  I have always thought there was something dark and sexy about librarians.

Remember those strawberry pots with hanging plants on patios and decks?  Did you know that Singapore is starting a project which will construct 18 supertrees as high as 160 feet with trunks covered with vertical planters that will hold more than 162,000 plants of up to 200 species in a city park?  Above these trunks will be enormous metal rod branches forming canopies to provide shade.  Some rods will be fixed with solar panels to light them up at night.  The highest tree will have a bistro offering a panoramic view of the gardens.  I hope I can go see this someday.

I rented The Hunger Games the other day.  I have read the trilogy and liked it well enough in spite of the tremendous violence.   I couldn't help but wonder if conservatives and liberals would see this movie in very different lights, one seeing Sutherland as a Tea Party dude and the other seeing him as a socialist dictator in control of all the money.

I am Reading Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre which is the true story of a very complicated British deception plan to fool the Germans during WWII and which worked.  Movies and books have been produced on this true story but I am loving the "cast of characters" some of whom we all know that come to light in this version...such as Ian Fleming and that British guy, Leyland, of the cypress tree fame. 

I am also Reading A Hope in the Unseen by Pulitzer Prize winning author Ron Suskind which is the story of inner city students and their families in Washington, DC struggling to find their place in society.  It sounds depressing, but it is very well written with realistic characters.  I have met some of these characters in my life and their version of pulling up by their bootstraps is a little different that we know..

On a related note, Princeton sociologist Sara S. McLanahan has shown, poverty is what hurts children, not the number or gender or age of parents.

And FINALLY, number 13,  (drum roll please if you have gotten this far) back in 1988 it was called the greenhouse effect but the scientist who reported on it over 20 years ago says he would have changed his predictions with what he knows today.  He says he would have made these predictions much more dire with the speed of global warming going much faster than he thought and with much more violent weather and extremes ahead.  (Yeah one of those nerdy scientists that good-ole-boys love to make fun of.)  I am terrified at how expensive insurance on everything from houses to crops is going to become as companies try to pay for these huge weather disasters.  I am terrified about lots of other things about this as well, of course.

(I am on travel with my son and future DIL, so no future posting for a while.)

Summer Reruns#

The smooth face of a butter-cream surf-sanded shell
The marvelous smooth pre-kissed cheek of a grandchild

The starfish shaped prints in the sand after flight of a watchful great heron
The tiny hand print in sand of an elated child who came later

The familiar hand-hold of your husband at the end of the movie before you enter the car
The rose petaled floor of your son's well-planned engagement evening*

The feathery drift of dozens of yellow butterflies against a blue sky
The last smell of a sunset peach rose before the first petal fall
The earthy taste of a sun-kissed tomato

The icy sip of a glass of something cold and bubbly
The scattered song of a teenage titmouse dancing on the roof

The giggle of a toddler dancing in the grass
The jazzy rhythm of bold cicadas hidden from view
The gentle burr of a hummingbird at your back

and
The magical sparkle of an ever higher climbing fairy flight of fireflies
against the black silhouette of a tree before the blush of the moon.

 #Perhaps a little sweet gooey like too much pink cotton candy at the fair...but it is honest, honestly.
 *Details, perhaps, in another blog post.

(In answer to the prior post she was most amazed that the statue did not wear underpants!)

Bawdy (Body?) Personality

Here is another sculpture from that sculpture garden that I visited with my grandson earlier in the month.  This garden was created as a lovely quiet place by parents to honor a special daughter that had left them way too early,  so it was with great thankfulness that I followed the paths.

I brought my granddaughter when it was her turn to visit us.  She came primarily for the little fairy houses that had been created by various people in the community.  But she also loved the paths and ramps and ability to kick up her heals in a big open space.  Running is one of her favorites things to do.

Below is a photo showing her reaction to the same statue of the girl in pigtails that my grandson saw (That photo is in a prior post in case you missed it).  Her response was very different as you can see.  I think this says something about her personality and perhaps something about the fact that she is very familiar with the female body and not so much in awe as perhaps my grandson was.  (I will tell you that her comment was on a different part of the body than would be most obvious.) What do you think about my thoughts?

Be Safe

I had taken a short class on food safety a month ago which I had mentioned in a comment and one of my blog readers who was recovering from a bout with bad food suggested I share what I learned.  So here are some bullets for you to print out and keep in the kitchen, if you wish.

Not a lot has changed over the years, but if you are reaching that elder age, your body has changed and can no longer fight off poisons and toxins as well as it used to, so please take to heart the information below even more so.  If you have infants and small children this also applies.

• You CAN refreeze meat that you have thawed in your refrigerator IF your freezer maintains 40 degrees (F) or less.  You need to purchase an appliance thermometer to test this.  The meat does lose quality but remains safe to eat.
• Do not purchase any damaged fresh fruits or vegetables that come from the grocery store.
• Do not use detergent or bleach to wash fresh fruits or vegetables just rinse well with safe water.  You can use a solution of 1 tablespoon unscented liquid chlorine in one gallon of water to sanitize cutting boards, utensils and countertops.
• While most plastic cutting boards do not harbor bacteria and most wooden cutting boards have a natural bactericide, these should be replaced when stained or heavily marked on a regular basis.

• You must wash packaged salads even if they say they are triple-washed because bacteria has been found in these.
• All perishables MUST be refrigerated within two hours of putting them in your grocery cart.
• Fresh meat must be frozen if not used in two days.
• When the power goes out:  the refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours.  A FULL freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours and half full freezer about 24 hours.  Doors to these MUST remain closed.

And below a chart from USDA for guidance on temperatures for cooking in the oven and on the grill.  If you do not have a meat thermometer...why not?

Memorial to the Others

I am mourning the demise of this group...as should each and every one of you in this country.  They accomplished much during their tenure, but they are being trampled to the ground by some very crazy people who will soon demand that all science taught in our schools come directly from the Bible, their Bible.  While they give lip service to the Koran and the Torah they know that all tomes similar to these are cult writings.  If you are an atheist or agnostic you are on your way to hell, because God is the determiner of all things.   They will interpret that "determination" for you if you are somewhat unclear from your Bible readings.

I have placed black crepe across my mantle and am lighting a candle for those that no longer speak out and those that are leaving the scene of the crimes.  We needed you in this battle to save our country and we strongly recommend you start a new group of leaders and speak out!

(I also strongly suggest that drinking water be tested in Missouri and their schools introduce a basic science class.  Please do NOT tell me he miss-spoke.  He spoke from his heart and mind and no excuses are necessary nor will be believable.)

Laundry

Sometimes you let your husband help with the laundry...but you have to realize it may not be done exactly as you do it!  This is how I found a blouse hanging in my closet today.

That Talk We All Avoid

My 7-year-old grandson is visiting us this week. He had a free week from his summer schedule and we are thrilled to be able to share this time with him. Seven is a magical age. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to pal around with a seven-year-old! There are a few things we have to push him to do and others which we let him opt out of as his days are super scheduled most times. This generation rarely has time to do nothing. We give him that and unlike his sister, who has to be endlessly entertained, he can amuse himself for hours with a Lego kit or a craft project.

We have a local sculpture garden (out here in the boonies) and they have an annual "Fairies in the Garden" exhibit. They make it fun for the kids by creating puzzles and mazes along with the fairy houses.

I took him once again this year, because I know he soon will be too old for such silly stuff and I will be too old for the more exciting stuff he will want to do.  ( I have little desire to shoot down a zipline.)

He is now of an age where he notices more things in this sculpture garden beyond the fairy houses, and that has led to greater discussions...such as "What is a torso?"  and comments such as, "She looks scary without her arms, don't you think?"  This sculpture below almost led to another whole new discussion for which I had not prepared.  Grannies, beware!

I love how intrigued he is by this magical girl in pigtails.

Getting Perspective on Life

Please, if you are not in a great mood do not go to this link below.  It will make you laugh quite a bit and cry very much and count all your blessings...unless your soul has been sucked out and away one time long ago.  David gave this audio presentation shortly after learning he had a cancerous tumor that resulted in the loss of the use of his arm on May 14 of 2012.  The clip goes on a little longer because this painfully funny stand-up was followed by another comedic presentation from another comic.  David Rakoff passed away recently and I will miss him and his writing.  I will miss his ability to tell how it is in such real terms and find the funny in the sad and compare the sad to the ridiculous.

David Rakoff

If you want to know what he looks like here is an interview he gave to our current events comedian Jon Stewart.

My Republican Friends

The museum fiasco continues to amaze all of us who support the museum.  My husband talked to the museum grounds keeper regarding the tree issue.  The fellow was amazed at how fast the Commissioners folded because they actually had sent someone months ago to count the trees and indicate which ones would have to be removed.  Now they deny that trees had ever been considered for removal!

My husband was talking to a hard-working Master Gardener who has given us tremendous support on building the museum's compost bins for educational efforts.  He is ex-military and a tremendous worker!  Retired, like us, gardening is one of his favorite activities.  When hubby told him about the museum fiasco his first response was..."They must be Democrats on the Board!"  This is a Republican county, so I am a little amazed at his response...but this has really enlightened me.  We always see stupidity from elected officials as a party line issue.

This is not a political post...just an example of how we have to be more pro-active in holding our elected officials feet to the fire.  Most of us focus on the Presidential and state elections and then just vote party line on the local stuff.  I am as guilty of this as others are.  It is OK.  Just make sure you check on the minutes of the meetings every once in a while, make sure you volunteer in your community, try to get those who do not agree with you politically to give their reasons and examples for their beliefs and issues.  Try to accept that elected officials needs us to keep them on track.

I continue to emphasize that most of us really are on the same agenda.  Conservatives fear this black president is going to give this country away to poor people.  This IS a valid argument (Although I do not think this is a real agenda for this President) and liberals have to admit that more regulation is needed for our socialist programs.  But conservatives have to trust scientists and educational experts on stuff without assuming they have a secret agenda and agree that regulation in other areas needs to be enforced...certainly banking with many banks being investigated.

But we also need to compromise.  Then revisit that compromise in a few years and fine tune it more one way or the other.  None of us agree with the skin-heads that desecrate the Sikhs ability to worship as their minds and hearts tell them.  None of us agree with those lazy minority youth who continue to collect food stamps, drink on the steps, and avoid work at all costs.  BUT THERE IS A MIDDLE GROUND!  The world is FULL of hard-working and honest conservatives and liberals that help solve problems. Do not let political leaders who state that compromise is a dirty word convince you otherwise!  This hard-lined Congress will destroy this country.

I will be shortly saying goodbye to a Republican lady whose work in this community has been substantial.  She is an energizer bunny that few could keep up (grammar folks take a sigh) with.  I know about two of her many community projects that will require two people in each case to fill her shoes.  (I am one of these who had to get a buddy before I would take her place!)

I guess what I am trying to say is that we need both sides of the Yin/Yang coin.   We keep each other from going off the edge.  Yes, there are a few issues that require too much tears and anger to discuss, but let us put those aside for now.  Let us just find a middle ground on everything else.

Small Town Politics

I volunteer at a local museum.  It is small and while important to both the state and county, it has a tenuous State budget and survives greatly with volunteer efforts and donations and fund raising activities.  The 'new' director has been a real force for change in a good way.  Unfortunately, the museum is tucked away on a small spit of land near the shore and tucked between private homes.  When it was built years ago it was not cheek to jowl with the homeowners, but waterfront property is always in demand.  A neighbor, who happens to have been a former state official and county official, has spent much of his time making lives difficult for the museum staff and volunteers.  Using his power he filed a complaint with the county commissioners (some old buddies) that over two dozen pine trees on the museum grounds needed to be removed as they were dropping needles on his lawn and clogging the gutters to a garage...built after the trees were planted.  There is a long and unbelievable series of events that led up to this with the museum making every effort to accommodate the requests of this idiot.  As you can see, these trees have been here a long time.

I live in an environmental state where cutting of trees, especially near the water, is rarely granted.  A dead tree or dangerous tree might be given approval for removal, but over two dozen trees...on another's property...never would happen.  I will not go into details about why removal of trees is not good, but trust me, you want to keep as many trees as possible on this planet.  Well, our county commissioners not only granted this permission and pushed the permit office to move the paperwork along, but they had the audacity to require the museum to pay for the 20 to 30 thousand dollars in cost!  Since the museum depends on these commissioners for budget approval, it was in a difficult spot.

Many of us were concerned about this blatant abuse of power and finally we went to several environmental groups as well as wrote and emailed the Commissioners' offices for an explanation.

I was one of the first emails sent to request politely how this approval came about.  I mentioned my strong environmental concerns and how I had worked hard to keep my shoreline as natural as possible.  I also asked that since my tax money was going to pay for this, why was there not a public hearing?  One of the Commissioners responded almost immediately to my email:

"There is somebody passing along an incomplete story who does not have all their facts correct. May I suggest you go back to them and request they get the complete story before they spread stories?"  Sent from my iPad

This is jaw-dropping.  An elected official indicating that I go find out the correct facts for myself!  And to go back to the original source.  Needless to say we had gotten a response from the county permit office AND the staff of the museum both officially stating that a permit had been granted (reluctantly) to remove these trees at the request of the Commissioners' Office.  I researched this prior to my email even being sent.  I was amazed that an elected official could be so rude and cavalier and actually lie!  Boy am I naive.  He added in a second email that he was sure a formal report would be forthcoming...in other words 'Don't hold you breath, you stupid tree-hugger."

Well, as the day (less than 24 hours), passed, these turkeys in office had to back off on the whole thing and the museum was going to be contacted officially this week to learn that no trees would be required to be removed!  I am guessing they were inundated with emails and realized they could not justify this cronyism.

I asked my co-volunteers how this idiot got into office and was told that our local Tea Party had worked hard for his election.  Golly, golly am I naive.  I keep forgetting that living in a 'good-old-boy' county is really scary and that I should read the minutes of meetings more closely!

I am guessing since I am not a religious person, if God is on the side of the religious right, He may punish me with a hurricane this year or next that will remove all of these trees in one fell swoop...shallow rooted as they are!