SUV's, Vegetarianism, and Sink Holes

This was in my email box from Climate Coalition:

Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change. By Claudia H. Deutsch, The New York Times, August 29, 2007. "Animal rights groups do not share the same mission, but they have coalesced around a message that eating meat is worse for the environment than driving. They and smaller groups have started advertising campaigns that try to equate vegetarianism with curbing greenhouse gases. When that report came out, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)and other groups expected their environmental counterparts to immediately hop on the 'Go Veggie!' bandwagon, but that did not happen. 'Environmentalists are still pointing their fingers at Hummers and S.U.V.'s when they should be pointing at the dinner plate,' said Matt A. Prescott, manager of vegan campaigns for PETA... The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has taken up the issue as well, running ads in environmental magazines that show a car key and a fork. 'Which one of these contributes more to global warming?' the ads ask. They answer the question with 'It's not the one that starts a car,' and go on to cite the United Nations report as proof... On its Web page and in its literature, the Humane Society has also been highlighting other scientific studies -- notably, one that recently came out of the University of Chicago -- that, in essence, show that 'switching to a plant-based diet does more to curb global warming than switching from an S.U.V. to a Camry,' said Paul Shapiro, senior director of the factory farming campaign for the Humane Society."

SUV's 'Versus' Meat. By Charles Komanoff, Streetblog.org, August 31, 2007. In reference to the NY Times article above "I spotted one glaring error and one questionable assumption in the U of Chicago article (Diet, Energy, and Global Warming, PDF, 17 pages) that underlies the Humane Society's claim. First, the authors evidently used a figure of around 16 lb of CO2 emitted per gallon of gasoline burned. (They don't give their figure; I backed it out of their Table 1.) But the standard coefficient, easily derivable, is approximately 19.6 lb per gallon. Switching to the correct coefficient would add 22-23% to the 'SUV' side of their comparison. Second, the authors based their 'SUV' calculations on average US per capita miles driven (8,332 miles/yr). The appropriate basis, in my view, would be the number of miles a typical motor vehicle is driven, which is around 12,000 (that's the figure US EPA uses in its calculations of carbon impacts of driving). After all, switching from an SUV to a Camry would mean switching out 12,000 miles, not 8,332. Substituting the higher figure would add 44% to the 'SUV' side of the comparison. Making both changes simultaneously would increase the SUV emission figures by 75-77%, which pretty much invalidates the triumphalist statement by the Humane Society's guy. It wouldn't surprise me if there are similar errors undermining the 'food' side of the comparison. Maybe someone else will take a break from their seitan preparation and check it out. And maybe the Humane Society and their allies can find ways of advancing the worthy cause of vegetarianism that don't require belittling SUV damages and Al Gore."

THEN, I found an interesting article that should have been titled "The Pig Poop Papers." The article pointed out that since mega corporate takeovers of smaller pig farms and the rise of the Super Pig Productions around the country that huge holding tanks of Pig Crap are amounting to untreated sewage abound and these mega-poop ponds are leaching into the ground and into the drinking water which is pulled from rivers and other water bodies. That would be against the law if it were People Poop. Doesn't make sense to me.

It was comforting to learn that most Florida water comes from aquifers in the limestone so we have pretty good drinking water, that is until it reaches the treatment areas where it is pumped full of chlorine and fluoride and ran through lead piping. (It's just the fish we can't eat because of the chemical dumping by paper plants and other sources and we best keep an eye on the fecal coliform levels before we dip in the Gulf!).

Anyway, when we put in our pump for the yard, I was amazed that water was available only twelve foot down. Then it crossed my mind, why doesn't the County regulate these water pumps - how long does it take a subdivision to drain an aquifer? Ever heard of Florida's sink holes? That's how they work - the water is all gone from the limestone caverns and the ground sinks and eats your house with it.

Enough, going to get busy and paint some more. And decide not to worry about this stuff.

Psycho & the Cat Community

This is Psycho's baby picture. He looks innocent and all that doesn't he?

He was taken from his mamma way too early, but the owner said the kittens were destined for drowning (seems to be an old-time remedy for neglect of spaying or neutering). So I took the little lump at age 4 weeks as a present for grandson. So the two little ones slept with me, one, Psycho, nursing the, God forbid, loose skin on my underarm relentlessly as he was obviously not getting milk. The other little one was curled up close to me with his little arm over Psycho. (Today they are still the best buddies.) We bottle fed Psycho (he had a different name before it evolved more to fit his personality, but I don't remember what it was), but he still had this sucking thing that he still gets carried away with. He sits, leaning up against the wall, all curled over, nursing his own belly. Now that is demented. I even hate to confess it.

So, Psycho has grown up. I would judge him to be in late adolescence. He goes out at night and kills rats, even though he is declawed. If we don't let him out, he picks fights with the other cats until we can't take it anymore and let him out.

Ms. Meowie did another dump on my study floor, and though she is not an outdoor cat, in my frustration, I shoved her out the door, and Psycho ran out after her. She took off walking down the street. At that point, I confess, I had cracked, I did not care if she ever came back.

Later, I felt guilty and opened the front door and guess who was leading Ms. Meowie down the street toward home? Yep, Psycho.

Its interesting to watch how they take care of one another in this 3 cat community. Except at eating time that is. Then it is every man, uh cat, for his own self. Once in a while I supplement with - - - canned TUNA! The caterwauling and yowling from when the can is first popped to when it makes it to their plates rivals the best werewolf movie howls.

Ah, cats.

Today.

Whaaaaa! Whaaaaaaa to post?

Networking and internet are back! The guy did come back - they've been picking up big jobs lately - I suspect that their days of doing little house calls are coming to an end. Anyway, it appears to have been the router - it just died. Luckily we had another buried on the kitchen table and it is now hooked up and doing well. Yahoo.

Went to blood doc today who has also treated me throughout this mishap - I had to fight to get in - they wanted me to go to the primary doctor.

"NO thanks, the primary had a bit of a mixup with my readings for the last two weeks."

"Well, the doctor will not write a prescription for you because your primary has written one."

"I did not say I wanted a prescription, I just want the thickness of my blood tested because something is not right, I feel it." "My ankles and wrists look like 'the blob' and I have gained 8 pounds in 4 days." (I think Warfarin is made of a type of sodium.)

"No, I'm not premenstrual (you fool), I am 62 years old."

"I told you the doctor will not write a prescription for you because your Primary.......should be getting the tests and reading them for you."

"Ideally, yes, but Primary said NOT to get tested for a month, but something isn't right."

Now I'm hearing a huge irritated sigh.

"Sorry I bothered you, please send me to the appointment desk."

The appointment lady comes on and makes me an appointment. I hang up, again feeling like a very high on the scale "hypochondriac."

Within ten minutes the hematology nurse calls me and tells me to come in and get a finger pricked for the blood test and she found out I had a doc's appointment as well. ?????? Oooops, was that a crime?

I arrive at the appointed time, they prick my finger and tell me 3.9 - well, that is the consistency of potato soup when I am supposed to be running the consistency of, say, a beer. (Comparison purposes only).

Then she says, "Oh, you have a doctor's appointment." "I did not know."

I say nothing and dutifully trudge behind her into the doc's office.

He is very cordial. He tells me to forget meds for two nights, then resume. I ask him when I can get off of them.

"Maybe six weeks," he said. Maybe.

"So what are my chances of this (pulmonary embolism) happening again?"

"Twenty Percent."

He goes on to explain that if I have symptoms should "it" happen again, they will put me back on the medicine from hell forever or until I kick the bucket. Not medicating is risky, medicating is risky. On thinners, I had just better not get a bump on the head or my brain could bleed to death, which I wonder if it already has. He goes on and says if I have no symptoms with another event, I could die.

I burst into tears.

"Why are you crying?"

Is that a man statement or what? Yah, Yah, I'm supposed to reply, "I don't know."

"Well, I am kinda disappointed, I was hoping to live for a while longer - uh, a big long while longer."

He looks at me.

"Look at it this way," he says, "You have 80% chance of living."

He really was sweet with his big brown eyes gazing at me through his glasses. Here is a doctor who is not burnt out yet. I feel grateful.

As I leave his office, I see about 12 patients in recliners receiving their chemo treatments.

I've been crying all afternoon. I will come through this. I'm scared. I'm also appreciating each minute, each second.

Guess I've understood this thing was bad, but in a way been in a denial. What else could it have been when I got up out of a hospital bed and started a new job the next day? Duh, big denial.

On the way home I prayed and told God the earth was too pretty to leave without a lot more sightseeing of it. And I was reminded that heaven is even more beautiful. (And I'm convinced that heaven has the best Indian food feasts that never put weight on a person - don't ask where I got that in my head.) And I argue as I drive down the road, "My grandson needs me!" Then I realized that I was trying to be in control again as usual......perhaps it is my job to enjoy each day, each moment, and if I really truly believe what I preach....then God will only bring me "home" when everything is perfect for that to happen.

Ha, ha, "L," you thought you were going first, didn't you? What happened to our genes? Most of our ancestors made it at least to their mid nineties! Do you think, despite the dire pronouncements, we shall bamboozle them once again and live until we are 92? I can see myself doing a nude (wearing nothing but a hat and a rhinestone necklace and earrings)self-portrait at age 92. Yah!

Soap Boxes and Frustrations and Globalism

Just popping in on daughter's computer - I'm still without internet - the guy I paid to fix it has not come back despite his promise to do so if I should have more trouble. Such is the 21st century - money seems to have no meaning - society seems to demand that we spend, spend, spend, prices are frightfully high on everything, service is at an all time low.

But at least he did not disable my entire computer like some other repair people have done in the past, so should I think I'm lucky?

Some doctors slop over your treatment, so what if you die, there are plenty more people out there who will flow in and fill up your space.

Items are built to fall apart so a person has to buy another soon, if they aren't built shoddily from the beginning. We just got a recall on our dishwasher - its eight years old and we are told that the wiring is defective and some have burst into flames. But are they giving us enough to replace the defective dishwasher? Of course not, we are getting the 1999 price minus the use.

The dishwasher works, we just have to endure the stress of wondering if the house will be nothing but charcoal when we come home someday or find a few hundred bucks to get a new one. At least Florida insurance will pay for fires, but not flooding or wind damage. Some will pay for wind damage, but with huge, intolerable deductibles. The problem with the dishwasher is, I don't have enough money to make up the difference, however I don't want my house to burn down either.

Food coming from China has hazardous ingredients to human health. Toys coming from China have lead content that will damage our children's brains and bodies. Still we import most of our goods.

I went shopping for my grandson and put three shirts in my basket - until I noticed they were made in China. Then I put them back. Clothing is substandard as well as possibly dangerous. (While visiting with a clothing store owner the other day, I was informed that many knits are made with petroleum - just what I want absorbed into my body, right?)

The quality of U.S. made clothing was much better. But labor in China, India, Cambodia, etc. can be obtained for $.13 cents an hour, and with no labor laws can be produced in larger quantities with exploited people working long, long hours. On the other hand, some exploited people find they are happy to have even $.13 cents an hour. But some are angry when they find out what their hard work sells for in the U.S.

I don't want shrimp from Taiwan. Good gosh. How fresh can they be? However, when our newspaper informs us of the PCB content of the fish in our bays, do I want U.S. shrimp either? And what the H___ is this about PCB's found in the fish in our bays? I thought the use of PCB's were banned years ago. Huh?

Well, as long as I'm writing one of these kinds of posts - immigration - or rather the lack of it: Illegal immigration is kind of like child abusers thinking they are having an "affair" with a six year old. It is not immigration. It is breaking the law. Children are molested, not having affairs. Grrrr. Criminals freely dance across our borders from the south, loaded with Meth to peddle in the U.S.

Granted, some people are hard workers looking for a better life - in that case, I say make legal provision through immigration, and not make it so hard to immigrate. Then let them assimilate but please don't force me to learn another language, we already speak one here. I'm not against learning foreign languages, I wish I knew a dozen because I would not have the nerve to go live in a foreign country and not try to learn the language, what is that all about? And, while we are on THAT subject, why, during Word War II did the U.S. turn boats of desperate Jews back to Europe to death? Gee, was it because they weren't going to fatten employers pockets by working for substandard wages and being content to live in substandard conditions? Oh, I bet they would've for the privilege of staying alive.

The history of the U.S. is full of shame with its treatment of certain people groups. I still run across (mostly older) people in the South who think slavery and segregation were perfect ways of life. I met people in Wyoming who were actually angry at the poor people who were devastated by Katrina, either because they chose to live in New Orleans or because they didn't "walk" out. Hard to walk miles and miles of road when your health is shot, or you are in a wheel chair, or 80 years old, or carrying babies.

Anyway, part of my problem with the illegals from Mexico (or anywhere) is a sense of entitlement that Country (Mexico) has toward the U.S. as well as the employers who break the law to employ the illegals. I used to work for a newspaper in a small town with a lot of illegals. I started a feature story (I am soooo politically dumb) and found that the employers not only were paying really low, many paychecks were being devoured by fees for translation, bill paying assistance, etc., etc. It wasn't long before I received an anonymous phone call threatening my life and my family's lives if I continued to snoop. I stopped. Oh, Rawlins, Wyoming is really quite a town!

Ok, I could write pages. In that kind of mood today.

I thought painting yesterday would help fire up some endorphins - I painted the awfullest ugliest painting you ever saw. Supposed to be a cajun hibiscus - oooohhh, ugh!

Well, going to try to go call the computer guy again today. Then vacumm and paint over the ugly painting.

....on the Catwalk, too sexy for their clothes.....

This is an odds & ends type of post. Wireless woes continue. This dapper doggie is part of a line of pet clothing I invented for a pet shop website a few years back. The website's name was "Catwalk." Of course there was an adorable outfit for kittie as well. I'm, of course, at a standstill on the current project I'm working on because of not being able to access the net.

The dragonflies are back! They are big and fat and colorful. Perhaps they are the babies I spotted at the beginning of summer, all grown up. From what I've seen of them dive bombing into windows and asphalt, they could be mating now. That'll make ya crazy, ya know. That would explain their kamakazee attitudes, would it not?

Some of the types I think I've spotted: Rambur's Forktail (I think these are the one's I've labled "Army helicopters"), Atlantic Bluett (a little far north), Eastern Pondhawk, and Comet Green Darner.

Has anyone seen any fireflys this summer? I think they've been disappearing along with the bees.

Not much going on. My wireless is down again, so I'm again borrowing computer. I don't know what to do. It is crucial I have internet access.

I'm now pulling out of the mixup on the blood thinner meds and lab result snafu of a couple of weeks ago and just today the energy level has been great.

It is still soooo hot. The flowers I labored over to get planted are not faring well. "H" did not want mulch anywhere, and just TRY to grow flowers without mulch to keep the ground moist - it won't work. My intents were to get a couple of bails of pinestraw down here and put it out anyway, but with the heat index at 108 degrees centigrade, I've not been able to do it. I started to rake the pinestraw from the remaining pine trees (remember the "disappearing pine trees") but the gleanings are small after the lawn mower has run over them. Maybe next year. I still have dead trees, bushes and plants to get trimmed out and out of here. Ex-son-in-law was helping, but when he found out he was not going to control my household, he got mad and made himself scarce so repairs and yard work he promised have halted. (Was that bribery to begin with?) Gran'ma has got to get strong here. (He grew up himself like Romulus and Remus and has no conception of regular meals, bedtimes, and the fact that he is a guest here during visitation hours just does not sink in, nor the concept of visitation hours.)

Weekend is here. Boy is glad. His mom visited the teacher today. So far so good. He is higher in reading by a year than we were told originally. He seems hyper in the evenings, but he's a boy child and children need to be out in the evening running and playing. I wish we had a pool as it's too hot to run and play. (This Grandma would like to lay on an air mattress in the pool.) (I can imitate Janis Joplin - and I often sing, "Oh, Lord, won't ya buy me a house on the bay, my friends all have pools, they lay out all day, Oh, Lord, won't ya buy me a house on the bay.") Sigh.

The older boy is on his way to play a football game tonight. While still suffocatingly hot, it is cooler in the evenings.

Time to go scan my emails on my daughter's computer, post this up, and see if I can get my flash drive to take my files over there.

Hall of Fame

No, I didn't paint it. I wish I had. This is a portion of the murals that were on the walls of the hotel where we stayed in New Orleans. As I mentioned, there is a small jazz museum in the hotel. Each room is named after a blues/jazz musician.

For my Canadian Friends.....

This was an interesting bit of information:

The New Dirty Energy. By Drake Bennett, The Boston Globe, August 19, 2007. "For those who dream that high oil prices will help drive America toward a brave new world of clean energy, the MacKay River project in Alberta, Canada, offers a glimpse of the future. The complex is a showpiece of cutting-edge engineering, wresting energy from beneath a swath of boreal forest. Under an unobtrusive spread of buildings, holes drilled at oblique angles free unprocessed fuel from the earth with jets of steam. Thanks to government and private investment, the complex is providing more energy every year, and by 2020, Alberta as a whole is predicted to generate enough to replace a quarter of the United States' current daily oil usage. And as oil prices rise, projects like MacKay River become more and more cost-effective, and more popular. The only problem: The thick, tarry petroleum that the Alberta project pulls from beneath that forest is far dirtier than oil. Alternative energy wasn't supposed to look like this. For years, leading environmental thinkers have argued that high fossil fuel prices are good for the planet, driving investors and customers toward biofuels, solar power, and a host of new energy sources that will quickly become cost-effective... The oil in oil sands is not easily separated out, and the immense amounts of heat required are usually generated with natural gas, giving the oil-sands industry a greenhouse gas footprint much larger than the traditional oil business -- estimates range from 40 percent more to five times the emissions. The process also uses enormous amounts of water: a study (PDF, 42 pages) by the Pembina Institute, a Canadian environmental watchdog organization, found that, depending on the method of extraction, every barrel of oil produced requires 2.5 to 4 barrels of water, all of which is then rendered too polluted to return to the water supply."

Sounds kind of ultimately destructive, do you think? This drilling process was being highly touted in Wyoming - there was no mention of the down side - extravagant use and destruction of useable water and additional greenhouse gas further leading us down the road to more global warming.

Oh, No, here they come again..........

Starting to feel a little bit better. I was reflecting on my situation and realized I am at this point due to a bunch of medical blunders. Best not to think about it so I won't be angry. But anger won't help. So's it is best to just concentrate on wellness and go on.

I got up at 4:00 a.m. this morning to make sure the hurricane wasn't projected to be more north and easterly in the Gulf. Up on this side of the Gulf, people are saying, "I couldn't take another one." I don't want to see anyone "taking" it, my prayers are that it will just DIE - it is supposed to be a four. I saw what a "three" did to our area and to New Orleans and this thing, judging by the size, must be a monster. However, Texas, being a favored state says they are ready for it.

Took the boy to a couple of birthday parties today - one was at a new bowling alley which was a new concept in bowling alleys - it was great and he had a good time with his old friends. I visited at length with a Montessori mom who used to be a special ed teacher and has two boys of her own that have been diagnosed with ADD and it was a great visit. I obtained the name of an iridologist from her.

I've purchased some liquid bonding vitamins/mineral supplement for both the grandson and myself. I think mine are starting to take hold. He seems calmer - I think. With the meds he wouldn't eat and he is a skinny boy - with the vitamin/mineral mixture he's eating. We'll see how it goes. School starts Monday. The new school is actually fairly new and in great condition - the art program is stunning - his teacher has a room full of computers that he has acquired, not necessarily through public funding, but his own pocket. I like the man. The school meals are healthy. The school appears to be more secure than most - and grandson won't have to spend two hours of his day traveling to and from school. I volunteered - oh, I don't know how that will go. I love kids one on one - but herds of them -???? Well, I have mellowed so - I'm open, it could be fun and rewarding!

The second party was at the beach and I couldn't stay long because of the heat - but the party was for the son of a Filipino (yeh, Dinners!) nursing friend of my daughters. Oh my, can they cook! We had crawfish, noodles, some sort of dessert made with rice and sweet potatoes, hamburgers, hot dogs, and more and more food! I was treated with the warmth of old friends (even though I had only met three of the folks briefly at a previous time) - it was a large extended family. I reflected once again, how us mixed culture folks seem to sometimes lose out in ways when it comes to traditions, culture, and identity. Well, I guess I come from a family of ornery independent pioneers - ya gotta have those too. But it was a good day - finished with a semi-nap and not having to cook dinner - just bringing out the food sent home with us was a curative to not feeling so well when I got home.

Dat ol' Sickness Bug be after mah Bodee & Computer too

I'm done in. Can't go no mo' - couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I was feeling rotten since N.O. Wanting to sleep and sleep and sleep, was dragging the hind end around, and that reluctantly.

The doc's office called yesterday and left a cryptic message to call right away about my blood test. I called them back this morning to find out what was up. They told me they got my test back (I have to test every 10 days to 2 weeks) and to double the blood thinners.

It didn't make sense - they just told me to decrease them the day I returned from New Orleans. I thought maybe walking miles and sweating a lot in the 104-108 centigrade heat index caused me to lose chemicals or something. Yeh, I'm nuts.

Today they said I must not be taking my medicine, because my blood was dangerously thick now. It seems that when they called me last week and told me to decrease the blood thinner, the gal made a mistake and should have been telling me to increase it.

I am rechecking my T-shirts to make sure the lettering on them does not say, "I am a walking guinea pig for medical mistakes."

The pain in my chest that I was afraid was a blood clot hitting my heart, the doctor thinks is asthma. So, despite blood pressure of 150/90, (a rarity since the gas incident in the apartment from hell) he gave me an inhaler. I can breathe better, I admit, and I am not falling asleep at 5:00 in the evening tonight.

Dang near dying has me perhaps overly concerned with every little pain. I have for quite a few years been very fond of living. Can't say that for my whole life, but now, yeh, I love living. I have had friends dying off for several years. "How can that be?" I think. I want to stay alive, partially because I think my contribution to those around me can't be done without - how conceited is that! 4 Dinners - heed this paragraph! We've used up a couple of our lives (being cat persons).

To add insult to injury, I just saw the dentist yesterday - a new one - I LOVED him and his office - really cool techie equipment. I have a tooth with a split root which has infection and he wants to pull it and set the appointment in conjunction with a deep, deep cleaning project. Yah! I was all excited. Doc today said to wait until after November as having really thin blood and making holes in the body by pulling teeth and planning roots under the gums was just asking for trouble. Darn, I was looking forward to it.

Enough..........the computer/network guy is coming tomorrow afternoon - he tried to help me over the phone, but it looked like a necessary configuration is gone - nada - he said, do NOT, I repeat, do NOT use the Windows System Restore to fix problems. He's seen a lot of messes from it. So, hopefully I will not have to borrow a computer.

For now..............

August 29 Anniversary (of Katrina) Coming

Let's not forget the alligators. Alligators are part of a great ecosystem and they live in swamps. Why are swamps valuable? Well, the August issue of Time had an eye opening article about the situation in New Orleans.

You are probably thinking, jees, when will she get off that! Well, I do have a tendency to ride a horse too long, but it is not just New Orleans - our whole country is showing that it is probably unprepared for disaster. Either before the disaster or during or after the disaster. And, as we have seen - disasters happen! More and worse are predicted.

Sometimes disasters are our own fault for ignoring our partnership with nature and the earth. (Or, what is happening in the world politically - i.e., terrorists!) No, I'm not a wacko leftist environmentalist - uh, maybe I am, but we are at the point we can no longer ignore our misuse/abuse of the planet we live on. Or the self-serving greed of politicians who are in office only to serve themselves and to get richer than they already are.

The known or publicized death toll in New Orleans was 1,800. The search is still on for bodies.

Here are some of the highlights from the Time cover article:

The writer recommended demanding of the candidates the answer to a question: How do you plan to protect New Orleans and how about the whole country's emergency management program?

He went on to state that the Army Corps is poised to repeat its mistakes. The drowning of New Orleans as made made, created by lousy engineering, displaced priorities and pork barrel politics.

Fact: Marshes, cypress swamps and barrier reefs are disappearing at the rate of a football field per hour. The "Corp" - or shall we call it the "Corpse maker?" was responsible for some pretty shoddy engineering. Early New Orleans was not on the coast but the Corp forbade communities to let the natural process of the river's deposits of silt to be deposited where Mother Nature would deposit the silt, making a delta which would absorb much of a hurricane striking the coast. Global warning is causing the gulf to rise causing 30% of the coast to slip into the Gulf.

No swamp, no gators. No swamp, more severe hurricanes in populated areas. Land de-intensifies the 'cane. So, that's Florida you say. How about New York? Scientists are predicting fiercer 'canes and expanding strike areas as far as New York in the future.

So what? Well, this endangers, not only lives, but the U.S.'s largest offshore oil and gas industry (who can we invade to fix that?), a huge seafood industry and about two million people.

The levees? The project to fix a known problem? Thirty seven years behind schedule. The article suggests that if scientists are not allowed into the Army Corps plans, the coast will disappear in the not so distance future. If that happens what will the huge population shifts do to the rest of the Country. Pre Karina the population of New Orleans was 450,000, now it is 265,000. I'm assuming these figures are New Orleans proper.

Its not all the Corp's fault. According to the article, local officials helped "scuttle" a Corp plan to building pumps and levees along Lake Pontchartain which would have prevented flooding. The author states, however, the Corps refused to be accountable to even the president and further states that water is a National Security issue. Which leads to another issue: foreign ownership of United States ports.

Well, enough for now, the article can be read in full here.

New Orleans Food & odds & ends

What is New Orleans without the carriage ride? I love to ride the carriages - especially with a good tour guide! The place is so rich with history. Our trip was a bit last minute so funds were sort of limited, so we just admired the wonderful horses this time around. I think I would have felt guilty making them pull us in that awful heat anyway! They do pull the horses out in the afternoon to get them out of the heat and then bring them back in the evenings.

The squares had a few spatterings of art but that is not due to the hurricane. The City decided that street artists should be banned - that was years ago, but since we came south. Fortune tellers seem to be welcome, however. My favorite place, the Court of Two Sisters, a great cajun/creole restaurant with courtyard dining was rather dog eared and moldy and the barbecue shrimp, supposedly with a light cajun seasoned butter sauce tasted like shrimp with molasses syrup. Luckily, I had ordered steak which was big enough to share with two other people.

We decided to skip the legendary brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. Elsewhere, the beignets were fabulous!

This time, the place to eat was Bubba Gump's Shrimp House. One of us had the Bucket of Boat Trash, and it was really great! The crawfish ettoufey was delicious. Waitresses were directed by the guest flipping over a metal plate - "Run Forest Run" or "Stop Forest Stop."

And the pralines! Oh the pralines! A candy made with cream, sugar, sometimes rum, and big nice pecans! Oh, oh, oh. We bought some for souvenirs and ate them all in the hotel room. I'm sorry, really sorry.

Great News Source - if you go here, check on the water woes story (bottom of web page).

Not What We Expected

New Orleans - fun loving town - it is not the same. I kept wanting to stop people, interview them, and take photos. Homeless roam the streets - more than ever. Many old, familiar places we wanted to visit were closed. For miles coming into the city, it looked like a war had taken place. Indeed a war had taken place - a war for lives and for survival.

The desk clerk told us some of her story - her house went in the flood caused by the inadequate levy system that was in place, and rebuilt now to the same inadequacy. She lost everything. She is now living in the hotel where she works. She told us that one of the room service people drowned when the levy broke.

The city is now scheduling demolition for surviving damaged homes under a new ordinance and disregarding the necessity of following the old ordinance which had a procedure lengthy enough to prove that repairs were intended.

Note: I talked to a friend in this area as well who had an older home, undamaged by the hurricane, and was warned that his house was on "the list" for demolition. I don't know how many other communities are destroying people's homes. Then who will buy the land? I can only guess.

There are still unrecovered bodies in places. The newspaper told a story that the rest of the Country does not seem to know.....the water system is barely functioning.....the bridges covering large expanses of water have been rated as hazardous.

If you want to go to New Orleans to party, there is a small area that is able to accommodate those wishes. Otherwise be prepared for an experience - but one you probably aren't expecting!

Because of time constraints we were unable to drive the coast to view the other towns and cities that were hit by Katrina and Rita.

New Orleans in its resourcefulness has added a new attraction: a tour of the hurricane devastated areas of the City.

More later.....will visit ya'll this weekend. To those I need to call: I'm exhausted and will try to get to calling this weekend.

Travelogue #1

All of a sudden my network is working as well as the router. What is it with the computer? Haunted?

Anyway - here's pics:

One for Candy & Stagg - graffiti art!

Puppy - the megalodon is for you!

The little white building is the studio I visited.

These are some of the pins we made...they look better in "real time."

The landscape in this area is incredibly lush with lots of palm trees. No wonder my friend is a landscape painter. I don't think the heat would allow me to do much on site painting however!

Going to bed - heading out to New Orleans tomorrow. Will post up pics of Springs and N.O. when I return.

Coming Up............

Back to blogging for a day - my computer network system got all buggered up when Firefox did its "updated" download. I have refused AOL's updates because of this reason, I just foolishly trusted Firefox a bit more.

We visited a Florida spring over the weekend. It was wonderful and fascinating. I will post pics later with travelogue.

I Want to Go....................

Did you ever treasure a little dream? I have one, one that I hope to see before the dream dies...I want to go see the Mermaids of Weeki Watche Springs. And swim with the manatees myself. I do.

Who was at Wadena and Why did They Go?

August 2, 1970 in Iowa. Hotter and more humid than any place I've been since. A Rock Festival! Why did we go - well, it was the thing to do. I don't even know who was playing there. By the time I made arrangments for my children and found a ride there, people were leaving - it was over with - but on with the story:

What else was going on this hot day in 1960? "Politiking at Clear Lake Iowa, a Governor and Senator listened to an angry young widow: 'A Viet Cong may have killed my husband, but we, everyone in this room, all other Americans are responsible for his death.' A withdrawal was being discussed, but talk was that the President's announcement of a deadline to withdraw would limit options to ending the war." Does this sound familiar? Deja Vu!

The H-bombing of Hiroshima was seeing its 24th anniversary.

But, back to Wadena, to free love, almost free drugs, few clothes and really, really weird people mixed with the young folks who were there just to have fun.

Another excerpt from the Des Moines Register: "I turned around, to be confronted with this guy who looked like Charlie Manson's spiritual adviser __ Jesus length hair , fierce beard, and eyes that looked as though they would melt asphalt."

"God wants this festival," he was saying, "The man wants this festival to take place. The devil doesn't want it to take place." He was talking to no one in particular.

Another: "Excuse me, but did you just use spare change as a verb?"

"I don't know. I just walk around asking people if they've got any spare change."

"A young man had moved into the conversation by then, a long-haired, bearded Young man with octagonal sunglasses and a leather head-band. 'I'd never do that,' he said. 'I think it's degrading.' 'Well, what do you do for a living?" I asked. 'I peddle dope, man.'"

Another excerpt from an article about concessions at the festival - including sliced cantaloupe, deep-fat-fried egg rolls, beaded necklaces, sweetcorn (after all, it was Iowa), and - the ever present drugs.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness was there working hard to "take many of the kids off drugs by introducing them to chanting."

The pale green outdoor toilets looked like voting boothes.

Marijuana grew wild in the ditches in Iowa. Summertime was a good time for hippies, both full time and part time.

Those were the days.

How was my day at the Beach?

What a great day. Warm sunshine, a breeze, and beautiful water and sand! I'm amazed at kids, grandson didn't know these kids, but within a half hour they are all working together to make a sandcastle. Wish we were more like kids sometimes. A dark cloud came over the area, and the wind picked up bringing up some nice waves. About that time a plane circled overhead advertising lunch bargains. Since the clouds were starting to rumble, we decided to pack up and go eat. After a shower the red on my face settled down to a nice brown. These white sand beaches call for at least 30 block lotion!

Beach Day

I'm off to the beach today. Will take the camera. I only have one question, after doing comments today - how do the codes work - the security codes? My eye finger coordination must be bad, I have to type those in sometimes three times before I get it! Anyone know?

Full Blown Test

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Candy Minx suggested taking all 45 questions to task - I come out just as boring. Oh well.......but dependable! One of my friends, my dear cousin, made a comment in her tongue in cheek wise way - "Oh, you took the County job thinking if you are just kind and wonderful to everyone, things would change." Yep. I did. But I can smile at myself for such naive thinking. Thinking if I just do everything right and the world will be rosy is something I have been "recovering" from - not that I do everything right - but that blankety blank drive keeps pushing me along sometimes..........

Spread those Nukes!

I guess the U.S. is not the only one courting disaster for the sake of oil:


TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) -- After agreeing to nuclear cooperation with Libya, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the West should trust Arab states to develop such technology for peaceful purposes or risk a war of civilizations.


Sarkozy said preventing Arab states from developing nuclear power risked stoking a "war of civilizations."

France agreed on Wednesday to help Libya develop a nuclear reactor to supply drinking water from desalinated sea water. The reactor might be supplied by French atomic energy firm Areva.

Sarkozy told reporters in Libya that to consider the Arab world "is not sensible enough to use civilian nuclear power" would, in the long run, risk a "war of civilizations".

"Nuclear power is the energy of the future," he said. "If we don't give the energy of the future to the countries of the southern Mediterranean, how will they develop themselves? And if they don't develop, how will we fight terrorism and fanaticism?"

Many Middle Eastern countries, including some worried about Iran's nuclear program, are interested in developing atomic energy resources.

Don't Miss
Sarkozy courts oil-rich Libya
Medics freed after Libya-EU deal
French first lady criticized on Libya deal
Move heralds expanded Libya ties
Claude Gueant, Sarkozy's chief of staff, noted the nuclear cooperation deal means "a country that respects international rules can obtain civilian nuclear energy."

Sarkozy, due to travel to Senegal on Thursday, denied any link between the nuclear deal and the release this week of six foreign medics who spent eight years in Libyan jails and were convicted of infecting hundreds of children with HIV.

He helped clinch the deal between Tripoli and the European Union to free the medics, removing a major obstacle hampering reconciliation between Libya and the West. "The only link one can make, is that if the nurses had not been released, I would not have come," he said.

Areva, the world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors, deals with the full nuclear cycle from mining to waste. Libya said in February it would join Areva in exploring and mining uranium.

Saudi Arabia along with Gulf Cooperation Council partners Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates announced a joint project for peaceful nuclear energy, mainly for water desalination, in December last year.

Egypt, which suspended an earlier nuclear energy program after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, is looking to revive it to meet energy needs and conserve gas and oil reserves.

Libya and France also signed accords for a military-industrial partnership and cooperation in scientific research and higher education on Wednesday.

"I am trying to reassure a part of the Arab world," said Sarkozy. "There is Libya, but all the other Arab states are looking at the way Libya will be treated following the release of the nurses."

Relations between France and Libya deteriorated after an attack on a French airliner in 1989. France convicted six Libyans in absentia but Tripoli has denied responsibility.

The West lifted sanctions on Libya after it abandoned its weapons of mass destruction programs and world powers are jostling for position in the hope of grabbing lucrative infrastructure contracts from the oil-rich country. E-mail to a friend

Mein Garten

First we have Lamb's Ear, and it is truly as soft as a lamb's ear. Next, is the agapanthus - faithfully blooming away - this plant is no prima donna, its very sturdy. My prima donna is the Cajun Hibiscus. Tomorrow I have to dig a hole and mix the mushroom humus (sounds like a spread for crackers, eh?) into the sand and see if perhaps the soil has been too rich - I'm having far too many yellow leaves. Anyone have any ideas?

Another Personality Test

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Why am I so boringly predictable. Since my historical person profile match came out "Hitler" I am absolutely sure these things are way off base! How would one reconcile those two different poles?

What's a little lightning?

Lightning!

Computer is back - kiss, kiss! I woke up this morning with my answer. It was the computer cord. I was sure - the message was saying the cable was bad and it hadn't registered with my brain - I was thinking it surely was something more complicated. My daughter's computer came back on after the storm. I figured it HAD to be the cord. So I went to Walmart and the new one works fine. Ya! I always try to make sure the electronics are shut down when storms come up because we have bad experiences.

BAD Experiences
The first bad experience was a lightning strike to the kitchen - it blew the sheet rock off the walls and the appliances and electronics stopped working. Luckily, we were able to have all repaired except for my computer which was two computers previous to this one and one TV.

We did not repair the lightning damaged sheet rock, dreading the expense.

In the meantime I decided I was finally going to adopt a greyhound. I've long admired these sweet and intelligent dogs, with sleek bodies and affectionate personalities. The adoption society did tell me he was afraid of storms, especially lightning and thunder.

"That's ok, he can sleep with me," I foolishly said.

The dog was perfect - he was gentle with the boy and the cats. He was a constant companion to the boy. One day, the boy put the dog's leash under the coffee table leg, while he went to get the dog a treat. A jet flew over the house - it flew low and the dog, thinking the sky was falling, took off running through the house with the coffee table flying behind him - banging big holes in the sheet rock.

"Oh, well," I thought, "We already have holes in the sheet rock, now we have more."

So I calmed the fellow down and we settled in, one big happy family. Except - ya know when you've been married a long time, you can tell your spouse is pretty upset because they have "that look?" I was getting a lot of "those looks."

A couple of days later, I put the grey in his kennel in the living room and went to pick up the boy from a party. I came home and neighbors were standing in my yard, telling me that dog had eaten the blinds off my front windows. I gingerly opened the front door and - ZOOM - ever try to catch a frightened greyhound?

Greyhounds are also very smart - this guy had not only chewed off the whole corner of a wall in THIS incident, he had managed to unlock his kennel, which had two complicated lifts on two closures. He had peed the floor in the study, and covered it with a throw pillow.

With the help of the neighborhood, grey was located and sheepishly came home with us. Twas another jet! Wanna see the Blue Angels fly? Come visit me in my yard on practice mornings! Well, now we knew the grey was afraid of: sonic booms, loud jets, thunder, AND lightning. "H" came home from work and all H broke loose - at midnight I was waiting at a meeting point to transfer grey back to the foster home, crying my heart out. I whimpered something about being an abused wife, but after the grief left, I realized keeping grey in a household where jets constantly fly overhead, lightning strikes, and...........(see next paragraph) would be entirely too cruel and abusive to the grey.

Two weeks later, I drove to 'Bama to see my other daughter and had little boy with me. My other daughter was working nights - she called me late afternoon and said the house had been hit by a tornado. Ok! At first I thought it was a joke.

I am very calm in disasters. I was calm. I drove home, a tree had gone through the outer window in the boy's room, our roof had been lifted off and slammed back down driving all the nails out of the sheet rock, cracking a wall, knocked some of the brick off the house, our trim was all gone, and the garage door looked like a horse had kicked it. A window in the bathroom had shattered and cut the vinyl on the floor. Our above ground pool was GONE, gone, gone. Missing. The swing set was a pile of sticks.

By this time, the house looked a bit like it could have been bombed.

So, homeowners insurance may not cover hurricanes, but it did cover the tornado! That was way back when deductibles were $500.00 instead of $15,000, hooray! All damage was fixed eventually - seemed like it took a long time to put things back together.

If "H" had known what kind of luck I had, I think he would have turned and ran, and ran fast. My poor children suffer because of these disasters. Just think of a life long tour with me.

Poor little boy could not go into any room in the house for months without one of us holding his hand, standing by while he pottied, staying with him when he slept.

Anyway, we got the house put back together and, THEN.........

THEN - THEN came THE hurricane. This was a time a person (not us, thank God!) could say, "Well, the car was in the pool, the tree crushed a corner of the house, part of the roof is gone, and the carpet and walls were ruined, but, hey, we were really, really lucky!" (We were relatively in good shape, compared to others.)

Another story to be told later. Now, I bet ya'll understand why I have a paranoid snit when computer won't start after a storm!

Wilted Gardenias

Well, no computer again. Another lightning storm hit last night. After a blast that felt like it hit our backyard, I leaped out of bed and shut down the computer. Again, it won't come back up. I don't know if I will get lucky again. We'll see. So, if I'm quiet for a bit, that's what it is.

New Piece

I absolutely hate doing domestic pets as I feel I am not good at them. However, when a photographed image of this kitten was given to me, I instantly agreed to do it. Isn't it a wonderful kitten? It's a little Manx. I've posted her over on the Art Site.

She's mostly finished - just a wee bit more to go.

More on Fashion

Finishing up my fashion fling tonight, the little yellow babydoll dress looks exactly like a pair of "baby doll pajamas" I wore in the fifties as a young teen. To bed only. The little print strapped full short print dress, I had sewed up several like this in the 70's to wear in the hot Iowa summers. Living in ultra conservative communities did nothing for my reputation as I sewed away and wore them about. The other frock, brown print, looks like something I would have purchased the material on sale and whipped up and refused to wear unless it was to a Woodstock type event. The sparkling pant and top - ahhhhhhhhhhh, I wants it. I really wants it.

Again?

While sorting "stuff" I came across a 1993 issue of Vogue magazine. I was amazed to see the emphasis on black and white. This (spring 2007) was also the season of black and white.

Black and white I like. However, I've been resisting the "gypsy" look. As true with most clothing that is presented to us at the runway level, these styles only look good on super skinny 17 year old girls. A slightly older, weightier (ahem) person like myself that has layered up cutting the body in half, let alone thirds or fourths as with the shrugs, tiny jackets, now layered over super long tops, and tiered skirts is going to look like an overly ruffled birthday cake. Perhaps a few combinations that could work, but for the most part, WHAT are designers thinking?

Making matters worse, when these styles, modified of course, hit the department stores, then eventually Walmart, that's about ALL we can find to buy. I have several shirts (2005 & 2006 style) that are cut too low in front for busty grandmas and too short for plumply grandmas.

And I knew it, I predicted it, too short shirts will be given over to too long ones. Now if I want a new shirt, I have to buy shirts that go down over my butt and unless they are striped downwards, make my butt sort of double in size. What is it with these designers?

From a marketing viewpoint - money! Can't design the same as last year, or last season, can we? Why? - well, my County boss taught me a phrase I always remember - follow the money! Who makes money if people who can afford to restock an entire wardrobe each year or season buy, buy, buy?

The problem is, that designers have been stuck in ruts. Unless our wear, our style of modern dress is totally and radically changed, they have to go back in years and select styles from those years, redo them a tiny bit, and hit it with new marketing strategies, or maybe not so new - lately it seems nothing is new, really new.

I predict maybe only one more year with this hippy stuff. Don't get me wrong - some folks look totally adorable. My problem is that there are few outlets where I can find something to wear that will survive the current craze through the next one!

These thoughts come from a wannabe fashion designer. But one who has had at least a couple of classes in marketing and related to marketing...enough to know this economy is based on persuading people to continually buy, buy, buy.

Personally, I like to be like an artist's canvas with a passable painting on it when I dress up. I like beautiful clothing and fabrics, jewelry and accessories. But I resent being told when I'm going to wear them, or being confined when going to purchase a shirt the only thing available is something that looks good only on Angelia Jolie!

There is a deeper reason fashion rotates styles through the years - it is to keep us buying, buying, buying some more. Yeh, and I admit to always wanting to be at the edge - and trendy - but the older I get, the more "refined" I get - either that or I don't care very much! I still do fantasize about having all the money I would like to spend on clothes, dumping my old wardrobe out and going for all new - but I resent the pressure of "have to." It's not as bad when not working outside the home, I do admit.

Gees, I still have clothing with padded shoulders hanging in my closet.

Irresistible Junk Triggers Psychotic Episode

I picked up the sack with all the material in it with intentions of walking to the trash. I did. Honestly, that was my intention. But I slipped, one eyball sort of slid downward exposing the pupil which is connected to the packrat part of the brain and the brain signaled back - "Look, look more, dig through it!" And.....I did.

Out of the bag came this wonderful fish print. Since the grandson's room is done in a Hawaii sort of teal calling for a tropical bedspread, the creative part of the brain told me to cut the fabric into a square, mount it, and frame it for his wall. He loved the idea.

Ok. Where oh where will I hide this package that dropped in from the garage until I can perform my fantasies upon it? There are multiple projects that can be dreamed up! So, does it matter that the sweatshirt embellished with deer cutouts that I gave to my ex-brother-in-law went to the garbage? Nope, not a bit.

Rainy Sunday Afternoon

H. "cleaned" the garage yesterday. Translation: Move everything around in a different pattern, and bring HER stuff in to go through and hopefully it'll be so ruined she will dispose of it. I got the game.

So, what a trip through memory lane. At least I didn't cry. I've carefully cleaned frames and photos, repacked them all cleaned and treasured, and will try to get them into an unused place in the back of my closet.

I thought, before I left for Wyoming, I had given away most of the gifts from missionaires to grandkids for their keepsakes. Schools don't teach geography anymore it seems or anthropology. That's why I like Montessori. But no, there was a bumper crop of "stuff." The broken stuff was thrown away. I divided the angels out for my older daughter, the angel collector. Separated "H's" stuff out and cleaned it as well - complusive Capricorn that I am.

The "stuff"

A round leather piece depicting the continent of Africa and wildlife.

Two parrots, from Costa Rica and perhaps Nicaragua.

A wooden chocolate maker from Mexico.

A carved wooden camel and donkey from Israel.

A carved lion and a black wooden flute from Africa.

Two baskets - one from Africa and a brightly embroidered one from Costa Rica.

A carved wooden bowl and beautiful carved wooden fruits from Guatemala. (The Mr. Idunno person(s) who break(s) things and makes them disappear had emptied the bowl of some of its fruit pieces.)

Not gifts, but unrelated objects: Two circa 1930's (I think) dog figurines from occupied Japan, an angel (50's)? from Japan, a pair of zebra salt & pepper shakers (dollar store variety), a bowl from China with cactus in it - not from missionaries, from the U.S.'s imports to keep China happy and U.S. labor costs down.

So that's some of my junk. Who will want it when I die? Probably no one, so why don't I just trash it all and relieve the efforts of occasionaly caring for it and finding the space for it. I dunno.

Lazy Afternoon Napping

Mi Casa

The garden is getting there - hopefully by November everything will have re-seeded itself. Still no bees, the dragonflies are growing, but a quickly transient population. No hummingbirds yet. Come on, plants, grow, grow! I have them in mushroom compost so they should zip along. It's humid and warm. A preliminary sketch is done and waiting for the Cajun Hibiscus to bloom. I can't decide whether to do them in watercolor or acrylic. The blooms are plate sized, deep blood red, but only last a couple of days. My command of acrylic is a bit better than watercolor, so that will probably be it if I can approximate that blood red.

A spider has built her nest in the bromeliad and has several juicy morsels awaiting her pleasure. I managed to repot that without too much disturbance to her home.

Thanks to the sprinkling system and generous new seeding, the half dead lawn is pretty much back in shape.

I need to finish painting the front door, get the windows cleaned, and the carpet cleaned and the Casa will be Mi Casa again - there is a certain sense of peace when things are repaired, cleaned up a little, weeds replaced with flowers.

Grandkids will arrive Thursday but can only stay until Friday - that is sad. Well, perhaps someone can take over the little one and I can take them to a movie. Maybe do some painting and approach them about a scrapbook project for Christmas gifts.

Happy Pleasures

I'm a sucker for fresh produce and lately its been like JACKPOT! Hattigrace turned me onto a local non-profit that is growing produce for income. That was a double bonus, being able to purchase organic local produce and have it support the non-profit services. This produce is less than store price by a long mile, so I kick in an extra donation.

My bag contained a small watermelon, lots of cucumbers, a big "mess" of pole green beans, and a very large bag of large cherry tomatoes. Tasting these fresh veggies and fruits were a reminder again, of being used to store produce and not realizing we are often eating something akin to cardboard.

The cantaloupes and corn from the roadside stand were - exquisite. Grandson and I are going to get more today. A nice fresh corn and black bean salad sounds tasty as well for the coming week. I'll take my camera to the country with me and give you all a preview. I love Alabama.

So tonight it is ham hocks and green beans for supper! And will brew a pot of lentil soup as well to last through the week.

I was able to resurrect the computer. It did this in Wyoming once. Made my heart flutter, it did. It must have a short - or all the power outages in Wyoming have wounded it. So here's a kiss on its screen for coming back home to Mamma!

Well, much to do today - since I am chauffeuring hubby back and forth to work, (broken truck) he has felt obligated to dig me some holes in the garden area. We put in Butterfly Bush, Agapantha, and Porter Wing and Milkweed. These plants are supposed to bring bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This evening when it cools down, I will put the exotic grape red hibiscus in a large pot, along with my exotic which is having "puppies" already.

My back was burning and I was sort of scared, but a little time on the icepack and a night's sleep and it is fine. Its usual stiffness is there, but whew!

Thoughts on the 4th of July

This 4th of July I feel sad. My heart used to burst with pride when I stood and faced my flag and sang "The Star Spangled Banner." But my two year intimate acquaintance with politics and subsequent reading, news on the TV, talks shows, underground blogs, war that I am not sure doesn't have everything to do with politics rather than "freedom" has left me confused and sad and disillusioned in regard to my country. I suppose I'll eventually process it all.

My friend finished her book on our visit to Albania. It's excellent. When we visited I didn't consider politics at all. But world politics were at work. We visited an important chapter in history. And I can say I live in a country where I can actually get out to visit other places if I wish (not without some hassle, but it's not impossible - now), and most of us have toys for our kids, vehicles instead of donkey or foot travel and other things we take so for granted. We have phones, we can travel without seeing soldiers watching us with guns in hand. So much to be thankful for today, despite the crazy 21st Century political deviousness.

Other news:

The website finally kicked into its official name: http://healingtreeart.com

That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't work anymore on it, nor may I be able to access the files to clean it up and keep it running. We had a power outage yesterday while I was working on the computer, and when it was time for everything electrical to come back up, of course, my computer would not. It seems dead in the water. My web design software is lost somewhere since the move so reloading to a new computer is not an option now. I have to borrow daughter's computer which is not accessible to me 24/7. Computer is right arm, yes?

I'll see if the problem can be solved. At best, maybe a change out of the power source will work and I won't have to worry about how in the world I will be able to replace a couple of thousand dollars worth of software. And did I back up files? Well, I was working on it. About 1/2 way done is all.

Sigh.

So the Happy 4th of July sees me cleaning up the house, being chauffeur for hubby whose truck is broken, and the kids and grandkids are all gone doing 4th of July stuff. So much for moving close to family.

Well, there's a couple of movies for grownups at the Rave Theatres and I could go eat shrimp, and buy some plants for my planter. It's cloudy and grumbly for a 4th of July. Going to the beach would be like saying to the lightning: "Come get me!"

So hey, a day alone might be a welcome respite, after two years living alone, being in 1825 square feet with 3 messy people is wearing...being a tutor is wearing me out (but I am grateful I can do it)...however, it is a good thing I didn't choose that as a career..... so its the movies or some books or some art..type of day......or maybe pulling weeds?

ITS UP! Test - Test - Test

Sunday, a.m. Getting ready to fix breakfast and a good cup of coffee, its quiet, no one up. I like it.

I finally uploaded the website to the host. (Haven't slept much.) I am having trouble getting the correct biography to upload, but mainly I wanted to see if you would be a "tester" for me. That is, would you check the site out and given me your feedback? (The writing on the biography page is awful I know.) I have yet to get subdomains set up for the websites I want it to link to so those are missing, and the Links page is bare. But getting there.

The web address is temporary for a few more days until the host does their thing. Then it will be http://healingtreeart.com

For now:

Healingtree Art and Design

However, what I need to know is:

Does it come up quickly?

Do you see all of it on your browser - and if it comes up messy on your browser, what browser are you using?

Are there any overlapping layers except the intentional one on the Drawings page?

Any glaring grammar or spelling errors?

Is it generally pleasing to the eye? Any suggestions, critiques?

Saturday

Want a shortcut to the funny farm? Try not designing a website for 2 years, then try uploading one to the host. Sure am having fun. (not really) - another day and it should be up though. This is the banner. The background is a navy blue. Not too fancy. I'm anxious to get it up and then - paint.

My former drawing teacher invited me over to her studio with a handful of other artists and teachers. They were getting a collaborative piece ready to submit for a juried show. Being with a creative group spirit fired me up. I wish I had her studio or similar - it was even air-conditioned! But I am praying for one, so maybe - soon? She has ventured out into encaustics and I absolutely drooled when I saw her warming plate, wax tubes, brushes, and the results. Yummy! So I think it is necessary for me to get back into circles and stop "lone dogging" it as I am going nowhere in getting materials to a canvas.

Today S. wanted "throwed rolls" (I wish I had taken my camera.) So we headed out to Alabama, a short trip actually. We found the throwed rolls restaurant and we ate two rolls apiece and had to bring our orders of food home. The portions are gigantic. We still have enough of the second chef's salad to easily serve four people.

We stopped at the huge outlet mall and purchased a few more shorts for summer for him. (I will never wear black jeans in the summertime in Florida again! HOT!) Then, I cannot pass a farmer's market without stopping. We bought a watermelon which is yucky and went to the trash, a yummy, juicy, sweet cantaloupe, ripened on the vine tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, and corn. The new corn has been sweet and really good. Tomorrow am going to make a black bean and corn salad. Ha, ha - to go with the chef's salad.

Getting to Know you - what was that tune?

Passed on by Candy Minx:

1. WHAT WERE YOU DOING 10 Years ago. Working at a guardianship agency servicing mostly incapacitated elderly. Painting. Preparing to become grandmother for last little one. Art classes.

2. WHAT WERE YOU DOING 1 YEAR AGO..blogging and preparing for an election, worrying about voting machines, treachery, bawling around about being in Wyoming.

3. FIVE SNACKS YOU ENJOY, popcorn, fruit, pork rinds, nuts, string cheese.

4. FIVE SONGS I KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO: Lay Lady Lay (Dylan), You are my Sunshine - passed down from my grandma to me to kids, to my grandkids, Star Spangled Banner, Turkey Leg Woman (amost all the words), Amazing Grace, Do you know the Muffin Man. Ok, ok, don't laugh.

5. FIVE THINGS YOU DO IF YOU WERE A MILLIONAIRE...Grab my sister & take a trip on the Orient Express from England to Istanbul with lots of stops - particularly Paris and Prague, pay off all the bills in the family and make one of them way more comfortable - central air conditioning!, invest, have regular massages, maybe find a country that had serious infrastructure problems and almost nill employment, grab my old boss from the County and go to that Country and see what we could do! Nix, the last one - not enough energy left. At my age? Buy a luxury condo on the beach, paint from the balcony and lay in the sun by the pool. Hey, I blew off that million in a hurry, huh? Is there more?

6. FIVE BAD HABITS: too much introspection, compulsive worry, choosing insane jobs, looking at the impossible, thinking "ya, I can do that."

7. FIVE THINGS YOU LIKE DOING: Being high maintenance, YA! (Cuz I never have been - but hey, give me a pedicure, salon appointment, a hot stone massage, a new outfit - it doesn't take much!), blogging, doing art - any medium, visiting exotic places, being with family.

8. FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD NEVER WEAR AGAIN, knickers, high heels (can't), bikini, round and round stripes, a perm.

Tag: Red, * - (I don't hear much from you) and.........Puppy of course, oh shoot, all of ya...........L, ....., and.......all of ya.......

Why are these Guts in Jars?

From out there somewhere, from where ever wierd thoughts come from, came this one - why were some cardinals and catholic bishops, etc., buried like the ancient Egyptians? Not that they were mummified, but when touring a cathedral in Austria, I was curious as to why the intestines and "insides" of these high ranking church officials were buried in copper containers (why copper) away from the bodies which were lying in the catacombs of the cathedral. If my memory was correct the containers were in another room.

In ancient Egyptian times, it appears that Pharoah and families were buried in the same manner, with the intestines,etc. in jars. These jars each stood for a god of a specific function, or reason. Hmmm, more research or does anyone know why particularly the body parts were removed?

The cathedral we visited in Vienna was awesome. I stood in its bowels and looked at layers and layers of bones of plague victims buried in the catacombs, not really buried, just heaped in layers. Can you imagine what going to church would smell like while the bodies decomposed?

The realization of how young the U.S. really is hit me. I wished I had paid more attention to history in school. And a little tickly seed is popping around in my mind, saying, well, why not go to BACK to school and finish up your art degree in art history? Well, why not? I don't have to do it all in one year, two years or any time-contained line. Just a thought.

While researching, I came upon a rather obvious fact about the pyramids. They were built with the point on the top because that is the least stressful way to construct something that large without a collapse at the top. But back to Europe and the cathedrals - at one point it was discovered there was a way to do the arches and the great proportions of the cathedrals - and then the "masons" become entwined in some of the history - and I wonder if even now in the U.S. putting a cornerstone in a public building and dedicating it to the masons/lodge/whatever is connected. "Twould only make sense.

One plus one equals two - or is that drawing conclusions where none should be drawn? (I have a knack of drawing either pretty observant conclusions or really way out there ditzy conclusions that make no sense. Or so I'm told.) Or is history of man so short that the time we view as such a long time is really a short time, thus the connection? The connection of one discovery building upon another before so much time elapses that the connection is forgotten? Imagine mankind with a collective memory dysfunction. We would still be in the stone ages! "Uh, how HOW do you make a fire, explain that one more time."

From the 12th to the 18th century it was common for the heart to be removed from the body and sent distances aways to be kept with someone or someplace. Why?

There are some speculations, from everyone wanting a "piece of the action" of a famous person to "custom" but I can't find any detailed explanation. When did the custom end - or did it? Any history majors out there? Or avid researchers who know?

Just thinking.