Days Gone By

Here is the photo from Google of the house from last year .  Now the driveway is paved, the railing painted to match the lower half of the house, then repainted to the original color.  I can't figure how to download the image, so I took a photo of the screen.  Clever, aren't I?   Don't know what the blurry part is.  Rain?  Thumb print?  (Ghost??)  whatever. 

 

And here is the photo as of 9/19 (the porch is entirely repainted here; all those damn balusters - twice!)

We made the big mistake of painting the porch the same color as the wall behind it.  Now it is half and half until the rain stops and the porch dries.

I was thinking of the mistakes we have made over the years, some big and some not too big (like painting the wrong color).  Here is the list so far:

1.  We didn't buy the empty lot next door when we had the chance.  Now owned by the Paul Bunyan type (see a post a few days back) next door.
2,  Buying a dud pickup truck (why hasn't it been recalled for crappy brakes)?  8800 miles and three brake replacements!
3.  Getting the black kitten at the pound.  She spends her time beating up on the other cats and barfing.
4.  Choosing the wrong major in college,  one which would have given me upward mobility and not one which needed a PhD. to move upward.
5. Not taking my photography or my computer programming seriously.
6.  A regret about the kids.
7.  Not writing my grandmother when I was in college; she died suddenly while I was taking final exams my freshman year.
8.  Going to Bob Jones University, no place for a skeptic there.  They taught me how to lie.
9.  Buying a boat!  The two happiest moments, when you buy the boat, and when you sell it.
10.  Buying a small house (no room for a craft room) !

I think ten are enough, don't you?  'I'll do  "ten things I did right" another day..

Bumper sticker for the day:  "No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery. "

Cats and dangling string

I've been trying to get some progress made on  the baby blanket I am knitting.  I finished the first panel, and started the middle panel.  Six times.  I knitted up 47 rows before it struck me that I was supposed to connect the edge of the first panel to the second one as the second one is knitted.  So that got frogged.  One time I forgot the ravel cord, that is used to remove the waste yarn.  Frogged.  One time I realized that the ravel cord was the same color as the yarn (red), so it was invisible.  Out it came.  Forgot to cast on (did that twice), oh I hate to even recall all the errors (knot in yarn) that I have made.  It is currently at the point of beginning the second block of the second panel, and I am going to put in a lifeline just in case.... (frogged = ripped out, ribbit, ribbit, etc.)

All the dangling bits of yarn ends are an irresistible lure for the cats ~ as I concentrate on the current row they are trying to make off with the part hanging down by my knees.  I shall have to shut them out tomorrow when I work on  it.   I even must discard all the bits I cut off, as what the result is of cats ingesting said yarn is too awful to contemplate.

We finished covering the porch with the"restore" paint from Lowe's and it looks -- awful.  The color isn't even, it's the wrong color, the surface is very sharp and gritty (the paint has SAND in it) and it will all have to be done again with a regular latex paint.  I am so disappointed.  I thought it would grow on me, but it looks awful even when I am doing  something              like carrying in groceries.  Live and learn,  guess. 

N got one of the horse stalls cleaned/stripped before he gave out.  That isn't a job for a 70 year old, but since DS is working 6 days a week, it seems unfair to expect him to clean the barn on his only day off.  Of course, if he had is own place, he'd be using his day off to do laundry, get groceries, etc. so I strive to remember that when I ask him about the stalls.  The horses got into the paddock we were trying to keep off-limits for this year as we are trying to get the grass to grow back over the big bare parts.  The horses thought they were in heaven, the grass is 12 inches high, but the idea is to let it go to seed and get it even denser when it sprouts. 

For a look at a really beautiful horses, take a look at this short video, and be sure to listen to the music too.  Friesian Horses  are incredibly majestic.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Logic:   the art of being wrong with confidence."

Decorations

Is this smiley visible? YES!

And clearly I have too much time on my hands, to figure this out.  I like that they are big sized...

Let's assume I'm right, It will save time.

My son showed me our house on Google street view yesterday, and WOW wasn't that a eye opener. Our horses were plain to see, and we could also see our neighbor getting into his truck.  I know it must have been a Tuesday, because the trash can is empty and at the curb, and the survey states it was done in Sept. 2013.  I wanted to post a photo here, but it includes my address, which I really don't need to share with the entire internet.

I am not a happy camper this morning.  Our next door neighbor recently cut down 3 trees (that were dead or near dead) along the property  line.  Today he cut down a live tree;  all the trees were on our property.  Husband and son went out to stop him, but too late.  We showed him the property markers,  you can sight along them and see that the trees are on our side.  Several of them are Colorado Blue Spruce, which if you know trees you know how very slow growing they are; we planted them 35 years ago.  He said they interfered with his mowing (??).  He said he would pay for them, but that won't bring the trees back, will it?  Jerk. I am not happy.

The clinic last night discussing knee replacement surgery has had one effect on me; I am not going to have mine replaced any time soon.  The cortisone shot has worked its usual magic and I can walk normally again.  It should be better for at least a month.  My main difficulty is stairs, and according to what I heard last night, that is problematical with the artificial knee as well.  So forget it.  If I start dragging my leg behind me I'll consider it again.  The doctor was very nice, he is a partner with my ortho, but I don't want to have my ortho do the surgery anyway, as he is in the midst of retiring soon.  Along with all my other doctors and therapist.

I am in too bad of a mood, so I will cheer myself up with some knitting.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Retired.  One owner.  High mileage.  Needs body work."

August is winding down

I have messed up my organizer; I finally figured out that August has 31 days---what a shock!!-- and thus appointments for this week are different from the ones next week.  I postponed my psych dr. appt to October, thinking it was a conflict, but really it wasn't (oh darn).  I left it in October; for some reason I have been getting one hour appointments with her.  I swear it is because she can't find anyone to talk to that isn't in worse shape than I am.  Which is hardly at all, now.  Still, husband is waiting outside for me, I feel like the meter is running.  If only I could get past my driving phobia.

We are facing the humongous task, painting the deck in back and the porch in front.  We will be using the Restore paint that is 10X thicker than regular paint, and is said to cover splinters, cracks, etc. in the wood.  I bet it is a bear to use, not to mention very pricey.  But still cheaper than replacing entire structures.  I will post before and after photos, I think.

The knitting carriage is off to be deep cleaned and adjusted, so the new (to me) knitting machine is at a standstill for now.  I did get some minor parts and have them to change up also, the machine should be in top condition once it is fixed up. Now I just need to decide what to knit first.  Probably something easy, like a hat or scarf.  I will wait to do a punch-card pattern, I think.  Meanwhile I am waiting for an email that the carriage arrived safe and sound in Georgia. Starting to get nervous.  It was insured, at least.

In October it will be 10 years since I started this blog.  My post counter says I have written 525+ posts so far.  I started it on a whim back in 2004 when there were oodles of posts to read.  Now there are far fewer out there, and I follow just a few.  Quality over quantity, I think.  It is hard to find topics to write, there are very personal ones that I don't want to share with the internet, and trivial ones that nobody wants to read, least of all me.  I should get back to posting photos with a post like this one, short on content.
  I resolve to do better in the second ten years ~)

Bumper sticker for the day:  "On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your favorite color of the alphabet?"

"This message...

is  a natural product made from recycled electrons.  The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects."


The knitting machine arrived and is up and at least for a simple stockinette stitch, is knitting (once I lubricated it with a little gun oil).  It is bigger than I thought it would be, I really need a bigger room.

The Apple 5c phone arrived and is very entertaining.  But I will never do some things with it - like write emails.  I am usually within a ten yard radius at any time that includes at least one computer, that's out of a total of  five, not counting tablets.   The manual book has arrived and I am slowly going through it, with my phone in hand, and have learned quite a bit.

With the advent of the phones, we discovered an interesting factoid we didn't know:  Our LAN in the house will let us have only 5 hook-ups at a time, max.  After that, it says "no connection" which means something different, at least, I think it means that linksys was down.  Two of the 5 computers are hard-wired in, and are on if the PC is on.  Maybe there is a way to disable the link temporarily but I don't know how.  If I am browsing the net on the phone, and the kids are on their PCs, that's five.  No bandwidth for a second phone, a tablet, etc.  So I do my browsing while the kids are at work.

My, that took way longer to explain than it should have...

I had an appointment with a podiatrist on last Friday, but  ... I got cold feet and cancelled.  Too many doctors already.

 Bumper sticker for the day :  "I didn't trip, I was just conducting a random test of gravity."

A new knitting machine!

I have purchased a KH-260 knitting machine and it is on its way.  I have been looking for one for several months, and this one on ebay has all the add-on bits and pieces.  Can't wait, I'll post photos.  It is in two boxes, and the main one weighs 63 pounds...

My husband bought two apple 5C phones for us, we am waiting for them to come, too.  He originally went to Sears (they have a representative for Consumer Cellular there) but the guy there was majorly clueless and it was easier to do it all online although that means waiting.  I also ordered a book from Amazon called "the Missing Manual"  to use to figure out all the things it can do.  The book is nearly 600 pages long, it is good the cost isn't per page...

About toothbrushes:  When the internet was reached via MS-DOS and a .edu address, there was a site that featured a photo of a toothbrush, no text or anything but the photo.  In spite of this, there were thousands of hits.  Now, if you google images for a toothbrush, it gives you all the sites for Colgate, etc.  More useful but less amusing.  The reason all this came up for me is that my (Panasonic) toothbrush died the death a couple of days ago, and I had to get another, sticker shock.  Hope this one lasts as long as the other...

Bumper sticker for the day :  "Knitting keeps me from unraveling."

Summer is sliding away...

Here it is August already, what happened to the summer?  We haven't missed the pool, it has been such a mild summer here (West Virginia) that the water would have been a nippy 70 degrees.  And yet the southwest is burning up, between the weather and the fires.  We had a pile of old lumber and a bunch of tree limbs to get rid of, so we burned them, along with an old stump of a huge ash tree.  The fire burned for 4 days, smoldering in the stump, until everything was ash.  This with rain every day, hard rain.  It gave me an appreciation of how hard it is to declare a forest fire as "contained"  because they smolder and burn under what looks like cold ashes, for days.  

Thinking seriously about knee replacement surgery.  The cortisone shots only help so far, and then climbing/descending  stairs becomes a misery.  Oh for a one level house.  We have been in this one for 34 years, and I can't even imagine what moving would entail.  Just the attic alone gives me the blues, full of old junk, books, furniture, lots of stuff.  We would have to rent a dumpster first thing.  

My son got a smart phone this weekend, it is so entertaining.  I'd get one myself if I could think of anything I needed it for.  As it is, my dumb phone sits idle for weeks at a time, and is always needing to be charged when I finally turn it on.  It seems to me that batteries should hold their charge if the device is off, but this one has been like this since it was new.  It is a Motorola Razor, just the thing in its day.  It has a camera and no apps at all.  I don't think I could even receive texts or web pages.  And I have never figured how to get the photos on the phone off of it, to the Mac.  Again, not any need for that.  I carry a tiny tiny little camera which is ever so adaptable for all sorts of photos, and has a huge capacity with a flash card, and of course they can be switched out as needed.  It is a Nikon, no less.  It was a mother's day gift 2 years ago.

My attempts at machine knitting have hit a snag since my knee is paining me so much, it hurts to sit in a simple chair for more than an hour.  I messed up the project I was attempting and ripped the whole thing off to try again later.  Maybe I will try a different chair.  Meanwhile my resolve to not buy any more yarn has recently taken a hit, but only the once.  Or twice.  I love yarn, it does not need to be knitted for me to appreciate it.  The last batch had an alpaca blend in it, sheer luxury to handle.  I don't feel I am a good enough knitter to buy any of the hideously expensive yarns, or at least only to buy a single skein.


Back when the internet was mainly the place to find web camera sites that streamed continually over a broad band for speed, I had several that I visited regularly.  One of them was in Ft. Lauderdale (where my parents lived at that time), and it showed a big picture window with bird feeders outside, and house cats on a perch inside.  Not a very thrilling site, but it showed me how the weather was for my folks, and a sort of zen-like peacefulness to watch.  I don't think there are many private sites now, only those maintained by cities or big business.  I thought of all this because of my toothbrush, but this post is long enough now and I won't explain this connection until next time...

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes."




 

Housemaids knee/know/

I have been coping pretty well over the last 3 or 4 weeks; this marks the second month since my last cortisone shot.  In another 4 weeks I will see Dr. Kurth, the ortho doctor who said I would know when it was time for an artificial knee, and I think we are there.  At minimum I will have information to read and ponder.  Either surgery, or I will need pain killers to get through the days.  I am also going to connect with the new psychotherapist and go for another session to see if I was a little rushed the first time around.  Ya think??

Meanwhile the last of the pool liner and all the non recyclable stuff is in the truck to go to the dump, with as much of the right stuff for this recycle number as possible.


As a post within a post, doing good is not to be found tonite.  I had topics, and photos, and good jokes, and over time, they have slowly slipped away and tonight I as going to (what happened to the blue font??!!) Now I have lost what tenuous grip I was trying to overcome great...

                                   Close your eyes,  breathe deeply in, then gently exhale.                                 

Good night.   

Today's news today, or later

Greetings to all here from the AZ area, and the brutal hot weather you are suffering through.  It is in the 60s here today and the 50s at night, and it is too bad we can't mix the weather together and have 75 for everyone.  And rain in CA instead of TX.  And what's with that gigantic crater in Russia?

My aunt that we visit down in the center part of the state got up in the night, lost her balance and pulled a dresser drawer down on herself, cutting her leg badly.  My uncle said there was blood everywhere, and the ER put 17 stitches in it.  As happens with age, she is uncertain what happened and how she got hurt.  My uncle sounds exhausted.  If they get a hospital bed the sides could be put up at night so she won't fall out...  she is on hospice so that is possible, I think.

We are tearing down our pool, leaving a big hole in the deck that will have to be fixed somehow.  We haven't used the pool much in the last several years, and the upkeep is both time and money consuming when no one is using it.  I loved to just look at it, especially in the evening when the lights shimmered inside the house, but that isn't enough to warrant keeping it.  I guess.

At least the horrible stink bugs we had in the late winter through springtime are all gone (here).  We had a series of warm days which brought them out, followed by below freezing nights which killed them off.  Of course there had to be a trade-off, and it seems to be spiders in the house.  I leave them alone outside (unless they are right beside the outside doors), but the ones inside have to go.  They are fast !! And killing them means you have to watch where they have run to hide, and then swoop down with paper towel and squish.  Ugh.  Still, better than clumsy flying stink bugs.

 Here is a photo of the Highlander that caused so much trouble for a simple dead battery.  I should say, that jumping the battery let it start, but the low charge bollixed up the electronics, hence all the flashing lights on the control panel.  All OK so far.

N finished clearing out the office for the volunteer group he works with, his part was mainly providing the pickup truck to haul 10 years worth of c**p to the recycling/dump station.  It was amazing how much stuff there was - they even had supplies in the bathtub! - , and the group has moved into a smaller office with a small closet for storage, so the culling was ruthless.  Some of it was donated to various groups and organizations.  There were a large number of unmarked stick pens and DD took them to work, they constantly run out and have to scrounge, the pens can't have any logos, etc. on them, so most freebies are unusable.  I'm trying to think of what I can do with the zillion pencils, it would have been nice if an electric pencil sharpener had turned up.  I think a lady I know volunteers in an elementary school, I'll see if they want them.  We ended up with two rather battered plastic tubs, clean inside and cleanable outside, that I will use to store yarn (!) in.  I must not buy any more yarn until some of this is used.  Must.  Not.  Buy.  The knitting machine eats up an amazing amount yarn, once a project is started, so what I have is not completely out of reason.  Or so I tell myself.

LK-150

Bumper sticker for the day:  "The trouble with bucket seats is not everybody has the same size bucket."

Grumble grumble

This has been a totally wasted day.  It started off OK, DH went to "help out" a group for which he is on the board.  What was supposed to be a one day project has turned into 4 and counting.  So anyway, he comes home exhausted, showers, eats, relaxes for a while.  We decided we would go out to dinner, something we do every Friday if possible.  We even have a guest card, so we head for the Toyota  Highlander, and it wouldn't start.  This is a brand new car, one month old, 1000 miles, cost a damned fortune, and it won't start?  DH tried everything he knew to do, but to no avail.  So we troop inside the house and call the dealer.  Who says, all the mechanics have gone for the weekend, but we could go ahead and get it in now so it would have first priority on Monday.  DH says,Umm, OK, but exactly how am I to bring it in when it won't start?  She replies, tow truck, and then stops.  DH waits and says since you (the dealer) are paying for this, don't you have a preferred company, and I assume you can call them, yes?  She allows that she can arrange this (big sigh, such a hardship for her.)  So the tow truck comes, hoists the car up into the bed of the truck and off they go.

While we were waiting for the tow truck to finish up, husband asks if we can borrow son's car to go to dinner as it is 6:15 by now and no dinner in sight.  He says sure, and DH asks him for the keys.  Here is where the story diverges,  Son said he already handed his keys over to Dad, and Dad says he only looked at them and did not take them then.  Four adults spend 3 HOURS searching for the keys, including going down to the dealer to search the Highlander.  No keys.

We found a comb, a folding knife, a sock, several hankies, you get the idea, in the living room recliner.  No keys.  At 9 PM I give up and went to bed, and eventually the rest of the family did too.

I'll wait till tomorrow to finish this.

Sorry for the wait, but we have all taken third and fourth looks in all the places we looked before, and we cannot find the damn keys.  Resolve to get new set made later this week, and son can drive using the second (spare) set.  I am so frustrated.

 Bumper sticker for the day:  "I'm not a pessimist; I'm an optimist with experience."

Update to the update:  The keys were at the dealer's the whole time; the tow truck driver dropped them thru the "early bird" box, and the dealer went nuts trying to find a Subaru in the Toyota lot that needed service.  All's well that ends well...

 

Something to think about (in place of bumper sticker for the day):

  "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

 

This is where a post title would go if I could think of one.

I've been letting the old blog posting go by the wayside for a couple of weeks, which is because I can't think of anything to write.  So be forewarned, this post will be a little of this and a little of that.

We drove to the little town in Braxton county WV to see my aunt and uncle.  My aunt was feeling too bad to get out of bed, or even to talk to us; my uncle had a hard time tracking our conversation, probably due to fatigue.  We didn't stay long; DD got car sick on the way down, and so I rode in the back seat of the Toyota Highlander part of the drive down and then on the way home too.  It was my first time in the back, and there is a noticeable sway at highway speeds back there, although it didn't bother me.

This is the view of my back deck, you can see the pool (still closed) in the bottom left corner, and waaayy in the background on the right bottom corner you can see the white bathtub/horse waterer inside the fence.  It was a lovely day today, not too warm and a nice breeze.  We saw lots of squirrels, but no hummingbirds.  Yesterday the front lawn was the site of two Canadian geese with three goslings, on their way to the neighboring pond no doubt.  I scurried outside with the camera all poised, but they were gone by then.  I know lots of people regard them as a nuisance now, leaving huge amounts of droppings everywhere, like in parks and playgrounds, but they are still neat to see.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Back off !!  I have cats and I know how to use them."

Tinker's Damn

Wonder where "Not worth a tinker's damn" came from.  I bet I can look it up on Wikipedia, but I am not motivated enough.  Actually, I'm not motivated enough to do anything at all.  I want very much to fall asleep, but three times when I have managed to drop off, I have jumped up and barfed.  For my next attempt I am going to keep a small plastic pan (you know, the ones you carry home from the hospital) beside my bed.  It only seems to happen when I lay down, so I feel fine as long as I sit up.  Hence the reason I am posting here at 3 am.

Yesterday DH and I scrubbed down the big bathroom adjoining the master bedroom, it was a mess when we started.  The linoleum floor is awful, faded and with gouges and cuts in it, I have no idea how they got there.  It looks like we have been ice skating in there, them changing into golf spike  shoes and practicing the Irish fling.  Yeah, it's that bad.  But except for that, it looks very nice, and even the floor is nice and glossy where it isn't damaged.  Now I feel like I've been rode hard and put up wet.  By tomorrow I will be needing vicodin to soothe the aches and pains.

That's the trouble with housework, you do it once and then have to do it all over again in six months.

The whole family had a nice dinner out; not quite what I had planned for a belated anniversary dinner, but it was OK, (except for my problem in the first paragraph).  We all went in the Highlander, the first time we've had all four seats filled.  I have to say it rides fine, but it feels like it is 8 feet wide, pretty much like the pickup.  Which I also do not drive.  I'll have to get N to drive to an empty  shopping center and let me get the feel of the thing.  To give you an idea, the dash displays a camera view out the back end.  That's because the back end is sooooo far away.  I have been working on my driving skills for some months, so this is a setback for me.  I don't understand why I am so tense when I drive.  Until I retired 7 years ago (at 55), I drove everywhere in my little Miata.  But gradually I drove it less and less, each time having to jump it (boo hiss) and so we sold it.  I have developed an enormous fear of driving, mine and anyone else's, to the point of being sickly and sweaty as just a front seat passenger.  I don't know why.  I should probably go back to the therapist, but someone would need to drive me there...

I am planning to get another knitting machine, a "bulky" one to use with 5 and 6 weight yarn.  The one that looks the best is owned by one of the members on the Knitters Paradise forum that I read every day, usually.  I say that, but after answering my request for information on the particular machine, I have heard....nothing.  So frustrating.

The photo above shows the burgundy swap I sent to my April/May partner.  It is hard to photograph a dark color, but the background is a burgundy apron, then a bunch of stuff here and in another photo of all that I sent.  The concept for this swap is interesting, but I withdrew because I am tired of searching for things that match that month's color.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Dear Karma, I have a list of people that you have missed."

Zoom Zoom

I am back from FL and glad to be home, where I can veg out if needed.  The plane ride was ...interesting.  Going to FL on a 737 was great because in a plane that seats 140 ish flyers, there were only 30 or so passengers.  I got all three seats in the row behind the bulkhead seats.  On the return flight, there were around 130 passengers, and there was someone in the window seat while I was in the aisle, but we had the center seat for our purses, etc.  I was the first person on the plane too.  I flew Business Select, which in NOT first class (Southwest has no first class seats, it is open seating, where you can take any seat that is, well, open).  The ride home was pretty bumpy at take off and landing, the two times when I get white-knuckle hands.  But all was well.  Husband and son met me at Pittsburgh and we drove an hour to get home.  This was the only non-stop flight from here to there.

The day I returned was our 44th wedding anniversary, but I was too tired to go out to dinner.  DH had a nice chicken dinner in the crock pot, so that worked out well.  The next day I was so sore on my right side from carrying a HEAVY tote bag thru miles of airport that I had to take one of my pain pills, I'll have to find a better way next time.  I had checked my suitcase, even though it would have fitted in the overhead compartment, because I didn't want to hoist it over my head to get it in (or out).  I bought t-shirts for the kids, which they said were great, but then they would have said that if they were too small or in weird colors, I will probably never see them wearing them.

The cats literally threw themselves at me when I walked in the door, demanding pets and scratches right then.  They still had had 3 adult slaves to see to their demands while I was gone, but apparently that wasn't enough.  Now, of course, they completely ignore me.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "I'll procrastinate tomorrow."

Florida

Hi to all
I am flying to Florida tomorrow and will resume posting when I return.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "The nicest thing about the future is . . .  that it always starts tomorrow."

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day.  For most of us, it's just a day off work, but for many it is a time for remembrance for days gone by.  Both my mom and my dad were veterans, Mom in the Navy and Dad in the Army in WW II.  Dad served overseas, mostly in Africa , as a truck driver in the quartermaster corps; Mom was in D.C. as a pharmacy mate.  They met after the war, and were married more than 55 years when Mom passed. I don't remember Dad saying much about his service, until he was in his 70s, when he started to try to get in contact with his old buddies, who were long since beyond reach.  But what I remember was the ungodly mess it was for them to get help at the local Veteran's Hospital.  It was always some papertrail that had gone awry.  Dad's service records were among those lost in the  fire at St. Louis.  Wikipedia "The National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973, also referred to as the 1973 National Archives fire was a fire that occurred at the United States National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in Overland, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, on July 12, 1973, striking a severe blow to the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States. NPRC, the custodian of military service records, lost approximately 16-18 million official military personnel records as a result of the fire.^" 


That was a large part of the problems for him to get care at the VA, since he had no proof other than a Purple Heart, to show he had a service-related injury.  The burden of proof was on him, a virtual impossibility after so long.

So when I read about the horrible care that today's veterans are getting from the VA system, I have an inkling of what they are going through.  And it is a disgrace and a national shame that the veterans are treated this way, whether their injuries are life-altering or not.

So today, think a little while about what would have been the result if those men and women had not risked their lives and their well-being to do their duty to our country.  And while you think about that, consider supporting some of the organizations like Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.  Every little donation helps.  It's the least we can do.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "It was a sad and disappointing day when I discovered my universal remote control did not, in fact, control the universe (not even remotely).

Past midnight

Well, here it is, another 3 am post.  I am sitting here , munching on a Heath bar and wondering what to write here.

The paving company will be here Monday or Tuesday to pave the driveway and the parking area, at last.  We put down $1000 deposit and then they never returned our calls, and the last time that happened (a long time ago) the company went under and took our $ with them.  But soon they should arrive, and we will park across the street on the basketball court, all 4 cars.  I think we are the last house on our road that doesn't have a paved driveway, but that is because we have had major problems with rain run-off flooding the garage (and the house).  But these people say they can fix that, we will see..

All the flowers have the place looking pretty spiffy.  The yard is unbelievably lush and it is all trimmed and mowed, including the back pasture.  As you come along our road toward the house, the slick and sassy horses playing up in the green green field make it look like a post card.  I'll see if I can post a photo here, lord willin' and the creek don't rise.  I haven't taken many lately.

June 2nd I am flying to south Florida for a visit with my BFF who has been ill.  I don't want to drop a lot of private information here, but I am so glad this has worked out.  This huge country of ours makes staying together with friends and family a continuous challenge, and there is only so much we can do with phone calls and notes.  Or Facebook for that matter.  Which I still don't "get".  The little I have seen it seems to be too cheerful (" you have new contacts !!") instead of saying, "there are other facebookers here that have too much time on their hands !"  I don't understand how my name hops up for them to "friend" from where I worked before retirement.  People I hardly spoke two words to when I saw them every day.  It's one of life's puzzles.

I haven't knitted much lately,although I have a couple of  works in process. I have been taking more naps in the afternoon than usual, and when I finish one I go upstairs for a while so the rest of the family won't forget my face.  But I have to restrict how many times I go up and down the stairs if I want to be able, for instance, to go to the grocery store.  All that will be do-able for a few weeks, as yesterday I got my once-every-three-months cortisone shot in my right knee.  Damn the shot hurts, but gosh, the result is immediate.  No limp!  I'm good for at least 2 1/2 moonths.  I DO NOT want a knee replacement.  Right now I want to lose weight (Heath bar not withstanding) which should help the knee too.  And I could utilize more of my closet, where the 200+ jeans and shirts languish.  Of which I can wear MAYBE 25% of them on a good day.  DD says she does the "bunny hop" to get into her tight jeans, where I am of the old school of laying down flat on the bed to zip.  My hopping days are over, I feel.  The jeans stretch out (love that spandex) after an hour or so, letting me draw deep breaths again.  The modern day equivalent of a corset, I guess.

Usually I vaccinate the horses on Memorial day weekend, but it helps a lot if I actually order the vaccines ahead of then.  More likely this will be a June effort, and it is easiest when the farrier  comes to trim their feet, with them already brushed and and in the cross ties.  The cost is far far lower than what the vet charges, I get it for $25 each and $25 dollars shipping (on ice), and it takes about 30 seconds per horse.

One of the horses has a wart-y growth in her ear.  Her dam (mother) also had one, which spontaneously resolved after months of benign neglect.  The reading I have done on the condition all agree that it is better left alone, as cutting them off, or freezing, etc. only serves to bring them back, bigger.  The sources say only take extra care when haltering or putting on a bridle(as if), as the horse becomes head-shy sometimes. I don't know how I would tell, she's been head shy since day one.  Literally.  When she was born, I watched as she got to her feet and stood up and wobbled over to mom/s milk bar.  When she was ready to lay down again, I went quietly in and did what the "horse imprinting" book suggested, touching her ears, running my hand over her, etc.  The next day she wouldn't let me touch her, hiding behind Mom.  It got worse day by day, until she had to be shipped off to a trainer's because she was so wild after weaning.  He worked miracles on her, at last I could halter her, brush her, pick out her feet, etc.  She went to him as a 3 year old to be broken to ride, and DH rode her a fair amount.  I rode her Once.  She is crazy as near as I can tell, and you watch, she will be the last to go.  Her brother, a bay,  two years older and out of a different stallion, isn't marked like a paint, but is a dream to handle.  Unless he is in pain, but I give him a pass on that (stone embedded in his foot for instance).

Well enough horse lore, I doubt anyone has read this far.  I still plan on shooting some photos to add here, so check back.  It is back to bed now.

Bumper sticker of the day:  "I've reached the age where 'happy hour' is a nap."

Nighttime Ramblings

It is 12:15 am here and I am fighting off a really low feeling.  I still get these even with my 4 anti-depressants, but they go away pretty quickly as a rule.  But nighttime is the worst, I wake up from the dregs of a nightmare and there is nothing to distract me that I can do quietly except come here in my computer room.  With a stink bug, brrrr.  Still no sign of him, yet. 

I have been getting emails from my former therapist.  She moved out-of-state almost 1 year ago, and I really miss her.  She set me up with a really nice therapist, but it isn't the same, and I stopped therapy for a while, if not permanently.  The emails from H are really nice, and it is safe to say we communicate as friends rather than just therapist/client.  But nothing beats face-to-face; I don't think Skype will replace actual encounters, other than for the most superficial purposes.  Still, I may play with it, the MacBook has a built-in camera that makes me look like a plump Martian with a very wide nose.  Truth will out.

Jim Butcher has a new Dresden files book due out at the end of this month which I have pre-ordered.  I will force myself to leave it alone on my Kindle until my trip is underway, it should make the flight go faster.  There is also another Odd Thomas book out in Dec., which is a long way from now.  Unless I have the two books confused.  It will be a surprise, anyway.  I have to start my trip in Pittsburgh, about an hour's drive from here in WV.  It leaves at 4:45 pm, so I will have plenty of time for cold feet to set in.  But there is always Xanax just for this kind of anxiety. 

 This post has been written over most of the day, a little here and there.  Soon it will be dinner time and I have just finished my nap.  Oh well.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "I've taken a vow of poverty.  To annoy me, send money."

Spring?

Just two weeks until I fly to Ft. Myers to see my friend for a couple of days.  This is a busy time for us, doing all the spring maintenance and such, although having DS to help is a huge benefit.  I told DH that having the property lines surveyed, the manure pile removed, the plantings around the house, a new driveway poured, will convince the neighbors that we are moving.  But no, it is just maintenance/sprucing up and such. 

I have a great new knitting project under way, but it will take me a while to get it done.  I plan on starting it before going to FL, and taking it with me for times when my BFF needs to rest.  I bought double the amount of yarn in the directions, so I won't run out.  I would imagine it would be nice to do on the plane, but the needle/hook would probably be confiscated a security.  Like a terrorist is going to be knitting up a little pair of baby booties while he waits to, I don't know, terrorize?  " I've got knitting needles and I know how to use them!"  I guess it isn't really funny to minimize the security part of flying these days.  I'm just weird.  The time we flew to San Diego, I left my boarding pass in the gray tub along with my jacket, etc., and as a result I got the "scan the entire body" even as I pointed at the pass right there in front pf us, on the opposite side of the glass.  The people that fly all the time are so slick, whip off the shoes, computer in a pan by itself,  carry-on on the belt, I feel like I am holding up hundreds of people as I fumble along.  I am flying business class, and supposedly have an expedited security check point, we will see.  I will try my best to do what is required without feeling pressured to do it faster.  When I flew to San Diego 2 years ago, at our tiny little airport (2 gates) the security guy opened every bag and swiped them all for explosive residue.  He did it in plain sight of  all of us, on the opposite side of a glass window, If I had realized all my undies were going to be scrutinized by everyone on the plane I would have put them together in a ziplock bag.  One woman with feminine products in her suitcase was mortified.  Oh well, nothing that hasn't been seen before.

Back to bed, it is 4 am here, and writing in the blog is what I do when the insomnia strikes in the wee hours.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "If things get worse I'll have to ask you to stop helping"