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August 31, 2005
Great fun with Mog
I had dinner with the genius behind the Mind of Mog tonight, and we had a good time. I am downloading pictures from my camera as I write this, but there are so many pictures, it is taking a bit of time, so they may not get posted until morning.
And yes, I know I still have to post pics from the San Diego party!
But Moggie and I found, to our surprise, that Code Pink and Air America were having a protest at 24th and Camelback Road here in Phoenix - right where the Cheesecake factory is.
I took pictures and talked to the never grown up oldsters, and they were just wacked.
After dinner, we both went out and took more pictures as they had a Cindy Sheehan candlelight vigil.
These people are just a bit on the not quite all there side - and they were older than I expected!
It's taking forever to download 300 + pictures, so I'll go to sleep now, and post them in the morning!
Posted by Beth at 11:50 PM | Comments (1)
On a happier note ...
I am having dinner with Moggie of theMind of Mog tonight. Thought we'd meet at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum.
I love being able to meet other bloggers, and I'm so glad that Moggie is free this evening!
Posted by Beth at 7:43 PM | Comments (2)
Holy Cow . . .
I love New Orleans. I have not been able to write about the hurricane, it is too hard.
Now I see there are reports that all the prisoners in the City Jail were released, and they apparently are among those looting and killing. And some even commandered a post office truck robbed businesses and people at gunpoint.
I have to wonder if some people choose not to leave the city so they could loot when everyone else left.
Anyway - give to the American Red Cross or to Catholic Charities or the charity of your choice.
And the Germans and the RFK Jr can go jump in Lake Ponchartrain.
Posted by Beth at 7:33 PM | Comments (1)
August 30, 2005
swamped with work
So I have no time right now - just a reminder to get your recipes in to the recipe.carnival at gmail.com address. Dave Schuler of The Gilltering Eye will host for us this week.
Be back tonight. I hope.
Posted by Beth at 9:05 AM
August 28, 2005
Just last Sunday
We had a ton of fun with a bunch of San Diego Bloggers - and I owe you a post with pictures. You are all so great!
But, I found out at the last minute that I have to go to Phoenix - tomorrow morning. So, I've been balancing the check book (always a somewhat precarious task), putting together an agenda for the week and doing laundry, vacuuming and dishes so John isn't stuck with all of it this week.
I swear, the pictures will be up tomorrow night.
Oh, and is anyone interested in hosting the Carnival of the Recipes next week?
I was going to do it - until my boss called and said go to Phoenix!
Posted by Beth at 7:34 PM | Comments (6)
Ask the Cats
If you go over to TBIFOC, you can see what one of our kitties says when speaking in Haiku.
Guess which one is ours.
Posted by Beth at 1:23 PM
August 27, 2005
everyone ...
Should check out this link at least 4 times a year. Remember.
Rosemary, my friend, thank you for reminding me!
Posted by Beth at 9:01 PM | Comments (3)
Great Thoughts from The Queen
Rosemary Esmay, the Queen of All Evil (she is just a great woman, really!) has a great post on freedom of speech, 'absolute moral authority' and how wacked Cindy Sheehan has become. (well, I say wacked, Rosemary is much nicer).
Rosemary is right - Cindy Sheehan is getting pretty nasty about the mothers of soldiers who were killed in Iraq who do not agree with her - she is 'losing her compassion' for them.
And I think the woman is becoming dangerously paranoid - she seems to think that people who believe that the war is the right thing to do are going to cause violence:
We are going to have an eventful day at Camp Casey. We are holding a big rally and so are the "pro-continue the killing because Americans have died already" people. I am a little apprehensive about this. We know that the Sheriff's know that the other people are coming to stir up trouble and provoke us into violence. Well, that is not going to happen on the Camp Casey side. We will not resort to the same tactics as their leaders.Source
Yes, in case you were unaware, Mama Sheehan has become a Kosivite - she has her own 'blog' that gets top billing there.
I think she treads dangerously close to aiding and abetting the enemy any more - she calls the Terrorists - Freedom Fighters from other countries (bwaa ha ha ha) and calls American Soldiers - Terrorists.
And the thing is - she has the right to protest and say everything she wants to say - if her 'people' were in charge, do you think for one second that they would allow people who disagree with them the same rights?
Posted by Beth at 6:07 PM
My favorite picture
I don't know if this is the best picture I've ever taken of a plant, but I like it the best - it's such an incredible water lily.
Update: Tell tells me that this is a Lotus - thank you, Tell - we don't get many of those around here in Kansas.
Technorati Tag: lotus flower
Posted by Beth at 12:09 PM | Comments (3)
The 'Chosen One'?????
Just when you can't imagine her saying anything more obnoxious and annoying and stupid, Cindy (Mother) Sheehan had this to say:
"I'm just so honored that the universe chose me to be the spark that has set off a raging inferno.Source"And when I had to leave," she added, "it proved that you don't need the spark anymore, because the fire is burning. And it's not going to go out. If George Bush came out and spoke with me today and we went home, this wouldn't end."
Dean Esmay has a great post on Mother Sheehan.
And by the way, she ain't sounding so Catholic these days - no mention of God?
Only the .... Universe?
Seems the Sheehan nut has cracked.
Sheesh.
Technorati Tags: Cindy
Technorati tag Sheehan
Posted by Beth at 11:58 AM | Comments (2)
Quick note
You have to go see this optical illusion over at Tammi's World.
Don't ask, just go there - very funny!
Posted by Beth at 11:50 AM
Project Valour-IT
Read thier posts.
Now!
Technorati tag project valour-it
Posted by Beth at 8:38 AM
Walter Reed
As you probably know, a group of anti-war, anti-military protesters have been staging protests outside of the Army's Walter Reed Hospital. This is distressing to our brave, injured troops.
Now, there is a group of good folks counter-protesting the pink people or whatever they are called - our friend, GunnNutt, was there last night and has a lot of great pictures.
Cam Edwards also has photos and more.
Apparently the pink people (or whatever they are called) leave as soon as the bus with injured soldiers arrives on Friday evenings - they are there to demoralize American Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen.
They are hurting the very people who fight to the death to protect the pink people's (or whatever they call themselves) right to protest.
Project Valour-IT is buying laptop computers that are voice activated so injured troops who would otherwise not be able to check email, write email, blog or just surf the Internet can do all those things without assistance.
Please click on the picture to donate.
This is a tax-deductible donation.
Here is a list of the blogs who are also blogging to support our troops:
Technorati Tags: Walter Reed Code pink
project valour-it
Posted by Beth at 7:38 AM | Comments (1)
August 26, 2005
My Vacation, Part II
Remember the song, Vacation, by the Go Go's? It keeps running through my brain as I write about our vacation. And neither of us did any water skiing at all - or even got near water - next time we go out there, we'll have to check out the beaches.
Okay, now - back at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, our heroes, John, Joanie and moi, have finished with the bird watching and have met the Meerkats.
Oh, wait - I don't think we had met the Meerkats in my last installment - so here they are -
Ooops - no, that is DaGoddess and John!
Here are the meerkats:
This guy is another watcher - maybe he is a watcher of weasels?
And this meerkat is just a slug:
DaGoddess checked her watch at about this time and said we had to get moving - so we could watch the feeding of the cheetah!
It was quite a long walk from meerkat city to the land of the Cheetah! So, we took some pictures of neat things like flowers and sweet deer-like creatures and another critter that has a tongue that must be 2 feet long.
Finally, we made it to the place where the cheetah lady lives and waits for her turkeyburgers! Raw, that is.
I think she is a very pretty kitty - but a bit large for snuggling with -
After we watched the lovely lady Cheetah eat her food, we headed for the Lions - they are gorgeous, but due to the glass windows, rather hard to capture on film. This is the best picture I could get:
Tomorrow - John and I visit Balboa Park and we have dinner at blogger Doc in the Box and his lovely and talented bride, Tragic's home.
Posted by Beth at 7:06 PM
Carnival of the Recipes #54 is up!
Go check out Not Exactly Rocket Science - where CalTechGirl has the ultimate back-to-school version of the Carnival of the Recipes!!!!!
There is a recipe for hot fudge sauce in there that ought to be illegal!
Posted by Beth at 6:37 PM
equal time for dogs
When John and I were in Balboa Park in San Diego last Sunday, we met this puppy - his name is Otto, and apparently he has somethng to do with a big weiner dog festival on Halloween - where something like 800 weiner dogs show up in costume at Balboa Park.
Wish I could go there!
Posted by Beth at 5:05 PM | Comments (1)
Cat Blog Friday
When I am not traveling, I work in my home office (and I am terribly grateful that I am able to do that!).
I have several supervisors who watch my every move when I'm at my computer.
Barney watches me work whilst enjoying the music from my radio.
Barney will get up and stretch every once in awhile.
But mostly, she just stares at me.
And Meriwether likes to help out with the printer.
Posted by Beth at 4:37 PM | Comments (3)
My Vacation Part I
I had never been to San Diego and really wanted to go there. John had been there once, probably 15 years ago. Well, John had a chance to take a one-day class there, so we decided to build our vacation around that fact that his airfare and two nights of hotel would be paid for....
So last Friday, after I finished putting together the Carnival of the Recipes, John and I headed off to the airport to catch our Southwest flight to San Diego.
After the somewhat interesting landing at the San Diego Airport (I'm told that it was a 'normal' landing for that airport), we found our luggage and our rental car. Eventually we made our way to the Embassy Suites in La Jolla (I forgot to bring directions and the map that Avis gave us showed a route that did not exist) and got settled in.
DaGoddess picked us up and we all went out to eat at Trophy's - nice place. We talked and talked and talked.
On Saturday, Joanie called early and gave us directions to her house so we could pick her up on the way to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We parked and I immediately started taking pictures of the unfamiliar flora.
This tree, for example, has a very yellow color - and doesn't seem to really have any bark, or at least what we in the Great Flyover states consider as bark, but it does have thorns!
Mind you, that was in the parking lot. Fortunately, we have a 1 GB memory card in the camera, so I could take a lot of pictures - many more to go, folks.
Joanie got us in free because she gets a yearly pass. Thank you Joanie!!!!
First we went to see some birds:
This guy makes me think of James Brown when they throw that cape over his shoulders and he rises ...
There were a lot of other birds, as well:
DaGoddess just loves Dragonflies. She is really an expert at taking pictures of dragonflies and other tiny things - this was my attempt:
Technorati tags: San Diego wild animal park San Diego
meerkat
cheetah
lioness
dagoddess
Posted by Beth at 11:13 AM | Comments (10)
I'm adding Rahel to my blogroll
And if you love beautiful pictures and cats.
Elms in the Yard.
I found her via Laurence's blog.
Posted by Beth at 8:40 AM | Comments (1)
August 25, 2005
Alrighty then ...
Just spent a few hours editing some of the great pictures I got over our vacation -- stay tuned - tomorrow, I'll have a great story in picture that describes what the Donovan did over Summer Vacation.
Posted by Beth at 8:56 PM | Comments (1)
San Diego Zoo
Ain't he cute?
Posted by Beth at 9:07 AM | Comments (3)
August 24, 2005
San Diego Zoo
Yesterday, DaGoddess took me to the San Diego Zoo. DaGoddess buys a family pass every year and visits often. She visits so often that one of the Orangutan ladies drops everything she is doing when she sees Joanie and her purse. It seems that Orangutans are quite curious, as you can see:
Posted by Beth at 8:49 PM | Comments (1)
Project Valour-IT
These bloggers have excellent reasons why Project Valour-IT is so important:
Barb
Dean
John
Posted by Beth at 6:09 PM
Home Again, home again
John and I have returned from our great trip to San Diego. I have a ton of pictures I have to go through and post - from the fantastic barbeque/Team America screening that Doc in the Box and his lovely wife, Tragic hosted to DaGoddess and her Orangutan friend at the San Diego Zoo.
We had a blast. More to come later.
Posted by Beth at 5:59 PM | Comments (1)
My mom would be proud
I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. My mom hailed from Festus, Missouri. I was thrilled to see the citizens of Festus welcoming home Lance Corporal Timothy Maguire with a large parade! All of our returning troops should get this kind of welcome.
Thanks to Gateway Pundit for the story.
Posted by Beth at 5:43 PM | Comments (1)
August 21, 2005
No more Drudgereport for me
I can no longer bring myself to go to Drudgereport.com. Why? Because everytime I go there, I get popups that somehow defeat my popup stoppers, I get spyware and those damnable toolbars that want to attatch themselves to my browser. I have to run adaware and spybot after every visit. It is ridiculous!!!
Until Matt Drudge cleans up his act, the heck with him.
Posted by Beth at 10:47 AM | Comments (8)
San Diego
Yesterday, the lovely and talented Joanie, DaGoddess, took us to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
It was beautiful. The critters are fantastic, from the merecats to the lioness.
I found out just how out of shape I am. I don't do nearly enough walking at home - I will have to start. Now that I have my new camera, I can at least walk up to the nature preserve behind the high school and practice my budding photography skills.
We brought our cameras, of course, and Joanie gave me a few photography hints, but it will be a long time before any picture I take approaches Joanie's talents. She has a great eye for composition - I don't - I tend to depend on photoshop to frame my pictures.
Joanie is such fun to be around. We just love her, and will definitely make sure she comes to visit us in Leavenworth - maybe in autumn when the trees at Ft. Leavenworth are at their best color.
It's very foggy this morning in San Diego. Might be cool to go down to the harbor and get some shots of the tall ships through the fog, if this keeps up.
But that would mean I have to get out of our nice comfy bed here in the executive suite in our hotel (Hilton Honors is very very nice to us). John brought me coffee in bed - what a life!
I have to upload pictures to exposure manager. I'll see if any are worth publishing here!
Posted by Beth at 10:40 AM | Comments (5)
August 19, 2005
I am very lucky
I have been able to meet quite a few bloggers in my travels for work, and this weekend, I get to meet even more!
I need to create a blogroll just for the bloggers I know personally - Tammi, Bee Bee, Rosemary and Dean, Punctilious and Rammer, Beth and Nerdstar and Fuzzybear Lioness and Ala and her husband and now, DaGoddess and Mr. and Mrs. Smash and Doc in the Box!
And I have even met Sharon, one of my regular commenters and her husband.
And every single blogger I have met has been wonderful. I love you all.
Eventually, I hope to meet Cranky Chick and the Venomous One - they both live in Kansas - well, gee, I think Kat also lives in the area - have to meet her, too!
I have noticed that bloggers are a little different from non-bloggers. We have some pretty strong ideas, tend to be a bit more creative than the norm, and we are all a little more aware of what is going on in the world than normal people.
With some luck, I'll get to meet more of you as I travel around!
Posted by Beth at 9:49 PM | Comments (8)
Carnival of the Recipes #53 - or the First Carnival in Year 2
It has been a full year since I started the Carnival of the Recipes, and I am very happy to say that we are still going strong. I have made new blog friends and gained weight (darn it!) via the Carnival. Thanks to all the great bloggers who have hosted the carnival in the past year and all the people who submitted recipes.
Now, time to start Year 2!
Dessert
Life is short - eat dessert first!
Jordana of Curmudgeonry has a very good recipe for making Fruit or Berry Tarts.
My friend, Ala, has Ghetto Rice Pudding - the picture looks pretty good, Ala - next time I am in Philly, maybe I can get an invite to Ala's house.
Army Wife at ArmyWifeToddlerMom has a legendary recipeGuinness Ice Cream!
The HeadGirl at The Common Room presents Cookies! Peanut butter cookies!
Accidental Verbosity's Jay has a recipe for Cherry Squares. I love cherries, I love squares - what's not to like?
Peach Cobbler looks good, too! But I need you all to go over and let Taleena know that Conservative Cat did *not* think up the Carnival of the Recipes - I did - and then tell her how yummy her recipe is!!
Mmmmmmmmmm - Marshmallow Brownies from Physics Geek.
Drinks
From Mean Ol' Meany - This looks like heaven - Chocolate Snow Bear.
Condiments and Salsas
Mostly Cajun, has submitted many recipes to the Carnival of the Recipes in the past year. This week, he has a recipe for Pico de Gallo.
Practigal has a recipe from her favorite restaurant in Ithaca, Tomato Salsa Fresca
And we have three yummy recipes from Trouble in Shangra La at Dubious Wonder - Fresh Salsa, Black Bean Salsa and Sour Cream Cucumbers - all delightful for summertime eating. Thanks, Trouble!!
Appetizers and Soups
Kevin has a recipe for some seriously good Potato Skins. Guaranteed to have no calories!
Blue Cheese Pizza appetizers. This is a must try! We go this recipe from One for the Road.
Potato Soup - what a great comfort food - from Memento Moron (who does not appear to be a moron at all!)
Veggies
Caltechgirl of Not Exactly Rocket Science stole one of CaltechMom's recipes this week - CaltechMom's SuperDuper Zucchini!
Sauces
Lisa at the tao of me presents Mad Jack's Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce
Beef
Kris of Anywhere but Here has been another regular contributer to the Carnival of the Recipes - thank you, Kris!! This week, she offers Beef and Vegetable Kabobs with Sesame Lime Marinade. Sounds like a great summer meal!
Lamb
Kevin at Technogypsy presents Lamb Shanks
Seafood
BJ has a recipe for Tequila Jalapeno Shrimp - not for those who don't like a lot of heat!
Triticale, a blogger of many interests and recipes, is kind enough to share his recipe for Chiles Rellenos Al Chino. This one I have to try- it is partly Chinese and partly Mexican and the recipe look great.
Another one of my favorite contributers is David of The Glittering Eye. This week, David has an Asian Seafood Salad for our dining pleasure. Wow - scallops and shrimp and .... wasabi!
Mensa Barbie has a recipe for Sea Bass Hollandaise. Everytime I think of Sea Bass, I think of Austin Powers and the sea bass with lasers. I'm sure they are much tastier with hollandaise!
Poultry
This looks like a great recipe - chicken titties redux. This guy, Ellisson, is very funny - read all his stuff.
David at third world county has a recipe for Odd Chicken Salad/Sandwich. Don't worry, it's not as odd as you might think - it does not require a 2 headed chicken or anything!
Pork and Sausage (Pork fat rules!)
Allan is cooking up a Quick Cassoulet this week. Inside Allan's Mind is one of my daily reads, and Allan nearly always contributes to the Carnival. Thanks, Allan!!
Ozarklad has a recipe that will make you happy even as your arteries harden! Sausage Poppers!
Sweet Michele has a recipe for Barbequed Pork Chops. Yummm - more pork goodness!
Arghhh!!! I left out Shawn's recipe for Jambalya Grits! I was having connectivity problems when I put this together yesterday, and I lost that entry in one of my saves. I will make sure that this recipe gets on next week's carnival also, to make up for my screw up!!
Breads and Pastries and Pancakes and other yummy stuff
Mary Beth has some Random Thoughts and a recipe for 'Australian Steakhouse Bread' . She must cook out back, if you get my drift. Yeah, that was dumb, I know. But the bread is good, good, good.
From A Weight Lifted, we have Old Fashioned Oatmeal-Blueberry Pancakes. This is a new blog to me, and believe me, I will be visiting there regularly and add them to my blogroll. Healthy food!
Strawberry Streusel Bars were sent to us from Cafe Oregano. They look pretty durn good and pretty simple to put together.
Blintzes
Yes, I gave blintzes its own category - why? Because cheese blintzes are my very favorite food on earth. I like them with Strawberry Preserves and Sour Cream on top, and with link sausages alongside (yeah, I know - it is a fine Jewish dish and I eat pork with them- I'm just odd).
Anyway, a beautiful recipe with pictures has been submitted by Morning Coffee and Afternoon Tea - Blintzes for Brunch. Oh, man, I don't care about my weight - I *will* make this one!!!
Extras
David (The Glittering Eye) has a post with his favorite recipes - Here is the link.
Chris Byrne - The AnarchAngel at The AnarchAngel has a lot of great into in his Recipes for REAL men - Basic Cooking Secrets - Volume 1 post.
Next week, the Carnival of the Recipes will be hosted by CaltechGirl at Not Exactly Rocket Science.
Posted by Beth at 8:09 AM | Comments (4)
August 18, 2005
Rerun time
I posted this over a year ago, but it still goes. So, I thought it worth another go round.
1. Adults are responsible for their own actions. Blaming their own behavior on drugs, alcohol, coming from a poor family or because they are gay or black or female or brown or white is neither rational nor useful. Every day we all have choices to make - good ones and bad ones, and if you make bad choices, then don't blame me and expect me to pick up your pieces if things don't go well for you. (naturally, folks who are mentally ill are exempt from this rule)
2. Life is precious. Whether you believe in God or don't, life is the most precious thing we have. That includes the life of a baby growing in a mother's womb. I get annoyed at all the liberals who think that American deaths in Iraq (and every one of those deaths is distressing, but probably necessary in a war) are the worst thing that can happen on earth, when millions of Americans have been denied being born because abortions are too easy to come by for any reason whatsoever (let's leave rape out of this discussion, please). The Death Penalty should be abolished, and replaced with life in prison - no parole whatsoever.
3. Education is the road out of poverty. Many public schools in cities and suburbs fail to teach children the basics - math, reading, grammar. They graduate these kids, and when the kids can't keep jobs, they make bad choices (see #1). Alternative education choices, including private schools, give kids a much better chance to become productive adults because they spend more time on the basics.
4. Not all values/cultures/morals are equal. I am sorry folks, but cultures like fundamentalist Islam, where women are property and slavery is okeydokey do not have as high a value as Western culture. They are not equivalent to us in morals. Fundamentalist Islamic Arabs want to rule the world and force us all to be their slaves or convert to their rather perverted view of Islam. I would even go so far as to say that American culture is better than Western European culture.
Why? We have a much freer society than any country in Western Europe, and way less socialism. And we are not nearly as snooty as the French.
5. We all have the right to protect ourselves and our homes from harm. I am a gun owner. I am proud of that fact.
6. I don't care if someone is gay or lesbian or straight. What is done in the privacy of one's bedroom is not my concern.
7. The money I earn is my money. I work very hard for it. Taxes are necessary, but politicians need to stop thinking of my money as the government's money. We need to keep taxes as low as possible - this encourages growth. (Economics 101)
8. We all have the freedom to worship as we choose - so long as that religion does not harm other people (Islamic fundamentalism comes to mind, as does Satanism). The courts are flat out wrong when they say that Christians cannot express themselves but Muslims and Jews can when it comes to religious symbols.
9. Owning property is a fundamental right. Home ownership is a wonderful thing. Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization that helps people own their home. I would rather see home ownership subsidized by the federal government than Section 8 housing and inner city projects.
10. Women and men should be paid the same for the work they do. I am in a predominantly male environment at work - believe it or not, I am a technical consultant. It is still an old boy's network, and I fight that every day.
11. A free market that is competitive (which means either eliminating or regulating monopolies) is a really good thing.
12. A free market that allows for free trade with other countries is also a good thing - as long as we don't allow other countries to dump artificially low-priced goods on us in an attempt to kill our own production. See #11.
13. The so-called War on Drugs needs a peace treaty. It is no more that a repeat of the alcohol prohibition of the 20's. The government should tightly regulate and license drugs like marijuana and possibly cocaine. Other drugs, I'm not too sure what to do about - some are just downright lethal. The gang problems our cities have will not exist without the profits they make from the drug trade. We have way too many kids in prison for doing stupid assed drug tricks - they should be out and learning how to make a legal living.
14. Every single one of the Bill of Rights is what makes our country so wonderful. That includes the right to gun ownership and the rights to worship as we please. I am worried that too many judges are abridging our freedom from unreasonable search and seizure - and the folks pushing for these searches without warrants are from both sides of the political spectrum - stop it, I say!
15. The elderly - as children, we need to take more responsibility of our parents' needs when possible - not the government. Too many times I hear very wealthy people complaining that their mom or dad can't afford rent or to eat because their medications are too expensive - for God's sake, help your parents! They raised you - the federal government should not be taking the place of families. If someone has no family, that's different - of course we should help them - but the next rich BMW-driving SOB who complains that his mom or dad is suffering because there is not enough Medicare - well, I would say something really rude here!
16. Be nice to people - even if you do not agree with their politics, it is important to try to remain polite. Otherwise, you end up with a bunch of people screaming at the world - KOS comes to mind.
Posted by Beth at 8:10 AM | Comments (6)
Vanity License Plates
AFSister has a list of vanity license plates for you to figure out.
Here is a small example: IML8 IML8
I have to be honest, I have a hard time figuring out some plates, but maybe you can do better.
(I am also congenitally unable to see pictures within Magic Eye pictures - John teases me unmercifully about that. I tend to think that Magic Eye pictures are a conspiracy that a lot of you are in on just to make me look stupid)
Posted by Beth at 7:32 AM | Comments (8)
It's recipe time!
Get those recipes in by midnight tonight! This week, I get to be the hostess, and yes, I owe everyone a list of hosting blogs. I don't know who will do it next week ... yet.
Anyway, be sure to send your recipes to recipe dot carnival at gmail.com!!!
Posted by Beth at 6:28 AM | Comments (1)
August 17, 2005
An Endorsement
I'm sure that my regular readers - all three of you - (Hi, Jim, Joanie and John - no really, there might be a couple more) are aware of the fact that the Donovan household is something of a menagerie.
8 kitties, 3 doggies, John and I live in the house - then of course we have our 2 equine family members, Willie and Petey.
Our house is ... shall I say furry? Yes. It is very furry and dusty and hairy.
It is so dusty, hairy and furry that I have gone through many vacuum cleaners - cheap ones, expensive ones - hypoallergenic ones.
My last cheap vacuum broke last weekend - it did pretty well, lasted - oh, maybe 8 months before it died a death of clogged fans, motors and hoses. John did what he could to save it, but there was no hope.
So. I have tried Eureka, Hoover, Dirt Devil, and every other brand you can imagine - but I had not tried the Dyson.
I will admit - the commercials were a bit too much like infomercials for my taste, and I have been burned by more than one infomercial - just ask John about my nightmare with the stuff that was supposed to remove hair from personal places. No, don't ask him - it was embarrassing, and he frankly doesn't care if those private places have hair or not.
Oh, yeah, back to my hairy house. . .
I knew I had to do something drastic. I searched the web and checked reviews.
I decided to try a Dyson
And I am very impressed. This thing could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch.
I vacuumed only two rooms and completely filled the vacuum three times - about 12 *pounds* of critter hair, fur and dust.
Oh my. And the floors look cleaner than they have ever looked.
I am very impressed. If you are in the market for a good vacuum, don't get the Hoover turbo thingy (been there, done that) or the Eureka turbo thingie (been there done that) Look for one of those Dysons.
And I'm not even getting paid for this endorsement!!!!
Posted by Beth at 9:24 PM | Comments (11)
August 16, 2005
Well, I've ended my foray into the underworld
Let's see - since Sunday, I posted 3 'diaries' on the Daily KOS, had one deleted with absolutely no communication to me as to why by some nutcase named Armando and had over 100 comments on the remaining posts that simply attacked me because I'm not them.
Some of the posts they made were a little frightening (good thing I'm a good shot) so I deleted the remaining two diaries.
Won't go back there for awhile. Those folks do not want to discuss anything, and if you try to discuss something, they attack you, and completely ignore everything you write.
For example, there are over 300 comments on a post that talks about the crosses being run over in Crawford County. I agree, that was an awful thing to do.
However, they are blaming everyone who voted for Bush for the vandalous acts of this one man. They have put his home phone number, address and business number on the comments, and though I think the guy is a jerk or a drunk, I don't think that his actions require thousands of kovovites calling him and his family and threatening them - which is what the commentors were proposing.
There is more. I copied all the comments and saved them. But those people are not quite sane. They are paranoid, delusional and probably a bit manic, too.
Thank God no one in my family is anywhere at moonbatty as those folks are. They must get off on calling people names, because they do it again and again and again. They are absolutely vile.
And they will never get what they want as long as they are that awful to others.
Posted by Beth at 10:45 PM | Comments (10)
Rude Behavior
Someone decided to take things into his own hands and run over all the crosses that Cindy Sheehan and her pals set up in honor of the brave men and women who have died in Iraq.
The culprit has been caught and has to post a $3,000 bond.
The guy is a jerk.
The left is howling.
One of the diarists at the Daily Kos has this headline:"ANTI-AMERICAN ASSHAT MOWS DOWN CROSSES AT CAMP CASEY"
I agree that the guy is an asshat (a term coined by the lovely and right of center Rachel Lucas). Vandalizing someone's temporary memorial is a very bad thing to do.
However, when things like this happen and an asshat mows down crosses memoralizing the deaths of children through abortion, I just don't hear any comment from the left - do you?
Can you imagine what they would do if anyone called the idiot who mowed down the crosses in a churchyard un-American?
Ponder this.
Well, obviously, I'm not the only one who thought of this - great minds think alike, Michelle Malkin!
Posted by Beth at 2:09 PM
Project Valour-IT
So far, we have a great bunch of blogs who are sponsoring Project Valour-IT. It is an appropriate cause for those of us who spend so much time on computers. Project Valour-IT is buying laptop computers that are voice activated so injured troops who would otherwise not be able to check email, write email, blog or just surf the Internet can do all those things without assistance.
Please click on the picture to donate.
This is a tax-deductible donation.
Here is a list of the blogs who are also blogging to support our troops:
Posted by Beth at 8:04 AM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2005
this is very cool
Posted by Beth at 2:38 PM | Comments (4)
Cat Blogging
Go to This Blog is Full Of Crap and see how cats feel about gas prices.
Posted by Beth at 12:42 PM | Comments (1)
Oh, how I love LeeAnn's Blog!
The Cheese Mistress is back (sorry I didn't notice until today) and she actually made me laugh on a Monday!
Posted by Beth at 7:25 AM
Such a nasty comment!
I asked people of all political stripes to donate to Project Valour-IT. I put up a post on Daily Kos and actually have had a nice discourse with some folks via email about our differences in seeing the world. But others are just really grumpy about the fact that I am getting the word out about the project.
Here is a comment I got on the post below:
honey please. you are pathetic. this isn't about computers for troops and you know damn well it isn't. it's all about you and your ego.
and why in the world are you so taken with cindy sheehan's "idiocy" that you are making predictions about her continued effectiveness?
who gives a fuck how long her cause stays atop the MSM? it is HER cause. and that is what you fail to understand, since by your stance we now know you've likely not lost a loved one and very possibly drive a vehicle adorned with a ribbon magnet.
if you truly care about the state of the world, then why aren't you predicting something REALLY important, like how long it will take for laura bush to go out to camp casey with a platter of those spicy southwestern tacos she continues to rave about?
sheesh. another self-absorbed nutcase without a fucking clue. jew hater, indeed.
if you really want to raise money for a cause, either ask your hero to roll back a couple tax cuts or ask your rich daddy to write you a check. just don't attempt to twist facts just because you're playing to your own crowd.
I don't know if this person came from KOS or not, but I am surprised at his/her assumptions about me. If the person had the cajones to leave a valid email address, perhaps we could have found a middle ground on which to agree without supposing I'm rich (Ha!) or have a rich daddy (I wish my not-very-rich daddy was alive) or that I am helping Project Valour-IT for ego purposes.
In fact, I'm a 52 year old, dumpy working woman. I once cleaned houses - how many rich folks do that, I wonder? And through the wonders of very hard work, I now make a good salary in the IT field. I admit, my salary is a lot more valuable here in the Midwest than in the overcrowded East or Left Coasts, but I do alright and can't complain. But the point is ... I did it myself.
I am living the American Dream because .... I worked hard.
Just bringing it into the light of day. Comments are most welcome.
Posted by Beth at 6:14 AM | Comments (3)
August 14, 2005
Laptops for injured Troops
In an effort to get the word out on Project Valour-IT, I left a post about it on The Daily Kos.
I find this is a real learning experience. Apparently, at least one Democrat is against all charities. He thinks the goverment should pay for everything.
But that's his right - we do have freedom of speech in the USA.
I do hope that at least a few people on the left side of the political spectrum will see that charity is a good thing, and that this one in particular gives them an opportunity to truly support the troops.
Posted by Beth at 12:33 PM | Comments (7)
Welcome
While you are visiting here, please, consider supporting our injured troops by donating to Project Valour-IT - we need $600,000 in donations to purchase voice activated laptops for troops recovering from injuries received in Iraq.
No matter what your politics, our American Troops deserve your support and mine.
Posted by Beth at 10:47 AM | Comments (1)
My Prediction
Since Cindy Sheehan has declared that there should be no Israel, I predict that the MSM will stop reporting her activities. It may take a day or two, but her story has jumped the shark, is toast, is all over.
Posted by Beth at 9:18 AM | Comments (3)
She's gone too far
I was going to keep my comments about Cindy Sheehan to a minimum because she lost her son in the war and I could excuse her idiocy because of that. But no more. She has just shown her true colors - she is anti-Semetic in the worst way:
BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES.Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq, is calling for Bush's "impeachment," and for Israel to get out of Palestine!
"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares.
Sheehan says defiantly: "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial."
"And now I'm going to use another 'I' word - impeachment - because we cannot have these people pardoned. They need to be tried on war crimes and go to jail."
The 48-year-old California mom remains tented up in a ditch along the one-lane road that leads to President Bush's Texas ranch.
As her protest entered its second week, hundreds of people with conflicting opinions about the war in Iraq descended on the area.
Source
So now, this self-proclaimed martyr wants the State of Israel to be no more. I bet all terrorrists everywhere are cheering this lunatic on.
I will no longer be silent about someone who is using her son's death as an excuse to demand that the world does what she wants.
And it is the Media's fault for paying her so much attention.
Posted by Beth at 7:53 AM | Comments (1)
August 13, 2005
Support our Troops
The Fighting Fusileers for Freedom have been reactivated. This time, we are working to support Project Valour-IT - getting voice activated laptops and software to our injured soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen.
My friend, Fuzzybear Lionness, has worked hard with Soldier's Angels to arrange for steeply discounted laptops and voice-control software to be made available at the major treatment facilities where these wounded warriors are being treated.
The goal is $600,000. Yup, that's a lot of money - but as this is a non-political way to support our troops, everyone in the blogosphere should be able to join in and donate.
And I mean everyone - People at Daily Kos, Atrios, Democratic Underground - this is your opportunity to put your money where your mouth is and truly support our troops!
Posted by Beth at 9:17 AM
First picture with new toy
This is Houdini -
This picture was taken with a flash at close range - I was amazed that there was absolutely no red eye!
Posted by Beth at 8:29 AM | Comments (3)
Mohammed speaks to Cindy Sheehan
You must go read this message to Cindy Sheehan by Mohammed of Iraq the Model. Everyone should read it, especially all of you who believe we should not be in Iraq. Perhaps it will help you understand why we are there.
Here is an excerpt:
I know how you feel Cindy, I lived among the same pains for 35 years but worse than that was the fear from losing our loved ones at any moment. Even while I'm writing these words to you there are feelings of fear, stress, and sadness that interrupt our lives all the time but in spite of all that I'm sticking hard to hope which if I didn't have I would have died years ago.Ma'am, we asked for your nation's help and we asked you to stand with us in our war and your nation's act was (and still is) an act of ultimate courage and unmatched sense of humanity.
Our request is justified, death was our daily bread and a million Iraqi mothers were expecting death to knock on their doors at any second to claim someone from their families.
Your face doesn't look strange to me at all; I see it everyday on endless numbers of Iraqi women who were struck by losses like yours.Our fellow country men and women were buried alive, cut to pieces and thrown in acid pools and some were fed to the wild dogs while those who were lucky enough ran away to live like strangers and the Iraqi mother was left to grieve one son buried in an unfound grave and another one living far away who she might not get to see again.
We did nothing to deserve all that suffering, well except for a dream we had; a dream of living like normal people do.
We cried out of joy the day your son and his comrades freed us from the hands of the devil and we went to the streets not believing that the nightmare is over.
We practiced our freedom first by kicking and burning the statues and portraits of the hateful idol who stole 35 years from the life of a nation.
For the first time air smelled that beautiful, that was the smell of freedom.
Thank you, Mohammed, for putting into words the pain that the Iraqi people have lived with for so many years.
Posted by Beth at 7:26 AM | Comments (1)
August 12, 2005
My new toy came today
And yes, it is an expensive toy. When John and I were in Orlando last winter and went to the Wild Kingdom, I realized that we each need a very good camera. We were trying to take turns with the Canon Rebel
I tried a nice little Olympus digital, but it's not an SLR and it was pretty inexpensive, and I think I'll try to sell it on Ebay at this point - and I had trouble taking pictures without a viewfinder.
So, knowing that John and I will be visiting San Diego in a week (where we will finally get to meet Da Goddess and maybe the Cheese Mistress and Lt. Smash), I decided to get myself one that I will not have to share.
So, this is the Rebel XT
I am very impressed so far. There is a redeye setting in the camera itself, and it works beautifully! Normally, when I take a picture of Houdini, his eyes are crazy dog red - with this camera, they are beautiful brown. Very impressed, I am!
Pictures will follow!
Posted by Beth at 4:26 PM | Comments (4)
Such a tactful guy, How weird Dean
""New England Republicans are different than most. They are more reasonable and thoughtful," Dean said. "You don't get as many right-wing wackos."Source
You know, I don't hate Democrats. But, Dean is doing his best to make me wish they would all jump off a cliff like sheep in Turkey.
If I were to say something like, "Kansas Democrats are different than most. They are more reasonable and thoughtful. You don't get as many left-wing moonbats." I would bet that moonbats from the DU would be calling me a fascist pig or something.
I am beginning to think that Dr. Dean got into politics because his bedside manner was so darned awful that he lost all his patients!
Posted by Beth at 2:52 PM | Comments (1)
Carnival of the Recipes
My friend, Ala, is our host for the 52nd Carnival of the Recipes.
She has a beautiful menu for us this week.
ALa is quite creative!
yum!
Posted by Beth at 11:42 AM
August 11, 2005
Carnival of the Recipes Info
I must admit, I've been pretty lazy about putting together the list of hosts/hostesses for the Carnival of the Recipes for the next few months.
I will host on August 19th - it will be the 53rd Carnival - or the first Carnival of the Second Year.
I get to do that because I thought it up. Neener neener neener.
I have had so much fun trying out all the great recipes for the past year that the extra work has definitely been worth it. I think the Carnival of the Recipes is one of the most successful carnivals in the Blogosphere.
Thank you all for your interest in sharing recipes and cooking. Special thanks to those who have hosted the carnival in the past year. Next year should be fun too!
If you like, this link: http://www.thedonovan.com/beth/archives/004268.html has the roster of all of the Carnivals of the Recipes and is updated each week. Feel free to post the link.
And everyone - keep on cooking on!
Posted by Beth at 9:31 PM | Comments (3)
New Definition
Guardian
guard·i·an ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gärd-n)
n.
1. One that guards, watches over, or protects.
2. Law. One who is legally responsible for the care and management of the person or property of an incompetent or a minor.
3. A superior in a Franciscan monastery
New definition- Michael Schiavo.(?)
Miami, Florida - The husband of Terri Schiavo was honored by a group that advocates guardianship services for his years-long efforts to get his wife's feeding tube disconnected.(Source)Michael Schiavo was given the Guardian of the Year Award by the Florida State Guardianship Association yesterday.
Terri Schiavo lived in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years before dying in March.
She died after a protracted legal battle between her husband and her parents over her end-of-life wishes.
She died from dehydration after her feeding tube was disconnected.
Thanks to Ambra for the heads up.
Posted by Beth at 7:12 AM | Comments (2)
August 10, 2005
Better be nice to me!
Because I am - He Who Shall Not Be Named!!
Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.
Darn you, Rosemary, for this one!!
Posted by Beth at 2:08 PM | Comments (4)
Help Chris Muir's Sister
Go over to Chris' place and Click for Cathy - Chris wants to get the website of the Cancer Center treating his sister up higher on the Yahoo search engine.
So - click, click, click for Cathy!!
Posted by Beth at 1:23 PM | Comments (1)
Easy Yummy crescent roll things
There was no food in the house today. I wanted something good, so I played around with some things, and this came out pretty good:
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (I had one of those itty bitty packages of 4)
Grueyere Cheese, grated
sliced mushrooms
salt
nutmeg.
Preheat oven to 375 Farenheit
cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Unroll the crescent roll dough and place on parchment paper.
Spread grated cheese on the dough - be generous.
Spread sliced mushrooms on the cheese.
Shake a bit of nutmeg over each and salt.
Close up the rolls - they won't make quite a crescent but you should be able to make the point of the roll tuck under the wide part.
Put in oven and bake for 12 minutes. Simple and good, and I'm sure you can come up with good variations.
Posted by Beth at 11:53 AM | Comments (2)
The only religious prejudice applauded by the Left
Someone tell me why it's OK to continously bash Catholics (even to the point of suggesting that Judges who are Catholic should not be allowed to participate in abortion cases)?
What I find most heinous in the suggestion by Christopher Morris, writing in the Boston Globe. is the idea that there should be "mandatory disqualification of Catholic judges from abortion cases ". (Italics mine)
Go read his anti-Catholics in public life article. Read the last two paragraphs -
One would think Catholic judges would want such a measure in place as a means of honoring their own convictions. That this proposal will no doubt be controversial should not be a reason for failing to pursue it: Political advocacy by religious organizations is on the rise and will only become stronger. If the subject is ducked this time by the Senate Judiciary Committee, it will only come up later in a more aggravated form..It's time to have this dialogue. Without it, the decisions of our highest court, already tainted by the Bush-Gore election, will increasingly be perceived as self-serving, political, and illegitimate.
Now, tell me that this guy does *not* have a conflict of interest of his own here. He wants Catholics to be gagged because his candidate did not win.
Posted by Beth at 6:14 AM | Comments (2)
Never, ever Hotlink!
If you want to feature a photo that is on someone else's blog or website, you should copy that photo to your own server or get an account at one of those photo-hosting servers.
Last night, this website: http://thisismycomputerblog.blogspot.com/ by something named Eggagog got an Instalanche from Ann Althouse (who does not appreciate the fact that Glenn links to Carnivals, by the way)
Anyway, back to the above-mentioned blog. It's goofy and cute, and there are a ton of pictures there. Because I like to have pictures on my blog, I checked the properties on several of them to see where Eggagog is hosting his/her pictures. He/she is not hosting them. They are all hot-linked. That means that people viewing the pictures on the Eggagog blog are using the bandwidth of people who are not Eggagog and probably don't know where all their bandwidth is going to - especially after an Instalanche. The bandwidth they pay for is essentially being stolen by the blog. And that can get very expensive. John has had this problem to the point where he is thinking about not publishing as many pictures.
If you want a picture on your blog, please remember that you should host that picture yourself. Fototime and Exposure Manager are two good examples of hosting companies that charge reasonable prices.
Posted by Beth at 5:43 AM | Comments (7)
August 9, 2005
Goodbye for now OK, I was really pissed
I'm quitting = maybe forever.
I am tired of trying to make excuses for my existence to too many people out there.
See ya.
I'm still pissed, but who is going to know if I quit this?
I'm back.
Posted by Beth at 9:00 PM | Comments (32)
Numerology is silly.
| Your Birthdate: March 12 |
|
Being born on the 12th day of the month (3 energy) is likely to add a good bit of vitality to your life.
The energy of 3 allows you bounce back rapidly from setbacks, physical or mental. There is a restlessness in your nature, but you seem to be able to portray an easygoing, sometimes "couldn't care less" attitude. You have a natural ability to express yourself in public, and you always make a very good impression. Good with words, you excel in writing, speaking, and possibly singing. You are energetic and always a good conversationalist. You have a keen imagination, but you tend to scatter your energies and become involved with too may superficial matters. Your mind is practical and rational despite this tendency to jump about. You are affectionate and loving - but very sensitive. You are subject to rapid ups and downs. |
Snagged this from Pam.
Posted by Beth at 3:23 PM | Comments (4)
VMWare is cool
I bought an USB external Harddrive because my latop is pretty much maxed out for space. I'm installing a few VMWare sessions on it for testing and demos, etc. It's really quite amazing how well it all works.
I've been using Virtual Machines for a while now, and they are fun to play with and experiment with.
Definitely worthwhile software, I must say.
Posted by Beth at 3:04 PM | Comments (1)
August 8, 2005
Carnival of the Recipes
I suppose I'll still keep the Carnival of the Recipes going - doesn't matter if your 'bloodlines' are right for doing that.
This week, Ala of Blonde Sagacity will be our hostess.
Posted by Beth at 5:47 AM
August 7, 2005
Around the web
Got up early this morning, and thought I'd check out some good blogs. Here are some you should definitely read - Ambra has her monthly rant up - how men should *not* behave if they want to get a date. Very funny. Ambra (earlier I had listed Ambra's first name as Nykola - sorry, Ambra - I've had my coffee now.) is an extremely talented writer, and her monthly rants always make me giggle.
My friend, BeeBee, has an interesting and kinda gross work story.
The now un-Fanged One's Fang Fund is getting closer to the goal of replacing said fangs that were lost in an accident. If you have not done so already, go over and throw a couple of bucks into Kate's tip jar.
Cassandra, writer and thinker extraordinaire, has a good-humoured post up about Judge Roberts and his gayness quotient.
Boudicca is trying to figure out the relationship of scallops and cucumbers. Don't ask, just read.
There is a new blog dedicated to supporting 'gay' Judge Roberts. I won't join only because I'm too lazy to add the required picture to my sidebar. Said picture is hilarious, though.
Erick at RedState.Org has some thoughts about the absolutely ridiculous decision by the NCAA to ban Indian mascots of college teams.
My friend, Ala, has done some historical digging to find out that the original feminists also decried abortion.
Jay Tea over at Wizbang discusses the double standard the world takes with Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Well worth the read.
Well, I can hear John moving about - he must have awakened, so I'm off to get his coffee.
Posted by Beth at 6:54 AM | Comments (3)
August 6, 2005
Carnival of the Recipes #51
The 51st Carnival of the Recipes is over at the lovely and talented SarahK's place.
Sarahk came up with a lyrical presentation of recipes!
Posted by Beth at 2:38 PM
Is it time to discuss adoption again?
Since the children of Judge and Mrs. Roberts are being discussed around the blogosphere because they are adopted, it seems like a good time to discuss common misconceptions, misunderstandings and mistakes about adoption that I have run into as an adopted person.
I have actually had people say the following things to me from the time I was a little girl:
1. Don't you wish you were a "real' child.
2. Adopted children are "unwanted" children. What was wrong with you?
3. Not enough people want to adopt children, so that makes abortion moral and okay.
4. Haven't you looked for your "real" parents.
5. You must be abnormal if you don't want to find their "real" parents.
6. Are you like The Bad Seed
7. Being adopted must make you feel like you are worthless.
8. Why don't pro-life people adopt children?
9. Adopted children are not "really" part of the family.
10. Adopted children cannot inherit anything from their adoptive parents..
Most of my readers will agree that these are stupid-ass statements. However, I know that I'm not the only one with a relative who insisted that adopted children are not part of a family, and therefore, cannot inherit everything.
My Aunt Jean Carr was such a person. Awful woman. My mom's only sister, and therefore, my godmother. Aunt Jean sold World Book Encyclopedias when I was in grade school. Rather than buy me a Christmas gift each year, she would give me one of the free World Book Year Books
I was the first granddaughter on my mom's side. My Grandmother gave me her sterling silver tea service when I got married because I was the first to marry and the oldest granddaughter. Because my husband and I lived in a small apartment, Grandmother let me store it at her huge old house in St. Louis.
Grandmother died.
Aunt Jean stole the Tea Service and let my mom know that it belonged to her daughter, as she was a 'real' grandchild.
Fortunately, her husband, Uncle Dick, disagreed and took it from Aunt Jean and returned it to me.
I didn't realize the full extent of my Aunt's hatred of me and my sister until Mom died. Aunt Jean stole several items that we were to inherit from my mom that she had inherited from our grandmother. She never returned them.
Some years later, when Daddy died, Aunt Jean threatened to protest the Daddy's will - which left everything to my sister and I (we were his only children, after all). I was livid and I have not spoken to her or any of her children since then.
People like my 'evil Aunt Jean' (as we call her) are responsible for many misconceptions about adoption.
Adopted children have the same inheritance rights as any other child. Adopted children have birth mothers who cared enough about life to let their child have one. Adoptive parents have to go thru hell and back to adopt a child - the checks they have to go through are very difficult - unless, of course, you are a movie star and have a ton of money.
Well, I'll let the rest of you discuss this subject, I have got to get out of bed (John brought me brunch in bed and we have wireless and I'm spoiled) and get dressed (yes, I am bloggin' nekkid!) and do stuff.
Update: I almost forgot this one - my mom's family, the LeMaster family, goes back to the American Revolution. My Aunt Jean let me know every time she had a chance that I was not eligible to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) because I am not a 'blood' relative.
Heck, I wouldn't want to be in the darn dar anyway!
This is what their website states about membership and adoption:
Q. I'm adopted can I still become a member?
A. Yes, but only through your birth parents' lineage, not that of your adopted family. All lineage for DAR membership must be bloodline descent.
I suppose all DAR members are the equivalent of an AKC registered dog, eh?
Posted by Beth at 1:19 PM | Comments (16)
August 4, 2005
I'm not a Lawyer
I am an adopted child - although more than grown up at 52 - and I am really fed up with the constant reference to the Roberts' adopted children.
If the MSM and politicians could only be sensitive to adopted children and simply refer to them as the children of Judge and Mrs. Roberts.
Believe me. Adopted children don't want to be pointed out by strangers as 'adopted'. And the parents who adopt those children love them every bit as much as any biological chld.
Judge and Mrs. Robert's children are beautiful, active little kids. They looked great in pastels for a fancy occassion when President Bush announced the nomination. Mrs. Roberts looked great, too.
In a family, it matters not if one is adopted or not - a daughter is a daughter and a son is a son.
Update: Michelle Malkin has a post with a lot emails from concerned adoptive parents - or as I prefer to say - parents - real parents - real moms and dads who are raising their real children. It's worth the read.
Posted by Beth at 9:35 PM | Comments (8)
A long day of work!
Even though I am fortunate enough to be able to work from my home office most of the time, things still don't always go very smoothly.
This morning, before John left for work, I decided to run up to our very nice local coffee shop for a mint chocolate frappé. (We don't have a Starbucks here in Leavenworth, but we do have a Barrista's - which is just darling - I need to take a picture - outside fountains and patio and WIFI and pretty good coffee and pastries.)
When I returned home, John had left for work. However, he forgot the one big rule of Castle Argghhh! - Close the door to the kitchen if leaving the dogs in the house!
Now, for a lot of people, that means the dogs have to stay in the kitchen. Not here, though - our dogs can open every cabinet, get into the trash and make one hell of a mess within minutes.
And that is what they did this morning.
After that, I tried to work on a development project, but it seems that someone unloaded the software from the server at work and put other stuff on it, so I couldn't even begin my project.
Then I did some support stuff with our new guys (telecommuting is a wonderful thing) to help them learn.
Before I knew it, it was 4:30, and I had to run up to the Commissary to get healthy food for dinner. But I forgot the charcoal for our steaks.
Currently, John is on an excursion for charcoal. I hope he doesn't buy any food, though - we are both doing exceedingly well on our competition, and I don't want to blow the weight we have lost so far this week - and for those who are keeping track, so far, we have lost exactly the same amount!
Posted by Beth at 5:41 PM | Comments (5)
Carnival of the Recipes
This week, the lovely and talented SarahK is our hostess for the Carnival of the Recipes.
So, get those recipes in!!! Send them to carnival (dot) recipe@gmail.com.
The deadline is Thursday, midnight.
Posted by Beth at 9:44 AM
How Cool is This?!
Chris has created a Day by Day Cartoon in honor remembrance of Venomous Kate's bicycle accident.
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Posted by Beth at 6:10 AM | Comments (1)
August 3, 2005
Amy did it!
Amy redesigned my site for me - she tried so hard to talk me out of the jewel-tone colors, but I got my way - dark colors!!
There might be a few odds and ends to fix up, but I really like the change!!
Posted by Beth at 9:30 PM | Comments (12)
Very silly
This is all Ala's fault - she looks like Barbie - I look like a middle-aged Midge - anyone remember Midge?
Take the quiz: "Which Barbie Are You?"
Geek Barbie
Hair up, glasses, and an IQ of 159. You design rockets for a living and run a server cluster in your living room. You speak 4 languages fluently but you spend most of your time speaking middle english in a role playing game online. You eat hotpockets and drink anything with caffeine and sugar.
Posted by Beth at 8:37 PM | Comments (6)
For Women only
Our favorite Everyday Stranger, dear Helen, has written a very funny, and unfortunately true post about that good ol' Period Fairy. It is a must, must read, and beware if you are drinking anything - it *will* come out of your nose!
Posted by Beth at 6:29 PM | Comments (1)
Poor Kate
Venomous Kate had an accident on her bike and lost and/or cracked 8 teeth. Apparently her medical insurance won't cover it. Anyway, go add a bit to her fundraiser tip jar - she has to come up with many thousands of dollars to fix everything.
I can't imagine how painful and awful this must be!
Posted by Beth at 11:29 AM
Go read this
AFSister wants your opinion on an interesting situation.
Posted by Beth at 6:20 AM | Comments (1)
August 2, 2005
silly singing
Petey, my little Paint Horse, has Equine Uveitis. That means his left eye has gone blind.
As those of you with horses know, we are trained to do everything from the left side of the horse, so mounting or getting off of Petey can be a bit ... exciting.
I have found, through trial and error, that singing nonsense songs to Petey calms him quite a bit. When I ride him, I sing to him - silly stuff - like "look at the pretty butterfly, Petey, look at the pretty bug" - mostly, I sing about where we are, I guess. Some people may think I'm nuts, but Petey never gets excited and bucks if I'm singing to him.
I was at the barn yesterday, to check his foot (he stepped on a nail last week and John pulled it from his frog) and play with him a bit and to get him to soak his foot in a bucket of epsom salts and water. I found that singing to him calmed him enough to keep his foot in the bucket for a good soak.
Of course, everyone in the barn thinks I'm crazy now, I guess.
When I was a little girl, I used to make up songs and sing them all the time - especially when walking through the lovely woods behind our house.
When Andy was little, I used to sing in an opera-like manner about silly stuff - like - I'm making dinner, what do you want? - only with one made up tune or another.
I guess I sing to the dogs and cats, too.
I have no idea what the point of this is - perhaps a confession that I'm a bit nutty, I suppose!
Posted by Beth at 9:19 AM | Comments (9)
Pet Ramp
Here is a not very good picture of the pet ramp I built on Sunday:
I used MDF board that was prepainted for the ramp, base and the wedge piece that allows you to change heights.
Details in the extended entry.
My descriptions are probably not the right way to refer to measurements of building materials, sorry!
Materials:
2 - 16 inch wide, 8 ft. long prepainted MDF Shelves
1 - 4 inch wide, 8 ft. long prepainted boards
2 - 2 inch wide, 8 ft long prepainted boards.
1/2 roll of 3M Tread Tape
2 hinges (if I was going to do this again, I'd use 4)
Screws
This is what I did:
cut all boards but the 1x2s in half.
cut one of the now 4 ft 16 inch boards in half again.
Lay 2 4ft 16inch boards end to end and the 24 inch board end to end with those - I screwed on hinges between the boards, so you can fold the boards. If I was to do this again, I would use 2 hinges at each connection instead of one - mostly for a little more stability - this thing is very heavy.
I screwed the 4 inch wide board alongside the board which will be the ramp (this would be the long board at the end of the hinged together boards)- to make a ledge to give the critters a little bit of assurance that they won't fall off.
Then John cut lots of 16 inch wide lengths out of the 1x2 board for me - I used them under the ramp board to make spacers where I can move the wedge board to raise and lower the ramp. On the top of the ramp, I alternated a screwed-in 2 inch wide (16 inches long) board with a piece of the stick on tread.
That's it.
If I ever make another one, I'll make the base shorter than the ramp by about 6 inches.
Posted by Beth at 6:22 AM | Comments (7)
August 1, 2005
August 1st
John and I are having a contest. Each month, we will weigh ourselves on the first and the last day and whoever loses the most weight, gets $500 to do what he/I want to with it.
Heck, nothing else has worked much, and we are both pretty competitive - yes, even with each other!
I'll let you know the results the last day of the month!
UPDATE: This is what we'd like to look like again - at least as far as our weight! This was taken back in 1994 at Rocky Mountain National Park.
Posted by Beth at 6:44 AM | Comments (21)