Last greetings of the year

Happy 2009 everyone, may the new year be all that you want it to be.

It's been quiet a week. We had a fantastic Christmas. We went to San Angelo on our usual fast trip but got a big surprise. We didn't call our friend Karla because we had some excitement. Unbeknownst to us Cyndi had arranged for Evie to come down for Christmas. She and her brother and sisters have kept this secret since Thanksgiving! We were sitting around at Pam's waiting for dinner to be ready and for Cyndi and Derick to show up. Then they arrived and Cyndi came in and said I have your present with us but it was to big to wrap. Then like an lovely apparition Evie came strolling in. Frank saw the look on my face and he turned to see what happened and he was speechless for perhaps the first time in his life. We were all laughing through our tears. It was something else. So she's here until the 31st because she could only take a week off from work but that's okay. It has been three years since she was here and 5 years since she was here for Christmas. I hope your holiday was a joyous as ours. My brother had a terrible trip home. You can read about it here. Blue Ollie. I have been walking but will post my stats later since they are kind of crazy what with walking here and there.
But all is well that ends well and so far so good. BTW...the Cowboys SUCK!!!
Photo 1. Evie at Joe's Coffee Shop on Congress 2.Evie with Fanita 3. Painting I did for Pam 4. Plastic bag that got sucked into furnace by accident

Greetings

Everyone have a Happy Holiday. Eat, drink, and be merry. :0)

Walking distances: 12-12-08 through 12-18-08-3.216, none, none, 2.00 on a mall walk, 2.75 cold and damp, 3.104, 3.201 foggy and damp.
There was a lovely fog this morning (check out the photos). I'm a lover of fantasy, you know Tolkien, Harry Potter, King Aurthur legends, etc. In most versions of the King Aurthur legend the fog is made of Dragon's breath. Kind of neat. I know it's not logical, true, nor scientific but it's fun.
The first photo is down by the river which was really deserted this morning which made it eerie and cool. The second one is taken down our street and you can see that the fog is quite thick.

I took a video with my phone this morning. It's not very clear but I think you can see a bit of the mist coming off the river. The commentary got cut short too, I was saying that the Hike and Bike trail was almost deserted. Only a handful of runners, all male, and three others, one female and two males, walking their dogs. It was cold and sort of misty but very nice. I did 2 miles in the mall yesterday because we needed to do a little shopping and it was 26 degrees outside with a good wind. This morning not quite as cold and almost no wind and I did 2.507 miles.
Things that make me go hummmm. They call children born to parents of two different races half-breeds like it's a bad thing when the best of both people make up a brilliant person...like Pres. Elect Obama or our very own grandson. But they call a car that has the best of two different types of fuel...(to put it simply) a hybrid meaning it's a better version of the original. Why is that? Why not call people who have the best of each parent a 'hybrid' and not a 'half-breed'?

Walking stats: 12-5-08 thru 12-11-08, 3.214, none, none, 3.156, 3.138, 3.410, and 3.323. The weather went from our usual sunny and warm days to sunny and cool to cold. We did get a bit of rain and some sleet and a tiny bit of snow. People here went berserk about it and even though the snow came late in evening they went out and took pictures and marveled at it. This proved to me that things are indeed subjective. I found listening to the sleet hitting our windows as we snuggled in our warm bed comforting and cozy. I'm sure if you had to work out in it or were homeless that your view of the sleet would not be the same. Also my brother who lives in Illinois detests the snow and cold weather while here people celebrate if it gets cold and snows. Go figure.

Have some more photos to share. 1.Evie making cheese-her shirt says Bad Witch ;-) 2. Cheese made 3. A pizza that she and Ann made from scratch. Evie made the cheese and dough, Ann made the tomato sauce from tomatoes and basil grown in her garden 4. White Cranes in the Auditorium Shore Pond taken by me. 5. Fall scene taken by me on Tuesday. The area is off of South 1st street.

Early December blogging

Aha fooled you...it's not Saturday and I'm blogging. ;-) Just had some photos to post plus it's actually cold and windy out so aside from my morning walk and a trip to pick up Krys and go to Target I've been inside all day. It's not Peoria cold mind you but cold enough for us warm weather cream puffs here in Austin to be cold.
Walking stats to date: 12-1-08 thru 12-4-08 - 3.107, 3.251, 3.079, 3.156. Not too many people out this morning so it was nice to walk in the peace and quiet by the river.
Photo 1 Evie made an adorable flower Christmas tree out of tissue paper, 2. Red Christmas tree at a typical locally owned Austin retail store on So. Congress Ave, 3. Black and White packages and elves dressed in black, same store, 4. Black and white tree, same store, 5. Celestial eye candy of the crescent moon with Jupiter and Venus shining brightly on Dec. 1. You can click on each photo to see a larger size picture.

Walking stats: 11-24-08 through 11-30-08-rest, 3.511, 3.279, 2.011, none-Thanksgiving, 3.002, 3.613, none.
Horrible mess in India having to deal with such a tragic attack. The body count is no where near as high but seems we're in danger of being trampled to death by discount shoppers who put saving a few dollars for cheap gifts over the life of a human being. Nice people. I did write to WalMart telling them they should have closed the doors and shut down the store for a time out of respect to their dead employee but so far I have not received any answer from them.
Took some nice photos with my camera of the lovely trees that have been changing colors this year. Don't know why they are especially beautiful this year but they are. All the photos were taken down by the Hike and Bike Trail.

Thanksgiving aftermath

Here are some pictures from today. Oddly enough even though it's Thanksgiving these photos are not of food or people eating which is what I usually take on this day. 1. and 2 are Olivia and Lauren chilling out in Kry's room. Krys is hiding from the camera. 3. Frankie and Rick catching a breath of fresh air. 4. Mom wondering why we're all so noisy. ;-) 5. Sandy thinking she might not want whatever it is she's looking at. ;-) 6. Pam telling a story about the time she and Cyndi ran away with rocks in thier Barbie doll case. They were going to use the rocks for money to buy gowns...they were kids so it's kind of a sweet tale. 7. Craig (Sandy's son) taking it all in.

Good wishes

Here's wishing everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Also our thoughts are with all of those in Mumbai and around the world who are suffering at the hands of thugs who kill and maim for causes only known to them. It's with hope that I look forward to the new administration bring peace to a hurting world.

This and that on Saturday

Walking stats: It's been cooler for most of the week even getting into the high 30's during the wee hours of the morning. I find it much nicer to walk in weather like this and calmer too since you don't see many people out and about. Austinites are spoiled by having warm and sunny weather most of the year and wimp out at the slightest dip in temperatures. 11-16-08 to 11-22-08 None, 3.136, 3.501, 3.456, 3.581, 3.014, none. On Tuesday my left hip was really sore and I had to take some Naproxen to calm it down. Don't know why because I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I have been using my walking stick to do waist twists and bends and have been doing some knee lifts as well. I've also been jogging in fits and starts to hopefully speed up my metabolism.
We've been following the gathering of Pres-Elect Obama's cabinet and it looks like he'll have a variety indeed. All smart people so far have been put forth. Seems some left leaning Dems are angry over the Lieberman thing but watching the news conference I think Lieberman has sold what's left of his soul to hang on to his posts. I don't think for a minute that Obama kept him in the fold out of kindness in his heart. As for the Stevens tribute- bah humbug. Let the old loser go home and kill turkeys with SP.
No Longhorns or Bama playing today but Frank is interested in a couple of the games like Texas Tech and Oklahoma and the Penn State and Michigan game.
Still haven't got the complete hang of posting photos on here but at least I'm getting them posted. :-)
1. White cranes and ducks gathered for a pow-wow on Town Lake 2. Roses blooming in late November in Austin, these are at the entrance of the State School for the Deaf 3. Elvis display at the Eldorado in Shreveport. They had another similar one that I took a photo of last year.

Saturday and I'm catching up again

Walking stats since the last post are poor but at least I kept some level of exercise in my sch1.654 on schedule.
November 11, 2008 through November 15, 2008: None, none-left for Shreveport for a couple of days of R&R. Used a little pedometer and measured 1.044 on Mon., 1.654 on Tuesday that we were supposed to leave. Bad storms rolled in and dumped over 2 inches of rain in 24 hours. The storms covered most of our western route home so we stayed in Shreveport for an extra day. As luck would have it we had enough offers for a free room and meals for the extra day. Our fortunes changed and we managed to break even for the whole trip. Turns out we're glad we stayed an extra day for another reason, safety. There were so many accidents in the town and surrounding area that the EMT people were overtaxed and had to go from accident to accident. A city bus even lost traction and plowed into a building! Now while I don't want that sort of thing to happen here in Austin, we sure could use the 2 inches or so of rain. On with the walking stats now. 1.001 on Wednesday, and then back home on Thursday I did 2.163 and 3.218 on Friday.
Don't know how I feel about HRC for Secretary of State. She'd make a great one no doubt but I sort of wanted her to be head of the Senate. Hopefully whatever decision is made will be the right one.
I'm really not a fan of all these bailouts. If you run a business into the ground you should pay the price. The taxpayers can't bail everyone out. Greed got the country, indeed the whole world, into this mess and those that profited by deceptive practices should buck up and bear the loses. I'm not naive enough to think that the super rich will suffer but to see Ted Turner lose 7 billion is mind boggling but to know that he still has billions left is mind blowing. Let the companies fall and then regroup and start again. They'll wind up hiring the people they let go for the 'new' venture and things will go on as before. We'll survive.

Saturday blogging

You never know what you're going to see when you go for a walk in South Austin. I came across the very cute but large chicken sculpture resting comfortably on the lawn one day and thought a picture was in order.

Walking stats: 11-208 through 11-08-08, none, 3.864, 4.586 (This was on election day and I was nervous and walked further than usual. I also paid for it with screaming sore hips the next day.)2.810, 3.173, 3.581 (very cool and low humidity, great for walking), none.

Don't know what to make of all the Sarah Palin stuff that's been 'leaking' from 'unknown' sources about her enormous lack of knowledge and diva behavior. Either they are really dissing her out of spite, or it's all true, or they are dumping on her so people will feel sorry for her and thus give her the sympathy vote for a run in 2012. Personally I think she made too many enemies within the power of the GOP and just having her whacko conservative right support is not going to give her any kind of win for the White House. But that's just me.

On President-elect Obama's first news conference: I found it a refreshing pleasure to her a man elected to the highest office in the land speak in full sentences and use big words that he both understood the meaning of and could also pronounce them correctly. Wow.

Austinite John Kelso strikes again

John Kelso is an outspoken columnist who writes for the Austin American Statesman. One thing you can count on him for is a chuckle.
COMMENTARY: John Kelso

You say Obama is a Muslim? I'll call you a 3-watt bulb
In fact, in my Arab suit, some Texans might think I'm Barack Obama.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Do me a big swingin' favor. If you're one of the 23 percent of Texans who said Barack Obama is a Muslim in that poll, move to, say, Pennsylvania.


You're making this state look stupid.


A statewide survey of Texans done by University of Texas political scientists found that 23 percent of those polled thought the Democratic presidential candidate is a Muslim. The sample was 600 folks. The more education the respondents had, the less likely they were to think Obama is a Muslim.


I wonder how that 23 percent figure compares with the number of Texans who believe in the-moon-is-made-of-green-cheese thing, or the myth about the hairy palms.


This is unfortunate. We're starting to make Mississippi look smart.


Now, I don't sit up nights worrying about people in other states thinking people in Texas are uneducated dolts. I have been around the world enough to know we don't have a monopoly on numskulls. But when the national polls show that 5 to 10 percent of Americans think Obama is a Muslim, and we're at 23 percent in Texas, tell me this much: How does this boost tourism?


On Friday, for Halloween, I wore my Arab suit to work. I bought this outfit in the early '80s for $20 while drinking beer on the Colorado River with an oil field worker who had just gotten back from Kuwait. On the occasional Halloween, I drag it out to save a few bucks on a rental.


I wonder what percentage of Texans would believe, if they saw me in the suit, that I am Barack Obama? Check out the photo on Page B5. As you can clearly see from the picture, I am Barack Obama.


If you don't believe me, ask that woman John McCain had to grab the microphone away from at the rally, after she said she was worried that Obama is an Arab.


Obama's a Muslim, and I'm a Balinese supermodel. I can understand getting confused, though. As many doors as Obama's been banging on to get elected, I'm surprised 23 percent of Texans don't think Obama is a Jehovah's Witness.


To tell you the truth, I don't really trust this poll completely. Sure, 23 percent of the Texans polled probably said Barack Obama is a Muslim. I just don't think 23 percent of them really believe it. I figure maybe two-thirds of the Texans who are saying that are just saying it because they figure it's an insult. My theory: They don't like Obama, so they figure a way to goon him is to say he's a Muslim. Like there's something wrong with somebody automatically because of his religion.


On the other hand, I'm wondering now what percentage of Texans believe in the correlation between stepping on a sidewalk crack and breaking your mother's back. It's probably pretty high.


John Kelso's column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

Event filled Election Day

Wow what an election. When the first returns came in I was very nervous about the outcome. It was not until now President-Elect Obama won Pennsylvania and then Ohio that I could bring myself to relax. I called my brother as soon as I saw the news stations gave the word that we had won and of course he was happy and elated that all his months of hard work had paid off. I also talked with Cyndi and Evie but didn't call Frankie and Pam because I thought they would be in bed since they are early to bed and early to rise.
I will say that Senator McCain gave a great speech, a gracious speech, and was once again the man that I thought would make a good president in 2000. Of course I wanted the Democrats to win then too but I wouldn't have been sick at my tummy to see him win. Sadly for him and his supporters too many mistakes were made in this campaign and they cost him the election. He has served his country well and I sincerely wish him and his family good health and peace.

Election Eve

The following link is my wish map for the election. http://news.yahoo.com/election/2008/dashboard?mapid=51243 Some picks are a long shot, sad to say Texas is one of them, but I'm hopeful about the rest of them. It's been a long, long, election process and people have worked very hard on both sides. Wish I could extend best wishes to the 'other side' but I'm keeping everything crossed that we Democrats take as much as possible. It seems like that's the only way anything can be done. Needless to say I'm very nervous about the whole thing.

Sad news that on election eve Obama's grandmother passed away. I know he wishes she could have stayed one more day. Our hearts go out to him and his family for their loss.
Here in Austin things are going fine except that our grandson's car was broken into. They didn't get anything, mainly because he didn't have anything in it, but the side window was smashed. One other car was broken into as well. It's disgusting.

The photo is Cyndi and Fanita...very cute. :-)



http://news.yahoo.com/election/2008/dashboard?mapid=51243

Walking stats for October 27-November 1, 2008. 3.661, 3.673, 3.508, 3.435, 3.657, none. Our brief stint of fall weather has gone but it's still cool enough for early morning activity. Mornings in the high 50's to 60's and afternoons in the high 80's.
Found a nice site that let's you match up your concerns with each candidate and check the poll percentages concerning, age, gender, etc. See How They Run
We had a quite Halloween, just about a dozen trick or treaters came by the house.
Saw the Obama 'infomercial' and didn't really see anything new, at least to me. The lasting image I have of it is that poor woman trying to straighten out her arthritic fingers. Ouch! Must say I'm cautiously optimistic about the Dems winning the election but I will not rest easy about it until November 5th...if we win. If something disastrous happens and we don't win, we are going to be very, very, sad. If you're into watching political videos you may chuckle at this 'Joe the plumber' one. Check it out about 12 seconds in...hehe
Some more photos...1. My UFO shot. Looks like a tiny UFO flying above the purple bushes. 2. Olivia on Halloween, she said she was a 'dead body'. 3. Our Mom dressed up for her Senior Citizens Halloween dance. (Ain't it a shame when your 81 year old Mom and 13 year old niece have more of a social life than you do?) 4. Krystal looking adorable as a Goth Doll 5. The jack-o- lantern is filled with doggy biscuits on the Hike and Bike trail. Click on photos to see larger size.

Sunday catch up

Here I am again blogging late...ah well, c'est la vie. Walking stats, 1-18-08 through 10-26-08: No walking on Sat. or Sun. Did walk these miles as follows. 3.648, 3.176, 3.891, 3.878, 3.517. No walking this last Saturday and Sunday. I have been able to do over three miles every walking day because the weather has gotten cooler which makes it easier. The walking may be keeping me a bit healthier but alas it's not making me any thinner. Don't believe the ads or stories that say 'I walked 3 miles a day for six weeks and lost 50 pounds'. They lie. They have to be dieting or taking pills or something extra for that to happen. But do keep walking and moving because it does make you feel better about yourself even if your legs and feet aren't happy. ;-)
I must say that I'm very nervous about the upcoming election. It looks good for the Dems but we've screwed things up before and that's what makes me nervous. I don't really dislike McCain or least the McCain of 8 to 10 years ago but I have no confidence in the current man. He seems so frail and confused at times that it's painful to watch him talk and his smile is just...well sort of creepy. His running mate I don't want to talk about too much. She may be a very nice and pretty lady but so is our neighbor and I wouldn't vote for her for VP either. I'll be on pins and needles until it's over.
I have posted three photos here. The first is a painting I'm working on and it's a take off on one by Van Gogh. I tend to paint things I've seen but most of the time the landscapes I do are places made up in my mind that I like to visit. I also love bright colors that don't always reflect realistic colors but colors that affect the mood and emotions. I learned that about myself by reading about Van Gogh who is my favorite artist. The second is a lovely section of Butler Park that I walk through several times a week, and the third is of a moving tribute to Fallen Soldiers. Shoes were used to represent the fallen. Makes you really sad and teary to view it. The display was along the river walk.

Early voting up in Texas

Early voting's way up in Texas — at least based on first-day results from the state's biggest counties.

Elections officials said Tuesday that more than 340,000 ballots were cast in-person or through mail once polls closed Monday in the state's 15 largest counties. That's compared to about 190,000 Texans in those same counties on the first day of 2004, the last presidential election.

In Travis County, more than 24,000 people voted Monday. By comparison, 16,139 people voted on the first day of early voting in 2004, the previous record, spokeswoman Mary Fero said. Karla, who lives in Tom Green County, a mostly Republican area said that a record was broken in that county too. Check out her comments on yesterdays entry for an excellent run down on voting and voters in that area.

Harris County had the biggest turnout, with about 39,000 of the Houston area's nearly 2 million registered voters showing up at the polls Monday.

The Texas Secretary of State's office said the numbers won't be official until after Election Day.

We voted today and we voted for Obama/Biden

Early voting opened in Texas yesterday and since we didn't want to be in the first day rush we voted today and we voted for the Obama/Biden ticket. They had a good crowd but they were well organized so it didn't take us long to work our way through the line. Frank did have a little negative thing happen to him. A lady came out and was talking to him about the election and said that she didn't want to vote for Obama because she didn't want a Muslim to be president. Frank gently set her straight but she puffed up anyway and scurried away. Sigh...we have a tough fight ahead of us and it's uphill fighting ignorance, fear, and hate. So Obama/Biden and you former Hillary people get out there and vote for Obama/Biden!
Evie voted,Derick voted, and Cyndi was going to vote today.

Saturday blogging

I'm blogging because while I like football I can't deal with watching 15 games at a time...Frank is enjoying the Bama game so far (I can tell by the mutterings or comments coming from the bedroom how they are doing)and about 14 other games on cable. Texas plays later on tonight.
Walking stats 10-13-08 to 10-17-08: 2.879 on Monday, 2.678 on Tuesday which was good because it was one of those days that I had to talk myself into getting out of bed and go for my walk. Sometimes I get cranky and balk at the idea of any kind of exercise. Wednesday dawned cool and crisp and I jogged the length of a football field and then a whole 1/4 mile! Wound up with 3.817 miles. 3.681 on Thursday and 3.345 on Friday.
Early voting starts on Monday and I don't know if we'll be there bright and early or wait until after 9 when most people will be at work. We'll have to play things by ear. I will be so happy for November 4th to roll around so we can be rid of this bickering and down right nasty stuff going on.
My brother was trying to figure out the appeal of Sarah Palin to some women who backed Hillary. I can't speak for the women who actually like Sarah P because I didn't back Hillary just because she was a woman but because I liked her. She's someone I would like to be friends with, Sarah P is not. Also Hillary has worked many, many years for the causes of women and children and I find that admirable. I liked and admired Elenor Roosevelt, Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan too. Barbara and Elenore were to me intellectuals who understood the problems of the average person. Ann with her loud laugh and big hair and quick wit represented Texas well. I don't know what you would make of my choices but they are a few of the ladies I admire.

Just thought this was funny

John Cleese on Palin...no not Michael Palin, the other Palin. ;-)

Unethical Voting Practices Alert

I thought this was important enough to blog about today. If you read this please pass it on to other voters...know your voters rights. Texas Democrats
"There is a FALSE rumor going around by e-mail telling people that if they vote Straight Democratic Party, they must also cast a vote specifically for Barack Obama in order to have an Obama vote registered. THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION. The truth is that if you cast a Straight Democratic Party vote, you will be voting for Barack Obama and your Straight Democratic vote will count as a vote for Obama. But if you then go down select Obama, you may actually be cancelling your Obama vote. Don't be fooled: Just cast a Straight Democratic Party vote and that will get Obama and all the Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. "

First Time Voters

I was surfing the web looking for some info on Harry Potter and came across this site. It has a lot of information about the upcoming election, where to register to vote, where to vote, etc. It also has articles written by young people that would be of interest to the young voter. Neat stuff. Wizard Rock the Vote.
The Cowboys just lost in over-time but Frank said they looked sick most of the game and should have lost. Ah well, at least his Alabama Crimson Tide is rolling. The Horns look good too but I shudder to think of them being ranked number 1...it's sort of like a curse...but hey they could have another season like they did when Vince Young played and they went all the way. Fingers crossed.

I must be a Bi-Weekly Blogger

Another two weeks have gone by and here I am playing blog catch-up again. I mean it's not like I have a lot of stuff that has to be done that keeps me from blogging more so I guess it's just that I'm lazy or a bi-weekly sort of blogger. ;-)
Walking Stats first. September 28 thru October 12, 2008. Sunday no walk, then Monday through Friday I did 2.891, 4.106, 3.577, 3.521, 2.824. I found that if I only walk 5 days a week and keep the distance 4 miles or under that my hips don't get sore. Guess this 64 year old body knows itself better than I do. ;-) Saturday and Sunday no walking. Monday to Friday went as follows: 2.687, 3.461, 2.891, 2.867, 2.518. Saturday and Sunday no walking. The mornings have been much cooler which makes walking a lot easier. I barely get the neck of my t-shirt wet with sweat now which is a pleasant thing for me. The first week in October I suffered (and I still am a little) from a female infection plus my pesky, painful cold sores. Went to the doctor and he gave me one little pill for the infection and an orabase product for the cold sore. Both have helped. The pill cost me 7o cents instead of 12 dollars and the orabase 1.29 cents instead of 30 something dollars. Frank got the best deal on his prescription though because instead of paying 111.00 dollars and some change, he paid 0 dollars! Between his Blue/Cross and Blue Shield pharmacy plan and the TriCare for Life plan they covered the entire bill. Pretty cool. This will last until next July when (hopefully) I'll turn 65 and go on Medicare. Then I'll be on the same plan as he is without the BC plan. This will save us money but I will say that we've been very fortunate to be able to pay for and keep our BC plan all these years.
We had a visit from some Democratic Party workers today and they left us a Rick Noriega bumper sticker and button and they are bringing us a Vote Straight Democratic yard sign on Tuesday. I am signing up for a stint to hold signs for visibility when early voting starts here in Texas on October 20 and runs until October 31. You can vote at any voting station during the early voting time period so vote early if you can and when you do go vote take your Driver's License or Voter's Registration Card with you. You can find other types of identification you can use on RockTheVote.Org. You might want to check out my brother's blog for a glimpse into one of Senator McCain's rallies. It is an interesting read and you might be surprised at what you read as well as enjoying it.
Evie had an art show this past Saturday and did very well. Her theme was Dias De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. She had a great crowd and she also sold one of her paintings for 225.00 dollars! She sold other pieces as well. You can check out that painting, which is the last one in the art gallery album and the rest of her art work here.

Are you registered to vote?

Are you registered to vote or have you moved since the last election? If so, the deadline for regestering or changing your information is October 6th. Make sure your vote will count by visiting Rock The Vote.

I'm constant in my procrastination

Haven't posted in a couple of weeks so here goes my stats. It's been a crazy two weeks. 9-14-thru 9-27. No walk, no walk., almost did five miles 4.985, did do 5 miles 5.001. Boy did my old hips pay for it because both sides were sore, sore, sore. The mornings have been cooler though so it's made walking not so yucky. Backed off the distance a bit and did 3.080, 3.117, 3.578. Then I got sick with a cold or 48 hour virus or something and I have the fever blisters to prove it! No walk on Sunday, none on Monday, no walk on Tuesday. Started up again on Wednesday and did 3.421, 3.346, 3.359. No walk today.

Did go with Frank on Monday and he had his last BCG treatment. He's scheduled for a visit on December 22 to see how well the treatments went. Since the live bacteria he was injected with is hard on the bladder he has to get several weeks rest in for some healing time.

On the election front I did go pick up some voter registration cards and I carry them with me on the chance I get to sign some people up. I have managed to sign up two people I met at the 'watering hole' at Auditorium Shores. Yea! Oh, and they were young Obama friendly people. I watched most of the Debate last night and thought Obama did well and that McCain looked a bit defensive.
Lots of football games on that we are enjoying but Frank is waiting for Bama and Georgia to come on. He hopes they do as well as Ole Miss and Oregon. :-)
Was sad to hear about Paul Newman passing away. I really did enjoy his movies. I chuckled when I read that one of his best moments was when he learned he had been put on the 'enemies of Nixon' list. Man after my own heart. ;-)

Big Oil, Big Mess

Maybe the Big Oil people should put up the money to shore up the financial crisis our country is in now...not as a loan but as a gift.

Make your own

We went to the local Dem. campaign headquarters this past Monday and they did not have any yard signs so I made my own. Frank made a frame for it and posted it in the front yard. I also made my own button which I wear pinned to my purse so when I go out I always have it with me. I don't know if it helps the campaign but I imagine they have to pay to have the signs and buttons done. This way I was able to send in a small donation directly to the campaign and not spend it at the store where the campaign only gets a portion of it. On a more serious note, and I'm not being catty here. McCain is an elderly man and dementia gets worse late in the evening so it is possible that he has some dementia and this could explain some of his latests gaffes, Zapatero, economy fine one day and crisis the next. Ok, most of his statements are outright lies but some of it could be due to dementia and his staff is covering it up. Sarah Palin's excuse for lying and being 'confused'? I have no idea...perhaps she's just a bobble head.

Romney: McCain wrong and reprehensible

I usually don't blog this much but when I find something to champion I go all out. At least for me..Watch this video of Mitt Romney voicing his thoughts on McCain and his campaign team. Their lies are drawing fire from all sides. Sometimes it's not whether you win the game or not but how you play it. Wake up people and smell the roses...do you really want this lying team making policies that affect all parts of your life?



At last Obama is fighting back! Check out this ad BlueOllie sent me.

Good article

A blizzard of lies on the right
By Paul Krugman
September 12, 2008, © International Herald Tribune
Did you hear about how Barack Obama wants to have sex education in kindergarten, and called Sarah Palin a pig? Did you hear about how Palin told Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks" when it wanted to buy Alaska a Bridge to Nowhere?...
These stories have two things in common: They're all claims recently made by the McCain campaign - and they're all out-and-out lies.
Dishonesty is nothing new in politics. I spent much of 2000 - my first year at The New York Times - trying to alert readers to the blatant dishonesty of the Bush campaign's claims about taxes, spending and Social Security.
But I can't think of any precedent, at least in America, for the blizzard of lies since the Republican convention. The Bush campaign's lies in 2000 were artful - you needed some grasp of arithmetic to realize that you were being conned. This year, however, the McCain campaign keeps making assertions that anyone with an Internet connection can disprove in a minute, and repeating these assertions over and over again.
Take the case of the Bridge to Nowhere, which supposedly gives Palin credentials as a reformer. When campaigning for governor, Palin didn't say "no thanks" - she was all for the bridge, even though it had already become a national scandal, insisting that she would "not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative."

Sunday Web Surfing

Ike hit East Texas and Louisiana and thankfully bypassed us here in Austin. We really want rain but no thanks to a hurricane. We did donate some groceries and toiletry items, hope they get to the people who need them.
Frank has enjoyed the college games so far, Bama is winning, and the Cowboys are looking, dare I say it, good so far this season. Mom is happy about Notre Dame winning but wasn't that something about the coach getting hurt? I think it's happened before..but I'm not sure. Perhaps it was Joe Paterno who was hurt during a game...hum.
Frank has a treatment tomorrow and then it'll be down to one more. I know he's happy about that.
Talked to Evie who lives in Seattle and she said that she made a 25 dollar donation to the Obama/Biden campaign and that one of her friends did some canvasing for the campaign just recently and fund raisers are planned for and ready to go. The are all thirty to forty something year olds, male and female, and working hard to get the change we so desperately need.
I found this video on YouTube and the three men were Hillary supporters and are now Obama/Biden supporters and they state some reasons why.

Love the Hillary speech...

I supported Hillary and now I'm supporting Obama...women are being taken in if they think this person the Republicans have picked represents us. She does not. She should scare the bejeebers out of you...do you really want someone like her for president? This is not a movie people, it's real life, your life...please get in touch with your senses and not your emotions.

McCain's campaign isn't half-truths it's lies

McCain used to be a man of honer...about 40 years ago...perhaps even 4 years ago but he has jumped into the abyss of deceit determined to win by any means at his command. John McCain is a sell-out to dirt politics, plain and simple. Senator Obama described it pretty accurately too - Lipstick on a pig, is still a pig.
McCain's straight talk express has derailed. The mere fact he selected Palin who needs to be educated on foreign policy and who has been avoiding the press indicates she wasn’t prepared on day one or even day 1000. She's running for the second highest office, but can’t answer questions from the press or public. Doesn't this raise any alarms for anyone or are they adopting the mantra hear no evil, see no evil?
I've lost all my respect for John McCain. He was a war hero yes, but so were a lot of men. Bob Dole was a hero but I didn't want him for President either. Sad to say, but McCain is riding on the flimsy coattails of the Palin hysteria. One only hopes that it is starting to die down and that people will get back to the issues that face each and every American. I hope so because the American people may not be able to survive four more years of the horror that's been the Bush administration.
Walking schedule was messed up this past week.
9-6-2008 thru 9-13-2008-No walk, 30 minutes on tread mill which I found harder than street walking because it's faster, no walk, felt ill all day so didn't walk, 3.559, 2.986, 2.957
This summer has been difficult for a number of reasons. The main one of course is Frank's bout with the big 'C'. He never complains but the treatments he is getting leave him worn out and lackadaisical and this irritates him because he's the type of person who likes to keep busy working on things like the yard and making repairs around the house. The doctor said that after the treatments end his energy should return to normal which is a very good thing. The other reasons are petty by comparison but bothersome anyway. One has been the weather which has been hot, hotter, and hottest since early May. My intense dislike for this weather has gotten so bad that I find myself feeling nauseous when I awake to sunlight streaming into the room announcing another sunny, hot, humid day. That gets me too, no rain yet we have this high humidity. What's up with that? What I wouldn't give for a few, chilly, rainy days. And of course there is the problem with my weight. All walking and no weight loss makes Rose a cranky girl. So there you have it my little rant for this post...blah, blah, blah.

McCain's your on your own health care solution

Following the highly criticized proposal advanced by President Bush in 2007, more of the same McCain wants a health care system where people get insurance on the job to one where people are left to fend for themselves in an unregulated insurance market. McCain’s proposed plan would encourages the development of a system with ridiculously high deductibles, some as high as $11,000, and high individual co-payments for services.

Senator McCain would also impose a massive new tax burden on workers by treating health benefits as income earned. In other words, if you have employer contributed health insurance that totals $9,000 a year towards the cost of your health insurance, you would be taxed on that amount even though you never received the money in cash. This tax increase would be partially offset by a modest tax credit that covers less than half the average health plan premium. His reasoning is that by shifting costs to workers, they will use less health care. This is ludicrous and unacceptable. People do not choose to become sick and studies have shown that with proper, preventive health care people are less apt to suffer a major catastrophic illness that can bankrupt them. Use less health care?? Guess someone with unlimited health care resources like More of the Same McCain doesn't care about you and me, or anyone who makes less than 2.5 million a year.

Once again the nation is being mislead by vicious, scandalous, lies told by people who hold themselves up as Christians. Guess they missed the "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" line in the Ten Commandments. Moral majority, Conservative Christian Right, Moral Majority...what a bunch of hypocrites you are. The people who spread these lies about Senators Obama and Joe Biden are evil, and the those who believe such filth and slander are simpletons. Being mislead by Bush in his first campaign is forgivable, the second 4 years made the country look like a bunch of morons. We cannot be taken in again. Step up to the plate and vote on the issues that will affect all of our lives and do not vote for someone just because you like their hairdo or the church they attend. If you don't wake up we'll all be in more trouble than you could ever fathom. If you don't work to get this country on the right track, you should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Top Ten Reasons to Vote for Obama/Biden

10. Look to the future: Senator Obama offers the most comprehensive energy plan of any Presidential nominee in history, it will end our dependence on foreign oil and create as many as 5,000,000 jobs. Senator McCain’s plan continues the Bush Administration’s policy of appeasement to Big Oil, does nothing to reduce our dependence on oil, and isn’t as good as Paris Hilton’s.

9. You pollute, you pay: Obama and Biden support plan to make polluters pay for pollution credits and to clean up toxic waste. McCain wants us to foot the bill for clean-up and to give polluters billions in tax breaks and subsidies.

8. Keeping us healthy: Obama and Biden have fought to keep our air and water clean. McCain has voted against clean water ten times and voted six times to make it harder for states and the EPA to keep our air clean.

7. Listening to the scientists: The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that America must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming. Obama’s plan will reach that goal. McCain’s plan falls far short.

6. The record speaks for itself: Senator Barack Obama earned a lifetime environmental voting score of 86%. Senator Biden earned an 83%. Senator John McCain earned a 24% score.

5. Decisions are made by those who show up: In the last two years, John McCain missed EVERY SINGLE major vote on energy. One vital 2007 bill, to move billions of dollars in tax credits from the oil industry to wind, solar and other clean energy sources, failed by one vote: John McCain’s. Obama and Biden, also running for President, voted for it.

4. Saving money at the pump: Obama proposes to double the fuel efficiency of our cars in 18 years, reducing our oil consumption by at least 35% or 10 millions barrels per day. McCain voted against increasing fuel efficiency in 2003 and 2005. He missed the 2007 vote. Presumably, he ran out of gas.

3. We’re not alone: For more than 20 years, Joe Biden has been at the forefront of the fight against global warming. In 1986, he offered the first Senate bill to fight global warming pollution. Since then, he has been the Senate’s strongest voice for making America the international leader in reducing global warming pollution and exporting clean technology.

2. Higher standards: To create millions of new jobs, we must boost production of renewable electricity. Obama plans create 25% of our electricity from clean energy by 2025. McCain opposes any national renewable energy standard.

1. Judge him by his friends: Senator McCain accepted more than $2 million from the oil and gas industry, more than half of that since he changed his position on offshore drilling last month. His forthcoming plan to open America’s playgrounds and sandboxes to drilling is expected to net another $1.2 million.

Walking Stats: 3-25-08 to 9-5-08 - no walk, Frank's appointment, 3.471, 3.013, 3.176, 2.547, no walk, no walk, Frank's appointment, 3.980 (cooler mornings and lower humidity make it easier to get a little more distance)2.891, 3.888, 3.011

The local Democratic Election office in Austin is located at 1107 I-35 between 11th and 12th streets. Check them out at Turn Texas Blue.

“Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor.” Best quip about the Repulicans dissing community organizers. I grabbed this from BlueOllie.

Photos: 1. pretty purple-pink blooms I saw on Barton Springs Rd 2. Store window broken and trash piled inside. Did I mention that people can be trashy pigs? 3. Whimsically decorated home I came across on one of my morning walks.

It took a half hour to post these picks...I miss my AOL blog and I may go back to it.Please just bear with me while I battle the pros and cons of each site.

Using the RNC logic I'm more qualified than Sarah Pawlenty...wait that's Palin isn't it?

I decided to list my qualifications for VP and throw my hat in the ring should anyone be interested.
My Stats:
I'm a woman
She's a woman
I wear glasses
She's wears glasses
I'm brunette
She's brunette
I had 5 children
She had 5 children
I have 3 Grandchildren
She has a future grandchild
I served almost 20 years in County Government
She has served less than 5 in two different areas of government
I have lived in one foreign country and traveled to at least 10 others
She has been in two and landed in one for refueling
I landed in Alaska for a plane change so I guess that qualifies me for being an Alaskan and living in Texas which borders Mexico gives me foreign policy experience.
According to Fox News living close to Russia gives her foreign policy experience so since I've been in Alaska and live in Texas that gives me more 'foreign policy' experience than her. She is not a Texan nor to my knowledge has she ever set foot in Texas so I'm ahead of her there too ;-)
I do not believe in killing any and all animals that move in the woods or squandering our precious natural resources.
She does like to hunt and shoot and kill animals such as baby wolf pups and their mothers from helicopters no less (very sporting) and thinks global warming and other environmental issues are hooey
Oh and I know what a VP does!!! In the United States the Vice-President has few formal duties, and the importance of the position relies almost solely on the fact that the holder takes over the Presidency if the incumbent dies, retires, or is impeached; they are ‘a heartbeat away from the presidency’. The Vice-President presides over the Senate, and votes in the case of ties. Presidents have tried to give the Vice-President roles in specific areas of policy, as roving ambassadors, or as heads of ad hoc agencies to deal with domestic issues.
She knows nothing about the VP office.
So you see I'm infinitely more qualified to be a VP than she is. :-)
Read about some of her 'remarkable' achievements at this website. Grizzly Bay. http://www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm

Olympics, walking, Cyndi Birthday

Walking Stats:
3-18 -did not walk
3-19-3.356 miles, jogged three different times for 2 minutes each
3-20-2.104
3-21-3.261
3-22-3.393
3.23-did not have formal walk but hiked around the area of the fishing tank at Garry's in
Rockdale
3.24-no walk
We enjoyed watching the Olympic games and marveled at the American Swim Team fantastic success and wondered what was wrong with the USA Track Team who seemed to falter with the exception of a few brilliant runs. What shouldn't be overlooked in all the hoopla is the harsh reality of the Chinese government whose zeal to host these games lead to massive forced evictions of Chinese citizens from their homes and salary loses from factories closed to present to the world a 'smog free' Beijing. Arrests, detentions, and harassment of critics lead to repeated violations of media freedom, and increased political repression. No world leaders that I know of spoke out to challenge this behavior in a forceful way.
Over the past weekend we enjoyed a visit from Pam, Rick, and Lauren who came down not only to visit but to help Cyndi celebrate her birthday. Many thanks to Garry and his family in Rockdale for making us feel welcome and showing us a lovely time. I know we all enjoyed and that Rick and Frank truly enjoyed the fishing. We missed having Derick, and Frankie and Sandy there. Check out the photos that Lauren took and if you have a MySpace page you can see a few more that she took that I didn't add here.


I'm not completely thrilled with Joe Biden as the VP because my first choice would have been Hillary Clinton but you gotta go with what you're given so I'm supporting the ticket.

Learning the ropes and other stuff

Walking Stats:
8-12 2.816
8-13 2.953
8-14 2.748
8-15 no walk
8-16 2.864
8-17 3.661 got sort of in a pickle on this walk. Crossed the Congress St. Bridge and intended to go down Ceasar Chavez but it was closed so back-tracked to the bridge and went down the stairs behind the Raddison Hotel and onto the river walk to the foot bridge on Lamar. Felt good even though I had not planned to walk this distance. It was nice and cloudy, no rain :-( , but cooler than it has been.

8-18- no walk and we have a tiny bit of rain today. Hooray!
Have been following the Olympics and enjoyed the live feeds of the swimming events and the gynastics one. Also enjoyed the womens's marathon but was a little dismayed that more women didn't challange the winner who hailed from Romania. I don't think our track and field team is as strong as the swim team but I hope they do well. The women are doing fantastic in softball, volleyball (beach and indoor) and basketball so we've having fun watching them. Also saw a little bit of the fencing and when they have long exchanges it can get exciting.

I started this entry on Sunday but didn't get it to my liking until today. Frank had his first visit that started his bladder treatment therapy [Instillation of BCG into the Bladder] and it's rather complicated but so far it hasn't made him ill. The nurse told him the things to watch out for. His Pet Scan revealed that the lymph node in question was non-reactive so no biopsy for now but it is something that they are going to watch closely. So far, so good. :-)

Photo 1: Beautiful crepe myrtle on So. 1st St Photo 1: Hope lives in cracks of concrete

Blogging should be fun stuff not work stuff!

Walking stats:
8-3-08 None
8-4-08 did 3.051
8-5-08 walked 3.536
8-6-08 2.840 miles
8-7-08 3.361
8-8-08 2.984
8-9-08 no walk
8-10-08 2.868
8-11-08 just short walks around the clinic when Frank was getting tested.

Update: Frank had his PET Scan this morning. It took almost 3 hours. He said he was put in a radiation safe room and injected with a mixture. He had taken a book of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine to read but they told he could not read things that made him laugh...did something to the body chemistry. The day before he had to stop eating carbs and sugars which also does something to impeded the testing. Those pesky positrons are sensitive.
On my walk this morning I saw a lot of people on the hike and bike trail and about a dozen sculls out on Lady Bird Lake. The rowing club was out in force but most of them looked like weekend worriers. It's great that they are working out but rowing when you're not in shape can be a bad thing. A few things were odd though. Not many people out on the roadways biking or running. Barton Spings Road is usually bustling with acitivity on the weekends but not so today, and not many cars on the road either. Perhaps people are home watching the Olympic games.

I think Hillary needs to run for something again. I lost three pounds while working for her campaign but since then I have lost not one single pound. She was good for my waist line. ;-)

Saw Dallas play the first quarter last night and while they lost the game the first string looked like they were in good shape. I've also been enjoying the Olympic games. Our teams seem to be struggling a bit but as other countries get better our teams have to step things up a bit. The men's swim team is awesome, the women not so much. On the beach volleyball side it's the women who are very good and the men not so doing so well. It'll be fun and interesting for me to watch people do the things I don't have the talent or work ethic to do. Update: The men's relay swim team were fantastic last night. They broke a world record by 4 seconds which is huge. Also Hoff of the women's team just missed out on a gold by less than a second but I'm sure she'll be happy with the silver and will win a gold before it's all over.
I don't know if the link shown below works well but it's on YouTube and I'm sure you can find it. If you know the Rick Astley song you'll have a laugh and be amazed at how well it's connected to the song. Oh, and Senator Obama even dances like Rick Astley. ;-)

learning