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.