March Madness

Wow, it was midterms since I last published anything. Since then my husband has been diagnosed again with a cancer in his bladder. Luckily the cancer has not breached the bladder wall and he is currently getting a targeted chemo treatment for six weeks. He's a fighter  but it has been telling on him this time. Any and all good thoughts, prayers, and good wishes are appreciated.
I'm still getting irritable bowel syndrome problems and bouts of insomnia but other than that I have been doing okay. Have a check up later this month with my cardiologist but I don't suspect to find any worsening of my condition.
We've been painting the living room, or I should say that our daughter and granddaughter have been painting it, and it's slow going but looking good. It's quite a large room.
On the political front we have he who shall not be named still in the Whitehouse and what seems like hundreds of democrats filing to run for president in 2020. Who knows what will happen. I favor Beto but will vote for whoever wins the nomination for the Dems.
I've not been writing or doing any art work and basically wasting my time feeling sorry for myself. Of course after I feel sorry for myself I feel guilty for doing so because I'm pretty lucky having a great family, enough food, a roof over my head, an operational car, and enough money that allows me to stay home and do nothing. Go figure why I feel depressed, I'm at a loss to figure it out. If I tell a doctor I feel depressed they just want to give me a pill for it and I don't want that. I take enough pills as it is for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. .
Lately I find myself crying a lot and not just about real life happenings, but fictional happenings too. It's crazy but I don't guess it's harmful and in a way may be cathartic and therapeutic.
Anyway that's all that's been on my mind this morning. Hope you're having a great day whoever and wherever you are.

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.

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.