This is for my Daughter

Boo spent 7 years of her young life dedicated to percussion. She was a drummer. The coolest of the cool in the high school band. She could play everything you could hit with a stick and play it well. She loved it so much, she enrolled in the music program in college with the thought of becoming a music teacher.
1.5 years in, she changed her mind, and switched to graphic arts.  Dad was not pleased.
Boo went at it cold, not having a lot of art classes under her belt from her high school years. To make the cut and progress to your Junior year in the program, you have to go up for something called "Junior Block". Don't ask, I don't know. Boo went for it two times and didn't make the cut. This year, the third attempt she made it. She worked so hard at it she made herself sick. She wanted it bad.
I'm very  proud of that woman child.
She produced this to make the cut.
Click to embiggen.

Rumor had it that the man child was holed up playing video games

So I heard. He's on Christmas break. Not home but not far away.
The rumors were unfounded I suspect. He was holed up, working on his computer, but it was not video games he was going cross eyed over.
His artistic leanings run towards video game type art, but for a mechanical engineering student that is wicked smaht at calculus, and turns a mean wrench, that's pretty good computer sketchin in my book.
I particularly like the "Winter General".

Slackers

My daughter is not one of them.
Not much posting going on around here over the Holidays. I blame it on the Caloric Coma I've been in.
I've been "recharging my batteries" for the past couple of weeks, disconnecting from the fire hose feed of news and opinion. So to remain in the low stress strata I'm currently inhabiting,  I'm just going to brag on my daughter a bit.
We don't see much of her these days. She is busy busy busy - nose to the grind stone so she says.  With her off at school and little contact, I was never quite certain about that though.   On Christmas Day she was home and had some pics of some of her work on her smart phone, which she sent to me the other day.

It appears she has been diligent about her school work.  There's definitely some talent there. The execution of the sketch below reflects a great deal of practice, compressed into a very short time frame.  I was really impressed when she showed me this sketch.

Another Christmas Past

Like many folks out there, I tend to get really melancholy around the holidays. Christmas is especially hard for me because at Christmas, I really miss my dad.

I remember Christmases past, I remember waking up to find that Santa had come and brought lots of toys, unable to understand why in the world my daddy was so tired on Christmas morning.

Yes, the little blonde in the pink dress is yours truly.  My uncle (mom's brother) was sitting on the couch and my aunt (mom's sister) is in the blue jumpsuit and my mom is in the red pants.  I was three in that picture I believe.

I remember the Christmases so long ago, when my family would come to the house and spend the day. Eventually, I had a brother and then some cousins and those family gatherings were fantastic and fun.

Like many families, we have all parted ways only to see each other every now and then.  It seems that the family gatherings started dwindling after my father passed away, and pretty much ceased when my grandma passed away.  I've come to realize that my dad and my maternal grandma were the glue that held us all together.

I tend to grieve for those times so long ago.  My immediate family of course gets together but there's still that nagging loss.  My mother's house, which was always home to me, no longer feels like home.  She's remarried, and I'm glad for her because he makes her happy and I know that my dad would want her to be happy, but when I walk into her house, everything is different because they've remodeled.  That sense of 'going home' is lost to me.

I guess that's what happens when we grow up.  Today, the second eldest daughter, her boyfriend, the man-child, my brother, my mom and her husband all came over to spend the day.  It was a very nice day and I had lots of laughs.  There was no sadness and I was able to look around and see the blessings that I have in my life now.

Oh I still feel that tug at my heart because I will always miss my dad but I know that he is out there somewhere looking at me with a smile.  I know that he's happy for me and I know exactly where I can go to feel close to him.  Perhaps I can talk the hubby into going to the range with me tomorrow for some shooty healing.............

Christmas morning.....

Well it's Christmas day and the house is clean and ready for the influx of family that's coming over for a home cooked meal.

We had no presents this morning as my better half didn't want anything and I couldn't think of anything to buy him other than a new truck and I thought better of it since after the initial shock I would get a firm, "What the hell are you thinking, woman!"

I refuse to buy a gun for him because I don't know what he wants and a gun is a very personal thing although he does want a Bushmaster ACR.

As for my Christmas gift? Well, it's waiting to be shipped. My CHL is in the 'manufacturing' stage, soon to be mailed and my Dragon Leatherworks holster is in the making and will ship January 19th.

I did get a gift card to Academy and so I will take that and buy myself a better range bag. The one I have is just a duffle bag that I got for free at an Astros game a few years back. It's not very sturdy so I need something a little better.

Life is good. Hubby is cooking the meal so I won't have to worry about all that, I can just enjoy my day and have a few adult beverages.

I want everyone to have a very Merry Christmas filled with many blessings.

Overheard at the family gathering

Hubby called 'dibs' on posting this but he didn't so I told him I'm going to.....

Friday night we went to mom's house and the two grand babies opened their gifts. Scooter got some toys from the movie Toy Story and this is what was said......

Scooter: "Oh, I got a Woody!"
Stepdad: "you got a woody?"

laughter

Scooter: "Oh, I got a Buzz!"
Stepdad: "you got a woody and a buzz?"

laughter

random grownup - "Wow a woody and a buzz.. what a good Christmas!"


You can't make this stuff up. Luckily Scooter was oblivious to the shenanigans going on in the background.

Christmas in July........

I was telling this story to the hubby and he requested that I re-tell it here. Here goes.....

I am almost 8 years older than my younger brother. For the first years of my life I was not only an only child, but I was the only grandchild on BOTH sides of my family. Needless to say, I was everyone's darling and maybe a little on the spoiled side.

When my brother came along, I was happy but a part of me was I'm sure a bit on the jealous side as well, which considering the circumstances, who could blame me.

That being said, I love my baby brother very much but I would sometimes play the role of Lucy (Peanuts) when it came to our relationship.

I am very much my father's daughter. I love a good laugh and I love a practical joke. Usually it was dad pulling the jokes on me (removing a starter from a gas grill that was broken he said,"here baby, hold on to these two wires for me"...... he presses the button to the gas grill starter and I got a heck of a shock in my finger tips.... "nope, that's not the problem".... an hour later, little brother walks in the room.... I pick up the starter.... "here lil bro hold on to these two wires for me"...... he screams and I end up getting yelled at by mom while dad is laughing his head off... of course I digress)

So with all of this in mind........... My brother had gotten into my room and broke something or other and so I decided that I would pay him back.

I woke up early on a Saturday and went into his room and said, "Wake up! Santa Claus came!"

My brother who was about 8 at the time, jumps out of bed and runs into the living room where my dad is sitting there having a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

Brother looks around and sees no presents.... he immediately drops to his knees and lets out this blood-curdling squeal.

Daddy, who was startled and nearly jumped out of his skin, looked at him and said very loudly, "WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU BOY?!!"

Brother cried, "Santa didn't bring any presents!"

Daddy said to him, "Hell no he didn't bring presents! It's July!... go on back to bed!"

My brother went back to bed and my dad looked at me and said, "What the hell was THAT all about?!"

I said, "I don't know, he must have been dreaming."

I wish I would have told my dad what really had happened but I never fessed up. I know that years later he would have gotten a kick out of it.

Now, you all will probably think that I was a mean person and I promise you, I wasn't. I was only mean when provoked.

I did pick on my brother from time to time, but heaven help anyone other than me that would pick on him because I would have beat their ass.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas

Ya'll be good for another 5 hours, lest Santa pass you by.
That is all.

More Christmas Music

Spreading a little more holiday cheer as best this time of year allows me to do.

Carol of the Bells is a nice one, it's 'peppy' and upbeat and incredibly difficult to sing when you're in a choir.

Then there's a little Bing Crosby with Away in a Manger

And then we have the beautiful voice of Sarah McLaughlin with O Little Town of Bethlehem.

And of course it's just not Christmas without Elvis singing Blue Christmas!

And last but not least.... We have another one from Elvis. Santa Claus is back in town



Enjoy!

A New Lady Shooter

Yesterday, I took my youngest daughter, Bootsie who is 18 and introduced her to the art of turning money into noise.

We went to the pistol range and I taught her how to shoot.  I was very proud of her as she did really will for her first time shooting a firearm of any type.

Her first shot was right in the middle next to the X.  She has potential.  Hopefully I can get her back to the range in short order.

Well we knew this would happen......

On a more sour note, bombings rock Bahgdad and yet the media seems so surprised that this has happened.

I've been saying for years that as soon as we leave Iraq all hell will break loose.  Sometimes it sucks to be right.

U.S. military officials have said they're worried about a resurgence of Al Qaeda after the American military leaves the country. If that happens, it could lead Shiite militants to fight back and attack Sunni targets, thus sending Iraq back to the sectarian violence it experienced just a few years ago.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/12/22/explosions-rock-baghdad-7-killed-3-injured/?test=latestnews#ixzz1hHc4prhj

Imagine that.  My only hope is that we don't end up going back to that hell-hole.  Hopefully the Iraqis will stabilize their country and put an end to this violence in short order.

Christmas Songs

Well, I am going to post up a few of my favorite Christmas songs......

This first one, is a Texas obligatory song posting.  Robert Earl Keene is a wonderful songwriter and the best thing about him is that he really doesn't take himself very seriously.  He and Lyle Lovett were roommates at Texas A&M.

This is Merry Christmas from the Family

Another favorite song of mine is Santa Baby, this is Marilyn Monroe's version.

UPDATED:  Thanks to an unknown person in comments, this version is NOT Marilyn Monroe but Eartha Kit.  Someone on You Tube titled it wrong and gave Marilyn the credit for it.



Sorry no Marilyn actually in the video itself, but she really could sing.

And now we have Dolly Parton's Hard Candy Christmas.  Talk about a voice!  Dolly is probably my favorite female vocalist.



Here is another song by Lynn Anderson (hit song I never Promised You a Rose Garden) this song is called Ding a Ling The Christmas Bell.  It's great little song and it comes from my childhood. My folks had her Christmas Album.




While there are a gazillion wonderful Christmas Carols out there, I think that my favorite Christmas song of all time would have to be The Little Drummer Boy.  That sound moves me to tears every time I hear it. 

As you all know, the song is about a little boy who travels with a caravan to go and see the baby, Jesus in Bethlehem.  The boy is poor and hasn't anything to give, but the gift of his own talent so he plays for him.

I have chosen Johnny Cash's version from his Christmas Album way back when.  Cash doesn't have the best voice in the world, however, my dad liked him and my folks had (which I still have it) this album when I was little and it was the first version that I heard.




This version is a very simple version of the song and it's a good reflection on the song, which represents simplicity itself is sometimes the best gift of all.

I'll post up some more traditional Christmas Hymns later; however I thought these would be a good start.

Politics +Science

I've been wrong before. That was not my last post for the evening.
I've posted, often, about my disdain regarding the global warming hoax. It has nothing to do with science. It is nothing more than a scheme of control and wealth redistribution.
Borepatch just wrapped up the subject and hammered the nail down to the head.

If you haven't already, hit the link and go read the whole thing.
keep your powder dry.

Last post of the evening

Another whatzit. I put the odds on the ladies getting this one right first. I disqualify myself because Belle told me what it is.  Jon popped my bubble inside of 38 minutes on the last one. If he gets this one I'm going to give up on this meme.
What is it?

BOI + Blizzard = LTS

Both my parents were BOI.
It's how native Galvestonians vet one another. Born on Island.  Galveston. Before the 1900 Hurricane it's dimensions were roughly 33 x 3 x 3. Thirty-three miles long. Three miles wide. Three feet above sea level.

There's been quite a Blizzard in New Mexico recently.
I drove in a Blizzard near Breckenridge, CO some 22 years ago.  I managed to pull off a 4 wheel drift at 5 miles an hour. Fortunately, I purchased the rental car insurance.

LTS = Life Threatening Situation.

It's simple math...really.

With the exception of my brethren up in the Panhandle perhaps, Texans have no fucking idea how to drive ice and snow.
The year my daughter was born, 1989, we had snow and ice. A whopping 2 to 4 inches. it stayed on the ground for 4 days. Within the  48 hours that transpired over the weekend, we had something like 1,450 vehicular accidents within the city limits of Houston.
I offer this as a Public Service Announcement. If the forecast predicts snow, ice or even sleet. Route around the The Lone Star State.

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Grandpa was a Carpenter Part 3

Grandpa built the house my Dad grew up in. He was working as a Carpenter at the time. I'm not sure if he was self employed at that point though. He worked on it after hours and weekends. Grandpa told me that by the time he finished it, it was paid for. Cost him $1200. That should give you some idea of how long ago that was.
As he told it, he "remodeled" my Great Grandmothers house.  Added a second story to it...sort of. The house was wood frame, pier and beam construction. I guess he wasn't too keen on having to frame a new roof. I surmise this because he didn't rip off the roof and frame up.  Grandpa used God knows how many old time manual house jacks and raised the whole house by eight or nine feet, single handed.  I can imagine him scurrying around under that house like a pinball, from one jack to the next slowly but surely inching it higher.  Once he got it where he wanted it, he built the first floor anew.
So I've been digging around in the big 'ol wooden toolbox and selected a couple of things to share.
One of which I thought was a black box when I looked in over at Dad's house. When I pulled it out this evening, I discovered it's black leather and has something embossed on on the top. It's full of rusty and unusually shaped wrenches.
The pic sucks. I did as best I could with the lighting I had.

On the top part of the emblem "Indian Motorcycle" is written.  The writing around the bottom part I can't quite make out.  I'm guessing this is a toolkit from an Indian Motorcycle.  What Grandpa was doing with it I have no idea. I'll have to ask Dad on that one.
I have a pic of another non-carpenter tool I pulled out of the box this evening.  This one I offer up as a Whatzit.
I may have to preemptively disqualify Pissed, cuz he'll probably know what it is in a heartbeat.
What is it?

The lovely Southern Belle is disqualified as well, because I already told her what it is.

Newt Gingrich is still a Global Warming Moonbat

Just When I was beginning to warm up to the guy, that darn fool has to go and do something like this.  
Bad, bad Newt!  
Newt's stubborn penchant for the Global Worming tomfoolery is one of the things that gave me pause about him in the first place.
I was starting to seriously consider Gingrich.  This is serious setback.


Two excerpts from Climate Depot:

"Warmist Gingrich & warmist Katharine Hayhoe team up to write climate book coming post-election -- Newt is long-time warmist and show no signs of recanting"
"Gingrich has revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is, & always has been - -a committed believer in man-made climate fears! The fact that Hayhoe was chosen to write a chapter in his new book is all we need to know. Will Hayhoe be his potential pick for climate advisor?! Gingrich has never left Pelosi's couch! If the GOP can only come up with Newt or Mitt -- is an Obama 2nd term all that scary when it comes to climate? Just asking..."

Seems Ms. Hayhoe has quite a track record regarding global warming climate change climate disruption world history her grasp of reality.

Go and RTWT. Personally, I book marked it. With almost a link per line, Marc Morano's editorial should keep me simultaneously amused and disgusted for some time.

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Catholics have a sense of humor!

Of course, I knew that already but this is just hilarious!  Apparanently these two churches are right across the street from one another, one is Catholic, the other is Presbytarian.


http://tithenai.tumblr.com/post/3215186237/two-churches-located-across-the-street-from-each-other

Some things

Just make me smile.


If you've read the blog for any length of time you might have come to the conclusion that I think Global Worming is an abject pile of bullshit.


You would be correct.


Richard's caption just..er..caps it for me. sniggle, snort




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A call for Donations

A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on highway I-65 just outside of Bowling Green, KY . Nothing was moving.
Suddenly, a man knocks on the window. The driver rolls down the window and asks, "What's going on?"
"Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they're asking for a $100 million dollar ransom, otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire...We are going from car-to-car, collecting donations."
"How much is everyone giving, on average?" the driver asks.
The man replies, "Roughly a gallon.”





Via Email, Origin Unknown.


H/T to my bud BJF -

Things I'm going to miss when the SHTF #1

Promise Land Milk...2%
When the Childrens finally moved out on the beginnings of their adult ( and highly subsidized ) lives,  we quit buying the 55 gallon Bbl of milk, and switched to smaller portions.
Belle turned me on to Promise Land milk.  Man that is good stuff. And, it lasts a long, long time.  It must be mega pasteurized.

Grandpa was a Carpenter - Part 2

As mentioned in the first installment, my Dad had "some things I might want".  When I arrived at Dad's house we went out to get some dinner.  On arrival back at his house, we went into his shop to see the "things". Dad pulled out this box, which I immediately recognized, and he asked if I'd like to have it.  Without hesitation, I said, "hell yeah".

Grandpa sold his work truck and all the tools in it when he retired. He decided at the age of 73 it was getting a bit difficult to hold a 4 x 8 sheet of drywall against the ceiling with one hand and nail it up.  At six foot naught, I don't think the man ever weighed more than 175 pounds.  Wirey they called it, and strong as an Ox. Then, eventually, the strong gave out, and some years later, he passed as well.
I had his job site table saw for years. The original motor, circa 1940 or thereabouts, had crapped out. So I headed over to the new Graingers that had just opened up and found a replacement for 45 bucks. Grandpa had cobbled together a stand for that saw from job site scraps. I had that too.  That man could build the most beautiful cabinets with that wobbley ass setup. It was a good saw though. Craftsman.  Not the cheap cast aluminum Sears stuff you get these days.  This beast was cast iron and would compress your vertebrae when you lifted it off those decrepit crutches.  I digress. Back to the tool at hand.
Dad lovingly collected the moulding plane when Grandpa passed.  Almost 40 years ago, I opened up the box in Dad's garage, and, without the aid of Google, using only the single page paper instructions, assembled that plane.
As I opened the box in Dad's shop the other night, I found the instructions had gone the way of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Both my Dad and my Grandpa taught me how to use a block plane.  There is nothing more Zen than seeing perfectly thin slices of wood, translucent,  peeling out the top of the plane..knowing the blade is sharp and set just...perfectly...so.  Shaping wood with a plane I find similar to paddling a kayak. You can hack at it as hard as you'd like with little more result than wasted energy.  Once you settle in and realize that it is only going to go so fast, miraculously you seem to go faster.  ( I find the same experience in wrenching as well. As long as it's not Sunday, and the sun isn't setting, and I have to drive this P.O.S. to work in the morning)  I digress..as usual.
My first attempt with the plane, many decades ago was less than successful. In my own defense, this tool came with 25 shaped blades that could be arranged in...hang on..let me do the math...25 ..without replacement..25x24x23...screw it...a whole bunch of combinations. Being male, I ascribed to the "more is better" maxim. In retrospect, I suspect I tried to use a combination of blades that was a wee bit too complicated.  My Grandpa might have been able to push those blades through the wood. My attempts came to a screeching halt.  The blades need some TLC. Time has taken it's toll. I still manged to nick a finger. (I'm good, Tetanus shot is current)

So, I have this piece of personal family history to play with now. No instructions for assembly anymore, only very vague memories from the last time I put it together.  This looks like a good Father son project.

(yes, that's one of Belle's targets underneath. I told ya, don't mess with the Zohan Belle)

Now that I think about it. I think I'll pull this box out on Christmas day when most of my brood is here.  My girls have an unusual mechanical acumen. It just never occurred to me to make them crawl the driveway with me to maintain the junkyard fleet like I did their brother. So, they are a bit behind the curve in shade tree training.

Need anything shaped? I have a new an old tool....



There's a tool box with a few more items. That's another post though.

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More on Holder and OK City Bombing

I just found this on Free Republic

Documents obtained by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show then Clinton Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder authorized members of the FBI to provide explosives to Oklahoma City bombing criminals Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols immediately prior to the April, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building.
Holder had authorized the FBI to provide the explosives to McVeigh and Nichols in conjunction with a Clinton Administration undercover operation named PATCON, an acronym for “Patriot Conspiracy.” As Jesse Trentadue describes it, “PATCON was designed to infiltrate and incite… militia[s] and evangelical Christians to violence so that the Department of Justice could crush them.”
Both Waco and Ruby Ridge are now known to have been PATCON inspired, Department of Justice plots. Shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing, Holder instructed FBI agents to recover from Terry Nichols any remainder of the explosives the Bureau had provided him and McVeigh.
To the chagrin of Eric Holder, the explosives were later discovered by another agency, complete with the fingerprints of both Nichols, McVeigh and 2 FBI agents.
Holder had reportedly offered Nichols respite from the death penalty for his cooperation in recovering the explosives. Obviously the Deputy Attorney General considered covering up his criminal complicity in the bombing eminently worth sparing Nichols just punishment for the murders of 168 innocent Americans.
Jesse Trentadue accidentally came across PATCON while investigating the murder of his brother Kenneth at the hands of the Clinton Department of Justice.

An FBI informant familiar with the Oklahoma City bombing story, Kenneth was found hanged in his cell after having been jailed by the FBI. Though an official FBI report had listed Kenneth as a suicide, it was obvious that he had been severely beaten and his throat cut….

 

 Geez I'm really getting paranoid.  I need that tin foil hat of my hubby's, but I smell a rat.  A big fat rat.

Well this is not good

Okay, yesterday my gun talk radio show posted up on their facebook an article which apparently links an Eric Holder led FBI operation to the Oklahoma City bombing.

That's right.  Apparently, according to these sources, there was a sting operation set up much like Fast and Furious which resulted in the bombing.

Evidence was tampered with and a witness that could implicate those on high is dead.

I'm not sure of the truth of this because I can't verify the source but I'm hoping that some of my blog-buds who are much smarter than I am can pick up on this and dig in.

If this is true.........   I'm speechless..........   wow.

The two articles that were linked to both via facebook are here and well.......  the article on American Free Press is now missing........   hmmmm


UPDATE:  Kenneth Trentadue was an FBI Informant.

Feeling Patriotic

Yesterday, for whatever reason, I was feeling more love for my country than I normally do.  I think that in part, I am unbelievably worried about our country's future.   It was because of that worry that I began to listen to some of President Reagan's more memorable speeches.

Reagan came at a time when it didn't feel so good for many to be an American.  We had pulled out of Vietnam just 5 years prior, Carter had bumbled his way through the second worst Presidency in our Nation's history (at the time, he was the worst, guess who has topped him), inflation was unbelievably high as were interest rates and the unemployment rate.

I was in the 6th grade when Ronald Reagan took office, but I remember the day of his inauguration.  I remember how happy and proud he looked to be given the honor of doing the work of the people.

You see, when you go back and look at his speeches, you can see that not only was he simply delivering a speech, he was passionate about what he was saying.  He truly believed, with the conviction of a warrior, in what he was saying.  THAT is what made Reagan great.

 Reagan had grand ideas and he truly believed that we the people know what is best for us.  He truly believed in a limited government and that government gets its power from the governed.  Most importantly, President Reagan loved this country and believed that it was the greatest country in the history of mankind.  In every expression, in every word that he spoke, he reached out to us as a nation.  He made us believe that together, we could accomplish anything.  He, once again, made us proud to be Americans.

Growing up with Reagan as my President shaped who I am today.  It's that simple.  I was always fascinated with him and I was sorry to see him go.  Yesterday I posted up his farewell address and it's inspiring in that it shows just how much he loved this country.

What we need is someone who believes and who has the conviction to stand up for what he believes, just as Ronald Reagan believed.  We need someone who will unite us as a people once again, instead of dividing us. Unfortunately, there is no other like The Great Communicator and as far as I can tell, there likely isn't going to be another any time soon.

So here I sit loving my country, but pining for someone who lead us out of this mess that we're in.  I fear that it may take too long, so long that it may be too late.

This is what we need today

God I miss this man! We really need him today, more than ever.

May he rest in peace.

Grandpa was a Carpenter - Part One

My Father's Father. He quit school after 8th grade and went to work in a mill. During WWII he worked at Todd Dry Dock in Galveston.   Grandpa's garage was a candy store to me. Old window weights, ancient cast iron vices, dusty work benches and...the cabinets.  The cabinets contained a lifetime of collected hardware.  The treasures were the solid brass cabinet fittings from the ships and boats he worked on during the war.  He'd give me one each time I visited. I've long lost track of that collection. I had no particular use for them but thought they were just the coolest thing.
My Dad called me earlier this week to tell me that he had decided to sell his house and move South to be closer to an old friend of his. He was already in the process of culling out junk and prepping the house for showing.  Dad said he had some things I might want and why don't I stop by after work and take a look.  He didn't say exactly what they were. I agreed without asking or hesitation.
 More on that later.
For now, a song that always made me think about Grandpa. it was practically written for him.
If I'm not mistaken, that's Austin in the background...

For your viewing and listening pleasure

ASM826 posted this up over at his blog and I thought I would pass it along here.  The video is spectacular and the song is called Chevaliers de Sangreal written by Hans Zimmer from the movie The DaVinci Code.  It's one of my favorite pieces of music of all time.

Enjoy.

Oh Let Them Eat Cake!

The attitude of this administration drives me bananas!

Apparently, Michelle Obama is going to, yet again, steal a jet to go on vacation ahead of her husband, while she tells people that their kids can play with twigs and recycled wrapping paper and glitter if they can't afford toys for them for Christmas.

The attitude and disdain for the American people that these people in the White House express constantly is appalling.

God I can't wait until they are out of there!

Blogging is a bit touch and go

I think that most likely until after the holidays that blogging will be a bit off and on.  Sometimes life just gets in the way of my blogging!

Soon we will get back our regularly scheduled programming.

Whew! Well that's a relief

Texas comptroller declares economic recession over

That's some good news right there.

A little further down in the article:: "Combs said while the Texas economy is in recovery it still faces some hurdles."

"In recovery" doesn't sound like it's quite over.  It's sure not in my little corner of the world.

So a dip below 9% unemployment spurred by 350,000 folks dropping off the unemployment rolls due to their benefits having run out is a recovery.  

Well then. Mission accomplished...until next week when the EU goes belly up. Of course, the EU has been on the verge of insolvency with only 10 more days before the SHTF for weeks now. And, you know who's going to bail them out with a whole passel of freshly printed greenbacks don't you?

The only real indicator of the demise of this recession for me, is when we get to the point where we need to start hiring people again.  There's a brand spanking new healthcare law and a presidential election in the way at the moment though.

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Overheard at the Nutcracker.....

On Saturday afternoon, Scooter and I got all dressed up and went to go see The Nutcracker.  She looked all lady like in her red and black dress.  She really enjoyed the show and at intermission, I had prepaid our refreshments and she was treated to hot chocolate and cookies and I had a glass of red wine.

After we went back to our seats and the second half of the show commenced this would have been overheard but thankfully she, at 5, knows that whispering is what you do at the ballet.

Scooter:  Nana, I farted.
Me:   Yes, I can smell that!

Boy could I ever smell that and I'm sure that those around us probably did as well and they probably thought that it was me because surely nothing THAT rancid could possibly come from something so small and cute!

Kidnapped by Angry Birds

Blogging has been light.  Hubby and I both have been unable to stop playing Angry Birds on our Kindles.  Regular blogging schedule to commence in short order, I'm sure.


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Grrrrhg Arrrrhg

No, Really!...Grrrhg AAARRRGH
I watched what was apparently the last episode of Firefly season one available on Amazon Prime tonight.
So I'm reaching out to my brethren and sisters out there. Is there a box set of DVDs available?
I'm not going to search Amazon..right now.  Modesty forbids, but I've had a bit of the hops and a bit of the grape (only because the hops ran out).
I'm thinking my adult childrens need to find this for me, for Christmas. I note this because I know the capable and newly adult One and Only Son reads the BAR blog.
Pointers from the blogosphere are appreciated.

Windy in Scotland

165 mph by some accounts. Hurricanes in Scotland?!! Must be Global Worming!
 Foolishness. For one whoever is filming is standing next to a window, and two, the windows are not taped much less boarded over.
 As comedian Ron White says, " It's not THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is Blowing."
You'll see "it" at about the six second mark.




Hmmm. Embed thingy no workee, so I'll just have to post a link.

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I've Lost my Husband to Firefly

Yep, since the hubby got his Kindle Fire, he's been watching episodes of Firefly on it.  I haven't been able to speak to him much this past week because I get annoyed with having to repeat myself because he has the headphones on.

Oh well, it's okay, he's lost me to many a television show  and there are only so many episodes of Firefly that he will be able to watch.

I am constant, I am patient, I am strong.

It's not all that bad really and he deserves the distraction.

Getting attacked by an Occupier...........

So, Miss Kitty was occupying the hubby's mousepad the other day and she decided to occupy my own mousing space yesterday while I was playing a game online.

She loves to look at the computer screen and had decided to take up residence in my mousing space and cover the pen and paper that I was using with her bulky physique.

I retrieved my pen and paper, which highly annoyed her but then when I took control of my mouse once again, she attacked my forearm.  Both sets of front claws and her teeth!

I thumped her hard on the nose, which caused her to let go and run off.  Later, she reappeared in the living room, sitting across the room giving me the stink eye.

Stupid bitchy cat.

On this day in History

As many of my other blog buds out there have noted, today marks the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor which ultimately ended up pulling us into World War II where millions paid the ultimate sacrifice.  Our eyes were opened to horrors that can be perpetrated on the whim of a madman and two atomic bombs were dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima which put an end to perhaps the bloodiest war in human history.

Today is also my wedding anniversary.  My better half beat me to the punch this morning as he wrote his post last night and scheduled it to post at 7am this morning.  Sneaky hubby!

Thirteen years ago, my darling husband took on the task that was something akin to The Taming of the Shrew.  Granted, I wasn't mean like in the play nor was I particularly unruly; however, I was a bit on the wild side (which I suspect was in part, what attracted him to me to begin with).

During our courtship, without going into too much detail, I did everything I could think of to scare him away.  I figured if he could truly love me for who I am without trying to change me, I would have found my soul mate.

Mission accomplished.

Never in my life have I know a man (aside from my own beloved father) who truly has a big heart and who can accept me for all my faults and encourage me in my better qualities.  For that my darling love, I cherish you always though sometimes I don't express it well.

My dad passed away a couple of years before my husband came into my life.  I had been divorced twice and was a single mom, struggling to make ends meet (which was a result of my own stupid decisions)  and doing my best to keep myself out of trouble.  I know that my father passed away worried that I would never find true love.  Worried that I would never be able to find a partner in life that I could truly respect.  Worried that I would never find someone who would love me and my girls unconditionally. 

As best as I could, I tried to ease his worry for me by promising him that I would get my shit together and improve my situation.  That I would do this on my own merit and then once I'm standing on my own and stronger that maybe, eventually I will find love.

Once I found a much better job and things were going really well for me, I had no real intention of falling in love.  I had been through it all and failed at it miserably so what was the point?

As I believe I've mentioned before, Kx and I worked together, which is how we met.  We were sitting at the lunch table in the office having lunch when one of our other co-workers began talking about his wife (most likely bossing him around or something).  I looked at Kx and said, "If I ever THINK about getting married again, please, just shoot me!"  He laughed and said, "Me too."

Several months down the road, after having attended a few of the same parties and some office happy hours, Kx had taken notice that I was (according to him) quite the little hottie.  He ended up asking me to go to the rodeo with him as he had gotten tickets from a client and didn't know who else liked country music.

I accepted the invitation, my mother, who never would babysit my girls for me when it was my weekend, was more than happy to watch them for me.  In fact, I think that I could hear her cheers and jumping up and down from my office.

So off to the Rodeo we went.  Alan Jackson performed and his performance was really lack-luster and it turned out that his wife had left him earlier that week.  Anyway, so we were at the rodeo on what I thought was a non-date.  I suppose the non-date turned into a date when he put his arm around me and held my hand as we searched for his lost vehicle amongst a gazillion other vehicles after the show.

It was the sweetest night of my life.  A couple of weeks later, I asked him to go and shoot pool after work and from there on we were an item and nine months after that we were married, 13 years ago today.

It hasn't always been a cakewalk, but no marriage ever is, it has, however been a sweet adventure.

So to my wonderfully handsome, witty, intelligent and cuddly Groom; happy anniversary.  I am better for having you in my life and you complete me.  Thank you for the years together and thank you for accepting me for who I am.  I look forward to the many years to come and I am the luckiest woman on the planet.

I love you.

Not the first war that's been started on this day

Today is our Wedding Anniversary, December 7.  Also, Pearl Harbor day.
 13 years this go around. We've both been married twice before. Belle told me long ago, "don't ever do anything to make me have to kill you.  The only divorce this time will be litigated by the legal firm of Smith & Wesson."
Well Ok then. Yes M'am.
Typically we do a big Anniversary Dinner at an expensive restaurant with some close friends. Belle saw me putting greasy nose prints on the Kindle Fire she got me for a belated Birthday and Anniversary gift.  She decided we should forego the 'spensive vittles cuz she wanted a Kindle Fire too.
It arrived yesterday.
I may be self absorbed and slow, but I'm not stupid.
I have enough orifices as it is.

Happy Anniversary Sweetpea!

Ghrrrr Ahrrrrg

The title is a Firefly reference.   What is it?
Tell me in the comments.
I bet Bluesun gets it first.  Although Proudhillbilly, or that browncoat North might get it before that young whippersnapper.

Cold Weather blogging

Eating chicken wings and blogging are mutually exclusive activities.
We are having winter down here..or something.  It's like 36 degrees outside. (what dyslexic moron ordered this?  It was clearly written on the work order..sixty-three, sixty-three...six..three!)
Cold weather and snow rock...if you are in Colorado..on a ski trip..in Telluride.  Otherwise..it sucks.
It's frigging cold. I'm suing the Warmists at the Climate Research Unit for fraud and false advertising.  Lying Bastids.

TSA Keeping Us Safe............

Geez, this goes beyond nuts.

Apparantly there are three old ladies that have come forward claiming to have been stripped search by the TSA, on of which had her panties pulled down in a private room.  We've heard of the TSA making elderly folks remove their Depends/Adult Diapers, humiliting innocent elderly people just to keep us 'safe'.

I sure am glad to know that they are putting their best foot forward and using their common sense so that we can all be safe.

Good god. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who are willing to sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither."

What in the hell have we as a country allowed to happen to ourselves where our individual freedoms are so much under assult?

I am almost resigned to never fly if I can help it.  I don't want to be groped, prodded or treated like a criminal so that I can take a trip somewhere.  This is freaking insane.

Watching

Firefly on the Kindle Fire.  I've seen a number of our blogbuds mention this series. How I never got hooked into it I have no Idea.  I watched the first episode this evening. I'm hooked. The best part is I have access to all of them on Amazon Prime. This little toy rocks. And, it is the ultimate anti-soap opera remedy for when Belle is catching up on her day time soaps on the DVR.
I've been saved. HoleyOleo!

Just Because You Can Do a Thing (Part Deux)

Does not mean you SHOULD.
Resurrecting extinct species is a patently bad idea. Did these guys not see "Jurassic Park"?
Well it was just a science fiction movie and bad sh... stuff like that never happens in real science. Right?
I can see the environmentalists now, lobbying congress to stop a new pipeline to keep the extinct woolly mammoth from losing nonexistent habitat and going extinct again.

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On Herman Cain

All I can say about Herman Cain is that I'm sorely dissappointed that he allowed the media to push him out of this race.

Granted, he was weak on foreign policy but I think that he would have been good in other areas.

The question has be raised on whether or not he should be considered for a VP position on the nomination ticket.  My answer to that is no.

Obviously he couldn't take the heat so he needs to stay out of the batter's box all together.  If you can't handle the hardballs that are thrown at you then it's time to take a seat on the bench.

I have no idea whether or not the man was guilty of the things that were brought forward.  I tend to lean toward perhaps, at the very least, he might have had an affair.  If that's the case, then for the socialist media to report this as if they have some sort of moral high ground is a joke.

Either way, I can only hope that Cain and his family will be able to move past this mess and come out stronger for it.

Occupy Mouse Pad

It's actually a strategic move so she's in close proximity to the warm spot left when I get up from the couch. It's all about being in the right place at the right time.

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Unwritten rules

According to the One and Only Son, where first person shooter video games are concerned:
It is impossible for a helicopter to both take off...and LAND.
They always crash, with you in them.
The boy child is home for the afternoon, Belle has cocooned upstairs and we are playing xbox on the big screen. It's a good day.

New Toy - It's a Kindle Fire.

 It arrived at the office at 4:12pm yesterday. Unfortunately, I left at 3:56pm. It was a surprise belated B-day gift from the Lovely Belle. So I've been playing with it all day. I'd been ruminating about getting one for a few months, and mentioned it when Belle asked what I wanted for my Birthday. Usually, my answer is "nothing, cars are all still running, everyone's healthy and happy for the most part, I'm good."

 I got the  Amazon Prime free trial. And yeah, I know it's not an I-pad, but whatev...I love this thing.

I read like a machine starting in grade school up until a few years ago. Then, one day, I put the book I was reading down and haven't read much other than blogs, news sites and automotive manuals since. Burnout from decades of non-stop reading I guess.

I think I've recovered now. I downloaded "Throw Them All Out" by Peter Schweizer, "The Federalist Papers", and the "Anti-Federalist Papers" today.  

This thing could be dangerous in my hands. Buying a book is way too quick and easy. I suspect Amazon will turn a profit off me in spite of the loss leader price on the Kindle.

I haven't used the web interface too much yet, but I tested out the video / movie streaming this evening and realized that my big screen lcd tv was a horrific waste of money. (I jest, but just a little).

I held the Kindle up in front of me and realized at half arm's length, the screen is the same image size as the big screen tv on the other side of the room. 

The storage capacity in the Fire seems a bit anemic at 8Gb, but with the Amazon cloud storage available I think I'm not going to have much of a problem.

Download speeds on it are PDQ. It doesn't have a 3G or 4G connection, but I have access to wi-fi just about anywhere I go. 

The two primary uses I saw for it were as an E-reader and a video/movie streamer. I doubt I'll do much web surfing on it. I've got a linux laptop that will just run circles around it. I'll probably upload my MP3 collection to it.  When bidness picks up again, and I'm traveling all over creation again, it will be a lifeboat on the long plane flights.

I think it's going to suit my purposes just fine.

Memory Association

The mind is a terrible thing...
A thought of my younger brother popped into my head, no particular idea why. This lead to memories of the last time he, my Dad and I had gone down to the crik to pull the boat out of the water. Younger Bro and I sat up that night drinking beer and telling old stories. Remembering that made me smile, and then I recalled telling him about a video I'd seen regarding a certain burglar. By the time I got done telling the story we were both laughing so hard we were crying. It's an old video, but it still makes me laugh my ass off. This guy takes a serious amount of abuse, all self inflicted, which has a certain poetic justice to it.
The surveillance camera angles are so perfect, it couldn't have been shot better from a comedy standpoint if it had been scripted.





[edit]: Gravity sucks don't it?
[double edit]: the more times you watch this, the better it gets

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