Good Cake, Bad Antenna

Finally! PC moved to computer stand and everything hooked back up. All those cords and cables! Good grief. But it's very nice, and set up better than the sewing table! Which is now in my bedroom with Mama's little Singer portable on it. Progress! Sunday afternoon I plan to fire it up and see if it still runs. It is so cute, just a little miniature of the big one Mama sewed on for so many years. I'm not sure how old it is, but know for sure that it is an antique.

I tried to leave a post on the sewing machine giveaway site, but it wouldn't let me. I figure it was Mama's little Singer putting a jinx on me so I couldn't replace it!

The search for an antenna that actually works continues. I'm on number three now, and it is going back to the store Monday. It's discouraging to see how they all claim to be just what I need, and all turn out to be nothing like what I need.

So far no repeat visitors at daughter's house. Traps remain baited and ready for action. Daughter is very jumpy, sees intruders in every shadow. The 'warrior' is very disappointed that there have been no further victims - he is in the gore-loving stage. Every stick he picks up is either a sword or a gun. I think he would love to be deputized to dispose of the next body. But it ain't gonna happen.

I may have to change the 'lawyer's name to the chef! She made her mom's birthday cake all by herself, including frosting and decorating! All I did was set the oven temperature. She was so proud and did a very good job. It's hard for me to realize that is really not so amazing - she is ten years old. But to me she is still as little as the 'warrior' and it still surprises me when I realize how grown up she really is!

Tomorrow's a busy day. Don't want to be late for Sunday School! Time for bed and hopefully sweet dreams.

Disturbed, Delighted and Surprised!

Where to begin! First, morning inspection at daughter's house showed no evidence of further visits. Nevertheless, we will not be relaxing our vigilance. Set out another trap in a likely place just in case.

I took the 'lawyer' to a friend's house in the country for a visit, then the 'warrior' and I started the search for a computer desk to free up Mama's little sewing table. The trip to the Goodwill store was a disappointment. Which is odd, because I have seen any number of nice ones when I didn't want one. Anyway, we decided to go to Big Lots, and hit the jackpot. I was looking at a very nice one on sale, $69.99, down from $89.99. It came with a 3 shelf bookcase. As I was wondering if they would sell the one already assembled, because of my hands, the nice sales girl pointed out that there was another one assembled that had been returned because of cosmetic damage. I got it for $49.99! Yeah!

I also went to Radio Shack and got a new indoor antenna to go with my converter box. First thing when I got home, I hooked it up. It was very disappointing. When I got a call from my oldest brother that he needed my help, I took the thing with me and exchanged it for the most powerful one they had. Amplified, they said. I had to pay almost $30 more for it. Well, it was no better than the cheaper one. It is hard to go from basic cable to four or five channels! But I can't afford to keep the cable. See, my rent went up $30 this month, and I had to start paying a monthly premium on my health insurance this year, in addition to what they take out of my disability check, which I didn't have to do last year. So I've got to cut back where I can. (Notice I am not proposing to quit blogging. I'm hooked on venting online!) But I don't take the paper anymore, and I'm canceling most of my magazine subscriptions.

Anyway, I don't know if they will give me my money back so I can look elsewhere or not. Maybe I should just give up. I probably watch too much anyway. But I can't get channel 8 on this thing, and I really like CSI. And I can't get 13, and I'm used to their morning newscast. And I can't get 59, and I like Fox news. My, am I spoiled or what? What a whiner!

BUT when I finally got wound down for the evening, and went to check my emails, there was a wonderful surprise! I won something! I never win anything, but I won the handmade soap on Karen's Healthy Living blog. Wow, I can hardly wait to try it. Maybe this means I am on a roll, and more good things will happen! You can't believe how excited I am to be a winner! It's a new role for me!

I started writing this last night, and had just finished telling about the desk when the lights went out! So I was glad to find today that it was saved for me to finish. Today is daughter's birthday, and the grands and I are taking her to Ryan's for dinner tonight. And we have to get busy and bake her a cake today while she is at work. So enough gabbing, back to work!

First Things First

Go ahead. Ask me if I went looking for a computer stand today. No. Remember this is spring break. And I have two little grands to look after all week. Only two because 'the begger' is spending the week with her dad. 'The lawyer' and 'the warrior' were at each others' throats almost immediately yesterday morning, and I wanted to prevent that today. So I got them up early and changed their schedule all up, giving them the opportunity to unite in opposition to me. Clever grammy. Then I saw The Mouse.

I threw the towel back from the dish drainer and there he was, hiding under the overhang, looking up at me like his whole life was flashing before his eyes. He went from 0 to 60 in one second, sprinting down the countertop to disappear into my daughter's stove top with a flip of his tail.

My daughter told me(with a shudder) as she was leaving yesterday morning that she thought she saw a mouse, but didn't have time to do anything about it, she had to go to work. On the strength of that 'thought' I had spent the morning searching drawers, Cloroxing the counters and generally being paranoid. This was not just a thought. This was a genuine, bona fide, beady-eyed, bewhiskered disgusting little rodent. I went into grammy overdrive. The Clorox came out again, and after another cleaning frenzy, I baited an old-fashioned spring trap with a tiny dab of peanut butter, put it under the stove top, and turned out all the kitchen lights.

I eased into a comfy chair in the living room with my cup of coffee, leaned back with one eye on the early news, and waited. It wasn't a long wait. I love it when a plan comes together. After disposing of the evidence, I baited a fresh trap(in case the little beast wasn't alone), rounded up the grands and took them to my house for breakfast. We had planned a trip to the library, but it was a sunny day, not to be wasted indoors.

So we picnicked at the park, and I sat in the car and worked some puzzles in my new variety book while they kicked up their heels. We were alone when we got there, but not for long. The sun lured other restless kids and frazzled moms out of doors. All played together happily for a while, but then the 'warrior' started showing off for his admiring audience, and the 'lawyer' became his victim. I decided it was time to go home.

And so it went, one essential activity after another until the day has slipped away into weariness, and the eyelids droop and won't stay open. My eyelids, that is. Don't know about the kids. They are with their mother. So night night, sleep tight, and so on and so forth.

One Thing Leads to Another

Well, the plot thickens! Looking around my tiny apartment for a place to set up my sewing project. I do have Mama's little folding table, BUT I have my jurassic pc on it. Oops! Um,let's see. How about my little drop-leaf kitchen table? That's possible, I guess, once I get rid of the plant, parafin bath, meds tote and last several days mail.

I hope you can hear me. I'm snickering now, remembering how I referred to Mama as a 'pack rat'. Ah, the apple never falls far from the tree, does it? Now, if I move the parafin bath to the bathroom, which really is probably a safer place for it anyway, I will have to rearrange the shelf where the towels are. Wouldn't want to put it anywhere but the low shelf. Don't fancy spilling hot wax down my front while reaching up high to dip my poor hands!

So, if I move the towels up one shelf, where can I put the stuff that's already up there? Lotions, perfume, hair stuff, bath powder. I guess I can condense it on one side of the shelf. If I keep moving things up, I'll have to stand on a box to get them down! Ouch! If I crowd that stuff too much, I seem to be prone to knocking one thing off on my head while reaching for another. No! Don't fall in there!! Yuck.

OK, so I put the prone to falling on my head (and elsewhere) items in a little basket. That way I can slide it out, get what I want out of it, and slide it back. Now, where do I put the washcloths and hand towels that were in it? If only my bathroom were bigger! I know! I'll move the toilet tissue from the shelf to under the sink. Wait, remember what happened last summer when the grands were running in and out filling water balloons? Had to throw away a whole package of tissue that somehow got wet under there. That's why I moved it up to the shelf.

There's only one rational plan. I'll hit the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores tomorrow and find a computer stand. Then I can use Mama's little sewing table for sewing! What a grand idea! Why didn't I think of that sooner? Now, about that mail...

I Have a Plan (Sort of)

I am making a sort of plan on how to reach the goal of making a 'Mama memory' quilt. I will be without regular RA meds for about 2 more weeks, BUT I am on good ol' prednisone. So I am not feeling too bad. I have been checking out some quilt designs and instructions, and checking out the materials from Mama's wardrobe that I want to use. And I'm getting some ideas.

But I need to check out the machine and see if it still works! Mama had macular degeneration the last several years of her life, and had not been able to see well enough to sew. It has not been used for a good while. And I need to do some practicing with it, to be sure I can actually use it. I haven't done any 'real' sewing since Mama was still using her Singer cabinet model, and that has been a very long time. So I think I will join in with the gals making the denim picnic quilt. My grands love picnics better than almost anything, and it will get a lot of use. If I get it done. If the machine works.

I have been thinking about the materials I am planning on using, and they are of varying textures and weights. Could this be a problem? Some are very sturdy and some are delicate. Some are older and some are newer. I think it is going to take special care to make it all come together. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! It occurred to me that if my hands are up to it, I might use some of the more delicate fabrics to make flower petals and applique them onto squares of sturdier fabric. Sewing the squares together should be easy, right?

If anybody has any thoughts, I'm listening!

I Have a Dream! Can I Make it Come True?

A few years ago when I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (a form of RA) I had already given up so many things I couldn't do any more because of my painful, swollen hands. The one I missed most was embroidery. I used to sit in the evenings, stitching away through the news, I carried projects with me to waiting rooms, and even to work for break times and lunch. The last project I did was Christmas ornaments. For a while I kept on trying, then switched to plastic canvas. Finally I just quit trying.

The only thing I can still do is type. And I get a great joy from expressing my feelings and thoughts in this way. Right now, I have been taken off all my major meds for a time, and am beginning to see a difference already in my typing ability! Much slower, more clumsy, more mistakes. BUT it's just for a while! And I have decided not to give in. I am coming back with a vengeance. As soon as I am back on my meds, I am going to start a project. Not embroider, I just can't push and pull the needle BUT I am going to learn how to quilt! I can machine stitch the pieces, can't I? And can't I knot it instead of quilting? I remember having lots of them with yarn knots when we were kids - Mama called them 'comforters'.

So, anybody with quilting experience (hint: yes, you) who is willing to give me beginners advice, I will be more than happy to hear and learn. I lost my sweet Mama about a year ago, and I would like to make a Mama quilt with some of her favorite clothes that all her kids and grands and greatgrands will remember seeing her wear. I must confess I don't (didn't) even own a sewing machine, but I now have Mama's little portable one. So bring on the advice for truly novice, beginning, baby-step quilters. I won't get my meds back for a few weeks, so I have time to pick the garments I want to use, and I can get my grands to help me cut pieces.

It will have to be somethng simple, but I kind of wanted somethng a little more than just squares of fabric. Are my goals too high? I'm starting to waver, here. Maybe I should just gather up my material and take it to an accomplished quilter? What do you think? Input! Input!

A Pretty Good Weekend

Well, nothing this weekend went the way I anticipated, which in some ways was good. Had all three grandchildren, and had planned several crafty ideas, with a little help from my friends! But the weather was beautiful, and we spend most of our time outside. They rode bikes and we loaded up and went to the neighborhood park Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon my daughter took all three on what was supposed to be a skating expedition, but they decided they didn't want to skate, so they went to McDonald's and then she took them to a bigger park with more play equipment, and trails to walk.

I had to be up early every morning and take the little lamb that stayed all night with me to my daughter's house so she could go to work. This got her good and awake, and she didn't want to lie back down and go to sleep and soon had everybody else up too early, which annoyed me until I figured out that the earlier they were up the earlier they would run down and be ready to go to bed.

Today before Sunday School we had doughnuts at the church coffee bar. After church we went out for dinner and had chinese. I like to take them there because everyone can find something they like and at least one vegetable they will eat. I thought I was going to have to empty my pockets to convince 'the beggar' that I didn't have any extra money to get her a light-up necklace they had for sale by the cash register.

All the way from church to the restaurant, 'the beggar' and 'the lawyer' pelted me with questions about where we were going to eat. I said, 'You'll see when we get there.' And I told them, 'I'm tired of you all arguing and disagreeing about what you want to do and where you want to go. From now on, I will take you where I think is best, and today we are going to eat somewhere that I like.' The 'lawyer' asked, 'Is it going to be this way from now on?' and I said YES. Strangely enough, they settled right down and didn't give me any more guff! How about that? And when we pulled into the parking lot, they all tumbled out of the car very cheerful and not one complaint. Do you think I am on to something?

After dinner we went home and then they decided they wanted to go back to the park, so we took a neighbor child along and back to the park we went. They played happily beside the creek, picking up tiny little shells of impossibly tiny snails and other little creatures, when they weren't swinging or climbing or chasing each other. I finally drug them home, dirty but happy, and took 'the beggar' back down to her mother's house. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend.

Power to the grammies!

I did it! I am empowered! Technology will not conquer me...I am Grammy-hear me roar!

You'll have to forgive me. I have spent nearly eight hours figuring out how to do something on my computer, and I did it. By myself. I didn't call anybody or email anybody, and I only cried two or three times. And I did it! Bring it on, cyber world. I am ready for you. Granddaughter is coming down this evening to set up her own blog, and I am so ready for her. Because there is nothing we can't figure out together. Yeehaw!

See, there a lot of really neat blogs I have stumbled on and want to follow, and couldn't figure out why some of them appeared right on my blog, and some of them showed up in my Google Reader. And I really wanted all of them on my blog. And I finally got it the way I want it. And I am so proud of myself!

Sorry for all the backslapping. Those of you who were born and bred on technology may not relate, but I bet there are a few who can. I grew up with wood stoves and a pump house and even, early on, an outhouse. (I remember my dad telling somebody we had four rooms and a path. Get it?) And I have had a deep-rooted suspicion of technology. My oldest son has tried to give me this computer for two years, ever since he got himself a new laptop. And now I am having a ball, finding things and learning things and doing things myself that I didn't think I could. And I think this is a good thing.

So now I feel a lot more able to help granddaughter set up a place where she can express herself. And it makes me feel good.

A New Approach?

Wow. I really hit the jackpot on the craft idea thing. Thanks to Crafty Crow, Fun in the Making, Mama King and others I have more ideas than I can mentally process. Fantastic!

I've changed my approach, though. Instead of making kits for the girls, I'm going to stock up on materials and be ready whenever they are at my house to bring out something for them to do. That way I won't miss out on the fun!

I've been trying to avoid the 'news'. We all know I tend to get a little rabid and foam at the mouth. But Quilting Ranny has an idea that really resonates with me. Basically, that we should be pulling together and helping each other out of this mess. Don't wait for the government or the banks or a lucky lottery ticket. Dig each other out, together. Check it out on her blog.

My idea was to give every adult citizen of this country $20,000 (a friend of mine said that was too low) and tell them to buy an American made car. That would take care of the auto industry. Then each family about to go into foreclosure would have their overdue payments made, and their mortgages paid three months in advance. This would make time for the MANDATORY re-financing of their houses at payments they could afford. A good idea, I thought, but it has one glaring flaw which Quilting Ranny helped me realize - it STILL DEPENDED ON THE GOVERNMENT TO BAIL US OUT. She's right. Forget them. They have demonstrated repeatedly that once you arrive in Washington, your brain slowly melts away, leaving a gap between the ears which is promptly filled with greed.

Wouldn't it be great to see each community banding together to help each other (and themselves) out of this mess?

Of course, I also think that each community should still have a community school, like we did when I was growing up. These consolidated institutions our grandchildren go to are just not teaching the kids like the 'old days' and I think it is too bad. Look at the statististics. The bigger the schools have grown, the lower the academic standards have fallen. I rest my case.

I Need to Take a Class!

Oh, I do so wish I knew what I am doing! I really need to take a class, you know, computers-for-dummies; cyberspace made easy; how to find things online. I have spent my free time the last few days trying to find craft ideas for my pre-teen granddaughters. I have seen some really neat stuff for my 5 year old grandson, which I am sure he will love. But my ten-going-on-eleven girlies are harder to suit. They are very artistic and love beads and various crafty ideas. The thing is, I used to have fantastic kits sent to them from Annie's Attic, in Texas. And I had to stop, for financial reasons. And they miss them.
So I thought it would be great if I could get some ideas online, round up the materials myself, and make kits for them. This is proving much harder than I expected. Probably because I don't know where to look. Which brings me back to my almost boundless ignorance of my old second-hand computer and how it works, and how to navigate the vast expanse of cyberspace.
I have found really neat stuff at and through the Crafty Crow for younger ones, like Bub. And I have stumbled on the Oriental Trading Post where you can order stuff, for a dozen kids. But I only have two girls to buy for! Well, enough whining for now. Back to the drawing board! Suck it up, Grammy - and take a class!

Birthday Blues

Yesterday was my birthday. I no longer relish big celebrations. I don't demand presents. Nobody has to take me out to eat. But it WOULD be nice to at least hear from my kids, don't you think? There are three of them. Only one wished me a happy birthday.

Well. No cards. Or ecards. Or phone calls. Nothing. I don't think it's a coincidence that the one who remembered is a girl. The two who forgot are not. There are exceptions, of course, but it does seem to be a guy thing. I wonder why. Is there something about testosterone that depletes memory? Does estrogen somehow enhance it?

Maybe this would be a good thing to use some of that stimulus money on - a research project on why guys forget birthdays and anniversaries more often than gals do. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find somebody willing to put it together. It's not a bit more far-out than some of the things already being done with our tax dollars. And don't tell me none of those tax dollars were mine. I worked way more than thirty years and paid into the tax tub just like everybody else.

Of course, the argument could be made that these poor fellows are simply suffering the logical result of being in my gene pool. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, my memory isn't the best in the world. And come to think of it, I may have forgotten one or two of their birthdays through the years. On second thought, maybe I'll just let it slide this time. It could have been worse. They could have made me a cake with too many candles!

There was something I wanted to tell you....

I can't help it. I just can't stay away from the 'news'. CNN, CNS, USA Today, you name it, I like to see what they're saying. Then I like to look at the comments and see what WE are saying (those of us that post on those things). And that's when I get in trouble.

It's all my own fault. Why, oh why, did I log on to every one of them with different passwords? And why can't I remember any of them? There I am all upset by some comment that I want to reply to, and can't remember my password! And by the time I go through the process of proving who I am and getting an email with my forgotten password, I have forgotten whether it was BBC or the Times or Newsweek I was reading.

Which is really just as well, now that I think about it. Because I have a secret suspicion that not all those remarks are really made by average readers. Some of them seem to have been written in order to give the impression that anyone holding that particular opinion is illiterate, and probably high on something. This would of course be done by persons of the opposite opinion. Oh what a sly, sneaky mind I have! But the more I think about it, the more convcinced I am that I am right!

What better way to discredit the opposition party's ideas than to make its supporters seem to be uneducated idiots? Good thing I couldn't remember my password. After all, I wouldn't want to look dumb, too.

Now let's see, what was I going to do?? I forget!

DejaVu - not!

I don't remember it being this hard! I really don't. How did this happen? When my kids were growing up I don't remember them fighting like these grandchildren of mine. They can't agree on anything at all. When they are all three here, it is bedlam. Either they all want something different (as in a movie to watch or something to eat) or they all want exactly the same thing (as in a place to sit). Why?

They are the sweetest little things(when they want to be) that ever lived, but they don't listen to anything I say any more than they stop and listen to the wind blowing through the trees. I have to either get very loud and angry-sounding to get their attention or touch them physically to make them notice that I am here and talking to them. They're not hard of hearing, though. They can hear the slightest whisper if I don't want them to know something.

One of them seems to think she can change my mind if she plants herself in front of me and whines 'Please, please..' over and over. Another seems destined for law school, as she raises one argument after another to prove that I am wrong and she is right and she should have whatever it is that she wants. The youngest seems oblivious to whether I have an opinion about what he wants or not, he just goes about his business of climbing or clawing or whatever he thinks will bring him to his goal. He is also not above 'fibbing' and saying Mama said he could have it when I know good and well she didn't.

Oh dear, I have made them sound worse than Dennis the Menace and Garfield all rolled into one. And they are actually very smart, adorable children. I am very proud of them, except when they are at my house together. Maybe that is it. Perhaps I should only have them over one at a time? That won't work, because I baby sit two of them on a daily basis. I guess Grammy needs to learn how to get their attention and let them know that no means no. Without acting like the wicked witch of the east.

Father God, give me wisdom in dealing with these precious children, and patience. They are a gift from You. Don't let me blow it.

Have a Cup of Tea

Well, I did it again. I'm not sure why I keep being compelled to look at the 'news'. Maybe it's just an old habit. Probably. It certainly isn't good for my blood pressure. This time I went online and took a sampling of the news services out there. It's a little intimidating, really, for an old grammy like me to try to sort out all those conflicting opinions. One group hailing the 'heroic actions' being taken, the next decrying the 'fatal errors' being made.

According to who you follow, we are either on the verge of utopia or heading straight to you-know-where in a handbasket.

I have been advised to read various books by an assortment of public figures, politicians, to see what they REALLY think on certain issues. I guess people think I have time on my hands. Really. I'd like to remind my civic minded friends that actually I'm a very busy person. I'm a grammy. I have noses to wipe and bumps to soothe; stories to tell and grandchildren to drive to various activities. I have Bible study to prepare for and attend. I have signing class (the high point of my week!), errands to run for various other family members who need my help. Sometimes I feel like I'm running a three-ring circus!

So I've come up with an alternative to reading all those books. I think I can tell from the covers what they are going to say, and it seems to me they cancel each other out. Like the one that is going to tell me that global warming is going to wipe us out in 50 years versus the one that says that the planet is actually cooling off, and we will soon be entering another ice age (soon being relatively speaking, a few thousand years).

Personally, I think they are both wrong. God has His own plans for this planet, and will serenely carry them out no matter whether the 'experts' in various fields agree or believe or not. I believe that in God's own time, right will prevail, wrong will fail. I've read the end of the story, and God wins. So I think I'll just make a cup of tea and leave it up to Him.

Mud-Slinging by an Expert

I have had a first-hand encounter with a professional mud-slinger that has caused me to lose all interest in the Washington variety! I'm telling you, they can't hold a candle to a five year old boy.

I don't know what it is about boys and dirt. I raised two of them, and now am experiencing the joys of a grandson. They all loved dirt. But this one has the last generation beat in the mud department. He attracts it like a magnet attracts steel. It's almost uncanny!

He and his sister walk the same route to my door. She arrives clean and neat. He arrives discheveled and dirty. Her shoes are dry, maybe even shiny. His shoes are caked with mud (and untied). More than this, he may even have leaves and sticks in his hair! Why? (Could it be he tried to make leaf angels?)

But the really amazing part is what happens after he gets here. I have a mat just inside the door to stand on while taking off wet or muddy shoes. I have a plastic pan to put them in. Why, then, do I find him on the sofa in his stocking feet, muddy shoes in the pan - but muddy footprints all the way to the bathroom and back (including two on the carpet)? (I couldn't wait, Grammy!)

Ok, but how did the mud get on the kitchen sink? On the faucet handle? On the kitchen table and the back of one chair? On the dish cabinet handle? The refrigerator door?

Simple. Removing his shoes, he got muddy hands. He decided he needed a drink, got a cup. Then he decided water wasn't satisfying his thirst. So he went to the fridge and found kool-aid. Came back to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. I am counting my blessings. At least he didn't take the kool-aid to the sofa.

With such a delightful little mud-slinger around, I just don't have much time for the political variety. Bless him.

Say WHAT??

What is wrong with this picture? Banks being given millions - billions - of tax dollars to do what?? Redecorate offices? Send ceo's to VEGAS? Go on tropical retreats?

Once again I have to repeat my question: how is this helping the laid off workers and people who are being kicked out of their homes??????????? What am I missing? I realize that I am just an uneducated Indiana Grammy, but somehow it escapes me just how this is supposed to stabilize the economy!

At least the idea of giving every adult citizen $20,000 to buy a car would help the autoworkers. I suppose bankers going to Vegas helps casino workers...do they get a bonus on their minimum wage jobs when the customers are bankers spending tax dollars? But why aren't the bankers lending the money to the folks who are losing their homes?????????????

Something is fishy here. Why can't Washington ever keep a simple idea simple? I can't see where a single laid off worker or homeowner going into foreclosure has been helped by all this corporate greed. GREED. That is what Washington is all about, from the top to the bottom.

Throw the bums out!!

In My Mirror

Lord, who do you see
When you look at me?
I keep on hiding from myself;
And every day I find
In the shadows of my mind
Another mask to take down from my shelf.

So I try again to be
What I think others see -
I seem to have forgotten who I am;
And I've never even guessed
All the ways I could be blessed
If I just bore more resemblance to the Lamb.

Then let me gaze into your word
Until all my soul is stirred
By a longing, Lord, to be like you!
When your spirit has control
Of my body, mind and soul.....
Then my life will bear your image, too.

Same song, different verse?

That's it. I'm swearing off watching or reading any more 'news'. Everybody has an opinion (or at least somebody's opinion) and they all seem convinced they are right. It's giving me a headache.

What I want to know is, what happened to the help for people losing their homes and the auto workers and others losing their jobs? I thought 'they' (politicians) were going to set up banks to buy up the bad mortgages and negotiate better terms so the homeowners could keep their homes. I thought there was supposed to be some kind of help for laid off autoworkers and others losing their jobs.

Why is all this money going to the banks? And why are they not loaning it to the poor homeowners and autoworkers? One television newscaster said it was absolutely necessary to give this money to the banks to 'stabilize the economy.' On another channel is a gentleman saying that this is not even technically a 'stimulus' because it isn't going where the pain is and, according to him, most of the action isn't even going to happen til next year, which is not very helpful right now. So who's right?

If you ask me, which obviously no one has or ever will, they are going about this all wrong. What 'they' should do is give every adult citizen in the country $2o,ooo and tell them to go buy a new car. For every home going into foreclosure, 'they' should pay the payments in arrears, and 3 months in advance. To give those new banks time to write them up new mortgages with payments the homeowners can afford.

There. What's so hard about that? If an ignorant old grammy from Indiana can figure it out, what's with all the blah blah blah coming out of Washington?? (I sure don't see any change up there, do you? Same song, another verse.)

Thank goodness for the good new days!

One of the blogs I am following is Michael Bills ( Chase Images ). His photos are incredibly beautiful! (Of course, living in the Adirondacks gives him some advantage over a flatlander in secnery to shoot.) A couple of times I've remarked that I'd like to have one of his pics as a jigsaw puzzle. And that got me to thinking, and remembering.....

I've always loved puzzles. There's nothing more satisfying than putting that last piece into place. I used to cover them with puzzle saver and hang them on the wall for art! Of course, there are frustrations, too. Like the piece that almost fits! Or the puzzle that is almost completed when a friend comes to visit bringing toddlers who swoop all the pieces off the table. Or the puzzle that turns out in the end to have one or more pieces missing.

One of the most frustrating experiences I ever had with puzzles concerned my granddaughters. Beautiful little girls, born just a week apart. So it was a lot like having twins around, except they had different mothers. Anyway, it was an awful blow to discover as soon as they were walking that one of them was addicted to puzzles. Only, she didn't try to work them. She tried to eat them. Really. It was nothing to find her with both cheeks bulging like a hamster, drool running down her chin, and an open puzzle box on her lap. I couldn't tell you how many puzzles that child partially consumed. I finally gave up on puzzles for a number of years.

Now I can work them on pc. Too cool. No lost pieces, if a piece is a true fit, it just clicks into place when you get it close. National Geographic has a beautiful site, for instance. But if Michael of Chase Images ever opened a puzzle site, he would blow NG away. Leave 'em in the dust. Wouldn't that be nice! Hey Michael, how 'bout it??

A Good Day

Day off!! Had a long hot shower! Got a long letter from an old friend. Took a nap. Worked on Bible study lesson. Did a load of laundry for my brother. Sent emails to some friends. Got one from my favorite (only) sister-in-law.
Took nap.

Checked out some interesting blogs. Fixed that deerburger out of the freezer. Washed dishes. Had coffee with my daughter. Took nap.

Watched kids while their mom ran some errands. Helped granddaughter with computer. Watched cartoons with grandson. Fell asleep watching news. Going to bed.

Good day!

Death by Scissors

Another snow day! What is the school thinking? And how am I going to keep an eye on my little granddarlings when I can't keep either eye open? Ok, ok, I'll make them blueberry muffins for breakfast and bribe them to let grammy take a little nap.

Bad plan. Very bad plan. I should have realized the 'good little fellow' couldn't be good all the time. I tried to make him take a nap with me. I fell asleep. He didn't. Sis was playing a computer game. He was bored.

I didn't see the carnage until after they had gone home. The victim was my shower curtain. Weapon - scissors. Wounds were fatal. I texted my daughter and told her his punishment was to come live with me as I got stinkier and stinkier because I couldn't shower. Then I went to the Dollar General and got a new shower curtain. Wonder why it's so much easier to take the old one down than to put the new one up? When did my arms get so heavy? (Maybe it's those 'angel wings' weighing me down?)

Bad grammy. Good grammies don't sleep while watching grandchildren. Lord please help me do better tomorrow. I can't worry any more about it tonight. I have to go to sleep!

Let it snow!

Snow, snow, snow! I'm ready for tulips and daffodils and the smell of the earth waking up. But the children love it, the snow days and the sledding and snowmen (and snowgirl!) They even love the shoveling. I used to love it, before something crept into my joints and the marrow of my bones and set up shop. Something that takes the cold and uses it to make my fingers ache clear up to my elbows. Sometimes I look at my hands and wonder where they came from, and where my real ones went. They used to be clever hands, strong hands. Used to be able to do all kinds of things.

Well, enough of the pity party. I can still type! And bake cookies, and wipe noses and all the important stuff! I even shoveled a little snow myself, today. Had to get to the van and drive down and pick up Bubby from school. He was so excited to have Grammy pick him up. We went to the local market to pick up a few things I needed. The prices are higher than in the city, but I didn't want to drive in all that snow. So we came home and had hot chocolate and watched a movie til Mama got home. He is such a stinker, that little man. Tried to get me to buy him a water gun in the store! In this weather, he wanted a water gun! I guess he wanted to shoot icicles!

Thank God both my sons are home safe, off the road. And my daughter home with her children. And my other granddaughter home with her mom. All is well for tonight. All are safe and warm and fed. And I am blessed.

Sick and exhausted

Well, here we go again. It's not that I wish I didn't have to go down to my daughter's in the wee hours of the morning and take care of the kids. It's just that I am sick and exhausted. I can hardly hold my eyes open, and I prayed my way through the day. Kept grandson home from Head Start because he's sick too. Then couldn't stay awake to watch him. Falling asleep constantly. Good thing he's such a good little fellow.

My good days aren't all that good. My medical condition causes fatigue, my meds have side effects including fatigue, susceptibility to infections and exhaustion. But I keep pushing on because my daughter and those kids need me. She only makes minimum wage, and can't afford daycare. No support. No food stamps in this county. Can you believe 2 kids & minimum wage and she doesn't qualify for food stamps in this county? Thank God for the local food pantry, I go for her once a week. Thank God for the prayers of my friends and the love of my church. I don't mean to sound whiny. I'm actually very blessed. I'm just sick and exhausted.

A New Approach?

Well, times sure have changed. And I guess I need to change with them. Like learning a little something about computers. A LITTLE. Anyway, my church is offering a new Sunday School class, and I am going to join. It's called 'making your children mind without losing yours' or something like that.
I really didn't have too much trouble making my children mind, the first time around. I just threatened to punish them. But my how things are changing. My sweet little five year old grandson was playing 'swords' with a stick and he hit his sister with it. So I took it and gave him a good firm swat on the butt with it, so he could see how it felt. He puckered up, but instead of crying said, 'You could go to jail for that.'
Well. I understand they are teaching the children not to let someone abuse them, to tell if someone hurts them. And I'm not proposing to beat my grandchildren. But he's only five. He doesn't know the difference between discipline and abuse. Between teaching and 'torturing'. It hurt, he didn't like it - Grammy should not do that to him!
So, Grammy is going to try to learn some new tricks in the world of child rearing. Because I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren, because I am involved in their care and raising, I need to keep on learning. Because the world is changing, and I guess I need to change along with it.

What I've learned so far...

Well, kids, you did it. You hauled Grammy into cyberspace, but you didn't prepare me very well! It's embarressing now to look back at some of the gaffes I've made in the last few weeks. Oh well, if they are really my friends, they will forgive me for forwarding all that stuff without checking it for accuracy first, right? Now at least I know how.

I see now why no one uses their real names when leaving comments on things they read. Really, the rudeness is inexcusable. My generation was taught to state an opinion without attacking those who disagree like a pit bull. Wish I'd known a little bit sooner that manners seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

I appreciate all your suggestions on things to read, but, truthfully I just didn't 'get' some of them. However, I am learning how to find the things that interest me, and it really is pretty neat! Just don't think that because you 'finally' got me online, you don't need to call anymore! Personal contact is still needed, even if it is just the sound of your voice!

Now what?

The party's over and the settling in begins; President Bush back in Texas and President Obama in the White House. To me as a Grammy, the best part of the inauguration was watching the girls during all the ceremonies. It must have seemed endless after a while. I loved the little squirms and wiggles, the skips and hops, the normal behavior of little girls. It is exciting to think of those little ones running the halls and exploring their new home.

Now we watch anxiously to see just what part of government our new president decides is not working and needs an overhaul. Social Security? Selfishly I think, 'Not that! I'm disabled and it is my only income!' Medicare? Not that! That's my only insurance!

Now I have a suggestion: overhaul the insurance industry! There oughta be a law against their godlike power over peoples' lives, their enormous profits, complicated rules, exclusions, etc.

What a day!

I can't help thinking that, impressed as we are by the significance of today in our history, we really don't know just how significant it is. And we probably won't. Our grandchildren will, maybe. And I can't help wishing I could tell our new President some of the things I have learned by living to be a grammy. Things like, I know it's on a much larger scale, but...you can't spend your way out of debt, and if you can't pay cash for it, don't buy it. And with all the complaining about the performance of our schools I hear, it seems to me that kids learned more in the small community schools than they are in the huge consolidated institutions our grandkids go to now. Oh well, I'm just a grammy. What do I know?