OUT OF STEAM

I have been out of steam lately with my blogging. I have not been inspired, to say the least. Things here at the house are in limbo because I am in the process of getting a part of my patio enclosed into a garden room with lots of windows. Progress is slow and I am putting off a lot of things until I can start moving furniture out there which will be next year at earliest as I see it.

I've tried to get a few Xmas lights up outside and I put my tree on my patio instead of indoors. I intended to root around in my storage shed today and drag out my crates of Xmas stuff so that I can sort it out with the hope of getting rid of a few things. Wouldn't you know it is raining steadily today. So much for that project. Some days are like this. We all have them.

Tomorrow is my church day--Eucharist, Bible Study, Alanon and piano practice. Then it is the weekend again. Friday is girlfriend day--lunch and movie. So much for my week. Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent so I will get to play Advent music. I will enjoy the season because there is so much beautiful music around that theme.

Last Saturday I took my great nephew and my mom to see "Happy Feet," the animated penguin movie. It was adorable--a lot like "March of the Penguins" with a cute story line and aimed toward a more juvenile audience (that would be me).

We used to say, "Rain before seven, sun out by eleven." It is 10:57 and I see the sun is coming out. I may get into the storeroom yet. Have a good day, everyone.

SHAME ON THE MEDIA

Is anyone else out there tired of hearing about Tom and Katie and the wedding? And as if that were not enough we have to hear about OJ all over again. I hope that no one buys his book or watches the Fox interview with him--I think I heard it is 2 hours long--if it actually airs. Shame on Fox and shame on the publisher who paid him millions.

ANONYMOUS

Of all the things that I could be doing this morning here I sit at my blog. I was catching up on my blog reading this morning and I could'n help but continue to be amazed at how viscious most anonymous comments are. If a person disagrees so with a writer's point of view then why are they reading the blog to begin with? I regard it as something like the minister who preaches hell fire and brimstone to his parishoners and then lives an admittedly immoral life or like former Congressman Foley who was supposed to be working for the safety of the nations children but was writing suggestive emails to minor males. If you are so opposed to what we write then you anonymous naysayers and attackers should not read our blogs. Get your own blog and espouse your views. It is free and it doesn't take much time. Don't bother to announce your address to me because it would be hypocritical of me to read it.

LOTS OF PRACTICE

One thing that I hated when I was a child was practicing the piano. Sometimes I had to practice for 2 hours at a time. It wasn't particularly productive because I did a lot of fooling around but after a lot of years I finally became fairly proficient. Now I can sit and play for an hour and it seems like no time at all. Since I don't have a piano anymore I go to my church and practice on a lovely sounding grand piano.

Tonight our choir sang a short concert for a Polk County Peace Rally. The Peace organization is composed of Lakeland churches which work together for health care, drug prevention, education and other community interests. Since our regular choir accompanist could not be there tonight I was asked to accompany the choir. All of the things that were sung were especially hard--one was in 4 sharps and one had a section in 6 sharps. No pianist that I know ever likes to play in sharps and I still don't know why they seem harder to play than flats. Anyway, I practiced the music for hours. When it was over tonight my hands were tired and painful but it was a good challenge and a lot of fun. The choir did a beautiful job and the music was enjoyed by a full house. My practice paid off.

WE NEED A SONG

I wish we Democrats had a song comparable to "Happy Days Are Here Again" which the Republicans always sing when they win. I kept wanting to sing it today because I have hopes of happy days again politically. That may be too big a dream for reality but I know we can always hope. I did wear blue today just to make myself feel like I was celebrating but no one gets the point down here.

I VOTED

I'm wearing one of those cute little stickers today that they give you at the poll after you vote. Since I have lived here I have voted early and by absentee ballot so this was my first trip to my polling place. It was easy to find, no lines, and quick and painless. I was surprised that they used a paper ballot which was then inserted into a counting machine. I was glad to see that we had a paper trail.

I have had CNN on today listening to all of the election diatribe while I do my chores and mess around the place. It is kind of fun. Tonight a friend and I will hold a wake for those losing their power while we watch the election results. I'm hoping it is going to be a lot of fun and not too surprising.

I am wondering what the advertisers are going to have to do now that the campaigning will be over and there is no mud slinging to engage in. I am so sick of the same dreary commercials over and over. I guess they will move on to Holiday advertising, fast foods, sex enhancement drugs, and automobiles, all of which I can do without. I will be buying gift cards. I won't be eating much fast food, I'm sexy enough and I have a car that runs just fine. Some day I will write my personal thoughts on advertising.

So for today I'm happy enough, I'm good enough, and I'm enjoying the gently falling rain on my roof.

DRINK MORE COFFEE

On Saturday I posted a blog and then lost it due to problems encountered in publishing so I will try to reconstruct it tonight. I heard in the news last week that a research study has shown that there may be a link between coffee drinking and the prevention of alzheimers. Having been a long time drinker of hot tea with milk and sugar I have mostly enjoyed coffee as a social drink and especially if there was pie involved. Since there is a possibility that coffee may deter the onset of alzheimers I may have to start having a shot of it everyday.

The report that I heard did not say how much coffee would have to be consumed to have a preventive effect. As we know from many studies that have been done with rats and mice it oft times takes a huge amount of something to produce the desired result. Remember the old cancer study done with mice and sacharine? An effective amount of coffee could require a lot of pie. And there is the possibility that it may already be too late to be of any help to me.

DEATH BY HANGING

The first thing that I heard when I awakened this morning was that Sadam Hussein had been handed down his sentence for the killing of countless citizens of Iraq: Death by hanging. I hear he preferred a firing squad but won't be afforded that wish.

I don't care to argue or discuss whether a life for a life is a deterrent to crime or even justice in this case. I imagine when all is said and done that it is justifiable for him to pay with his life. The thing that still concerns me is the countless (some estimate 160,000) Iraqi lives lost in our all out effort to win the war in Iraq (believe me there are no winners in a war) and the 3,000 young men from the USA who have given their lives in a war supposedly over weapons of mass distruction (WMD's) which somehow turned into a war on terrorism. I think that we have struck terror in the hearts of every family here and abroad who have been touched by this war. Who will "hang" for all these lives lost? Any volunteers?

BULL SHOOTING

I thought that this was too good not to share with my readers. Thanks to my friend Betty Schnurr in Louisville, KY for sharing this with me.

"Want coffee???"

"An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter: "Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up." The Indiana downs the coffee in one gulp, turns & blasts the buffalo with the shotgun causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Want coffee."

The waiter says "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says, "Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day."

With that I shall disappear for the day. Bye, bye.