A Big Day

This has been a good day. My daughter, Leslie and I went to Pittsburg, Kansas, about 65 miles east of here to a Worship Workshop. It was very good. Jane Gardner from our church headquarters in Independence, Missouri, came down to do it. The Pittsburg congregation provided snacks and lunch for us. There were two breaks...one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We saw a lot of people we hadn't seen in awhile. This year our Mission Center, at least this end of it, did not have our family camp or kids camps because our campgrounds was struck by a tornado in May and they are in the process of rebuilding. That is usually our opportunity to catch up on all the news with everyone.

The picture at the right is Jane Gardner. The lower picture is our daughter and a friend of the family, Myra. Our daughter is the women on your right. They were getting a real laugh our of my slow digital camera. It takes quite awhile for it to decide to take a picture.

The Democratic Ticket

Well, the news is out! The ticket for the Democrats is Obama and Biden. That's probably a good choice because Biden has all the experience Obama doesn't have. He should strengthen the ticket.

I hope the Hillary supporters can support this ticket. Without them, the campaign will be much closer.

Our Daughter's New House

I went to Caney today to pick up my new contacts. On my way to Independence to attend a funeral, I stopped by our daughter's home to take some new photos of the progress. At least the contractor and his crew were out there this time. Sometimes they were able to work as far as the weather was concerned but they're off doing something else.

We have built four houses ourselves over the years and that has been the way of it every time but one time. That contractor stayed right on the job and got us in the house in record time. But, let's face it, most of them don't feel the need to stay with the job.

It will be interesting to see how this one works out.

Looking at it, I'll try to explain what you are seeing.

Number one is the south side of the house.That's the garage from the south.The next one straight on the east side at the great room.

Then that is the west side looking at where the front will be. The Next one is the north side where their bedroom will be. And last of all, is the front of the house slightly from one side.
At least I think I have it all straight. I'm sure my daughter or son-in-law will tell me if I got it wrong. The lower picture is the north side where their bedroom will be.

I know, I know, it's too early to tell much about it. I'll continue going out there every couple of weeks and taking pictures. You'll see, it will shape up. I try to tell her that it seems like it takes forever to build a house and it usually does take about six months. My experience with contractors is that they don't work every day they are able.

This is their first real house. They have lived in a double wide since the third year they were married and they've been married thirty
three years now. Her husband has just retired from teaching this
year. Now he is starting a fishing guide business and he is really a
fisherman. As a teacher, several years ago, John wanted to do something for all the "at risk" boys. He started a fishing club and got Shakespeare Fishing Rod Company to give them a deal on equipment. They put John's picture with his huge club on their web site. His was the largest club in school. Eventually he started a club for girls too and my daughter helped him with that. They would take those kids over to Roaring River for the weekend. It was a huge success.

I think he will miss it. I asked him one time if he ever got tired of it and he said "When I just begin to think I want to quit, a kid from several years ago writes me a letter and tells me how important it was to him." That's why I think he will miss it.

Nasty Campaign

Group to spend $2.8 million on anti-Obama ad

By JIM KUHNHENN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A conservative nonprofit group with a past link to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign wants to spend $2.8 million on an ad questioning Democrat Barack Obama's relationship to a founder of the 1960s radical group Weather Underground.

The ad, which is expected to begin airing Thursday in Michigan and Friday in Ohio, focuses on William Ayers, whose Weatherman organization took credit for a series of bombings, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago.

Organizers sought to air the ad on Fox News Channel, but a Fox spokesman said the network declined to run it.

Too sleazy even for Fox, I guess.

This is from the Daily Koz site.

Hillary as a Running Mate

Last night I dreamed that Obama chose Hillary as his running mate. I truly believe if he did such a thing they would run away with the election. There are so many millions of Hillary fans who are undecided whether to vote for Obama.

One poll I saw last night saw Obama ahead of McCain by three points (that's just the margin of error) but if Hillary were the candidate, it said she would be ahead by six points.

I cannot believe this election is so close. What on earth do people see in McCain? He is not intelligent, (graduated near the bottom of his West Point class and could not have even qualified for West Point without a heritage entry) has a plan to stay in Iraq just as we did in Korea until just recently, knows next to nothing about economics, and seems clueless about the plight of the ordinary citizen.

He left his disabled wife after she stuck with him through all the years of his imprisonment for a rich woman with whom he was having an affair. I see nothing admirable about that.

But the worst thing is his terrible temper. He has had several confrontations with other senators right on the floor and even offered to punch one. If someone hadn't broken that up, it would have been a scandal. I do not want someone with that little control to have his finger on the red button. And speaking of scandals, he was a part of the Keating Five years ago but escaped prosecution.

It probably won't happen but I sure wish my dream would come true. Hillary's fans would vote for that team in a nanosecond.

My Old Cookie Jar

About thirty years ago, I bought this cookie jar because we had a cat then and it reminded me of our cat. You may not be able to see the mouse on the back of the cat. It's really cute. -While I was at it, I bought the cat dish that matched it and then about ten years ago, my daughter, Leslie, found the salt and pepper shakers and gave them to me for Christmas. Bob dropped something on the cat dish several years ago and broke it and all I have left is the cookie jar and the salt and paper shakers.

But I love them. The rest of my kitchen is now decorated with chickens but I can't bear to part with this old cookie jar and salt and pepper set.

Doctor's Appointment

We went back to Bartlesville this morning at 8:30 for the doctor to see Bob's eye. It is doing well. After that we went to their large Wal Mart Super Center and bought some groceries. Then we drove over to Sedan and met our daughter for lunch.

Their house is coming along slowly. It keeps raining and interrupting progress.

After lunch we came home and I put away the groceries and Bob took a nap. I took the car up to have it put on the computer. For the second time this week, the "check engine" light came on. We checked the tightness of the gas cap because that happened last winter and it was only that I had not tightened down the gas cap tight enough. It went back off on Tuesday this time but came back on today. The computer said that was what it was again. The mechanic suggested I buy a new gas cap. he said this one might be an after market cap.

So, when we go back on the 5th, I will stop and buy a new gas cap.

Cataract Surgery

Wednesday is the day of Bob's last cataract surgery. We will get up at 5:30, dress and do our thing and then drive to Bartlesville for his 7:00 surgery appointment. After the surgery, we will go eat breakfast at Eggberts.

I was sleeping soundly and the cat , Missy, woke me up from a sound sleep to come watch her eat from her bowl. I thought she wanted out but she didn't. Then I could not get back to sleep. I tossed and turned for an hour thinking about the day ahead. Since the first week in July when Bob had his first surgery, he has complained about not being able to see clearly. His glasses no longer are the correct correction for him to see. He has been able to read with them however. After today, he will not be able to read either in all probability. It will be four weeks before he is healed enough to get new lenses for his glasses. I dread those four weeks. It's not just having to put three drops in the eye four times a day for four weeks...that's not the worst thing. The worst thing is his constant boredom. Now he will not be able to read either.

When he is home, he has very few interests. He only belongs to the church and one other organization. That organization is having a workshop next week and he should have been registered for it but didn't. Yesterday, I asked him about the workshop and he said he thought such things were just do-good activities. I was appalled. What is the point of trying to improve our society if all we are doing is do-good activities.

When I expressed this, he had second thoughts and went to register for the workshop.

Bob works part time for FEMA. When he is home for any time at all, he expects me to entertain him. I am extremely busy. Right now besides my regular church work, I am helping to plan a class reunion for October, taking my elderly friend, Juanita, to her doctor's appointments, attending a monthly board meeting for the clinic, scrap booking, keeping house, and cooking. The first weekend in October, I will also be attending a Peace Colloquy. Besides that, I am co-chairing a Restoration Studies Symposium planned for next April. All this keeps me busy.

Once a week we go over to Sedan, where our daughter works, and take her to lunch. There's grocery shopping, yard work and car maintenance. Then there's staying on top of this blog and reading the others.

I do not have time to be bored and do not understand the concept. If I were to be bored, I would not depend on another person to alleviate my boredom.

Thanks for letting me vent here.

John and Leslie's New Home

I finished breakfast early with my friend, Juanita, this morning so I went out to where my son-in-law, John, and daughter, Leslie, are building their new home to take some pictures of the progress. They have been gone four days to market in Denver and the builders have progressed some while they were gone.

They had hoped to get in by Christmas but I think it will be closer to February before they get to move in.

John has a store he is opening in September next to their present house. I will take a picture of it when I go out there next. But for right now, at least, these are pictures of the house which is going up.

You can just barely see the wall of the second floor going up on the back of the house. The finished house will be about 2100 square feet.

I will post additional pictures from to time.

This is the house they are building but they have reversed the plan.

The garage will be on the opposite side from this picture.
They made a few other changes but this is the way the house will look when finished...only reversed.

Brutally Honest Personality Test

I just took the Brutally Honest Personality Test and, Wow! Did I learn something about me!

Do Gooder- ESTJ

53% Extraversion, 27% Intuition, 60% Thinking, 80% Judging

I don't think that is a good thing.

My judging quotient is way too high. I will have to work on that

From the Daily Koz

From John McCain's speech today to the Veterans of Foreign Wars:

Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of retreat and failure for America over the path of success and victory. [...]

Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president.

More thinly veiled accusations of treason? It's time for the Obama campaign to stop "respecting" John McCain's service to this country more than 40 years ago and start pounding him for his repeated failures in judgement over the past seven years.

There was a lengthly article in yesterday's New York Times titled, "Response to 9/11 Offers Outline of McCain Doctrine."

Now, as Mr. McCain prepares to accept the Republican presidential nomination, his response to the attacks of Sept. 11 opens a window onto how he might approach the gravest responsibilities of a potential commander in chief.

What follows is 2,800+ words about John McCain advocating taking out Saddam Hussein on September 12, 2001, praising the performance of Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, his support for Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress, tying Iraq to 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, praise for Bill Kristol and David Brook's vision, and of course, WMD, WMD, WMD. In other words, the McCain Doctrine is to be rash, a poor judge of character, hyperbolic, and of course, wrong, wrong, wrong.

The article finishes with McCain saying:

I believe voters elect their leaders based on their experience and judgment — their ability to make hard calls, for instance, on matters of war and peace. It’s important to get them right.

The New York Times buried the lede.

House Cleaning Day

Monday is house cleaning day here. I cleaned everything this morning and Bob ran the vacuum for me. This something relatively new. He never helped with housework until about four years ago when he started doing the vacuuming. I am delighted. I scrub the kitchen and baths and scrub the sinks, stools, tub/shower and floors. I also do three loads of laundry and dry and fold it out and put it away. He does the vacuuming.

My day begins early. At about six. sometimes earlier, I get up and make up and dress, feed and water the dog, cat and flowers. I feed the dog his morning treat. My cinnamon toast. I haven't had a piece of cinnamon toast since Scott brought him here. I go out on the patio with my coffee and the toast and he immediately comes over and sits down (without even being told) and looks up expectantly at me. After that, I get the leash and he gets really excited. We then take a walk. This is my routine every Monday.

If we have anything going on in the week, I sometimes will spruce it up again but Monday is my regular day to clean.

This is the latest picture of Scott. I took it yesterday beside
his precious jeep. The elderly man sitting next to him here in the yard swing is Bob, my husband. The yard is a good place to sit when the patio gets hot. That swing is where I sit to read when Bob is on deployment. Bob will have his second cataract surgery Wednesday.

Sunday Muse

Well, our son left this morning for Missouri again. We had a good visit. He is so depressed that what he really needed was someone on which to unload. His dad and I listened to him quite a bit and we spent a lot of time with him. He is good company. His latest picture is here to the right.

After he left, we went on to church school and church. We had a bunch of visitors today and that was good for our morale and attendance too. Bob had an excellent sermon.

Later we went to lunch at a restaurant called Lanning's and had some of the worst food I've had in years. I had my doubts about going there. I had been there four times before and never had a decent meal but Bob wanted to give them another try so we did and that was a huge mistake.

Now I will work on my Sunday notes and get them in the mail.

Tomorrow I start putting drops in Bob's eyes again in preparation for his cataract surgery on Wednesday. He gets two drops in each eye four times a day until Wednesday.