First day and already done!

After battling sicknesses in 3 other family members, I have finally succumbed to this hideous head and chest cold. It's the first day of this cold (for me) and I am already tired of being sick.
I may not be able to rest as Scout may need to make another trip in to the Doctors. This will be the 3rd trip in 3 days. Scout is right: the 21 mile drive from here to Redmond really IS the most boring stretch of road on the planet. (Next to Eastern Alberta and Saskatchewan).

Perhaps Job may still Be Me?

Well because of the commitment restrictions mentioned in the previous post, however, there seems to be an ongoing need for a flexible, office/jacqui-of-all-trades/Nanny McPhee sort of person that can be of help in an ever changing way.

Today, for example, my employer/friend's new baby was up all night, colicky. She needed sleep. So I got to be "Nanny McPhee" (as I am now known in this capacity) to the wee lad while my Employer Friend got an ever-so-brief nap in. That and I can do office and errand type stuff, it may be possible for me to create/morph into a new support position. When working for some one, one's base M.O. must be implanted deep within their brain before they ever fill out an application: how can I serve this person/business? What are my unique abilities, experiences insights that I can give to help grow/support in this situation? In my case just now, in all honesty i had to turn down the position my friend was offering me because it may not suit her needs in the long run. How ever, after observing her other needs and concerns, its possible that I can serve in another way. The original job offered was for more pay than I am proposing in this new, morphed and additional version. But a job is good to have, even if it pays less than another one. And it is MOST important to provide VALUE to the employer.

So there is where it is today.

I am Nanny McPhee, Baby Crooner/Rocker, Office Diva and Errand Girl Friday.
(Hopefully).

I am NOT job.

Ugh!
So I go to work.
Day one: great day. happy times.
Day two: Early AM dad is very sick, His A.M. Doc appt nearly makes me late to
work. Potential pneumonia or brinchitis, he needs nebuliser treatment 3 times a day for the next week. During the course of the work day, my friend / employer asks me if I am truly interested in the job? I am like "yeah!"
"Good!", says she to me, "because I need someone who can be here for some years and if I train some one I don't want them to quit in like 6 months and I have to train some one else."
Understandable, and yet...
sirens and red lights begin to go off inside my head:
-Can I predict the future?
-If my dad falls 2 months from now and breaks a hip I'm going to halt everything in order to take care of him. Its a no brainer. I can't bloody predict the future.

I say this to her.
She says well, think about it and let me know by Monday (this being last Friday).
I said, "Well if its a 100% commitment without waivering that you seek, then I can answer you right now: I can't give you that promise. I am the caregiver for my elderly dad. He must be my priority in such a case."

She was upset and so was I.

That night I stressed and tossed and turned and woke up with the WORST migraine I have had in 15 years.

Thoughts mulled over during the nights wrestle:
-I can't bloody predict the future, and while I understand the dire need, I am thinking perhaps that might have been an unfair question for her to require an answer to, however she just had a baby and post-partum freakyness can be partially attributed.
-After only 2 days of emplyment by this person I am already experiencing enough stress and turmoil to give me the worst headache I have had in 15 years. And a sleepless night to boot.
-Rather than have peace about the situation, I have surprisingly, a deep inner sense of trauma and turmoil.

I think I am going to find my friend some one who can fill her need but also be able to make the commitment she seeks - even though part of me says, "Girl, don't mention the promise to work for you for 4 years" clause. You will scare them away."

So instead. I will be "Nanny McPhee" to her baby for the month while she finds and trains a new person.

I updated my brother on my dads condition and all of the above. He thinks its a good idea to perhaps check out as to whether the state my pay for my hours as I take care of my dad... and possibly in the event that we don't meet the state criteria, my brother thinks it would be good idea to approach my dad to just pay me out right from the proceeds of one of his annuities. This would keep him home and not in an elder facility, which he disdains (even though he would enjoy the social life there, he has this stigma attached to it), and it would allow me to keep the simple job I have, and supplement what I am not
able to find for work outside the home because of his care needs.

Anyway, tomorrow will be my first day back to work with her, since we came to the uncomfortable realisation that I will not be able to be her "End All, Be All Go-To Girl Friday."

I am feeling MOST awkward and uncomfortable.

Krap-tacular.

Kitchy Jazz from the 60's

I FOUND a sampler of the music that Kristi got me to play in the Studebaker!
at nutsie-dot-com you can find samples of the "Ultra Lounge" CD series.
By visiting the site, it automatically starts the music.

Anyone who has ridden in "The Stude" so far, has agreed unanimously that :
"Gay Spirits"from the Ultra Lounge Space Capades CD is it's theme song!

Also, the song "Power House" , and "Holiday for the Strings" are particularly memorable. I would say, sample all these tunes because they are a hilarious romp through the 1960's and 70's horrible parental music we heard. This is a series worth collecting.
Other titles in the series include:

Ultra Lounge: Organs in Orbit. (Think Hammond and Wurlitzer.)
Ultra Lounge: Crime Scene
Ultra Lounge: Bachelor Pad Royale

To name only a few of the Ultra Lounge treasures, which can all be sampled here: nuTsie dot com

(PS- I am thinking that "Ultra Lounge: Tiki Sampler" is going to be my next purchase!)

The Eatin' O' the Green

So far today I have inadvertently managed to eat only green things:
celery & 3-cheese peperonccini dip, pickles. Time for something orange.

I am job

Start another new job today

Well, it appears that in my ever failing search for jobs, one has actually come seeking me.
A designer friend of mine from the old Multnomah Publishers days, now runs a Wildland fire fighting company and tree falling service. She needs additional hands in the office, and she said my name kept coming to mind.

It's a LOT of new stuff to learn, and eventually dealing with State/Fed Wildland Incident Response coordination and bidding/proposals etc. Fire season starts (in the office anyway) in April and cooks right along through the summer. So this will supplement my other 2 days at Heritage.

I swear these girls are going to be the death of me yet.

Someday...

Morning Edition:
Someday, I will live in a place where there is peace and harmony, and people do not extreme-prank each other, to the point where the cops get called. :o/

This week's "Stude" update:

Thanks Gardner, for snapping the pic in front of Sisters Coffee!
:o)

Mark F. installed the CD/MP3 player and so now I can play the CD's Kristi Miller got for me:
"Ultra Lounge: Space Capades", and "Ultra Lounge: Organs in Orbit". The first thing I put in was an old David Bowie CD and listened to "Rebel Rebel". I also did my next gas-up experiment in this thing: 60 miles = 3gal. It was all in-town driving, so I can't believe it...but I think I am getting around 20 miles per gallon in this crate? Of course, I do coast around in neutral a LOT. once this thing gets up to speed it manages to coast for a pretty fair distance at a good clip.

So on Friday, on a whim, I asked if I could go pick up Scout Miller from school, because she loves all things retro, and she hadn't had a ride in the "Stude" yet. So it was a total surprise for her on Friday. The sun was out, so we could roll down the windows. It was a good Friday. Kristi and I dropped Scout at her next class and then cruised the town. When I got back home at the end of the afternoon, I remembered that I had originally gone in to town to do some errands - which I had completely forgotten to do ANY of them at all!
Oh well. It was still fun.

And in stumbling through the site stats this morning I stumbled upon this old post from the
Uhaul trip from RI to OR. Hah! Kinda funny to look back on. Apparently people are still reading this post, cuz it popped up in this weeks stats.

I guess people need to commiserate about their own nightmare journeys.

Bad Fridge

By Mih
(This only makes sense if you have some French.)

Bad Fridge Update

By Scout

By Scout

Addendum By Kenz

Studebaker Update

BArring any oddities, I think the next steps with "The Stude" will be to locate the following items and then have them installed:

-Shag carpet/headliner deal
-CD Player
-Weather Strip Kit
-Gas Gauge Sending Unit.

Max said he is going to the swap meet in in Portland this weekend and that he would keep an eye out for the sending unit.

Jeremy at the body shop said he would help me buff it out really good this summer and clean up the chrome.

Mick at the gas station insisted that I let him fix the broken visor.

Through Kristi, I've gotten some amazing old 60's lounge jazz which will be perfect
to play loud with the windows rolled down this summer! I am hearing the theme from the Peter Seller's movie, "A Shot In The Dark" blaring down the main highway through town! Maybe during rodeo parade even!

Max found the horn! Its under the dash to the left of the steering column.
It is a deep rich, 'old' sounding horn!
It is perfect.
Now I can terrorize people with it.
I should collect the sound and save it as a wav file.

Where ever I drive in the Stude it seems to make people smile.
It really IS a goofy looking car!

It is funny how so many people have come out of the woodwork and are willing to help me do really neato things to this car? Some won't even accept payment?!

It is kinda a happy car.

:o)

Going AWOL and Amber Alerts

Funny, it seems there are a lot more people jumping the FaceBook ship lately.
I am hearing reports of people "not being there, where did they go?"
That particular post I referred to about how to completely delete your account - not just deactivate it has gotten the most hits in the last month of any post on the site.

Interesting...

1 steak CAN serve 3 people

1 steak = broil it. If you want, marinade it before hand. What ever.
3 servings of lettuce-esque/spinach sort of greenery is a must.
3 servings of pasta should be cooked and cooled. Use a fun shape in order to distract eaters.
You will need to add in some other veggies/ingredients to fake eaters out:
-tomatoes are good
-cucumbers
-bacon
-feta, goat cheesed or other similar artsy-fartsy cheese
-pea pods, groomed with their ends cut off. (Ow?!)
-If you had shrimp on hand, you could fake them out, telling them its a surf-n-turf salad!

Use italian dressing or other olive oil/garlic/vinagrette-ish concoction.

Some assembly required:
Lay out greens on plate
Toss meat(s) and veggie's and cheese(s) with dressing.
Pour over greens.
Toast up some old bread - I mean "crusty" bread, drizzle with olive oil or garlic butter, or onion butter, or heck - even just plain butter.

Call it dinner.

Tah-DAH!

Bad Fridge Update

This weeks installment of BAD FRIDGE includes some new ones as well as some more old ones I found today:

By Mih

by Blake

By Blake

I think this was the first one Blake ever did, using only one full set of letters.

Friday and Saturday

Yay we had more snow! It's awesome! We got another 8-10 inches and now it is going to be clear and cold! (As evidenced by this mornings temps). Highs in the 20's and low 30's! Oh sure, you can complain, but I love it! This is why we have no troubles with fleas on our pets in the summer! Love it! LOVE!

And since Stu and Scout work the majority of the day and into the evening today, the girls celebrated Stu's birthday last night, with home made pizza's and German Chocolate cake.
Nobody here actually likes German Chocolate cake...except Stu. So the cake will be his and his alone.

The girls are awake. How do I know? They are in the kitchen this morning while I make blueberry pancakes:

Kenz: Mom! She's choking me!
Scout: no I'm not. I'm hugging you.
Kenz: And throwing me to the floor!

Aahhhh, the gentle and delicate ways of girl children.

Addendum to the morning:
I have just made the MOST Gi-Freaking-Normous pancake. In retrospect, as I look at it, I have NO CLUE how I am going to flip it.

Cooking for Gleaners

Well it appears that we now have a "Gleaner-Like" entity here in Sisters Yay! Its about time.
It took me a couple of weeks though, the remember how to "Do" this gleaner thing.

Basically it is an organization that has members who collect up the ready-to-expire produce, dairy and baked goods, from local grocery stores who are willing to participate. Often, Gleaner-Style Organizations have a tax write off (501-C3?) status allowing the stores to write off the potential spoilage as a charitable contribution.

Generally, the recipients of Gleaners-Organizations can be homeless, or out of work families, or even just families trying to make ends meet.

Some organizations have you pay dues (on a sliding scale), volunteer to pick up food divide food for families in the group or be a host for people to come and pick up the food. Generally volunteers have less dues, and sometimes, no dues at all. Same for income levels of individuals or families. the homeless generally pay no dues.

I remember now...how to process such foods:

-Everything that can go into the freezer goes there immediately.
-Anything that needs t be eaten immediately, is eaten within 24 hours
-Any fruit or vegetables that can be, are baked, roasted, simmered into sauce and then frozen after the fact. Apples: apples sauce. Tomatoes - duh! etc.

Dairy products are always a gamble - use immediately, and nlu after checking for still-goodness. If goodness is even questionable - it goes to the rubbish bin/composter.

As a consumer, when I see businesses that donate their perishables to these organizations, it has teh affect of amking those same people - needy or not, want to turn around and spend what few hard earned dollars they have, back at the participating store.

It is a beautiful, reciprocal thing.

Comments now being moderated

When you now post a comment, it may not appear until I've had time to be notified and approve it. so be patient.
I am trying to open up more options for people who wish to, to comment, while reducing the risk of spam comments.
We'll see how this goes.

Aquaria: Controlling Pond Snails.

My aquarium cam set up. Gotta love Coca-Cola Products! (This could NEVER work with Pepsi!)
;o)

So I moved the 55 gallon aquarium this weekend. I think the only casualty was one of my assassin snails. He was looking a little bit feeble. I think he got beat up little bit by some rocks being scooped out.

How to control an infestation of Pond Snails:
This is my remaining assassin snail. They have become my favorite part of my aquarium. When I got this one, he was half the size. In my 55 gal aquarium, I try to keep at least 2-3 assassin snails going to keep the pond snail population at bay. Pond snails often come in to your system with new fish or live plants purchased at a pet store. Once you have them, you really can't rid yourself of them. Chemical treatments harm the fish and the only other way I know of is for you to break down the entire system - completely new filter, new rocks, new plants, new furniture and disinfect the glass tank. Frankly, buying some assassin snails is a lot cheaper, less hassle, and kind of entertaining.

Assassin snails don't reproduce like pondies do, so you don't have to worry about THEM growing unconctrollably. They are able to overtake a pondie, flip it over with that big foot and suck the pondie right out of it's shell! Assassins don't need to molt their shells and get a new one, instead they grow larger patches on their shells, which is kinda cool to watch in process.

Drawbacks: Empty pondie shells seem to contribute to a need for more frequent, thorough cleanings of your aquarium because of the decomposition/ammonia releases. I was cleaning my filter and doing a 10-25 % water change every 2 weeks. Since the pondies have come (and are now being killed) I think I need to bump up the gravel vacuum and 10% water change to once a week. Still watching that one.
Also, if you DO have to break down your aquarium for any reason (like I just did in order to move the thing) it is easy to injure, kill (or lose) your assassin snails. So take extra care, maybe to gently remove them first and put them in a bowl of their own water.

Summary: I LOVE my assassin snails! In retrospect, i am kinda glad the stupid pond snail infestation occurred, because now I have a REALLY cool critter(s) to watch.

you gotta be careful...

You gotta be careful sometimes, when you are speaking the truth to some Christians.
You gotta be careful so as to not upset the box that they think their God wants everybody to be living in. If a circumstance can't be stitched neatly into their little box then, odds are they're gonna decide there's something wrong with YOU, because obviously God does everything the same with everybody, and He never does anything new.

Of course I say that all with much sarcasm.

Their God is too small.

My God knows everything I have done, am doing and will ever do.
My God knows every tho9ught I 've ever had, and ev3r will have.
Likewise every word I have spoken or will speak.
All of it, whether for good or for ill.

And He still loves and accepts me.
And He still loves and accepts you too.

But that doesn't mean I have to treat you like my bestest buddy-ol-pal, nor do I have to sit around and accept, or subject myself to abuse from you.

Yes we are to forgive.
But there is nothing ungodly about standing up to someone.
That is not engaging in dis-harmoy or dis-unity, or what ever you call it.
It's not.

Family Christmas Gift

So Stu's parents, my dad and Stu and I, for the family, got a player piano for Christmas.
It came with 140+ rolls! Half of these music rolls were produced between 1910 and 1040.
The roll I have selected for today is from the teens; "Jolly Robbers Overture".

Bad Fridge Update

This weeks installment of BAD FRIDGE includes some new ones as well as some old ones:

By Colin, Jason and Scout

By Mih

I think this was a Scout and Jason endeavor.

By Scout

By Mih and Blake

North Oregon Coast February 2011

The wind was CRAZY! We walked out along the inner side of South Jetty. There was no way, in this wind, that we were going to be able to climb up and walk along the top.

Scout loves the wind! It was even difficult for her to stay upright while standing on the observation deck:

Dunes north of the jetty.



Astoria's Flavel House:

Astoria's Flavel House.

Studio Lamps

So I got my new lamps in my office today, and they complete my workspace. I got them at a local antique store. Someone had glued a bunch of copper pennies (are there any other kind?) to the circular - uh, thingies on the posts, and it was not working with the stainless and brushed steel composition. So I painted the pennies black, and then affixed a stainless washer to the front of each one using a bubble of hot glue for each. The finishing touch is to cover up the clear blobbule of glue poking through each centre with a dab of clear opalescent nail polish. Fini! And the shades cast a dazzling gobo all over my already geometrical art. It s a feast for the eyes! It's a 120 watt headache. It's a lighting director's nightmare...

...but I LIKE it.

Deleting Facebook Completely - not just deactivate it.

It IS possible...although difficult to find the forms, links etc.

The following link is provided by VJK, on his own blog, who has shared the means by which you can entirely delete your account.

Not merely deactivate it but delete it entirely.

Once you submit the delete request, it takes them frikkin' 14 days to get around to it. And you need to make sure you NEVER login, even via mobile device, during those 14 days, or the process stops and does not start again unless you manually go back in and re-submit.

Anyway:

Read up on how to get it done at the following link:

• Delete Your Facebook Account Entirely

Many many thanks to VJK for sharing this information!

What to do and how to process

So Stu will be looking for a new job. He should be looking now, on his days off...but I don't think he is. I don't think he will look in earnest until after his last day on the old job. That is the way he seems to do things.

I started looking for a job and the minute I did, there arose an illness in the family, requiring me to stick around home. The ongoing nature of this illness is not yet known but it could be chronic.

So I am left going, "Ok God. what is up here?"

Being that I am hard headed, I think I will continue to pursue looking for a FT job and let God slam the doors in my face if need be.

At least that is what I am thinking today.

Glass float .


Great road trip! We had a fabulous storm, with intense high winds! We went up to the South Jetty and climbed around. The sand was blowing in sheets and the waves were high, crashing up over the Jetty and sending spray over the top of us. It was awesome!

Genius idea:(not) How about we put glass floats in the aquarium? Wouldn't they look lovely resting there among the plants?
Duh!
They FLOAT?
They won't rest on the bottom and look lovely.
*Slaps own forehead!*

Road Trip!

We are off to the beach for the weekend.
Apparently it is supposed to rain, but that's ok.
It's kinda fun to go down there and walk the beach when its stormy, and see what weird things can maybe wash up on the shore. And then go back to the cabin and have something hot to eat or go down to Mo's for chowder and homemade garlic bread.

Maybe we'll drive up into Washington, past Ilwaco and see what is up in that area.

Maybe we'll go south to Lincoln city or Tillamook.

Done with Facebook

Earlier this year, I attempted a "Facebook Fast": to go for 1 month without checking my facebook.

I failed after 24 hours.

In order for me to really be free of it, I had to delete it.

How funny it is that in such a short time Facebook has revolutionized the way we communicate.

Remember "Email"?

Remember blogging?

In considering deleting my account I came to the conclusion that SO much information crosses peoples walls every day, so many new notifications every ten minutes, that very few people would know that I was even gone from there. In the end, it didn't really matter.

Information will still flow,
Notifications will still show up by the truckload and life will go on.
Eventually some one may notice, but that is the nature of that funny facebook beast.

Blockage?

Funny,
The minute I need to find a new job, one of my kids contracts a debilitating
condition which makes it necessary that I be flexible in order to meet the emergency
needs of this kid.

And today I start training for a new job.

Which is more important:
Job or kid.

I think the answer - at least for today - is obvious:
Kid wins my heart every time.

Looking for a big girl job

Yes that's right, as glorious as its been to pursue my art and photo life, there is a mortgage to pay and somebody is going to have to ensure that it is paid in a timely fashion.

And that girl is me - God willing - I'm a melancholy after all, and when push comes to shove," we get the job done"...or maybe its "we are the ones who will actually go through with it?"

What ever. A question of semantics?

Per. Haps.

Today's Fun Find: Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend Performs on the Ellen Show.

Vampire Weekend, Official Video, XL Records, "Holiday".

Vampire Weekend, Official Video, XL Records, "A Punk".

And a live recording of Vampire Weekend performing "One (Blake's Got a New Face)".

Earning Lifestyle: Less IS more.

We seek to earn "The Big Bucks".
So that we can afford to own a house?
So that we can afford to drive a nice car?
So that we can afford this?
So that we can afford that?

Temporary, illustrative digression:

Many of us have experienced times when we were stripped of possessions, whether it be from some natural disaster, or otherwise. We find ourselves, usually temporarily, in a place where we have next to nothing.

If you you have not experienced such a thing yet, don't worry...your day will come.
There's no use trying to avoid it. There is a God. He is bigger than you. And He may need to get your attention from time to time. This is only one of His many tools.

So anyway...
Those people who have found themselves stripped of all they knew and counted as much necessary often find that there is a strange freedom in it. Less work spent caring for possessions means more time for fun, introspection, and the best part, less stress.
Fewer dishes to do.
Less laundry to wash.
No lawn to mow.
No flower bed to weed.

End digression, and return to main subject:

So why do we strive and strive to earn more and more money and buy bigger and bigger houses and more toys and crap?
We don't even have time to enjoy the toys because we are so busy taking care of all of the status quo items that our culture tells us we must show to prove that we are successful, normal, valuable, worth knowing.

What if we came at it backwards?
(Which might really be forward?)

What if we looked at our temperament, how we deal with different kinds of stresses. How we deal with people.
What if we let THESE factors govern our decisions about how many hours we work an d where?

In light of the pay scale resulting from such a choice:

What if we altered our living situation to reflect the resulting income?
Rather than own the traditional home, what if we rent? There would be relatively no maintenance. It would be so much easier to pack up and move if need or mood called for it.
How many pairs of shoes do I really need?
Do I need a food processor? What about a good old fashioned sharp knife?
Do I need 5 pairs of shoes?
How many outfits do I REALLY need?

There are so many things that we don't NEED, but simply want.
And yet, we blame stress for our health problems.

Isn't it more likely that this stress is simply caused by our own unbridled avarice?

We are our own problem.

Home Made Macaroni and Cheese

Click image to enlarge to readable size.

Check out the carbs and the serving size!
I am STILL eating some tonight!

Customer Sound Byte

I swear I am NOT making this up!
So a customer passes by the front counter and says to me as he's leaving:

"I like your port hole."

I think I gave him an eyebrow, and then a smirk.
Then he turned red and began to laugh.

Needed: more moody decor space

Aside from my typical colour-melange design style, I have another set of furnishings that are
of a darker, more Gothic-Steampunk nature. Unfortunately, I only have one office space. So alot of it goes into the Library at home or just into the storage unit. I am wishing that I had a little more space to excersize that part of my decor. Maybe someday - of course, not that I would want any of my office neighbors to move...but if they did, I could take another day of work to pay for it and then have dual work spaces.

Oh to dream...

Steam Punk Garment Imaginings

At first, when I saw the smaller image of this I *thought* that there were actual 'wings' sewn in to the garment, beneath teh sleeve and attached together at perhaps the back seam or underarm seam. I see now that I was incorrect, but it begged the question:"wouldn't such a garment be interesting?"

Data Land

AM:94

Teen Girl Devilry

I don't know what it is.
I bought the ingredients for your sister to bake a pie - which she ended up not doing, which is ok -and when you said you were bored, I offered you the option to bake the pie instead, if you wanted to. And you did so, gleefully.It turned out great. Every one wanted some, we even saved aside an extra piece for your boyfriend. But once again, when I got home from work, the majority of the evening all you did was pick me apart over every comment that came out of my mouth. And when I carved off a sliver of a piece of the pie that had dribbled and was merely the dreggs of a piece of pie, you got all in a snit about me having more of YOUR pie, (which I had bought all the ingredients for in the first place). Finally I had enough of being picked apart, over my clothes and my music and just went to bed.

Mr. Money Bags?

It never ceases to amaze me at how many times, when couples come in to the store to shop, its the man that carries all the money and how often the woman has to actually "ask" if he will buy it for her.

It's kind of annoying.
Yes it IS mostly older couples, like older that 70's, but I am also amazed at how many younger
women do not seem to have control of their own money, and have to either ask the man, or "persuade" the man to let her make her purchase.

I say if you make your own money, then it's your money and not your man's.

And if you worked in the home raising the kids, you STILL shouldn't have to persuade or justify, he should recognize the value of what you've done and pony-up straight away.

Why does it jar me to the core?

Funny but when I show up to work and there are already people there, chomping at the bit to get in before our posted hours of operation it tends to REALLY grate on me. I have to make a conscious effort to move past it. But seriously...left unchecked, it can set the tone for my entire day. Crazy.

Well I am feeling frustrated

As my girls get older they seem to pick me apart a lot more.
I know this is part of their teen girl nature.
Knowing that fact doesn't seem to lessen the hurt though.
I thought it would, but it doesn't.
I find that when they argue, shoot down or pick apart any comment or thing I say or do,
I pretty much just want to go some where else, whether that is in a different room, outside,
or to my studio.

Celts cavort in the fire lit winter night

So I was awakened in the middle of the night,by the image of flames, dancing onto the wall from outside my window.
I threw the curtain open the rest of the way and what did I see?
The boys (BlanDrewNolanEmery)burning the old futon in the fire pit.
I watched them cavort around the fire, pouring gas onto it, and I secretly wondered if any of them were wearing nylon fabrics?
And then to my shock and horror, I watched one of them actually JUMP into the firepit, onto the burning mattress and off again, sending a tower of flames skyward.
It was at this point I realised that I would not be going to bed any time soon this evening.
Eventually around 2am-ish, they began to settle, and actually sit around the fire.
I thought to myself: "Well, there are enough of them now, so if one falls in the fire, the others can drag him free, roll him in the snow while the other one calls 911. There is precious little difference I can make now, by staying awake, other than yelling at them, "hey you boys quit swinging that gas can around over the fire!"
They're just going to say "ok ma."
And then laugh, and keep doing it
.
I was a little bit alarmed to wake in the morning and see the fire still burning, albeit low. Apparently it has been smoldering all day.
It WAS and old, waterlogged futon, after all.


Addendum: it is still burning.

What are you going to do when you get old...?

So my daughter asked me today: "Mom, what are yougoign to do when you get old?"
"Die," says I. "I think thats what most people do when they get old."
"No!" she says. before you die. While you are being old?"
"well", I replied, "that will depend somehwat upon what daddy wants to do, but, at some point,
I could see myself downsizing and living in an apartment. If I can afford it eventually, I will choose a nice assisted living facility, with nursing home options."
She says, "Oh no! Yo can't go into a nursing home, because then we couldnt have Christmas or holidays with you!"

"Well of course you could, you would jus tcome and pick me up at thye nursing home and
bring me to your place."

"Oh no!" she says."That would just be too weird! We are supposed to come to your house for Christmas and stuff!"


(*sigh*)
I can see that my work here on earth, is not yet done - at least from a teaching persepctive.
And is this even a thing you can teach?

To be honest, when I become demented and old, I really do NOT want to go and live wiht my kids - much as I love then - - and much because of how MUCH I love them...I would prefer to crawl out into the woods, into the snow and die like a cat who goes off at "dying time."
What is life that we should cling so hard to it when the elderly day of departure might arrive to take us home? No.
]I know my God. I know my Saviour and more importantly, He knows me.
He knows my vileness, and foibles(aka "sin") And He has provided his own remedy for
blotting out my imperfections. To leave this world - in HIS appropriate time - will be like a "Graduation" to bigger and better things.

Today...when I think of cancer (and these are hypothetical and transitory thoughts - which I retain the right to change at a moments notice with no warning - when I think of cancer, I think:
"will I choose to take a treatment? After all, this could be my only ticket at escaping livign too long." I don't want to miss it and be stuck here, dwindling in ill health. Maybe that is arrogant. Now that I see it in print, it is quite possibly a self centered and arrogant attitude. I will have to think more on this. After all, my life is not about me, or my wants, goals or desires. that is one thing that struck me about observing Jesus. The way He lived was not about himself, but it was about other people. People can say what they want about me. I care less and less each day. Screw 'em, What I really want, is to live like Jesus, but to do so is a heart wrenching, gut breaking excersize in agony every day. And it makes me appreciate who He is, and what He came to do, even more.

You know its cold when...

...when the woodstove can't even heat the entire house without a little help from the electric heat. Which I normally do not use -its too expensive. If I were to use electricity to heat this house in a normal January/February, it would take about $400 a month. There is No way I am paying that. But I hear a warming trend is on the way. We may be up to 32 by Saturday. Awesome! Time to break out the sprinkler and flipflops! Time to set up the slip-n-slide!

:o)

Certificate errors and dark thots

Well this new net-book has managed to annoy me in one way:
I cannot figure out how to make it stop alerting on all these certificate errors! Every freakin site I go to (inlcuding my own?) gets me a certificate error-navigation blocked alert. I know I should know how to turn these off, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. Input please?

On a seperate note, sometimes, some posts will be purely for my own personal edification.
Sometimes, I just need to vent.
If I write, and then delete, well...it's not the same as writing and publishing.
And so, some posts will be contained here, in this format:

Where there's smoke, there's popcorn

I like popcorn.
It's lowfat, and its crunchy and filling.
I especially like Orville Redenbachers 94% fat free pop corn.

Odds are good that by now, you have already guessed a major part of the plot in today's blogpost, but I will go on anyway...as only I can do.
;o)

The way I pop popcorn is always the same:
Set the time for 5min, and stand there the entire time waiting for the popping noises to slow down to "1 pop" every 2 seconds. This is when its time to stop.
This is how I always do this.

Except for today I got distracted.

The phone rang.
A vendor needed to know what her blackfriday weekend sales had been, and she asked, "could I go run her numbers?" I went to the front of the store, and plugged in the info for her booth, told her the details and hung up. I began to putter around the front counter area, catching up on vendor notes andwhat not, until I smelled the smoke.

The smoke could be seen at the back of the store as a light greyish ground fog.Fortunately the microwave itself was not melted.
Not entirely.
I turned off the building heaters and threw open both the front and back doors.
I spent the day "febreezing" the back corner of the store, stockroom, and bathroom.
I am afraid that it is now the microwave itself that is perpetuating the ongoing stink in the stockroom. I may have to buy my boss a new microwave for Christmas.
I will continue to run the fans and febreeze the crap out of the room tomorrow as well, and then see how things are by tomorrow night.

Also, I am now banned from ever popping popcorn at work again.
This is a self-imposed ban.

Today and stuff

So I may be getting some studio space OF MY OWN!!! In a great quiet location
within walking distance of downtown!!! IT will be great because if the kids need
a space to walk to after school, they can. When I need some quiet time to get some work done, I can.

It will be a haven!

Now all I need to find is a small microwave for cheap. Maybe I can get one at the thrift store?

:o)

What goes around, comes around...

...and goes back around and around and comes home to roost again, no matter how many times it goes out and back and around.

What does it mean?
What does any of that mean?
What does it all mean?

Who cares.
I know I don't.

What really matters, at this moment, is that while I HATE all Google products with a dire and
fiery passion that has few other equals, I find that my need to blog is greater.

Facebook Notes is insufficient to my way of thinking, because anyone who has ever added you as a friend is forced to recieve these updates about your "Notes."
I don't want to do that to people and also, the only people I want reading my kind of posts, are the people who actually come seeking them. Which does not happen necessarily via Facebook.
I don't want to make ANYBODY a captive audience.
But I also need to blog.

So I am back with this vile Google Product aka Blogger.

Yes Google retains all material forever, as well as attempts to claim the rights to intellectual material. I will combat this by utilizing ye olde watermarks with regards to art, and my friend the Creative Commons License for all literary what evers.

Google Schmoogle can piss off for all I care.

Its a free country and in America it is apparently 'ok' to bite a feeding hand, so blog on!

Alliance Highschool Speaks About the Idea of Compromise.

History Quiz Question #10, based upon the quote of Author Shelby Foote as he appeared in the video series, "The Civil War" by Ken Burns.

Quote by author Shelby Foote,
regarding involvements in the Civil War:
"We (Americans) should have stuck to
what we were best at: compromise."


Essay Question #10:
When is it alright to compromise, and when is it not?



Answers:



"Slavery was an evil in America, that needed to be abolished, but I think there should have been compromise so that so many people could have lived. In situations with evils such as Hitler, we can't compromise, but we must fight to take away that evil! The bible really isn't clear on whether we should compromise or wage war, but I think the best thing to do is compromise so that lives aren't lost."

-Jessica, Freshman



"Compromising is fine until people stop standing by what their beliefs for the sake of peace.
If the Union had continued compromising on the issue of slavery, blacks would be toiling in every part of the United States. Certain things must be defended. Included among these are human lives, freedom from tyranny of the whip and the child's right to a loving parent or guardian. In these things, compromise is selfish, wrong and cruel. Yes, war should be avoided, but if millions of lives are lost or tortured in the name of peace, then compromise is wrong."

-Alexis, Sophomore



" We had possibilities for compromise, if the North gave a little more power to the South and the South gave up a bit of their slavery - we would still have slavery at that point though, so compromise was not the best answer. Sometimes we want to compromise to keep a war from starting, or to end a war, but its not always an ok thing. If your compromise corrupts your morals, then the compromise should not happen. You should never compromise to sin, and God has justified some wars, so I think you leave it up to Him to decide whether your fight is a sin. To compromise on God's commands though? NEVER!!! "

-Student 'K', Junior



"If they would have compromised on the fact of slavery, America would have been a much different place. I don't think they should have compromised. It would have just been tension ready to explode. If we did not get this Civil War out of our system when we did, it could have been ten-fold worse if it happened today or some other time. In general I think we should compromise on our views and NOT on our beliefs."

-Jared, Freshman



"You should not compromise with wrong. If you know you are living in truth and someone is living in wrongs, then you should not accept their lies with your truth. However, there is always the possibility that war would be the greatest wrong and too costly to engage in. Then compromise would have been the lesser of two evils. If ones morals are threatened, one should not compromise."

-Bailey, Sophomore



"There are a lot of situations where it is appropriate to compromise, such as when you can save lives, or prevent harm or potential hurt, it is better to compromise. However, it is not good to compromise when you have to let go of your core values to do so. Never compromise if it has to do with something you truly believe to be wrong, because you will just be failing yourself. If an agreement can be reached by reasonable means, then absolutely compromise. I think what he said about America Compromising is true on the level of domestic issues, but not with foreign countries."

-Cavan, Junior



"I think compromising is the best thing to do, but I think that the Civil War was a hard one to compromise. I say that because each side had so many strong feelings for what they believed in, making it tough to compromise. Slavery is a huge subject. I think it is possible that if they tried to come up with a compromise about it where both sides get something there would still be lots of anger between the two sides. So I don't think the war could have been compromised. Maybe prolonged, but not compromised. "

-Trevor, Freshman



"I think compromise is so...CONFUSING!!! I think compromise is the only way you can postpone the inevitable. It's so easy to think if you compromise, then everything will be alright, but eventually you will regret that compromise, demand your full rights, and the whole problem will start anew. Compromise postponed the Civil War, but it couldn't keep the Civil War from happening. I wish compromise could be a solution, but it isn't. It's like if you accidentally rip a piece of paper in half. It's important that you keep the paper, so you tape it. The tape is the compromise. It will hold just fine for a while, but when the tape stops sticking, you've got the same problem all over again.

-Scout, Freshman



"In my opinion I think we should try to compromise all the time. The reason behind that is because "violence is not a means for conflict resolution", and I agree. During the Civil War, I don't think there could have been a reasonable compromise, because both sides wanted what they wanted and they were not willing to change their ways or views. Yes, I do think compromising is good, but in this case, it couldn't have happened."

-Max, Freshman



"I think it depends upon the compromise. If it were a compromise in the Civil War, I think that it would be bad because the Civil War changed the world - even the world we live in today. If we had "compromised" we probably wouldn't have the knowledge and scientific advancements that we have today, including medical and technology."

-Sam, Junior

Hospital, car wreck, job cuts and stuff

Man I am so wiped, I can't even write this!
So I am just going to blabber.

It has been a fascinating 72 hours!

Friday Scouts Bladder infection became more than that.
We spend the day in the ER. They sent her home with hightened antibiotics and some Vicodin.
When we got home from the hospital, Stu dropped a bomb in that his hours at work were cut from FT to 35 hours per week. Not just his, but all of the FT staff where he works.
It is likely true that, despite the economy, his employers were actually attempting to save some jobs by cutting back rather than firing 2 or 3 people completely.
But there is one thing that I found MOST telling and that stuck oddly in my craw...
...the person who let him go, (and who he has worked under at a different company in the past) asked him a very odd question after telling him the news; his supervisor asked, "So, when I called you in here, what did you think it was going to be about?"

Ok.
THAT is such a really strange thing to say.
I mean what kind of a cat-n-mouse, control freak, self seeking kind of a question is that?

That is just too weird for me.


As far as Scouts healing, all seemed well by Saturday AM.
And then Satruday night, she missed a middle-of-the-night dose of her viciodin and I noticed that her pain level was waaaayyy beyond what it had been originally.
So we kept up the medications all through Sunday.

Blake and My Nissan:
So Saturday, Blake and Emery and Andrew are all coming home for the weekend.
Blake drops off the other boys at their houses and on his way home, he decides to take the scenic route, since it has been a while. A totally random thing.
It was on this road that a deer came shooting out of the brush seconds ahead of the Nissan.
It his the car and rolled up on the windshield and flew off into the ditch, leaving Blake shaken and my Nissan drivable but totalled.

Blake was remarkably unharmed!
He suffered a little from the deployment of the airbags (which stink to high heaven let me tell you) and he was a little bit shocky abotu 30-45 min after the fact, but is mercifully unharmed.

Scout on the other hand, steadily growing worse on Sunday and by Monday morning, had run out of vicodin with no relief in sight afterward. I dosed her the final pill and then loaded her back up to go to the ER.

It turns out she has a 6mm kidney stone!

She goes in tomorrow AM to see the kidney doc and get it taken care of.

So I get home on Monday night, and Stu has taken the boys all back to Portland which was hugely helpful, and I am not in the door 10 minutes an dmy dad is here banging on the back door saying he cooked some chili this afternoon and puttled out some hotdogs and wanted to eat dinner.

He is a fairly unhyegenic individual, and we typically do not eat foods that he brings unless theya re still seaked in the package or unless we have personally witnessed the hiygenic preparation beforehand. So my dad wants us to eat his food. I have to grill him about when he cooked it, and after he cooked it, where he stored it until the evening. He says "well, on the counter of course! I am not going to put a warm pan in the refrigerator!" I said, "dad, you can't leave food out for more than an hour after you've cooked it. If you don't eat it in that time period you have to put it in the fridge!" He said, "No! he woudln't do that." So it was at that point I messaged scout on Facebook and said, "you should probably not eat what gramps is bringing." I mean, like I don't have enough to worry, I have to worry aout hurting his manly ego pride feelings when he brings over ecoli tainted foods, from poor prep and the fact that he doesn't wash his hands and he sneezes and coughs into his hands and then lays the on the food!

I swear....there are DAYs, old man!....

Anyway, there it is.

For today.

But tomorrow is a whole new day.
:o)

Happy day

I managed to find work today! Yay!
Also, I managed to find a replacement disk for my missing Uru Complete Chronicles Disk 1.
Now..all I have to do is replace my Monkey Island Games which all got scratched up to bejeebers,
and then the rest of my winter weekends will shape up to be pretty danged good!
:o)

stuff and what not

So today I got a chanc eto work in the morning at Pony processing freight with Rick.
Since the store (Heritage) is closed weekdays until spring break, I find myself looking for other work again...that and Stu got shorted half his pay this month - which was such a lovely surprise. It was 1/3 short last month so you can imagine the glee with which I recieved this news. But is is ok because it inspires me to look avidly for new jobs that I haven't pursued before and causes me to cook in new ways. Really, this is a good thing. It is amazing what you can pass off as dinner to people who aren't paying too much attention, and to the ones who are, its all in the presentation. So far so good. :oD

So I worked at Pony this morning and may get anther chance to on Thurs or Friday. I may get a chance to volunteer teach History next week, up the the Alliance Highschool. our history teacher had a family injury and needs to take some time off so she compiled the lessons and since the curriculum for the segment relies largely on Ken Burns' Civil War, I think I will show that for the first part of class time and then move on to the other portions of the curriculum. I am kinda exctited by the chance to do this. I will just have to figure out how to juggle working with filling in this gap.

Blake, Andrew and Emery (friends since 5th grade) all moved in to an apt in Portland together and are attending school up there for this term. I miss them but I am glad they are within driving distance! :o) They have been busily furnishing their apt with thrift store finds and artwork. It is really coming together. I am so glad the boys are together. Once they get their internet hooked up Ihoep they will post some pics of the apt on FB.

That is all the boring poop for the day.
Figured I ought to at least write something.

Maybe more to come tomorrow.

O here, it's a clip from a show that I watched growing up in the 70's.

Suddenly the things I do and the ways I do them all make sense now, seeing what was being pumped into my young mind every saturday morning.

What is more important ...

What is more important :

Unity or Truth?

Why?

Climbing over the hump

I can get all of my studio rebuilt (which I have done).
I can get all of my canvases and paints and tools ready.
And then...there is the black hole...the void...the hump...the wall that I can't get past.
It sends me to do other chores, laundry, dishes, bills what ever, anything...to block me from actually sitting down and doing the act of painting. Of sitting down and actually applying the paint, stroke by stroke.

Miraculously, once I sit down and begin to apply paint, I begin to see the next step that the piece or painting must take. I could not see that step until I had begun the first step of the "journey". Until I engaged in the project. Then it unfolded to me. In the quietness of painting, my thoughts expand and contract and see in new ways, and there is peace and communion with Almighty God - this moment is where I am most myself, with as much of His presence as I can receive, comprehend or stand.

It occurs to me that this preparation, and subsequent block/wall to doing the actual sitting down and painting, is very similar to our relationship with God. We cannot see the whole picture, but when we settle ourselves down to do His way, or to seek Him, and NOT religion for it's own sake, that He reveals Himself and His plan step by step, in a way that each individual of us might receive, process and comprehend it.

I think painting is my meditation.
It is my devotional time, with the Creator of the Universe; the Creator of myself, as I am.
It is then that I realise, He is indeed fully pleased with me - even more - He not only loves me, He LIKES me.

And yet, there is this hump, wall or stumbling block that keeps me from sitting down and painting - engaging in that humble, naked moment before Him, in quietness, when I am only myself = which is not enough for the world, but is exactly enough for Him who has created me to be this way.

observation by Stu

So Stu said he noticed how dad never knocks on the door but just tried to wrestle it open and walk right in. He noticed that, if the door is locked, that my dad, instead of knocking, will stomp around on the porch and bang his cane down really hard on the porch to get our attention, but he refuses to knock.
Something about Stu's observation suddenly cracks me up, because it validated what I have been thinking: the old man is so dang controlling that he can't bring himself to even knock on the door, because to knock is too humbling an experience for him.

It makes me laff for a minute and feel like I am not the one who is crazy here.

Quote of the day

"Joe thinks that Obama is an overconfident imbecile for believing his diplomatic approach to the Middle East would ever yield success.

- Joe Mantecon. Artist and Marine.

Blake has a new song

ok so my son has gone off to PDx to college and he and David have given birth to a new song. I am sure BlanDrew video will follow during the upcoming year.
Anyway, the link to their new song is here.

Un-Opened Letter is my favorite for obvious reasons.

Kitchy Curio Shop

The store where I work is referred to in polite circles as a "Vendor Mall". It is a place where any one can rent a booth space and hawk their taudry wares as they see fit.

It is a wondrously kitchy, educational and inspiring place to work for 2 days each week.

Here is a sample of some of more interesting "taudry wares" being marketed there.
(You will need to click on the photo to see the proper enlarged version of the photo.)

Obama's Health Care Notion would not work for my family

He would REQUIRE children to be insured?

In reality, I think this should be mandated but only until about 5 or 6 years of age after which time, the only things that kids need hospitlization for is a broken bone, an appendectomy, tonsillectomy, eartubes etc. (-and this is a GENERAL STATEMENT that applies to the AVEREAGE family - not those battling childhood cancers and similar extreme deadly illnesses, etc)

Under the guise of presenting himself as noble by taking the "Children first" tack with regard to emotional wording, he managed to avoid providing for the most expensive and at risk group : The Middle Aged American.
We are now the people who are the ones without health care.

We will take care of our kids first.
I will take my kids to the Dr at the first sign that a cold/flu is going bacterial.
But there comes a time when kids injuries are payable, even after a few years of making payments, which I have done.

It is MY age group that his plan shuffles off under the rug because our health risks are MORE expensive and our health insurance is more expensive because of it.

It is MY age group that dies prematurely of simple stuff - heart attack, diabetes complications, cholesterol, cancers etc because we cannot take food out of our kids mouths to go get checked out.

Obama mandating that Employers provide
Insurance/help with insurance:

Well that's already what we have now, and his plan for this is not sounding all that different.

If I am unemployed - then I have no employer to "Help" pay in for my health care.
If I am unemployed because I am a stay at home mom, then odds are we can't afford to pay into the health care package provided by my spouses employer, because we are not making enough to pay that extra amount, since there is only ONE salary coming into the household.

Kids are eligible for free clinics more often than their parents.
I know because I have had to participate in the Oregon Health Plan from time to time while raising my 3 kids. Now that plan has gone belly-up and can no longer provide services. It was a great experiment that died.

I still say that McCains health care plan is the one that would best fit our families needs.

My kids health care needs after the ages of 6 went down enourmously. Mine and my husbands went up. Kid injuries like the common ones I listed above are relatively inexpensive by comparison, and can be paid off within the course of 1-2 years. I know I have done it many times.

If I get cancer, there is NO treatment for me.
We make too much to be seen by free clinics, and we don't make enough to pay for health care, send our kids to college and food and basics are often a struggle. If I get a cold/fly that appears to be going bacterial, I do not go to the Dr. I try to see if I can ride it out. I just can't afford the expense. If John McCains plan went through, you bet I would have a physical, get a mammogram, a PAP (none of these have I had in 9 years or more.) I would get my blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring taken care of, and have my blood sugar monitored.

That right there is about $1000 worth of diagnostics, and the meds would be about $150 per month. But ieven for a little while, it would go a LOOOOONG way to extending my life span without putting my family at a bigger financial risk.

What gets me as I watch this, is that Obama represents himself, his experiences and that of his family as a connecting point with the viewer. He assumes that we are all like him, for the most part. but we aren't. He has everything. And if his health care plan went through, the gov't would save alot of money by dodging having to include my generation in its "mandated" health care plans.

Additional comment from Pam at FaceBook
(We'll call her Pam 1):

I might add to that by saying, just one blood sugar poke is a dollar per glucose stick (if done at home), that is not including the achohol swab and the actual lancet. If you need insulin, depending on the dosage it is 75.00 per vial and some use 4 vials a month. 8 sticks a day adds up too! Some people like myself pay 2000.00 a month on just meds alone. We for one... Can NOT AFFORD it!!! So... I vote McCain/Palin!!
Help in health care greatly needed for the middle aged!!!
Thanks Michelle for your thoughts and for taking time to post them.


A comment from ANNE at FaceBook:
Hi Michelle! Hey, I agree with you too. Except, I've never really liked him. Beyond the partial birth abortion support, you know what else he supports? If a woman is having an abortion and it is botched and the baby acually, gasp-heaven forbid!, lives...he supports just putting it in a prettily decorated "comfort room" and leaving it to die. Read this in an Oregon Right to Life paper. Anyone who supports that has no soul in my humble opinion. He is eloquent and smooth and does have some good ideas but I think he's a total wolf in sheeps clothing. If he's elected, I think it would be fine for the first year or so and then I think America would start seeing his true colors and they'd be in for way more than they bargained for...

And a comment from a Different Pam at FaceBook
(We'll call her Pam 2:
I can't feel any hope from a man that 8 years ago did not stay a Maverick for the things that mattered. He (McCain) speaks clearly of embracing Adam Smith Economic principals of capitalism that believes that an invisible arm will correct any problems in the economy.(He said this early in his campaign and it seemed to me to sound like something to placate the far right of the spectrum with.) Then Enron, Housing Market,desire to build more Nuclear Power Plants, Bale Out of the Banks and AIG,jobs being lost by big companies going overseas where there is precious little oversight, and our need for medical insurance and McCain is acting like he has consistently really backed these issue for the people. As we have already had 8 years of very little checks and balances I could not endorse this continued direction. But then I am just in the poorest, largest, school district in the state and work with students and families that aren't making $200,000/yr. Habitat for Humanity come in ...

And then Mih Wrote:

Well I don't make 200,000 are year either.

Something that Obama said back a few months ago really got my attention.
He said " America, we are the solution to our own problems."
That is pretty danged humanistic.
Granted I am not one for sitting on my butt and not being proactive, but I also know that human kind has limits that it often does not recognise.

I also think that this statement of his declares more about his inner perspective than he is confessing. After watching him, I believe he is a Godless man, despite all of his wacky-church affiliation. I think that mankind is his god.
As far as economical stuff, I don't think McCain has indicated that he will be staying the current course with regard to the economy. I have a huge stake in AIG. Frankly, I am appalled at teh folderol that would threaten my dads livelihood in his declining years,an I will take an appropriate course of action by the end of this week, but I think McCain will tackle that head to head. And I think he has indicated as much. And while nobody is perfect, I am thinking that McCain is a far better choice than Obama at this point. I find Obama to be slickly skirting the issues, and using culturally pleasing metaphors and language to tickle people ears. I have to agree with what Anne said earlier, in that he is certainly starting to appear like a wolf in sheeps clothing.

As far as an "invisible Arm" I am not sure what all that is about but I know that God has long intervened on the behalf of Israel, through the existence of America.

America, (while chasing after the fate of Rome at a galloping run it would seem,) will continue to exist until such time as God is through with us.
But we are going the route of Rome to be sure.
I do NOT believe for one minute that America will always exist.

God says He will not strive with man forever.
His strivings with Americans and their self absorbed debauchery and self love have gone on for very very long. And while we race along toward our own destruction, when compared with the self righteous and behaviours of other world cultures and nations, we are still considered a "Christian Nation," (which defies comprehension when you think about how ungodly even we, the Church have become).
We are the ones in Iraq.
Let the media krap all over that situation but you talk to a soldier.
The people of Iraq are GLAD we are there.
I hate that my friends relatives have died in a stinking war!
But these same soldiers bring gifts that have been donated by average Americans. My town alone collects school supplies and ships them directly to soldiers who give them to families with children in Iraq. This is not a gov't sponsored activity. This is a community that says "This is the right thing to do."
Yes.
We love those who would normally be called our enemies.

We send a poop load of aid to Pakistan when it has horrific earthquakes that devour its people by the thousands.
You didn't see Pakistans neighbors rushing to their aid.
And Pakistan STILL harbours Taliban extremists.

So when you mention an invisible arm, yeah. I think there is one.
We deserve hell and death.
We have better.
Not because we are good.
Because God is.

JASON at FaceBook Writes:

"I agree, too, actually, that Obama's plans regarding health care have been rather vague. And while I think he is a great public speaker, which would give him an advantage as a leader, his tone has been rather condescending at times. He needs to bury his ego a little bit and stop trying to distance himself from the wealthy, which he now is.

To be fair, Obama had to work pretty hard to get where he is at, while John Sidney McCain III is, like George W Bush, the third generation of an American dynasty. Both rebelled against their expectations into mediocrity as kids. Both try to shed skins as Episcopalian members of the Washington elite to build political careers as self-styled, ranch-inhabiting Westerners who pray to Jesus in their wives' evangelical churches.

As for abortion, neither McCain or Obama will make the issue go away. The Supreme Court made their ruling, and frankly, when our government decides for us what morality is, I don't think we're free.

But! As much as we may dislike personal qualities of each person (or their VP choices), that shouldn't affect how we judge them as politicians. I wish I had more time to get into that aspect of it..."