Sunday, May 31, 2009

My favorite season of the year

SPRING
BECAUSE IT IS THE PROMISE OF NEW LIFE
MY Wysteria. Sorry the picture is blurry.

Columbine through my fence.

View from my swing to my deck.

From my deck to my swing.

My huge Poppy and Clematis.

My Clematis.

My first Iris to bloom.

The Fairy Gardens

From treasures found at Goodwill.
Kati, you should be proud of Olivia and me, we went in and actually found something to buy.
Now you know why my garden is my sanctuary. Will show more as they mature.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Today

was my day to spend with Mother. I am seeing definite improvement. It is still a long road we are traveling, but there is definite improvement. I helped her bathe, actually, I stood in the bathroom while she bathed. The only thing I had to do was help her wash her hair and rinse it for her. She dressed herself, except a very little bit of help with her undies, cause she kept getting her toe caught in the opening. She combed her own hair this time and was able to stand to brush her teeth. She did get a bit confused when she was preparing to get into the tub and started to cry, but I told her to just stop and think about what she was wanting to do. After that she was able to complete the job.
We went outside for a while to walk up the driveway and back down to the house. Then we sat out in the yard and enjoyed the warmth. All in all it was a good day for her. I am so anxious to have my mama back.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I am alone today

So what did I do with my day?

First what did I not do?

Laundry

Sweep

Vaccum

actually, I did NO HOUSEWORK AT ALL!!! (except the dishes)
What did I do?
Knit, frogged, knit, frogged, knit and frogged it all the way because for some reason I could not get the pattern correct.
Read, Mandala by Pearl S. Buck
Sat on the deck and enjoyed the sun
Took a long hot bath
Went to Michaels to see if they had any yarn I want. They did not.
Bought a chocolate milkshake
Ate leftovers, because I was not going to do any work and preparing a meal is work.
Tomorrow, it is back to babies and my regular routine.
I loved today.

Monday, May 25, 2009

In Honor of Memorial Day

By: Todd Heisler, the Rocky Mountain News

When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.

During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: 'See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You got to wonder what's going through their minds knowing that they are on the plane that brought him home,' he said. 'They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home.
And they should.'

By: Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News

The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop and played songs that reminder her of 'Cat' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,' she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted.
When I looked up Katherine Cathey, I found this blog also referencing her picture.
He also has references at where he found further information on the matter.
Here is a story he referenced in his blog.
With further research, I found that this brave young man gave his life for our freedom on 8/21/2005.
These pictures are still traveling the internet because of the power they hold.
This is a scene that is being played out regularly and I pray we never forget these heros.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I found these statistics quite interesting.

The Richest 1%
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, the world would look something like the following:
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
All 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death;
1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
You own a computer or at the very least have consistent access to one.
You are among the world's wealthiest 1%
With all of the bills and the stress, life doesn't feel that way does it?
Maybe that's just because you don't know how blessed you are.Wake Up!

Monday, May 18, 2009

WHY?


I was the first person to hold and kiss her. She and her 17 year old mommy lived with me for 8 months. I wanted to adopt her, her mommy chose to keep her. I loved her as deeply as I loved a child I gave birth to. I fed her and changed her, I held her while she slept. I bathed her and smelled her sweet baby perfume. Eventually she and her mommy, her grandma and aunties and uncle, who had all been staying with us moved to their own apartment. Her mommy signed up on welfare. After a month or so on welfare, DSHS (the same evil entity that is now screwing up Poca's life) made the decision that her mommy was "mature" enough to live on her own in her own apartment. Her grandma argued and argued with DSHS that her mommy was NOT mature enough. She knew her daughter they had only known her for a month. Her grandma told DSHS that if they moved them to their own apartment she could guarentee that her daughter would be dead within a year. They, who knew more than the mother, moved them anyway.

Her mommy loved living away from grandma. There were no rules and no structure. She did not get fed regularly, she was kept out at all hours of the day and night. Grandma tried to help, but her mommy did not want her help.

One week in February of 1993 her grandma called to check on them. There was no answer, she called every night for five nights. On the last night she called she left a final message saying that if she did not call back tonight she (grandma) was going to call the police because something must be wrong.

About an hour later her uncle received a call from his friends that in essence told the family that she and her mommy had been found MURDERED in their apartment along with mommy's boyfriend. Mommy and the boyfriend had been tied up in bed, forced to lie on their stomachs and shot in the back of the head. She died of starvation and freezing. She was left in the apartment by the person who murdered her mommy. He thought someone would find her. Her bedroom window was broken and this 10 month old baby girl lay in her bed until death overtook her.

Why, you ask, do I hate DSHS? This is why. Alecia, my baby, would be 16 years old this month. She never got to ride a tricycle, a bike, go to a prom, learn to drive. She never got to discover sand between her toes, Disneyland, ice cream cones or reading a book.

Can we really allow the same fate to befall Poca?

Friday, May 15, 2009

Gov. Gregoire

Washington State, may have gotten something right. Time will tell just where her priorities are, but right now she says she is going to call for an investigation into DSHS and their handling of the POCA case.

Continue to pray for her, and if anyone is so inclined, there is a fund at Washington Mutual under the name of Amy Langley. Money raised will help them save their home which is currently in foreclosure and be used for legal expenses.

This is just one more example of government bureaucracy run amok.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

I am

crabby and teary eyed tonight. I feel like I want to crawl into a hole and not come out for about six weeks. When I do, it will be to go to Disneyland and have fun. Not to worry about mother and her pain management. About if she wants to quit and give up. If I am ready to bid her goodbye. If I want to field all of my siblings questions and opinions about how best to care for her. To continue to manage her money and be responsible to siblings about that. To convince her that she still needs outside care, that it is more than we can do alone or together. Granted, I am not doing it alone. I have one sister who also goes two times a week and covered for me when I was sick even though she was dealing with big issues in her own immediate family. Another sister who comes every Wednesday, her day off from work and another who comes every Saturday, her day off from work. My brothers are around all weekend and often during the week, so this is not a burden I am carrying by myself and I know they are all overwhelmed at times too.
I think the biggest thing right now is that we are thinking she may be too dependent on her pain meds. Does that matter at 88 years?
Maybe she does not want to continue. Is it selfish to want to keep her here? She has not had a luxurious life and maybe she just wants to rest.
Does she want to talk about it, or should we continue to skirt the issue as one brother wants us to do because he does not like to see her cry. Like I do!!!
I think it is time to be ready and help her make decisions that need to be made. It now is not the time, good, at least we have the hard stuff done.
Oh God..........just beam me up!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Have you heard

about POCA? If you have not, please go here now!
Poca is a four year old girl who lived in our town, about two miles from me. Last Wednesday she was torn from her foster home by Washington State, Snohomish County DSHS. Why? You ask? From what I have been able to gather, because the family had the nerve to question DSHS about something concerning her care.
Even if you do not live in our State or our Community, you can make a difference. The family needs all of the support they can muster in order to win against this bureaucracy.
They will be on Good Morning America tomorrow morning. Please watch and know you can make a difference. On their blog there are addresses posted so you can write to the appropriate people in order to help. One Washington State Senator (Val Stevens of Snohomish County) has written a letter in support of the Langley family, but they need more help. WE CAN DO IT. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE BLOG!!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

For everyone who wants Socalized Medicine

From Heritage.org
New Public Plan “Option” Will Not Improve America’s Health Care
Health care reform is becoming a major topic of discussion in Washington. In particular, there has been a lot of talk about creating a new public plan “option” to compete with private insurance plans. But there is one major problem: there is no such thing as a fair competition when the government is both a competitor, and the referee.
The creation of a public plan would allow the federal government to both compete in the market (by having its own plan), and to regulate that same market (by making the laws that govern it). In the absence of a level playing field, a public plan would increasingly crowd out private health care options, paving the way to a single-payer, or government-controlled, health care system.
Under the proposal for a new public option here is how the “competition” might fare:
1) The public plan, with unfair advantages, will be able to offer artificially low prices. While the new public plan might be portrayed as only an alternative option to private insurance, the government will invariably use its powers to favor the public plan. Congress, with its regulatory, pricing, and taxing authority will have the power to artificially under-price the public plan, and push private health care options out of this so-called competitive market.
2) The absence of a level playing field would cause millions of Americans to lose the private coverage that they have today. As private plans are unable to compete with the introduction of a new public plan that would receive unfair advantages, many Americans will be left with little or no choice in their health care options. Independent research shows that as many as 120 million Americans could lose the private coverage they have today because the public plan would significantly undermine the current employer-based system of private health insurance as employers drop their coverage and workers are shifted to the public plan.
3) Americans are left with one health care option—the public option—take it or leave it. With private plans driven out of the market, the public plan "option" would become the only "option" for many Americans. If other government health care programs, like Medicare or Medicaid, are any indication of how a public option might perform, the plan will fail to deliver the quantity and quality of benefits promised. The government would restrict patient choice by rationing, or limiting access to, health care goods and services. This not only would compromise access to high quality care for many Americans, it would spell the end of private competition and innovation in the health care sector.
That’s some “competition” a public plan would bring to health care.
Members of Congress who support the concept of a public plan option in health reform should be asked specifically why they favor a government-controlled system and why they are masking their true policy objectives with misleading language. It is time that these questions are answered so that the real debate over health care reform can begin.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Recent Projects

The twirl skirt

I finished yesterday

For Olivia


It is made of strips of fabric sewn together than gathered into ruffles.
I had hoped to make two more, but am not sure I have it in me.
A lot of work and thread. Cute though isn't it?

A possible Blogiversary gift


Or maybe this one.
My first posted blog entry was in June so watch for an announcement.


Socks headed for cold Kotzebue. Probably can even wear them during the summer.

A sweet little hat I made my Grandniece Miss Patricia Arlene
It can be found in the book Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys
Who is actually a photographer who likes to photo children in hats so she learned how to knit and designed these hats. I saw that you could buy her book on her blogsite.

(She also has a link to a childrens clothing store called Charlipop Kids. If you go to look at it, be sure you have your debit card beside you)

If you listen to the same Radical Radio




As I, You will have already heard this. But I cannot resist passing it on.
If an Army Vet were stuck in an elevator with Pelosi, Reid and bin Laden and he had a gun with only two bullets in it, chances are Pelosi would be shot twice!
Thanks Mark Davis, guest host for Rush Limbaugh.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Still alive

I think I am beginning to feel better. Did not do much today. Actually, I spent the afternoon finishing a skirt I had begun for Olivia a couple of weeks ago. I think she will wear it over tomorrow, (Friday) so I will take a picture and post it.
Since I have not felt very well, I have been spending a lot of time on the couch knitting. Have finished two pair of socks, (Coop and Ben) started another pair (Trish) and finished the skirt for Olivia. I have a basket full of sewing to get to and get done. Maybe I can do more again tomorrow.
I am not going to Mothers tomorrow, since I do not want to take any germs I may still be carrying over and expose her. I will probably still go on Monday next week.
Not much else new, just wanted to tell everyone I am still alive and thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Swine Flu

I think the pig may have caught up with me. Headache, fever, chills, sore throat. I just plain do not feel good. If I suddenly quit posting, you will know who won.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Muslim Demographics

I saw this on Aussie Coffeeshop's site. It needs to be seen worldwide. http://aussiecoffeeshop.blogspot.com/

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Saturday, May 2, 2009

HAPPY FEET

Never in my 62.5 years have I spent $40.00 in this manner. A little risque don't ya think?
Not the flip flops!!! The toes!!!
I'm going back in two weeks:)

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