Grumbleeze

Here it is...26 Things - April 2005! Looks like a fun one!

...when we can have this lovely riverfront property on a regular basis? This photo was taken this morning around 10:30 am. Yesterday the ditch was full and this morning it was even fuller! Took more photos this evening so look for more soon. Also just posted a couple of pix at Tittabawassee River Voice.
Today I'm feeling

monday madness

1. Independence Day is more fun to celebrate than any other holiday because it's in the summertime!

2. The last vacation I took was to our little cottage.

3. The next vacation I plan to take will be to the cottage.

4. I'd really like to be more generous and I would be if I had the money.

5. I can't remember the last time I can't remember what it was?.

6. The book I last read (or am currently reading) is 'The Vision' by Dean Koontz..

7. The last program I installed on my computer was Dreamweaver but I haven't had time to try it out yet... not to mention, the courage or inclination..

8. When it comes to food, my weakness is chocolate of course.

9. I really look forward to spending time with my family .

The last one is not a fill-in-the-blank, but a challenge........(completely optional, my friends!)
10. Choose a person's blog in the comment section, and welcome others to visit it, by leaving a link to their blog in your entry today. Frida Peeple... (is it her name... or is it because her blogging reflects her wit?

It's Spring! It's Easter! Rejoice!

Last spring I met a neighbor... and friend of my colleague against the silly dioxin fiasco in our town. When I saw the interaction between Scott and anybody else, I was impressed by the obsequious attentions given him, even by the environutz! The only thing I knew about him... mostly based on instinct... he is a good person in every sense of the word. I liked him from the moment I met him. I guessed they all just knew he is rich and that's why they all 'respect' him.

Was I wrong? Probably not, but now even I am impressed! He has a website... Granite Island Light Station - Lake Superior. Read it and be impressed.

Tuesday we visited the Dow Gardens in Midland,mostly because we like to visit the Butterflies in Bloom.>
They didn't seem to have much variety in butterflies that day; the walk through the garden was the best part for me. It was interesting to see the waterfall.. or lack of... since it was not turned on for the season yet. The season tickets are a great deal. This year, for $10 you can visit Dow Gardens as many times as you wish PLUS the same ticket gets you into Midland's new Whiting Forest. They even encourage us to share our ticket with friends and neighbors. What a deal, eh?

Wednesday morning, March 23, I graduated from physical therapy! Thanks to Dr. Ben Mayne & his PA, Jeff Gandy... along with Mark & sometimes Beth at Rehabilitation Specialists in Midland, these legs of mine are once again walking with a spring in the step. What a team! Mark handed me a well-rounded exercise regimen and these new knees and I are on our way to the future.

Call me slow but I just learned the Chinese year in which I was born... the year of the Rat. In case you're not sure about your Chinese year, here's the best place I could find... at All About Feng-Shui.

Terri Schiavo update... I should have said, 'If Terri was my daughter in the same circumstances...' I must agree with kaybee that there should be less government intervention in our private lives, not more. The TV news media has given so much attention to Terri's case that I've chosen to believe parts of the news they emphasize. That would include the fact that she had no written directions on what to do in such a circumstance. The husband has a new wife AND two children (although he's not legally married to the new one). Especially however, I find it difficult to accept the method of 'letting' Terri die. For some reason, withdrawal of food and water does not seem appropriate to me.

Phone update... Hey kids! We finally replaced the semi-functioning telephone. Now, when we are not home you will be greeted with our voice mail... same as when we are using the phone. I just LOVE modern technology!

...and about those turkeys, Here's a picture of the turkeys we photographed last week in Midland.

...I would want to save her too! Why is the husband so adamant to have her dead? Why does he not allow her parents to visit her without a police escort? Why won't he let her parents take care of her as they want to? Why doesn't he want her to have rehabilitation therapy since therapists say she has potential for improvement? Why doesn't Terri's husband just turn over custody to her parents and go back to his common-law wife and their two kids?

Why should one liberal appointed federal judge be able to overturn the decision of a majority of elected Congress people? Why do these same judges allow killers and child molesters to run free and rampant but sentence an innocent woman to death just because she 'fell down' in her home? God bless America. She needs it now more than ever! Today I am feeling

Just wanted to share a bit of summertime. It seems so far away! Actually, this was a gift from a friend while I was in joint camp recovering from the second knee surgery.

monday madness Here's mine!
Fill in the blanks.... completely random!!

1. I wish I had more money.
2. I usually think about changing my blog layout when the seasons change.
3. If more people would be tolerant of others, the world would be a better place.
4. I really should telephone family members more often.
5. The weather we're having right now is sunny and cold.
6. When it's time to plant a garden, I'd like to plant nasturtiums and tomatoes.
7. When I'm running late, I sometimes forget to drive the speed limit.
8. When I can't think of anything to blog about, I usually don't blog.

Watching Dennis Miller's show and just saw his interview with Addie Collins... a journalist and a soldier. Yup, she's for real and she's a real blogger... and ya know what? She sounds like a really nice person.

On another topic, we saw a group of turkeys in Midland today, in the yard of a Dr.'s office I believe, on Eastman Street. Traffic going by like on a highway and there were those darned turkeys... looked like 4 females and 2 males... the one fluffing his tail out so pretty! I think it must be mating season do you suppose? We've seen lots of turkeys out in the boonies, by the lake, and alongside the highway, but never that big fanned out tail just like you see in Thanksgiving pictures... and right there in the middle of one of the busiest streets in the city! I'll post one later, maybe tomorrow. The pics are on my other computer.

...and about the latest on the dioxin situation (http://tittabawassee.blogspot.com) - at Thursday's meeting the extremists were so intent on trying to discredit the environment/blood study that they had a family physician say he had received the results of his blood test... only thing was he never had a sample taken. Well, apparently after the meeting Dr. Garabrant of U/M who is running the study dug up the info and showed him where the sample was taken... in a mobile blood unit and by golly, the good doctor Brasseur had to admit he remembered that incident!!! Only trouble is, even though the Doc wrote an email letter of apology, only one newspaper printed his apology! The TV news stations and other newspaper apparently still don't know the guy lied.... oooops!!! I mean the guy had a memory lapse. ...and that my dears, is the quality of folks with whom we are dealing! God bless America, eh?

...by golly, and I'm just happy to make it into another year! Although I'm still 'under 70' it helps to have heard recently that '70 is the new 50' in relation to the aging process. Yeah, yeah, I know... 50 sounds old to some, but not to me! My kids are approaching 50. Some people think 30 is old... I don't know what their problem is! 39 years ago I didn't mind turning 30, and today I do not feel 39 years older than 30!

What age was traumatic? I have to say 50, but it was not because of the age; it was because I learned that I already qualified for 'senior citizen' discounts in some stores. I still don't consider myself a 'senior citizen' because I don't feel like one. I think; I do. I play; I laugh. Life goes on just as it always did and will until the day I die... and just as when I was 30, I don't expect that day for a very long time. I guess I just want to say, Happy Birthday to me!

Monday Madness
1. What's on your refrigerator? (Please feel free to use a picture to answer.)
a cloth to catch dust. I should mention there is only about 4 inches between the fridge and a cupboard above it.
2. What color is your refrigerator?
cream color or almond...
3. Is the freezer on the top, bottom or side?
It's on the bottom and I LOVE it!
4. How old is your fridge? Does it match your stove?
about six months old. and it does not match my black stove.
5. How regularly do you clean the inside of your fridge?I think it's time to clean it! Thanks for reminding me, Susan! ;-)

Please don't get upset with us for driving the speed limit when you are 'stuck' behind us. Wednesday on our way home from my physical rehab session we were discussing the session... how well things are going... and such. Simultaneously I heard an "Oh s***!!!" and a siren! As we pulled over the siren stopped behind us... didn't go around us after 'some other guy' and there we sat like two naughty school kids!

The young officer, not too many years older than our oldest grandchildren, asked the husband if he realized how fast he was going and the response was "No, officer." The young man responded, "Well I was going 55 when you blew past me..." The speed limit there was 35 changing upward to 45, but well.... The officer took husband's driver's license and proof of insurance back to his patrol car while we sat shaking in our boots.... (well not really, but a bit disgusted with ourselves for being so careless.)

He returned to our vehicle, returned the license & proof of insurance to husband of mine and said, "Slow down for me okay?" Then he returned to his unmarked vehicle and drove off ahead of us. This is one more reason why I still believe in the goodness of mankind! Thank you Officer!