12 step program for pack rats

I suppose there is a support group for pack rats, heck why not there is one for everything else. As you have probably surmised we are in that stage of the move.

It starts out with "honey do you want to keep this?" to "are you sure you want to keep this?, to "No way you're not keeping that are you?". We are beginning to sound like the Bickersons. Having lived in this particular house near four years, I am totally in awe of what we have accumulated. Many items will be going to GoodWill, Salvation Army, the Church and Habitat for Humanity. I have turned over a new leaf and will no longer collect schtuff, WTH do we need it for. If you haven't touched it in a year, Good Lord man give it away to someone who can.

Here's the deal, what we are preparing for now and deciding what to keep and what to toss. After that decision is agreed upon then all will be packed up and moved to AZ where said schtuff we think we need will remain in storage till a house is built. And that house will be built in between many visits to CA for family fun and frolic. Several visits to Canada for friends and folic. And somewhere in there will be a trip to Alaska. I know what your thinking, Doodles in Alaska I'm not seeing it. Ya see I'm still trying to talk Mary into starting out on the trip with Norm and I'll pick it up half way thru. Don't think Mary's buying it, but she does like Alaska.

24 more sleeps till...stay tuna'd...

Might I bore you with this?!?

Ya see we have this house that we just got a contract on after a bazillion months of the blasted thing being on the market. And I'm really funny about count down clocks. I love doing that....maybe because Dick Clark, New Year's, I don't know.

So I'm gonna bore you to tears with my count down to closing on the house. BUT I am going to do it a bit differently. My friend, who happens to be on a driving adventure around the USA, told me of a clever countdown which she did for her trip countdown.

stay tuna'd ....................... 26 sleeps till the closing.

Washing D.C. must have a school for dopes

Go read my sister's blog of the men and women of the war and then tell me why.

The headline reads Army Probes Reports of Neglect at Walter Reed

I am becoming more dismayed (another word for totally pissed off) as the days go by. Tell me why we have to read and hear about the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Outpatient Clinic. The Army is going to conduct an investigation because they read about this mess in the Washington Post. Good Lord man how can y'all look at yourselves in the mirror each morning. There was one dope (General) that said he jogs, jogs around this building just about everyday. Well good for you General because the majority of the patients in that building are amputees and can't jog. Ya never went inside?!?! We have a severe problem with our system folks and we just cannot allow this to continue...stay tuna'd...

Well hell I'm feeling a LOT better!!!

Norm and I finally have a solid contract of the sale of our house. There are many adjectives to describe how we feel BUT ecstatic certainly is one that comes to mind.

So now the real tombstone tumbleweed journey begins. I have a feeling that real retirement is just around the corner, if you call building a new house in an area that we have never lived in before. Well that's no exactly true Norm was based out of Tucson when in the USAF and I lived in Phoenix a gazillion years ago for about a year.

Actually we are going back to the scene of the crime so to speak, we were married thirty six years ago in Tombstone, AZ. Nothing conventional about us as you probably already know.

So get ready for a few travel blogs and travel photos because that is what we are going to do, bore y'all to tears with a travelouge.

But most of all I am happier than I can even imgaine to be moving closer to my sister and brother-in-law, my niece and newphew-in-law, my dear friend, Daddy's wife Mary. We have lived on opposite coasts for way too many years and it is with great delirious anticipation that we will be almost in the same time zone.

So as I have said from my very first blog, stay tuna'd...

and how smart are you???

This is exactly how I felt this morning when I woke to frost on the ground and I still feel like crap - damn sinus.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Every dog deserves a loving home

How true that is. And that's what the Pedigree Dog Food Company says........while they put their money where their mouth is.

Go to their web site http://www.pedigree.com/home.asp make a donation to the American Humane Association and the Pedigree Company will match each donation. This is being done in conjunction with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show taking place in New York City tonite and tomorrow nite.

Good Luck to all the dogs and their owners and handlers participating in this wonderful event.

MAX MULTY BUDDY

An omen of sorts...

Well this little guy greeted me this a.m. when going out to get the newspaper. I'm calling him my lucky frog cause our momma had lots of frogs scattered around her home and yes all of them were of the glass or ceramic variety.

So maybe this little guy will bring us good luck to our open house to be held today.

I had gone to the nursery to see what was available and I came upon this jade plant. Discovered when I got it home that I didn't have the proper soil to transplant it to a different pot suitable for hanging. So I just plopped it on the hook. Don't know if I brought the lucky little guy home or not..cause I am imagining driving and this frog jumping out from the plant and distracting me from my driving...holy crap. But maybe he is a local neighborhood frog and we just had yet to meet. If so how the hell did ya get up in that plant.

Just hope he dosen't attack any visitors today...stay tuna'd

Front page news...

So my sweet adorable husband is reading me the newspaper this a.m., the headline in particular. No It's not the senior discount it's the fact that Mr Bush is going to cut health AND education!!! In one fell swoop, the nerve of some peoples children, how dare he. What must he think when he lays his little pointy head down on his pillow at nite. And where oh where will it end???

Now I want y'all to know that the look on Buddy "the cat" face is one of disgust and annoyance OK!

Holy Colts!!!

Please do not say that Coach Tony Dungy, of the Indianapolis Colts, was the first African American to win the 2007 Super Bowl, please say that the coach with the most class won the Super Bowl. Cause it would be so very true.

How many Coaches do you know would stop in the midst of a media frenzy, in the rain, reomove his hat and stop to hug and kiss his wife.

Congratulations to the Colt's and all of their many fans. And to those who doubted Peyton Manning........nanananana!!!

Oh yeah, can ya just imagine how Archie Manning is feeling this morning, his son Peyton is going to DisneyWorld........in his new Cadillac that he won as the games MVP. note to GM as Peyton was the MVP winner, ya should have given him a Colts blue Cadillac instead of the red one!!!

Hoosier's Unite....

OK you don't have to be a Hoosier to be cheering for the Indianapolis Colt's to win the Super Bowl. BUT can you just imagine what it must be like in Indianapolis.

QB Manning will more than likely be going to the coveted football hall of fame, let's make sure he is wearing that SuperBowl ring when he arrives.

Coach Dungy on the other hand had a stellar career with among others, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coach Dungy, then QB Dungy played on the same team as a friend of ours Gary Dunn. Gary is one of the sweetest "big guys" you have ever met. I have had the great pleasure of wearing his Super Bowl ring - my it's heavy and quite large - but a beauty none the less. However the one ring Gary prizes more than any would be his Championship ring when playing for the University of Miami. I digress.

So let the madness begin. The media will converge on Miami and bore us to tears by the end of the week and we will wish the damn game was over.......with the Colt's being the Super Bowl Champions of course............stay tuna'd!!!

Get ready...

now this is something I can wrap me leetle brain around.........

January 24th is National Belly Laugh Day.

I love to laugh, I find I laugh more when I am around seester Moon, but we laugh a lot even on the phone. Then when niece lil bird is joining us it can be pretty silly sometimes. We do tend to find humor in a lot a things.

Nothing is cuter to me than a bunch a kids laughing and giggling uncontrolably, cause it's so real.

We have all heard that laughing is healthy, so here's your perscription for the day Go have a good laugh and do it with a friend cause I think it's healthier that way. And we all could be a little healthier.

Do you have a cat?

Well we do, boy do we ever.

His name is Buddy the cat not to be confused with his cousin Buddy the dog. He is a handsome cat but he is a black cat and therefore does not photograph well. Actually his breed is called Havana Brown. Looks black but in the sun they have that very deep brown undercoat, he is handsome for a black cat.


Here's the story about Buddy, he likes/loves water. I know he's a cat but the damn cat grew up with water.

Buddy was found, when just a few hours old, in the mouth of a rotweiler dog. It is presumed that the dog disposed of any of the brothers or sisters and probably the momma. This was discovered by my friend Brigitta, who is the wife of a Vet. She plucked the teeny tiny kitty out of the mouth of the dog and took it inside. Brigitta to the rescue.

Fast forward a couple a weeks, Brigitta comes to work, she worked for us in the busy shipping time. She walk thru the door, in her breast pocket of a shirt she had on was this rescued kitty orphan. Ugly, gray and wrinkly. She baby bottled fed him, we think, then took it to the sink and wrung it out so it would doo, doo it's business. Didn't know that could be done but learn sumpin new everyday.

Now here comes the love of water - Brigitta would wash him and fluff him up with a wash cloth, went to plug in the heating pad, put the kitty on the heating pad with his new friend, a stuffed
orangutan. This took place several times during the day. So water was this kittens friend.

Well the look on husbands face was priceless, he couldn't keep his hands off that kitten. That moment he fell in love with a cat. We have had a cat previously but Smokey was more of a barn cat and not a house cat, certainly not a cat to fall in love with.

Jump ahead another couple weeks, I invited Brigitta and her Dr. Doolittle husband over for dinner. Sure I said bring the orphan. See we were ganging up on husband to become the new proud daddy of this kitten. Suffice to say it worked like a charm.

Brigitta and the good Dr. walked in the door, she promptly went over, put the kitten in husbands lap, pleading a trip to the ladies room was necessary. There ya go, we had a cat!!!

Needless to say we were not skilled at keeping a teeny tiny orphan kitten alive so Brigitta took him home for another couple weeks. Wait, we did birth 7 baby bassett puppies and hand fed all the little demons, thanks to sister and momma. No matter but that sure could be another blog.

So rescued kitten gets a new home, and as many of you know any baby anything is cute, human or otherwise. This was one funny kitten, very adventurous and quite comical. But there were some things we didn't know such as he wants to get in the shower with you.Buddy loves water still to this day. Some days he gets more drenced than others, well not drenched but he does get we.

In the early years Buddy would not be kind to guests, he once tore up the legs of our next door neighbor, yep drew blood. Funny the neighbor was a cop and was going to arrest the damn cat.
You're right that's not funny at all, I hated having to put the cat on another patio when guests came but hey. The Dr. vet dude said when he tries that spray him with a water bottle. You must be joking he loves water, he would think he was being rewarded for god's sake.

Buddy will be twelve this 4th of July and to this day Buddy still takes a shower with husband, sometimes me but not often. Maybe I don't always find the humor in a cat running around the shower under foot. However I am happy to report that Buddy, the evil cat we used to call him, he is now calm and so very sweet and friendly.

What's up with that, but stay tuna'd because we are takling about Buddy the cat!

I do have a video that I am going to put up on You Tube.

Real Estate not Selling ??? Good Reason

Do ya spose.....I suggest we take our Federal Tax $$$ and send it to Tallahassee then we could self insure ourselves until the insurance companies can decide. Then maybe, just maybe the Fed would listen

Wait till ya here this, I had the "Audacity of Hope" to email Senator Obama, asking him please help with this horrible mess we are in regarding our insurance problems and I promise I will work my fanny off to help y'all get elected in the fine state. He Emailed back and said I'll have my people contact your people.

I am convinced that we will be in Florida for at least another year or so, sad but true, sorry seester. Sooooooo for sure stay tuna'd...........

Insurance Remedies May Have Unintended Results
By KEVIN BEGOS The Tampa TribunePublished: Jan 18, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Florida politicians are considering radical changes to the property insurance business. Whether the fixes will work - and whether they're even legal - is another matter."I think it's excellent what Florida is trying to do; I think it will be unsuccessful," said Tom Baker, director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut.He was referring to legislation that would put pressure on companies that refuse to write homeowners policies in Florida, as well as allow regulators to consider the profits of national parent companies when setting rates. Those moves could ease the crisis in homeowners insurance, lawmakers say."There would be no legal reason why the Florida insurance department couldn't do that," said Baker, noting a long history of other states looking at the market in a broad way.However, the effect might not be what politicians intend, he said. For although the state could compel insurers to offer homeowners insurance when it is equipped to do so, a company could decide to pull out of the state entirely rather than comply with the new rules.That's just one of many potential problems, said Robert Hartwig, president of the industry-sponsored Insurance Information Institute."Some of these provisions threaten to legislate insurers out of existence in Florida. They are anticompetitive. They will drive capital away from the state," he said.Hartwig also thinks that forcing insurers to write multiple lines and considering the profits of national affiliates is flat-out illegal. That interferes with interstate commerce, he said, suggesting that a federal court would strike down such laws."You cannot compel an insurer to sell any particular type of insurance," he said.Some past disputes on insurance issues have gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress, Baker said.The battle over hurricane insurance also has parallels with the way fire insurance evolved.The U.S. Government Accountability Office noted in a report that "as the 19th century progressed, and the power and profitability of the fire insurance industry grew, state governments began taxing fire insurance companies, as a means of obtaining revenue, and enacting laws requiring deposits from out-of-state insurers and imposing heavy taxes on their local operations, as a means of protecting local insurers."Partly as a result of such disputes, Congress exempted the insurance industry from interstate commerce laws and allowed states to handle regulation."The insurance industry is really the last big industry that is primarily regulated by the states," said Robert Jerry, dean of the University of Florida Law School and an expert on insurance law.During the past decade, though, there have been increasing calls to federalize parts of insurance regulation, he said, noting "that discussion has probably been as intense as any time in the last 30 years."At a meeting of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in the summer, representatives of state insurance commissioners called for keeping the current system, but some leading industry voices supported a move toward national regulation.Some are waiting to see the final legislation in Florida before passing judgment.Adam Shores, a spokesman for Allstate Floridian in St. Petersburg, said the process of refining legislation could take months, even if the main bills are passed this week."We're talking about a fundamental restructuring of how insurance operates in this state," he said.Shores praised the concept of the state providing reinsurance to companies such as Allstate. That could be "a strong step in the right direction" that lowers rates for consumers, he said, although Allstate is concerned about other attempts to punish the industry.Reporter Kevin Begos can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/mailto:kbegos@tampatrib.com.

Florida can't pick up Calif.'s citrus slack

Well it's not like they aren't trying, but that sound you hear are the prices going up for citrus


Copied from the Herald Tribune dated January 17, 2007

DESOTO COUNTY — Sure, Florida can take up some of the slack for the ravaged California citrus crop, but that doesn’t mean it is going to be easy.Florida does not grow much supermarket-style fruit for one thing. It is more of an afterthought for most growers. Ninety percent of Florida oranges make their way to big juicers like Bradenton’s Tropicana Products Inc.The second complication is that because of the citrus canker disease that has devastated a good portion of Florida’s crop, growers here cannot ship fresh fruit to California or any of 10 other citrus-producing states, such as Texas or Arizona.For any of Florida’s fresh orange providers to meet the demand left behind by California’s freeze, they would have to ship directly to the customers in other states, bypassing California.And Florida and California oranges are quite different.The Sunshine State’s fruit has thinner skins and is more prone to wind scars and other blemishes that make it unsuitable for table fruit. The trade-off is that Florida has sub-tropical weather conditions that make most orange varieties grown here much more juice-filled than the Golden State variety.Despite any complications, Southwest Florida growers remain optimistic that they will reap something positive from California’s painful winter freeze.Last year, they did not think they would not have much of a market at all for their fresh citrus because of canker.“Anyone who has fresh oranges will certainly be filling the void caused by the California freeze,” said Barbara Carlton, executive director of the Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association, which counts about 300 growers in Southwest Florida among its members.“This could be a very good thing for those who have fresh fruit. That’s agriculture: One man’s problem is another man’s benefit.”Tom Spreen, one of the state’s top citrus economists, shared Carlton’s optimism.“I see a big jump in the fresh citrus price,” said Spreen, the chairman of the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida in Gainesville.Spreen predicted the California freeze would push fresh orange prices at least another 15 percent higher. “That’s not a bad price,” said Richard Kinney, the chief executive of Florida Citrus Packers in Lakeland, the industry’s trade group. “This will help us increase our margins.”Joshua Citrus, a DeSoto County gift fruit shipper operating a grove off of U.S. 31 near Arcadia, already is seeing the price for wholesale “table fruit” rising because of California’s icicles.“It will affect our wholesale business because the price has gone up due to the shortage of California navels,” said Lynn Shelfer, co-owner of the business with her husband, Kevin. “It’s very unfortunate for them, but the price has gone up already.“It’s a terrible thing, and I feel very sorry for those people. We might be next: The winter’s not over yet.”Ripple effectThe weather in California is even affecting businesses in DeSoto County that don’t grow citrus but feed the people who do.When Martha Clement was opening her Arcadia restaurant, Slim’s Bar-B-Q & Grill, on Wednesday morning, her produce supplier had some bad news: the price of a 200-count box of limes was going to double, from about $20 to about $40.“We can’t adjust our prices that fast so we’ll just bite the bullet. We’re already going into the mode that some items will be unavailable.” Clement said.“What wasn’t impacted, those prices have skyrocketed. We are already in the mode of ‘prep only what you’ll need.’”If the California freeze has any effect on juice processing, it will occur when processors and packinghouses start competing for late-season Valencia oranges, which are not harvested until March. By the time the freeze hit, California growers had picked 25 percent to 30 percent of its early season navel orange crop, said Duke Chadwell, the manager of the Citrus Administrative Committee in Lakeland. Because California Valencias were still on the tree when the freeze hit, they probably incurred the biggest losses, Spreen said. Before the freeze, the USDA estimated at the California Valencia crop at 13 million boxes. Florida processors were offering about $13.50 on tree for Valencia oranges before the freeze, he said, and even at the price, not many growers were selling.The on-tree price represents the price growers get from the packinghouse after deducting harvesting, transportation and packing costs. It does not account for the grower’s caretaking and other production expenses. Growers got an average $6.47 per box on tree for juice Valencias and $5 a box for fresh Valencias in the 2005-06 season, according to preliminary USDA statistics. Processors pay more for Valencias because it’s used in most not-from-concentrate, or NFC, juice products, the most widely sold type of orange juice. So processors and packinghouses could get into a real bidding war over the Florida Valencia crop, estimated at just 65 million boxes this season, Spreen said. That, in turn, will drive the retail prices for NFC orange juice and fresh Valencia oranges even higher, he said. “It’s going to be pretty expensive (for the consumer) this year,” he said. The good news for Florida processors and packinghouses is that on-tree prices probably won’t double, Spreen said, but that’s only because they began at a much higher level this season. Even with more Florida oranges going into the fresh market instead of the juice side, the effect will amount to a “minor negative” for OJ production, Spreen said.It might mean another 1 million orange boxes going fresh. “One million boxes is not that much fruit relative to the processing industry. It’s only a few million gallons.”

Evacuation help is here

I know, I know it's a tad early to start thinking about evacuations, hurricanes and the like.

It's a wonderful thing when you come upon something so very worthwhile and ya found the dern site strictly by accident.

Well maybe it wasn't a fluke, maybe I was meant to find this site http://EvacuationHelp.com

Glad I did, so please help me spread the word. Go to Evacuation Help read how to get involved, it's really quite simple. It could save someones life. All I can think of is the look on some of those folks during Katrina, not just New Orleans all over the Gulf Coast states. A whisper and it would have been right here in dear old Florida.

Their goal is to mobilize fellow Americans to build Pre-Disaster Relationships (PDR) across the country in the hopes to get everybody out of harms way ahead of time, in turn saving lives and helping each other to maintain a quality of life and preserve our integrity and pride.

So please, spend some time read the site and if you are in a position to volunteer it would be appreciated. They have a great contact, just email them if you have any questions. If not tell someone about Evacuation Help.

And yes I signed up.

stay tuna'd cause I bet there's more from this group on the horizon.

why???

Read THIS once again and tell me why do we want to send 20 thousand more troops to Iraq.

Just think about the latest, for lack of a better word, SCREW UP! If they cannot hang a man correctly, my God is there such a thing as that!!! Why do we want to send more men and women to this country and jepordize their lives.

Consider writing the President and all the good folks in Congress, see what we can do. There really is such a thing as power to the people. At least try!

When I wrote to the President concerning my thoughts of the Iraq debacle, my sister wrote as well, read her blog about the situation http://frenchbenefits.blogspot.com/ Anyway she got a response from the White House, however it being a form letter but a response none the less. I got nothing. I felt like maybe I was on a list of some kind until yesterday, I got the same stupid form email.

Some ask could it get worse I say stay tuna'd....

no labels here

Many of you have heard me speak of a market I frequent called PUBLIX. It's a chain of many stores, that is employee owned, throughout Florida, Georgia and a few in South Carolina I think.

To bring attention to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day today Publix put a full page ad in the newspaper that nearly blew me away.

Picture several tin cans without labels on a grocery shelf, and the statement underneath...

In honor of a man who didn't believe in labels.

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 1.15.07

My patience is just about over

I went to bed last nite somewhat afraid of the consequences that are going to come from the speech of the President along with the gazillion talking heads that had to join in.

A few things that bother me and I'm sure that list will grow as all of this mess esculates.

One is when they were interviewing the reporters on the White House lawn you could hear demonstrators in the background. Oh my God! Not that I don't want people to demonstrate I do, I just have these horrible flashbacks of the 60's.

Another worriesome item is he kept mentioning the region Iran and Syria. Oh my God! Seems to me that Iraq will implode and poor Turkey who is tring to mind their own business and happens to border on Iraq with Syria to their south. Oh lord there is gonna be a huge civil war over there.

I woke up to my bunky saying some pretty radical things about the President and this mess he has got us into. Now those of you that know my husband know he is not the least bit radical or horribly outspoken on the President, the Government or anything else for that matter. Yep he spent 4 years in the U S Air Force, as a Canadian resident I am reminding you. And yes he was in Vietnam more than once , so what, so were a lot of other very brave folk. But he's having flashbacks of more boots on the ground rhetoric and it's not looking good.

I do not see any good to come out of this what so ever, ever, ever. BUT stay tuna'd...let's see if this new Congress has any balls.

Happy Birthday Elvis and Jeff

A friend told me today was her husbands birthday, Happy Birthday Jeff.
Then she reminded me it was also the birthday of Elvis. OK!!!

Not that I have ever celebrated Elvis Presley's birthday BUT I do have a few memories of Elvis. So when my friend mentioned this event, a couple of Elvis memories immediately came to mind.

One of which was WAAAAAAY back when he first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. We lived in Indiana, had a black & white television, beautiful piece of furniture, blond wood, anyway the tuner was broke and to keep it on the station you wanted to watch you had to hold the tuner. I sat inches away from the TV for the whole time while old Elvis swiveled his hips and sang to the world. I even remember the two sofas we had in the living room were quite stylish of black and white tweedy material and very modern. Long time ago.

Now I was never ever an Elvis screamer but I had his records and saw his insipid movies cause I thought he was rather handsome.

Now fast forward many years to being married and living in Connecticut. Sometime in the spring or early summer of 1977 I hear that Elvis is coming to Hartford. I mention this to my dear husband, says sure let's get ticket for his concert in August. I toddle on up to Hartford when the tickets go on sale, wait in line, get really good seats for his show on August 18th.

Well do ya see where I'm going with this??? Tragically Elvis departed this world on August 16, 1977. Not only did I not get to see him which I would have enjoyed BUT husband, without my knowledge, took the tickets back and got a refund. Then went and bought me an Elvis album.
The dear sweet soul came home and handed me this album, I say what the hell is this? as I am such an ungrate person aren't I. Well he says since you didn't get to see Elvis and I know how disappointed you were I thought I would get you his album. How sweet I say but DO YOU KNOW HOW VALUABLE THOSE TICKETS WOULD BE IF YOU KEPT THEM!!!

Actually the thought never crossed husbands mind because he doesn't think like that. And I apologized for being so ungrateful and to tell ya the truth I don't know now if the tickets would be of any value. But let me tell you when the name Elvis comes up husband usually will tell someone about the returned tickets. My man is a keeper.

Random thoughts and a good thing

A few years ago after retiring, permanently, for the second ot third time. Oh that's for another blog. Anyway I put on a gew inches, pounds, gray hairs and such. So it was then that I decided after perusing the internet and library for diets, it's not a diet at all I was looking for it's a lifestyle change oh yeah and to break bad habits.

But on a side note, when searching thru many magazines I noticed a very disturbing, repetetive something going on in these magazine. On the cover in very BOLD letters reads "OUR BEST DIET EVER" and then maybe at the bottom of the page in a somewhat smaller font is an article about
"OH So-Good Desserts!" Now I guess the publishers of theses magazines must be all things to all people but come on the recipe for Chocolate Creme Brulee followed by the best diet ever seems rather un-kind.

I digress - here goes, I started back walking more and enjoying it more last week. Doing two and a half to three miles daily outside when weather permits then on thos sticky humid days, which we are having a lot of these days, I pop in my Walk off the Pounds DVD and walk with the annoying Leslie Sansome.
And guess what I really do believe endorphins are our friends...stay tuna'd

Not what I wanted to read

on a relaxing Saturday morning, while enjoying the balmy, sticky, humid crappy 85 degree weather and sipping on a nice cup of tea.

I like Max Mayfield, he's a fine fellow, very smart and knows his stuff. So it troubles me that he would leave us with this parting gift, an editorial from The Hearld Tribune, Saturday January 6, 2007.

Now Max Mayfield is a lucky dude! He retired one day and the very next day went offshore fishing and landed a 200 pound grouper. Unbelievable and lucky I might add. Now Max didn't keep the giant grouper, he did practice the catch and release as he released the monster to slide back into the ocean where he belongs.

Funny a previously retired Hurricane guru went fishing after his retirement, not ocean fishing but backcountry and with Captain Norm. Guess they are drawn to the ocean and gulf.

Max alert

National Hurricane Center's ex-chief departs with a dire warning
Floridians shouldn't let the mild storm season of 2006 lull them into believing that the predictions of an era of more and stronger hurricanes may have been wrong, warns Max Mayfield. Be afraid, he says. Be very afraid.
Mayfield is a 58-year-old scientist with a manner as mild as the recent mornings along our stretch of the Gulf of Mexico.But there was gloom and doom in what Mayfield said when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times for a story published Wednesday, the day after he retired as director of the National Hurricane Center."We're eventually going to get a strong enough storm in a densely populated area to have a major disaster," he said."I know people don't want to hear this, and I'm generally a very positive person, but we're setting ourselves up for a major disaster."Southeast is vulnerableThousands could be killed, he said. Millions could be homeless.The chances of that happening in the Southeast sometime in the next 20 years are high, Mayfield said, unless preventive action is taken by government, the construction industry and homeowners.A hurricane of monstrous proportions could come as early as this year, of course. So we urge Mayfield to keep sounding the alarm -- no matter how frustrated he gets at the general lack of preparedness.In his comments to the Times, Mayfield pointed out that South Florida has 7 million residents. Yet, new homes still go up along the Florida coastline and in inland areas prone to flooding from storm surges.Political will lackingThe entire Southeast is vulnerable, he said, because elected officials generally lack the political will to factor hurricanes into land-use and zoning decisions.Mayfield noted that Florida did toughen its construction codes after Hurricane Andrew slammed into the state's southeastern coast in 1992.Strong building codes, better evacuation planning and, in general, better community planning are needed, Mayfield said. (For information on how to better fortify existing buildings, go to: ibhs.org and flash.org.)Mayfield mentioned another idea that should be pursued: a natural disaster assessment service that could go into an area following a hurricane to find out what lessons could be learned to help other communities prepare for hurricanes.Max Mayfield, keep talking.

Mistake ~ noun

an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.


In November, the American people sent a loud, resounding message of change to the President. But apparently that message wasn't clear enough, do they not hear. As a mother would say to her child, "pay attention and listen, you might learn something'.

As of now more three thousand brave Americans have been killed, and thousands more have been wounded. The cost to American taxpayers is approaching 400 billion$$$ yep thats billion with a B.

I would hope Americans who may be concerned about this decision as I am to call, write or email the President. Our men and women in uniform are doing a terrific job under extremely difficult conditions. However, our government has tragically failed them. We just cannot afford to do it again. How can they keep on making the same damn mistakes. If I did something like that I would be in JAIL.

stay tuna'd.................

Intentions that's what!!!

Being that it's a New Year many of the good folks I know make resolutions of varying degrees on weight loss, quitting smoking, spend less money, save more money and on and on.

Well instead of a resolution, because a resolution can be so hard on the person making said resolution. So I am going to make intentions ~ an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.

A friend recently brought up a good intention of keeping in contact with friends the old fashion way, by dropping a hand written note of good luck or a note of thanks. And actually putting a stamp on the envelope and mailing that note. They may not always get there in a timely manner but it's the thought that counts in some ways.

Electronic birthday, anniversary, thanks or whatever greeting cards are too cool, but I think I would like to go back to sending cards...Hallmark and the US Post office should appreciate my effort wouldn't ya spose.

I received a cheer up card a few days ago, ya know it's heartwarming that the friend took the time. That means a lot. So I want to do the same more than I have in the last couple of years.

I also want to read more. I want to read memoirs and biographies of people that I admire but don't know enough about.

I love the internet but it's so impersonal. It tends to isolate and I am not a person that enjoys isolation.

I will continue to blog of course here and on PBE however look for my cards in the mail and stay tuna'd on my book reviews.

A New Year

Ah yes, other than the fact that we will be inundated with Publishing Clearing House AND weight loss commercial I will be starting the new year with some terrific new music CD's, music DVD's and some kick ass cookbooks. What more could one ask for well maybe a few lost pounds and a million $$$'s couldn't hurt.

However I can leave 2006 behind without too much trouble. It was memorable, eventful, fun and some adventure thrown in to spice up ones life.

I am looking forward to 2007 cause I seem to be the glass is half full kinda gal, new beginnings all that kinda stuff.

So with much anticipation....Welcome 2007...stay tuna'd

The kindness of people!!!

Yep I am amazed at how kind and thoughtful people are. I gives you hope in humankind.

OK this is how it went...

I ordered my niece a couple of items from Amazon for Christmas, one of which was a book. Yesterday I received an email from Amazon say that the book was out of stock and was able to be shipped not until the beginning of the year. They gave me the option of keep the item on back order or cancel the item. I went to the site, cancelled the order and replaced it with something else. That next morning I received an email from Amazon saying they cancelled my order and received the new order and in that email gave me a cancellation number as well as shipping information on the new item. Oh all of the above was being sent to my sisters address in California where Christmas will be celebrated.

Fast forward to tonite, I get a phone call from sister, "you won't believe what just happened. We get a box addressed to me (sister) and the return address is Houston TX. OK I open it and it is wrapped in the typical Amazon paper, with the envelop that contained the invoice. Also there was a note from a lady in Houston that received this book in her Amazon shipment. She writes that she tried to contact Amazon, to no avail, so she just sent it on to the rightful person".

Now about now I amazed that somone would go out of their way to number one just ignore this and keep the item, number two this women went to the trouble of boxing up the item, taking it to UPS and sending it off.

How kind and thoughtful this person is and at a time that is very much appreciated. I'm sure this person has a life and took time out of her life to do something nice.

Merry Christmas nice lady in Houston...........stay tuna'd.

Like many of you

I have great concern for the climbers on Mt Hood. I have great sympathy for their friends and families I truly have. I am so very sorry that one man was found dead. But, always that BUT, what about the families of ALL of the people that are risking their own lives by searching for these men. I know mountain rescue teams live to do this. And nothing is better than to find the people alive. I guess I just don't understand the draw of going up the side of a mountain.

Many, many years ago my husband had a friend that was what we now refer to as an old hippy. Ralph was a very cool guy in his day. He worked as an electronics engineer in the beginning of the rise of it all. Now Ralph was the first guy I ever saw go to work in sandals. Good lord that was unheard of back then you were just called weird. Well Ralph was far from weird, a tad eccentric, maybe a bit odd, but not weird. Actually he was a genius. He would go out to lunch, smoke a joint and come back and invent some of the wildest things.

We lost Ralph to a Mt Hood mountain climbing expedition. Ralph was also an EXPERT climber. He went out with only the very best equipment and with only the very skilled. Accidents happen and Ralph fell off of the mountain. His body was never recovered. It was a very sad time for a lot of his friends and of course his family.

Every time I hear of an expedition climber in trouble I think of Ralph. Been thinking a lot about him lately.

God speed to the rescue team...and may the weather be with them.

A way to give...

My sweet sister posted over on her blog an interesting way of giving.

I am going to post a link to her post http://frenchbenefits.blogspot.com/2006/12/good-or-bad-its-warm-feeling.html

I find creating a link to a worthwhile cause such as this worthy of note. It doesn't need to be her cause but just about anything. I wonder if we all did this how much would come from this.

There are many charities out there that are not deserving of a donation because of their history and track record. But in my mind the Salvation Army has always been one I donate to frequently. As a matter of fact I am involved in their Giving Tree donations this year. Going thru all the items given and making sure that they are appropriate for the child. Habitat for Humanity is another one of my all time favorite organizations to give to.
https://www.habitat.org/donation/default.aspx?ProjectID=1

Good for you seester, good for you.

I just witnessed

one of the finest upsets in college football.

The UCLA Bruins earned the tremendous win over the stunned USC.

UCLA Bruins 13.................USC 9

I am so very happy because my sweet niece and her hunky husband were there to witness this very exciting event.

lil bird said she was going on the field if the Bruins won, let's see if she did.

Congratulations to all those Bruin fans, they are over the top happy about now.

How careless must one be???

Well I'm gonna tell ya. Here I am in and out of the garage arranging some Christmas displays, trying to decide if there was anything else I needed. I'm standing at the doorway between the garage and the house with my hand in the doorway and a nice gentle breeze comes thru and
SLAMS the damned door on my hand.

Oh aren't I lucky it was my left hand, I'm right handed and the door broke the knuckle on my left index finger. I did say some choice words, many words, lotsa choice words.

I immediately flashed back to when my sister and I were on a trip and I broke a finger getting our luggage out of the truck. Stuck my hand in a cup of ice and went to the drugstore and got a finger splint. Well I did that today, but went to the ER cause it was ugly.

So here I sit with a finger splint and saying ouch and taking longer to type this than I care to mention.

But let me share my photo of the Christmas Tree Village I did. I think it needs some snow don't you? stay tuna'd.....................

Feeling the heat maybe???

what's wrong Rupert did you go to the cash register and see that the day's take wasn't quite what it should be.

The American public has power we just don't use it enough.

I think the phrase stay tuna'd is quite appropriate here.

A warm fuzzy

feeling was felt while standing in a very long line at the post office. In front of me was a lady in her mid 30's with two small children. One was a wandering toddler that was obviously not happy to be kept in line by his older 4 ish year old sister. I must admit little sister was doing a very good job of keeping the toddler from escaping out the door. The lady in front of them and I tried to distract the toddler boy from trying his mom's patience, but he would have none of that. Toddler Noah didn't want to converse with strangers, he was cranky, wanted a nap and his mom. All of this while mom was struggling with a package and a couple of large envelopes getting ready to ship off. I did notice that one envelope the mom was holding was addressed to an APO.

When mom picked up the toddler the sister was in charge of the package which was entirely too large for her to handle, so being a package handler I told her I would hold it so the sister could go retrieve toddler brothers toys that were scattered around.

About that time and elderly lady came up to the mom and said " I am next up in line so you are more than welcome to go ahead of me". The mom looked at her said "thanks" and toddled up to the counter kids in tow.

The mom had no idea why the elderly lady was in line but she did say to the counter postal worker "would you give me a book of Christmas stamps now" and she turned around and handed them to the nice elderly lady and said "with great gratitude, Merry Christmas". And with that gesture we all sighed a collective "aaaawwww", I gave the nice elderly lady a hug on her way out, and life went on.

I will remember that moment always.

That moment almost makes up for those morons seeking PS3 and Black Friday bull.

I have just...

too many things to be thankful for to even concern myself about something that this country is involved in as a day that is called Black Friday.

How or why is shopping and/or buying that important to go out on one day and put more tension in your otherwise stressful life.

Trust me I am not sheltered, I do know people that live for this shopping day. I just do not understand the concept. Just like I don't understand why people camped out all nite to buy a PlayStation 3 game.

Actually the folks that have bought into this madness, in my very humble opinion, have been sucked in by the media and the media has done a super job of marketing for all of these companies.

Oh by the way our Canadian friends don't have a black friday because they are Thankful a month or so before their USA friends

I am beginning to sound old and cranky aren't I??? stay tuna'd

.

a protest of sorts

After seeing this on the internet, newspaper, TV and radio.....I hereby boycott FOX TV, and any companies that they should own, for the rest of my life.
And I might just include the publisher of the filthy book.

How dare they ! ! !

A warning...whew!!!

So let's talk briefly about how I got out of another ticket. I know yikes!

Man I thought I was toast on this one for sure. And husband was in the passenger seat. Trust me I was more upset about that than anything. Because he just sat there in his seat chortling with that silly ass smirk on his face. Like ha ha you finally got caught and you are going to pay.

We are on our way to meet a friend for breakfast as he was leaving town. I took a street that has been newly widened and re-paved. "Oh nice" I say, as I go zipping by a cop sitting in the middle of the road with his radar pointed directly at me. It was husbands fault cause he was talking and since he doesn't talk much I decided to listen. Hence my heavy foot on the accelerator. Oh I know the cop didn't buy that one either.

There they were those blasted flashing lites. I mean when they are intended for you they are huge and the siren is LOUD. Crap! Crap! Crap! I pull over, oh and on this new road there is no where to pull over safely, so I must remember to tell the highway dept about that. Won't they be thrilled. Now I am sitting and waiting for the nice officer to approach my car, and I wait, and I wait. Husband says in a very sarcastic tone "this seems to be taking awhile longer than normal, you don't have any outstanding warrants do you"? He is laughing as I am screaming NO!!! and my window is down and at that very moment the cop walks up to the car. For a fleeting moment I am trying to remember my rights, you know the Miranda deal, you have the right to remain silent, etc. I look over and husband has gotten this stupid grin on his face. Nice officer asks for my drivers license, insurance card and registration. Well I do have my license of course, unlike another time I got stopped and I only had half of my license. Oh that's another story. He, the nice officer, says "while you are re-organizing your glove boxes looking for your paper work, I will go check out your history". Another smart A@@ Oh and he leaves me with this " I clocked you going 62 in a 35". Norm says under his breath 'over 200$$$". So I am rumaging around looking for my registration and insurance card, while the smirker offers not one ounce of help. I found them in their proper places, just under some other important stuff like coupons to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Those are valuable ya know.

So the nice officer let's me sit for what seemed an eternity cause husband was in the other seat. Nice officer comes back with paperwork, hands it back to me and say "I truly appreciate your EXCELLENT driving record". My head shot around to husband and I said "see". And the man I am married to for 36 years said to the cop, "you just haven't caught her yet". The cop was still laughing sitting in his car as I pulled away to meet our friend, who happens to be a retired cop.
So you can just imagine the beating I took during breakfast.

Veteran's Day 2006

It bothers me that there is such commercial aspect of Veteran's Day. There are sales everywhere. I have always refused and staged my own little mini protest of not buying anything on a so called Veteran's Day sale. The only thing I buy would be the essential food items.

Many of our family members were in the Armed Forces. Our Dad was in the SeaBee's which is a branch of the Navy. The SeaBee's were kinda like the construction crew for the Marine's. My brother-in-law and husband were in the Air Force during a very turbulent time in this country. Need to get those boys back to see the new Air Force Memorial in D.C.

Celebrate this Veteran's Day by thanking a soldier. And wander over to a friends blog and check out how their family recognizes Veteran's Day. http://kidsinthecastle.blogspot.com/

OK....get on with it

the election is over, the Dems are in control, no more fighting, no more bickering. Get over it and get something done. Please I beg you. Don't make fools of yourselves like people think you are going to, make us proud.

Elections come and elections go. Some make little difference in the life of our country this past election could be the one to make a difference.

Oh yes, see ya Don............stay tuna'd

fill up before

Tuesday, November 7th, because you know damn well the price of gas will go up after the election.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

Día de los Muertos

The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or Día de Muertos in Spanish) is an ancient Aztec celebration of the memory of deceased ancestors that is celebrated on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day).

May I refer you to a beautiful altar created by my niece

http://malteseparakeet.blogspot.com/

The holiday is especially popular in Mexico where it is a national holiday, and is celebrated in the Philippines, in Mexican-American communities in the United States, and to a lesser extent, in other Latin American countries. It is a public holiday in Brazil, where many Brazilians celebrate it by visiting cemeteries and churches, bringing flowers, lighting candles and praying.Though the subject matter may be considered morbid from the Anglo Saxon perspective, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls Day, the traditional mood is much brighter with emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, and celebrating the continuation of life; the belief is not that death is the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life.

In homes observant families create an altar and decorate it with items that they believe are beautiful and attractive to the souls of their departed ones. Such items include offerings of flowers and food, but also things that will remind the living of the departed (such as their photographs, a diploma, or an article of clothing), and the things that the dead prized and enjoyed while they lived. This is done to entice the dead and assure that their souls actually return to take part in the remembrance. In very traditional settings, typically found only in native communities, the path from the street to the altar is actually strewn with petals to guide the returning soul to its altar and the bosom of the family.The traditional observance calls for departed children to be remembered during the first day of the festivity (the Day of the Little Angels, "Día de los Angelitos"), and for adults to be remembered on the second day. Traditionally, this is accompanied by a feast during the early morning hours of November the 2nd, the Day of the Dead proper, though modern urban Mexican families usually observe the Day of the Dead with only a special family supper featuring the bread of the dead. In southern Mexico, for example in the city of Puebla, it is good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidden by the baker in each rounded loaf. Friends and family members give one another gifts consisting of sugar skeletons or other items with a death motif, and the gift is more prized if the skull or skeleton is embossed with one's own name. Another variation found in the state of Oaxaca is for bread to be molded into the shape of a body or burial wrap, and for a face to be embedded on one end of the loaf. During the days leading up to and following the festivity, some bakeries in heavily aboriginal communities cease producing the wide range of breads that they typically sell so that they can focus on satisfying the demand for bread of the dead.

greetings...

On November 7th,

we have a chance to do something great in this country.

All across America, people are ready for change. People are looking for leaders who will stop representing Washington to their constituents, and start to represent their constituents in Washington.

Just vote OK!!! You will be doing us all a favor.

this could happen...

This is a scenario that would just move my heart around.

The only justice in this world would be for Kinky Friedman to be elected Governor of the State of Texas and then when Dubya is out of office, returns to the ranch in Crawford Governor Kinky will be there to greet him. If you know anyone that lives in Texas and is a registered voter ask them to look in to maybe voting for the "Kinkster"... stay tuna'd!!!

Send in the clowns

to Sarasota of course. Home of the world famous Ringling Museum of Art.

Chicago has it's cows, Key West has Manatees, I think Dallas has some bulls. Well Sarasota now the home of a few clowns. And what with all the upheaval of doing this project for a very worthy cause, some of those clowns should have been tarred and feathered. Get a grip folks. Get this, some people refer to it as tasteless example of art. It's art for god sakes get over it. I love them and if in fact I could or had room I would be there at the auction when they do auction them off to benefit the TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care Center. But I won't be there. So I took some pictures. I want to share with y'all, they are so cute.

How did it happen

that manicures became so popular. And why is there a nail shop or two on every block in every city. I think this is amazing that so many people are getting their nails done.

Now I understand acrylic nails, they do require maintenance. Years ago I had them and went every two weeks for my fill. But people are now going every week, some every two weeks to get a manicure. And when I say people I mean men too.

Times sure have changed when you would just carry a nail file or emery board in your purse and whip it out from time to time and file your nails. I still have a nail file that was my moms
What prompted us to think we needed to be professionaly manicured? But there is no better feeling than to have your poor little arthritec hands massaged by a professional.

Oh well maybe there is when you talk pedicures...stay tuna'd

A helpful hint

Once upon a time husband and I owned a pack and ship store. We mailed a variety of items, some of which I cannot go into. But cookies were a big mailing item. I remember our mom would always mail Valentine cookies to “little bird”. Mom would call husband to consult on packaging. So we came up with the idea that we would put an article in the paper to help people pack the holiday baking items that they may be shipping off. And praying they get their safely


Mailing Cookies
Everyone loves to receive packages in the mail, especially the edible variety.
Make sure you get cheers, not jeers, when you mail your elegant eatables.

A big NO NO! S
ome cookies tend to ship better than others do. We recommend that you do not mail cookies with custard or custard-like fillings or toppings. The custard could spoil, making a very unwelcome gift. For that matter, any cookie that requires refrigeration is not a good candidate for the shipping. Another type of cookie that doesn't hold up well for mailing is one with a delicate, cake-like texture type cookies.

Yes, yes, yes!
Cookies that have a crunchy or hard texture such as Biscotti, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Crisps, and Shortbreads make excellent choices for shipping. They tend to be fairly sturdy, so you don't have to worry too much about breakage. And since they already have a fairly dry texture, drying out isn't much of an issue.

Cookies that have a slightly chewy texture, like Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal-Raisin, Snickerdoodles, and White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies also ship well. These cookies will tend to dry out if they are in the mail for more than a week, so if their destination is a long way off, you might want to ship them by express to ensure that they arrive just as tasty as when they left.

Macaroons ship beautifully. Their chewy, moist textures only seem to improve after they've aged a few days. Who wouldn't want to receive a single, perfect chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon as a special treat?

Dense bar cookies such as Fudge Brownies, Lemon Bars, or Peanut Butter Bars are delightful to receive in the mail. Just be sure to individually wrap each one with plastic wrap to keep that moist, gooey, dense texture from drying out.

Good things come in secure packages
Once you've baked and cooled your cookies, you're ready for the next step: packing them. There are a few guidelines you should follow when it comes to preparing cookies to be mailed. Follow these and your special packages should arrive fresh, in one piece, and great tasting.

Don't pack crisp and soft cookies together. The moisture from the soft cookies will seep into the crisp cookies, making them lose their delightful crunch.

Don't overstuff your container. Your cookies may be damaged. Likewise, don't under-pack your container. The cookies should fit snugly. If you have too much space, crumple up a bit of newspaper or towels to fill the holes.
Pack cookies in a sturdy tin or airtight container. On the bottom of the container place a piece of bubble wrap, then line the container with parchment paper or cellophane, leaving enough to tuck over the top once the container is fully packed. Place one layer of cookies in the container. Cover with parchment paper. Arrange another layer of cookies, followed with more parchment paper, and continue this layering until the container is full. Tuck the cellophane or parchment paper over the top, then place another piece of bubble wrap on top, and seal your container.

You now need to pack your tin or container in a heavy-duty cardboard box that's large enough to allow a two- to three-inch cushion between the tin and the wall of the outside box. Place a layer of shipping peanuts, crumpled paper on the bottom of your shipping box. Set your cookie tin on this bottom layer. Then fill in the sides and top with more shipping materials. Seal the shipping box with two-inch-wide shipping tape. Place a mailing label on the box, and you're ready to send those treats on their way. Rest assured that you will surely be receiving a call of gratitude.

Someday I’ll tell y’all bout the Key Lime pie that we shipped.

Major October 2006 Holidays and Events

This is a public service announcement for all who just cannot keep up with these special days. We are all way too busy running here and there. I forgot to wish the elderly Happy Day on the 1st, think I'll bake a cake and take it to the Senior Center.

Sweetest Day, allows me to be sweet or eat sweets, think I'll do both. United Nations Day, oh lord what can we expect from those goons? Maybe they will just take the day off. Now Make a Difference Day, glad I have time to research that because I certainly would like to make a difference. Enjoy the remainder of the month, BUT stay tuna'd for updates.

• 1 International Day for the Elderly
  
• 2 Yom Kippur
  
• 6 Sukkot begins at sundown
  
• 9 Columbus Day observed
  
• 9Thanksgiving Day in Canada, 2nd Monday
  
• 16 Boss's Day
  
• 21 Sweetest Day 3rd Saturday
  
• 22 Last day of Ramadan
  
• 24 United Nations Day
  
• 28 Make a Difference Day 4th Saturday
  
• 29 Daylight Savings time ends gain 1 hour of sleep (last Sunday in October)
  
• 31 Halloween
  More October holidays and special days

cat house revisited

Remember my post on the "cat house", as some people have referred to it, well there is an update.

Buddy finally went in the house and posed for this snap. Actually he goes in most evenings.

Just thought y'all would want to know cause Norm was a happy person.

What is a poor cow to do ?!?!

Washington brainiacs say they may or may not have a smoking cow!!! Oh lord give me strength to keep
me from wanting to strangle these bureacratic bastards.

I saw this article on CNN so I thought it would be worthwhile to pass it on. http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/10/12/tainted.spinach.ap/

The reason I went on the internet, to look at this news piece, was that it was in our local paper but while reading it I noticed a few typos and the article seemed disjointed. Sure enough the piece on CNN was longer and no typos, shrugging ones shoulders.

As I have mentioned many times in the past...stay tuna'd,
cause I bet there will be some fallout from this as well.

This is where we should discuss community based farming!

google bought youtube

maybe this is the reason why?!?!
I doubt it, I know it's sappy but very touching and quite telling.


I want to share the following video with you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Video Description
Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER!

Customer for life

I have posted several times regarding the good, the bad and the ugly of customer service in this country. On a whole I think it stinks. Sorry but people are rude and defensive if you should return a product or have a problem. I always thought that killing them with kindness is the best way to go. Nah not anymore. Customer service folks take on the attitude that the customer is never right and screw you.

I had an experience this past week that exceeds expert, highest quality customer service.

I pay all of my bills with online banking and have for many years. My bank of choice is Bank of America.

This past August I paid my flood insurance premium. We, here in Florida think that's a good thing to have you know just in case. OK I get a notice from the flood insurance company that my premium was due. I think I will be calling these fine folk cause we be approaching mid hurricane season. First I go online and check to make sure that said bank did what I asked them to do. And yes they had and I got confirmation number etc. OK so I call the nice folks at the insurance copamy and tell the customer service person my story. Well they are going to look into this and get back with me. A week later I get another notice that my policy will lapse on October the 8th.

Now I'm upset with these people what did you do with my money I'm thinking. So I go to my bank and ask them to FAX a copy of check front and back to the insurance company. No problem these people at the bank are as nice as can be. I call the insurance company the next day, they say" yes we got the FAX but that doesn't look like our stamp on the back". "You must pay your premium, time is running out Mrs Doodles".

Oh lord it took a lot for me not to tear into this DOPE! But what good would that have done, I'll just let the bank do it. Emailed my now best friend at B of A and she emails me back saying that they, B of A, put an URGENT on this matter and it would be handled by October 6th.

I get a call of Friday, October 6th from B of A saying that they were depositing the dollar amount of my premium into my checking account. Would I call my insurance company and pay the premium on Saturday. "Excuse me I said", you are putting the money in my account? Why?!!! "Well we know how important you insurance is in Florida or anywhere for that matter and we don't want you to be without". I said this was not your mistake, I did my job by paying, and you did your job by sending off the payment". "The insurance company dropped the ball and didn't do their job". B of A lady said "yes we know and don't expect an apology from them."
"Don't you worry we'll get our money, now they owe B of A".

Now have you ever had such great customer service? That is why I will be a B of A customer for life.

Ethics...........Morals.............

ethics  – plural noun
1.(used with a singular or plural verb) a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture.
2.the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics.
3.moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics forbade betrayal of a confidence.
4.(usually used with a singular verb) that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.

morals n : motivation based on ideas of right and wrong

You get the picture.............but here is a quote from a prominent high ranking senator, John McCain, republican from Arizona.

"There's a belief among my colleagues that our constituents are not concerned about corruption on Capital Hill."

In other words, lawmakers figured they could get away with talking about reform - while doing nothing.

When you go to vote this November and every election thereafter, please, do not forget.

stay tuna'd

a boy and his cat..................

So I come home the other day and husband asks me to come out to the studio/workshop to show me what he has started. Holy crap it’s a house for Buddy the cat!!!

Now I am not one to discourage my builder husband from building anything, but good god almighty a house for the cat!

I try to explain to husband that #1 the cat is claustrophobic and does not like closed in spaces. #2 Buddy never ever went into/on the bed you made him three years ago. You ended up giving it to the next door neighbor for their dog. And I tried to remind husband how sad he was that Buddy did not appreciate husband’s skills at the time. What the hell makes you think he is gonna like this house.

Stubborn male that he is and not to be deterred husband continues his project. I go for my camera.

I must explain that this cat house is a replica of the house we want to build when we sell this house and move to Arizona. Well not an exact replica but a close version. Please notice the carpet inside, maybe he would prefer tile!

In the beginning.........................

The enticement of a treat..............................










The rejection.....................










the caption should read "give it to that dog next door"!......................stay tuna'd

THINK BLUE

Thank you Greg Maddox..............and team!!!

The Dodgers are in the playoffs!!! Sorry they didn't clinch at home so that their fans could celebrate with them.

I think now the dismal 2005 season is a distant memory.

Let's just pray Nomar and Penny are OK.............................stay tuna'd