I Like Retired Gen Colin Powell

I Like Retired Gen Colin Powell

But Dick Cheney Is Something Else!

The Underachieving Hurricane Irene

The Underachieving Hurricane Irene

Some newscaster on TV described Irene as the underachieving hurricane. For everyone in northern Virginia and Washington D.C. it was. Jack and I had no home or garden damage and just got one inch of rain. Thank goodness. I think the people hit hardest are those that experienced flooding from the back up of water in the rivers and streams. This would be especially true for folks living in New Jersey, New York and New England.

Hope everyone has a good start of this work week before Labor Day. I know lots of kids are trudging off to school. Two big counties in northern Virginia don't go back till after Labor Day: Fairfax County and Prince William County.

Barney Survived The Earthquake But......

Barney

Barney Survived The Earthquake But.......

Barney survived the earthquake but was in trouble with Jeanine when she finally make it home on Tuesday. Barney had gotten into the pantry and had eaten a bunch of plastic cups. Luckily Barney has a stomach like a goat. He can digest just about anything.

I Think I Need A Stiff Drink!!!!!! Part II

I Think I Need A Stiff Drink !!!!! Part II

I'm still in shock. How could an earthquake that had its epic center in central Virginia be felt all the way from Atlanta to Canada to Chicago and Wisconsin? This is incredible. Tuesday night there was an aftershock of 4.0! Daughter Jeanine made it safely home from work via interstate 95. Daughter Jennifer said her first earthquake freaked her totally out and she froze then ran outside. Meanwhile her son and our grandson Jack Aidan thought it was cool----that the house was having an amusement park ride. Oh my gosh. Out of the mouth of babes. Obviously Jack Aidan doesn't need a strong drink like his grandmother!

I Think I Need A Stiff Drink!!!!!!

I Think I Need A Stiff Drink!!!!!

We had a 5.8 earthquake around 2:00 P.M. Tuesday. Jack and I were sitting in the family room relaxing when a strange sound kept getting louder and louder. We both said what is that sound. I thought the dishwasher was going crazy. Jack thought a large plane was coming into the house. Then the whole house started shaking and things started falling off the walls. That's when we realized that we were having an earthquake here in VA.

I feel like Elvis----I'm all shook up!

My August Flowers

My August Flowers

Take A Look.

August Bookclub Read

August Bookclub Read

Last Friday night we met at Haelie's house for our August bookclub and to discuss this historic Charles Dicken's novel Oliver Twist. Haelie chose the book because her daughter was in the play Oliver based on the book at her school. Most of you will recall that the movie Oliver that was based on this book. The movie was dark and depressing because the book was dark and depressing. We did not concentrate on the darkness but based our discussion on the fact that Charles Dickens was one of the first writers to write in the new genre known as a novel so consequently he approached in a different fashion from today's novelists. The book characters are static and one dimensional in comparison to the highly developed personalities of today's novel characters. Sometimes you learn a lot by discussing and old classic book.

Learn more about this book selection by going to my other blog listed at the left: Piedmont Readers.

Sidenote: this was the smallest group that ever met for a bookclub meeting. A lot of the members were on August vacations or had other commitments that prevented them from attending the meeting. Poor Haelie. She prepared food for an army of people but only had three of us show up for the meeting. Sorry Haelie.

July Bookclub Read

July Bookclub Read

Our July bookclub read was a delightful romp across the U.S. in a car with a middle age married father and his sister's middle age Eastern religion guru who practiced a combination of Buddhism and other Eastern religious practices. Funny scenes and enlightening religious thoughts between the two leads the reader to view the world in a different light. This was an easy read that I enjoyed. I must have read the book in less then two days.

You can learn some more about this book by going to my other blog on the left: PiedmontReaders.

Always Someone With A Worst Story

Always Someone With A Worst Story

When I went into the cancer center to get my blood checked I saw one lady in her mid-seventies and one young girl in her mid-twenties holding her little daughter who was about two years old. We three started talking and I discovered that these two women both had worst hospital stays to relate.

The older lady told me that she had three armed Prince William police at her hospital room to guard the escaped psychiatric patient who was from St. Elizabeths Hospital in D.C. and managed to make it 35 miles west to Prince William County. St. Elizabeths is where John Hinckley who shot President Reagan is kept.

The young woman told me that I was lucky to have a single hospital room. She had a room for two patients and during her stay she had four roommates and all four roommates died while she was there in the room. That's when she insisted on being moved to a different room and they did move her.

So when you are going thru a bad time you can always find someone who has had a worst adventure. My thought for this morning.

Health Update 8/11/11

Health Updates 8/11/11

#1 A recent chest x-ray shows that my bacterial pneumonia is almost cured.

#2 An echocardiogram yesterday shows that the fluid on my heart is almost totally cleared up.

So some good news!! Yeah!!

Our grandson, Jack Aidan, when he got home from Cape Cod took a tumble against the family room entertainment cabinet and split his face open right next to his eye. A trip to the emergency room led to three stitches being put in next to his eye. My daughter Jennifer says that little Jack was very brave about the stitches. He has had to miss a swimming lesson or two because he couldn't get in the pool with stitches. He had his stitches removed this past week and is now ready to go to his the pool once again.

I Had My 4'th Blood Transfusion For Leukemia

I Had My 4'th Blood Transfusion For Leukemia

Yesterday I went to my local hospital and had my fourth blood transfusion. I'm o positive. If I was o negative I could be a universal doner though no one would want my blood now that I have leukemia. LOL!

It is amazing how it works. You go into the outpatient infusion clinic for two units of blood that takes about 6 hours. While there you can order any meals that you want. I had a hearty omelet with toast and jam. Then after the transfusion is finished you hop up off the bed or recliner with a lot more energy in your body, a clearer focus in your mind, a lightheartedness in your heart and a little skip in your step. In other words, the old grey mare is running better or as Jack puts it: "You can tell when the car needs an oil change and how it runs after the successful oil change. It runs better."

The infusion nurses also gave me some units of Benedryl and another drug to keep me from getting a blood transfusion reaction like I did in May. Hope everything goes well this time. But I do feel good this morning. This is my third blog post for today. I'm making up for lost time. Ha! Ha!

The Rank and File of House And Senate Make....

The Rank And File Of The House And Senate Make

$174,000 A Year.

And Now They Are All Off On A Month Long Vacation

To Kiss Their Home State Big Pocket Lobbyists.

Just one of the many yearly vacations they get.

And when they are in session they have a three day work week!

No wonder these guys come to Washington and stay forever--till their old and

grey and in their late 80's!

The little men and the little women in America need:

more time off and someone to back them up.

It used to be the unions.

Congress has made the word unions a dirty word.

Anyway, how much do you make a year and how many days do you get off per year?

I Never Had This Sandwich--Have You?

I Never Had This Sandwich--Have You?

A Republican Congressman Described Voting No On The Debt Deal In These Terms:

It would be like eating a Satan Sandwich.

What??????????????

Subway--What Would You Put In A Satan Sandwich For The Folks?

A Funny Comment By A Congressman

A Funny Comment By A Congressman

"Trying to pass this bill is harder than trying to pass my kidney stones."

How true.

How funny!