Grandma's House

What a crazy week I've had here! My doctor changed my meds again, this time for the good. So by the weekend I've readjusted to the changes, and I'm getting ready to get on with life. We received a financial miracle so I'll be able to have my eye surgery this weekend, and we thought things would start calming down. Then came Sunday. Nasty storms were in the area, but we weren't really worried. We'd needed rain for a long time. There weren't any storm watches or warnings at all. That's when we heard it. We had a small tornado go over our place Sunday afternoon. It didn't touch the ground, but it did destroy a sizable tree, which fell on our power line. We're still dealing with that. Our electric company said it's not their problem, since the part of the line that's impaired is between the power pole and the house. So I've got to find an electrician. In the meantime, our power is surging occasionally, just often enough to mess up the circuits. Every surge means resetting every electronic clock in the house, and our television shuts itself off. I'm terrified we'll have a fire before I can find someone to reattach the line to the house. So I'll be gone for a while longer, since I'm having eye surgery on Friday and probably won't be able to read very well for a few days. Don't abandon me completely guys, I'll be back next week. Take care.

In less than one year's time, the town of Beslan held ceremonies to open two new schools to replace the one destroyed by terrorists last year. Good for them. I wish our officials could work as efficiently.

A man named Rob McDonald in Amsterdam has way, way too much time on his hands.

A former Hollywood stunt man now living in the Netherlands launched his greatest project to date Tuesday: a 45-foot replica Viking ship made of millions of wooden ice cream sticks and more than a ton of glue.

Check the link to see a picture. It's actually pretty amazing. And it floats, but that wouldn't have anything to do with the fiberglass lining.

Former Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Skylar Deleon and his wife were arrested for the murder. They allegedly arranged for the couple to be bound to their yacht anchor and thrown overboard to drown. An extremely cruel way to kill, in my opinion. Let's see if he can morph his way out of this.

Why do people do this sort of thing to their bodies?

A Japanese champion eater fended off 30 challengers to win a dumpling eating contest in Hong Kong Saturday, downing 83 steamed dumplings in eight minutes.

In his first contest in Hong Kong, Takeru Kobayashi, 27, picked up the vegetarian dumplings with chopsticks and swallowed many of them almost effortlessly. The professional competitive eater even flaunted his abdominal muscle after he finished eating.

I can't imagine the strain this probably put on his digestive system. I've never understood eating contests. I guess I never will. Feel free to explain it to me, if you can.

Here's one of the most asinine things I've read lately. A judge in Virginia has ruled the state's drunk driving laws are unconstitutional, because the blood alcohol content of .08 does not necessarily mean a person is drunk. Well, excuse me. I believe the law in Virginia says it means exactly that. I don't know what's wrong with that judge, but he has thrown a monkey wrench into DUI cases across this country now. You know as well as I do that defense attorneys are gonna jump on this with both feet.

The nanny state strikes again. The small village of Pinehurst, North Carolina has a new curfew today: No outside activities after 8:30 p.m. All because two neighbors couldn't come to an agreement. One neighbor complained to authorities because late evening basketball games at the other neighbor's home were disturbing their peace. Boo hoo. So now children can't play outside until dusk anymore. Just pathetic.

A car salesman awoke from his open heart surgery to find out his three wives had arrived at the hospital at the same time. It's a good thing he was already in a hospital. If he'd been my husband, he would have needed medical attention.

Looks like Tiger Woods ran into a little problem today on the 2nd day of the PGA Championship. His ball went into some trees and wound up buried in the muck by the creek. He was sure it had been stepped on because it was so deep, but the fans he'd apparently screwed over once before wouldn't back his story. I guess his karma caught up with him.

Here's a twist to an old story: A man runs out of a house, barking like a dog, and bites a mail carrier. He says it was a joke; I don't think the postman agrees.

What a day I've had. I spent a great deal of time on the phone and accomplished exactly nothing. It all started when I received one of those "Dear Medicaid Recipient" letters, outlining all the upcoming cuts in services to us poor folk. It was one of the most confusing letters I've ever read, and I used to work for the federal government. So I called the number on the letter to find out where I stand, only to reach one of those abominable computer phone routing systems. After several "options", I was told by the computer to call my local family services office for more information. So I did. I found out they don't have a clue as to what I'll still be getting services-wise, and they suggested I call my individual service providers, to see if they'll still be covered. So I did. They don't know either. When I called my oxygen provider (yes, that's one of the things that may be cut), they said they won't know one way or the other until a bill is disallowed when they submit it. That sucks for me, as I can't afford to pay what Medicaid doesn't. They said they would work with us to keep my oxygen coming. I said thanks, since I'm not ready to stop breathing yet. I will have to give up my nebulizer, so I may be getting sick more often. That's real cost saver, boy. I also am losing my physical therapy, so there will be no improvements in range-of-motion, or improvement in arthritis problems, so that will mean medication instead of P.T. And my pharmaceuticals will be provided through Medicare now, instead of Medicaid. I have to sign up for one of their plans by November, or my meds won't be covered at all. This really sucks, guys. But it could be worse. I don't have a wheelchair, hospital bed, feeding equipment, or any of the other durable equipment that will no longer be covered. I don't know what the people who depend on these things are supposed to do. There will be no more home health aides covered, so the nursing homes will start to fill up. In the meantime, the state legislators will still be drawing full salary for a few months' work. This is wrong in oh so many ways. If you live in Missouri, contact your representative. Contact the governor's office. Don't let this go down without a fight. Most of the people being cut from the program are children whose parents are now considered to be making "too much money". What a crock. Let them know what you think.

I wish we could get this deal in Missouri like they have in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The city is offering a one-time $500 rebate to households that remove at least 1,500 square feet of grass and replace it with rock or hardy native plants that require little water.

Wouldn't that be great? Artistic looking yard, and no mowing, and they pay you to do it? Where do we sign up??

Talk about your wrong turn! A man thought to be lost in southwestern Utah was finally located in Australia. Dude seriously needs to get a new map.

This is just too funny!

Your Musical Tastes Match: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

See his whole playlist here (iTunes required)

What a great day we had Friday! I finally got to meet my son's boys. I hadn't seen them since the oldest one was just starting to stand up. He will be in the second grade this year. They are so beautiful! The two older boys have dark hair and beautiful blue/green eyes, and the baby looks just like his father did when he was that age. Blond hair, blue eyes, adorable. He was a little shy, but finally let grandma hold him and rock him and kiss his widdle head. The boys also got to meet their cousins, my daughter's four kids. It worked out real well because of the ages. Delia is oldest at nine. Samuel and Anthony are seven. Marcus and Gwendolyne are about the same age, and Nathan and Austin are about the same age. So we're sitting around a picnic table, watching the kids play on the slide and swings. It was all I could do to keep from crying. I waited so long for this day to come. We're going to get together again in a couple of weeks for a picnic. I want to spend as much time as possible with my babies. Of course, son and daughter are going to be having a tug of war over where we'll be spending the holidays. I don't care where, as long as we're all together. We've been apart for far too long. Anyway, little Marcus gave his grandpa a stick. Nothing special about it, just a stick. I'll have you know that stick has a place of honor on our bookshelf. We also need to get the boys baseball caps "like grandpa wears". What a great sound! I know I'm gushing; that's what grandmas do. They're lucky I didn't squeeze the stuffing out of them. Enough about that for now.

Have they no shame? The New York Times is investigating the adoption of John Roberts' children. Just who do they think they are? It was bad enough when the DUmmies were smearing the little boy right after the nomination, it was worse when the Washington Post criticized what the family wore to the announcement ceremony (like anything would have been good enough for them), but now they are trying to smear feces on the adoption of two beautiful children who may not have had a home otherwise. They need to just back off and grow up. Leave the children out of this. If they want to criticize the judge, fine. But the children should definitely be off limits.

Cheese Pizza

Traditional and comforting. You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others.

As if cockfighting wasn't bloody enough.

Angry gamblers threw two hand grenades into a crowd at a cockfight in western Mexico, killing four men and seriously injuring at least 11 others, authorities said Monday.

The story doesn't say how many of the chickens were injured or killed. After all, they were really the only innocents in this mess.

As if cockfighting wasn't bloody enough.

Angry gamblers threw two hand grenades into a crowd at a cockfight in western Mexico, killing four men and seriously injuring at least 11 others, authorities said Monday.

The story doesn't say how many of the chickens were injured or killed. After all, they were really the only innocents in this mess.

Men are finally fighting back. Move over, Vagina Monologues. Here comes "The Holy Phallus".

According to the newspaper, The Holy Phallus is an extended monologue touching on rape, passion, handicaps, homosexuality and loneliness. A public relations agent for the play said it does not involve nudity.

I don't know, perhaps they should reconsider the nudity thing. Or not.

With all the terrorism in the world today, it's only natural that an Australian bus driver would call police after he found a strange package on his bus that made strange noises when it was touched. Boy was he embarrassed when he found it was a whoopee cushion.

Congratulations go out to Susan Polgar, a chess grand master who broke four Guiness world records last week when she played 1,131 consecutive games in approximately 17 hours. How she did it I'll never know. I used to play the occasional game of chess, but I was never very good at it. Bravo, Susan. You really earned these accolades.

Okay, now there's Snuppy, a cloned dog. Why a dog? If you're gonna waste time cloning animals, clone something useful, like spotted owls so the loggers can go back to work. Or some other "endangered" critter, so we don't have to deal with the people trying to protect them anymore. Don't clone an animal of which we already have an abundance. (Wow, proper grammar!) Clone something useful.

Have you ever wondered why your teeth chatter when you're cold? How about why beans give you gas? Or why men have nipples? Then you might want to check out this book. I think I'd like to read it.

If you have a big nose, this would not be the time to visit Austria. A man with a "giant nose" is wanted for armed robbery. That's about the only description they have. So if your name is Cyrano, or Pinocchio, stay home.

Ladies are swooning all over the world tonight. Sir Sean Connery has decided he won't be making any more movies, because of the idiots in Hollywood. He will truly be missed.

President Bush appointed Mr. Bolton as U.N. Ambassador today, bypassing Congressional approval. Good for him. There should be a time limit on Congressional action in appointment cases. For your enlightenment, the Washington Post listed other recess appointments made by various Presidents. Very interesting reading.

32 year old Ednor Rodrigues of Brazil is in a bit of trouble. He stole seven toothbrushes from a local store. Even he can't figure out why he did it, since he has no teeth. Go figure.

The low-carb behemoth which started the Atkins diet craze has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Finally, people can get back to eating a normal diet. Perhaps food prices will go back to normal as well.

There is a very lucky man in Taiwan tonight. The unidentified man went to his doctor complaining of pain and a fever. A surgeon removed a dental plate from one of his bronchial tubes. The man had lost the dentures three years earlier in a fall. The surgeon said he could have lost a lung if he had waited much longer.

What a night in the Middle East! King Fahd of Saudi Arabia died, and the number two man in the Sudan, John Garang, died in a helicopter crash. It should be interesting to see how it all falls out over the next few weeks.