It has been awhile since I have written about my present life without Al. He has been gone for two months today and I feel his loss more intensely now than I did when I was  busy with all the details before and after his death. I am in a thirteen week Grief Share group at my church; I am also seeing a grief counselor and am going to a monthly grief group. I am writing these details of what I am doing to perhaps help someone else with grief.  I am continuously told that grief is a personal process; people grieve in different ways.  Several people in my group have lost a child,husband, sister.  Some are still struggling long after their loss.  For some the grief never ends although the pain recedes.

I am taking over Al’s chores which he wisely prohibited me from doing, but I have conquered the zero turn John Deere after zigzagging across the yard.  I have been shown how to run the big snow blower that we bought last year when Al had the bright idea of finally getting one; I had told him we needed one for two years, but no—it had to be his idea!  The weed whacker is impossible.  Al bought it for my birthday last year; it was not the one I wanted but I did not want to hurt his feelings so it just hangs in the garage. We have a big generator that keeps appliances and lights going, but it is just a big red blob in the garage to me.  I have no idea how to run it; I remember Al making many trips to get gas, diesel, or kerosene (how would I know!) to run it, but will really need it if we get the paralyzing snow and ice storm we got two years ago. 

So many things to worry about, but nothing compares to the hole in my daily life.  Al and my favorite television show was “House.” He watched it and “NCIS” religiously and the reruns ad nauseum.  I tried to watch the premiers of House and NCIS this week and could not do it for I would have no one with whom to chat about the programs. A
l least I am no longer subjected to a daily dose of  “Judge Judy.” It seems as if all the threads of al life together tattered.  Oh, well, enough of my musings. 

I am excited about a few of  last year’s puppies that are all about a year old.  I think they are all very pleasing to the eye with wonderful personalities, but have no idea if I will get them into the show ring as I must be careful with finances now.  I am so attached to them that I would have great difficulty putting them in show homes at this point.  If I can I may try to show them this fall, but even showing them depends on what condition my orthopedics are in at the time.  Pictures will be posted later but their names are the blenheim boy Rattlebridge Over the Hump (Humphrey); the tri girl Rattlebridge Tantalize;  the darling five month old blenheim girl Rattlebridge Sarandon (Suzie); the blenheim boy Rattlebridge Cyber Dawn and his brother and sister that live with my friend and co breeder Sherri Meyer:  Rattlebridge The Dawnald and Rattlebridge Dawnatella. Quite a crew and we will see how all shakes down as they grow up. We have not bred for awhile but now have two litters, mostly boys; of tricolors.  I do so want a good tricolor boy—one that would gaze at me like my beloved Bandi did. 

Later . . .

 

Sent from on of my friends who has nothing better to do than forward stuff and I have nothing better to do than blog (not true, just procrastinating)

The following questions were asked in last year’s GED examination.
These are genuine answers (from 16 year olds’)………… My brilliant editorial comments are in red

AND THEY WILL REPRODUCE!!! AND PROBABLY BECOME POLITICIANS OR AT LEAST WORK IN GOVERNMENT

In fact I may have had their parents or grandparents in school! And I did try!

Q. Name the four seasons.
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants
like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists. (love this one!!! at least dead dogs were not mentioned)

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to
flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature
abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight. (nature abhors a vacuum on the moon yet??)

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist upon?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed.

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election. (or in the case of our presidents, governors, presidential candidates etc. wins an election)

Q. What are steroids?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.(Shoot yourself now, there
is little hope.)

Q.. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental. (At
least they get to travel!)

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery (So
true!)

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A. Premature death.

Q. What is artificial insemination
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow. (very, very dangerous procedure)

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour?
A. Keep it in the cow. (Simple, but brilliant.)

Q How are the main 20 parts of the body categorized? (e.g. The abdomen.)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts – the brainium, the borax and the
abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the
heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E,
I,O,U    (at least this kid learned the vowel sounds in school!)

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie. (This person has a career in politics awaiting!)

Q. What does ‘varicose’ mean?
A. Nearby.

Q What is the most common form of birth control?
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium. (That would
work.)

Q. Give the meaning of the term ‘Cesarean section’.
A. The Cesarean section is a district in Rome. (I love this one)

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor. (Julius Seizure, I came, I saw, I had a fit!) probably lived in the Cesarean part of Rome

Q. What is a terminal illness?
A. When you are sick at the airport.(Irrefutable!)

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like tiny
umbrellas.

Q. Use the word ‘judicious’ in a sentence to show you understand its
meaning.
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face. (OMG)

Q. What does the word ‘benign’ mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight. (Brilliant)

I have thought about revising my living will after seeing this one!!!

 

While the C-5 was turning over its engines, a female crewman gave the G.I.s on board the usual
information regarding seat belts, emergency exits, etc.

Finally, she said, ‘Now sit back and enjoy your trip while your captain, Judith Campbell, and crew
take you safely to Afghanistan ‘

An old MSgt. sitting in the eighth row thought to himself,
‘Did I hear her right? Is the captain a woman? ‘

When the attendant came by he said ‘Did I understand you right? Is the captain a woman?’
‘Yes,’! said the attendant, ‘In fact, this entire crew is female.’

‘My God,’ he said, ‘I wish I had two double scotch and sodas. I don’t know what to think
with only women up there in the cockpit.’
‘

That’s another thing, Sergeant,’ said the crew member,
‘We No Longer Call It The Cockpit’ 
‘It’s The Box Office.’ 

Quote of the day:

‘Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she’ll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she’ll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.’

 

Here’s the way it should be and is definitely NOT!

Let’s put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes.

This would correct two things in one motion:
Seniors would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.

They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical
treatment, wheel chairs, etc.

They would receive money instead of having to pay it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they would be helped instantly
if they fell or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and
returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes.

All meals and snacks would be brought to them

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual
counseling, a pool and education…and free admission to in-house concerts
by nationally recognized entertainment artists.

Simple clothing – i.e., shoes, slippers, pj’s – and legal aid would be free,
upon request.

There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor
exercise yard complete with gardens.

Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no
cost.

They would receive daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU
would fight for their rights and protection.

The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with
attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their families
from abuse or neglect.

As for the criminals:

They would receive cold food.

They would be left alone and unsupervised.

They would receive showers once a week.

They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000 per
month.

They would have no hope of ever getting out.

"Sounds like justice to me! WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR COUNTRY THAT THOSE WHO BREAK THE LAW, BEND THE LAW, IGNORE THE LAW, STEAL FROM OUR COUNTRY (SUCH AS IN CONGRESS BIG SURPRISE!), AND TRAMPLE THE RIGHTS OF THE MAJORITY ARE REWARDED!

Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.

545 PEOPLE — By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then
campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are
against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and
high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.
The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court
justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly,
legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems
that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was
created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty
to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central
bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They
have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a
congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if
they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the
power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is
the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what
they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of
party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount
of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood
up and criticized the President for creating deficits…. . The president
can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole
responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving
appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She
is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the
president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it,
they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace545
people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and
irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not
traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth
that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must
follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ. If
they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not
available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire
and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they
can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from
whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the
belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy,"
"inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an
oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power..

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their
bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

                What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you!

WE PAY:

Sales Tax

School Tax

Liquor Tax

Luxury Tax

Excise Taxes

Property Tax

Cigarette Tax

Medicare Tax

Inventory Tax

Real Estate Tax

Well Permit Tax

Fuel Permit Tax

Inheritance Tax

Road Usage Tax

CDL license Tax

Dog License Tax

State Income Tax

Food License Tax

Vehicle Sales Tax

Gross Receipts Tax

Social Security Tax

Service Charge Tax

Fishing License Tax

Federal Income Tax

Building Permit Tax

IRS Interest Charges

Hunting License Tax

Marriage License Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Personal Property Tax

Accounts Receivable Tax

Recreational Vehicle Tax

Workers Compensation Tax

Watercraft Registration Tax

Telephone Usage Charge Tax

Telephone Federal Excise Tax

Telephone State and Local Tax

IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax

Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax

Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)

Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax

Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes

Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most
prosperous in the world.We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell ‘politicians? ‘

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!!

YOU can help it get there!!! Cross Post!

GO AHEAD – –

 BE AN AMERICAN!!!