Tupperware Lay-Offs

The powers-that-be at Tupperware are asking for voluntary resignations representing 20% of their payroll. If they don't get enough employees willing to resign, they'll make it involuntary. Merry Christmas, eh? I know many employees are feeling the pinch of cut-backs this year, i.e. GM, Tribune Companies, Merck, but Christmastime is a yukky time of year to contemplate unemployment, isn't it? We'll know something by December 15th.

Traveling With Blogs

TravelPod
Slow Travel Community Photos
BootsnAll Travel
Gridskipper
TravelPost.com
TravelBlog.org
National Parks Traveler

Karen's Birthday Get-Together

Can You Tell It's Almost Christmas?

It's All About Hot Water

As the Thanksgiving weekend begins to ebb, the men of the house and one fellow borrowed from the House of Hastings continue the saga of "Replacing the Water Heater." The water has been off for lo these two days. Connections are made, leaks are sprung. The staff at Home Depot know the aforementioned men by their first names and the descriptions of the vehicles they drive.

I have an idea they've learned a great deal of respect for the plumbing trade.

Do You Think This is a Photoshop?

If it's not Photoshop'd that's ONE BIG CAT!!!

Warm and Fuzzy

Is It Just Me?

For as long as I can remember, I've had a pet peeve about people using the term Turkey Day instead of Thanksgiving Day. "Happy Turkey Day!" Okay, that's just not a holiday. It's nothing special. What's special about eating turkey? Nit-picking, yes, but I just want to know if it's too much to ask to recognize a day of thanks? Of course, people of faith believe every day is a day of thanks, but Thanksgiving Day is something special. Come on folks, as much as good wishes are appreciated on any level, don't wish me a Happy Turkey Day. (The same goes for people who abbreviate Christmas as Xmas. )

Lucy Sees All

Good Reminder

And It's Almost Thanksgiving

Crossing our fingers that Gamma slips between

Florida and Cuba and retreats to peaceful oblivion.

Have You Noticed?

I'm so fed-up with the political process in the US, I'm OVER it. Has it always been this way? Has it always been that political power and the keeping of political power trumped considerations for a safe America? Yes, I know political debate is a sign of freedom and we live in a country where we are allowed to voice our dissent.

But truly, Democrats, Republicans--who can tell the difference? What happened to statesmanship and putting the needs of the country first? Didn't someone somewhere tell me that three thousand of our countrymen had been killed back in 2001 and aren't we were in some kind of war on terrorism?

I realize so much of this posturing is part and parcel of the political beast, but gosh, it's hard on the folks at home seeing our politicians give ammunition to the terrorists that would destroy us.

I think I'll stick to blogging pictures.

My Age is Showing

(Thanks to Connie for this submission.)

--- I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor's permission to join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.

--- Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: "And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked. She simply replied, "No peer pressure."

--- The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs.

---Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, "How old was your husband?" "98," she replied. "Two years older than me." "So you're 96," the undertaker commented. She responded, "Hardly worth going home, is it?

--- (MY PERSONAL FAVORITE) I've sure gotten old.! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees. Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my Florida driver's license.

--- An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart. "Wal-Mart?" the preacher
exclaimed. "Why Wal-Mart?" "Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week."

---My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

--- (Close to favorite status) Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

---I'm getting into swing dancing. Not on purpose. Some parts of my body are just prone to swinging.

---It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffeemaker

---These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief."

---Don't think of it as getting hot flashes. Think of it as your inner child playing with matches.

---Don't let aging get you down. It's too hard to get back up.!

--- Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old, You grow old because you stop laughing.

--- THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Not Lucy

My Driveway (Not Really)

Puppy Time

Too Funny

Now You See ALL Of Him...

Now you don't!! Isn't that odd? He can tuck body parts away at will!

Not News

I know this is late, but I knew this all along and never saw the photos side-by-side. Remember Disney's "The Incredibles"? The character E (Edna Mole) reminded me of someone. I realized later it was the famous designer Edith Head. Apparently I'm not the only one that thinks Edna Mole is Edith Head.

Ending The Administration's Silence

At last.

"While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. Some Democrats and antiwar critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs. They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein. They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction.

And many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: 'When I vote to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat and a grave threat to our security.' That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power."

"As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them. Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough. And our troops deserve to know that, whatever our differences in Washington, our will is strong, our nation is united and we will settle for nothing less than victory."

George W Bush

Veteran's Day

November 11, 2005

Quote of the Week

From the Washington Times (not Post) "Inside the Beltway" column:

"Avian flu. Global warming. Real estate bubble. World oil supply. After all the headlines, are we getting close to mass hysteria over theoretical doom or are we becoming so inured to apocalyptic warnings that we are turning a deaf ear to them? If we keep ringing the alarm bell like Chicken Little did when she turned an acorn into a national crisis, when it comes time for a real

emergency, people may not pay much attention."

-- Raj Dandage, chairman of the Chicago-based American Disaster Preparedness Foundation, as paraphrased by Pam Harbaugh in the publication Florida Today.

(Not that this is relevant to the point made by Dandage/Harbaugh, but wasn't Chicken Little a male chicken? Disney thinks so.)

And I Didn't Even Have To Make This One Up

Brooke and Donnie at a Halloween party at a teacher friend's house.

Not Flattering, But It's Funny

Donald Rumsfeld is briefing president Bush:

"Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."
"Oh no!" exclaims the president, "that's terrible!"
His staff is stunned at this unprecedented display of emotion, watching as Bush sits, head in hands.
Finally, he looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

The West Wing vs. Commander in Chief

Okay, okay I know it's not a fair fight. I know I didn't become West Wing-centric until years after it began. (At first I just couldn't get on the bandwagon with Josiah "Jed" Bartlet being played by Martin Sheen who really thought he WAS the President.) Then I watched The West Wing. Bravo was running a marathon and I was hooked. The first two seasons of TWW are my favorites because of the rapid-fire repartee, hall-walking and talking that never quite lives up to the seasons without series creator Aaron Sorkin. But don't get me wrong. I still love it.

Then ABC's Commander in Chief comes along. A-ha. A female president. She's an Independent to boot, not wanting to offend any demographic. But folks, it's no West Wing. Everything that was witty and fast-paced about West Wing is laborious and stilted at Commander. Gina Davis, although likeable enough in other parts, is humorless, brittle and totally lacking in political charisma. Of course, ABC says Commander is supposed to be more about the presidential family and the angst in the set-up, rather than a political drama. Commander has every weekly plot tied-up in a neat little package at the end of the hour. That's more like The Walton's than The West Wing.

Commander is in the top ten for viewership and West Wing struggles to regain an audience after switching to the Sunday night timeslot. West Wing continues to hold my interest because each of the characters have had time to flesh out and have their own personalities. Other than the Donald Sutherland character (the foil) there is no attempt by the writers on Commander to give the rest of cast real depth. Commander is not an ensemble, it's a one trick pony. Commander hasn't cracked a joke yet. West Wing found that balance early on. Well-adjusted, successful, productive, bright people are not without humor. Commander in Chief may continue to be a ratings winner, and yes, I'll probably keep watching to see if it improves, but The West Wing remains the best political drama on American television, in my not-that-humble opinion.

My Yakking Squirrel

I grabbed my digital camera because this squirrel in the backyard was squawking at me. It's not of good quality, but you can hear her (I think it's a "her" trying to keep me away from her nest of babies) loud and clear. I have more video, but didn't have the patience it takes to upload to Google and wait for them to go live with it.
Squirrel Talks