Sunday Smiles

A joke for you:

George W. Bush was out jogging one morning when he tripped, fell over a bridge railing and landed in the creek below. Before the Secret Service guys could get to him, three kids who were fishing, pulled him out of the water. Bush was so grateful he offered the kids whatever they wanted.

The first kid said, "I sure would like to go to Disneyland." George said, "No problem. I'll take you
there on Air Force One."

The second kid said, "I really need a new pair of Nike Air Jordan's." George said, "I'll get them for you and even have Michael sign them!"

The third kid said, "I want a motorized wheelchair with a built-in TV and stereo headset!!" George Bush is a little perplexed by this and says, "But you don't look like you are injured or handicapped."

The kid says, "I will be after my dad finds out I saved your ass from drowning!"

Weather Forecast 1

Next weekend should be very typical for November in Houston. Temperatures will range from lows around 52 and high temps around 75. As usual it could rain, about a 20-30 % chance, but since Nov. is one of our driest month if it happens at all rain will be slight.

A Stout-Hearted Man

It’s Hard

Life as a Democrat is never easy. Even during this time of ‘should be’ plenty, it is hard to feel good. Like a battered spouse, the ugliness never goes away. Will a progressive political party ever develop the common sense and killer instincts needed to win elections?

Isn’t it so sad that it’s not enough to be correct on important issues any more? To win control of the national government these days, lying and manipulation seem to be the most rewarded characteristics: Bush and “Stay the course”, Rush and Michael J. Fox’s meds, Cheney and everything out of his mouth, and the list goes on and on.

Of course it can be no great pleasure listening to many of the prominent liberals who are chosen (by whom?) to speak out in the media.

Obama to the Rescue?

I have been an admirer of Senator Barak Obama for several years and I have been hoping that he would make a committed effort to run for president for the last year. My gut tells me he has the tools to be a very good political leader for this country.

While you all will not remember this, back in 1997 I distinctly remember emailing ya’ll that GW Bush would be the Republican nominee for Prez; and stood a good chance of winning. I am good at this.

I am disheartened by the chorus of the Democratic punditry who are sure that Obama should not run. Why are they so stupid?

They say:

• He is too young
• He is a Senator
• He has not crafted important bills
• He has not done enough
• He is too green
• He is a pretty boy
• He has not led on an important issue
• Some Republicans like him

My thoughts:

• In most gatherings, Obama is the smartest person in the room
• He has a high powered academic record
• He has a trunk full of significant and unique life experiences
• He seems to be analytical yet practical in his decision making
• He is extremely articulate
• He is extremely charismatic
• He is progressive
• I have yet to catch him pandering
• Republican writer David Brooks says: “He has a deliberative mind….He lights up a room when he enters it.”

God forbid the Democrats nominate some one like this. What would they be thinking?

In politics, timing is so important. I felt in 2004 that if Hillary really wanted to give the Presidency her best shot, that was the time to do it. Now she is stale. I feel that this is Obama’s time. If he waits, he runs the risk of becoming stale as well.

Oh, I like and respect Hillary, but I’d rather that she not be president at this point. I think that dividing the US Presidency for at least 24 years (and maybe 28) between two families is just plain wrong. It makes us look like Egypt or Indonesia. And as the Bush family has shown us, the second helping is usually less satisfying than the first.

Early in the Morning

At around 3:30 every morning, and I do mean every morning, one of the girls wakes me up. It might be a cool nose on my cheek (upper), a furry thump on an extended arm, or an amazingly potent head butt. Either way the culprit persistently beckons me to love her for about five minutes.

If I have behaved well enough to deserve reward, then I get a suddenly sleepy kitten draped over my torso for a while. Of course by then, I am awake and increasingly feel the need for the bathroom, but I hold off as long as possible so as to not disturb the purring paper weight lying across my stomach.

Cuddles

It is Saturday and I have a list of things to do a mile long. But a rainy cold front is edging into our fair city and the kittens have realized that if they crawl into bed next to me and nuzzle and alternate between affection and napping, they get to keep me as an over stuffed pillow for as long as they like.

Back from Vacation

We are home and had a great time with the grandkids!! All had their own personality and all very special!! We got to See the colors around Zane's area-the color was at its peak. Zane and Steph's house is neat and the land surrounding is beautiful. We took Jason's kids to a pumpkin patch that was fun; animals and little buildings for the kids to play in. And I took them shopping at Target's, that was a delight. It soooo reminded me of when the boys were that age. The bottom picture is of the old Monclova school, now a Sheriff's outpost, community rooms and a place where a church gathers once a week. The first pic is the houses build along Black Rd. (just some of the many), accross the rd. where the grape vine field was--there are also houses there. The second is the home we grew up in. Does not look like the house we remember but non the less brought back memories. More later.

It's Still Rock And Roll

Every now and then I read an essay on pop culture that bemoans the death of rock. What a bunch of dweebs. There is still a ton of good rock out there. Some of it is excellent. A lot of it is being made by Brits.

Razorlight is from the UK and I think they are among the best making music today. Instead of me wasting time describing all the things they do well, listen to their track, America.
Its got a haunting arrangement, a hell of a hook, and a soulful male lead vocal that is one of the most satisfying that I have ever heard.


The lyrics make it the song of the decade, but I have yet to hear it on the radio, no doubt thanks to Clear Channel.

Let me know what you think.

It's All Good

It's early Thursday AM and I am in bed sorting through news, views and the like. Merry is laying belly up next to me. True to form, Izzy is stretched out on the far corner of the foot of the bed. All is right with the world.

Merry seems to be a bit of a playful chewer. Not on me, worse, power cords. What can I put/rub on the cords that is non toxic and hopefully nonstaining? I am thinking maybe lime or lemon.

Any suggestions?

Getting To Know You....

What to name the girls was never an issue. The question was, "Which would be who?" My cultural biases led me to name the larger Kitty Meredith, since I assumed she would be the more outgoing.

The first hour they were home, I realized that they looked too much alike to use size or color to tell apart. In my mind, I withdrew the original naming and tried to observe something, anything, that would make sense.

Both girls have a back tip on their tail. After a while, I noticed that the smaller one has a larger tip than the other. By yesterday morning, about the time my kitchen was coated with vanilla syrup, I hit upon how to name them.

Smaller kitty is a explorer. In fact she is well on her way to being fearless. She is the first to do everything. I imagine she is responsible for my sticky kitchen floor. She is also a love pig. She is such a Meredith.

The larger kitten stays out of sight. She watches her sister and when she feels comfortable about what's going on, she will join in.

In an episode of Grey's Anatomy, Izzy and George were sitting in a balcony looking on while Meredith and Alex jumped into the middle of some mayhem. Izzy says to George, "Look at them. They are do-ers. We are just watchers."

With that in mind, it now is quite easy to tell them apart.

Still, once they are feeling a home here, I am going to work with Izzy to see if I can get her to feel more comfortable just hanging out.

They're Here

Tonight at 5:30, I picked up the girls. They were a little groggy from this AM's surgery. They have been taking refuge behind the sofa for the last 5 hours. They really depend on each other for comfort and security. So sweet.



Update: At about 2 this AM, Merry began exploring. I know this because Izzy did not. For the next 3 hours, they "talked" to each other sometimes quite loudly while they were apart.

At 4, Merry got on the bed, and morphed from a nervous explorer to a love starved kitten. She couldn't get enough rubs and scratches. All the while, she was speaking with Izzy still behind th sofa.

Eventually, very carefully with heart breakings meows, Izzy crept around the corner and joined us.

Its now 9 and I am so tired. The girls must be too as they are nowhere to be found, and are totally silent. Earlier they got onto shelves I didn't think they could reach and just a while a go, my nap was interupted by the thud of a bottle of vanilla syrup falling off of the top of the refridgerator. The top came off and I have been mopping up a sticky mess.

Kittens!

Going Greek. Opa!

One of the great things about living in Houston is the autumn festival season. After five months of high humidity and higher temperatures, Houstonians are stirring with the ravages of cabin fever. Starting in October, there are at least 3-4 festival and outdoors arts events every weekend.

The grand dame of Houston festivals is the Greek Festival held the first full weekend in Oct. in my Montrose neighborhood. This year is its 40th annv. I have been going there half of that time.

After my Friday morning workout and swim, I slid into the fest for a late lunch (a plate of various Greek specialties) and a bottle of Retsina. It was almost 2:00, so there were no lines. I left with a box full of pastries and a nice buzz.

As the video clip shows, it was a glorious day.

More on the Greek Fest

Greek Fest Houston

What's Your Job?

This 10 min segment shows John Stewart at his hilarious best.

The Daily Show

Izzy

Izzy is playing in the Frends For Life. Her small playmate is Lenny.

Merry

Meredeth is playing in the office of Friends For Life.

Merry & Izzy

I am having unexplained trouble with the other pics, but here is Izzy.

When they are together, Meredith is slightly bigger, Izzy has petite features.

Vacation again!! YAHOO!!!

Saturday Dan and I are leaving to visit the boys and grandkids. We are really looking forward to it. We will be at Zane's Sat. and leave Wed. Then on to Jason's. He and Michelle are going to Cancun for a few days and we will be watching the kids while they are partying at some beach in nice weather, sipping on a nice cool drink. My excitement, Other than that, is a Dr. visit. This confirmed what I suspected. My left hip is bone on bone so in the future a replacement is in order. I hope that I can wait for a while. I take pain med. when I have harsh pain and it helps.

Just the Three of Us

Next week, I will be picking up two kittens that I adopted yesterday. They are two 7 month old sisters. The girls are nearly identical silver and black tabbies with short hair. I first saw them two weeks ago at the Friends for Life adoption center. They are so cute.

I only wanted one, but every time I stopped by, I noticed that they usually slept cuddled next to each other, so I couldn't seprate them. I was still undecided when I visited yesterday, then Molly the volunteer, got them out of their cage and we played. I was hooked.

When I told her that I wanted to adopt both, you'ld thought that Molly won the Lotto. She called her roommate and said, "Guess what, the girls are being adopted by the same guy!" Molly had been the foster parent to the girls and raised them in her home for the last three months.

Their animal friends must be spayed before they are formally adopted, and that happens Friday.

I will be calling them Meredith (Merry) and Izzy. When I mentioned my choice of names, Molly sighed, "That's so cool. I love that show."

I'll have pics of them and I'll have them up a little later.

I feel like a kid waiting for Santa.