Happy Thanksgiving!

It's snowing! The Beaujolais Nouveau is here! The game hens are in the crock pot! (albeit a little squished) The pumpkin and custard pies are in the midst of being created. Mama is watching The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Ken's looking for the movie of Alice's Restaurant. Tulip does NOT have cancer.

It almost feels like Christmas. I am tempted to crack open a bottle of the Beujolais but as it is only 10 a.m. I think I better wait, don't you?

If it's not one thing it's another

Well- I took a urine sample for Tulip into the vet Friday as her pee has been smelling rather strongly. She has had a number of urinary tract infections over the last year or so and I had a feeling something not good was going on.
So the vet called Friday evening to say that the sample indicated the presence of cancer. They needed a second sample to send off to a lab ton Monday morning – so that is what I did first thing this morning

I also spent some time looking up canine cancer and came across a few sites – I have ordered K-9 Immunity supplement from Aloha Medicinals in Hawaii.

And from their site I found Cancer Herbal Treatments from Robert McDowell's Herbal Treatments in Australia .

I ordered their Bladder Cancer Support Treatment and also their Maritime Pine Bark Extract. George Peterson answered my order with questions about Tulip’s background and history and through a number of emails and a phone call (all the way from Australia!) suggested that I pay for UPS shipping to make sure the order gets here faster. He also suggested diet changes and some additions like flax seed and white millet for her old hips. I was very impressed and certainly hope that their products help.

I also found an article about Canine Cancer that suggested a special diet – higher in fat and low in carbs as cancer lives off carbs. So I just spent the last hour or so making up a batch to last (hopefully) 4 or 5 days.. Since we are just starting out I haven’t exactly figured out how much the old thing should get everyday – but I think we will start on the low side. With all the veggies in this mix she’s going to pooping like crazy!

Oh how they froth!

As I pulled into work this morning I noticed that a certain Rabid Republican type was pulling in right behind me and I had a feeling that I would hear about it later on as I have a number of bumperstickers on my car.

So as we walked back in to work from our P.O. run this lunchtime Ken and I passed above mentioned RR and she turned to me and said with some rancor slightly disguised with humor, "Your car used to get really good mileage* until you loaded it down with all that lefty bullshit** on the back." And I just smiled sweetly and kept on a walkin'. Really - I have noticed that more than anyone else the RRs of this world love to call you out and make nasty comments about your beliefs. And never more so than when they are backed up against the wall.

It can only make me prouder to drive that car knowing that it is driving people like that crazy. I think it's time to add a couple more stickers.

*it's a Prius
** In the interests of fairness - it turns out I heard "Lefty bullshit" but it was really something more like "leftist bulletin board". I heard that maybe because the tone was saying "bullshit" but it has been independently corroborated that I was wrong.

Two Crows Mirth, indeed.

Yesterday I took the old lady down to a follow-up appointment with her Neurosurgeon in Boston. On the long journey we passed from rainy weather at home to almost balmy weather as we neared the city. It also began to get quite windy. So we were, oh, just a little south of Concord on Route 2 and chugging along in fairly steady traffic and I see a crow up ahead flipping around strangely in the blustery weather. I could see that this was not just a random flight but that the crow seemed to be chasing something. But it wasn't another bird and it seems to be trying to catch whatever it was in its feet. Then a second crow flips into view and I see this one is doing the same thing and suddenly it has something in its beak and the first crow is now chasing and off they go. I realized at the last second that they were chasing the oak leaves that are being blown off the tall oaks that line the road. And that they were both after the same leaf as it flipped and twisted in the wind.

I wondered of all the people that were traveling along with me at the time - how many noticed that little display of joy?

Vine Deloria, Jr.

It's hard for me to believe but Vine Delor ia Jr died on Sunday and I only saw it now - as a diary by Land of Enchantment on DailyKos. There is hardly an article about him listed when you use Google News. Go ahead and try.

I find it unbelieveable that the man who wrote Custer Died for Your Sins and We Talk, You Listen could pass so unremarked.

11/15 Update - Well - there's finally some more articles out there now about Mr. Deloria; the Times, the Indy Star, etc.

headache

Well - this has been a wasted weekend - although I helped someone yesterday morning with their gaming convention I had a wicked headache the entire time. I was going to take myself out to lunch but decided it would be a waste of time as this headache was just taking over the entire day. So I came home a slept a few hours - got up in the evening and ate something - watched a little TV and knitted a bit. Then was back to sleep around 9.

Got up this morning at 10 with the headache still there. Ate some breakfast - took some pills and went back to bed till noon. I have now managed to take a shower - I feel slightly better - it is not so much pain now as a weird feeling of one side of my head being larger than the other and my eyes - hmm - it's not that they are focusing differently - but there is something going on vision-wise. Thank heavens I don't have this kind of headache too often. It started out Friday as a "normal" sinus headache and morphed into this horror yesterday.

So pretty much the weekend is shot. I couldn't even appreciate the beauty of the day yesterday - the sunlight hurt too much - or the fact that Howard Dean was on Russert this morning and did a bang-up job answering Timmy's stupid assertations.

Bleah.

The Party of Exclusion

The other day I read David Neiwert's blog posting about vote suppression in Washington State. That got me thinking about the individual people who claim allegiance to the Republican Party. How best to define them? I think they are people who exclude others; exclude them from the country, exclude them from voting, exclude them from benefits, exclude them from the Bill of Rights.

Yet while they say "those people" should not receive health care or food assistance or anything "free", they are making sure that "our kind" is getting the best of everything. Well - "We have the money, are the right color, know the right people, speak the right way. How could we not deserve those things?"

Those people who seem most drawn to the "Republican values" are those who seem to like to define themselves by highlighting the differences of others, and lessening the humanity and/or importance of anyone deemed "other". What are they so afraid of? Being excluded themselves?

In a way I feel sorry for them, until I see the damage they have caused. I think their fear of the "Other" is the most animal of fears; like a flock of chickens attacking the weakest or newest member, they create solidarity by attacking differences and excluding them. They do not rise above their animal instincts, they do not use their intelligence to better humanity. What if "humanity was defined in terms of intelligence, civility, and the pursuit of justice rather than by species or form"**?

I don't think the Republican's could endure that.

**Six Moon Dance, Sherri S. Tepper

Damned Chickens

I made it through the work day pretty well. Came home and decided to really clean out the chicken waterers to keep in style with the newly winterized coop. When I brought the water back out to them I noticed that I had missed stapling plastic over one little section of the insulation - oh yes - and it was within their reach.

They had obviously spent the day saying “Oooooh loook at thiiis! oooh it's nice to peck at! Ooooooh hoooow loooovely.” Damn them. Luckily it looks like they did more pecking than eating - but I told them anyone who's filled up with styrofoam is on their own. I have had enough with impacted crops and slicing them open to clean them out.

While I was getting the plastic to cover it over they thought they would have one more go at it and started up pecking at it again. Damn them.

Spent the rest of the night catering to the old lady, got her dinner and then a million other things she wanted. Made egg salad for her lunch tomorrow. Cleaned the kitchen floor – folded 2 loads of wash and filled the dishwasher. I am exhausted. It’s 8:30 and I am ready for bed. I hope I have someone to take care of my every need when I am old.

I have to take time off tomorrow to get her to a flu clinic – almost all the clinics around here have been cancelled. So we are going to be lucky to get one tomorrow, hopefully they won’t run out of vaccine.

Weekend recovery

Ken is home from Worcester - sound like he had a marvelous time. I do wish I could have gone. I like being an aging groupie.

The girls, however, are happy I stayed home and insulated their coop with blue board - or as it officially comes across the invoice, "grayboard". It is of course very very blue. So I assume this is another one of the ways that men have come up with to confuse women who want to buy stuff at the hardware store.

Girls admiring the new insulation
Jaerhons, one Dominique and a couple of mutts



I have not completely finished the coop winterization - but I won't cover the window over until it is much colder and I am leaving the ceiling of the coop till next weekend as I didn't want Ken to miss out on all the fun. The worst is over though and I have set up a light to extend daylight for them as I am now getting only one egg a day - and I should be getting 5. The new girls should be getting ready to lay too. I can usually tell when they are going to start because their combs will get very red - and they get much talkier.

The new Jaerhon - who lacks a name right now - is very fond of me - probably because she was alone with only me for company for the first month or so of her life. She likes to see what I am doing all the time and I had a hard time keeping her out of the barn while I worked. I was afraid the silly thing would be picking up pieces of styrofoam insulation while I worked so I had to keep chasing her out.

Now that I am cleaned up I really want to go out and have a beer at the Killarney- Ken seems a little worn out - so we might not go. I am going to call him in a bit and hopefully the little nap he's had for the last hour will have perked him up. Tried Sandy earlier to see if she and Bob want to come too - but no answer, I shall try them again too!

Winterization in progress
I am a very messy worker!

Chicken Coop Hell

Well - after $60 and about 5 hours work I am maybe a quarter done with winterizing the coop. What a pain in the ass. As usual once I started the project I realized there was a lot more to it than just throwing the stuff up on the walls.

Luckily I didn't need to watch my friend's son - so I didn't have the added task of amusing a kid. I was free to be as cranky as I wanted.

Didn’t manage to help the old lady take a shower either - we are scheduling that for tomorrow morning. I did take her for a walk so we accomplished something today!

I would like to know why my heels hurt so much though. Mostly my left heel. I hope it isn’t bone spurs or something.

But on another happy note - Another of the bastards is getting his due.
Kenneth Tomlinson has resigned from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He's the main bastard that tried to pull CPB down , saying that it was too liberal. Well guess what Mr. Tomlinson is "too"? He's too crooked. It's like we have reached some critical mass with this administration and it's all going to come tumbling down.

Got plans for the weekend?

We sure do!

Well, Ken will soon be off to Worcester to his friend Scott's CD release party. Scott's band Huck is releasing “Never Been Nowhere” tonight at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner, 95 Prescott St., Worcester, MA. If you're in the area tonight - go on over - Huck is great and I am sorry not to be able to go.

I am staying home to watch the old lady - we're having a shower and getting our asses out for a walk. I am also watching my friend's son while they go off shopping for his birthday. So we will have an action packed day. I have plans for cleaning out the chicken coop and winterizing it too! WOW could you plan for any more fun? And throw an almost-12-year-old boy into the mix and it's going to be all excitement all the time!


OH! and I have to say that I am not at all sad that the Bush world seems to be going all wahooni shaped. I guess that Argentina wasn't the best place to try and get away from the troubles at home. In fact it sounds like Bush is actually stirring up support for socialism!

As Mr. Chávez spoke, he was interrupted by chants from the crowd mocking Mr. Bush. Every mention of Fidel Castro, in contrast, was cheered, as were frequent references by Mr. Chávez to his desire to unite all of Latin America in a new wave of socialism.
NY Times, By LARRY ROHTER and ELISABETH BUMILLER, Published: November 5, 2005

Benny's on a sunny afternoon

Today it is 66 degrees and with a gusty yet balmy wind. Just the afternoon to take a little ride before taking the car in for inspections. It was lovely!

I headed down the road towards Rockingham to get the car warmed up as it is the old lady's car and hasn't been out much - got her nice and warmed up before heading back to Benny's.

When I got there the old guy I usually get to do the inspection was busy, but as I know he is the "inspection" guy I waited - until a young kid asked if I needed help. I said why I was there and miracle of miracles he started to do it. I then foolishly began to hope that I would be out of there in a reasonable amount of time. But no- the old guy got done with what he was doing and took over. This is a problem because although the inspection only takes 10 minutes - the paper work for this guy takes anywhere from a half hour to 45 minutes and you better hope the phone doesn't ring while he's doing it - or you may be there an hour.

I have been going to Benny's for our car inspections for 3 years now (glutton for punishment, obviously) and in all that time this guy has not gotten any faster with the paper work. I have watched him copy over the VIN number at a pace that a snail would beat. And here in Vermont he has to copy it twice! Once on the paper work and one onto the back of the sticker.

The first time he inspected my car - he finally finished the paper work and slowly applied the sticker. And as I was about to jump in the car and drive away after handing him the money he said - "Wait let me get you a receipt." Oh god no! So now I am careful to pay with a check rather than cash so he doesn't feel the need to do the receipt.

Anyway - today was a perfect day to hang out at the garage because of the lovely weather - and I was already resigned to being there at least 45 minutes - so I didn't mind. Also it gave me a chance to observe the inner workings of Benny's - Benny ( and I know that's not his real name - I just like to think of the guy in charge as "Benny") often gets exasperated at his guys - and that is always good for a chuckle. You can tell he is thinking "why, oh why, have I been saddled with this bunch of dimwits!" And they look at him like confused puppy dogs while he yells. And then they go right back to doing what they were doing in the way they were doing it after he finishes. Poor cranky Benny!

Happy November!

OK - when you live in Vermont you kind of dread November, the month of cold rains and brisk wind slapping wet dead leaves into your face as you struggle to put away all the outdoor furniture you should have put away weeks ago.

So when you wake up ( as I did yesterday) and look out to a beautiful warm November 1st dawn, you need to take a few pictures. And best of all people - it got up to 70 degrees! I know I know - global warming and climate change are going to be the end of the world as we know it - but it was WARM and SUNNY in NOVEMBER!

 
 

 
 

Why "2K Why?" ?

I have read a number of dissenting opinions both on making an issue of the 2000th service person's death in Iraq and on the wisdom of posting a cryptic sign to mark that death via the Freeway Blogger.

The obvious answer to why we should mark this death versus say the 1957th is that we have a base 10 numbering system. We also tend to like and instill significance in round numbers. Why bring this milestone to people's attention? Well I don't know about you - but other than my friend whose son is leaving for Iraq in a couple of weeks - I 'm not hearing people mention the death toll. I haven't heard anyone say "Wow - it's up to 1800 or 1921." Or "Look, today October 31st we lost 6 soldiers." Or "The total for October is 93."

{UPDATE - On October 31st we lost 7 soldiers and the total for October was 94 Americans, 2 British and 1 Dane}

People don't seem to be as affected by numbers that aren't round and that aren't a multiple of 10. That's just the way it is. I feel a need to bring the deaths to people's attentions - but I know that if I brought the running numbers to everyone's attention every day, or every week - they would soon get used to it and ignore me. The count wouldn't mean as much. But pick "2000" as a number to show everyone and it means so much more. It hits them in the gut on so many levels. Think of how the year 2000 was such a milestone in people's minds.

On the opinion that putting up signs that say "2K Why?" is too cryptic - I have to disagree. It is short and sweet. It is a play on "Y2K". It makes people think - maybe not everyone will get it - but some will and they will mention it to others. It may last longer as a sign than something more obvious and is easier to read than more wordy slogans.

And so I give you this:

 
 

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

2K Why?

What did the old lady do today?

Well - it all started out so nicely. She slept well last night although I didn't ( I made the mistake of giving Tulip the left over oatmeal from the old lady at dinner time - so yes about 5 hours later she has to go out and poop. So I was awake from about 1 till sometime after 3. When she came up stairs I said to her - if it's not one of you ruining my sleep it's the other).

Anyway the old lady slept well and had a pretty good morning . I talked to her at 10:30 and she sounded good - pretty chipper in fact. Nurse was coming in the afternoon - PT was also coming. Life was good.

Then about 11:30 one of the women in the office comes over and says - Call your house - Deb is at home and heard them mention your house on the scanner. Oh here we go I thought. So I call and here's the poop. Lifeline called to have her test the button. And she wasn't going to until I came home - but then decided - why not? And so she pushes the button while she is 2 rooms away from the base - and with a door closed between her and the base. So of course they can't hear her - even though she yelled. and by the time she got to the thing it was too late. The call went out - the EMTs came as well as the fire chief. And then when she gets rid of them Lifeline called twice more . And then the PT had heard the scanner and told the visiting nurse who was in town so she came over.

So all in all the old thing is now all worn out. But not worn out enough to stop asking for things! And the nurse and the PT are still coming later in the afternoon. Oh well - that's what happens when you are old and crazy.

Oh and because Tulip pooped in the middle of the night she did not poop at lunch time which probably means she is now on a totally different poop schedule and I certainly am not going to put up with getting up to let her out in the wee hours. Bad dog.

back and forth and down and up

So I have been back and forth to Boston. I picked up the old lady after her hydrocephalus operation. I fly like a jet down there - arrived at 3:20 and guess what time we left Boston? 6:20. 3 goddamn hours later. So many many reasons why that I cannot mention.

Oh well - long drive home with the old lady doing her "stream of consciousness" chatter on and off. But we made it home.

Now I have eaten 4 White Castle cheeseburger ( frozen of course – we don’t have White Castle here) and drunk a half bottle of wine and am slightly drunk on that and the rumor that Cheney may be indicted – Oh lord that gives me joy. Schadenfreude isn’t even a long enough word for it. Shall I buy a bottle of champagne – why not!?!

Anyway I think it is time to haul myself up stairs and hope that I wake up if the old lady calls. Going to take most (if not all of the day off tomorrow) – got nurse and physical therapists coming – and OH NO she has awoken and now is talking again. I better go to bed.


11:26 pm - ok so now she is talking about what kind of oatmeal she wants tomorrow- "get that instant oatmeal out for me . I want the apple kind" and asking me to put a banana out on the counter - like she is going to be up and trotting around tomorrow morning all by herself! So I get that settled and am just sitting here waiting for my tea water to boil and she says - "What's this piece of music playing on the radio - it sounds like something old fashioned." So I had to go and threaten her to make her be quiet and go to sleep! lord!

11:35 - have I said? - it's a good thing I am patient and good humored!

Quiet Joy

On the way home from Boston today I saw a double rainbow. It was, of course, in Vermont and led straight home. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture - but honestly with the headache I had I probably wouldn't have stopped.

I also passed a turtle on his back in the middle of the road near the Vt Country Store. He was being jostled by the wind of passing cars. I turned around and went back and he was alive. I walked him down to the pond and let him go and told him he was both mighty stupid and mighty lucky. He was important enough to stop for.

I have taken a nap now and also some sinus medication and my headache is somewhat under control - so I am heading to the Stone Hearth Inn to watch Ken play.

Workin' on a Sunday

Well - much as I hate going into work on a weekend I have to admit - I get way way WAY more done than I do in a week. I got caught up on a number of projects; including reading up on upgrading SalesLogix - well really for us it would be like a new install since we'll be jumping 3 versions. The more I read the better version 6.2 sounds.

I also managed to clean up a bunch of drives, cleaned up files and zipped them for archiving. Pulled and organized the emails for tomorrow's mailings. OH and did some research on getting the email from SLX to work with Outlook 2003. I found that not only does SLX have a problem on SOME of the new machines - but Word 2003 does also. And although I found a fix - it only holds for that computer session - as soon as you reboot - you are back to square one. I am going to pass that along to the computer hardware guys and let them delve into it with Dell.

So even though I missed my Kenny VERY VERY much (you may all stop making the gagging sounds now) - his absence did allow me to work an entire 8 hours today. Plus I managed to finish almost all of his first sock yesterday. – pictures to follow once both socks are done.

Sleepy Bee 3