Summer Drivel!

Lights of the North

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/lights-of-the-north-by-madonna/

The conventions are over and now we begin getting telephone calls, fliers in the mail, television ads so we can make an educated vote for the next President of our wonderful country. I have already made up my mind so I don't need to hear anything more. I wish the FCC would make voter robo calls illegal. We have a land line and get 2 to 4 calls a day asking for our vote. I leave the answering machine on 24/7 so we don't answer them.

I have been trying to submit more themes a day because I have so many already made and keep working on more. If I live to be 100 I wouldn't have to make anymore. But I really do love working on them. And I love getting the wonderful comments you all leave on my themes. So, thank you to each and everyone of you.

We have had wonderful warm weather this week. I love it and my old body doesn't hurt when the weather is warm like this. So I feel bad when I tell our daughter how much I love it when she can't sleep at night in her too warm bedroom! And our boys have to work in it with their heavy work clothes.

Well, the phone just rang again! Another robo call! It is very disruptive.

Our County Council is making the final decision on our Comprehensive Plan next month. They have to do it every 5 or 6 years. Anyway, I am quite sure we won the battle again. We have been fighting a developer since 1991 and it gets a little tiring. They have been trying to develop the big farm across and down from us and put in several thousand houses and apartments. To do that, they would have to be annexed to the City and we do not want, nor can we afford to live in the City. So, I think we won again IF the final vote is what we think it will be. You never know until the vote is taken and in the books!

Two Fox

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/two-fox-by-madonna/

I got stung twice by a yellow jacket the other evening when we were sitting out reading. It got me on the back and when I tried to swat it away, it went down my shirt and got me again. For some reason I  get a very bad reaction from them. So my back had two big red swollen spots for a couple days. It itched so badly and I couldn't reach the one. (Which was probably was a good thing)

My brother and his wife are at the big fire in California. They run the showers for the fire fighters. My brother is 75 and still going strong! My husband was a fire fighter for many years and he says were the best of times. He loved it. Our kids say they can still remember what his clothes smelled like when he got home after a week or so fighting forest fires. But it is sad to see the forests burning like they do. In California a lot of them aren't real forest fires, more dry shrub. 

Well, I am going to get back to work. Hope everyone is having a great summer. I couldn't believe it when we walked into a store a couple weeks ago and they had Back to School stuff. My gosh, they just got out it seemed like. Time goes way tooooo fast.

 

Hard week in the World

Patrtiotic USA

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/patriotic-usa-by-madonna/

The past week has been a very sad week for the entire world. Every time you turn on the television or radio you hold your breath and hope there isn't Breaking News with another shooting, an attack or a coup!

Now this week we have the Republican Convention that probably won't make matters any better. Enough said. 

Have you ever tried to put a protective screen saver on a tablet or phone? I have been trying to do that on several items lately and not having a lot of success. The Nexus 7 I won from Brand Thunder in 2012 was getting so slow it would take me 10 minutes to get a Kindle book up so I started doing some research and decided on the Samsung Tab A. I am very happy with it and the price I got it for from Costco. Got a really nice case and screen protectors from Amazon. But didn't have a lot of luck with the screen protectors. I have tried 4 and finally just left the last one on, not because it was a great job but because my back and neck were killing me from doing it! I have spent a lot of time watching videos from "experts". And still not a lot of success. Very frustrating. So now I thought I would put a new one on my cell phone! Went through one whole package of 5 and still didn't get a job I was happy with. I am a perfectionist so for it to meet my standards it had to have no bubbles and no dust particles. I ended up with 1 dust particle and it wasn't on the main part of the screen so I figured it wasn't going to get much better so left it.

Just got my bill from Comcast and was not a happy camper on that front, either. If you are paying a lot of $$ to get TV and internet, you should be able to plug the cable in and get service. Right? But you have to have a separate box to get your TV stations you are paying for. At first the little box was free, then it was $1.99 and then it was $2.99 and now it is $3.99! A dollar may not mean a lot to some people but if you are on a fixed income (and haven't had a raise in that income for several years) every dollar counts. 

Now on another front! There is another theme designer that thinks I have some super powers over what designs Mozilla features. I don't! He has tried his best to put me down on sites and rants on the forum. I really don't know what he thinks but he commented about me making puppy, kittens and butterflies! So I made one just for him with a cute little puppy and kitty and butterflies! Fact of the matter I have made several but only submitted on so far! I know, I am not a perfect person!

Kitten Puppy Butterflies

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/kitten-puppy-butterflies-donna/ 

I think it turned out really cute!

Well I hope you all have a good week and we don't have anymore Breaking News reports.

 

Independence Day

Bright Fireworks in the Sky

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bright-fireworks-in-the-sky/

 

Today is the last day of June and it is hard to believe. 2016 is half over. We have had some really hard things we have had to digest this year and I am wondering how the last half will be. I just wish people could get along and not try to push their beliefs onto others. I was listening to a talk show this morning and they were talking about the Boston Tea Party and it made me proud to be an American. We do stand up for our rights, no matter how hard people try to change those rights and take them away from us. We have a right to vote, to be in charge of our bodies, our properties and our lives. 

We are going to be inundated for the next 4 months with radio,TV, and internet garbage from all sides. I can only hope people will actually take a look at what people say they will do and what they can do. Our Independence depends on this. 

We haven't made any plans for the 4th of July itself because the weather is "iffy"! I don't want to plan on a picnic type day if it is going to be cold and rainy. They have a hard time of forecasting our weather up here in the northwest corner of the US. This week was supposed to be nice and warm. It has been sunny but not warm. Our oldest son and his wife are camped at a beach resort and we are going up there on Saturday so I am hoping it will be warm and not a cold breeze off the bay. Our daughter is coming on the 4th so I guess I shouldn't say we don't have any plans, should I? It won't be the 4th of July if we can't roast hot dogs, though.

 

SUNRISE

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sunrise_by_madonna/ 

Patriotic USA

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/patriotic-usa/ 

I am going to sign off for today. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and if you are an American, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

 

♥~Fathers Day~♥

Seashore
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/seashore-by-madonna/

Yes, that is my Dad in the top of my blog this month. He was pretty darn good looking, wasn't he? Last month I wrote a little about him. He has been gone for 17 years but it doesn't seem that long ago, really. He didn't enjoy the latter part of his life at all. He couldn't do anything he really wanted to because of health issues. He started smoking when he was like 15 or so. He did quit in the latter part of his life but I know he was sneaking a few cigars at the end. And I don't blame him for that. Live a little and enjoy. He had bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning for his breakfast, too. So he had heart problems that led to his not being able to walk very much, etc. Then he had lung cancer from all that smoking. He ended his life on his own, in his own way. And I have never blamed him for that. I would have done the same thing. If you can't enjoy life, why take up space? 

My Dad was stubborn & hard headed. I take after my Dad which I wish I didn't in this case. My dear husband is always telling me, "You're just like your Dad."

My Dad didn't like a lot of social life and I take after him in that way, too. Mom loved being around a lot of people and was very social. I wish I were. And that makes it hard for me at times. I am not good at going up to a stranger and starting a conversation. I just can't do it.

Dad taught me to stick up for myself. He always said "If you don't stick up for yourself, no one else will." And how true that is.

I was a tomboy. I hayed with my Dad because I was a strong farm girl. I remember him bragging about how good I did on the hay wagon piling the hay bales. After I got married I went deer hunting several times with my husband and Dad. I thought that was pretty cool. I rode dirt bikes with my Dad and family. I rode street bikes with my Dad. I know how hard it was for him when he had to quit riding. Boy, do I know! It was so hard for me to hang up my helmet. I rode the through the summer I was 71 and it took me 3 years before I could sell my bike!

I hope that you can be with your Father this next Sunday, but if you can't, call him or write to him, let him know you love him. If your Father is gone, like mine is...think about him. Life is so short and goes by so quickly.

 

Woman Rising!

Well, we pretty much know who will be the presidential candidates this fall. 

When I was a little girl no one could ever imagine that a woman could actually run for president, no less be the President of the United States! That could actually happen in our country now. It is a good time to be an American woman.To think that my great grand daughter could become the President is very exciting. We are a little slow at this happening, when you think that India's Indira Ghandi was Prime minister in 1984. Argentina, Iceland, Ireland, Mongolia, Germany and Bolivia are way ahead of us in having had women run their countries. Women are probably better at running a household than men, so why can't they be head of a country? I have heard some say, "They are too emotional." What is wrong with having emotions?

When I was a girl, I knew I would never go to college because we couldn't afford it and to be truthful I had no desire to go. All I really wanted to do was find someone to love and marry, have babies and be a housewife and mother. I think that was what ever girl I knew dreamed about. A few kind of wanted to be a teachers. There really wasn't a lot of things a girl graduating from high school had a choice to do. Before I met my husband, I kind of thought about going to beauty school because I loved to cut and style hair. (I started cutting my own hair when I was 14 and have done so ever since) When I was a freshman I considered joining the Waves, mainly because my uncle was in the Navy and I thought he was really cool. I sent off for information about joining even. But that was about it. And then I met the love of my life! So my dream came true.  I am very proud that the US now has a woman presidential candidate. Here is to woman power!

Honoring our Veterans

We have started hearing about Memorial Day sales in the papers, on the radio and television. Yesterday's paper was so heavy I could hardly lift it. Memorial Day sales seem to be the main reason for this holiday? I don't think so! 

This is a time when we honor our fallen hero's..the ones that died protecting our freedom. Not what pair of shoes you can get 15% off! Have you seen the cemetery's decorated with hundreds of United State flags on Memorial Day? What a beautiful site.

I have to admit that Memorial Day has been a time in my past that the real reason was the farthest thing from my mind. It was a 3 or 4 day week end dirt biking the Coal Piles in Cle Elum, WA. But the older I have gotten the more I appreciate and realize what could have been. 

My Father and Father-in-Law both served in the US Army during war time. My husband's Dad was in WW I and was wounded. My Dad served during WW II. He was lucky and didn't get called in until late in the war. He was a father of 2 at that time, had a small farm and worked at a shipyard. They needed him at the shipyard. Then when farmers couldn't buy tractors because they were not building tractors,  http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/machines_01.html,              he started building tractors on our little farm back in the woods. My Dad could build or fix anything! And did! So he didn't get called early on. But one day he got his card saying he had to go in for his physical on May 19th So on May 19th he went to Everett, WA to take his physical. When he didn't come home that day we really started to worry. (I don't remember how Mom found out what happened to him because I don't think we had a phone.) But Dad didn't come home. After he passed his physical they loaded him onto a bus and took him to Ft. Lewis and that was his  "enlistment" day. Mom had to have a neighbor take her to Everett to pick up the only vehicle we had! So Mom had to take care of everything at our little farm. My brother told me he still remembers seeing her laying across their bed crying. 

Now that I think of it I don't think we had a phone because we had no idea my Dad was coming home either! He actually got home the very day WW II ended, Sept. 2, 1945. Everyone was going out to celebrate so one of the neighbors asked Mom if she would watch their kids while they went out. Of course my Mom never told anyone no, so she took us and went over to babysit. Someone called Mom at the neighbors and told her they had seen a soldier walking down the road. Well, it was Daddy! 

So when you see all the stuff on sale for Memorial Day think about the men that were wounded and died so you could go out and buy some of that "stuff". But I think I will remember my Dad.

 Nature in Bright Colors

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nature-in-bright-colors-donna/

 

Fibromyalgia Complaining!

Sunset in the Mountains

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sunset-in-the-mountains-donna/

We are having a chilly summer day. Yesterday was cold and yukky, too. Not my kind of weather. 

So today is gonna be a hurting day! I have mentioned before that I have Fibromyalgia. I have had it for 35 years so it is like a friend that keeps hanging around and you don't really like. I had never heard of it nor had anyone that I knew, even most Doctors. The family Dr. we were going to sent me to rheumatologists and neurologists and no one knew what was wrong. I got cortisone shots in my elbows and knees and they helped for awhile, but I still had aches all over. Finally after 14 years we had to change our Doctor because we changed insurance. At first we were really upset but in the end it was a good thing. We started going to the Dr. that had delivered our son's twins and we loved him. He was probably one of the best Doctor's we have been to. I was in there for complaints about my neck because it was bothering me again. He said, "Wait just a minute and I will be right back." When he came back in, he handed me a pamphlet about Fibromyalgia. I read it and told him that I could have written it! I had been through it all. So there was finally a name to what I had. And it wasn't all in my head like I was afraid some people thought. The cold weather seems to make my body hurt more than usual. That is why I love summer weather...real summer weather, not what we are going to have all this week. I heard something over the week end about a test showing that Resvaritol helped Fibromyalgia as much as some of the prescriptions. So I got on Amazon and ordered a bottle. I will keep my fingers crossed but I have tried just about everything and really haven't found anything that actually helps. Exercise is one of the best things if you have Fibromyalgia. I am lucky that I have always exercised. You would think that if something hurt you shouldn't use it, but that is just wrong for me. I have had 2 knee surgeries from motocross accidents so my knees bother me a lot but riding the bicycle actually makes them feel better. Some days the last thing I want to do is climb on that bike but I know I feel better if I do, so I do!

I haven't been doing as many themes because I have so many made already but I have these ideas and want to use them so still do a few. I am trying to get more submitted. Another theme maker, RLC has complained that too many of my themes are featured and apparently he thinks I have something to do with that. I don't. I have no idea who all picks the featured and how they do it. 

We went and got a load of firewood Saturday. So we are preparing for next winter! My husband is splitting it today so it will dry and can be put in the wood shed. 

Gonna sign off for today. I hope you all have a good week. 

 Light on Orange Poppies

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/light-on-orange-poppies-donna/