...about my boobie update

Well, I am awaiting word on the outcome of the mammogram and ultrasound on one of my gals. When I called the doctor, his nurse said she'd sent the results out the day before; I haven't yet received the official word, but she said she'd see me in December. That makes me feel a bit optimistic. At least I got some sleep last night for the first time in a couple of weeks.

...no news yet on boob, good news re: hurricane...

Well, I will give the doctor a call on Monday to find out what is up.


This picture is of Kitty Hawk, NC, a small community on the Outer Banks after Hurricane Isabel. Even though that storm barely grazed the edge of Virginia Beach as a minimal hurricane, there were a lot of trees down in our area, and we were without power for ten sweltering days. Our apple tree now grows at a slight angle from the constant 70mph winds.

One section of road down on the Outer Banks of North Carolina (about 90 miles or so, south of here), will be closed for the weekend. This is because it is a skinny section of road that goes for miles through some little communities with the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and a bay, I guess you would call it, on the other side. I drove down there back in October for my friend/catering partner, Victoria's daughter Vanessa's wedding. If you heard of the movie, "Nights in Rodanthe," it was supposed to have taken place down there, and as a matter of fact, the house where the movie was filmed is down there...however, due to some wave action, it was surrounded by water when I was there. In fact, this skinny two-lane road had a lot of water and sand over it in places, and warning signs, too. I didn't recall hearing anything on the news about any storms there, and I was a little anxious driving down there by myself, since it wasn't tourist season, and I'd only passed a couple of cars during the entire drive. Had I gotten stuck, I am not sure what I would have done. Anyhow, Vanessa, her husband, and their two kids live in another small community further south than Kitty Hawk, called Salvo, in a little one-story house they rent, about a half-block from the ocean. There are plenty of two- and three-story homes on stilts down there, but her's isn't one of them. So, when I hear news like high tides, I do worry about them. Especially if they cannot get out because the road is closed.


This house fell off its stilts during a storm; the waves crashed against the house and brought it down.
Meanwhile, it looks like Hurricane Bill is going to pass about 300 miles east of here, but we are still in store for high tides, beach erosion, and rip currents.
People who stick around to have "hurricane parties" are nuts.

...TOM DELAY IS A JERKOFF....

...still asking for Obama's birth certificate. AND KARL ROVE is a lying SOB. Too long to write. Just watch the news. Real news...not FOX commentaries. Fact-based news. Jeez.

Unless one is Native American, aren't we all pretty much undocumented illegal immigrants?

And what is up that this idiot, "Joe the Plumber," is still on the news? Who the frig cares about what he thinks or does???????????

...I couldn't sleep last night, and I know why...

an UNRESOLVED ISSUE. My procrastination. Nineteen years worth. Last week I felt a lump in my right boob. I spent the rest of the day ignoring it,hoping the lump would disappear, but I couldn't stop thinking about it anyhow. I was extra careful to not let my hand drift anywhere near it. You think (if you're a woman, anyhow)that you are immune from lumps in the boobs if you get your annual mammogram. The same woman has been "doing my boobs" for the past 19 years. Anyhow, she is very thorough, and always asks me if I've done my monthly breast self-examinations. And every year I tell her that I started off with good intentions, and have always done it for the two months following the annual "mam"...but that I guess right after the "mam" is kind of silly, because I already know there are no lumps. It is more critical to do them as the time since the last exam increases. But by then, it gets pushed to the back burner, and I am in a rush to get out of the shower, to get to sleep, to get dressed, etc. My next exam isn't due until October, and I haven't done a self-examination since last December. The next day, I got my husband to feel my boob (not in a hot way) hoping it was just my imagination. But he felt it too. I was able to snag an early appointment with my doctor a week later (he's booked up through the end of August), and tomorrow I'm going in for a diagnostic mammogram and ultra-sound. So, now I'm kicking myself, and I am trying not to freak out...what is is what is. Wish me luck.

Meanwhile, you guys--Mohawk Chieftain, Boo, Cookie, whoever else is reading this. When you go to bed tonight with your wife...feel her up, feel her up real good, like she's never been felt before. And force yourself to do it every month. If she is too busy or a procrastinator like me, you may just save her life. AND, I am sure she will appreciate the extra attention.

Meanwhile, a poem. I'd like to say I wrote it, but I didn't.


Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Tits
By Pam Ayres

Oh, I wish I'd looked after me dear old knockers,
Not flashed them to boys behind the school lockers,
Or let them get fondled by randy old dockers,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me tits.

'Cos now I'm much older and gravity's winning.
It's Nature's revenge for all that sinning,
And those dirty memories are rapidly dimming,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me tits.

'Cos tits can be such troublesome things,
When they no longer bounce, but dangle and swing.
And although they go well with my Bingo wings,
I wish I'd looked after me tits.

When they're both long enough to tie up in a bow,
When it's not the sweet chariot that swings low,
When they're less of a friend and more of a foe,
Then I wish I'd looked after me tits.

When I was young I got whistles and hoots,
From the men on the site to the men in the suits,
Now me nipples get stuck in the zips on me boots,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me tits.

When I was younger I rode bikes and scooters,
Cruising around with my favourite suitors.
Now the wheels get entangled with my dangling hooters,
I wish I'd looked after me tits.

When they follow behind and get trapped in the door,
When they're less in the air and more near the floor,
When people see less of them rather than more,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me tits

...I can't believe the bull-dukie I've been hearing...

...and all I can say is:


What the frig is a "death panel"? And just where is it written that grandparents will be euthanized? I think somebody is lying...I wonder who it could be? Rush? Newt? The quitter from Alaska? What's up with their stance on advance directives/ living wills? And end of life counseling? They were for it before they were against it. And let's talk about government involvement in end-of-life decisions? NO, these conservatives say! I seem to recall some governor (Jeb) and his brother (George) and others rushing to put their two cents in in the case of Terry Sciavo (not sure of the spelling)...the poor comatose woman in Florida whose husband wanted to honor his wife's wishes and "pull the plug." Government involvement in a personal medical decision. These creeps have short memories.

Next topic, I'm glad to see that Michael Vick is about to be gainfully employed again. I'm not a fan, even back in the days before he began to play professional football, when he was still well-known for his high school football prowess. He is from the "other side" of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel...we are on the southside. He and Alan Iverson were both little punks with good football skills. However, he served his time, and has been released. We give our politicians and celebrities a lot of slack when they act like A-holes. So, it's time to move on and think of other more pressing things.

How about this? My catering partner and friend, Victoria, and I went to see "Julie and Julia" the other night. It was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, and Meryl Streep did such a great job of portraying Julia Child, that she will probably be nominated for an Oscar. I watched Julia Child when I was growing up, (and Chef Francois Pope). (And, I hate to brag, but as I said,) my daughter Meeghan (who has traced our family tree back to the 1500s in England and Scotland...) somewhere along the way, discovered that Julia Child is a distant (not sure how distant) relation of ours.

I don't want you to think I'm BSing here...Meeghan is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This is an organization that honors the contributions of those who served in some capacity during the Revolutionary War. During her long journey of discovery, she has found that we are related to a number of unlikely people. And in order to be a member, you have to not only trace, but document and prove (using birth, death, marriage certificates, census, wills, military orders, and other legal documents). I'm not a member because I don't have the $175 or whatever it is to join.

But to get back to my point, the one relative I was most excited about was Julia Child, since she was alive during my lifetime, and because we've shared a love of cooking. And had I known that writing a food blog could get you a movie deal, I would have started doing that instead of writing about current events--which may just give me ulcers. I do have a huge cookbook collection, but I wouldn't know what country to start in. And I could have tried doing a recipe each day for a year from any one of them, but none are as exciting as "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," and none are authored by famous chefs. Now I want to buy her cookbook; though I've seen it at Kroch & Brentanos in Chicago, and in Barnes & Noble, I never thought about buying it.

I admire "Julie" in the movie, who was so methodical and dedicated to following her schedule, and so careful to do each recipe by the book. I have a tendency to get impatient with reading the instructions and following them to the letter. My measurements are very basic: (1) if a little butter is good, more is better, and (2) there's no such thing as too much chocolate. Also, (3) everything tastes better with butter, gravy, sauces, cheese, hot sauce, whipped cream, nuts, or chocolate. Actually, my husband just reminded me that I DID write a cookbook. I did this when our oldest daughter, Monica (now 40) turned 21. Meeghan, Mallory, and Matthew each wanted a copy of their own. And now my two oldest granddaughters, Sarah (13) and Ariel (11), have put in thei requests. They contain photos and anecdotes about the origins of our old family recipes, and since they are handwritten, I should probably get started now, so I can finish before they turn 21.

Well, I'll give you one recipe that I made for dessert tonight. This is a variation of my friend Kathy's blueberry dessert. Call it what you will, but it's yummy and easy. I call it a "crisp". A blueberry-pineapple crisp, to be exact. When you serve it, serve it warm, and top it with a glob of fresh whipped cream or good vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Get a 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple in juice (don't drain it) and a 20-ounce can of blueberry pie filling. Dump them into a 9 by 13 inch cake pan. Get any brand of yellow cake mix. Sprinkle it over the fruit. Sprinkle a cup (or more, yum) of chopped pecans on top of that. Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter in the microwave and drizzle it evenly over the top of the nuts/cake mix. Bake it at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. It should be golden on top, and the smell will tell you to take it out of the oven. Serve it with a big spoon...put it into bowls. If you are diabetic, see if you can find a sugar-free pie filling and a cake mix with Splenda instead of sugar (which is what I did). And eat a smaller serving.

Time for Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Her show does fantastic research on the topics before she reports. She is great. If you haven't watched her show, please do. She helps gets the facts out there on any and all topics she covers.

...just when you think you have everything you need...

...for camping out and sitting around the fire at the lake, someone comes up with something new.

...how great it is to have grandchildren...

This morning I wanted to jot down some notes to take with me to our State Senator Jim Webb's office for a meeting I had scheduled with him at 10:30. I thought I'd type them up on the computer and then print them out. I forgot, that since our granddaughters visited this summer, my laptop computer stopped working (just got it fixed), printer no longer prints, am out of printer paper anyhow, and could only find two sheets of previously drawn-on notebook paper. I hand-wrote my notes, and the Senator's aide looked them over and cracked up when she saw Ariel's pie chart of "who has the power in my family," and Rachel's list of who and what she hates, crossed off, with my notes in the margins. I had nothing else to write on...tried a napkin and it was too flimsy. I was delighted that I was actually able to locate a pen that still had ink.

My computer is basically new again...new keyboard, new motherboard, new battery. The Dell service was good, even though my call was answered all the way in Mumbai, India. It was fixed within a week.

...about this little note...

...that my friend, Reeni, sent me today:

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance
in the rain."

...lies and the Republican spokes-jerks

Please use this information to counter the Republican myths on health care reform! And please don’t get me started on the “Death Panel”!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MYTH: Grassroots Protestors are Disrupting Town Halls
House Republican Leader John Boehner’s Office: “Back home for the August recess, rank-and-file Democratic Members of the House are facing a backlash from their constituents.”
FACT: Lobbyist-Run Groups Are Orchestrating Extremist Mobs
Republicans and well-funded special interest groups are sending far-right extremists to local town halls to stop any meaningful discussion of
Health Insurance Reform. Some of these mob scenes have turned especially ugly – including the hanging of Members of Congress in effigy
and use of Nazi SS symbols.
MYTH: “Government-Encouraged Euthanasia”
House Republican Leader John Boehner claimed the House bill “may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia.”
FACT: The claim is “nonsense.”
The bill never requires anyone to discuss end-of-life care. Rather, the bill ensures medical professionals who do offer this type of counseling… are reimbursed for their time, just as … for other types of counseling or medical services.
MYTH: Private Plans Outlawed
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) claimed on his website that individual private health insurance plans will be outlawed in 2013 under the Democratic health care plan.
FACT: Private health insurance not banned
Individual policies will continue to be available, but people will buy those policies through the national health insurance exchange, which will
ensure that people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get coverage. The House bill also allows for existing policies to be grandfathered in,
so individual purchasers who like their coverage will be able to keep it.
MYTH: 120 Million Americans Will Be Deprived of Health Care
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.): Democrats’ plan “will deprive roughly 120 million Americans of their current health care coverage.”
FACT: “False”
The 120 million number Pence cites comes from the Lewin Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of insurance giant UnitedHealthCare, which based its numbers on several public-option scenarios that are dramatically different than what Democrats have proposed. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in 2013 about 11 million—NOT 120 million—Americans will end up voluntarily enrolling in the public option, and none of them will be “deprived” of coverage.
MYTH: There is a Republican Plan
Minority Whip Cantor: “The Republican plan” provides “access to affordable basic coverage.”
FACT: “Republicans have yet to coalesce around a single plan.”
Even though the House Republicans’ “Health Care Solutions Group” guaranteed a counter proposal, they have refused to release a plan to
the public.

...how did people become this mental??

...need I say more?

Eric Cantor, unfortunately, a congressman from Virginia. Why can't we get a cool representative? When we went on a tour of Congress a couple of weeks ago, I passed his office, and had a burning desire to stick my wad of chewed-up gum on the backside of his doorknob.


Yes, as a matter of fact, I must. What is up with conservatism? It seems that people who appeared to be "normal" have turned into fruitcakes once their minds narrow down that it squeezes all of the manners, empathy, and ability to have a courteous discourse with anyone who disagrees with them. I read one of Bill O'Reilly's books some years ago, bought a couple of Lou Dobbs books, and watched Glenn Beck. Oh, God, maybe it's me. Maybe I have put a curse on them. I may be sending out liberal wavelengths through my television set, or through my credit card transactions at Barnes and Noble without even knowing it.

...how cathartic that last post was!!

Yeah, what's up with this nonsense?
OMG, how I detest this beeotch. She is a waste of oxygen.
...and now I'm on a roll. I found a few more political cartoons I thought you'd enjoy. And I'd like to give a "shout out" to my mentor, Mohawk Chieftain, and beg him to get back in front of his computer where he belongs, and quit galavanting all over tarnation taking pictures of horses with fringed ear-warmers, and sleeping pigs. Even though I thoroughly enjoy the pictures, my brain needs the stimulation of his wry sense of humor.

...why am I a "Communist"?

One of the members of our synagogue recently passed away, and today we had a very-well attended and very, very nice memorial service. Afterward, everyone gathered in the room where my catering partner and friend, Victoria, and I usually setup our fancy stuff when we cater events there. Anyhow, one of the women came over to where Vicky and I were sitting and we had a little chat. She informed us that she was becoming politically active. Well, that's nice...I think everyone should be involved in their community. I have worked as an election observer since my early 20s back in Chicago, and as an election judge for many years. I have been involved in several civic organizations, and (I am proud to say) I was a member of S.E.P.T.I.A.--(the Society to End Pay Toilets in America) -- an organization that all of you can thank for the removal of pay toilets in public facilities in Chicago. I have been volunteering every year for Virginia Beach's annual Neptune Festival, which I am sure I have mentioned before. So I was thinking that this friend is doing something like this. After all, the elections are over, and we have a great new President with a clear vision for what needs to be done to counteract the effects of eight years of a Republican adminstration.
I found out, much to my surprise, that this friend is virulently against the proposed changes/corrections/inclusions in this country's health care system. I asked her if she had read this bill--I know it is around 1,500 pages long...about 500 pages longer than a historical account of the Crusades that I read several years ago. She had said, "No, do you have any idea how long it is?" Yes. I do. I began reading it on line once my granddaughters relinquished possession of my computer and went back to Florida a week ago. I wanted to know what everybody I see disrupting town hall meetings, was reading that has their collective panties in a bunch, so I started reading. I haven't seen anything yet.
So to get back to this conversation, my acquaintance sounded very much like these people I see on the news. She said that the government has no business getting involved in people's health care. I beg to differ...I have yet to hear any medicare/medicaid recipients I know (and I do know quite a few) protest when their doctor and drugs are paid for by "the government." She said that the government should stay OUT of people's lives. I asked, "What about Social Security? I haven't heard anyone complaining about receiving social security checks." (And, I wonder if she will be writing, "Return to Sender," on her checks when they start arriving in the mail.) "And what about the insurance that we (the government) pay for for these Republican congressmen and senators? Is it so bad that they would prefer to go and talk to a private insurer?" No answer. "And my husband and I have Champus, the government's benefit to military active duty and retirees--my husband is a Navy retiree. Is this wrong or bad? He has a service-related disability--a pre-existing condition--and would probably be unable to get private insurance to cover that."
Her response..."I am on the right, the others are on the left." I asked, "Well, what does that mean?" She responded, "I am conservative. Everybody else is Communist." So, I guess this is one reason I am a communist. I think everybody should have basic, minimum health insurance. So, I understand this means that somewhere along the way, we will all be taxed to pay for this coverage. To me, it really doesn't frigging make a difference if it comes out of my taxes...in fact I'd prefer that...or out of our wallets when the hospitals and doctors pass on higher costs to us for treating "doctor visits" done in emergency rooms because people don't have the health insurance coverage to go see a doctor.
My daughter, Meeghan, is one reason I believe everyone has the basic right to health care. When she turned 21, and was no longer considered a dependent and therefore ineligible for coverage under my husband's military insurance, she began working for a company that offered health insurance...once the employee had been on the job for six months. During that waiting period, she developed gall bladder disease, and was in extreme pain. She eliminated all foods from her diet that contained even the most microscopic amount of fat. Eventually, she could only eat small amounts of plain rice. She lost an incredible amount of weight, and looked anorexic. One bout of pain was so bad that her dad and I rushed her to the local emergency room, where the first question asked was not "where is your pain?" but rather, "who is your insurance carrier?" They sent her home without treating her. The second time she doubled over in excrutiating pain was when she was behind the wheel of her car with her infant daughter in the back seat. She said she thought of crashing her car into a lightpost to kill herself and end the pain. I contacted all of the local hospitals (most of which were part of the same corporation that owned the hospital that turned her away). I contact Johns-Hopkins in Baltimore, and Duke, down in North Carolina. Both wanted cash in lieu of insurance coverage. We did not have that kind of money, I explained. "Sorry," was the answer. Finally, her insurance kicked in...and she rushed to the doctor. "Sorry, this is a pre-existing condition," said the insurance company. The surgeon ultimately donated his services, but the anesthesiologist and the hospital all wanted their money up front.
Right now, I'm thinking (without having read the bill before the House from cover to cover) that the biggest problem is the size and the language. If it was written in simple language, and cut down to the size of a decent paperback with chapters, maybe everyone could get a copy to read. At the end of each chapter, there could be a couple of pages for comments. In the end, we could send our comments to our congressmen. I don't think that qualifies me for the title "Communist."
And when I asked where she got her information from, she said, "They are all talking about it..." I'm thinking maybe she gets her mis-info from "FIX News."