JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY-BUT FUN

I've had about two weeks of stable mood with no erratic swings either direction. The present combo of medicine seems to be okay. My only complaint is that of many of us --- the weight. I have to do something about it. It doesn't help that I put on another 20 pounds or better when I quit smoking and have a constant craving for something sweet. I finally remembered that L-Glutamine is helpful is getting rid of that craving and have started taking that. Also some chromium picolinate to help my body process the sugar a little more efficiently. We'll see if any of that helps.

Had my usual Tuesday hour with Dr Burden where I just happen to have blurted out that I don't trust men ...which surprised not only her but me...After we talked about it I decided that actually I don't trust my decisions when it comes to men. I sure didn't do such a good job in my selections. Let's see, one who couldn't make a commitment, one who was too attached to his family til I thought I would smother, and two alcoholics....not to the point that it kept them from holding down a job, but it affected the relationships bigtime. In the second one, I just started drinking too -- something I hadn't done before because I suspected I probably was one based on my Dad's alcoholism. And I was/am. I'm eight years sober. Went to AA for awhile but don't anymore. Just don't have the first one cause one is too many. So I am occasionally seeing a friend, former lover, and trying to keep it on a friendship basis. But he is feeling a little more amorous. I don't know how I feel. It's been awhile and the body's willing, but the mind doesn't trust him because he backed out of an arrangement we had once before. Guess you might say I'm a little gun shy.

So after we hashed and rehashed that situation Karen and I went to the 99 Cent Store and I had a ball. Bought all the Halloween candy, found some glass flowers that are normally $5.00 a piece and bought a dozen of them and a vase because Karen was going on about them. Now her Christmas present is all taken care of. Found a pretty cut glass salad bowl for everyday. and shampoo, conditioner lotion, mousse and all kinds of little stuff I needed.

We also went to the copy store and copied some of the sheets with the pictures on them for the grandparents, great grandparents, etc. I can cut the 11x17 sheets down to 11x11 and then mount them on a 12x12 piece of fancy paper and they will fit in the book perfectly. I'm making four books and only had one set of pictures. The colored pictures and even the black and white pictures came out beautifully on The color copier I used. But it was expensive! These scrapbooks have turned out to be pretty expensive presents by the time I bought all the extra photoholders, stickers, pens, glue, copies, stencils, photo work.! But this way they will have all the pictures from growing up and won't have to go through my pictures later.

That's been my busy day. If you get frustrated with living in a country where we speak English and you can't understand people, as is Canada, have a look at Blondzila's blog: Sanity Optional. You'll get a good laugh. Peace and keep smiling.

MAIN EVENTS; CLEAN GARAGE & WORLD SERIES GAME ONE

So the World Series begins tonight and everyone is anxiously betting on their favorite team. As usual brother Bill got carried away. First he finally bought the rest of the shelves for the garage and put everything away. then he went to the Pawn Shop and bought two TV's for $200 plus another $100 of equipment to set them up to his sound system in the garage and now has one TV in the garage and one that comes outdoors with the sound coming through the outdoor sound system speakers. And, yes, of course this called for a party. He went to Abers and bought Cajun food: chicken stuffed with rice & shrimp; chicken stuffed with rice and alligator; a stuffed brisket; sausage; boiled red potatoes; asparagus. It was all excellent food. There were about 28 people here...just a nice sized crowd. We had the party in the back yard and the party room of the garage. It's still going on, but I have come in as I am exhausted from the day. I started by stripping the leaves from the tree trunk in front, pruning a few bushes in front Next, cleaned and organized two shelves in the garage, Went to the grocery store and bought all the meat for this week. Then I took the small brush and cleaned the small amount of algae that was in the pool. It was only a little but it was everywhere. By then it was time that everyone was arriving for the party.

Have found my mind is quite active the last week and actually have written some poetry. check my other blog Michele's Poetry to see the last attempt. It's a subject I watched happen over and over in the nation's second largest corporation. Pretty scary how thin that marital bond actually can be.

Well, I having posted my thoughts and having had enough party and people, I am sneaking off to my bedroom with a good book, good music and my pajamas.

I Am Really Up.

YAY, Bill is finally home from Louisiana, and I am so glad. He has worked practically 24/7 over there on that project. In case I haven't mentioned what it was, he built a small city for the workers at one of ExxonMobiil's refineries, That meant establishing a water, sewer, electrical (generators) system; roads, sleeping quarters for 500 workers., a kitchen, cafeteria and a chef. I'm pretty impressed that he could go over there where he knows nobody and put something like that -- meanwhile, he came home for four days half way through to take care of us while RITA came through Houston! He is pretty well exhausted. I unpacked the whole travel trailer and the truck and cleaned the travel trailer for return to the company where he leased it. He has seen enough of that place living in it with two other guys in the refinery property --- company property -- can't even have a cold one in the refrigerator. He hated it there. It was completely depressing to look for files and see nothing but destruction. And the smell is everyplace anywhere near the New Orleans . One area was so pungent Bill said it was about to make him sick. He stayed in Baton Rouge - no odor there - but daily drove through New Orleans past the SW corner to a city called Chalmette. He has a week here before he's off to London. I am just so happy that he is not somewhere that he hated, working too many hours a day and stressing out. It got so bad that he called and gave me his debit card info and had me pay his bills! Last night he and John barbecued steaks and there were a few people over. Today he had an obligatory represent the company at the Astros game - meet and greet guests, etc. Missed dinner -- got home around 7:15.

I am very hyper today. I emptied the entire travel trailer (a big one). Did 6 loads of wash -- some of it was for two other persons who had stayed in the trailer with Bill. There were all of Bill's clothes (mostly clean). A bunch of new towels he bought. They are a beautiful green. I don't know what he was thinking...I don't have room for them in the linen closet because all the swimming towels are in there. Somehow those are going to have to move to the Pool/Shop bathroom. There was all the food from the kitchen (a million snacks) , soap and cleaning stuff, bathroom stuff, first aid, flashlights, batteries, and all miscellaneous things pots pans, comforters, sheets, sleeping bags, pillows, radio, fan, TV, etc. Then I cleaned the trailer, The bathroom with clorox cleaner, windex, vacuumed all floors, mopped bare floor, polished wooden walls, cleaned all mirrors. In other words, Bill is returning it cleaner than he received it. Then I unloaded the front and back seats of t he cab of the truck. --Oh, and be reminded all this stuff I dragged out???? I found a place for it and put it away. One laundry bar of clothes has been returned to one man. The other man has three bags of clothes, equipment, food. However, the tools I unloaded from the truck are lined up in the garage to be put away tomorrow as I FINALLY got tired. But I had a good feeling for doing all that for Bill. He is my brother and he has always been there for me...maybe it's my turn. Wait til I put it in fifth gear tomorrow! Nite all.

HOW FAR WE'VE COME

I had a request from my granddaughter Kathryn for help with a school project. She is making a scrapbook about her family and needed pictures of members of the family back several generations. I am now the repository of such things and, unknown to her mother, this was not at all inconvenient since I am working on scrapbooks for all of my children for Christmas. That project involves dividing up all the family pictures. So I started with myself and worked my way to the eldest great great great grandmother. I mounted them on 12 x 12 sheets and wrote the birth, married, deceased dates and some information about who they were as a person. And then I realized that down both sides of my family there have been strong women, ahead of their time; women who fought the system and accomplished their goals no matter what.

The great great great grandmother Lucy Hewitt married, worked hard beside her husband to build a large farm in Michigan. When her eldest child was 14, she lost her husband. She continued to run the farm until he reached 18. At that time, she put the running of the farm into the hands of a foreman, took the two children to the city and enrolled him in college Two years later she enrolled Florence in college. She made occasional trips to the farm to keep business straight. Once Florence had completed her college They returned to the farm. Lucy continued to run the farm for the rest of her life (eventually with the help of Florence and her husband) until she became blind in her late 80s. She still sat and crocheted rag rugs by the hour. She had been very active in the church and in the county affairs and was visited by many people. Just another indication of how outstanding she was. In the late 1800's women did not run farms nor travel around the countryside by themselves. They certainly did not run a large farm and handle the money and budgeting, crop planning, hiring and firing of help. She was quite an unusual lady.

Another woman ahead of her time was my mother's mother Marcella Watson. She graduated from the 12th grade and began teaching school. Well when she got married they expected her to quit. No married ladies were teachers. She fought with the administration and she won. Then it started to be preferred that you have some college so she began taking college classes at night. and went full time during the summers until she had her degree. She was a very good teacher but she wanted to make a difference in education through administration . She fought hard for the job of principal of Bryant Elementary School (Grades 1-8). Finally in 1935 she was given the job. There were very few female administrators in the country in 1935. She kept that job through 1957 and brought about many changes in the Owosso school system during her career. She was a very proper lady who believed in good taste. I am glad she did not live to see the society of today. In her spare time she like driving the boat, fishing, traveling, spending her winters in Arizona, goofing off with grandpa --- they were the best of friends. I
also remember she had a marvelous sense of humor.

And now we wouldn't blink twice about doing anything those women did because they paved the way for us. I remember my Grandma Watson thought it was a good thing that women could wear pants --- but I never saw her in them. Thanks to all the strong, creative, forward thinking women that went before us which gives us the freedoms that we have.

THE WELFARE STATE=THE HELPLESS STATE

If you haven't read the latest of Blondzila's on Sanity Optional regarding the treatment of the poor during the hurricane and some more "wise" words uttered by our friend Mr. Bennett, I urge you to do so. It's worth your time and take along your sense of humor - it's the only say to stomach Bennett. It brought up a different theory that I have and that is the one of the Welfare State we have established in this country. We have created a system that penalizes you to go to work, pays you more to have extra children ( 18 years of health care, welfare, possibly Aid to Dependent Children, public housing) It is a way of life. Work does not figure in there. Having a dream and getting ahead aren't part of the plan because if you do that you will lose some of the welfare money and have less from your job than welfare was paying you. It isn't like they can afford to hire someone to watch their children while the wife goes to work....Chances are she is unskilled and will lose more welfare than she can earn. The system pays you to be helpless. At least that is the way it was explained to me by a girl on welfare....

In the current instance of those who made no attempt to get out,, who waited for someone to take care of them I blame that welfare state in Louisiana. I have read that it's percentages worse than any other state in the U.S. Finally, for a good article, refer to :http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110007250. He has some interesting things to say.