Yes yes, I'm tired and wired.. Another QUIZ thing!

This was so true that I HAD to post it. Jazzie was the most happy and playful dog I've ever had.

You Should Own a Poodle

Lively, smart, and graceful.

What Kind of Dog Should You Have?

The Word that Describes me?

It is supposed to be Peace...

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of. Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you. While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life. You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

I found the quiz on Liana's Blog

She is and has been a great help with the Aran Sweater. And she has an absolutely awe inspiring sewing and knitting blog.


However, getting back to the word, "Peace".

I'd say most of the time, this word fits me. But I get so incensed lately about the creaking slow march of any sort of human rights progress, like on Torture {!!!!} practiced and AND defended by people who are HIGH up in this government of ours (!!!!) or the newest Coup in Honduras, that I hardly feel any peace at all.

So, I'll keep knitting and making post cards and trying to find the beauty of life. In the ordinary things, and translate it into jewelry and photographic art.

Why? Why is this happening, again?

I can't be silent, as silence equates with complicity.

I was just reading Salon.com and came across this video and a quote that led me to read Glenn Greenwald's Opinion piece on Torture done by the United States.

This video is appalling in it's intent and in it's delivery. I never thought I would hear this man say the things he is saying. Never. He does not speak for me.

This is what General Barry McCaffrey had to say about torture:

"We should never, as a policy, maltreat people under our control, detainees. We tortured people unmercifully. We probably murdered dozens of them during the course of that, both the armed forces and the C.I.A."

And this is Obama, trying to look forward and not backward. I can't tell if he is swallowing hard because he doesn't like what he is having to say, or if he is just nervous about saying it. The CIA is not our friend, America. It has served as a battering ram for American Corporations for too long to be a friend of the average Joe.



There is also this article about CIA secret prisons.

I will take no negative comments from any "hotkey" government trolls on this. None!

The Visitor

I think we have managed to get the "visitor" to leave. It was a reluctant visitor, only wanting out if it could ever find a way back out.

It was a baby, and must have been terrified to be inside all by itself. I'm glad now that it's left. I only saw it once when it tried to hide under the stove a couple of nights ago. I'm happy to know it has escaped and is now with it's own family. DH opened the back door and pulled the stove out to the middle of the kitchen. We didn't see it leave, but in two nights, it's not touched the food - Rice Crispies which it liked - and water we left out nightly for it. Go in Peace little earthling...

Knitting. I've frogged back the same cable row (25 I think) twice but now finished it last night and it looks pretty good. An inability to concentrate is my only real excuse. This is a tough time to be trying to concentrate on double twisting cables! I hope that I don't end up hating this sweater yet again!

The Postcards are going to be cut out and fussy cut (finally) today. I'm packing off more greenware to Ceramics again. Yay! Less stuff here! I so need less stuff here. I'm tired of using half the great room for anything but living space.

This is what happens when your tiny markets get jumped on by a 60 ton gorilla; you have lots of "stuff" left with no where to sell. Now I know how South and Central American Countries feel, and Jamaica....Ooops, a little rant.

I had a filmfest yesterday. DH and I both watchedWrist Cutters last night. It's not something to watch if you are suicidal or a teenager - I don't think - and if you do watch it, skip through all the previews for some REAAALLY awful gory stuff that shouldn't even be considered the same genre. The movie itself is fascinating, the acting is good, and the story line keeps you guessing about the true identity of some folks called the P.I.C.. I'm going to watch it again because I'm intrigued by how it all fits together in it's intricate little ways.

I also watched a movie based on a book by Maive Binchy called, "How About You". This film sports a very interesting story about four people in a residential home, and how they get back their lives with the help of a no-nonsense younger sister of the owner. They help her out, too. There's some great acting in this British film.

That's what I've been up to, except I'm also gathering material for my book. No, not The Great American Novel, which I will never write, too gory my life, but the scrap book for Jazzie.

Ta!

Power of the Ocean is no longer available from YouTube. Sorry..

This was absolutely beautiful. I could watch the Ocean waves come in all day, sunrise to sunset.

I don't know what the subscriber did to deserve being bounced but that's the problem with uploading YouTube videos for a blog. Sorry. It was very beautiful.

Something sweet..

This is coming to your via ValScot's Page, and originally from Fuzzarelly's blog.

It's really lovely. Flying foxes are amazing little earthlings. They are in trouble all over the world.



People who work to save the animals really deserve to be called "Heroes for the Planet". They just do so much for the other earthlings, as well as to improve our sagging levels of the Humane on the planet.

Moon

 

I like to remember the blessing of having a moon. Our planet is lucky to have the Moon, as it helped to create the flow of life on earth, and all things alive harken to it's call. We may have gotten so used to it that we forget. This is a reminder to harken to the moon, and it's silken, flowing influence upon us, from birth to our passing.

Commercial Fishing boat basin

 

I love the complexity of this shot of the bay nearing sunset. Someday it would be nice to turn this into a painting with all the lines and angles and the shine from the water.

Violation of Freedom of Speech, and some Terroristic Behaviors Towards American Citizens

If you haven't read the interview of Andrew Stepanian on DemocracyNow!, now would be a good time to read it.

Take the time because it affects us all. To my mind it shows how much our freedom of speech has been abridged and how far government has taken this war on the American people during a time of crisis. This is our government and they are using our tax dollars to strip our freedoms down to the narrowest use imaginable.

This is the link to the interview. If you have children this is their future unless we stay awake and alive and do something about it. Remember the admonitions about the Nazi's and how they weren't stopped until they set half the world aflame. We have to keep our eyes open and protect everyone's rights if we are to protect our rights.

Today is my little dog's birthday, and I promised him I would be as brave as he was, and this is part of keeping my promise. I will not be silent.

I'm just going to stop being coy about my feelings towards the Health Insurance Industry. Some of the companies are harboring criminals who steal money from the people who are insured by them. I don't think there is any other way to characterize things such as this other than outright theft.

This is a quote from an article on Democracy Now!

Read it and weep:


"Probe: Insurers Force Consumers to Overpay Billions in Health Costs

A congressional probe has found private health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical costs that the insurers should have paid. In a new report, the Senate Commerce Committee says insurers have relied on faulty databases that have led to underpaying on millions of valid claims for out-of-network medical care. Patients have been forced to make up the difference. The report says the databases’ errors were easily disguised because insurers have failed to properly inform consumers on how they calculate charges for out-of-network costs. The databases are owned by a company named Ingenix. The firm has a financial incentive to underpay consumers: it’s a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest private insurers. In addition to UnitedHealth, at least seventeen other leading insurance companies have relied on Ingenix’s data.
Ex-Cigna Exec: Insurance Companies “Dump the Sick”

The findings were released as the Senate Commerce Committee heard testimony from an insurance executive who’s now criticizing his former industry. The executive, Wendell Potter, was most recently a public relations executive for the insurer Cigna until last year. In his testimony, Potter said the industry has deliberately misled consumers with confusing paperwork to deter them from trying to recoup unwarranted payments. Potter said, “they confuse their customers and dump the sick, all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors.” Potter also said insurers are using what he called “fear tactics” to derail proposals for a public health plan out of fear of losing profits."

Nice, huh?

wobbling (Drunken?) cable..

 

I worked on fixing this today. Pay no attention to the base of that half cable, 'tis the top of it that is really the drunken one. Having done that I am now resting. lol.. Just kidding. I am going to knit out the other rows to 30, take a pic and post it tomorrow sometime of the full thirty.

Yesterday, having dug out all the stuff for the post cards and finding no iron on interfacing, I will really have to get speeding on the post cards. I want them out of my hands by the first of July. I really need to rip into the patio plants with merciless precision and take about half of them out and repot the rest.

We are still trying to catch the little "ghost" that moved in one night after Jazzie died. I was feeding it every night but now it must depart. DH bought a havahart trap yesterday.

The story is that we read that, according to many legends we probably should not have read, sometimes a little Ghost of your pet may stay around for awhile. So, being good pagans wannabees, or even half-ways decent Buddhist wannabees, we decided to leave out a tiny dish of water, and share a little dish of our dinner with our little ghost doggie.

Well, I was outside looking at all the stars one night, and overcome by feelings, I came in and LEFT THE DOOR TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS OPEN! You all know what happened then. The food started disappearing. We were all tingely all over, thinking that, indeed, we had a little Ghost. Indeed, what we had was a little GUEST! Now it's worn out it's wee welcome and will be deposited outside where I will continue to feed it and leave a little water out for awhile. Not long, just a little while.

It's called insanity but it gets you through whatever you are going through.

Thief of a Seagull in Aberdeen

This was posted in Ravelry but many can't see it there. I wanted to show it here. DDs will remember the many thieves from cookouts at the beach. Lol..

I've gotten past the tangle of the cable in the manly sweater so now it's knit ten minutes a day as fran from Knitter's Review suggested. She started a group and we are all pledging. YayFran!

Persephone

I like this myth that explains the changing of the seasons. Actually if I were Persephone, I'd just go stay in the garden and to hell with Hades, that trickster. I'd take him to court, and I would win! Buhahahahaha!

I have been working in the sewing room to try to get some post cards made for Spring, or maybe Summer. My own garden is a sad tangle right now, but it's better than it was two months ago, rank with weeds! The wild birds loved it though! Scrub Jays and Doves both raised a family in it. That's a fairly high approval rating for an urban garden, me thinks.

Tiny Daisies and Crow Feather

 

The Crows that led me to the roses the other day are still around. There are three of them. The petite daisies have been beckoning me to take their picture for three weeks but this is the first day I had a camera. I think the Crow's roosting tree, or perhaps they have a nest there, is the one providing shade for this picture, and the feather is a natural fall from molting.

I'm reading Jan de Hartog's novel(about Holland's Tug fleet during WWII) called The Captain. Jan de Hartog is a wonderful writer. If I could write like anyone, it would be this author, a perfect blend of humor, irony and sassiness.

My own grandfather ran away to sea at 14.

In the Grand Tradition of Following the Money.....

This is why American Policy sucks. This is a post on a blog called La Vida Locavore.

DD1 sent it to me, I read it, and have to concur that we are not going to get anywhere without limiting access to Congress and the Presidency by these leeches. This hog trough of a lobbying system has forced even organizations with good intentions to stand there throwing dollars in slop pails.

The Post:

"Why American Policy SUCKS

By Jill Richardson

June 23, 2009 "La Vida Locavore

" -- Out of curiosity I decided to see who was spending the most on lobbying in America. And Oh My Goodness - NO WONDER our policy sucks. No wonder it's nearly impossible to pass health care reform that provides all Americans with affordable care, a global warming bill that doesn't suck, and the Employee Free Choice Act. No wonder we're in these two stupid wars. I know everyone's aware of the problems lobbying poses to our country, but good lord, if people saw the sheer magnitude of it (and the comparatively paltry amounts spent in the people's interest) they would be outraged. So here goes. Here's the list of the top 100 (ranked by amount spent on lobbying in Q109). Enjoy.

I pulled up all of the reports for first quarter 2009 but over 20,000 items came up (and the report only shows the first 3000). OK, try again - all reports for over $1 million for first quarter 2009. This time a little over 100 came up (including AIG, who spent $1,250,000 on lobbying during that period).

So here's how to read this list: These are the amounts spent by the corporations listed. However, many (if not most) of these corporations ALSO contract out to private lobbying firms, so the amounts you see here MIGHT not be the total amount they spent on lobbying in Q109. For example, Monsanto spent $2,094,000 for its in house lobbying but then contracted out to Arent Fox LLP; Lesher, Russell & Barron, Inc. ($60,000); Ogilvy Government Relations ($60,000); Parven Pomper Strategies ($40,000); Sidley Austin LLP; TCH Group, LLC ($50,000); The Nickles Group, LLC ($63,000); The Washington Tax Group, LLC ($40,000); and Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group ($30,000) - for a total of $2,437,000 in first quarter 2009.

Health Care, Health Insurance, & Pharma
3. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: $6,910,000
6. Pfizer, Inc: $6,140,000
12. American Medical Association: $4,240,000
18. American Hospital Association: $3,580,000
19. Eli Lilly and Company: $3,440,000
37. America's Health Insurance Plans, Inc: $2,030,000
39. CVS Caremark Inc: $2,005,000
47. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association: $1,800,000
49. GlaxoSmithKline: $1,780,000
63. Merck & Co: $1,500,000
65. United Health Group, Inc: $1,500,000
69. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. Inc: $1,460,000
76. Novartis: $1,347,134
87. Abbott Laboratories: $1,260,000
89. Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP: $1,250,000
92. Medtronic, Inc: $1,238,000

Oil
2. Exxon Mobil: $9,320,000
4. Chevron U.S.A. Inc: $6,800,000
7. Conoco Phillips: $5,980,935
16. BP America, Inc: $3,610,000
20. Marathon Oil Corporation: $3,380,000
45. American Petroleum Institute: $1,810,000

Defense
5. Lockheed Martin Corporation: $6,380,000
11. General Electric Company: $4,540,000
28. Northrop Grumman Corporation: $2,570,000
30. Boeing Company: $2,410,00
51. Honeywell International: $1,760,000
73. Raytheon Company: $1,360,000

Telecoms
10. AT&T Services, Inc: $5,134,873
14. Verizon (excluding Verizon Wireless): $3,760,000
21. National Cable and Telecommunications Association: $3,370,000
23. Comcast Corporation: $2,760,000
68. Motorola, Inc: $1,470,000

Automotive
22. General Motors: $2,800,000
27. United Services Automobile Association: $2,590,244
52. Ford Motor Company: $1,750,000
84. Toyota Motor North America: $1,290,000
86. Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers: $1,264,400

Financial
32. Financial Services Roundtable: $2,260,000
33. Prudential Financial, Inc: $2,180,000
41. American Bankers Association: $1,890,000
61. Visa, Inc: $1,540,000
74. Investment Company Institute: $1,359,917
75. Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association: $1,350,000
82. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.: $1,310,000
90. Citigroup Management Corp: $1,250,000
90. Credit Union National Association: $1,250,000

Biotech
36. Monsanto: $2,094,000
40. Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO): $1,920,000
44. Bayer Corporation: $1,843,672

Railroads
24. Association of American Railroads: $2,759,545
54. Union Pacific Corporation: $1,717,108
71. BNSF Railway: $1,400,000

Life Insurance
42. American Council of Life Insurers: $1,867,075
44. New York Life Insurance Company: $1,840,000
64. State Farm Insurance: $1,500,000
93. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company: $1,237,000

Other
1. Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A.: $9,996,000
8. National Association of Realtors: $5,727,000
9. U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform: $5,480,000
13. AARP: $4,090,000
15. Southern Company: $3,650,000
17. Altria Client Services Inc: $3,580,000
25. Amgen, Inc: $2,750,000
26. National Association of Broadcasters: $2,600,000
29. Edison Electric Institute: $2,550,000
31. Fedex Corporation: $2,370,000
34. Textron, Inc.: $2,140,000
35. General Dynamics Corp: $2,101,945
38. International Business Machines (IBM): $2,030,000
43. United Technologies Corporation: $1,860,000
46. Recording Industry Association of America: $1,810,000
48. CTIA-The Wireless Association: $1,790,000
50. Time Warner Inc. $1,780,000
53. The Dow Chemical Company: $1,735,000
55. American Electric Power Company: $1,716,913
56. Microsoft Corporation: $1,650,000
57. Qualcomm, Incorporated: $1,620,000
58. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc: $1,600,000
59. L-3 Communications: $1,580,000
60. Exelon Business Services, LLC: $1,540,000
62. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc: $1,530,000
66. Norfolk Southern Corporation: $1,485,026
67. Koch Companies Public Sector LLC: $1,480,000
70. American Airlines: $1,450,000
72. Oracle Corporation: $1,390,000
77. Air Transport Association of America, Inc.: $1,340,000
78. Disney Worldwide Services, Inc.: $1,330,000
79. Sepracor, Inc: $1,324,157
80. National Association of Home Builders: $1,320,000
81. UPS: $1,316,426
83. Siemens Corporation: $1,300,000
85. Duke Energy Corporation: $1,282,770
94. Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., Inc: $1,230,000
95. Business Roundtable: $1,220,000
96. Wellpoint, Inc: $1,220,000
97. American Wind Energy Association: $1,212,504
98. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: $1,206,427
99. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: $1,200,000
99. CBS Corporation: $1,200,000"

I think that it should settle your heart a bit, knowing just who and how much you are up against if you want to change things. And to know why nothing much ever does actually change.

Water, Salt and Fresh.

I wasn't born with a fascination with the Ocean, but by the year I was 7, and had read a few Robert Loius Stevenson books, and been taken several times to the beach in summer for the day, Huntington Beach mostly, I was hooked.

We spent the whole day and part of the night on the shore. It was the cheapest way for a family with very little money to have fun, and you could build a fire at dusk and roast the hotdogs and marshmallow feast brought from home. And to go shell collecting along the surf was a kid's paradise.

The beaches were not that far away but of course there were no freeways then in Los Angeles County, so we started very early, to "get a good spot" and did the boring route over the surface roads. We spent as much of the day down there that we could, and luckily our Dad loved the beach more than most.

Along the coast in little beach towns, at night, you could hear the surf and watch it in moonlight. You could hear the gulls calling and the fog horns and bouys warning ships away from the rocks. Since my brother and I spent a lot of time running around in the light of the moon at home- we had a very big playground on Mom's little farm, and were quite safe back then- we loved the special effects that moonlight lent to the surf. And the sound of it crashing, making the foam that gleemed silvery white, was an unforgettable childhood memory.

The biggest body of water I'd ever seen to that point in my life was Lake Erie. Our grandparents shared a family owned cabin near the shore of Lake Erie, and they would take my cousins and I there when we were quite little. Grandpa would go fishing and that's about all I can remember about it. I do remember being shocked, later on, to taste the ocean water and finding out it was salty! No one told me there were two sorts of water on Earth - Salt and Fresh.

Sunspot Image

We live in an amazing Universe. DH found this on the web. It's a simulation of a Sunspot. Sunspots cause radio wave disturbances on the earth. Like a head's up from the Ruler of the Solar System, eh?

Sky Watcher's .... with a twist...

We had been speaking of snails in Rav.....

So J just sent me this, and I thought, "PERFECT!"

Annnd, Thanks to the Icanhascheezburger.com site!

The Tee Shirt, of course

Back

 

Front.

 

It's very cool

Inside the House of Blues

The beautiful beaded wall, which is completely awesome, and some of the folk art works that are fabulous. I think the beaded wall is made up of Mardi Gras beads and grouted.

 

 

 

A Strong Middle Class = A Strong America

Here is Joe Biden telling us, the citizens in the middle, and frankly, all citizens who want to help, about a task force to sort of rebuild the Middle Class in America.

Get involved, give them your ideas. I've seen some of yours and they are great ones! Step up and speak out HERE. You'll like life more! :o)

Urban Angles

 

Today we went to the House of Blues, downtown, to ask about seating. I decided that snaps of the city were required, since there are some sort of beautiful angles down there. At first I didn't realize this building has a name because we drove by so fast, and I don't know newer buildings downtown. But, I think it's called the Parking Palace, such an incongruous name for a beautifully designed building.

Ashes in little Boxes and they all look the same....

We went to get J's ashes and then had a complete blowout last night of watching videos.

The firm that did this for us made a little paw print, and we could see Jasper's little crooked nail imprinted in it. So Sweet.

We are going to get another dog sometime in the future. We've come to the realization, over this past month or so, that it's just not possible to live the rest of life without one.

DH said we will see what crosses our path, just as J did. Neither of us was looking for a dog, and suddenly, there he was, waiting to be rescued from a woman who was alternately demanding him and then offering big bucks. She thought she had pick of the litter you see, because she had bred his mother. Au contraire! Our friend's daughter, who had rescued his mother, knew that he shouldn't be bred, and should not go back there either, so she brought him to a gathering and the second Jazzie went into play stance when DH rubbed his fingers on the carpet, that tiny 1 lb fuzzball stole DH's heart. Kismet! I was already smitten when I saw him at 5 weeks.

I'm just not getting much knitting done, and I apologize, but the manly sweater is inching up to the 30 row mark for it's pixs. I'm making fabric postcards and a memory book. And breathing in and out, which is a good thing to do.

All the cactus flowers are blooming and my friend gave me some pelargonium cuttings, and succulent bits. Planting them today. *~*YAY*~*!! Playing in the dirt is always a joyful sort of thing in life.

Happy Father's Day this weekend to all the Dads out there. Enjoy the breakfasts of lopsided pancakes, with extra "crispy" bacon, and those rubber-like scrambled eggs. ;o) Lots of extra love goes into them, y'know?

A Real Cancer Patient Speaks Out.

This is the stuff that is going on. This should not happen; it's clearly an obscene development in health care, and it's happening every day in this country. Every single day people are struggling to pay for denied care. Our citizens deserve more than this. They have worked hard to make America what it is.

Well, at least Joe Barton has done one good thing in life, though it was mostly his staff, as he admits. Anyway, it's a plus.

javascript:void(0)

For all the people who believe in the rainbow bridge.

I saved this some time ago, and just came across it yesterday. HAD to share it.

Have a sweet day. The sun is out here off and on, just the way I like it. We don't need to bake anytime before September, which is hotter than the Hobbs of Hell here. Alliteration!

Something Neat Happened Last Week

There's a woman who comes to ceramics and she is very nice, but she evidently didn't know that our little guy had died recently. She was telling story after story about her little dog and how cute, smart, wonderful he was, and he is a wonderful little guy, but I just was over come with my grief. I had to get out of there..

So I got up, put something in the trash can and walked out the door into the park. I just sort of wandered up by the side of the building, and I heard, inside my body sort of, "keep walking" and a light breeze came up, so I walked around the building to the playground and while I was gazing out at the grass and trees beyond the playground, I got a feeling, or by intuition, that I was supposed to stop there, not go around the building. So I stood there looking up at the sky. And then I heard the ravens calling. One raven was sitting on the fence by the Coral tree that I took pictures of when it was blooming on that earlier day in April. So I looked at the raven, and it was looking down and calling.

I looked where it was looking, and there was something in the tree.. in a hole in the trunk sticking up that looked like a human hand on an arm! I was a little frightened, but went over to look closely and found three, red, long stemmed roses inside a cellophane package, a little drooped but still intact. I suppose one of the gardeners put it there, having found it on the lawn or something. That tree had long since leafed out and was nice and shady. I thought, "Those could represent Jasper, DH and I". The roses had been there awhile but someone had put water in the hole for them. I like to think of it as a comfort and an ease to our minds, so I took DH out later and showed him, too. He's used to my intuitions. Indulges me I think. A little "Walk with Beauty All Around You", I think.

The top finally blew off of the old woman's haid...

I got into the cooking rum, and I feel GREAT!

Tomorrow this might me a regret, but today it feelys fine. so fhine..

Here is an Andés Segovia for your pleasure and entertainment. I am off to watch "Arranged". being that I feel completely de=arranged.



Isn't this chubby fingered emressario Like a cherub; he is.. yes?

I can't see a thing without glasses IAND I don't really give a damn. hhahahahahah

Pssst! don't tell my Doc, I am not supposed to drink.. heart you know.. hahahahah! Like i care!

EDIT: much much later I've sailed off to bed feeling quite a bit happier, I tink.

Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: newyorker.com

Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: newyorker.com

Shared via AddThis

Pogonip shared this in a comment, and I think it's a pretty earthshaking account of the why's and wherefores of what has been happening in the escalation of costs in healthcare.

This is more fun....

I thought you would like to see a bit from the Daily Grist about a new ecologically correct product involving Hampsters.

Scientific American Article on the Origins of House Cats

Pogonip said she hadn't seen this article, so HERE it is for all who are interested. Thank you L, for the link.

House cats, when they are feral or maybe farm cats, will form prides and raise kittens in common. This was one of the things I remember from an old Nature or Nova show on PBS. Maybe that's been disproved but it was a documented behavior.

Healthcare Insurance goes after doctors providing health care to uninsured

I'm just too sickened by these leeches to really send off a ranting comment, but if you'd like to read about their blood sucking tentacles reaching out into State Assembly bills that were a reaction to the outrage, read HERE.

I don't think we can ignore our health care issues. We do have to keep hacking away at this Monster middleman which has insinuated itself, like a cancer, onto the population. Strong words? Well, I think we need to start thinking of them in a whole new way. The Health Insurance Industry had it's chance to do what it said it would do. So did Communism, and both failed miserably and with terrible consequences.

Now that the AMA has jumped in, for God only knows what reason but my bet is on the dollars they will lose, not the harm that will come from dumping a huge fat Grub from the middle of the doctor/patient relationship, it's time for the rest of us, They Who Pay the Bills, to tell off the AMA and tell them to suck it up and help us change this or get the heck out of the way. Perhaps, they've already sold their souls?

This is their Home!

Yes a political rant, but still, it is about yourself. When you think about it, it's about yourself and how easily you can be dispossessed.

Grub is my code word for "Oh, Greedy One".

I've lifted this from DemocracyNow! pages, but it didn't start there in my head and heart. Lori Berenson, are you listening, Dear one?

"Peruvian Congress Suspends Land Laws

In Peru, lawmakers have temporarily suspended two land-use laws that led to an indigenous uprising and dozens of deaths in the ensuing police crackdown. Indigenous groups have opposed the laws that would allow an unprecedented wave of logging, oil drilling, mining and agriculture in the Amazon rainforest. On Wednesday, the Peruvian congress voted to suspend the laws, but for an unspecified time. Indigenous leader Efrain Pizango Wasy said the protests will continue until the laws are fully repealed.

Efrain Pizango Wasy: “Our reaction is not to suspend the strike, but to continue until the end. As you have heard, this measure is suspended for only ninety days. This is not convenient for us, the indigenous population. We will gather more and continue fighting until the end.”

President Alan Garcia’s government passed the land laws under “fast track” authority he had received to facilitate implementation of the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement."

My Bold, my italics

And you thought it was over, didn't you, Grub. Well, it's not. People don't like it when their homes are taken away by force. And if you believe in mercy and common decency, you just don't do these kinds of things. Fujimora is a criminal, remember? Surely you didn't forget. Grubs around the world. No one likes you. Lest you should forget.

vaguely knitting related-straight needles and a gift

 

The two tiny straights sets ( 0n the left) are 0s and 1s, sent by a sweet friend in KR. Thank you M!

These littlest needles are hard to find nowadays, and are perfect for making small lace. I wish that the one on the end, a 000, would have been in stainless steel because the lace that H's mother was making on it got rust marks. That's bobbin lacemaking thread on that needle. FRAN suggested something to get the rust out, and I'll try it now that it's in front of my face again! Life is a meander for the likes of me. Wander here, there, sleep, read, knit, rinse, repeat.

I'm working on the Drops Aran sweater and it's very pleasant now. When the row count is to 30, I'll post a picture. I'm knitting row 26 right now and can really see the advantages of using a chart, yay, and in knitting a sweater in the round. Wow, what a difference it makes!

That's about all for today. Just finished reading a Cadfael mystery called The Holy Thief, and now I am going to go start a new birding mystery called The Audubon Quartet by Ray Sipherd. I know nothing about this book other than it's bird related, and of course since I'm allergic to birds it stands to reason I'm also bird crazy. Love the birds. DH picked this up at the book sale. I never go there anymore because otherwise we would be there all day, and come home with far too many.

If this works, you are in for a treat Soccer Lovers out there

I had to take out the video here and strip down this post because it has been made known to me that somehow, because of illegal links to viewing pay for view soccer in some sort of scam, that my blog was banned in the Middle East.

I got the link from a legitimate source, but I am removing it because I want my friend to be able to see my blogs! I think that this thing is an obvious use of a blunderbuss to cure a problem many have nothing to do with.

Granny, Get your Gun

Now that the Congress has passed the "Grannies with Guns Legislation", it was riding on the credit card reform bill, we can all look forward to lively times at the National Parks.

I wonder how they will find people willing to be camp hosts? The last time we went to Joshua tree, the camp host quit when an irate and probably drunken camper waved a gun in his face. The local Sheriff was called in, WITH his posse, to restore order.

Will the National Parks be hiring Hell's Angels for camp hosts? That would be interesting. DH suggested that maybe it will make it easier. You would just slip them $50 protection money and, "Bob's your Uncle".

This new law could lead to some very interesting confrontations between Senior Citizens and those pesky doggone birds. Don't like that Great Horned Owl roosting on your satellite dish? Blow him away Grandpa! And, what about the damn Ravens stealing the grub from the table top when your back is turned? Just get out the shotgun and that Raven's history.

Just make sure Grandma's not carrying out the potato salad in that general area. She's packin' now you know, and could get awfully darn mad at you and shoot you down with her pistol, especially if she doesn't have her specs on and mistakes you for one of those Hell's Angels from the campsite down the way. How would you like them apples?

The Deadliest Crab

Knitty.com Summer Issue is up, and look what Amber Allison has created! The Deadliest Crab in honor of the Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. DH and I sat on the edges of our seats watching all the back seasons on demand last winter. We don't get Discovery Channel because of our *cough* sucky *cough,cough* Cable Channel company wanting to package it up with a lot of junk channels. We are stubborn luddites here who actually think things could be different, and we pray for them to have some real competition!

Anyway, go look at Knitty and start the summer off right with the cutest and deadliest catch!

If you can't have fun you really can't have much of a life. Go knit a crab. hehe

I'm still taking the measure of the last Major Mountain. Rho, I am going to waddle out towards your position on the starfield. The Earth can stand only so much before it flicks us all off into space anyway. Let's start a colony of knitters with the gang at Rav and KR. And Pogo, please come and bring the family.

The magic is, if you don't pass a citizenship "test", you can't even see our Universe. It keeps out the cranks.

Weapons are Squirt guns only, and maybe some Liquid String. The litmus test for gaining access to our planet is gentleness and the ability to bake a decent pie.

Off to pack the stash and the needles!

Something's Broken

It's in my personality. It's going to take some work to fix it.

I have to get over hating people who have intentionally hurt other people, for fun, for money or for power. It's the last major mountain. Once I'm over it, I can be done with the work I was sent to do on myself. I can go then. It will be a sort of "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish" goodbye. Only mine will be, "Goodbye, and thanks for all the Chocolate."

Pachelbel Canon in D Original Instruments

This is very beautiful, one of two that use period instruments. Enjoy the music....

*my English is slipping away from me. I need to have an oxygen bottle. lol

Pepe Romero

Sospirando.. Sonrisas para Pépe

my spanish is slipping away from me. I need to use it more.

Face Cloths/Dish Cloths..

Which ever you like, be aware that a lot of the free patterns are up at GeoCities, which is going to be pulled down at some point in the foreseeable future, i.e., it's already forewarning people.

So, I'm getting patterns from there. The next face cloth I knit, like starting tomorrow is THIS ONE. Sorry, Shaggy, I'm up at 3 am and can't make any noise so my five things to do this weekend went right OUT the window with a BIG whooshing sound.

Anywho, I'll be downloading at least a dozen more from Geocities.

Another great site is the Dishcloth Boutique It's amazing how it's set up, with a passover for a picture of the cloth, using the mouse cursor.

It was a big mistake to go looking at Bittersweet's Blog, because not only am I wide awake at 3 am, I'm hungry. Go take a look at her Whoopie Pies. Yum!

Blue Agate on the Roadway

 

Many times we would just stop and have a good look at the roadway if it was cut through a promising place. Blue agate is now all over the market but for a long time it was quite rare.

Some collectors, who were really not rockhounds but mining companies, would swoop in and dig out all of a BLM dig area, and the authorities couldn't keep up with them. Some areas are for public collection and not for blasting and bulldozers. It would really get the clubs upset because the big equipment would also tear up the roads in as well. Huge tracts were let by BLM and there are claims all over in Utah but not in this area of Arizona.

This trip turned into a disappointment when we got to the site and the bulldozers had been in there already in the early winter.

Extreme Knitting.... very soothing music....

How To Knit A Mattress

Goodness, be sure to read the comments. I hope there aren't any really bad ones. Most are nice.

Dogs thinking out loud. so cute

 

This Steven Breen cartoon comes from a while back but I think it's very cute. Thank you Steven..

A couple of nights ago, with pot stickers, frozen chopped kale and some chicken broth, DH made the most delicious soup for me. You gotta love a guy who cooks.

I'm getting reconciled to Jasper having flown away. I hope he is in Heaven with my mother, romping with her and her little poodles. She had two that died under mysterious circumstances. I have the PsychoDad, remember. If life were fair, he'd be dead and Mother would be here, helping me to grow a beautiful garden. But, I can hope she really does have a beautiful garden to live in now, anyway, and the dogs are with her. All our dogs and little cats, and the birds, yes the birds. In the trees and singing, eh?

I am starting to knit again, and sifting through clothing that makes me say to myself, "What WAS I thinking?" hahahaha!

Take care and sweet dreams!

OMG the Chipmunks (or is that a Prairie Dog?) are striking back!!!!

You can follow the whole thing, if you are fast on your feet and don't get distracted. Do NOT be distracted, Rinpoche.

The Whole story, in synopsis, is HERE

Buhahahahahahaha.. where IS my Crazy Glue????



Yes, Zippi has gone off her NUT. Say no more M'Lady..

Good night all. Sweet Dreams!

More Market...

 

 

 

 

The Salsa lady's decorated basket caught my eye...As well as the Happy Green beans sign..very cute, and the delicious looking strawberrys all over the market today.

Farmer's Market

 

 

 

 

With Nature doing it's best with the sky show, we also saw a lot of beautiful things, rich abundance, around us. It was a pretty good day.

Lucy Neatby's Book arrives, Yay!

 

This lovely book came all the way from Sussex, UK, and arrived yesterday. I was very surprised when I saw how far it had come, and so pleased that it was almost new looking. Now to read it and soak up all the goodness. GFTC had said she did a heel out of this book that was the best one she'd ever tried, so that made it irresistable. The picture is a scanned image, so there went the quality!

Yellowheaded Blackbirds in Safford

Yellow Headed Blackbirds5
Originally uploaded by zippianna

This is part of the flock. AND, this is the first time I've tried an upload FROM Flickr to my blog.

Fingers are crossed.
You can click to see the photo on flickr, and then choose a bigger size to see the birds. Enlarged, it's pretty nice

Peaceful afternoon..

This sky was so beautiful that I felt inspired to share it with you in a video of the wind and trees and birdsong that was all coming into my eyes and ears as well.



Peace to you.

Facecloth, actual Knitting content. hmmm?

 

It's done, I'm not overly proud of it but it fit the bill, and it's useful. That's two good things in one. yayme

My Amygdule in place

 

If you enlarge the picture you can see there are hundreds of tiny amygdules across the face of the basalt as well.

OfTroy that's interesting that the word is related to almond. Many we find are almond shaped with a sort of funny twist on the end like an elongated air bubble in glass. It's true that very few are as round appearing as the one in this "yard rock". Most are more almond shaped.

Blog Roll Linked now, for the Knitting blogs

And I will add the rest as I go. Time to try to get some sleep, we will see!

Amygdules

It took a long time to find a picture of the sort of amygdules found out there in Southern Arizona, but here is a picture from one of theBEST PAGES on the net.

They have a slightly lacy white on white interior when sawn in half. Beautiful little teardrop shapes. Tomorrow I will show you some of mine, and a yard rock I collected as a special remembrance for my mother.

Rockhounds and what they do.....

This is our rock hounding buddy going through the Amygdules and Quartz roses we collected that day and cutting them in half with a little saw that he packs along. We collected a lot of them because there are billions of them all over the cow fields below Locomotive Mountain in Southern Arizona on the Lazy B Ranch. This picture was taken at the same camp ground in which we saw hundreds of Yellow Headed Blackbird. They were roosting in the reeds of the small lake.

And, I am moving my blog reading lists over slowly to another page. Details soon. This was something I had been working on before but now that I'm up half the night, it's a nice quiet thing to occupy the long, dark hours.

Men working! Big Truck!

 

For Baby L. This is how the new roadway recycles the old roadway. Isn't that cool? I thought so. Thought you would enjoy seeing men at work. And of course, the star of the Piece is that big lovely dump truck!

Susan Boyle: I Dreamed A Dream - Britain's Got Talent 2009 - The Final

Isn't she wonderful.

Like Simon, I absolutely adore this woman.