Saturday night blogging

I don't know about you folks but I'm getting whiplash from all the bad economy news. I walked into Home Depot today and wondered if it would still be there a year from now. I went into Circuit City yesterday and didn't wonder if it would be here next year. We bought a TV there; will that help?

About 2 weeks ago, I heard something very disturbing on C-Span's Washington Journal. It seems that my nutty husband and I are responsible for the collapse of our economy. Before I get to that, did you know that all the crackpots and wingnuts have C-Span's call-in show on speed dial? Oh yes, and I listen in the mornings between 7 and 7:30 am when they call in to alert everyone to the real agenda of that muslim fellow we just elected, and how hateful libruls are. It's important to know what that crowd is thinking. If you can call it that.

So, this fellow calls in railing about the cause of the economic collapse, which can be blamed totally on folks who bought Japanese cars in the 70s. Hold the phone, Gertrude. That would be us. Yes, dear readers, the purchase of Datsun B210 in 1976 has brought America to the brink of ruin. I'm so sorry. How could we have known? We were just dumbs kids looking for cheap, reliable transportation. A car that would last 10 years and not be gas-hoggy. We achieved our goal. I swear we weren't trying to ruin the country.

Here's a picture of the crime car:

The geese were not involved. The photo was taken in 1978 when we lived on a farm outside of Lexington, Ky.

Shop sensibly everyone. Don't buy any gift cards. Too risky.

The torch has flickered out

Today I had to remove my once-beautiful tithonia rotundiflora from the front yard flower bed. It is hard for me at this time of year to get rid of plants that have given me so much pleasure over the summer and through the fall. This is an annual plant, also called the mexican sunflower or torch plant. It was well worth the buck I spent on the packet of seeds. I had never grown it before and the picture on the seed packet captured my attention. The seeds were slow to germinate so I was pleased to have 3 or 4 plants make it to adulthood. They grew to almost 6 feet tall and attracted lots of bees and butterflies. I hope the mailman enjoyed them as they created a lovely backdrop to the mailbox. In an earlier posting I called them lithonia, but I found the remains of the seed packet and saw that I had mis-remembered their name. I always leave a seed packet or tag in the ground when I plant something new. When I cleared away the stalks, I left a bunch of seed pods in the soil to see if anything will come up next year. It is supposed to get cold this week so soon the nasturtiums will need to be removed. I couldn't bear to rip those up just yet. I did remove some dried hydrangeas and cut down some of the large branches remaining of the defunct rhododendron. I don't know what happened to it, but it put on a spectacular show this spring. Maybe that wore it out. I won't dig it up just yet; I am hoping for a spring rejuvenation. Please enjoy the tithonia rotundiflora one more time.

Thank a veteran today -- and every day

Election Day USA

As I told a friend recently, I have been as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs over this election. I am now back from voting and can say that I really do feel better now.

I have been imagining all the things that can go wrong -- misreading the ballot or tripping and accidentally pressing the wrong button or oversleeping -- all those crazy dreams you have about exams. Sheesh, I am way too old for this stuff.

At my precinct ,the wait was about 45 minutes. I have voted at this location for 21 years and have never had to wait. I arrived a few minutes after 6 a.m. As I looked at the other folks, I tried to guess which way they'd be voting, but I gave that up because anymore you just don't know who is really mad at Bush and taking it out on McCain, and who thinks Obama will bring on a reign of terror including killing all the white folks. No wonder I'm exhausted.

I feel pretty silly about all this emotion but then I talk to other folks and find that they feel the same way. It's a national craze apparently.

I don't have anything bad to report about my voting experience. I walked to the school where I vote and one of my socks slid down in my shoe; that was really the only unpleasant thing I have to report. As I was leaving after voting, the PTA mothers were arriving with their bake sale goodies, a tradition at this school. I hope they make thousands of dollars this year.

Enjoy the day and remember that long lines are a good thing, a sign of democracy at work.

On November 3rd, 1989 ...

... we were blessed with our third son, Christopher. Today he turns 19. We are proud of him for all he has achieved and for the fine young man he has become. He is off at college learning to make good choices and solve problems, and maybe study a little bit too. Oh, and have some fun in his spare time. Love you, son.

Here is an interesting historical note. Chris' first trip out of the house as a 4 day old was to the elementary school our older sons attended. We went for our parent-teacher conferences and to vote. In that election, Virginians elected the first African-American governor in our country. Who knows, maybe Virginians will do something equally historic at this year's election.

Early Voting Bad for Rich Crabby White Men

people, don't clutter up the polls with your whiny early voting. Fred Barnes knows you don't have a valid reason to vote early, so stay the hell out of his way.

Our new yard sign

I'm very excited to learn that there is a klan rally this evening at a high school not far from my house. I'd love to go (my robes are cleaned and ironed) but that would require me to get up off the sofa for an extended period of time. Not gonna happen.

I could take my "librarians against Palin" bumpersticker and see if she'd sign it for me. Now that would be a keepsake worth having.

I was amused to read that Ms. VP was upset that her first amendment rights were violated when reporters reported that her comments were received negatively by some folks. She felt that reporters were violating (violatin') her free speech rights. Silly girl. It's the second amendment that protects yer right to shoot off yer mouth.

She really will need to keep these amendments straight in her mind. Doesn't she know the VP is in charge of the constitution?

I'm going back to my nap now. Wake me in time to vote please.