seashull's Xanga

Friday, November 06, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:16:06 GMT

MONEY SAVING IDEA FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Thanks to Barb for this

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:50:29 GMT

MY KINDA GUY

Bill Persky had an article in USA Today this week that I could relate to. He said all he really wanted for his 78th birthday was a pair of pajamas. But what he got was an iPhone, a Kindle electronic book, and a GPS navigation device. He returned them all and went out and bought himself a pair of pajamas. If given a choice between a Kindle and a nice pair of flannel jammies, I'd choose the latter every time. As he said, I want a book to feel, look and smell like a book.

As for the social networking sites, he says any place inhabited by teens and young singles is not a world where seniors belong. He learned that when his ex-wife sent him an e-mail asking him to be her Facebook friend. He didn't want to hurt her feelings so hit "Confirm." First thing he knew, he had 20 more requests to be friends. With each "Confirm" he clicked, the number of new friends expanded, and within an hour he had more than fifty.

He decided to see what these new friends were "doing right now," and got such messages as "Drying my hair," "watching a rerun of Seinfeld in my underwear," "eating leftover lasagna," "looking for a clean pair of socks," and "getting a colonoscopy." At that moment he knew exactly what he was "doing right now" and typed in "Leaving Facebook forever."

He ends by saying that for Christmas, unless a gadget will stop him from having to go to the bathroom three times a night, help him remember his Social Security number, or teach him to read without his glasses - he'd prefer underwear.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:14:37 GMT

A MORALITY TALE FOR OUR TIMES

Thanks to John for this
THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER
OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing It's Not Easy Being Green.

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing We Shall Overcome. Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.

The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:31:53 GMT

DAY ONE ON THE LOOSE

When Sam's away, Lois will play

Today I did two loads of wash, ran the dishwasher, swept the kitchen floor and tidied up!

Oh wait. I do that when Sam's home. Have I forgotten how to be wild and crazy?

Yes.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:20:56 GMT

LET'S SEE A SHOW OF HANDS

How many of you have had your Sunday School class start with a bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace"?

I'm not seeing many hands raised. Well, our class did today. I was standing about eight feet away from him, and I'm here to tell you - the skirl is a bit loud from that distance, even for one with the blood of the highlands coursing through her veins. But it was great and got us in the mood for a study of Hebrews 11. And don't look for a connection between a bagpipe and Hebrews 11 - I don't think it's there. This piper occasionally does the prelude for worship and it's always a lively way to start things off. Who says Baptists are no fun?

Today was Public Servants Day in worship. Once a year elected officials ranging from township supervisors up through our congressman are invited to come to the service, where they're thanked for their service and presented with a gift and there's a reception afterwards. Our congressman, a local boy, often comes but was not there today. We had a boatload of judges though - all the county judges except one. There was a state senator or two, the sheriff, and various other officials - probably 20 in all. I think it's a nice way to show appreciation and it also exposes them to a good gospel message.

Sam has gone off to Kentucky to play golf for a few days. I didn't want to go so he went by himself. I'm now officially running loose until probably Friday. I've scheduled a lot of racy activities for the week. Tomorrow Dee and I go shopping for a knickknack for an empty place in her living/dining room. Tuesday I have Bible study. Wednesday I take my friend Lois for an MRI. How's that for life in the fast lane? I might even be able to schedule a Scrabble game with friend Marcia. Wowsers! Sam will never leave me alone again.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:55:30 GMT

INFIDELS AND PHILISTINES

One of each

Whenever Penn State plays Northwestern, our family becomes severely schizophrenic. From time immemorial we've been Penn State fans, unto the second and third generation of those who love Joe Paterno. But - Ken is a professor at Northwestern.

Now, I am loyal, trustworthy, faithful, constant and true blue. I shall be a Penn State fan to my dying breath. I will root for Northwestern when they play any other team than Penn State.

Sam and Richard, however ...

... have gone over to the dark side.

We three gathered around our TV today to watch the game. They were happy with the first half. I was happy with the second half. Penn State 34, Northwestern 13. Nuff said.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:03:17 GMT

For about a year I've been looking for something to hang on the wall over my bed. I didn't want a picture - the house is full of pictures. I wanted something three-dimensional, perhaps something in a white wrought iron - that would go with all the antique furniture in the room. I saw a picture of it in my head but never in a store. People who shopped with me got tired of me whining about how I couldn't find what I wanted.

So this week I was shopping in a store in our mall that always has everything 40% off the already 50% off with an additional 20% off the lowest price on the tag. You locals know where I mean. They all but pay you to take stuff out of there.

And there, in the pictures and accessories department, was something I liked a lot. But the price was marked $100 with no indication it was on sale. I didn't want it badly enough to pay $100 for it. But I know that store, so I took it to the register and had the clerk check the price. It was 60% off the register price of $75, and since it was Seniors Day (it's good to be old), I'd get another 15% off if I used the store card. I got the thing for $27.03.

It's a fairly heavy piece since the frame is iron, and it had two hangers in the back. The nails had to exactly 14 7/8 inches apart. I measured carefully and was able to get one hanger on its nail but not the other. While I was figuring out what to do, I let the piece down so it was hanging from one nail on the diagonal. Lo and behold, I liked it that way, so I moved the nail to the middle of the space and hung the piece from it. Voila! And yes, it's too contemporary for the room, but I like it and I'm the one who has to live with it. Case closed. The bed, by the way, is very old. It has knobs to string ropes across it (hence the expression "sleep tight" as the ropes had to tightened occasionally. It's not a standard size, being something between a double and a queen in width and shorter than the standard in length. Mattresses and springs have to be custom made. It came down through Sam's family.

It looks better in person than it does in this picture. Doesn't everything and everyone?

Sam will be unhappy when he learns it's hanging by one nail. He'd have it up there with six mollies. That's why I put it up when he was out.

P.S. Sam just came home and is indeed unhappy that it's hanging by one nail. Tough.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:13:38 GMT

TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS ...

... and trillions

I try to keep this blog light, but here's something that's not funny. Our national debt is now over $11 trillion. How much is a trillion? Here's how much. And to see something really scary, go here.

How long can a country go down this path? We'll soon find out. Bear all this in mind when our politicians blithely talk about spending a hundred billion here and half a trillion there.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:14:34 GMT

LEAF RELIEF

This morning we did our usual daily raking-of-the leaves. The city's first round of leaf pick-up started on Monday, and we're in the first section to be hit. We wanted every single possible leaf out by the curb for this first collection because it'll be two or three weeks before they come back for the second and last time. Last year it snowed before that second pick-up so they cancelled it and we had leaves at the curb all winter. Today we had a huge pile of leaves out by the curb. I should have taken a picture of it, as I'm sure none of you has ever seen a pile of leaves before.

Sixty-five years ago I would have had fun jumping around in that pile of leaves, burying myself, and scattering leaves all around. Somehow it doesn't have quite the same attraction now as it did then. If I tried it now, I wouldn't be able to get up, and when I did someone would haul me off to the Home for Nutty Old Ladies. A 73-year-old woman cavorting in a pile of leaves isn't a pretty sight. And my cavorter isn't what it used to be. It's a moot point anyway as the leaf truck has come and gone. Another opportunity missed to enjoy a second childhood ...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:06:55 GMT

IS IT TRUE YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR?

A while back I had an entry about how cheap the hospital bills were when our boys were born. What brought this to mind again was Craig Wilson's article in a recent USA Today. He's turned 60, and his mother sent him the hospital bill from when he was born - $94. My first thought was - why so much? They must not have had health insurance.

I just fished out the hospital bills from Richard and Ken's births. Room and board (I was in six days) was $17/day for me, $10/day for the baby. Use of the delivery room was $35. For Richard (1960) the total bill was $180.05. Blue Cross paid $159, leaving us with a tab of $21.05. Two years later, the bill for Ken was $184.22. Blue Cross paid $164 and we paid $20.22.

The obstetrician's bill was $150 for each, all paid by Blue Cross.

So - we paid $21.05 for Richard, $20.22 for Ken. Was it a good investment? They did each proceed to cost us a bunch during their first 22 years. Hmmm ...

Yeah, it was the best $41.27 we ever spent!