It's Over, Folks!

November 4, 2008 has passed. So, has November 5th. The election is over, but the bitterness continues. Name calling and derogatory comments can be found everywhere. The prognosticators predict doom for the newly elected that were not their choice for office. Swearing in ceremonies have not even happened yet, but from local to state to national, the newly elected are already being counted on to be failures.

We are Americans, citizens of the United States. I am proud to have had the privilege and the right to cast my votes. Some of "my candidates" won, some did not. But the election is over!

We may have different views of the world and what is fair, but that does not make any of us stupid, dumb, non-thinking, lazy, motivated, brilliant, thoughtful or any other adjective one wants to throw in the discussion. There is no broad brush that paints us like any other person. We are individuals who had our personal reasons for voting as we did.

Thank goodness for elections and term limits!

Anonymous

I would really like to meet this "Person" named anonymous. Seems that quite often I will be reading someone's blog and Anonymous has posted a comment. I read the comment and usually think, "why did Anonymous feel the need to say that?" My blog is not normally controversial, so Anonymous doesn't generally post here. And even though there are a number of blog readers that don't agree with me on an issue or two (maybe more than that), Anonymous still goes elsewhere to post.

I have a standard that I hold for myself. Only me, I do not want anyone else to be held to the standard, unless they want to be. I use my "Name" - Ramble On or just Ramble everywhere I post. If I am embarrassed or afraid to attach my name to my words, I don't type the words. I can get testy sometimes and occasionaly fall of into shades of a passive/agressive personality, but I still attach my name. Sometimes I even start a comment and then not post it because I know I would not be comfortable reading it two days later.

I don't know about anyone else, but if I have something to say to someone, my name will be attached. If for what ever reason I can't attach my name, I won't make the post.

Civility isn't dead, it is just wounded a little.

I Ordered Mine!

Launch party for the new CD released by Musique Noire was held Friday night. I really wish that I could have been in Detroit to attend. This is the second group that my daughter, Leah has recorded with. The first being Dannsair's CD release Rias Medias. Great Irish music from a band in Santa Barbara, CA. But now she is in Detroit and a different group and a different genre of music. Jazz and ethno-centric music with strings and percussion. I listened to some of the tracks and ordered my copy. Hopefully it will be shipped soon! http://www.musiquenoire.com/live/

That Time of The Year

It's that time of the year again. The time when the reality of old houses really hits. The storm windows have been closed (at least most of them). The plastic for the windows has been brought up from the basement. This year's supply was purchased late last winter when they were on clearance. I have started putting the plastic on the windows. Good thing vacation time has come and I can finish before the weather really gets cold. I have put insulation around and over the basement window that is near the water pipes and the old coal shute opening.

From the looks of the weather forecast, Sunday may be a good day to get outside to put some caulk and plastic on a few windows. The rest of next week looks like rain and inside work, like sealing off the spare bedroom.

Need to clean up the electric water bowl for the dogs and get a new supply of bedding for them. They become inside dogs when it gets really cold, but they still spend a lot of time outside.

So many little things to do, like flip the switch to reverse the ceiling fans.

I think I will get a new thermostat.

Time to hunker down and prepare for winter and all the glory that is mid-western winter time.

Damn, where did I put that snow shovel?

Grandma

Although I have been a Grandma for almost 3 years, I finally feel like a Grandma! I received an e-mail asking if it would be possible for me to come down and watch Angie from mid-day Saturday until mid-day Sunday. Now, I know I have a granddaughter and Angie knows she has a Mamaw, but we live 90 miles apart and don't see each other all that often. She has often been shy when I see her. She warms up, but it takes a bit.

It has been a long time since I have been alone with a three year old for any length of time. I must say, it went well. Even though I watched more Sponge Bob than I care to talk about! We played (rocks and flower petals are wonderful objects), went to the park, went for a walk (actually, I pulled her in the little red wagon), walked again (this time she pedaled the Big Wheel), looked at photographs and watched videos, among other things.

This Grandma business is pretty cool!

Reality Sucks!

Reality brushed against desire and knocked it flat. No more silent discussions between Me, Myself and I. Since I am generally practical and logical, the only decision that could be made is that there is no way I can retire this year. Financially, I could have scraped by or looked for a part time job, but I don't like scraping by. The real clincher was insurance. I have pretty good coverage now and I don't want to be without it for a year.

It is actually liberating to have made a decision. Most days, I actually like my job and the last 12 months have gone quickly. I figure the next 12 to 14 months will fly by too.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go!

Thank You

By nature, I am quite shy and pretty much a hermit. It is not that I like being a hermit, I just am. I don't drink, so that has kept me out of the bar scene. I like my job, but have to work at not becoming a "workaholic" because it is my major outlet.

That has been changing over the last eight months or so. Through one local forum I came in cyber-contact with a small group of "liberal thinkers" who were not afraid to voice their opinions and some less liberal thinkers who were tolerant of others. Through a second local forum, a good number of those folks have become friends.

If attending my first Blogger Bash was venturing out of my "safe zone", attending my first Friday Night Happy Hour was a "full steam ahead" leap of faith. From Happy Hours, to breakfast, brunch, lunch, house parties, a ball game, karaoke, a campaign event to a "Corn Boil"; I have been places and done things that I probably would not have done by myself. I could have done them, I just would not have!

A realization really hit yesterday while sitting at the German-American Corn Boil at Hickory Grove Park - my friends add a great deal of pleasure to my life and I would like to thank them for helping me crawl out of my self-imposed shell.

Life is good, thanks, guys!