Evolution and oh, how I love my Swiffer!!!

Dear Mr. Swiffer, whoever and whatever you are – just want to tell you about my experience with your products. I have been keeping house for many, many years, too many to count. I began when there was nothing else to use except a broom, a dust mop, and a terrible, heavy wet mop. I did my part, though. I swept the whole house very single day, I dust mopped in between sweeping, and I mopped whenever and wherever it was needed. It was not an easy thing to do to wring out that heavy, heavy mop. I would not say I was really good at housekeeping, but then with much practice, I got better. And the products also got better. Next came the big, heavy, lug around vacuum cleaner. Everyone had to have one of those monsters. I drug it all over the house several times a week. In between, I used that old dust mop. But my house was clean. Or at least it looked clean. Of course I could not run the vacuum when the children were asleep because the overwhelming noise woke them up. And I could not run it when they were awake because they were all afraid of it. So I cleaned house whenever they were gone somewhere or outside playing.  The noise is probably one of the reasons I can no longer hear well. Next came that whirling vacuum that spun around all over the house.  It had a big hose that got caught around every chair leg and under the tables. And the whirling vacuum got caught under the bed. I usually tripped over the hose at least once a day. But my house was clean, so no complaints. And my children were not afraid of the whirling vacuum and it didn’t wake them up when I ran it during naptimes. So things were better.

Along came the central vacuum system. This was wonderful except that mine did not work very well. I was always having to go back around with that handy old dust mop and pick up whatever the vacuum had missed along the way. I also tripped regularly over the hose. But this was progress, no doubt about it.

But then, you came along. I have never had so much fun cleaning house. I just push that combination broom, dust mop, vacuum, and wet mop  throughout the house and everything looks cleaner all the time. And then I dust regularly with those magnetic dusters that are on the market today. Well, I’ll just have to tell you, I think I have died and gone to heaven for sure. This product even gets the dust out of the corners and nothing ever did that before. And besides that, I no longer have to drag that heavy, dirty old mop around, trying to clean and then rinse and then wring it out over and over again. Nope, not anymore. Now I just put that mopping cloth on this apparatus and mop my kitchen.  No problem, no trouble, and besides it will also mop the bathrooms. All I need now is something that will push this combination broom, dust mop, vacuum and wet mop around my house while I read the paper and have my cup of tea. I would appreciate your working on this upgrade as soon as possible. Thanks again.

The Influence of Advertising or Just Plain Hype

I tried to watch one of the children’s television programs tonite with my daughter, but it was impossible to stay with the story line because of all the interfering commercials offering all kinds of products, not only for the children, but also for the adults who would be watching with their children. Everything offered was something that ‘you must have’. Not only do you want this, but you absolutely, positively need it.

When I was growing up, my mother used to talk of  Christmas at her house when she was growing up. There were 9 children and no father, so they had very little money for anything, much less for items they might want. On Christmas morning, all those 9 children got up and were thrilled and surprised to find an orange that Santa had left each of them. Later on, I read in the 50’s about a minority woman who was moaning that that was all she got for Christmas when she was a child. But she failed to mention that this was the norm for many of the families over the years. My mother never moaned nor complained about this. She thought that orange was a great and grand surprise to have for Christmas. Depends upon your attitude I guess. And on what you think you need to make you happy.

Nowadays, everyone expects to have everything imaginable under the tree on Christmas morning. And why? Because someone says they not only want this, but they need it in order to be happy in their lives. Everyone needs to step back and take a good hard look at their lives. What you need and what you want are two very different things. I might want a lot of things, but I really don’t need them. When I was growing up, I never realized that I didn’t need so many things until my parents told me so. I have heard the words, “You don’t need that” many times in my lifetime. Of course I thought I did need something because my friends all had it, or because I saw it in a magazine or heard about it on the radio. But that didn’t mean that I needed it. And thankfully, my parents taught me not to always want, want, want. They taught me well. I have never had the desire for ‘things’.

One year when I was a young teen, I insisted that I needed this particular kind of haircut. It was called a ‘feather cut’ and all my friends were getting this gorgeous haircut and they looked so beautiful that I just had to have one of those. My parents didn’t argue about it. They told me a couple of times that I didn’t need it, but I kept on insisting that I did. Finally, my mother took me to the beauty shop and I went in, thrilled beyond words. I sat down in the chair and insisted again that I needed this ‘feather cut’. The man tried to tell me that I would have to have a permanent also, but I insisted that my friends all had this wonderful haircut and I was getting one, too. And I was also going to be beautiful. Well, he did just like my parents had done. He didn’t bother to argue with me about it. He just set about cutting my hair. I watched in the mirror and the transformation just simply was not happening to me. I just looked the same. When he finished cutting, I paid the bill, but could not believe the way I looked. Sure enough, he was right. I didn’t need that ‘feather cut’. In order to have that beautiful hairdo, it was necessary to either have a permanent or to have naturally curly hair. But I had insisted until I won. And now I had chunks of hair all over my head. Instead of looking gorgeous, I just looked ridiculous. Where the hair was supposed to ‘feather’, mine sat like a clod all over my head. I was ashamed, but was stuck with the look for quite awhile afterwards. But I learned that just because I wanted that haircut didn’t mean that I needed it.

If you get a chance, teach your children they don’t need all those things they really just want. Teach them they don’t need things to be happy in their lives. Tell them they don’t need that until they learn the value of and the difference in wants and needs.

Hips, Ibuprofen, and Ducks

If you are interested or even if you are not, thought I would tell you my long, sad story. I had a bad fall a few years ago and broke my hip and my shoulder. I always had one leg shorter than the other one and so when I was put back together, one leg is definitely shorter than the other one by another quarter inch or so. So, to make a long story short from the beginning, my good hip started hurting me so I decided to raise that hip up a little bit to sort of match the other one. I put an extra gel sole in that shoe. I walked on that for about a day and a half. Then my knee starting hurting pretty bad. So I took the gel piece out of my shoe and thought that would make my knee stop hurting. Instead, it just kept right on hurting all the time and it was really, really painful. Now, I could not walk right at all. So I was limping around and that made my bad hip start hurting. The good one didn’t hurt anymore.

I limped so much that my foot started hurting and over time it swelled up pretty good. This made my heel where I had broken it several years before, start hurting as though it was broken again. Although I knew it was not. And my foot was drawn up in pain because I could not relax it enough to walk right. I could actually feel my toes retract when I tried to walk. Then, in order to be able to live my normal life since I was in such pain in all directions by now, I had to take a couple of ibuprofen just to get through each day. And even at this amount, I was still in a lot of pain. After taking the ibuprofen a couple of days, it began to have an effect on my stomach which it always does. So here I was, with my knee just ruining my life and my foot hurting all the time and my stomach upset from the ibuprofen, and my other hip hurting sometimes. Oh yeah, by now, the ibuprofen was causing me to have a diarrhea, too. I would have cried but there was no one around to hear me, so why bother. No point in crying if there is no one to hear you and feel sorry for you. So I gave that one up.

But I sure did feel like it most of the time. It was an effort to just get up out of a chair and walk across the room. Of course I could have gone to the doctor, but there was not much he could have done for me except give me more medication and I didn’t feel that I needed that just yet. Not until I was to the screaming stage. Almost there now.

And then I was sitting in a chair the other evening, looking down at my foot that was hurting so much. I was trying to see if it was swelled as much today as yesterday.  Then the thought crossed my mind that maybe, just possibly, my shoe was too small. So I immediately changed shoes and put on a pair that I had in the closet that was 1/2 size larger.

Now, I’m still hurting some, but it is not nearly as bad as it was. And I note that my toe is at the end of this shoe, so maybe I even need a 1/2 size larger than that one. I will have to go to the store one day soon and have my foot measured so I can see if I have grown longer feet.

And besides that, I am at the age where I shrink occasionally. That is, I get shorter over the years. So wouldn’t that be something if I am shrinking from the top and growing longer from the bottom. If so, I will soon look like a duck I guess. Hope I don’t have to waddle like one.

Marketing, oh yeah, this is why we eat turkey for Thanksgiving.

Do you know why you eat turkey every year for Thanksgiving dinner? No, it’s not because that is what is on sale that week. No, it is not because the Pilgrims and the Indians ate turkey. You eat turkey because the turkey growers all got together and promoted the selling of turkeys for Thanksgiving each year.

Don’t believe that? Well, I was there and saw it all and heard what was said, so I know first hand how we all came to eat turkey for Thanksgiving dinner each year.

A couple owned a grocery store a couple of blocks from my home when I was a kid. At that time, neighborhoods all had a local grocery store  on a corner every few blocks. This one was a regular grocery with a butcher behind the big glass counter and a cash register near the front door and a few cans of everything imaginable. They also stocked fresh bread and milk and eggs. My mother went to town each week on the day she kept the car. She drove down to Main Street where she bought the bulk of her groceries for the week. Then when we ran out of something during the week, she would send us kids to walk to the grocery store and pick up whatever she needed. It was usually that bread or milk. She had her own chickens, so it wasn’t eggs that’s for sure.

Anyway, the couple sold their grocery store and started a turkey farm. This was the only turkey farm I had ever heard of. When you grow turkeys, you have to make cages that sit up off the ground. That is where the turkeys are housed. The cages are different looking, so when you drive out in the country and see the turkeys in their jacked up cages, you know instantly what they are.

Well, this lady and her husband had gone into the turkey business in a big way. They had lots and lots of cages all around their property out in the country.

After about a year or so, the lady called my mother on the telephone and asked if she could come by and talk to her. This was in early Fall of that year. Being a kid, I was running in and out of the living room while mother and the lady talked. Seems the lady came by to convince my mother to order a turkey for her Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey would already be killed, of course, and plucked, and ready to roast. Mother listened to all the lady had to say. The lady said that the turkey growers had gotten together in this country and were promoting having turkey for Thanksgiving dinner each year. All of them were out taking orders right now. Mother had prepared different meals for Thanksgiving over the years. Mostly, we just had a chicken hen out of the chicken yard. One year, mother prepared a goose and it was truly awful. But since my daddy worked on Thanksgiving Day just like any other day of the year, Thanksgiving dinner was not a priority at our house anyway.

But since the grocery store lady was a sort of friend, Mother decided to order a turkey that year.

Soon after that, Mr. Roosevelt made a speech on the radio saying that Thanksgiving Day would henceforth be an official holiday for these United States.

And you know what? After that, we began seeing pictures in the newspapers and on billboards and in books of smiling, happy people eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner every year. And sure enough, turkey is what most people expect to have for Thanksgiving dinner every single Thanksgiving. And that is why you eat turkey every year for your Thanksgiving dinner.

You can read this story and many others like it in my books. Only $5 each, they have a wealth of humor, information, and history in them. Try one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember when food was real food?

Hi again: was talking with a friend a couple of days ago. We got to talking about canning and preserving and putting up all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and meats. She mentioned how many quarts of tomatoes she had canned this past summer. I replied that I knew all about that. I have had more experience than I ever wanted in the field of canning and preserving. I then said that tomatoes were so easy to can and they could be counted on to be just as good as the day they were canned, no matter how long they sat on the shelf. She then said that this is not the case anymore. Nowadays, tomatoes have been genetically altered to the point that almost all the acid has been removed from the tomatoes. Now, when they are canned, unless some acid such as lemon juice is added to them, they will spoil rather quickly.

I was truly shocked. I had canned many jars of tomatoes and depended on them many a cold winter day to help stretch a pot of soup or a casserole. That would be terrible if the canned tomatoes spoiled. And then I got to thinking about it all. I guess that is why tomatoes taste like cardboard these days. They have none of that good tomato taste that we used to look forward to each summer. I can still smell that good tomato smell and taste that great taste of years ago. But I never knew exactly what had happened to the tomatoes. And now I know.

I already knew the grains and meats had been genetically engineered to the point that you wonder just what it is that you are eating some days. But I really didn’t know that was why tomatoes had changed so much. Guess that means all the fruits and vegetables are genetically altered to the point that they can sit on the grocer’s shelf for months before spoiling. That is why they can ship them all over the world without damage. Used to be, the tomatoes in the southern part of our state had to be bought, shipped and eaten or canned in a few day’s time or else they would not be palatable. Now, I go into the store, no matter if it is a local one or a national one, feel the hard tough tomato, try to smell it to see if it will have any taste and come away from the store disappointed once again.

And it is said that even if you grow them yourself from old time seeds, they will still get genetically altered if they are pollinated by the bees and cross pollinated with a neighbor’s seeds. Just the same taste as an old piece of cardboard.

I know people get sick and tired of hearing about how good things used to be, but you know that is true these days. Wish we could return to the good tasting, big, bursting tomatoes like my grandmother used to grow. Or to the really great tasting watermelon that I used to eat as a kid,  or to summer squash that tasted like squash instead of a yellow notepad. And those freshly made preserves were so good. I can still remember the true plum preserves and that great strawberry shortcake. Where did it all go? Genetically altered, that’s where it went. What a shame. But I can still wish.

Signs of Change

Pay attention to what all God is doing in this world.  Remember when those liberals were chanting about population explosion? Well, they convinced all kinds of people to kill their unborn children. And so now, God has turned that around and most of the people in this country are against abortions. And the total is climbing every day. Those liberals are still spinning around and insisting that they know best, but they don’t.

And then there were those who hollered loud and clear about how global warming is going to kill us all.  Why the Arctic is going to turn in a big sloshy mess any day now. And instead, Antarctica is now experiencing the coldest weather that has ever happened there. Isn’t that interesting though? Remember it’s God’s world. He is going to take care of it just fine.

And now we are inundated with rain, rain, and more rain. I  believe I have been hearing for years how the farmers are most concerned because the water table has fallen so low all over the country. So guess what! God is now taking care of that one. The drought in Texas has been very serious for several years. It has already been taken care of with the recent rains. The farmers won’t have to worry about the water table for quite some time. In our state, we have had more rain this year than has fallen since the late 1800’s. Isn’t that amazing though.

And how about those snows out west. Could it be that the weather is being straightened out there too? And in the process, it will also help their economy as they depend on that snowfall each year. Again, isn’t that amazing. God seems to know what everyone needs and provides just fine. Without a bit of help from those liberals either. They can just keep right on spinning around and whining about all these terrible things that are going to  happen to us. And it’s not going to happen anyway. God will take care of everything in His own time.

And what those liberals do not understand, at least not yet, is that they are through, through, through. Permanently. We won’t have to listen to their extreme rhetoric anymore. I can hardly wait until the media finally tunes them out. They are a past that we don’t need to repeat. Just watch and see how God takes care of everything. Including all their agenda. Pay attention to what God is doing in this world. And then say your prayers of Thanksgiving for all blessings received.

Vitamin D, Turning Back the Clock, and Playing

It was on all the newscasts and in all the newspapers a couple of days ago – The children of this country are suffering from a Vitamin ‘D’ deficiency. Well duh. What in the world did they expect to find with their latest of studies.

It was told back in the 1920’s or maybe even before that the prevalent rickets was caused by a lack of Vitamin D. Then some smart scientist decided that if they put artificial Vitamin D in the milk, the children would just never know the difference. No way. Nothing beats that good old sunshine for a proper amount of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is taken in primarily by the eyes. A child plays out in the sunshine and while he is having the time of his life, he is automatically absorbing that wonderful Vitamin D. His skin is also absorbing the proper amount of Vitamin D. And his bones are getting stronger all the time.

So now, the poor child is inside all the time. In his young life, he is staying indoors in a preschool environment while his mother works. Or he is inside when he is a little older because he is either watching television or playing a game of some kind. And if he dares to get out and go swimming, his mother is dousing him constantly with sun blocker. When is that poor child supposed to get any Vitamin D at all?

Surely someone will wake up in this world and recognize that the ways of the past weren’t all that bad after all. I know I can’t turn the clock back and wouldn’t even if I could. But my children played outside all the time in the pretty weather. They were either building forts out of the hedges in the yard. Or they were riding their bikes and skating on the sidewalk in front of the house. Or they might be playing volley ball or hide and seek in the back yard. What happened to the sidewalks and the yards? Where did they go? Why are our children all forced indoors when they could be having such a super time outside. They might even get to know some of their neighborhood friends. Mine knew everyone within a mile radius.

At that time, we didn’t have to be so paranoid about predators.  No one was going to murder them or snatch them away. No one wanted our children. The children watched out for one another while they were outside. If anyone had even dared to approach one of the children, the others would have made so much noise that the predator would have been happy to leave well enough alone.

Perhaps we need more stringent punishments for those predators. Perhaps we need to have more mothers at home who would allow their children to play in the safe back yard with their friends. Perhaps we need to turn that clock back maybe just a little bit.

Another Look at Health Care

Here it is! Here is the whole answer to why we do not need a health care plan.

A columnist for a local newspaper wrote about her friend Judy who needed health care. Seems Judy had lost her job and went through a terrible divorce and was suffering from severe depression. By the time the columnist had finished with her first of two installments, everyone was rooting for poor Judy because she really needed help and Obama’s health care plan is exactly what she needs to get her life in order again.

Then came the second installment about Judy. Once again, the columnist rooted for poor Judy who by now was spending much time in bed, always too sick to get up and get out and get a job. Finally, she realized after selling off personal items that she needed a job. So she got up and got out this time, but her main problem was still lack of insurance. Or rather, that no one would give her any free insurance to pay for her depression medication so she could get her life in order again.

She finally borrowed enough money to see a doctor who then gave her some free medication and that gave her the incentive to get a job again. Then she ran out of medication and called the doctor’s office and they did not have anymore free medication for her, so she reverted to lying in bed, crying, and being too depressed to work once again. Then she learned how to work the system – get a job every so often, save enough money to see a doctor, get free medication, and work for awhile. Then when the medication ran out, she would once again end up in bed, crying, unable to work while piling up more bills. This cycle went on for some time.

Judy finally contacted her family who came with help. She had never told them how she was surviving. Poor Judy. Everyone else was to blame except her and her lifestyle. All she needed was health insurance and her life would miraculously take a turn for the better. Her family obtained free health care for her and everything turned out hunky dory. Good old Judy won.

Then the columnist in passing mentions that her friend, Judy, also had an alcohol problem. Of course, according to the columnist, this problem was caused by the lack of medication for the depression. But the columnist obviously does not know much about drunks. Her friend Judy was a typical drunk. This meant she would work long enough to obtain enough money for booze and then use all that up until she had to work again to obtain enough for more booze. If you talk to any hardcore alcoholic, they will tell you this is ultimate lifestyle for a true alcoholic. And of course it is always, always, someone else’s fault that they have such a rotten life. Poor thing – the columnist insists Judy’s main problem was no free health insurance.

Judy only wanted enough insurance to assure that she could continue in this lifestyle. She wanted someone else to take up her responsibility and provide her with the health insurance that she should have been providing for herself all along.

It is always the same answer. Most of the American people have health insurance. We are supposed to want to provide for that small number who do not want health insurance and would not buy it if they could. They see no reason to practice any personal responsibility when all the world is theirs for free. All they have to do is be too sick to work, lie in bed crying, and we will provide for them. There are lots of poor Judy’s out there. Just look around. They are all the same. They do not have health insurance because they do not want to pay for it. They would rather sit with their hand out and beg. There are a lot of health insurance programs, enough to fit all the needs of the American people. The only insurance that is not offered today is free insurance that pays for all expenses. Obama and his administration are determined to provide that one – on all our backs. We are all supposed to smile and say thank you to the bureaucrats and to the Congress for taking our money to provide for all the Judy’s in this world. We are supposed to smile a lot while they kill our babies with abortion and force us to pay for the procedures. We are supposed to laugh out loud while they ruin the greatest medical profession in the whole wide world.

Write your congressmen today. Tell them NO NO NO NO NO on any health care plan. We don’t need it. We don’t want it. The only people who do are the Judy’s of this world. And that columnist.

Moderation, Spending, and Plans

I see in the papers and on the television that Obama’s bunch is now going to fix the finances of this great country. Seems that Barney Frank has a plan. It is called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and would be set up as a branch of the government – as usual. It will be part of a broader effort to take over regulation of financial institutions. What in the world is going on with all this administration. First, they spend all the money they can get their hands on. Then they put banks out of business all over the country and now they want to fix everything with the financial world. Seems to me that they don’t know what in the heck they are doing, not now or ever. Of course this is their ultimate plan, to take over everything in this country including all the financial operations. They have their finger in the housing mortgages and now are investigating. What is wrong with that? They are what is wrong with that to begin with. Them and their no good loans made to people that they knew could not repay them. And  their heavy-handed ways of overseeing all the financial operations of the country. Take a look around you. Notice that the administration is beginning to run everything from loans, to the stock market, to everyday things such as your credit cards and your automobiles. And now Barney Frank states that this agency must be created because the Federal Reserve and bank regulators squandered their powers to police lending abuses. Oh my, just listen to that and to who is doing the talking. I did not know they were supposed to be policing the lending abuses in the first place. Who put all these people in charge. Lending abuses are caused by individual lenders to individuals who should not be approved for borrowing in the first place.

Obama states that individuals who have had mortgage problems are being abused by the financial sector. Not so. People who have suffered because of the mortgage crisis are those who did not have any business being in a mortgage they could not afford to begin with. Moderation in all things you know. Including your finances. So many people think they can have everything they see or desire.  But then when it comes time to pay their bills, they cannot do so. It is sad to see the people who buy the pretty shiny things they will never need and then say they cannot afford food for their families. A little personal responsibility would take care of that problem.

That is the same issue that we have with those who say they cannot afford health insurance. They can afford health insurance if they want to. That is their option. They do not have health insurance as a matter of choice. They think that if they do not buy it, it will be given to them. And this is what this Democratic liberal Congress is trying to do for everyone. Give everything to everyone, regardless of cost to everyone else. Won’t work and cannot be done. We already owe taxes through the next three generations. Enough!!! You have only to look at Canada and the many countries of Europe to see that we live far, far better than the people there have ever even thought of. Why jeopardize our way of life in order to satisfy a few individuals who – by choice- refuse to practice personal responsibility.

Vote Republican as soon as you get a chance. And pray, pray, pray every day for our wonderful Country and all our citizens rights. If this administration has their way, they will destroy all the rights we have so enjoyed for all our lives. It is happening right now every day. Pay attention!

Foggy

I’m one of those people who thinks she can handle whatever should come her way during this lifetime.  And I can most of the time.  But the one thing I cannot handle is airports.  Now, I know in this day and time that everyone spends a great deal of time in an airport.  But not me.  I just walk in and fall apart.  There is something about the architecture of an airport that really throws me.  Maybe it’s the windows.  Maybe it’s the hustle and bustle of the people.  But I really think it is the time board that says the airplane will be late.  And later.  And sometimes even later.  That’s it!  That’s what really gets to me.

I can wait in doctor’s offices.  I can wait in line anywhere and remain very civil.  I can even wait for a bus.  But I cannot wait for an airplane.  I try to sit where I can look out a window so that I won’t see that schedule that says the plane is late.

My husband and I went fishing in Canada one time.  It was a nice week, but I was ready to get home.  When we got up that morning, the fog was moving in.

We arrived at the airport just in time to see the changing of the sign.  It didn’t even have an departure time at all.  I went to the desk and asked the lady what time the plane would be leaving.  She gave me a cold, hard stare and said, ‘we will leave when we can see the top of that mountain over there.’  And she waved her arm in ‘that’ direction. Then she turned away to help someone else.  I went to my seat and tried to be nice about it all.  But as the time wore on, I became more and more agitated.  I went to the desk again and asked the same question.  Once again, she gave me ‘the look’ and said ‘we will leave when we can see the top of that mountain over there.’  And she waved her arm once again.  I returned  again to my seat and tried to act nice.   Finally, I had just simply had it with this bunch of people.  We were going to leave right now or else.  I was not going to sit in this airport even one more minute and that was that!

I went to the desk again, but this time I said, ‘I want to speak to your supervisor’.    The lady gave me ‘the look’ again and said, ‘we will be leaving when we can see the top of that mountain over there.’  This time, she waved her arm really hard.

I  skulked back to my chair.  My husband had been watching and said, ‘well, what did you find out?’  I gave him that hard, cold stare and said, ‘we will be leaving when we can see the top of that mountain over there.’  And I waved my arm really hard.  And I was nice all the time after that.  I didn’t dare go back to the desk.  I was afraid she might hit me with that arm.  We left when we could see the top of that mountain over there.