"Off we (and I) go, unto the wild blue yonder". I was drinking my pre-dinner wine last evening, when I heard a cacophony of noise outside. Sandhill cranes were circling overhead and landing in the nearly dried up pond across the road. Quite a sight (and sound). They woke me up this morning. Guess they decided to stop at the "Smith Motel" before heading South. And yes, we're in our 5th month of a severe drought in my part of the state. No rain in sight. And if the ground freezes (it was 23 deg last night), any rain will run off.
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President Obama and VP Biden are coming to Kokomo, IN next week! That's only 20 miles away from me. The stimulus money saved (so far) Chrysler there. Unemployment is down 8% (from 20 to 12%), thanks to the president. Of course, voters elected Republicans two weeks ago. Idiots.
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I see that high school reading and math scores continue to be abyssmal. If you watched ABC's news special report on China, you can quickly learn why. Chinese students go to school 41 more days, begin education earlier, have more challenging course work, etc. Nearly all the children learn and speak English! They put us to shame. I was amazed at the Chinese work ethic. The country's economic progress is astounding. As one of them said, America's democracy gets in our way. In China, they "just do it".
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My one sister, Barbara, stopped by my house yesterday to bring me a dehydrator she bought for $2 at the Salv. Army.(I now have 3!) I listened to her gripe about "life with Dad", her sister, church, etc. I guess our father picked up my cold and is down and out. At his age, a cold could......well, I don't want to think about it. I'm sure he got it from me, and I feel bad.
He's nearly ready to move out of his house--he's only lived there exactly one year--and into his newly refurbished duplex on the retirement community grounds. Soon, all four of us (sisters, Dad and me) will be living alone. Seems crazy, but sanity is at stake!
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I've hunkered down somewhat this week. Yesterday, I rearranged living room furniture as I cleaned house. With four doorways, it's not easy to change things around without blocking entrances.
From the persimmons I picked up Monday, I got about a quart of pulp. It took me 3 hours, but it's worth the effort.
I've also been cracking butternuts. I roasted my almonds, added some olive oil and salt for taste, but they still have an unpleasant "marzipan" flavor. Now what?
While doing persimmons, I listened to Oprah with Barbra Streisand (and Robert Redford) as guest. I own about 10 of her albums, going back to her first. As tired as I am of hearing "Memories", her voice still brings tears to my eyes.
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My exercise routine has been "winterized". I'm back to boxing and lifting weights in the basement. Every year I get determined to "bulk up"--to become "The Incredible Hulk". But I'm afeared it's just not in my genetic makeup. I'm 5'8, 120 lbs, wirey and strong. My body just doesn't add visable muscle. But they say weight training is beneficial for elderly (not that I think of myself as old), so I continue "for my health". I'm still splitting wood by hand every day, by the way. The pile is slowly dwindling.
By admitting I weight a paltry 120 lbs., I realize I'm subject to ridicule. I'm certainly not in the 60% category of Americans overweight/obese. I sure do get tired of fat people telling me I need to gain weight. I bet they can't run 4 miles without stopping!
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This cold, dry weather plays havoc with my hands and feet. Despite lotions, oil, and TLC, my fingers scale and crack wide open. I have to bandage the ends because of the sensitive-to-touch splits. That and arthritis in the thumb joints are really quite painful and irritating. Maybe I should move to Honduras.
Enough! Enjoy a glorious weekend!