2023 Is Nearing the End

Today is November 1st and so far it’s been quite a memorable year for me and my family…From January to March, I was recovering from a fall on Dec. 21st, which resulted in five broken ribs, three of which were also dislocated. That fall truly messed up all last year’s Christmas plans.

My husband, Danny, finished building a custom home in March and we chewed our nails until it finally sold in May. We were lucky and it closed in a few weeks for cash. It’s on a cul-de-sac and has an awesome view of hills, valley, and sunrises from the back porch.

My brother has been trying to sell his huge home in Driftwood, TX since 2022 to no avail. He thought it was sold last month, but the deal fell through. With interest rates rising beyond most buyers’s means or wishes, he and his wife have taken it off the market.

Our daughter has had her subdivision home on the market since January and put contingency offers on three homes that eventually had to be let go of, because their home was not selling. Finally, last month they received/accepted an offer on a Friday, found a really great house on four acres on that Saturday, and on Sunday both houses were under contract. On October 26th, they closed on their subdivision house and yesterday they closed on their “new” home. If they had known that all they had to do was wait and not stress, they might have found their “new” home without so many ups and downs. Hind sight to the max!

At the end of June, our youngest granddaughter broke her right leg at camp and I had to retrieve her and take her to a pediatric orthopedist. (My son/her dad, a widower, is legally blind and does not drive.) Her tibia was broken diagonally and she was fitted with a mid-thigh to toes cast, which stayed on for two

months. Then, she had a customized foot to just-below-the-knee cast in Sept. Finally, she was put in a boot for a month and now she’s free. However, she cannot do any athletics – no running, jumping, etc. – until June 2024. She’s doing physical therapy once a week to build up her muscles and to coordinate her leg movements. Being super full of energy since she was a baby, she’s been a really patient trooper during this experience.

Danny and I went on a 31-day vacation from July 7-Aug. 7th, our first road trip since 2005. We spent a week traveling to Iowa to see Danny’s brother for a couple days, before moving west through Nebraska and Wyoming to the Grand Tetons. We took our time and enjoyed museums, art galleries, and magnificent scenery. In Jackson Hole we experienced a delectable five-star dinner at an unassuming eatery called LOCAL The next morning we headed towards California, having breakfast at a roadside cafe that touted far right signs, which made us very uncomfortable. The harried server was nice enough and the food was decent, but some customers wore hoodies, pistols, and frowns.

We headed southeast towards Idaho, where we spent all of a half hour traversing the state’s corner into Utah. On the 14th we made it to my son’s family in Lotus, CA. The next day, Danny continued onto Santa Rosa to help his daughter remodel her kitchen for two and a half weeks. While I was in Lotus, my grandson found a 2001 BMW with low mileage and a slightly mangled rear driver’s side at an auction that just happened to coincide with his 20th birthday. He had been looking for a vehicle since returning from college. It took a couple months for him and his Dad to bring it up to snuff to get it registered, but he is soooo happy to have it on campus now.

Danny picked me up on August 3rd and we headed home. It was wonderful to see everyone, but for Danny it was mostly a working vacation. We were ready to get back home and our routines. We took our time passing through beautiful Yosemite National Park, before getting down to some serious driving. However, the first day we didn’t even get out of California. I took a lot of photos of mountains, rippling rivers, and magnificent trees – my favorite nature scenes – along the highways and interstates. Every state had slow-mph road work galore, but the most boring part of the trip was on I-10 from El Paso to Boerne, TX. By the time we pulled up our driveway, the large aromatic pine cone I had brought from CA had lost its fragrance. Surely one of these days cameras will have smell-a-vision.

On Aug. 17th I was scammed online, which resulted in cyber fraud on the 18th. It was devastating. Although we reported it to the police, the FBI, and the companies involved, there has been no resolution. On Aug. 27th, “60 Minutes” aired a report about exactly what happened to me and thousands of others: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/cyber-scammers-digital-theft-60-minutes-video-2023-08-27/

A couple weekends ago, we ventured for the first time ever to Galveston Island. It was absolutely fantastic and we are going back in December. So much better than salty, humid Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and South Padre Island. We viewed two historical mansions and a very nice art gallery, as well as touring an 1887 sailing ship. The beach is 10-miles long and across the street are a plethora of hotels, motels, and places to eat. Utterly enjoyable with so much to offer, except for the throngs of noisy grackles every evening.

Summer in Texas is finally over. This morning it was 39 degrees and I had to turn on the heat lamp in my greenhouse. I love jeans and sweater weather! However, our crepe myrtle, sage, and roses are rather confused and still blooming.

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Two more months until 2024 is upon us. November holds two birthdays, a Thanksgiving gathering, and buying a Christmas tree. In December are a few more birthdays, wrapping and mailing gifts, two entertainment venues in San Antonio, back to Galveston, and the most wonderful holiday of the year.

(Sorry for the not so good photos. I thought my iPhone 7 was bad, but my iPhone 10 is worse. I need to change it for the 15!)

Goodbye, Mr. President

I have already received the best Christmas gift EVER – 81,284,000 Americans voted against you!!! Praise be to God for that overwhelming turn out. You have become a disappearing gigantic pothole in democracy’s road of laws, procedures, civility, decency, compromise, respect, discipline, and compassion. You suck as a president and a human being by representing the worst in people, including being a sore loser.

Thanks to you, this democratic nation has to climb out of the abhorrent abyss you created during your obnoxious and appalling term. While seeking greatness, you stoked hell’s fires of fear, violence, racism, corruption, hatred, sins, and lies, lies, lies, lies. What’s wrong with you, you pile of poop??? Not enough love and goodness growing up? Because you still seem to be thinking and acting like an abused and neglected child.

Your abject and repugnant behavior has been soiling the soul of this country since your 2015 announcement. My mind has been puking since you were sworn in. What a joke -DJT swearing on a Bible! The Devil’s been laughing, too, along with Putin and the other autocrats you admire and revere. Shame, shame, shame on you.

Mr. President, you belong to the United States of America, a democracy; the United States of America does NOT belong to you. Bye-bye…

Giantness

Do you dream of being a giant? Do you want to look out over others and protect them or to diminish them? What is a giant?

This morning, as I listened to speeches given at John Lewis’s memorial service in Atlanta, I got off the sofa and wrote on my grocery pad: A giant of mankind is not measured in height or breadth or wealth or power. A giant of mankind is measured by his mighty deeds of love and kindness, truth and honor, courage and bravery.

A giant is not a bully. A giant is the one who stands up to the bully.

A giant is not a racist. A giant is one who does not see race.

A giant is not a liar. A giant is one who will not lie.

A giant is not a conqueror. A giant is one who leads without having to conquer.

A giant is not a destroyer. A giant is one who builds greatness.

A giant is not a divider.  A giant is one who brings people together.

…I’m sure I don’t need to say more; you get my point.

This country is full of giants, people who are doing their best to overcome adversity, backwardness, injustice, and inequality. Praise be to them now and always, for without these superb human beings we would definitely be lost and our democracy undone.

 

 

 

Money Talks, Gags, Corrupts, and Kills

As long as money is in the political equation, this country will never be great, will always be divisive. It obviously doesn’t make one iota of difference who is elected, because lobbyists and special interests rule this nation.  When money talks, politicians listen, and their moral and common sense compasses (if they even had any to begin with) happily kneel to the almighty buck. (Shame, shame, shame on them!)

Voters are naive to believe their needs and concerns will be represented in Congress. They won’t be heard unless they raise a fuss in town hall meetings, which will be  dismissed as soon as their representatives and senators head back to the comforts of Washington, D.C.  Too many of those whom have been elected by the people are total subjugates of lobbyists and massive corporations who back them. Since the pathetic Supreme Court allowed unlimited campaign contributions, any tiny glimmer of hope that the United States of America is governed by/for/and of the PEOPLE has been thoroughly gagged.

I have said before that when a decent, good-intentioned person is elected into Congress, they seldom remain so. Too many allow themselves to be showered with gifts and favors that have nothing to do with their constituents. They experience attention from the monied powers that be, the slitherers determined to corrupt all in their paths. Paths which lead to doors that are always open.

The most deadly slitherer is the NRA. Its venom contains fear-mongering, hatred, prejudice, and lies. It hides its poisonous bites behind the outdated 2nd Amendment: the right to bear arms. This amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791 – a time when our new nation needed guns to fend off native Indians (whose land we were invading and stealing), bears, poisonous snakes, other wild predators, and rabid animals, as well as to provide meat for the table. Just how does that apply in 2017 or in the previous 100 years, other than in rural America?

Since 1901, in the lower 48 states, 61 people have been killed by wild bears, while mountain lions have killed 18 people. Tourists and hikers don’t usually carry guns while in the woods or national parks. Do these deaths warrant unlimited gun ownership? Or the manufacturing and sale to the public of automatic weapons?

I am not against gun ownership, but there is no sane reason to have more than one pistol and/or one rifle for protecting home and family. Military weapons belong solely in the military. For the safety of this country’s citizens, Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court should follow Australia’s lead:  to buy back and confiscate all automatic weapons and to ban them from being sold to the public. https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9212725/australia-buyback

A half-dozen vital necessities for a true democratic government are: 1)to ban lobbyists; 2)to undo the Supreme Court’s ruling on allowing unlimited campaign donations; 3)for all media to donate equal time and space for all candidates and campaign ads; 4)to limit campaigns to six months before elections; 5)for the newspapers and magazines to vet every state and federal candidate and publish everything from their birth to the present as soon as they announce their candidacy; and 6)to abolish the electoral college.

This nation’s problems all lead back to big money and greed. As long as political campaigns depend on money and power rather than common sense, morals, and openmindedness, we will continue in a downward spiral. As long as publicly traded corporations are beholden to their stockholders rather than to their customers, overpricing of goods and services will continue. As long as this country’s priorities are linked to big money, then America will continue to lag behind the rest of the world in education and health care. If we are a super power then we should show it by setting an example to the rest of the world, having: the best education, the best health care, the best economy, the best trading, the least unemployment, the least crime, no pollution, no homelessness, no intolerance/racism/disrespect, no corruption, no addiction, no isolationism, and no debt.

NOW is the time to look forward and create a new and better future for the United States of America and our planet. Otherwise, we might as well send the Statue of Liberty back to France, put barbed wire around each state, and hand out breathing masks and bottled water to everyone.

The State of This Union

It is no surprise to those of us who didn’t vote for Trump that he would turn the state of this country into deep do-do.  However, we have been taken aback by the rapidity with which it has happened. His epitome of unfitness to serve has soiled our nation’s reputation with immature words and actions. But more indefensible are the supposedly intelligent Republicans who still defend and back his harmful nonsense.  What is wrong with these people? Are they so ecstatic at having control of the house and the senate that they have become too hyper and disrupted to think clearly?

We have become a nation more divided than before the election. The president’s unconscionable behavior has encouraged and emboldened intolerant, prejudiced, and hateful people to emerge from their caves, spewing repulsive rhetoric in hopes of attaining permanent racial segregation. His promise to make America great again meant  restoring the prosperous 1950s, when jobs were plentiful and segregation was rampant.

It is so appalling and difficult to comprehend that such a subhuman as DT has become the “leader” of this country. An ignorant, irrational, crude thug with no worthwhile attribute is in charge and determined to destroy our national values and security for the sake of his ego.  He cannot be impeached fast enough!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s on My Mind These Days

Several things are on my mind…

The bombings happening in Syria – Why can’t we send all our Navy carriers to the Mediterranean and airlift out all the women and children? Why can’t NATO get rid of Assad?

Nigeria’s kidnapped school girls and other abuses of girls/women around the world – What the hell is wrong with MEN! and the governments who do NOTHING?

Racism still alive and wrong in America – Jesus Christ, people, grow up and start caring for others!

The flooding and the fires – Why can’t we pump rain water to California? Why won’t Congress fund creating jobs for building pipelines to control torrential rain and diverting it to areas in need?Why doesn’t CA have a plethora of desalinization plants up and down the coast to help its chronic dryness and water needs?  

Guns – Ban assault weapons and limit people to a revolver and a hunting rifle – PERIOD! You only have two hands, why do you need more than two weapons? Our founding fathers would be appalled by the abuse of the 2nd Amendment.

Republican presidential candidate – OMG! OMG! OMG! Media, shame on you; without your constant coverage of his outrageous ignorance, mania, and disrespect he would have faded last summer. Supporters, what’s wrong with you? Such a selfish blowhard has no intention of following through on anything he is promising to better your lives. 

Political change – This country is in dire need of another viable party or two. However, an election year is not the time to complain about our choices. If you’re seriously wanting a change, then build an alternative party that will make a difference in 2020. Start now!

Lobbyists – A plague of corruption in American politics. 

The United Nations – It is past time for this entity to assume the policing of the world and build a strong, unified military that would bring order in all countries.

The Olympics – I loved the swimming, diving, and gymnastic events. Watching the swimmers was so exciting and reminded me of my competitive days. But, they swim so much faster now! – The summer Olympics should be permanently held in Greece, where they began. This would help the Greek economy and not stress economically poor countries or harm the health of Olympians and spectators. – Professional athletes do not belong in the Olympics.

“Florence Foster Jenkins” – Hilarious!!! A must see! Although the subject is a bit sad, this movie will lift your spirits. Streep and Helberg were outstanding!

I feel better already, after remembering that movie…

 

Just Wondering…

…how many more people will die at the gun-hands of psychos, like another one yesterday, before Congress will grow some balls and tell the NRA to go to hell? However, if Sandy Hook couldn’t do it, then there really isn’t much hope for morality and common sense in this country.

…when money won’t matter in elections? Every television station and channel should provide each candidate with free and equal airtime once a month and every newspaper and magazine should elucidate each candidate’s message, biography, and policies so there is diminished need for extravagant fund-raising. Money does not make a candidate better qualified or more intelligent.

…what is the point of campaign promises, handshakes, shoulder pattings, and baby holding when all is forgotten/dismissed once the election is over? It utterly amazes me that people 1)want desperately to believe every word they are hearing, when the candidates are merely spouting campaign strategy and have no intention or won’t be able to follow through with their rhetoric, and 2)are so surprised and disappointed when those promises are not kept immediately, if at all.

…how the United States government can spend billions each year helping other countries but cannot properly fund its inadequate infrastructure to at least: 1)provide/create jobs for all who are able to work; 2)give every student a quality education; 3)repair its plethora of deteriorating roads, bridges, tunnels, and railways; 4)take proper care of its veterans; and 5)hire hundreds of inspectors and attorneys to enforce its environmental and health laws and regulations.

…why it is taking so long to cure cancer? Think how long scientists have been at it. Think how far technology has progressed in the past 100 years.  We can send space probes and telescopes into the far reaches of the universe and discover extraordinary things.  We can power and build all sorts of weapons, appliances, and computers. We can improve life on earth with solar, wind, and fuel cell energy. But we cannot cure cancer or prevent anyone, even babies, from having it.

Seeking Unknown Siblings

I was about nine years old when I noticed that I had blue eyes like Mom and Dad, while my two younger sisters had hazel eyes. Thus began my on-again/off-again search for the truth to this mystery. Eventually, I learned that James S. McDowell (1927-2012) was my birth father. This hazel-eyed man left 4-year-old me, my 2-year-old sister, and my pregnant mother on Christmas Eve 1951; however, I remembered him not at all. My young brain blocked out all memories before I was five, when, luckily, Dad married Mom and adopted us three girls. They proceeded to fill our family with two more girls and our baby brother, giving us an exciting, never-dull childhood.

Throughout my life, I learned that McDowell went on to father and abandon six more children by two other wives. In the mid-90s, I decided to contact him in order to discover some medical history. For some reason, my uncle’s wife had kept up with him and let him know what was going on with his first children, though why he cared is beyond me. She gave me his address and I wrote a note to which he quickly responded.  Diabetes was the main culprit in his family history. His mother died from it, and so did he. His sister died from uterine cancer. Good to know.

After a couple years, we spoke on the phone. A stranger’s voice that meant nothing to me. Besides health issues, he told me about my half-siblings, one of whom I started talking with a few months later. She was/is amazing and sweet.

In 2001, my husband and I met McDowell (Mac) and most of this Kentucky/Indiana family.  I never warmed up to Mac, but I instantly loved my new found siblings. We have visited several times and try to keep up with each other’s birthdays.

Two summers ago, a new half-brother in California contacted one of my Kentucky brothers. His mother had not been married to Mac when he was born, which was a few months before Mac’s third wife’s fifth child. Needless to point out, our birth father appears to have been a sexaholic cad, like his own father. However, all of his offspring are very kind and warm-hearted. So we are blessed.

I expect I am the eldest of his progeny only because Mac and Mom married in 1945, when they were eighteen and seventeen respectfully. On the other hand, the ten of us are in complete accord that the likelihood of more half-siblings is quite high. That is the reason I am writing this post – to reach out to others who may not know about the rest of us. Perhaps someone or their mother will recognize these photos of Jimmy McDowell.

After WWII, he became a traveling salesman for Southland Electrical Supply in Louisville. His territory included Indiana and Kentucky, perhaps Ohio too. He lived in Jeffersonville, IN and Louisville, KY. His hobby was fixing old radios. Sound familiar?

Animal Allergies

A week ago yesterday, I went with my husband to a new client’s home. It was a pleasant spring day, perfect for a drive, and I was glad to get out of the house and away from paperwork and other duties. They lived in the middle of nowhere, about forty minutes from New Braunfels, on 70 or so acres. A recent rain had maintained the greening and flowering all along the highways and back roads.

After traveling about a mile down a bumpy, unpaved driveway, we pulled up at a fence surrounding a brick home and an opened detached garage. Intending to stay in the van, as usual, I’d brought along my suduko book and Kindle Fire. As Danny got out, I noticed three dogs in the yard coming to greet him at the gate. The young couple for whom he would be building a 1900 sq.ft. addition trailed behind their pets. They didn’t look over at me, so I resumed my number puzzling. Occasionally, I glanced up to see the three of them traversing the property, pointing out this and that. When they eventually went inside to discuss everything, the dogs went with them. I would not be joining them…

I’m allergic to animals – dogs, cats, horses, bunnies, and everything else with fur and dander. I cannot help it; it’s the way God made me. Depending on the animal, sneezing ensues. With cats it is instant asthma. If I do not remove myself from close contact or take medication, then my airways constrict and I cannot breathe. Over the years I learned to take antihistamines whenever I knew I would be going near animals. I’m fine outside, as long as I don’t get too close to them. Of course, dogs love to surround me. 🙂

However, indoors is a totally different happenstance. I stay away from curtains and upholstered furniture, where hair and dander attach. When wood or leather seating isn’t available, I’ll just stand. Wood/tile/cement flooring is a relief, while carpeting or rugs don’t help. Even having pre-medicated, an enclosed space with one or more shedding animals will limit my time indoors. Sometimes it is very annoying; sometimes it keeps me from making friends.

When I was twenty, I came home for Christmas. I hadn’t seen my family or been around animals for fifteen months. I wasn’t there for fifteen minutes before I had an asthma attack. I spent the remaining four days out on the screened porch. Luckily, south Texas winters aren’t too cold…

About twenty minutes passed when I heard a vehicle approaching from behind. In the rearview mirror I saw a truck parking about fifty feet away. From there the parents of one of the young people walked towards the gate carrying grocery bags. The woman stopped by my open window and asked if I’d like to wait inside. I smiled, said thank you but I’m allergic to dogs, to which she said she was sorry. Then she commented on my suduko before going inside.

For some unfathomable reason, informing animal lovers that I have allergies to their pets usually offend them or make them think less of me. This older woman seemed more understanding, which I appreciated.

Danny came out fifteen minutes later and told me they actually had five dogs, as well as  two cats inside. That would have been a double whammy for me and I hadn’t brought my inhaler, which I surely would have needed. Unfortunately, I also missed seeing their ten-month-old daughter. I love babies!

SPRINGGGGG

I love spring! It’s the best season of the year…

One day it’s gloomy outside and the next thing you know neon green is popping out all over and blooms abound. The ducks of Landa Park don’t care if it rains or shines.

And the rainy days sometimes turn into spectacular sunsets.

There are more bluebonnets along the roadways than last year, but they appear to thrive in places where it can be rather dangerous or impossible to pull over for photo taking.

Mountain laurel with its unique grapey scent has burst out all over the city, including our front and back yards:

Though red bud trees come in several varieties, none are RED: