The View from Here

Anniversary

Nothing fancy today. Just a thank you to the one I love! Thanks for 36 years of friendship and adventure! I hope we have many more years together!

More of the Same

The research I do for my Caddo blog often reminds me of the similarities between my life and the lives of my ancestors. We have been striving and struggling for survival on this little planet since our creation, and we haven't been as intelligent as we like to think in coming up with new ways to do it. This is particularly evident to me when I read about politics in the old newspapers. Yesterday as I was writing about Mrs. Pitchlynn's sad death from Spanish flu, I noticed a political item on the same page. It's an ironic mirror of our own times and I think you will enjoy reading it.

Caddo Herald, February 27, 1920

Scott Ferris Outlines Several Live Issues

Hon. Scott Ferris received almost unanimous approval for his refusal to engage in a joint discussion over women's suffrage with his alleged opponents for the senatorial nomination. He has received added approval in (his) forward looking campaign by declaring with this refusal that the questions the people of the State (are) most interested in are:

"When is the war going to be closed and the country permitted to get back to normal conditions?"

"When will there be an adjustment of the differences between labor and capital?"

"When is congress going to straighten out the railroad situation so we can have better train service in Oklahoma?" (Before you ignore this one, substitute the words highway, or airline, or gasoline and read it again!)

"When is congress going to enact some wholesome land legislation for the benefit of the returned soldiers?"

"When is congress going to modify the income and excess profits taxes, and relieve business annoyances, and help reduce the high cost of living?"

Ferris is making it plain to the people that a republican congress is blocking the way to a reduction in the high cost of living by refusal to repeal the excess profits tax as repeatedly urged by the president and its failure to pass measures reducing all war taxes by extending over a period of years the payment of the huge sums that are raised to pay up on war expenditures.

These are some of the questions the people of Oklahoma are interested in and want to hear about, and they consider the suffrage matter settled.--

Amen brother! Now you can either be discouraged because we are still arguing the same old issues, or encouraged because we have made a little progress here and there.

Wind

The wind is driving me nutty! We've had 25+mph wind for weeks now. The wind whips my hair into my eyes during recess. It dries out my throat. It makes my car swerve. It whistles under my kitchen window. It blows stuff across the yard. Yesterday I drove up the driveway and there was a sack of trash rolling into the pasture. Ugh! Wind is not one of my favorite features of spring.

I do however, love baby animals and here are two cute ones from my friend's goat herd.

Baby goats are like puppies- I don't want any, but they are fun to play with for a little while. My friend's grandchildren certainly enjoy them! They also spend time learning to care for them. And they've had to experience the loss of a few favorite ones- either to sales or death.   

I'm glad that I grew up with animals. I remember all the chores we did and sometimes working with them in the winter wasn't pleasant. But animals were great companions and they taught me a lot about life. City children miss those experiences and I often wonder how it affects them.

My own children had a goat for a while. It's a favorite family story and I've probably told it before. My oldest daughter loves to bring it up and groan about it. Some friends gave us a baby goat they found in the desert. We kept it for a while, but it was always getting out and always causing problems. As it got older and started teaching our dog to butt heads, it became obvious we couldn't keep him. We gave him to a friend with a farm in hopes that she could use him for breeding. Didn't work out, and he was wild natured, so she ended up killing him and gave us some of the meat. We grilled it one weekend, but didn't tell the children what it was. (Okay, city girls, get over it- this is where meat comes from. I grew up knowing that farm animals are not pets.) Yes, years later I let it slip during some discussion. They have never let me forget that we ATE SHERMAN! One of the sins of my past. LOL

I started out talking about the wind and ended up telling you about eating the kid's goat! I told you the wind is driving me nutty! 

Free Entertainment, AKA- The Police Log

One of my favorite items in the Durant Daily Democrat is the Police Log- “a cross section of calls to the Bryan County Communications Center”. There is always at least one entry that brings a smile to my face. Once in a while there is one that makes me laugh out loud. This week there is a tie for “oh my gosh, they’ve got to be kidding!”. LOL  Warning- Put your coffee down before you read these:

Wednesday

            8:15 a.m. aggressive beagle and three-legged cattle dog, Second and Liveoak.

7:30 p.m. big fat white guy came onto property screaming, 2600 block of Miller.

I am not making this up. These are printed in the newspaper exactly as written. Free entertainment each and every week! There are people who secretly (or occasionally in my face) wonder why I get so much enjoyment from reading old newspapers. Believe me, in about fifty years someone is going to read the police logs for this area and think we were all nutty!

Sun, Sandals, and Shorts

My husband came home yesterday and reported that the store where he works has been selling air conditioners like there is a shortage! Not surprising since I'm already seeing shorts and sandals everywhere. I went to WalMart yesterday and there was a group of giggling college girls in front of me- each showing more skin than I cared to see. It seems that the moment the temperature rises beyond 65 everyone gets out the summer gear. And the artificial tanning begins. I've already seen several people with that dull brown look that only comes from a bottle or the "too dark" look generated by the tanning booth. No, thanks. I'll wait for my "farmer's tan" to develop. And I'll put sunscreen on my face and wear a hat.

You probably won't see me in shorts either. I save those for home and garden. I just wear light-weight cotton pants in the summer. I don't even wear sandals to work because I have such ugly feet. No, no, it's true. Trust me. I didn't start out with great feet to begin with, and then I've broken four toes- two of them twice- and one is crooked. I'll just stay with tennis shoes.

I am going to enjoy the sunshine today. I'm going over to Hugo to have lunch with a friend. It's an hour+ drive through the country and there are lots of horses, cows, and goats along the way. The trees are beginning to flower. I'm taking my camera.

Have a great day!

Good Morning Pond

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Last week I read "Good Morning Pond" to my class. It's a book about the animals in a pond waking up in the spring. I love that about the country! I can watch the subtle changes each season brings. I can observe the animals getting ready for winter or bursting with spring energy. Yesterday I drank coffee and watched the ducks on the pond. Friday morning there was a rabbit in the yard. Soon I may see deer in the back pasture as they change their feeding patterns. Already I can see buds on the trees. Each morning when the sun comes up there is a slightly different view.

I finally got my photos back from the snow storm. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but because I have a film camera I'm at the mercy of WalMart and their "machine", which breaks down at least once a month. (Yes, a digital camera is on my list, but other things keep crowding it out. Now my television is doing strange things.) Anyway, I had to send my photos "out" because the one-hour machine was broken, again. So...no more whining...the photo below shows the snow. It also shows the side steps just off the kitchen. That is where I stand and watch the pond.

One day Robert and I walked down to the pond to see the ducks and of course they flew away. But we did get to see some turtles and fish. And I can hear the frogs each night. Spring is here!

   

Spring Break

Well, I'm off to a great start! LOL I was going to talk last night about how wonderful it is to be on spring break and have some time to catch up on a few projects. Then I became distracted by a stabbing pain in my shoulder and I spent the rest of the night and much of the early morning hours paying attention to it instead. A sure sign that I am just getting old- I can't remember doing anything at all to hurt my shoulder. The only action remotely connected to those muscles was opening two windows when I came home from work. Other than that, I only recall sitting at the computer and getting a nagging ache in my upper shoulder. Finally bothered me enough so that I quit typing. In another hour or so I could barely grit my teeth and sit upright. Spent quite a while under the heating pad, slept upright on the couch, and finally was able to go to bed at 2:00am. Up at 5:00 with the cat, and here I am. Still aches a bit, but tolerable. I'm hoping that some Tylenol, coffee, and gentle movement will get me back to my old self.

I'm still happy to be on spring break! I watched one of those reports on points south where college "kids" go to get drunk and throw up. Not my idea of a break. With all the problems created by that tradition you'd think it would die out and be replaced by something a bit more sane. But people have been stupid for thousands of years. Progress is slow.

I did have some serious thoughts about the ocean when I saw that report. The one thing this California girl misses from time to time is the sound and smell of the ocean. I love Oklahoma and I never miss California enough to entertain even a remote thought about returning for good, but I surely do need an "ocean fix" now and then. The ocean isn't just a place, it's more like an old friend or a favorite aunt that you just have to visit once in a while. Since I can't go this week I may have to drag out some photos and look at them. I used to actually have a tape recording of the sound of the waves! Can you buy those?

My oldest daughter moved this week. She is excited to have more space and to be closer to her daughter's school. I'm glad things are going well for her, but I don't want to even think about moving again for a few years. It's funny- even though I've moved so many times, I always think "this is the last time I'm going to do this!". We've been in this house for a year now and it's just beginning to really feel like home.

Well, no exciting events or thought provoking ideas today. Just a sense of relief at having awakened in less pain. That's a good start and I'll just be grateful. Have a great day! 

Grocery Shopping

When I was a child we spent a lot of our time working in the grape vineyards. At lunch time my dad would often send my brother and me to the store down the block to buy supplies for lunch. Our criteria for the trip was "cheap". He would give us a dollar and we came back with a loaf of bread, a jar of mayonnaise, and a pound of bologna.

As a young married woman I bought a lot of macaroni, hamburger, potatoes, beans, flour, oatmeal, sugar, milk, and apples. I didn't worry about anything except stretching our meager budget and making sure everyone was full and happy.

Nowadays I have to check at least five things before I make a purchase:
1. Price (OUCH!)
2. Calories
3. Salt
4. Fat
5. Sugar (I can't tolerate aspertame- gives me a migraine...so, no diet products.)

If I'm buying produce I should also worry about pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, and contaminates that might not wash or cook off.

If I care about the universe I should also check for excess packaging and make sure I take my groceries home in a cloth bag.

And make sure the produce wasn't picked by illegal aliens or young children.

NOW the environmentalist fanatics want us to worry about how the product got to the store! Did it arrive by air, land, or sea? Was more energy expended to bring us beans from Africa or sugar from Hawaii? Veggies from south Texas, or apple juice from New York? 

Okay. I'm getting a headache! I already need oxygen by the time I finish grocery shopping because the price of everything has skyrocketed. (Dove chocolate was $2.50 one week, $3.68 the next!) Now I'm going to need a tissue and a priest to assuage all the guilt over my part in the destruction of the universe!

I have an idea. I'll send someone else to do my shopping for me! I'll send them to the store with a hundred dollar bill and ask them to buy me a loaf of bread from the local bakery, a jar of mayonnaise brought in by donkey, and a pound of tofu bologna.

Shameless Bragging

To learn more about the recent accomplishment of my brilliant grandson click here. :) He gets it all from Nana genes!

Saving Time

My cat woke me up 5:00am, just as she does each morning. She has no regard for weekends or vacations or any other such notions. She just knows when it is time to eat. However, this morning 5:00am became 6:00am with just the punch of a few buttons. It's still seems strange to me that we can change time so easily. My mind sees the numbers, but my body will take days to adjust.

Talk about adjusting! I got new glasses Friday and they drove me crazy until this morning. My depth perception seemed "off", and I got a little dizzy each time I looked to the side. However, this morning everything seems back to normal. The ironic thing is that I would almost swear these are the same frames I got about ten years ago!

I had a chance to visit with one of my brothers yesterday. I'm sorry to say that we live within three miles of each other and yet it has probably been six months since I've talked to him. Life just seems to roll along at such a fast pace! We are both busy working and we're involved with community activities. Now he is buying a new house and trying to sell the old one. Just "too many irons in the fire" as Mom always said. But I will see him again today. He has been awarded "yard of the month" honors by our beautification committee and we are going to take his picture for the paper.

We're also taking more headstone photos today. Maybe I ought to start meeting family and friends at the cemetery. LOL We could all take photos and then this project would be complete!

Our son has a birthday this week. He will be 34. Then the week after that is my brother-in-law's birthday. Then our anniversary! 36 years! Hard to imagine.

Hope you can get out and enjoy what is left of the weekend. Don't forget to check all of your clocks, especially the one that will wake you up tomorrow. I know everyone isn't lucky enough to have an alarm cat.