Pblett Day

WOW!  I didn't expect you all to sign-in, but so glad you did and made the appropriate additions to my list entitle: My Blog Buddies.

I still don't know who stops in from Corner Brook, Newfoundland, or Owatonna, MN, or Flushing, MI.
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We have had a day of gray, freezing mist.  Not exactly rain, but mist that freezes a coat of ice on everything.  I am NOT going out there, even though my cats only have one day's dry food left.  Hopefully tomorrow will be more stable for driving my car?
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MLK Day.  Looking back, I appreciate the man more and more and personally, I think President Obama undid in eight years what Dr. King fought and died for.

I thought we were coming along pretty good with our civil rights for everybody policy and now--it feels (to me) like we are much worse off than we were in the mid 50 & 60's.

I thought that this President would do so much for his race.  I could see him bringing real hope and change for them, but all I see is more hatred--mostly from the Blacks.  He didn't speak to them of peaceful protests.  Non-violent protests.  He rather gave them an entitlement that they could riot, and kill and do whatever they wanted and he certainly wouldn't chastise them.  Sometimes I even felt like he was encouraging them.  He is no Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for sure.

I have always had great respect for John Lewis.  He marched with Dr. King.  He took a lot of abuse in Dr. King's non-violent protests.  It seemed, finally we were all becoming aware of the injustices and working together to correct them.  

Now, that same man wants a protest at the inauguration?  Al Sharpton wants a violent protest. 

Back in the day, I joined Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition.  I was even for  Affirmative Action, until it bit my own daughter.  She graduated 1st in her class.  I was divorced with low income and she couldn't get one stupid college grant, because she wasn't Black or Latino.  Reverse discrimination.  

Can you even imagine if "people of non-color" had protested at President Obama's inauguration?  We would have been called "racists, Nazi's, White Supremacist's" and arrested, if we weren't shot first.

I just wonder who the real racists are nowadays.

Ain't it the truth...............

How could I possibly hate someone who voted the opposite way I did?  In my family we have Democrats, Republicans, Green Party and other strange party's I've never heard of who write in their vote.  This last campaign and election has seen many people lose friends.  It's ridiculous!!!
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I am so curious--new people coming to stop by this blog and I don't know you.  Can you leave me a comment with your name and where you're from?  Corner Brook, Newfoundland.  Owatonna, MN.
Flushing, MI.

You see, I keep a list of all my blog buddies, with your name and where you're from.  That way, I can look at my side bar to see who stopped in, by the town listed, and check my list, and even though you don't comment, I can visualize you.

I may have to resort to a full roll call of everyone, and you know, that's no fun.  LOL

OH! Isn't this counted cross stitch going to be fun?

... and I cannot start it until I get the baby quilt done!!!  This is going to be large and gorgeous, when it is finished.  Ready for next Christmas!!!

Thursday is garbage pick-up day and this morning, I waited until it quit raining and scooted out to take the garbage can to the street.  Not realizing that the rain had been freezing on, I almost took a "seater" off the porch.  My right foot slipped on the ice and I grabbed the railing just in time!

I had to inch down the driveway, holding the can in one hand and hanging onto the iced over car with the other.  I made it though and then walked on the grass to get back to the porch.  
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I am considering NOT watching the inauguration.  I didn't watch Trump's press conference yesterday and I didn't watch Obama's farewell speech.  There is still a lot of rancor "out there" and on Face Book about the election.  The Trump people are still posting negative stuff about the Liberals and the Liberals are still posting angry stuff about Conservatives.  I don't really consider Trump a Conservative.  I am a Conservative, or thought I was.  Apparently the definition has changed and now, I don't know what my title is, and really don't care.  

Anyway, I sure hope Trump is a good President, even though I cannot stand his personality and I don't want to listen to his voice for his inauguration speech.  I can catch the high points (?) on the News later in the day.  

Of course, the national news is still bashing him, which I think is very unfair, but then, they tend to be more Liberal than polite to an incoming President.  I don't like the double-standard.  Liberals bashing the incoming and Conservative's aren't allowed to bash the outgoing.

Oh well--it is as it is.  They think they are going to have a rough 4 years ahead of them, I feel we have had a rough eight years behind us.   

I have voted in 14 elections for 11 Presidents.  Some of them were good, some were mediocre and we lived through all of it.  I guess we'll live through this one.

But, I still think I don't want to listen to his inauguration address.  

Just as I was in the midst of yet another.........

nobody likes me, everybody hates me, think I'll go eat worms mood, Pammie called me.

I hadn't heard a word from any family members since Christmas.  Had I tried to call any of them?  Of course not!  They all are so busy and have different schedules and by the time I'd think to call, it was too late at night.

Pammie and I had a nice laughing conversation for 53 minutes.  I hung up the phone and it was a call from Karen.  We talked for about 35 minutes and then, Karen came over to bring Christmas gifts Jennifer had sent to her house.

Nice gifts from Jennifer, but my favorites included in the shipping box?  Thank you notes from the 4 grand kids.  I miss Jennifer's oldest boy Andrew, so much I ache.

I moved down here, just as they were moving here from Massachusetts.  Andrew was 9 months old at the time.  I took care of him a lot while Jen and her hubs were working and watching over the home construction.  He was the smartest kid I had ever met.  Even at three, he would ask the most profound questions and it got so we'd have some really deep conversations--every time I saw him.  Then last year, they moved to New Jersey.

In Andrew's thank you note, he said he was saving his money for his car.  CAR?  Oh.  Yes.  I forgot.  He's 15 1/2 now.  The last time I saw him, on his 13th birthday, he was almost as tall as me.  I would guess, he's probably taller now.

Those kids aren't on Face Book and don't have e-mail accounts so I really can't communicate with them except by normal mail.

When there is family news of any kind or photos taken, my girls and sister and grand kids all text each other.  I don't have a cell phone and they forget to e-mail me the info.

So--did the notes and the gifts and the phone calls make me feel better?  Momentarily, but in the long run, it just makes me realize how I am "out on the fringe" of their lives.

I remember all the things we used to do together and, oh, how I wish I could go back and do it all over again!
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Helene & me at the Saginaw Zoo--1997

Planting Daffodils with Helene & Stephen

Susanna--a weekend at Gramma's
and every X-country track meet she was in

Planting Daffodils with Marcus and a weekend at Grammas 

and going to every baseball, track meet he was in.

Stephen-a weekend at Gramma's and every baseball game he played.

Madeleine--a weekend at Grammas and Putt Putt golf and every piano recital, band concert

and ballet she's performed in.

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Andrew--

13th Birthday supper

Elise

Alex

Maddie, Andrew, Elise, Baby Alex--Detroit Zoo

8th Birthday Supper

Evan

Sigh

Snowed in and hurting..............

Della's first day at the baby sitters.  Not even 3 months old.  She looks like she is trying to figure it all out.  Poor baby!  At least her Mommy only has to work 3 days a week.

Those big eyes, her forehead and hairline look just like her Grandma, Karen.  Karen and I see it from her baby photos.  The rest of the family thinks she looks like her Daddy.  So we "pretend" when they are present, but.........Karen and I know.  LOL

Karen at 9 months old.  It's the eyes, isn't it?

I can't type too much today--it's a bad day for Arthritis.  Every joint in my fingers, hands, wrists and shoulders are swollen and achy.  Not just achy, but the knuckles in my hands and my wrists throb.  I can't take anti-inflammatories because I am on a blood thinner, so my only course is Tylenol X-tra Strength.  Tylenol has never helped with any pain, but....I gotta try something.

Good luck to me trying to crochet or cross stitch today.  ARGGH!!

Wondering................

why my gray hair looks blonde in that last photo?

What is this?

Actually, it is the left arm and left front of a cardigan that is crocheted all in one piece.  Something just doesn't look right, according to the directions, which are vague at best.  On this row, the instructions say to, dc (double crochet) 60 stitches, dc 60 more stitches and dc the last 60 stitches.

BUT, there are only 120 stitches on that row and for the life of me, I can't see where the pattern has told me to make a chain foundation row for the 60 stitches to the right, which would be part of the back.

It's suppose to look like this when finished.  I don't see that happening.  So I "frogged" ( rip-it, rip-it) it back to the top of the arm, threw it in my crochet basket and went back to cross-stitching on a baby quilt.  GEEZ LOUISE!!!

When I fed the cats last night, Maggie didn't come to their "feeding station".  "You want some food?" is all I have to say and they both run to their feeding dishes for their tablespoon of wet food.  

Maggie just sat on the couch and looked at me.  So....I took her food to her.

I'm wondering, for a person who expects animals to "mind me", why I did this?  If it were a child of mine, when "Supper's ready", was called, if one refused to sit at the table, they went without.

I always feel better emotionally...........

when I get my hair cut--------

17 degrees for the next few days, with a wind chill making it feel like single digit temperatures, and I decide to get my hair cut.   Weird Woman!!!