The Grandkids are Coming! The Grandkids are Coming!

Studly Doright and I have been getting Doright Manor ready to withstand a visit from our Texas grandkids, Dominique and Jackson. The two, along with one of their friends, are flying in to Panama City Beach on Sunday evening to stay with us in Havana for a week. The guest rooms and baths are ready, the cupboards are full, and the refrigerator is stocked with Jackson’s favorite root beer.

Each year when the kids visit, Studly, who goes by “Poppa” around the grands, has motorcycles ready to work on and ride. I usually take the kids to a water park. However, Jackson broke his foot at the beginning of the summer and will still be in a cast. We might have to get a bit more creative with our activities this year.

Arts and crafts, anyone?

Regardless of what we do, we’ll have fun. I’ll post something if I have the energy!

Peace, people!

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE?

What kind of people? Great piece by alotfromlydia.wordpress.com

alotfromlydia's avatarA lot from Lydia

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE:

Allow their government to reverse the environmental regulations that protect food, air, and water?

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE:

Take healthcare from the sick, food from the hungry, and shelter from the elderly?

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE:

Take money from the poor to give more to those who already hoard half the worlds wealth?

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE:

Accept racism, and dictators?

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE:

Think it’s fine to spend: For $70 million in tax dollars so an illegitimate president golf, another $70 million for said potus to vacation, another $30 million for a military parade, $12 billion in tax dollars to be spent as an emergency bail out for farmers who suffer under his ignorant tariffs, $70 billion to build a Wall, $233 million to separate immigrant parents from their children?

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE:

Take babies from their parents without feeling any kind of…

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Caffeine-free Me

On May 2nd of this year I came down with some malady that rendered me miserable. I awakened in the middle of the night with a fever and chills, and for four weeks I suffered from the kind of bloating, gas, and diarrhea I can only refer to as “Shock and Ewww!!!”

We still aren’t completely sure what was going on; although, the doctor I finally was able to see concurred with my self-diagnosis of diverticulitis. I’ve had a few tests done, and none of the them were conclusive. And now at the end of July, I’m still dealing with a few digestive issues. There’s nothing too awful going on, but to use a favorite euphemism, I always feel like I need to drop a kid off at the pool. 🤭

This illness hasn’t been all bad. I’ve radically changed my diet, doing away with caffeinated drinks and cutting way down on alcohol. Since May 2, I might’ve had three glasses of wine and a couple of beers. I’ve also cut out carbonated drinks and spicy foods. I do miss my Mexican foods and diet Dr. Peppers most of all. I’ve lost 14 lbs., and other than the above mentioned symptoms, I feel good. Being caffeine-free means I’m sleeping better and I have fewer headaches, too.

We aren’t totally through trying to get to the bottom of the problem. Once this summer is behind us, I’ll make an appointment with a gastroenterologist and see if he/she can make heads or tails of my situation. I count three puns in this paragraph. That might be a new record for me.

I didn’t create the meme pictured below. The lack of an apostrophe in “its” really bugs me, but the photo cracked me up.

A Little Beach Music

“Besides,” she said, out of the blue, “We have nothing to gain now, yet nothing more to lose.

So take my hand, no, this one. Hoist me up from my place in the sand.”

Together they eyed the waves, sidelong glances at one another

Wedged between sighs masquerading as cogent thoughts. Neither had the means,

Nor the answers. “Will you love me still once this is done?” He asked.

“What makes you think I love you now?” She replied, as the gulls wheeled over head.

https://youtu.be/hu-bXvuPm7c

Do My Eyes Deceive Me, or is it Trump?

The latest from alotfromlydia.wordpress.com. I love how she cuts through the b.s.

alotfromlydia's avatarA lot from Lydia

“Just remember, what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening” ~ Donald Trump, 7/24/18

•~~~~~~~~~~~•

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ” ~ 1984 George Orwell

1. What you are seeing: A President named Donald Trump.

What’s really happening: Hillary Clinton was elected by a vast majority of Americans to be POTUS 45, but Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and his team, hacked into our voting system, manipulated the outcome in key states thereby giving Trump the win by way of the electoral college. Exit polls did not correlate with the tally. They stole the presidency.

2. What’s happening: Rudy Giuliani tells us Donald Trump’s comments on tape are “exculpatory”, prove his innocence, because in them Trump tells his attorney Michael Cohen to write a check in order to preserve proper documentation of a…

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Your Handy Dandy Guide to Propaganda

Americans are fairly naive when it comes to propaganda. Oh, we know that advertisers employ techniques that make us want or even “need” certain products, and many of us recognize the moves that politicians use to gain our support, but when matched up against the Russian propaganda machine we are дети. Babies.

As Americans, we don’t like to admit that we aren’t number one in every category, even though we never really were, despite popular myths to the contrary. That doesn’t mean we aren’t still a great nation, it just means that the world has many bright spots. Thank goodness!

In the arena of generating political propaganda we lag far behind Russia and always have. I have to think that’s why we are so susceptible to it, as well. We have to become better informed.

I’m no militant. I’m a 61-year-old grandmother who does not want to see the country she loves fall under the spell of soulless oligarchs. Don’t fall for the “bandwagon” techniques being promulgated by the Russian-backed #WalkAway campaign. Don’t be a tool.

Here’s a handy guide to propaganda techniques. I learned about these in a high school English class, and I thought everyone knew about them. Apparently not.

https://marketingwit.com/types-of-propaganda-techniques

Peace, people, and don’t be swayed by propaganda.

We Aren’t Walking Away

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Abraham Lincoln

My feelings about Donald Trump are no secret. He is not a competent president, and each day since his election has brought some new concern. The latest is his all caps (so you know he’s yelling, I suppose) tweet to the president of Iran:

To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!

What a guy, eh? It’s not enough that trump is in Putin’s back pocket, but now he’s threatening Iran with what appears to be nuclear retribution. Isn’t the way he plays with human lives just adorable?

When I responded to the tweet expressing my displeasure one of his minions suggested I read the “#WalkAway” testimonials, saying that soon I’d be the only one left supporting the Democratic Party.

Apparently no one had told this poor lady that #WalkAway is just one more attempt by Russian bots to weaken morale among progressives. Seriously, I don’t know any true progressive voters who believe this crap, but the fact that some on the conservative side do is telling.

Here’s an example of a #WalkAway meme.

And here’s the Shutterstock photo the man’s image came from:

Here’s another example:

And the Shutterstock photo:

For the record, true progressives aren’t walking away from the Democratic Party. Most of us aren’t for open borders or illegal immigration. We might have our differences, but trump isn’t seen by any of us as a palatable solution. We’ll fight back, we’ll resist, we’ll argue amongst ourselves, but we won’t walk away.

I like the hashtag started by a group of young people who are campaigning for common sense gun reform. It’s #WalkTogether. Now that’s something I can get behind. Or better, beside.

Peace, people.

Summer Sips

These lazy days of summer have affected my writing ambitions. Ideas for blog posts flutter through my mind, but they seldom land. Yesterday was Sunday and I spent most of the day napping. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

This morning I realized I’d written nothing all weekend, but I didn’t panic. After all, energy would’ve been required. Instead I opened up my photo file and put together a post about the “Summer Sips” event at one of my favorite places in Florida–Tallahassee Nursery. There won’t be many words attached. Again, I’m lacking energy.

Enjoy.

Part of the attraction of the event was the promise of wine and of my favorite locally produced beer: Proof’s Mango Wit. It’s a perfect summer beer.

This cute daddy/daughter duo were intent on feeding the goldfish inside the greenhouse area.

Live music always makes me happy.

There were so many wonderful sights and scents.

Just a reminder, I’m not paid by Tallahassee Nursery in any way. I do patronize this business and enjoy sharing its news with others.

Peace, people.

Snapshot #208

This is another photo I took on Wednesday evening at Tallahassee Nursery’s “Summer Sips” event. I call it, “Don’t Play Koi with Me.”

I almost bought one of these, but one would get lonely and two might procreate, so I left these colorful fish for someone with a bigger garden than I have. Nothing fishy about that.

Peace, people.

Snapshot #207

I took a few photos at Tallahassee Nursery’s “Summer Sips” event on Wednesday evening. Here’s one of my favorites from the night:

I call it “Big Bad Bromeliad.”

That reminded me of my favorite childhood song, “Big Bad John,” the heart wrenching story of a miner who sacrifices himself to save his co-workers during a mine collapse. Yes, that’s the kind of tale that appealed to me as a child.

Jimmy Dean, famous for his sausages, sang “Big Bad John.” He was practically a hometown boy, having grown up in Plainview, Texas, just 30 miles or so from my own home town of Floydada.

I believe that’s a young Jimmy Dean in the photo below, but Pinterest couldn’t differentiate between Jimmy Dean of sausage fame, and actor James Dean.

I know for certain that it’s Jimmy Dean sausage pictured here, though.

As far as I know James Dean didn’t deal in pork products as a sideline, nor did he sing.

He could have, though. He was just that cool.

Without further ado (or a decent segue, for that matter) here’s Jimmy Dean, singing, “Big Bad John.”

https://g.co/kgs/b8nuxi

Peace, people.