Nana's Digressives

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAK!!!! I LOVE YOU!!

Black and White (Under age 35? You won't understand.) You could hardly see for all the snow, Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go. Pull a chair up to the TV set, 'Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet.' My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning. My Mom used to defrost hamburger ( or the Thanksgiving turkey - gasp!!!~) on the counter. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag, not in ice-pack coolers, but I can't remember getting e.coli. Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake or river instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring); and no beach closures then. The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system. We all took gym, not PE, and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross

Here are some pictures of my very handsome son in his a-bit-oversized uniform, as well as with the couple he and his date doubled with: And here are a couple of our sleepy boy: Now the sad: LOS ANGELES — Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress who considered herself lucky to be discovered by television executives after a long stage career that included a Tony award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday at age 86. Rest in peace, Ms. Arthur. Thanks for the laughs.

The boys are fine. I called to check on them earlier. DT had pretty much forgotten about his worst-of-all-of-the-swing-wounds scrapes. He was visiting their next door neighbor. Deacon had just awakened from a nap and sounded happy. Nana's happier now. I took a handful of Ibuprofen (well, two actually) which enabled me to go to work at the clinic. I got that out of the way of the weekend, so I can now concentrate on the many other chores I have facing me. Baby son is going to his ROTC military ball tomorrow night. His uniform needs a couple buttons sewed on (which I am about to do); his shirt and gloves need washing and ironing (shirt). He'll be wearing dress blues as he is on the saber team . Bought his bow tie today. I have to tie it. Should be very interesting. Thank goodness for YouTube! Laundry, lawn, dirty car, dirty house . . . gotta plug some fun in there someplace, but that seems to always end up last on the list. I do look forward to taking pics of my so

Another friend of ours is needing prayer. Having gone into remission from breast cancer several months ago, she'd been making great progress on regaining her strength and energy. A couple weeks ago she began feeling much less energetic and tired all the time, which is so not like her. So, she went to her doctor for some tests. The results weren't good. They found she has the aggressive form of leukemia and immediately sent her to M. D. Anderson Hospital in Houston. They managed to get her right in and she began her treatments today. She is in a quarantined room, where everyone must wear sterile outerwear in order to visit. Please, if you would, pray, pray, pray for Ernie. She's a neat lady with a lot of good years ahead of her. Those of us who believe know that God can heal all ills, if it be His will. Also, keep remembering Becky. She's still not able to go back to work and is not progressing through her grief very well. Thank you.

We are having such beautiful weather (actually almost too hot for me, but we had a nice breeze) so I decided that DT, Deacon and I would go outside. I braved the pollen and we went out. DT was riding his bikes while Deacon and I sat in the swing. DT decided he'd join us on the swing and chat. We were watching the momma robin feed you bebes and talking about bumble bees while Deacon drooled with delight. We swinged, swang, swung (one verb I have trouble conjugating) for a good little while when suddenly, BAM BOOM CRASH, the next thing we knew, we were on the ground. We hit HARD (compacted Nana's vertebrae). One of the boards that the swing was screwed into came loose and fell on us, with DT getting the brunt of the hit. It scraped up his chest and belly pretty good. Deacon was screaming, but I thought it was mostly because it scared him. I gave him a quick once over and saw no blood, so relaxed enough to gather my wits. DT tried so hard to be big and brave. He said:

A little girl at DT's school called him a loser today. I sat my NON-loser grandson down and we had a talk. He did the right thing, not what I would have done. I'm very proud of him. He is really a great kid. He's all about forgiving, but will not let an injustice go unpunished. Of course, Nana's first impulse was to . . . well, never mind. DT did good.

Conversation between Dylan and the little black girl (Hannah) from across the street (yesterday) while they were chalking the driveway: Dylan: "Do you know my name?" Hannah: (Looking puzzled) "Huh?" Dylan: "My name is Dylan. Please call me 'Dylan'. Don't call me 'Hey!'" Hannah: "'kay." (I just love that little man!) Hannah is about 4-years old and always asks, when she sees me, "Heyyyy! Where's our frieeeend?" (She is too cute and a little hand full!) She loves Dylan to death and wants to play with him every day! He doesn't mind playing with Hannah and her older sister, Kaya, but I guess he got fed up with being called "Hey". Kaya is adorable. She's always so willing to help with anything! She wanted to mow my yard last Saturday, but she's only 6. She's her mommy's helper. They also have a 6-month old sister, Jacquelin, who is precious. Their folks are really nice

Our goofy Joey is wanting Madie's pink bunny that is in the Pack-n-Play because he thinks anything stuffed that has been on the floor is his. He's about the goofiest critter we've had . . . and we've had some goofy ones.

Today is my big brother's birthday. I won't mention how old he is, cuz once you reach as high as he has, numbers don't matter much. Dear brother, I do have a birthday message for you and it comes from my heart. Remember: Birthdays are like boogers. The more you have, the harder it is to breathe. I hope you are having a wonderful day with the grandkids, Ryan, Crystal and of course, your better half, Peggy. I love you very much and hope you're around for a lot more boogers -- er, birthdays. Your loving sister, Karen

For some reason my "s" sound sounds like "sh". Weird.

Every morning I wake up. I see the sun shining through the window. I hear the birds chirping. I smell the coffee from the kitchen. I get up out of bed and walk into the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror. Do you know what I say to myself? "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (in horror)!!!!" Then I say, "What the heck was that?"

Been a long day already! My beautiful daughter and her oh so handsome baby boy.

Something to think about: "For Christians, this world is as close to hell as they will ever get. For the lost, it is as close to heaven as they will ever get." This was put before us by the young pastor who spoke at Tony's funeral. It's one of those things that can give one pause. It can either make one smile, knowing he/she is as close to hell as he/she will ever get. Or, it can make one sad, knowing friends and loved ones will not see the glory of heaven, except what they may consider heaven on earth (of which there is no such thing). I know where my heaven and hell are and I'm smiling.

My little buddies just left, I'm scanning my music collection, listening to "100 Years" by Five For Fighting and breathing a sigh of relief. Some nasty storms passed through about an hour and a half ago -- strong winds, heavy rain, big hail and a tornado warning. A tornado passed over our neck of the woods, though didn't touch down (thank God). Ben, Dylan, Deacon, Joey and I were all huddled together in our designated area for about 20 minutes. Deacon and I had previously been napping on the couch when I heard the thunder and decided I might ought to check out the weather (we'd been warned that we had some rough stuff coming in this afternoon). It wasn't long after that that the tornado sirens went off. I quickly fixed Deacon a bottle, then huddled. It was kinda spooky for awhile. I'm usually very brave when Gary's here, but today I wasn't so much. I'd have been okay if I hadn't had the boys here, but my mind was focused on keeping

This is just what I needed after the week we've all had. I enjoyed it so much, it brought tears to my eyes (I'm an emotional wreck). Tomorrow is a brand new day, in a brand new week. I look forward to something good. This is a nice little start: (thank you Michelle Malkin and Anchoress)

This morning I walked into a local florist to order flowers or a plant for Tony's funeral. I hadn't taken stock of my emotions or really paid any attention to them. My mind was on what I needed to do today and on the Walden family, wondering how their day would be filled. I walked to the counter, told the lady the amount I could spend and we decided on a beautiful peace lily, which is the same plant that Mark and Becky (Tony's parents) brought to our house when she heard of my mother's passing away. I was doing fine until the lady asked what I wanted on the card. Then, I lost it. I apologized and told her I didn't know what to put on the card. What can you put on a card that will ease the pain and suffering of parents, of friends? There are no words -- none. I told her to just put "We love you" on the card. We do love them. Very much. We hurt for them, deeply. I can't think of Becky and her heartache that only a mother can know, without we

The change has arrived!! You can now also find me at nanasdigressives2.blogspot.com (link to the right if this one doesn't work). Now, I get to keep two of them going!! Woo hoo! Hope you enjoy them both . . . or not. :)

My very smart, logical, common-sensical husband suggested that I might think about two blogs. Hehehe. I heard that! Reason being, my political opines should be kept separate from my personal blogs. It makes sense. In order to be taken seriously with my opines, I probably don't need to stick photos of my beloveds in the middle of them. Sooooo, I will be moving the opines to a new blog. I'm working on getting it set up and will let you know as soon as it's ready. I'll carry the name of this blog to the new one and will rename this one. Confused? Me too!! ;) Yay!!! We're on the same page. Anyway, stay tuned for coming changes.

Thanks, MAK. To all who are seniors or are close to becoming a senior. Tom Daschle has been quoted on this topic by several sources other than Bloomberg. Wonder what AARP thinks about this. The general public should have the SAME plan as Congress or they need to downgrade to the general public 's plan. Seniors Beware Most of you know by now that the Senate version (at least) of the "stimulus" bill includes provisions for extensive rationing of health care for senior citizens. The author of this part of the bill, former senator and tax evader, Tom Daschle was credited today by Bloomberg with the following statement. Bloomberg: "Daschle says health-care reform "will not be pain free." Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them." If this does not sufficiently raise your ire, just remember that Senators and Congressmen have their own healthcare plan that is first dollar or very low co-pay

I hate to keep on "copying and pasting" but I almost have to. Some of the things I read are so unbelievable that I must copy and paste so you'll know I'm not making them up!! This one is from Newbusters.org: U.S. News' Bonnie Erbe Argues Abortion is a 'Good Decision' in a Recession By Colleen Raezler | April 2, 2009 - 11:06 Get an abortion. In her April 1 blog post , Bonnie Erbe, contributing editor to U.S. News and World Report and host of PBS' "To the Contrary," gave that advice to pregnant moms who are wondering how to raise a child on a strained budget. It wasn't a tasteless April Fool's Day joke. She's serious. Erbe keyed her argument around the situation of an unwed, pregnant mother of three who walked an hour to a medical center to abort her wanted pregnancy after her boyfriend lost his job. This mother was featured in a March 25 Associa

Our Veep is at it again. Every court has its jester; Obama has Biden. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/65314.html Biden credits stimulus for fire station funded under Bush Comments: jtak101 -- Joe needs a teleprompter...they sure help his boss appear to be intelligent. bpattontx -- And to think, some question Palin's credibility. Biden, you're a moron.

Oh, boooo hoooo. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-02/haggling-with-the-stars/ Poor bebes.

This is one of the many reasons I rarely quote from liberal news sources: http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/02/the-acidic-asian-american-columnist/ "Gee, I thought Obama ushered in the Age of Post-Racialism. Another illusion busted by Louisville Courier-Journal columnist Betty Baye: Flummoxed. I don’t recall ever using that word before in a column, but it’s a great description of how some folks are behaving toward President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama… …To be sure, the flummoxed come in all shapes, sizes and colors. There’s Rush Limbaugh, the perpetually angry white guy , and Michelle Malkin, the acidic Asian-American columnist , who has written that the mere sight of Michelle Obama on a video frightened her young son. And don’t forget Thomas Sowell, the African-American economist and syndicated columnist . All are apoplectic about Barack Obama’s rise." No raaaaaacism there!!! (cont'd) Mrs. Baye, I never wrote that Michelle Obama “frightened” my son. Not

Uh huh!!

I'm sitting here trying to absorb the news I received this morning. My dear friend, Kim, called me with the devastating news that her nephew had been killed in a car accident. It was like a blow to the stomach. We used to live down the street from this young man and Meg used to babysit him. I'm just stunned. His mother is one of the most precious ladies I've known and he was her only child, whom she adored. I'm just heartbroken for the whole family, whom I've adopted as my own. Please pray for this family. You don't need their names. God knows who it is. Hug your children, your spouses, your friends.

On your mark . . . get set . . . GO!! Meg, Rocky & Deacon Dylan teaching Dad how to ride. My sweetest Granddog, Rocky.