Last night I took two aspirins and went to bed. I'll hear the election results on Wednesday.

Well, the elections are finally over ... for Texas anyway.  Beto did not win but I'm sure it scared the pants off all the Republicans who had assumed Texas was and always would be theirs. 

So many people all over the country became active in the politics of their area.  In Texas, and many other states, there was a greater turnout of young people than ever before.  So glad the young understood that it is up to each of us to be involved.

It is my intention not to blog about politics again or at least not until the $80M, not $18M, wall kicks into gear again.  

The Grand Girls were here this weekend and I made this cute video. 

There is music but it plays very quietly on my computer.  It also restarts by itself.  Oh well, I'm just glad I got it as good as I did.  That is my daughter, their Aunt, taking them out to eat. 

Here is another little bit of humor.  

I'm so glad the voting ends tomorrow.  It has really been a struggle for me to understand some points of view.  Whatever the results, I will stand by the majority vote and hope there is a little bit of middle of the road in each and every winning candidate.  

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

More later. 

Happy November and a New Banner

Snoopy just represents the Holidays to me.  When I was growing up almost all of the Holidays had a Charlie Brown Program to celebrate the season.  I guess its that memory of three little girls gathered around the tv to watch the Charlie Brown special that still says Happy Holiday to me. 

On the menu this month is a new craft project - Tie Dyed Shoelaces.  

 This is what they are supposed to look like.

from Karen Kavett on Youtube

This is me mid-process.  Not sure how close they will look to the ones above. 

I'll post finished product tomorrow.

Also keeping my fingers busy is my scarf knitting.  You may remember that I only knit scarves.  Sometimes I sell them on Etsy but mostly I just take them to Thanksgiving dinner and let the sisters, daughter, and niece take their pick.  

This one I finished first.  I didn't really care for the way the pattern came out.  It is also thicker and shorter in size than I usually make.  Different people, different preferences so I make a variety of widths and lengths. 


This is my current project.  I will keep this for me.  With my hair, white looks good on me as well as some blues.  This one is going to be thin and very long so I can wrap it around my neck several times.  This will be my new Dog Walking Scarf. 

And a little giggle to close the program. 

No, I'm not trying to look like a Kardashian.  My pockets are full of Pecans. 

More later....

Halloween

Buddy is going as a Mummy this year.

I had to post one political meme. 

I had to watch the Great Pumpkin by myself.  No Grand Girls around.

How to Confuse a Cat

Since I've been going on so much about #donniedowner and what he is doing to my life, I thought I would share a little happiness.  This hilarious little video is on Youtube.

My daughter likes lots of ice in her drinks so I have been making ice with my ice maker that I bought for my ice dyeing.  If anyone is looking for an extra ice maker I recommend this one, although they are more expensive than I expected, it has been chugging along just fine after two moves so I guess it's paid for itself. 

And finally my new pet project .... My Pecan Tree 

Be careful where you step.

And one more share.  I needed a little something happy the other night and I watched the movie, Julie & Julia.  Meryl Streep is amazing as Julie Child and Amy Adams is the perfect beginner cook and blogger.  If you haven't seen this movie, put it on your holiday viewing list.  It is a hoot. 

More later.....

I'm Applying for Medicare Supplement

I'm going to spare you some of the details but I have been applying for Medicare Supplemental Insurance.  You know how articles talk about trying to do away with the mandated inclusion of pre-existing conditions, well something funny is going on already.  I called one of those companies that are supposed to represent multiple companies, to apply for Supplemental Medicare Plan F.  The least expensive policy, Cigna, would not take anyone who was required to take any shots.  So by having diabetes and taking insulin I was disqualified from Cigna.  I believe this will also eliminate some RA patients but I'm not that familiar with RA. 

One of the eliminating questions I was asked for the next company, Mutual of Omaha, was if any change had been made to the amount of insulin I take in the last two years.  At my last visit, she reduced one insulin down 1 unit and that raised a flag.  The company said he would go ahead and submit my application and he thought MoO would accept it since it was adjusted down. 

This morning I got the call from MoO and had to answer questions about the medicine I have taken since 2015.  Most I didn't even remember I'd taken.  In both cases, the pre-application process and the MoO follow-up, I was asked if I had ever had about 100 different diseases.  Most of these ailments I had never heard of.  I didn't even know that there were that many diseases.  Dang.  I hope nothing else goes wrong with me. 

So just a word of warning.  If you are using Medicare, you might want to apply for your Supplemental coverage before you get anything new they will use to disqualify you. 

My ornamental grass blowing in the wind yesterday.

It's Friday and I'm so excited.  Silly girl that I am, I still get excited at the beginning of the weekend even though I'm retired.

More later....

I did it. I voted Today.

It sprinkled here a good part of the day so I decided that would slow down John Q. Public and I darted over to the voting polls.  I timed it just right.  I even found a parking space.  Although that was just luck, I felt like I had done something right!

There are all kinds of posts, articles, and News reports about just how many people really tried to attend the Trump/Cruz rally.  This whole experience of a tightly contested race has been surreal.  It's like going to the Mall in December and knowing that you'll have a terrific headache by the time you leave, but you can't help the thrill of anticipation when you head into that underground garage. 

Other news.  New bird feeder.  Fancy seed.  No birds yet.  Go figure.

A man found my phone and contacted me.  It appears I dropped it in front of my house.  I'm working on getting it back but trying not to expose any more personal information than I have to.

I wore the new necklace I bought at World Market the day I lost my phone.  I lost it, the necklace, somewhere between the Polls, the Library and Big Lots.  Is my sun sign in the House of Lost Objects?  I was afraid to walk Buddy today for fear I would turn around and he'd be gone too.

Hahaha.  Life is a bowl of cherries and I believe I've found all the pits now.

More later. 

I'm Bored

"I'm Bored," said Noone to my Mom.  I read a post about kids being bored and I couldn't help but think back.  If you said "I'm Bored" to my Mom she would immediately say "I have something for you to do".  You didn't have to be very old before you understood that a chore was about to be offered.  Ahh, the joys of childhood.

I went to vote today - twice.  The first time there was no room in the parking lot and the line was out the door and around the corner.  The second time I didn't even pull in because I could see the line was twice as long. 

We have a big Senate race here between Ted Cruz (Republican) and Beto O'Rourke (Democrat).  According to the yard signs in my neighborhood, Beto is way ahead.  That indicator, which is about as credible as the percentages we see in the news these days, and $5 will get you a cup of coffee.  Since I am against $5 cups of coffee, I won't be making any wages on the outcome.  However, I will defend to the death your right to have a $5 cup of coffee or vote for #donniedowner's candidate (had to get that in). 

Trump has revitalized the US Public's interest in politics like nothing since the Civil War.  And like the Civil War, it is feeling like brother against brother and, definitely, a country divided. 

Seriously, I would rather see you vote for the other candidate than sit at home.  If you have early voting --- GO FOR IT.

How the West Was Won

I feel like I've lived through an epic adventure and it was less than 48 hours long.  The final tale of my weekend with the Grand Girls is the Saturday night shopping trip with them for long pants. 

I managed to swoop them past the Halloween Costumes, Decorations and Snacks and straight into  Girls clothing.  We agreed on several pairs of pants for each to try on. 

I stood outside the dressing room while they tried on the clothes.  The Youngest dancing and prancing in front of the mirror and the Oldest removing pants "that didn't feel good" without showing me first. 

Ok, Grandma Rules go into effect.  You put on the clothes, walk out and show me, and I tell you if we are buying them or not. 

The Oldest's favorite pair of jeans/jeggings were the tightest.  Her third favorite was my first favorite.  She is long and lean like her mother.  Low waist may be the style but if you are long through the crotch to the waist and you ever intend to bend over, then you have to pay attention - especially if your Nan is taking you shopping. 

I showed the Oldest the difference between the three pairs of pants measuring (1) across waist, (2) crotch to waist and (3) inseam or crotch to hemline.  She understood it perfectly and helped measure one against the other.  She was allowed to put all three pairs in the basket.  I was allowed to sneak the tight pair out when she wasn't looking.   

Then we went through the same process with shirts (which we had not come to buy) except we didn't have to try them on. 

When we got home, it turned out our purchase contained 2 jeans and 4 shirts for the Olders and 2 shirts and no pants for the Youngest.  Somehow, while I was sneaking items out of the basket, I must have accidentally removed the Youngest's two jeans.  Oh well, I'll go back now that I know what I'm looking for. 

Generally, with a little finger twisting, the Girls end up taking their new clothes home.  This time their Brother came to pick them up at 8 a.m. and we were all asleep so there was no discussion about the clothes or much of anything else.

A double win.  My money, their clothes, my house and a full day to myself. 
 

End of tale or tail. 

The Grand Girls are here and I don't know whether to beg for quiet or run in fear when it happens.  My son, their father, and my daughter were certainly not allowed to be so rambunctious but I try not to interfere.  I know I didn't appreciate any parental advice back in my day. 

Here are some of Elayna's new drawings and pictures of the girls drawing and playing with Play Dough.

 

I saw some interesting tv programs this evening while I had a few quiet minutes.  Both were new shows on ABC.  The first was Nathan Fillion's new series, The Rookie.  The write-ups said not to expect Castle humor from him but there was still some.  I think he is one of those actors that is himself with a slight character change in each new series.  I've loved him in Firefly so I accept his style of acting.  I'll be curious to see if I continue to like this program.  

The second series I saw was The Kids are Alright with Mary McCormak as the wife and mother of a working-class Catholic family of 8 boys somewhere outside Los Angeles.  Growing up around a lot of large to very large Catholic families I can appreciate the humor of the Catholic influence on the family lifestyle.  I also had a friend who was one of 6 boys, though not Catholic, and the tales he told of an all boy family are very similar to what I saw on the show.  Again, it was only one viewing but it looked good.  Besides I always love a flashback of the 70s.  

That's it for tonight.