today i talked to one of the people who organized that yard sale. i asked her if anyone had bought that used dildo. she laughed and said that actually, yes, someone did. it was an old lady - very old - who thought it was some sort of massage tool, and she wanted it for her daughter who has problems with a stiff neck.

it would be sooooo funny to be a fly on the wall when the old lady gives that thing to her daughter.

i'm not making this stuff up - it is actually happening!

tonight i went next door to my mexican neighbours, for a baby shower. they are expecting their third baby boy. i brought a big stash of newborn-sized diapers. they feasted me on chicken, rice and a version of green sauce that i had never tasted before. it was so good, i ate until i was ready to burst open. then, i went outside and played with the kids a while. i took rocco with me, and he made the games more fun.

we were having a lively discussion with one of the young girl's boyfriends. he is from puerto rico, and everyone was teasing him because although puerto ricans speak spanish, they don't roll their "r's" properly. their "r's" sound more like "l's." i made everyone laugh when Ere (the mom-to-be) prompted me to demonstrate the two ways to roll the "r." I showed him how to do it through the tongue and top teeth, like spanish and italians, and then i showed him how to do it through the throat, like the french. even the mexicans were impressed, when I said "rrrrrrriba!" both ways. it was fun.

gonna roll my fat fanny into bed now - i'm still so stuffed i can hardly walk!

Today I drove north to spend some time with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Albert Weemstra. I went to church with them in the morning, then visited with some of their friends afterwards for coffee and sweets. This is a picture of the three of us - they're drinking coffee and I'm drinking water, as usual. They each ate a big, apple turnover and a couple cookies, but I didn't eat anything. I couldn't believe it when just an hour later, they were packing away a full meal!

Later, we went back to their place and had a meal together. Aunt Margaret made lasagna. She always has something she baked to give me. This year, it was a loaf of homemade raisin bread. She seems to have figured out (finally!) that I just don't like sweet stuff. The raisin bread should be pretty good for breakfasts this week.

Every year, they spend three months in Florida and every year, we plan one good, long visit together to catch up on all our news. It's soooooo good to see them each year! They tell me about my cousins and their kids, and the other relatives in New Jersey. We always have lots to talk about, and lots to laugh about. I've noticed that in the past couple years, Aunt Margaret has mellowed quite a bit. She seems more relaxed than I've ever known her to be. After almost seventy years of smoking cigarettes, Uncle Al quit smoking two years ago - maybe that's part of the reason she seems so pleased!

Today I was standing in line at McDonald's (yeah, I know, that stuff is garbage, but I had forgotten my lunch and needed something fast and cheap - don't rag on me about it, OK?)

The guy in front of me ordered a burger, a couple drinks and a McChicken sandwich. He paid for it and then the girl at the register repeated his order to him. She didn't mention the burger, though, so he asked her if she "got" that part of his order. She started to argue with him about it, saying he hadn't asked for a burger. He explained that she had charged him for a burger and she gave him a dazed look.

Do you know that look? She was pretending not to understand him, but her English was plenty good enough for the situation. I've gotten that stupid look from Hispanic girls who worked for me. I would tell them how I wanted something done, then ask if they understood. They would smile and say yes, so I would go off and do something else. Later, I saw that they had not done what I asked. When I brought it to their attention, they would give me that look. It's something they must practice in front of the mirror. It's like "I don't know what the heck you are saying." Their English is excellent until someone criticizes their actions, then all of a sudden they lose their powers of comprehension. They figured they had the right to take money from me, without doing the job I was paying them for. Needless to say, none of them lasted long in my employment.

When this guy's meal came, he looked in the bag and the burger was there. But the McChicken wasn't. He tried to ask for it, and the girl wanted to charge him for it. He knew what he had paid for, and wasn't going to pay twice. He started to get really frustrated and a manager walked up, shrugging his shoulders and glaring at the guy. The manager was acting like he couldn't understand or speak English, either. He started rolling his eyes at everyone around, as if the customer was being unreasonable.

The guy started to tell both of them that if they couldn't speak English, they shouldn't be working in an English-speaking country. He assumed it was a language problem. I knew better. It was an attitude problem.

I stepped up and said "Can we have a do-over on this guy's order? Why don't you look at what his sales ticket says he paid for, and then make sure he gets it." The girl walked over to another register and asked me for my order. I asked her if I should wait until they sorted out the other guy's order. She gave me a condescending smile and asked again for my order.

I walked out.

Just found out that the yard sale last weekend raised $600.00!!! That's a nice chunk of change for the charity. We're doing another one next month, so I had better get busy rounding up donations.

up late tonight, reading. i've been reading a lot of modern stuff lately, but now i am very glad to get back into the classics. i'm re-reading "moby-dick" by herman melville. many say it is the greatest book ever written in the english language, second to the Bible. i agree, completely!!!

for example, here is an excerpt. it's an exposition of a portion of the Biblical book of Jonah, from the perspective of a lay preacher, preaching in a small church in New England many years ago. the preacher is describing Jonah's first night aboard the ship he boarded while trying to run away from God's mission:

"all dressed and dusty as he is, Jonah throws himself into his berth, and finds the little state-room ceiling almost resting on his forehead. The air is close, and Jonah gasps. Then, in that contracted hole, sunk, too, beneath the ship's waterline, Jonah feels the heralding presentiment of that stifling hour, when the whale shall hold him in the smallest of his bowel's wards."

i know ...... most of my friends will think i am "cuckoo" for liking this stuff, but it is truly great literature. melville was an absolute master of the english language. his writing transports me into the time and place he describes, and his words tempt my mind to wander into delightful, philosophical wanderings.

This afternoon, I spent a few hours on one of my volunteer jobs. This particular charitable organization is doing a fundraiser - a yard sale. I was helping to sort and price the donated items. I picked up a small box and started to carry it to the table where we were putting on prices. I looked down at the box and noticed something weird poking out of it. My eyes got as big as saucers, and I looked up again. The three women who were working with me were all looking at me, and laughing. I said "Is this what I think it is?"

It was an electrical, plug-in dildo. I blurted out "but the tip is so HUGE!" and that set the ladies off into hysterics. Of course, I laughed too. We all had to sit down for a couple minutes, and just get that laugh out.

I put a two-dollar sticker on the handle, and buried it in a large box of other items. Too bad I won't be there on the day of the sale. It would be fun to watch peoples' reactions to that thing.

I wonder if anyone would actually buy a second-hand dildo, knowing where it had been? Ooooooh, that's just too weird to think about!

It's just another Sunday. The sky is overcast, the air is warm and I'm feeling lazy. This morning I went to church. The preacher came out with one of his famous "demonstrations" that made us laugh hard. He is a deeply sincere man, and his messages are always good, but every once in a while he can't resist a little walk on the wild side - all in good taste, but always hilarious.

I got (and gave) a few hugs before and after the service. They are not, of course, the sort of hugs I long for with my kids, but they're better than nothing. Two people said that I smelled wonderful, and hugged me longer so they could sniff a little more - it was the Bulgarian rose oil I was wearing. It's nice to know that I injected a little pleasure into someone else's morning, but even nicer to get a bigger hug. I'm gonna remember to wear that stuff more often. I stopped wearing perfume years ago, but sometimes I put this stuff on. Guess I'll make a practice of it!

Rocco has been napping all day. The house is quiet - too quiet.

Well, Mister Lamebrain is at it again. I'm watching a news conference right now where Obama is talking about his plans for health care reform. This idiot is trying to convince us that we have to throw lots of money at the health care system to make it more affordable for individuals, while we give the system time to become more cost-efficient.

Once again, he is preaching that we should spend money that we don't have. Once again, he is showing his ignorance.

Fix the system first, then think about helping more people to use it.

When I go to Canada, it's not all that expensive for me to go to a doctor or chiropractor, or buy prescriptions. A chiropractic adjustment here costs between $35 and $75. In Mitchell, Ontario, I got a much more intensive treatment, including soft tissue massage and electric stimulation, for the equivalent of $25 American dollars. When I needed a prescription for night cramps in my legs, the prescription cost me $30 per month here. I ordered the stuff from Canada and got a three month supply for a couple dollars less, including shipping. When I go to a doctor or chiropractor here, or try to buy medication, the cost is very prohibitive.

Canada is NOT a cheap place to live, but Canadians have apparently figured out a way to make health care more reasonably priced. Obama should be spending his time taking some basic lessons from Canadian experts, and less time trying to convince Americans to borrow more money to throw into a bottomless pit.

It sure looks like the AMA (American Medical Association) has this president tucked deep into its pocket.

That man is PISSING ME OFF!!

I'm getting increasingly nervous with what's happening in D.C. The government is sticking its nose further and further into industry. What happened to the basic principle of capitalism, one of the underlying principles of this country? It's like one bunch of idiots wiping the butts of another bunch of idiots! (oh, dear, you just pooped! don't worry, we'll wipe your arse.) The biggest beef I have is that they are using my "paper" to clean up with, and I don't even think anyone should be wiping up the mess. This bailout frenzy is terrifying.

Before we know it, we will find ourselves under tighter and tighter government regulation. The next step will be China stepping in, since it has lent so much money to the States, and trying to exert some sort of control over us. Whenever there aren't enough tax dollars ("paper") to wipe up with, our stupid government just borrows more from China. This is crazy!

I'm really worried about the road we are travelling on. It scares me. Today, I bought a two-year membership to the NRA. I want to make sure that organization has the funds it needs to work towards protecting individual rights. The right to keep and bear arms is intrinsic in our constitution, but there are many seeking to eradicate that. If they succeed, the path will be much smoother to eradicate other individual rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the right to gather.

It all boils down to liberty - to freedom. These basic rights are in danger of being eroded, and no good can come of that.

Freedom isn't free. It comes at a great price. Individual Americans have been living as if they are kings and queens, using credit to buy things they can't afford, assuming they have rights to all these luxuries. Private industry has been enabling this and getting fat in the process. Now, the house of cards is collapsing. Together, individuals and corporations have brought our economy to a desperate state. Now is the time for us to pay for our mistakes, not ask someone else to bail us out of the consequences!

Obama is preaching the gospel of health care reform. Spending more money to shore up a system that is flawed at its core is not change we can afford.

Obama is just as stupid as Bush was. Both of them disgust me.