Category Archives: Editorial

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Blatantly Political

Posted on July 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

Y’all know that “cooking” is more than that, right? At least with me.

I try to deal with issues rather than any party or candidate as I’m independent. These days I don’t know which way is up or down as the Supremes vote against the Voting Rights Act and for gay marriage.

Then all the states that got the Hail Mary pass for anti-Black voters instituted their “reforms.” Then Texas decided to rule against a woman’s control of her own body.

Seeing all this, I believe this to be true, the Republican party is bombing so badly they’re putting it all into the states they may win next year and in 2016 for president so denying rights to over a majority of the population. Great stand.

Why does this bother me? I just got three stop signs with flags on them that actually induce traffic to slow down and stop for me and my dog, because they couldn’t put in an actual stopwalk where the signs are because it’s city/county and they don’t align.

This is what a citizen trying to staying alive crossing the street does. All this stuff about race and abortion does nothing for anyone. We’re taxpayers. We don’t need you in our bedrooms or voting booths.

We need you to do what we elect you (yes, you are supposed to represent us and not just gun and other lobbyists) to follow the Constitution and make things right in the USA, including keeping to a budget and not running us trillions in debt.

The Motor City declared bankruptcy today. How many companies and perhaps cities (you did NYC years ago) will we have to pay for their mismanagement? Too big to fail? No.

I’m all for gay marriage but am a fiscal conservative (just don’t look at my grocery bills).

This is a representative democracy and if I have to run for office to do so, I may have to do so if asked. I care about people. Many politicians may have cared once but then the money train came along and they all got aboard and the people they promised to represent were lost.

A century ago this was a land of Congressmen (yes, all men) that were teachers and of other professions, not all lawyers trying to move up and make more gold in their practice.

What can we do to change this? I’m just a citizen and voter who believes my vote is a joke and no-one ever looks out for my interests. I’ve written laws and worked for government and I believe it has failed all of us. Democracy works, but we need to get involved.

Please register to vote, volunteer locally, even one day a month and know what your fellow citizens are going through. Read your voter pamphlets and VOTE. Thanks, Dee

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Bailouts

Posted on July 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

People don’t think taxpayers pay a burden when our government bails out banks, investment and insurance companies. We do.

Now the Motor City, Motown, Detroit has gone bust and is going to look for funds from us, the taxpayers of the USA.

No-one in the music industry has initiated a concert to raise funds for Motown. They’re $18-20 BILLION in debt. When the Grand Ole Opry is in trouble, country musicians kick into gear.

All the financiers have said “no.” Towns die, mainly for a reason. Why aren’t the auto manufacturers stepping up to the plate? You let your town go bankrupt and now we all have to pay the price. Because you didn’t help out, you’ll be next. Both my husband and I own older foreign cars.

We pay enough taxes as it is to bail out financial institutions but once cities go down, it’s a bit much to ask from all of us to pay even more. Congress, please take that pork off the table and also stop digging into our health care. Mr. President, please lead. Supreme Court Justices, know that while you allowed states to allow gay marriage you did a supreme injustice to Blacks in southern states regarding voting rights.

It seems as if we’re all over the place and the lobbyists are controlling the people we elect and they appoint. We must do better voters, otherwise we cannot avoid the responsibility of being wrong time after time.

We must get involved. Volunteer. Register  to vote. Vote above all else. Ask questions of your candidates. Most will promise you something and lie when elected. Think about if you were a candidate and what you would do for the cause you love most.

Don’t put your faith in politicians. Instant polls, tweets, negative ads, it’s a slippery slope and a mind-set that allows people to be disingenuous and glib.

These people we elect do bailouts for the people who give them the most campaign contributions. What would it take to buy us? To take us from our homes and kids to curry favor and take “junkets” around the world?

Not me. I’ve seen enough and quit when I was making $26, 400 per year. I was rich, but not nearly as rich as my co-worker who started years later and made more than me “because he has three kids.” That’s also why I got to man the desk 18 hours a day as a single gal because I didn’t “need” to sleep or be at home, just cover for them.

Covering is what our government is doing. Let’s stop it. Early morning, sun’s up at 4. Dee

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100 To Go

Posted on July 16, 2013 | 1 comment

I’ve set my goal at 2,000 posts. It was initially 1,000 but I may have gotten confused as you actually liked me.

There are 100 to go so I want reader requests, come on, I love you guys and gals and now you get to take the reins on this old horse.

I hate to leave you as my husband has actually picked up a spoon or tongs and helped me out in the kitchen. That’s not a good thing. I’d rather he get water or Dr. Pepper and move out of my way.

Yes, above all I enjoy cooking for my family and guests. There are a few guests that are always welcome at my table, you know who you are.

100 to go. Let her rip! Dee

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Mr. President

Posted on July 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

What happened? With  Trayvon Martin’s needless death. our northern cities are still divided because of loss of jobs and racial divisions.

You can make a difference. You’re president for a reason. A reason I voted for. You need to make things right. There may not be protests in Florida right now but this is a seminal case that will rock this nation for years to come.

Please be our President and make things right. Thank you, sir. Only a voter, Dee

 

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Love a Galley Kitchen

Posted on July 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’m an “open concept” space kind of gal with certain likes and dislikes. In a fantasy world I’d love two galley kitchens or a kitchen with two islands, one with a prep sink and extra dishwasher.

I don’t like family or guests to see dirty dishes from the dining area. I want the kitchen area to be visible so guests can talk to me when I’m finishing dinner. Sometimes they can help, especially if the dinner is designed for that or for kids.

Kitchens in multi-million dollar homes and regular kitchens in Texas are big, and dysfunctional. I’m not into big as a concept. Form follows function and I’d rather have as few steps as possible between stove, sink and frig.

A view helps. Some condos place the sink and prep space looking toward a blank wall. I prefer that space to see the mountains or water.

Those who just want a big kitchen rather than a functional one, means they don’t cook. That’s fine and if you want your personal chef in the back of the house that’s OK too if he/she and your kids agree. I cook and am proud of some of the lofts and condos we’ve lived in for making semi-functional kitchens.

Our kitchen is small and nearly functional but we had to use the “tech center” space as an open pantry. Yes, I’ve dinner service for 18 and a table for four. I had no room for food in my kitchen so needed to expand. Let the fantasy kitchen expand as well. Galley kitchen perfectly aligned with all necessary utensils, machinery and knives handy and a butler’s pantry with pastry bench. Add a door and bakers rack (I have one) to keep our food away from the dog.

See, we have issues but they are not insurmountable. In the end, I want a small, functional kitchen with good appliances (gas stove) in which I can interact with family and friends. An extra frig for platters, a chest freezer. OK a gal can dream, right? Cheers, Dee

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Zimmerman, G., Neighborhood Watch

Posted on July 15, 2013 | 1 comment

I would like to join your community’s Neighborhood Watch program. I carry my own weapon and do not listen to police directives. I profile Black people and follow them and kill if I think I’d lose an altercation I instigated. Please call for references (my defense lawyer and cop friend). I’m available immediately. It’s Florida, have gun will travel! Sincerely, George Z.

* * *

How far have we come since JFK/LBJ/RFK’s laws were passed. Sure, Blacks can go to the lunch counter and ride the bus, but are they allowed into a gated community to visit their family? To buy Skittles and juice?

I am told I now live in the most racist city in the US. There is hatred here and we’re up north of the Mason-Dixon Line. As opportunities arise in the South, I’d rather not go there. Texas is a different animal altogether as they think they’re a nation but are a state, think they’re free but there is a reason for June-teenth, June 19th when the final slaves in NE Texas were told the war was over and they were free.

This weekend we were told by a judge and jury that the man who profiled, followed, called the police on and disregarding police orders again followed and shot a boy, is innocent due to Florida law.

Unfortunately, I agree that the jury had to follow Florida law. These are terrible laws that were enacted in anger and frustration and not principled as they should be.

My husband grew up on a farm. His daddy has a gun cabinet well-hidden from everyone (I’ve never seen it) but will kill a coyote if it’s killing his cattle. He and his brother learned to shoot early. His brother hunts deer every fall, but we don’t have a single gun in the house. I like it that way. If he tried to make me have a pistol in my bedside table I’d be terrified of it and shooting him or myself in an attempted break-in.

What I need to ask is this: both my husband and watch dog slept 12 hours through a hurricane (I stayed up and blogged it until the power went out). If someone broke in, how would I awaken them? Think about it and please let me know. Dee

 

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I Knew an Old Lady

Posted on July 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Ha, I know a lot of them today! But this is when I was a kid.

I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don’t know why she swallowed a fly… yes the great Canadian folk singer Alan Mills wrote and sang this song. I still give the book to kids.

His wife was best of friends to my great aunt. It was quite a scary story, especially (don’t tell your kids) in the end she ate the horse, of course.

After he was gone, I remember her cooking a lovely dinner for us at their home, filled with art and gorgeous, spare French Canadian furniture. I cannot remember what we had for dinner but am sure it was excellent and I was too absorbed in the dinner, design and art to remember what she cooked.

In the 60’s I had no idea of the revolution that was going on in the U.S. We did watch Walter Cronkite every evening and he ended the news with an official body count then his signature farewell.

I never got the hippie spirit as my father was wearing suits and skinny ties. I believe I did have two wild great-aunts (one I adopted and that was Mr. Mills’ wife) who had their own way of dealing with the system.

For the first time I got to ride a motorcycle, meet gays and people from different cultures. I also ate different foods that sparked an interest in cooking.

In her nineties, my aunt was still in her apartment in a lovely neighborhood and the societal police came to call to see if she could be evicted and placed in an old folks home/facility.

They asked her questions and had her count down backwards from 100 by 7. Then they told her to write a sentence. She asked if it could be in the form of a question. The answer was yes so she wrote “When are you leaving?”

Secondhand Lions, the film, introduces the viewers to an older Michael Caine and Robert Duvall as ornery uncles to a young boy. My aunts, current and passed, are inspirations to me and founts of stories, both personal and from great literature.

Today, I cherish all my ancestors and friends who I will not name except for Nanny, who accepted me into my husband’s family and thus creates more stories.

I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don’t know why she swallowed a fly…. Good morning! Dee

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No “Emergence” Here

Posted on July 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

I write my own stuff and am spammed every day and now am getting invitations by someone to write for me.

Do I want to emerge technically into a bigger blog or do what I do, which is to not monetize anything and write everything myself?

It started out being read by family,  a few gals with their husbands in Afghanistan, then knitters and then other friends who came out of the woodwork.

In the end, I need someone to help update this blog technically because my husband the software engineer has no time to do so. I write on my own stuff, thank you. Enjoy the day, Dee

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Mixes

Posted on July 10, 2013 | 2 comments

I’ve never gotten a pet from a breeder. I usually go to the shelter and see what I get. My first was a cat, transported in my brother’s pocket across the country because he was kicked off the 7′ shelf he was born on and my sister had to bottle-feed him.

Then I got a dog. She was abused by a deputy sheriff for a year and in a shelter for a year. I started volunteering there the week she arrived and spent time with her every week. When there was a discussion to determine whether to euthanize her the following week, I had her home, for ten years and she led a good life.

Please tell Maddie’s fund that I’m not asking people to have puppies or kittens so their kids can see the cycle of life. Grow up and do it yourself. Ten years ago we got a six-week old pup from a shelter and a few months later had to do the research to get her hips excised which we did at six and nine months of age (thanks, Val).

We tend to live in nice places where I walk the dog several times a day. This morning we met a papillon/chihuahua. Mine is an Aussie mix. I’m seeing mixes in the nice areas of town, which means we’re adopting from shelters. Yea!

I’m glad that 20 years of volunteering, spaying and neutering over 2,000 cats has finally hit and our work is not done but is still in progress.

Soon we’ll make a guessing game of what breed(s) we have! Mine herds me everywhere as I’m the “food wench” and my husband is the “fun guy.” We know she’s a herder but haven’t spent the $60 to test her genes. After ten years, who cares. We know her, I know her from tip to tail. It doesn’t matter what breeds she represents. Please adopt from your local shelter. Dee

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Dog Buddies

Posted on July 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

For the past year, I’ve run in to this older couple with their two dogs, always on a walk. For some reason I was drawn to them and ask how they’re doing from time to time.

Over the past year we’ve run into each other 8-10 times and something was familiar. I found out today that they were neighbors 30 years ago. The story gets better than that but I need to introduce myself first and see how it goes from there.

Many things change over 30 years. I grew up and got older. They were already grown-ups but I recognized them from home. I didn’t piece it together until today because I knew (or thought) they lived elsewhere. Let’s see what happens. Dee

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