There's this volcano in Iceland...

I watched SNL last night and their opening bit was a skit with Kristin Wigg as the Icelandic singer Bjork. She was being interviewed by "Larry King". Well just click here to watch it for yourself. It make me laugh.

As did this cartoon from our newspaper. I've listened to the pronunciation of this volcano and don't understand it and read it phonetically and still can't say it.

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But in all seriousness, I feel bad for all affected by the ash, the stranded travellers and the economic fallout to mention a few. But most of all I feel for the animals that live in the area of the volcano. What about the people who live there you may wonder, don't you feel bad for them? Certainly I do, their homes are covered in ash and their possessions ruined. I can't imagine the clean up involved. As for the people that stayed and didn't evacuate; well yes, they're living in virtual hell right now but why didn't they LEAVE? Rescue crews went in to get them and they had to be rescued themselves. By staying not only do they place their own lives in jeopardy but the very lives of those who go in after them. Similar to people who choose to ride out hurricanes rather than evacuate.

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The animals couldn't be evacuated. Horses, livestock and the poor swans are swimming in ash covered water. Please take a minute and watch this. We joke about it because we're not living it. Eventually the ash will circle the globe and we'll all feel the effects to one extent or another.

People of Wegmans

One online site I visit regularly is People of Walmart. I'm always amazed that people go out in public looking the way they do. We have WalMarts in my town and I always have my camera with me but somehow never see any of those beauties that show up on that site. BUT...

Having my camera with me finally paid off although not at WalMart. We happen to be in Wegman's, a chain of grocery stores here and as it was we were in the more upscale store. Imagine my surprise when I saw this...

I couldn't believe it. A guy with real metal armor on his leather jacket. Totally out of the blue in a store where you see people in fur coats shopping for groceries.
He stopped at the Indian food bar and I couldn't resist snapping a picture. I had to do it fast and I sort of felt bad doing it. My son said he'd probably pose if you asked him and he'd tell us all about the world he lives in but I couldn't ask. My other son felt right at home since he see weird outfits in NYC all the time.

Happy Birthday

Since Wednesday our oldest has been in from NYC and his brother came home from school yesterday. It's been nice having the two of them here, just like old times. I'd better not get too used to it because Cam goes back to school tomorrow and Kev returns to NYC on Monday. While they're both here we celebrated Cam's birthday out at a Japanese hibachi restaurant called Plum Garden. I'd never been to this type of place and we had a lot of fun.

One of the first things I noticed was these little cuties at our table. His shirt made me smile.

The boys had fun catching rice balls tossed by the chef.

I passed on that.


My steak was delicious, I just wished for french fries instead of fried rice.

Music to my Ears

There's much to love about my new car. The smooth, quiet ride, the heated leather seats which I have to say are pretty awesome and fantastic when you have cold like we do here in western New York. But what I love the most and didn't think I cared about is this...

Sirius XM Radio. I have a short commute to work, seriously, three minutes, four on a snowy day but in that time I never hear any music because all the morning shows do for the most part is TALK. So everyday on the way to school I would listen to my Allman Brothers CD, Blue Sky to be specific.

It's a nice, calm song to start your day with if you're going to be working with 30 kindergartners.
Back to XM radio. I LOVE it. No commericals, no talk, okay maybe a smidge but it's 99.5% music. I love that I can listen to any genre I want and most of the time its set to 60's on 6, 70's on 7 or 80's on 8. Where else can you hear these blasts from the past like Tubular Bells from The Exorcist movie, Too Shy by Kajagoogoo, Manic Monday by the Bangles which I didn't know this, was written by Prince. I even learned that Rogers is his last name. Then there's Bobby Sherman's Julie, Julie, Julie, Do you love me? Don't laugh, I loved Bobby Sherman, in 1970 when this song came out I was 12 years old.

Or how about Men Without Hats and the Safety Dance? Gotta love it.

Another song from 1968, I was 10 years old; Jeannie C. Riley's Harper Valley PTA. You don't hear that on regular radio.






Lest you think I'm about the cheese, here's another favorite from 1970's recorded by Janis Joplin for her album Pearl just several days before she died. I also learned that Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster wrote this song. I love me some Kristofferson and that raspy voice. On a side note, A Star is Born, great movie with Babs.



Another blast from the past, Gordon Lightfoot 1979. This song can bring on the tears.




I don't listen to much popular music of today, I prefer to remain in the past with the songs of my youth. At times it brings back such happy memories and other times makes me feel blue for the time gone by and what once was.

Before I even got in the car to drive home from the dealer I'd decided that I'd use the free three months of the XM radio and that would be that but now $12.95 a month is a small price to pay for all of these memories.

Pay it Forward

I'm not a fan of golf. I have no interest in playing or watching it. I sometimes watch The Masters because of the beauty of the course with the flowering trees and grounds. Other than that, it's too slow. (I grew up as a rink rat and hockey's my game. That sport makes everything look slow) Hubby plays golf in a league and almost every week he comes home and complains about his game. I see his frustration and ask "why do you play it then?" For me, if it's frustrating, forget it, I have no interest at all. I hate the feeling of frustration.

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What makes me write about golf today? I read a story (read it here) about professional golfer Phil Mickelson. His wife and his mother are both suffering from cancer and being treated by the same physician, Doctor Tom Buchholz of Houston's M.D. Anderson Center. Over the weekend at a PGA event, The Shell Houston Open, Mickelson invited Dr. Buchholz and some other medical staff to said tournament. With three holes left Mickelson was out of contention so he asked Drl Buchholz if he would like to caddy for him.

I thought this was a very uplifting story. I seldom read the comments on stories but decided to read more than a few on this one. I'd say that of the comments I read 95% were positive. But you know there are always a few who have to piss all over things. One commenter called Mickelson unprofessional. Another said it was strategic and fake. Someone asked how it made the doctor look, as in he was asked to be a slave to carry his bag. Still another said the doctor didn't deserve it, he makes millions off the sick. Some guy wondered why Mickelson would even bother asking the doctor.

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People, lighten up. I don't know how it was unprofessional, if it was a problem some PGA official would've been all over it. Do you really think the doctor took the gesture to caddy as some form of degredation? As far as making millions, I'm not sure many doctors make millions anymore and if they could save the life of my loved one they deserve every penny. As far as asking the doctor to caddy, for me, if someone is doing something or taking care of someone I love I would want to show them any kind of thanks that I could and I thought this was perfect for Dr. Buchholz.

Tiger could learn a little about character from Phil.

No Pretty Pictures Today

Why are some people so inconsiderate of others around them? Why are they so rude when they don't have to be? Why do they act like it's all about them? I wondered that twice today.

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Case number one~ Public restrooms; I try to avoid them at all costs but sometimes nature has other ideas. Today I was in JC Penny at a nice mall when I used the ladies room. Do they leave their own bathroom like this, with toilet paper all over the floor and pee on the seat? I open a stall and see that someone, to put it bluntly has left their shit unflushed. Now of course I could go in, flush the toilet and use it myself but for some reason I just can't. I open another stall and see another women and I use the term loosely has not flushed and she's riding the crimson tide. GROSS. Just flush the freakin' toilet because I can't.

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Case number two~People that throw things out of their car. That's littering but this went beyond that. We come out of the grocery store and I see that someone has thrown the contents of a cup of something out into the lot, not just on the asphalt but all over the side of my car door. Now in all honesty I sometimes will empty the ice out of a drink into the parking lot but I throw the cup away. As hubby pulls out of the parking space we see two Coke cans that were under our car. The world would be much more pleasant if people didn't behave like animals. Oh but wait, animals don't foul their own nest.

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Okay, rant over.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I'm coming to you today from the swing on my back patio. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and it is warm out. Yesterday in good old Rochester New York we broke a temperature record with a high of 86 degrees at 3:30 PM. I don't think it got that warm once last summer. I'm just crossing my fingers that this isn't our "summertime".


Thanks to the the cool, crappy summer of 2009 our utility bill went down 30 bucks a month. We're on the budget billing system which means we pay the same amount every month to avoid those gigantic heating bills in the winter. As a matter of fact we had paid so much over our actual usage that for the next two months we don't get charged at all!


Now several things may have contributed to this change of usage. For one thing as I said, last summer was so horrible that I think we used our central air all of two times. Trust me, central air will cause your electric meter to spin wildly. Also now that we're empty nesters for most of the year there are no kids at home leaving every light on in the joint, running their computers and charging all their electronic devices.


I should mention that I spent 18 years of my life working for our utility company and one of my jobs during that tenure was to adjust customer's budget billing. If I saw a substantial drop in some one's usage it could be for several reasons. If their gas and electric meters are in the basement and the meter reader couldn't get in every other month to read them we'd be estimating the bill based on previous usage. The customer may be calling in the reads after reading the meter themselves and not reading it correctly. Or maybe the meter is running slow and is ready for a systematic meter change. Most likely what I'd do is make arrangements for a special read which means contacting the customer and making an appointment to get inside to get an actual read.

Well our both of our meters are outside and are read every other month by a meter reader so I'm chalking it up to the fact that the two of us don't use as much electricity or gas to heat our house, water heater and dryer as we did when there were four of us living here.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be.

The Calendar Says SPRING

Ever have one of those days where everyone and everything seems to bother you or piss you off? I'm having an entire weekend like that. Poor hubby is taking the brunt of it but not as much as he could be. My parents are staying with us for a week while waiting to close on their house so I have to be somewhat good. What I really want to do is go up into my bedroom, close the door, climb into bed with my computer and book and speak to no one. UGH.

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On another note, here it is spring time along the banks of Lake Ontario...

The spray from the waves has encased the vegetation in ice.

While the sun was shining it was very deceiving, it was cold that day (March 25), only 25 degrees outside. My eye caught the sparkle of the ice as we were driving along the lake shore.



This is my favorite picture with the ice covering the stones making them looking like glass. At least my daffodils are up about 3 inches. The renewal of the Earth can't come soon enough for me. Maybe then I'll come out of my room.

R I T

Saturday night we went to a Atlantic Hockey championship hockey game featuring Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers vs Sacred Heart Pioneers. My sister and I figured out that we've been attending RIT hockey games for at least 38 and maybe 40 years now. My dad is an alumni and as a young teenage girl who wouldn't want to hang around and watch college guys?

Anyways five years ago RIT's hockey program went to Division 1 and success has been tougher.

Over the years the players, coaches, students and fans have changed but one thing has not...

The Corner Crew. This group of students have passed down chants, taunts and cheers through generations. They always sit in the corner of the rink by the opposing goalie. Their goal is to rattle him as much as they can. Both schools had their pep band there and took turns playing tunes. Each time Sacred Heart would finish a song the Corner Crew would chant, "Our band's better than yours!"
Though words and signs they've done it all. Some things never change. Well not true, for years there was a student who would dress up as the grim reaper complete with scythe and pace along the boards but I haven't seen him for several years.

The Ref Hater sat in front of us and boy she lived up to her moniker, she was loud and tough. Thank goodness we were behind her. I would've been so embarrassed if my mom came to a game dressed in that. Thanks mom.

She even had her nails done in neon orange with tiger stripes.

This picture was hard to surreptitiously snap and this was the best I could do.

The last two minutes of the game out came the keys to jingle.

Start the bus!

In the end RIT won 6 -1 and have earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. This is the farthest they've ever gotten and are on a 10 game winning streak. Speaking of streak, years ago in the 70's when streaking was popular we were at a game when a large group of streakers ran around the rink. What was even funnier was my mom try to cover the eyes of us three girls. For me it was my first glimpse of a naked man.

Upon leaving the game I was greeted by a mother of two of my students. One is now in second grade and the other is currently in my kindergarten now. I knew she was RPD but didn't know she was mounted. Her horse's name is Mr. C and I got it straight from the horses mouth he's coming for a visit to our school in May.

It was a good evening.

RIT plays again on Friday but not locally.

Welcome!

Seriously though, my favorite season is spring. A time of rebirth, nature coming to life again after a long cold winter.

While my dogwood tree is still naked right now soon the buds that it set in the fall will bloom.

I Know, I Know

Okay, I know I said I'd never watch American Idol again if Adam Lambert didn't win but I caved and have been tuning in this season. I'm sorry to say it seems to me this is suckiest season ever. There isn't one guy I like, well maybe that Casey guy because he's cute (even though he's blond)as well as modest. But I have found my favorite and I called her the winner the first time I heard her sing. She's nothing to look at but I like the way she sings.

Crystal Bowersox~her voice to me is a combination of Janis Joplin and Carol King with just the right amount of raspiness. She's not a glamour girl but I do wish she'd get rid of the dreadlocks. The judges weren't crazy about her rendition of The Stones classic; You Can't Always Get What You Want which just happens to be my number one favorite song as well as my mantra. If she doesn't win I'll never...

Guess who got a new car??

ME! ME!

Well actually we both did but I'll be the one driving it most of the time.

It's a 2010 Honda Accord EX-L. I love it. Its our first vehicle with leather seats and they're heated! Today we went on a little road trip to a favorite restaurant of ours about 90 miles away. Imagine our surprise and disappointment when we arrived and it was closed. Not closed for the day but permanently.

This beaded heart was made by our oldest son when he was in kindergarten. It has hung from the rear view mirror of every car we've had since. It started in a 1988 white Honda Accord, next a black Chevy Blazer, red Dodge minivan, teal Dodge minivan, red Ford Explorer (I loved that truck), a red Honda CR-V and now our black cherry red Honda Accord. Over the years the beads have faded but I'll never be without it in any vehicle we ever own.

Well Hello

Maybe you've noticed that I haven't been around much but probably not. I haven't felt like blogging; got some issues going on but all will be fine. I have to accept things as they are. That's life I guess. In other news...

The phone call I'd been waiting for came through at 5:40 this morning; SNOW DAY!

Yesterday I told my kindergartners that I'd see them on Monday.

I was able to go back to sleep then didn't get dressed until noon. Hubby had to snow blow the 14 inches of white stuff in the driveway while I lounged inside.

Cody enjoys the snow except he gets snowballs between the pads on his paws and on the feathers of his legs. I find them all over the house after he comes in.
The snow looks like sparkly frosting on our Japanese maple.

Same tree without the flash, do you see the moon?

Now it can all melt away. I can't wait for the new red leaves to bud out on this tree in the spring.

My son has a VIP in his hospital for a heart proceedure. If he wasn't who he is, he'd be in my son's unit and he could be his nurse.

He's Baaaaaaack...

to college that is.We returned our youngest to school today for his second semester of his sophomore year and it's always bittersweet for me. I always feel like a little piece of me has broken away and left an empty space. I love having him home and this last break I really saw a change in him. He's grown so much, not physically, he's actually lost weight and is down to a size 30 waist, but intellectually. He's matured and has his own thoughts and ideas. We've had several somewhat heated debates while he's been home the last five weeks.

From prison reform to should juveniles be given life in prison sentences to equality and discrimination in the United States. I see the joie de vevre in him. The activist in him. The youthful hopefulness for the future. I see that my influence has come to fuition. He is his own person, individual, responsible, an independant thinker and a leader. Some of our discussions have been heated at times. For the first time I saw myself as being the older generation. He's young and has the world before him. I'm older and have seen much over the years. I see things that have changed but not for the good. He's young and wants to save the world and thinks his generation can. Maybe they can, I thought mine would. He is so right about one thing, the root of most of America's trouble is the scourge of drugs. They're behind the downfall of so many things in our civilization from crime to over crowed prisons to the break up of families and so much more. Maybe this generation can be the one to over come so many social ills. I can only hope and if they can, my son will be part of it.

A Little Birdie

This small olive green colored little bird called a large-billed reed warbler and is one of the rarest in the world. It was first cataloged in India in 1868 and hadn't been seen since until 2002 in Thialand. Very little is known about it since they are so scarce.

In 2008 the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) discovered one of these birds. They returned in 2009 and banded 20 of these warblers. What is so amazing to me is not that they discovered this bird but where they found it. WCS found it in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan along the border of China. What I want to know is why a group of scientists can find one of the worlds most rare birds but the United States Armed Forces cannot find Bin Ladin. (Don't get me wrong, I know they're looking hard, people are losing their lives doing it. I just think he's a master at hiding). It's hoped that the find of this bird will boost tourism in Afghanistan. In 2007 the country made between 4 - 7 billion dollars in tourism. Who would go there for a vacation?

There are certain words in the English language that some use indicriminatly without really thinking about the exact meaning. Take asshole for instance. Some may bandy it around among friends, some may use it to be mean and spiteful. Which ever way you use it an asshole is nothing I'd want to be referred to as. If you want to get specific it's the orifice where human waste leaves the body. You can call me a bitch but don't call me an asshole.

That title is reserved for the biggest one of all.

I purposely didn't post this rant when it happened thinking maybe his comments were misconstrued but as time's gone by he stands by them so here goes... I cannot stomach this man for what he stands for and the statements he makes. His remarks regarding the earthquake in Haiti are truly over the top. In case you haven't heard them he stated that,

"Everything this president sees is a political opportunity, including Haiti and he will use it to burnish his credentials with minorities in this country and around the world and to accuse republicans of having no compassion."

and if that wasn't enough he says,

"This will play right into Obama's hands. He's humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their shall we say "credibility" with the black community-in both the light and dark-skinned black community. It's made to order for them."

Why in light of this disaster is Limbaugh trashing the United States' efforts to help and accusing Obama of using the crisis for political gain. How is this a political thing? I don't understand how a person can be so right wing, so closed minded as to criticize anyone whose views don't mimic his. The scary thing is millions follow this man and take his opinions as their own. Look at his home boy George W. Bush. He put his head in the sand with the Hurricane Katrina disaster. No criticism there but maybe that was because of the ethnicity of the people affected by that disaster. Is Limb a racist? I tend to think so.

Limbaugh's tirade continued when he insulted a caller to his show who dared to call him out on his poisonous assertions calling her a blockhead with tampons in her ears. He's denounced the president for helping the Haitians for his own agenda but let's turn the tables, isn't he doing the same thing here? Using this disaster to promote his own special brand of hate.

Jon Stewart got it right when he said "I think I know the cause of your heart trouble: you don't have one."

HELP

There's always something going on in the world that reminds me of how good I have it in my little slice of life. Both my husband and I have jobs that are secure, we have a warm house to live in, food on my table, some money for extras. We don't have hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. There are unfortunate people all over the world that need help and right now it is the people of Haiti. The devastation from Tuesday's quake is horrendous. Hospitals, schools, prisons, homes, businesses are flattened with many people trapped.

I know that the blogging community is very generous and I ask that you please think of the suffering Haitian people and if you can make a donation to help them. I chose UNICEF but there are others to choose from. Click the links to check them out.

UNICEF USA

Doctors Without Borders

American Red Cross

I'm sure anything you can spare will help.

Someone to Love

Serving our country in the military must be the hardest job going. I have the utmost respect for anyone who wears or wore a uniform. I'm a little too young to have had any friends who served in Vietnam and now I know parents whose children are in Iraq or Afghanistan. My nephew was in Iraq and took part in the mission that captured the palace where Sadam's sons were living. In the military you're at the mercy of the Commander in Chief and today's soldiers will most likely be sent overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan. I personally believe we will never be out of there. Imagine day in and day out wondering if this will be the day that someone or something will kill you. Then there are the families that these men and women leave behind left to wonder the same thing every day. Add in the horror and suffering they must see everyday. I can't

fathom it.

Whether you agree or disagree with the two wars that we've been thrust into, the men and women serving are some one's son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, grandchild, aunt, uncle and friend and I feel for them. As a mother, my children are my most precious possession and it would be torture for me to have them where human life is so easily disregarded. It makes my blood boil when I hear of another soldier killed in the line of duty in a place we have no business being. My heart hurts for the innocent citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who are also being killed by both sides. I sometimes think that if mothers ruled the world there would be no wars. In case you were wondering what The Runaway Bunny has to do with war I'll tell you... U.S. Army SPC Jason M. Johnson of Albion, NY was killed December 26, 2009 by an IED (improvised explosive device) while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Arghandab, Afghanistan. Johnson was 24 years old and on his second deployment with the 82nd Airbourne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At his funeral his mother Jenny requested that the book The Runaway Bunny be read aloud during the service. The book she explained was a favorite of Jason's as a young child and he would ask to have it read to him over and over again before bed.

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Jason M. Johnson was some one's son, grandson, brother, uncle and nephew.