Happy Independence Day!
Fireworks Finale from Six Flags Great America two years ago.
Bumper Sticker
Bumper sticker seen recently…
Happy Birthday to Me!
I was born on Fathers’ Day, and every so often my birthday falls on Fathers’ Day again. It did last year.
It was the Queen’s Birthday a few years ago (the date the UK celebrates, not her actual birthday which is in April).
I share my birthday with MC Escher, Newt Gingrich, Mohammed El Baeredai, the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Erin and Diane Murphy (Tabitha Stephens from Bewitched), Venus Williams, Barry Manilow, Greg Kinnear, Jason Patric, Thomas Hayden Church, Bobby Farrelly, Mark Linn Baker, Ralph Bellamy, Joe Piscopo, Kimber Eastwood (Clint‘s daughter), James Shigeta, George Clinton, Kami Cotler (the Waltons – Goodnight Elizabeth), Will Forte (SNL), and more.
I also share my birthday with Twitter friends @onefinejay and @littlebytesnews!
Happy Fathers’ Day!
Me and my dad, my first birthday, and Fathers’ Day the day before. I was born on Fathers’ Day. Dad‘s been gone since 2002. I miss him dearly. That’s a mixer beater in my hand, covered in frosting (so is my face). Mom was making a birthday cake.
Happy Fathers’ Day to all the fathers I know, husband, brothers-in-law, cousins, uncles, friends. Have a great day!
Some Bags I Made
| I made a bag for my “Rollator” walker-cart. There is a basket that fits below the seat, but it doesn’t hold a lot, and can interfere with the seat. So I made this bag that will hold water bottles, lunch, and has a bottle holder on the side for convenience. The main bag zips shutand there are three pockets on the front for smaller items that I want quick access to such as a phone or camera. I can still use the basket if I want.
It attaches to the cart with some buckles that were salvaged from an old pair of snow pants and velcro attaches on either side of the seat for stabilization. It’s easily removable for travel. |
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| I made a purse in the same fabric with an adjustable strap. It has a small pocket insideand two zippered pockets on the outside, one on each side. |  |
| I carry this black purse a lot. It has a couple of pockets inside for my Kindle and Nexus 7. My iPad Mini is too big for those pockets by just *thismuch*. I didn’t have the iPad when I made the bag. It also has two outside pockets on each side and another zippered pocket inside. |  |
| This one is a convertible bag that can be worn cross-body or around the waist. It has clips so the bag can be detached from the belt when worn around the waist. Detaching the bag can make it easier to find something |  |
Adam Levine and the First Amendment
So Adam Levine said, “I hate this country” on The Voice. He was expressing his disappointment in the results of the popular vote on the show.
People are saying that he shouldn’t have said that. That he “should watch what he says.”
NO. The First Amendment preserves his right to say anything he wants to say. It’s up to those who hear or listen to decide if they agree or disagree. If they are offended, or not. They will decide whether or not to purchase this man’s albums or songs. They will decide whether or not to watch The Voice. They will decide if it is something that they even care about.
He tweeted several things later to explain. But he shouldn’t need to. There should be no need to apologize unless he truly felt that he shouldn’t have said it. What other people think shouldn’t have anything to do with it.
Political Correctness has gone too far. It has undermined our right to free speech. You can’t say that! I can. If someone doesn’t like it, they can stop associating with me (another part of our rights that the First Amendment preserves and protects). If they are a client or customer of mine, they can stop using me as a vendor. If I’m in the entertainment industry they can stop watching my movies or TV shows, reading my books, listening to my music, or whatever.
Happy Mothers’ Day!
To all the Mothers in my life, those who have gone to Heaven, and those who are still here, Happy Mothers’ Day!
Mom as a young girl
Mom on Mothers’ Day 1962.
On the Boston Marathon Bombing
First, my prayers go out all those injured or killed and their families and friends.
If we run and hide under the bed as a result of this, they win. It’s as simple as that.
Whoever is responsible for this, the intent was to terrorize. Whether this was “sophisticated” or “unsophisticated” (and what difference does it make in any case?) to the bomber(s) it was successful. It may not have been as successful as the bomber(s) wanted it to be, but it worked.
We mustn’t let them win. We mustn’t let ourselves be afraid to do everyday things. We mustn’t let ourselves be afraid to be in crowds, or participate in organized events. We mustn’t be afraid to let ourselves have fun.
We also need to let our local, state, and federal government representatives and officials know that “reactionary legislation” is NOT what is needed now. That’s shutting the barn door after the horses have escaped. Reactionary legislation almost always causes more harm than good, and the harms are always “unintentional.”
In our zeal to find out who is responsible and bring them to justice, let’s also not have another situation like Richard Jewell in Atlanta. Let’s not focus on, and ruin the life of, an innocent person.
To every person who ran in to help, those who pulled aside the barricades and flags, who ran in with wheelchairs to transport the injured out of the area, to those who treated all the injured: Thank you.
RIP Bitsy Cat
Back in November of 1997 I had two cats and two kids. I went to a company party and somehow my queen, Mally, got out. I called the county animal shelter and told them my cat had gotten out, and I was looking to see if she had been turned in there. I told them she was small and black with three white spots, one on her throat, one on her chest, and one on her belly. They said, oh yes, she’s here. So I went to get her. It wasn’t her. It was a tiny, little kitten who climbed up on the cat gym and ran up to my shoulder and sat there and purred in my ear. She chose me. She’s much larger in the photo below than she was when she first sat on my shoulder. She wasn’t any taller than my head sitting there the first time.
Bitsy on my shoulder
I went to the adoption center the next day to get her. I had to pick her up at the vet, they said she was being spayed. Now this was a tiny cat. She looked like she was six weeks old. The vet said she was six months old. Two days later I found Mally hiding under the neighbor’s house and I was able to get her to come out, and she never wanted to go outside again.
The tiny kitten liked to sleep on my chest, or my shoulder. At night she slept on my neck – it was a good thing she was so tiny. She stayed tiny even as she grew. She never got over six pounds.
We were going to call her “Just Cat”, but she was so small. I kept calling her an “Itsy Bitsy Kitsy” and Bitsy is what stuck. We sometimes called her Queen Elizabeth as well, since Bitsy could be a diminutive of Elizabeth and she certainly was a diminutive cat.
She was a cuddly cat, but only on her terms. She cuddled with the toms we had (Dodger – the one she first met when she arrived and then Duncan who came to us after Dodger took the Rainbow Bridge.) After a few years she cuddled with Mally a lot. It was funny, because they were both small, black cats.
Put the two together and you had a normal to large cat. The two together looked like a two-headed cat sometimes.
After Mally took the Rainbow Bridge we adopted an adult gray pastel tortie that we named Liath (Gaelic for gray – pronounced Leah.) Liath was okay with Bitsy to start, but for the past several years Liath has hissed and growled every time she saw Bitsy. I’d have our little dog and Bitsy on my lap, and if Liath saw Bitsy there she wouldn’t come up. If Liath was on my lap and Bitsy came up Liath would immediately leave. I don’t know what her issue was, but she doesn’t have to worry about it any more.
It’s tough. She was a big part of our lives for a long time. Liath’s now the oldest cat. She’s 13 or 14, and she’s one of our “fat” cats. Duncan is our other “fat” cat. He came to us in 2005 so he’s 8 already. Time does fly.
Our animal companions do not live as long as we would like them to. All we can do is love them and cherish them while we are blessed with their presence.
He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Happy Easter!
