THE NAUGHTY CHAIR

A CURMUDGEON ??????

Now I ask you does a curmudgeon like Christmas, children, ice cream, dogs, thrift shops, camping and chooses"Meet me in Saint Louis" as their favorite movie? I don't think so.

THE CRITICAL CRITIC

OK, Australia is a really bad movie. I have decided that the critics that were kindly toward it, didn't see it. They must have sent their 14 year old daughters or kindly elderly aunt ,who reads
romance novels ,and spliced their reviews with the info that the studio sends them. I mean this movie is over acted, over directed, badly written and just plain ridiculous.Unless of course you believe that a 7 year old, three foot tall boy can stop 1500 stampeding cattle, by staring them down on the very edge of a cliff.If it was supposed to be funny(it wasn't) or a fantasy(No) then I could accept it. BUT IT WAS A SERIOUS MOVIE.And furthermore it forever spoiled the "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" song, which I used to like

EIGHT YEARS TODAY(MARRIED)

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? AND TOMORROW WE ARE GOING TO THE OPERA(CARMEN) I HAVE NEVER GONE TO THE OPERA, SUSIE AND I ALMOST DID BUT I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE TICKET PRICES. SO THIS IS WHAT I FOUND OUT IF YOU DON'T MIND SEATING IN THE CEILING , YOU ONLY HAVE TO PAY $65, IF YOU WANT GOOD SEATS, THEN IT IS MORE LIKE $350, THAT'S PER SEAT!

OH NO

THE PURPLE ROOM IS NOT PURPLE ANYMORE

AMERICA WINS

What Obama has done is engage people in politics for the first time in a very long time. This brings politics back to the people. It feels like my vote does count(even though I lost the gay marriage one) I am just sooooo happy! I am just so relieved! I am just so grateful!

ADDENDUM TO PREVIOUS POST

FORGOT TO ADD.... THE BEST THING ABOUT WORKING AT THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN CENTER WAS SEEING THE PARENTS , WITH THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN(10 and up) WHO WERE WORKING RIGHT ALONG SIDE THEM, USING THEIR OWN CELL PHONES ,THEY WERE BUSILY CALLING OUT OF STATE AND FOLLOWING THE SAME SCRIPT.

TIME TO VOTE

I had a very interesting weekend working the phones at the Obama campaign headquarters in Ventura. On Saturday I called registered Democrats in New Mexico urging them to early vote and telling them where their polling place was one sweet little old 85 year old lady said" drop dead and go to hell" but most of the other people were polite. On Sunday I called all registered voters in Indiana and most were going to vote for Obama and had already been called 2 or 3 times, but were nice and wanted to talk about the election. One bonus for me was my awful cheap old cell phone stopped working after two hours, even though I was plugged in to my charger and the socket. So I got a new much better phone from good old Costco. Yea!

Now we just have to wait .For you that don't care or want the same old policy of the last eight years you can not imagine how nervous the rest of us are. In my long life this is the election of a lifetime.

JUST FOR JENNIFER AND SCOTT

This started out itty bitty but after the Master Gardner got hold of it it turned into a big beautiful Rose. Thank You

WHY I LOVE MY CLOTHESLINE

Oh yes! This (clothesline) is a great invention. There you are outside, nothing to do but day dream, smell the nice clean clothes and even better, putting those sun smelly sheets on your bed. What a treat. Most people don't know of this invention because they are too young. They think it is a chore to shove clothes in a dryer, listen to the noise and check to see if they are dry. My clothesline is a magic clothesline, instantly returning me to my youth, but no diapers, no bad dogs tearing sheets off the line and no forgetting to get the clothes off before it rains.So there it is my favorite NEW thing. It is such a good secret I think I will keep it to myself.

THE CRITICAL CRITIC

Go see Appaloosa, it is really a good movie. A old fashioned Western with Ed Harris, Renee Zellwiger and Viggo Mortenson. What I really liked was the bad guys were sooooo bad that you were happy when they got shot. The sets were great and it was a well written story. More or less a perfect movie. You really did not know how it would end. I also saw August Rush, and even though the critics did not like it and even though it was a fairy tale and even though it was slow at the begining I ended up liking it. And of course I loved the music.So two for two

Now back to the forbidden subject of politics, Chris's comments made me a happy muna.

REGISTER ON LINE

http://justvote.org/registration?gclid=CPfJqvaLmJYCFSJIagodYFh85w

CORRECTION

THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE IS OCTOBER 20th. The other deadline must have been for absentee voting. so all you good citizens you still have time to register.

House exchange # 5

Why Vote

OK I know this is unwanted information. However, remember not voting is still a vote. It can effect an election. If you don't care about what is happening to our economy,if you are not worried about health care( it is so expensive that your place of employment might not give you insurance) if you don't care about Iraq and the possibility of going to war with Iran or Russia, well then don't complain if any of these issues suddenly effect you. I know it is overwhelming and it is hard to know which side to believe, but there is plenty of information on the Internet. Here are some web sites

pewresearch.org drudgereport.com thepage.time.com politico.com realclearpolitics.com

The bottom line is it is a privilege to be able to vote. I also want to add that if you have children you are a role model for them. Don't you want them to grow up to be good citizens?

THE CRITICAL CRITIC

OK I snuck off to see "The Women" and well sorry to say it was not very good.I really wanted to like it. But the cast did not have any chemistry. They did not seem like real friends. Also I am way old enough to remember the original which was very good. This is not the same story. On the other hand we DVR'd " Bridge to Terabithia" and I really liked it. The acting was much better and the story made sense. Yes I cried but this is a charming movie. I would give " The Women" about a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 and "Bridge" a 8.



So today I go to my class on red states versus blue states. A note to my Grandchildren. Please get informed, please register to vote, please VOTE. Of course I want you to vote for Obama, but more than anything I want you to vote. This is your country, your future, your duty.And that is the end of the lecture. Sometimes I can't help it, it just comes out.Well while I am at it, Susie and Abby and Katie clean your apartment or room. Ya know it is all about respect.Lazy does not run in our family.

Victim's Advocate

I think it is time to talk about what I do about twice a week. As you all know I am a volunteer Victims Advocate, what you don't know is what I do. Well when someone, either man or women wants a temporary restraining order against some one they come to our office, they go through intake and someone determines if they have a good case.They are then required to come the following day and go through a workshop, which I do. It is part PowerPoint presentation to help them fill out the forms correctly and partly help in making sure that their declaration (what happened) is fully descriptive. Not enough to say he/she yelled at me and called me names, but be explicit. At some point someone from the Coalition Against Family Violence comes in and makes a short presentation. They are attorneys and offer free legal help via phone as well as shelter. As you might imagine people are very emotional. Every single workshop I have done has at least one man seeking aT.R.O against his wife/partner. We have also had mother's vrs daughters, sister against brothers and I am sure the list goes on.

The following day I go to court with everyone from the workshop. I can't speak but I offer support and even stand or sit with them in front of the judge. Today two of my five people did not get their restraining orders. Of course this upsets me and them too. The workshop takes about four hours and court can be 30 minutes or two hours, depending on the judge. This is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I got two big hugs today and one lady(older) said she could not have done it without our help. It is a great, free service.Amazing that so much is offered for free.
When they come back for their permanent restraining order, we help them again. By the way a restraing order says stay 100 yards(football field) away, no text messaging or calling and turn all, guns into the police department. If someone breaks it they can be arrested. It is especially hard for women with children. Sometimes they want the fathers to see their kids, sometimes not.I do a workshop tomorrow, my third day this week.Wonder what it will bring.

GOOD BYE TO MATTHEW

OH SO MUCH FUN

We got to go sailing with Ken and Patsy. This is Ken's boat and I bet it has been a year since he took it out.We had a great time. Please note the buoy with sea lions on it. They cost me a dinner. Ken suckered me into betting him that it was not a boat. From far away it sure looked like one!

ALL THE REST

LOTS OF CASH

He is very good and very cute and very loved.

Family night at the Silver Pony

Well it seems that at a certain neighborhood bar, kids can go until 7pm. So... here we all are having a great time at the Silver Pony

Lots to say

Ok, I know that it has been a while. so here goes ,the trip to Iceland and England was even more wonderful than just the amazing countries because Jennifer and Scott were with us. It has taken some time to get back in the groove. I did not want to watch or read news, it was just so good to be removed from all of that. Slowly I am being sucked back in. My volunteer job is mostly interesting and rewarding. There was one day when the lady wanting the restraining order had willingly gone to his house, got in a fight and did not want to leave. Ya had to wonder about that one. Tho I am glad when the abuse is mild or questionable. Of course there is often a"he said,she said" thing going on. Anyway today should be interesting because I called both parties and informed them about the restraining order and both were irate and indicated they would be in court today. This is unusual. And then one woman got a restraining order against her husband who is in jail. No brainer.

Certainly I am very concerned about Carina, tho I feel she is going to be alright. Lots of love out there for you, Carina. Then my almost sister, Mary Ellen's 30 something daughter has AML (leukemia) the same kind that Jennifer's friend, Carol has. This is very worrisome. Mary Ellen and Tom have had to move to Emberly's house in Las Vegas to be at the hospital with her.She has been in the hospital almost a month.We still do not know when she can leave. And more sad news. my friend Cara's beautiful horse had to be put down.

Happy news is we are finally going to meet the newest member of the family. Yes tomorrow(Thursday) we will drive to Phoenix for two days. Oh and,no surprise, Anaya has been recommended to the gifted child program, after a week and a half in kindergarten. Have to take Shadow to the park so please family stay well, get well.

two more

The first so you could see the view from the hot tub and the other, because it is such a good picture.

More Iceland and England pictures

The first picture is the dining room in our Iceland house.



, Ray finally got into the hot tub.





Flowers from the Botanical gardens in Iceland.
Jennifer and Scott trying to figure out "how to get there" England
Swan and baby in King James Park, England

How to make a vegetarian out of you.

Another picture from the museum

I forgot to post this cute picture. In the same house with the disco floor was a drum ,guitars etc. A father,obviously a professional drummer, because he was good, was playing the drums. His cute little daughter didn't enjoy it so much.

Still having fun

We have now experienced all the Iceland weather ,except snow. It has been very cold,windy and rainy today. The first museum we went to was a collection of old houses.also where Jennifer feed the horse and shrunk in size. I am also including a picture of the Blue Lagoon that I took from inside. In answer to Gita, yes it is a hot spring. They built a geo thermal energy plant and when they saw how blue the water was they decided to make this gigantic pool. It is really fun, with water falls and everything. it is as big as it looks and it is what Iceland is noted for.One explanation, the Blackburn name was in the print shop. We are guessing that it is the name of a font. Also the dance floor was in one of the building, I guess a tribute to the disco age.And Jennifer was delivering a "get it together" sermon the museum church.