Please lie down on the couch and tell me what's bothering you!

While lying in bed this morning, it made me happy to think about the new family members I have come in contact with through Face Book.  Cousins from Illinois, Arkansas, Virginia, Indiana and Georgia. It made me smile more to know that their families are dysfunctional too :-) I am excited to reconnect with such talented, intelligent and funny relation.  Then I became sad.... who can I share this good news with?  Dad........ is gone but would be so happy to know that extended family are now communicating. Mom.......would not even remember w

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ho they were and my sister......doesn't even want to communicate with family she knows. OK, enough with the mini depression.....My family glass is still undoubtedly half full.  Not only do I have wonderful, new extended family but I have the best in-law family ever.  The traditions my kids have learned have all come directly from the Hatfields. Most of the best times in the last 43 years, have been with them. So instead of whining about who's unavailable to share my news with, I'll just reiterate that I have the best Hatfield family, the best new Hewitt "finds" and the best friends around.... Thanks for listening.. therapy session is over!

In Lieu of Flowers...............

If you could have a favorite obituary.... this is mine!.... Enough said.....btw,  Rome, Ga.

Bailee Day

Not much time this morning so will just jot down some updates...

*   Bailee is spending the morning w/ Damma while Jess has a root canal.. :-(   :-( on the r.c. and :-)  :-) on B  *    Paint is going on in H.U.T.  (Hatfield's Underground Theater)   :-)

*   Today is my friend Leigh's birthday... today she begins her 4th decade.....The big 3-9  :-)

*   I learned today that a dear,old ( in time not birthdays) friend has the big C.   I hate it more than I can say :-( When will we realize that we need to spend more of "our" money on researching a cure and less on war... both with other countries and welfare!!!

*  Grandpa H. is ok after a scare this week-end.  They think he may have gotten a sliver of a lamb chop bone way down in his chest.He thought he was having a heart attack..... He's OK !!!! :-)

*   4 days till October... one of my very favorite months of the year....10-10   and the month we're off to visit Jeff and Heather!

OK, off to play with B.  Today she's putting three letters together to make words.... Did our kids do that at three and a half?

Business vs. Sports

If you're not a sports fan, click the X and say good bye.  You probably would have no interest, vested or otherwise, about today's rant of choice.
Braylon Edwards, a member of the New York Jets, my team of choice for this year, decided to go out last Monday night and have a bit of libation...I have no problem with that.  Is 5 a.m. a little late to be going home, probably. Is drinking and driving a very poor choice, absolutely.  Should one of the other teammates he was with have driven, probably not! Should this be any business of Rex Ryan, Woody Johnson or even the NFL?...I vote , "No!"  Now, calm down and listen to my rationale....or my opinion is maybe a better word.  Here's my school of thought.  NFL football is a business!  That happened when collective bargaining and unions entered the picture,  That happened when players were offered millions of dollars to play 16 games (and I use the word game, lightly). That happened when the leagues began to generate a profit.  Coaches were hired to recruit men that would generate profit by winning the games.  They weren't hire to babysit, or turn boys into men, to make them polite, use the correct utensils and speak clearly when interviewed. They were hired to WIN FOOTBALL GAMES.  They made rules....OK, but in Braylon Edwards case, nothing was set in stone.  It was up to Rex Reed how he should be punished for his poor judgement.  As Rex said, "One play is enough for me. I was hired to win games and he helps."
When I was on our local Board of Education,  our superintendent was arrested for exactly the same lack of judgement. In the end, basically it was not our job to punish the man. There were no rules in his contract that said you will not drink, use drugs or carry a weapon while employed by this school district and obviously no consequences listed if the aforementioned happened.  If we wanted to take on that task, the wording would have been there.  Even a contract can't include every instance that could arise.
If Mr. Edwards were a college student playing football, my argument would be 360.  He was not!  In fact, I'm a firm believer that you can't fix stupid. It's even difficult to manage stupid, especially in a world where you can make over a million dollars per game.......Now that's stupid!

The Jets played and won a great game last night. Would they have won without number 17 in the line up?  Who knows, but they certainly wouldn't have had anything to talk about! I don't think it's anybody's BUSINESS!

Could it be the Tea?

Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.    Hmmm

Who would have thought the significance of tea would be so prolific?  Tea used as currency, tea used for barter, tea used as a political symbol, tea used as dye, tea used for confusion, tea used as a remedy and back full circle to being used as the latest symbol of concern , unrest and the "we're just not gonna take it anymore" philosophy. I actually understand that to some degree. I do not understand it being used as an excuse for a total clean sweep.  There's no broom, or cup of tea, capable of that. Unfortunately, every cause has it's wackos and their unrest but also it's thinkers and their merit.  I'm siding with the thinkers (of course I am....would I even admit otherwise?) The wackos detract from what we thinkers would like to portray. We'd like to think we're intelligent, reasonable, forthright, tax paying citizens.  We understand that there needs to be a government, someone to lead, make sensible laws and enforce them..hence the three strong branches of our government.  What we have seen from these branches in the last ten years appears to be a terminal case of Dutch Elm disease.  Our roots have become tangled, our bark is wearing thin and our leaves are changing color (no pun intended, well maybe a little one).  I'm not sure there's an immediate cure. Out with the old and in with the new probably isn't the answer. We have new and that's not working so well.  Maybe a potion of some old school with some new teachers might help and maybe add just of pinch of tea..... to spice it up a bit.!!!

Shine on Shine on Harvest Moon

The mellow Moon,
the changing leaves,
The earlier setting Sun,
Proclaim at last, my merry boys,
The harvest time begun.

Tonight's the Harvest Moon . The icing on my Fall cake.  There's no better sight than the full harvest moon shining on the cornfields across the road.  I wish I could "make" my camera take a good night photo. The temperatures are unusually warm for the end of September. It's predicted to be in the high 70's today and maybe reaching 90 tomorrow...Hello...it's Fall... the temps are supposed to... fall....... But true to upstate NY weather, Saturday will bring us only 60's....a 30 degree drop. Soon the frost will be on the pumpkins and it will be a joy to step outside and take a big deep breath.....of fresh air!

Good bye/ Hello

Good bye Summer. It was great seeing you and enjoying all the wonderful things you brought, the warm nights, the hot days, the welcome rain, the family reunions, the days on the lake, the camping trips and even the days being perched on the lawn mower. Strangely enough, your leaving excites me as much as your coming.....maybe a bit more. I enjoy the warmth you always bring but as my old body changes, hotter isn't better.I did, however; enjoy your visit. Come again!

Hello Fall.....I've been waiting for you!  I love absolutely everything about you. I love your temperatures, I love your colors, I love your smells, I love your sounds.I love all the things you allow me to do. You let me stay outside longer and enjoy. You let me actually turn on the oven and begin to cook a few more yummy dishes like chili, goulash, soups, stews and that wonderful apple crisp.  You let me reach into my closet for the comfy sweatshirt which is so much easier than finding the right thing to wear when it's 90...Getting warmer is simpler than getting cooler.. you can only take off so much and again, at my age, it ain't pretty.  I love the idea that we have so many birthdays in the fall.  Celebrating another year of existence is a wonderful milestone..whether you're turning 4 or turning 60.  We like birthdays!!!  My family is excited for fall too as it means hunting season.  I fret through the entire fiasco but they love it and after all, it does bring Jeffrey home!

Lee is actually up north hunting today on a filmed hunt.  Lee on TV... oh my!

So, I will enjoy my last few hours with my friend, Summer but I just can't hide the excitement that at 11.09 tonight the autumnal equinox will come through the door.  I'm not usually a late night visitor fan but I'll make an exception this time.  With the full moon on the rise tomorrow night, I think it will be able to find it's way to EIEIO with no problems. I'm not quite as excited about our next visitor due to arrive in 3 months so I will bask in the aura of autumn and live for the day!!!