it's SOAPBOX time....

Anyone who is not politically motivated, may not even care about this blog, but leave it to me to opine a little.

Last week Dubya decided to use his veto power (the first of his tenure) and go against "expanding funding for stem cell research." Now first one has to recognize that Dubya is so anti stem cell research, he said years ago he would never support the cause. Does anyone else recognize the wording of the bill? Keywords "expanding funding" - haha guess what there is already federal monies going to research, which happened under Dubya's watch.

States are so adamant about the research venue they are coming up with additional funds on their level. Privately funded research in this area is also growing. Questions arise about the idiot (oops), he is such a contradiction - since he says "destroying an embryo is murder" (thus the veto), yet he still supports fertility clinics which destroy the excess embryos by the thousands. DUH?!?!?

Week before last, he managed a photo-op with "cute babies" adopted from embryos. Statistics are: 128 out of 400,000 frozen embryos (.032 percent) have ever been adopted. (Newsweek, July 31, 2006, Jonathan Alter). This amazes me. There are thousands of children available for adoption, which most couples prefer, rather than picking out an embryo to culture and adopt as a viable dependent.

The scientific breakthroughs so far, have been incredible. Scientists are actually finding other ways to retrieve and culture stem cells, i.e. simple skin cells. Umbilical cord and placenta blood are prime targets that need to be banked. Ultimately, we (the scientists) need these stem cells to hopefully be able to cure diseases and replace vital bodily services. But apparently, the Dubya groups would rather not be able to save the lives of their constituents, just brainwash them during their brief term on earth.

Religion has to be removed from the scientific field. As long as the conservative's "sanctity of life" platform prevails, there will be NO cures.

Just a bit of humor now, I certainly do not have any memories while I was in the embryonic stage (since I did share that with a twin), and doubt anyone else has memories either. A small piece of protoplasm, smaller than the head of a pin, contains the possible cure for so many dreaded diseases, yet strikes fear in the minds of the Christian right.

OOOH, do ya hate me now. Wish I could get that Bush clock to move a little faster. Ta-da I am done!!

TTFN, everyone stay healthy.

stinking, lousy summer cold....

I still have the damn cold/flu thing going on and really feel like crap. Now I have this icky eye infection thing going on - guess I will have to give in and call the Doc and get a miracle drug of sorts.

We (Mom2, herson and fiance, the daughter and I) went to E.J.'s wedding last Saturday at THE BARN in Moundsville, WV. And take my word for it it was A BARN. Bright, shiny red paint on the outside and a rustic ambience inside. The ceremony took place on an outside patio (quite windy) and the reception was held inside. After the intense heat we have been having - they lucked out and after a few rain drops in the morning - it remained sunny and cool the rest of the day. I actually was cold.

E.J. went all through school with mydaughter and spent a good deal of time at our house during her grade school years. Once in high school, she and theson became great friends. She also dated Mom2's son for over a year. Now she is married to a 14 year Air Force veteran and living in Colorado Springs. Good luck E.J. (They are honeymooning in Jamaica at this very moment.)

For mor pics of the wedding go to www.flickr.com/photos/mbonen.
I even took a good pic for a change.

thegrandson has totally amazed me lately. Yesterday morning, when he got up the first thing he told me was, and I quote, "nina, did you know gravity keeps us on the ground, and there is no gravity in space!" omg, you could have knocked me over. And yesterday afternoon, he started tellingme all about "hall monitors" in the schools and what they do. He doesn't even start school till the end of August. DUH!?!?! And before going to bed, he gave me an in-depth detailed description of "cloning!"
I think I better sign him up for Harvard now!! Or a more scientific college like Stanford. He never ceases to amaze me. Took him to his cousins baseball games Sunday, and he had a blast with his 15 year old, 6' 2" cousin. Stephen just picks him up and hauls him all over the place and teeny tiny Colton tries to keep up with him - it is funny.

Just IM'd with theson in India. Damn, infernal place. He was supposed to be there for one month and it is now going on 19 months. His girlfriend was there for a year and she just left this past Monday (for good!) Keep up the good spirits, you two will get together soon.

OK - will put more on here later, nap time again!! TTFN. I promise to blog more often.

pity, pity, pity me!! ....

I HATE SUMMER COLDS!! Damnit. I've got it all. Took thedaughter to Ohio State University Hospital for her monthly checkup (following bone removal), and before we left, I knew I was getting the sniffles. Well, by the time we got home (5:30 pm), I got my clothes changed and thought I would prefer death. No head should hold this much stuff, sore throat, and puking my guts out. YUCK!! And to kick it all off, the weather is staggeringly HOT and HUMID. Just throw the dirt on my face now!!

Mom2 went with thedaughter, thegrandson and myself to Columbus. Trips are always fast when she is with me, because we NEVER SHUT UP. We can talk about anything and (god forbid) anyone! We stopped at The Andersons, a general store off Brice Road on the way home. We were told it was an awesome place. More of a step-down Super WalMart. I didn't see any super bargains. Got myself and thegrandson doo rags, so now we are COOL. Got him a basketball game and a kids chair in a bag. Sorry Slyght, I can't resist getting stuff for him.

I set up another blog site to share all the juicy details about "my lovelife" with theson. It won't be published here, as yet, because of privacy issues. HAHAHAHA. theson is aware of his status and wealth, and we decided to keep this in the family for now. hey son, promised you a wonderful daddy - you may just get one!!! BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!

theson has been having troubles with his blog lately, some indian jerk may have banned certain areas of his blogsite. could be just a glitch also, once he navigates thru another system, he then can see his and other blogs, so keep commenting on his site, he will get them. Hopefully, he will be leaving India in the very near future. Talking about heading to Kazhakstan - ouch!! I wasn't all that thrilled when he was in Turkmenistan. Oh hell, moms always worry.

Did y'all hear Dubya use the word "shite" on TV? He is human after all. A jerk maybe, but human. He is probably staying up nights figuring how to get our troops into Israel now!! I don't think he is happy unless we are involved in other countries problems - literally! Idiot!!

Gonna go flush my head out now!! Everyone stay healthy and TTFN!

see if this works...

As I said, Brownie scampered off the keyboard and back to his palatial digs. Let's see if this works this time.

Now, as for theson, stuck in a hellhole in India, I worry about the train explosions and monsoons in his part of the world. It is just a mother's job to worry. I can't wait till he gets to a civilized part of the world. Being exposed to the lesser work motivated people he has in the past 18 months, I don't want any of that to rub off on him. He is far too intelligent for that. Have to check out his blog (on right) Nomadic Tendencies and Emmas (also on right) Saddle Tramp - to see the latest swimsuit fashion in India. It is SO NOT Emma. Amazing what a pair of scissors can do.

OK - gonna try to go back for a nap - take care and stay healthy all. Later.

yes...i do need a life!

Good morning all! Such a shite morning, cloudy, mother nature trying to decide whether to start torrential downpours or just sputter all day. Now, mind you, Jamboree In The Hills starts today at 3:50 PM, and this is the 30th anniversary of this "get down and dirty" weekend country music weekend. I did 26 years of attendance, and now it is up to the younger crowd to carry on. JITH has always been the third weekend of July, as they did extensive weather studies upon its inception and found that throughout history, the 3rd weekend of July has proved to be the best weekend of the summer. By that I mean, very little rain and sunny conditions. I guess, for the most part they have been accurate 75% of the time. I think it was the summer of '94 when it was Jamboree In The Mud. OMG what a mess, I had to pay some guy with a tractor $50 to pull my car out of the mud. This guy probably retired on the windfall he had that year from just towing cars with his John Deere. Total attendance for the weekend has been estimated as high as 200,000 people. No accurate figures have ever been released.

thedaughter went to the shed last night to get one of our "chairs in a bag" and ran back in the house because she encountered a spider the size of Texas. I hate that shed and want it totally torn down. It sits close to the creek running behind out house and is constantly damp and yucky. I have so much junk in it, would rather see it implode at this point.

Anyway, thedaughter is going to JITH for 4 days (comes home at night), is broke, but still going. I bought her the 4 day pass for Christmas, but told her then she would have to provide her own, beer, food, parking and incidentals. This weekend can be quite costly as everyone knows. She is doing it on a shoestring.

Enough of that garbage. I have been up since 4 am (this not sleeping thing is getting to be a PITA) and been on the computer (of course) since that time. BORING!!!

So here is the product of my boredom. BROWNIE THE HAMSTER.

I decided to bring thegrandsons pet hamster, Brownie, out to play with me. After a quick run across the keyboard, he just wanted to run around and sniff. How a nose can twitch that fast, amazes me. He couldn't wait to scurry off the computer. Oh hell, all of a sudden I can't put anymore pics in this blog. going to publish this one and then add last two pics in another entry. So ttfn, stay healthy all.

told ya so...

I am totally amazed... pictures of the robins on last blog were taken on Thursday and today is Saturday and look at them now.
I wasn't satisfied with this picture, so I came in the house and got a stool to stand on, and as I was getting ready to step onto the stool - ALL 5 BABY ROBINS FLEW OUT OF THE NEST. Scared the shite out of me. So I guess there really are NO flying lessons, they just automatically know what to do with their feathery arms. Now we will wait and see if they fly back home to the nest. I think I really pissed them off anyway. This is just a quick update on the birds... More later. Stay healthy all. TTFN

about ready to fly - i hope...

OK, momma robin has this second "brood" now living in a spoon basket on my back porch. There are five babies crammed into this teeny tiny nest. The one in the back has its mouth open waiting for a worm to be dropped down its gullet. It is not a pretty scene when all five decide they want the worm at the same time. But apparently mom and dad robin have it down to a science as to each finding and delivering the meals. In the early morning, both robins are in the side yard listening and then attacking their prey (poor worms never knew what hit them).

The first brood was nested in early May and there were 4 eggs then. Mama robin went overboard this time and had 5. It is so amazing, because one day (probably in the next week) the nest will be EMPTY. You don't get to see any early flying lessons at all - boom, they are gone.

My plan is to strip this basket when they are gone, put new "artificial" flowers in and then rehang. At the present time there are four nests, one on top of the other. Although, this same nest was used for the last two broods. I have been amazed how the robins apparently mate for life, and take the responsibilities equally. All marriages should be so good.

Not much going on here, the valley is gearing up for Jamboree In The Hills which begins next Thursday evening. the campgrounds open this weekend I believe. After 20+ years of attending, I now watch most of it on TV. I did my duty for a good many years, trudging thru mud and all. Now, it is up to the younger crowd to carry on.

Took my dog Angel, to Mom2's house this evening to let her and Heidi get acquainted. Heidi is an Alaskan huskie (I think), and very territorial. Angel is "just happy to be here." Had to take her up on a leash, she originally turned around and went back home on the first attempt. When I left I figured she would run back home, but oh no, straight across the street and onto the neighbors porch for a visit, and then crawl up the backs of the people walking down the street, before finally back into the house. I probably should try some sort of obedience training, but that would take all the fun out of it.

That's good enough for some lighthearted blogging this evening. Everyone take care and stay healthy... has anyone heard from Paul - he is playing absent blogger again!!! TTFN

...a little time with HOMER

the daughter, thegrandson and i spent saturday at Uncle Windy's for a picnic and plain old fun. we have known for the past year that he has a pet deer named HOMER, but finding the time to get to his place has been difficult.

we got there about 1 pm, but homer was playing shy and hiding in the woods somewhere. the grandson was beginning to get very upset. at least there were a few other children to play with, so that allayed some of his anxiety. i was at the back of the house with some friends when someone came running out and yelling that Homer finally appeared out front and colton was ecstatic.

Bless his little heart, he was so excited he kept wanting to run up and play with the deer, but Homer thinks the kids want to wrestle and he starts head butting. when Homer was smaller that was not a problem, but now he has the start of his adult rack (velvet like nubs) and they can hurt. we had to tell colton to "stand still" several times, so Homer wouldn't send him flying.

there are several more pics you can view at www.flickr.com/photos/mbonen. now i have to figure out how to get the movies downloaded. i know i will need to get a dvd burner at some point. the camera is awesome.

Taking a break, my damn feet keep swelling and I have to put them up. Stay healthy all, more later.