We Have BUDS!!!!

At some point between 6:00 p.m. Sunday and 11:30 p.m. Monday, the little tree in our yard sprouted BUDS!! I'm totally pumped! SPRING WOO HOO!!! We actually had a thunder storm yesterday, how Spring-like is that?!

You do remember that we had 4 inches of snow just a few days ago... well it is gone already! That's the funny/great thing about Michigan: Spring is slow in coming but when it finally does it's like it's on fast-forward.

Now, brace yourself for something wierd:

When I first spotted the buds, I was standing just inches from the branches. After a moment or two of staring at them in amazement (I actually realized my mouth was agape) I had the urge to bite them! How crazy is that?!?!

It was like I couldn't get close enough to them, just wanted to chomp them off like celery. (No, I didn't do it!) Best I can figure, it must be some sort of primal instinct or something... the cave girl supplementing her winter diet with greens at the first opportunity. Think about that tonight when you're preparing dinner - anybody want a bud?
:-)

The birds are coming back!!

I am so excited, I think warm weather may be coming after all! Since it snowed 4 inches the night before last I'd just about given up hope that Spring was ever really coming. Then, yesterday afternoon I went outside and "CHIRP!" there was a robin sitting in the very top of the (very bare) maple tree in our front yard!

As I stood admiring the robin, a gaggle of 7 Canadian Geese went honking by in V formation overhead! I practically jumped up & down for joy!! Birds!!! Off in the distance I could hear birdsongs like something from a Disney movie. This was a real treat in an area where all has been frozen with virtually no birds in sight for nearly 6 months!

The sun is shining, birds are singing hurrah! Even if it snows tomorrow, today will get me through another week or so at least. :-)


I can't take credit for this photo - I found it on line... but it looks exactly like the robin I saw. (I'm so excited, this is my first time to post a pic on the blog and it worked!!)

People from your Past

I saw this quote and kind of liked it - makes you stop & think.

There comes a point in your life when you realize who matters, who never did, who won't anymore, and who always will. So don't worry about people from your past,there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Tagged Again! (different questions)

I've been tagged ;) Different one this time so here goes....
Ok, here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you –
It was Laurie: http://laurieb323.blogspot.com/ (I don't know how to do that fancy little thing where it just shows the person's name for the link. Anybody want to teach me?)
2. Post the rules on your blog. Done.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
1. I will not drink milk out of a plastic glass. It tastes funny.
2. I love it when the trunk of my car is clean and neat (or, better yet, empty).
3. Seeing how things are made or manufactured fascinates me.
4. Brushing my dog is relaxing to me.
5. Although I work at a church, it has been months since I attended a service.
6. When I really like a piece of clothing I keep wearing it for YEARS. My favorite sweatshirt is about 15 years old & was bought at a flea market for $5. I think I've gotten my money's worth out of it. heh heh
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. If you're reading this & feel so inclined, consider yourself tagged. :-)

Is Nothing Sacred? American Idol Features Beatles' Songs

Daggone it, American Idol contestants, SHUT UP with the Beatles' songs. You're slaughtering them, it's horrible, unforgivable, and I can't stand it. Just because the copyright or whatever to the songs has become available for use does not mean you have the right to destroy a piece of my history. What a nightmare.
:-p

Bush,Waterboarding, and Terrorists

I don't often write about political issues, but this one really spoke to me (or should I say screamed at me) and demanded a response. Here's the article, followed by my opinion. I hope you'll share your opinion too.

BUSH TO VETO LEGISLATION BANNING WATER BOARDING

Article by Jennifer Loven, AP writer, March 8, 2008

President Bush is poised to veto legislation that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding — a technique that simulates drowning — and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects.
The president planned to talk about the veto in his Saturday radio address.
Bush has said the bill would harm the government's ability to prevent future attacks. Supporters of the legislation argue that it preserves the United States' right to collect critical intelligence while boosting the country's moral standing abroad.
"The bill would take away one of the most valuable tools on the war on terror, the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives," deputy White House press secretary Tony Fratto said Friday.
The bill would restrict the CIA to using only the 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army field manual.
The legislation would bar the CIA from using waterboarding, sensory deprivation or other coercive methods to break a prisoner who refuses to answer questions. Those practices were banned by the military in 2006, but the president wants the harsh interrogation methods to be a part of the CIA's toolbox.
Backers of the legislation, which cleared the House in December and won Senate approval last month, say the interrogation methods used by the military are sufficient.
"President Bush's veto will be one of the most shameful acts of his presidency," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said in a statement Friday. "Unless Congress overrides the veto, it will go down in history as a flagrant insult to the rule of law and a serious stain on the good name of America in the eyes of the world."
He noted that the Army field manual contends that harsh interrogation is a "poor technique that yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say what he thinks the (interrogator) wants to hear."

Ok, boys and girls, how many of you knew we (the U.S.) used techniques like waterboarding? I sure didn't! In fact (call me naive) when I saw the title of the article I thought it was going to have something to do with water sports & the environment!

Before the twin towers were brought down by terrorists on 9/11 I would've been right out there with those protesting a bill that would allow prisoners to be treated in an "inhumane" way. However, things are different now. Even though the New Testament teaches us to be loving in the face of evil, the Old Testament said "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and somehow to me that seems more applicable in this case.

If you have thousands of innocent people whose murder could be prevented by pouring water on one evil guy, I say GO FOR IT! You know good and well that his country is torturing American prisoners, so why should we be all warm and fuzzy with this murderous man who's helping plan the sequel to 9/11?

I'm not a big George Bush supporter, but on this one he has me in his corner. I don't think these practices should be outlawed. Whether they're actually used or not, just knowing that they might be could help deter evil-doers. (Think about it - when you were a kid and you knew the teacher could paddle you if she wanted to, didn't that contribute to your good behavior?)

When reading this article I was already shaking my head but what really made me go "OMG!" was when I reached the part about Senator Edward Kennedy's throwing in his 2 cents worth. Excuse me, Eddie old boy, but I happen to remember a little situation back in '69 when you left a woman to drown while you saved yourself & ran off to make up a cover story to protect your "political image". I was just a kid, but the horror of it impressed me so much that I remember it to this day.

Mary Jo Kopechne (the starry-eyed young woman who was with you when you drove your car off a bridge) hung on to life for a couple of hours in that dark, cold water, no doubt waiting for YOU to come back with help and save her! But no, you were too busy making up a cover story to protect the great political future that you thought you were going to have.

How interesting that you didn't give a flying flip about an innocent young woman alone in that car under the swirling water, slowly drowning, but you have all this compassion for a terrorist, whose purpose in life is to murder and maim, having water is poured over his face. What a hypocrite!

I just can't believe that you have the gall to ride out on your high horse and declare that BUSH is committing a SHAMEFUL act! Look in the mirror, buddy boy! Just how stupid do you think the American people really are???

Ten Years Ago & other "Tag" answers

Brenda and Sherri both tagged me so here are my answers (I'm supposed to tag 3 people now but lucky for you I'm not going to ;-) :

10 years ago today I was: tired of my long-time BF, tired of teaching math, tired of having an "empty nest", tired of where I lived, tired of life pretty much (I changed almost all of those things and am better now).

Things on my to do list for today: Well, it's after 10 p.m. so I probably won't be doing a whole lot more today. I will take the clothes out of the washer & put them in the dryer, use my new lint roller to remove the totally demolished (way beyond shredded) kleenex that attacked DH's jacket when it was in the dryer, turn on the dishwasher (I already have it loaded), figure out what I'm going to wear tomorrow, take the dogs for their last walk of the day, brush my teeth, wash my face, moisturize like crazy (I'm trying to do better on that).

4 things I would do if I became a billionaire:
1. share
2. give my condo to somebody who needs a home & buy myself a place on the lake or ocean;
3. travel around the world
4. spoil my family - starting by buying everything in the fabulous (child's) bedroom display that I saw yesterday in Ikea for little B.

3 bad habits: I put often things off 'til the last minute (not at work, just at home), let things "get to me" instead of blowing them off, and eat too many sweets (but I really enjoy them).

5 jobs I have had: babysitter; refreshment stand at the drive-in movie (that was fun); dietary aide at the hospital; teacher; administrative assistant

6 Things most people don’t know about me:

OMG SIX?? That's a LOT! Ok, let's see..
1. When I was 9-10 I wanted to be an archaeologist.
2. As a toddler one of my goals was "to smoke Camels like Daddy" (if you know how I feel about smoking you'll know why that's so hysterical)
3. I can't stand romance novels.
4. I prefer to eat grapefruit without sugar.
5. I didn't particularly like dogs until a couple of years ago.
6. I was once a labor coach for a friend and got to be there when her baby was born. It was fabulous!