The year of the bathroom

Earlier this year (seemed like it went on forever) we remodeled two full bathrooms in our condo in Columbus.  Then this summer we decided the wall in our only bathroom at our cottage needed more repair and fixtures than we knew (i.e. my husband) how to repair and repaint.  So we hired this one done, too.  We bought this house in 1988 when we were 49 and 50 and a lot livelier, and for 12 straight week-ends we drove here to paint and repair things, redoing the entire house, including carpet, curtains, window blinds, and since it was all done in the same time period, everything was coordinated around the colors, blue, pink and cream. The previous owner, a widow, had done a few things after her husband died, like put in whole house air conditioning and triple track storm windows. We added a deck, eventually replaced the roof, the furnace and the AC.   In the last few years, the sink, cabinet, floor and toilet in the bathroom have been replaced, and finally, the damage from showers just had to be fixed.  The reason you see a window in the shower/tub area is that when this house was built (1944) very few homes had showers, so it was never a very good fit. The shower was added probably in the 80s, and we’d had some of it repaired a few years ago. So here’s the “new” color—sort of the shade of the sky this morning under the sun as it rose over Lake Erie and I was walking on the dock—it’s deeper and richer than what shows in the photo. It will get a second coat today—after rescheduling this 3 times due to a variety of reasons, we got the most humid week of the summer. Owning a home is never an “investment,” it’s always expensive.  But owning a second/vacation home has no  tax advantages at all, unless you rent it out, in which case you have even more repairs.

Hot smashed potatoes

Ingredients
12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Might be a fun way to serve potatoes.  This was shared by cousin Sarah Strauss on FB.

Hitchhikers on the nerves—cancer of the head and neck

We see what we know. . .

HOMEMADE MOSQUITO TRAP

Items needed:
1 cup of water (200 ml water)
1/4 cup of brown sugar (50 grams)
1 gram of yeast
2-liter plastic bottle

HOW:
1. Cut the plastic bottle in half.
2. Mix brown sugar with hot water. Let cool. When cold, pour in the bottom half of the bottle.
3. Add the yeast. No need to mix. It creates carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes.
4. Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle, taping them together if desired.
5. Wrap the bottle with something black, leaving the top uncovered, and place it outside in an area away from your normal gathering area. (Mosquitoes are also drawn to the color black.)
Change the solution every 2 weeks for continuous control.

This summer at Lakeside has been very wet—there was one point where we’d had rain 19 days in a row.  However, I’ve only had one mosquito bite.  So I’ll tuck this away for next year.  Since I don’t drink pop, I wonder if you couldn’t just add the yeast to some soda pop. Or are mosquitoes picky?

If you donate to Planned Parenthood, here’s what you support

Once again...
Planned Parenthood does NOT provide:
-Mammograms
-Prenatal Care
-Breast Biopsies...
-Breast Cancer Diagnostic Care
-Primary Health Care
-Diabetes Treatment
-Treatment for Elevated Cholesterol
-Treatment for Elevated Blood Pressure
-Holistic Medicine
-Obstetrical Care
-Pediatric Care
-Care for HIV Positive Individuals
-Infertility Treatments
-Natural Family Planning Instruction
-Care for Uterine Fibroids
-Treatment for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
-Adoption Placement
-Prostate Exams
-Uterine Laser Ablation
-Cervical Laser Ablation
-Miscarriage Management
-Bladder Disorders and Urinary Problems
-Prolapsed Pelvic Floor Concerns
-Laparoscopic Procedures
-Hysterectomy
-Treatment of Endometriosis
-Polyp Removal
-Endometrial Ablation
-BRCA Testing
-Bone Density Testing
-Treatment of Pelvic Pain
-Treatment of Vulvar Pain
-Molar Pregnancy Follow Up

Planned Parenthood DOES provide:
-First and Second Trimester Abortions
-Limited STD testing and treatment
-Pap Smears for Women in Child Bearing Years
-Limited Contraceptive Methods

Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood employee

What will they next call racist?

I’m thinking it might be wearing an apron, or serving pancakes.  I noticed at Obama’s inauguration dinner in 2009, all the servers were black.  Is that racist? Or just noticing it is racist.  Like noticing the difference in the way the media and the president treat black on white crime.  What will become racist is noticing how whites are treated. Here at Lakeside I watch Detroit local news in the morning.  Not good.

Keep in mind that we live in a nation with a black President and a black Attorney General. Furthermore, the government is legally allowed to discriminate against white Americans based on the color of their skin and it happily does so; yet you can't go a day in this country without hearing liberals howling about what a racist country they live in. It has almost become a circular, faith-based argument. America is racist because so many liberals say it's racist because they've heard other liberals say the country is racist. http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2013/08/27/15-moronic-things-liberals-call-racism-since-obama-was-elected-n1674131/page/full

Democrats’ record on WMD

Democrats have misled us before about WMD. At the end of the Clinton years, we had Kerry, Edwards, Kennedy, Albright, Waxman, Pelosi and Pres. Clinton to mention just a few convincing us of the threat--but they thought Gore would be president and needed to stir up fear. Democrats seem to have amnesia about Congress and the committees meeting in 2002-2003 before the Iraq invasion.

Today no one seems to be sure just who is using gas in Syria, but for the 100,000 already dead in this civil war of Muslim against Muslim, does it really matter? Are children gassed more dead than those who died in bombings? And who gives the U.S. the moral authority to "punish" the perps? With Iran threatening to attack our only ally, perhaps Obama needs to call Congress back from vacation.

• "He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998-[This was at the same Ohio State University appearance as Madeline Albright.]

• "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

• "We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
  Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

• This one has a very familiar ring--like this week? "I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
  Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

• I guess now we know where those WMD went the U.S. inspectors couldn't find in Iraq. I mean, could all those leading Democrats be wrong?

Murray Trout, guest blogger, died on Monday, August 26

I was sorry to learn that Murray Trout of Mt. Morris, Illinois and The Villages in Florida died unexpectedly Monday evening.  He had been seen on his usual route that day, biking around the little town he loved and often wrote about. I’d known Murray since 1954 and was on his e-mail list which kept the ex-pats informed of local events and his political views.  This is sad news. I haven’t seen an obituary. I will miss his “Another Mounder passes. . .” e-mails.

Here’s a photo of Murray letting his views be known in Washington, D.C. about 3 years ago.

Murray wrote a nice time line from 1957 on about Kables and printing in Mt. Morris for my blog. http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2010/12/story-of-kables-and-mt-morris-timeline.html

What will he do about Syria?

Yup. I have friends and relatives who abandoned support for Bush because of the wars for which he had Congressional approval. They helped vote in Obama, who gave comfort to the enemy while a Senator, dawdled around about the surge in 2009 until Afghanistan lit up again and now he's lost more men in 4 years than Bush did in 8, and he's ready to go to war in Syria not even caring that we'd have to support one or the other of two really bad players. The U.S. leader has zip, nada, zilch credibility.

Obama’s gay agenda—from Minority Republican

“He [Obama] lied to the public when he was presidential candidate Obama, stating that he held the conviction that marriage was between a man and a woman, and is a sacred act before God. Over the course of a couple of years, he has abandoned that "deeply held conviction" and is now pushing a global "gay rights" agenda. He either lied then or he's lying now. Either way, he's a liar. Sure, all people deserve human rights, including the unborn (a group of people President Obama refuses to defend). . .

Every culture has moral standards, and the moral standards of American culture have declined to the point in which Christians must understand that we always have been and always will be counter-cultural. If we live as we should and believe what God says in His Word, we will not agree with many of the cultural norms embraced by modern culture, especially as this nation strays further and further from the moral foundation that this nation was founded upon, morals that were borrowed from Christianity and the Christian Bible. It is the choice of the people. If you are a Christian, the best way to fight the tide of secular humanism and moral relativism that has swept the world is through prayer, evangelism, and discipleship. This brings about a change not by law or force, but changes the mind and transforms the heart so that people will know and love the ways of God. Let's do our part! Share the gospel with someone today.”

The Civil Rights Movement—intellectually bankrupt

 

Juan Williams in today's WSJ contrasts the 1963 and 2013 marches. He notes that by 1963 the Civil Rights movement had stalled--". . . Few schools had integrated after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision nine years earlier. One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil Rights Act was stuck in Congress."' The accomplishments he notes--the Emancipation, the integration of schools, the push for a meaningful Civil Rights act--were all by Republicans and Democrats were dragging their feet. Now it is the Democrat party again with locks on all the major cities and supporting the outrageous abortion rate for black women and the decimation of black families that is again blocking future progress for fear the race baiters will lose their power.

The regressive progressives

The March this past week-end was anything but progress. Now there's a black president, governors, cabinet, military, etc. and they are terrified their lies about race won't work! These race baiters fear progress for minorities--it would put them out of their jobs which rely on always stirring up hatred. And they were over counted and left the mall a mess, but they always do.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/24/march-washington-50th-anniversary-martin-luther-king/2693667/

Is this clear now? Obamacare and children—final rule

Who could possible untangle this?  But that’s government Obamacare.

The final rule [Obamacare, aka ACA] clarifies that former foster children are already a population that is eligible to be determined presumptively eligible (the rule does not extend to current foster youth as they are already Medicaid eligible and don’t need to be determined presumptively eligible). The rule also clarifies that individuals under age 21 will continue to receive Early, Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) services either through the Alternative Benefit Plan (ABP) or as additional coverage that supplements the ABP. The final rule makes clear that CMS does not have statutory authority to require states to provide EPSDT services beyond age 21, but acknowledges that states have the flexibility to design and offer voluntary enrollment in an ABP targeted to former foster care children that provides a more comprehensive array of health coverage than is provided through the regular state plan. http://childrensmonitor.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/cms-issues-final-rule-on-the-aca-and-foster-care/

The election, gay marriage and Syria

This morning's lecture at Lakeside Chautauqua is on the 2012 election. I think I'll skip that. I know why we lost--Christians, libertarians, independents and conservatives stayed home and pouted because their favorite candidate was no longer in the race. If you can't win against a man with a disastrous record who lies all the time and was already involved in several scandals (increased since then), there's not much hope.

“You may be in favor of raising taxes on the rich, increasing support for the poor, nurturing the planet, and repealing Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, but if you don’t support gay marriage, you’re out of the club.” (Michael Kinsley) And to think as recently as 2012, President Obama had not publicly supported it in his campaign, and in fact, in 2004 he said he supported the law of the land (DOMA) to one group and was against it to another. He seemed to blame Bush for the 1996 law which Biden voted for. But his grasp of history and time has always been shaky. Abortion, however, he's been perfectly clear on that one.

Both the Clinton administration and the Bush administration had "intelligence" that reported on chemical and biological warfare of various middle eastern governments against their own people. It's a good hook for Americans who have a collective memory of ignoring what was happening in Europe in the 1930s. However, we've been suckered twice. Let's not have another president push us into a civil war where we have no national interest and can offer no humanitarian aid. But at least, Bush consulted with Congress and had its backing; Obama does not. Nor can we trust the U.N. on this.

Monday Memories—travel

I saw a website about what states have been visited. I'm so fortunate to be able to just report those I haven't visited. Louisiana, Alabama, South Dakota and possibly Colorado (don't remember the exact route). I think it was night and fire season passing through Idaho--so didn't see a lot. Hawaii was awesome, but Oklahoma was perhaps the biggest surprise. Loved it. Travel if you have the opportunity. And my cousin Gayle should report the states they haven’t lived in! How many moves in 54 years?

This amazing skyscraper in Bartlesville, Oklahoma was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

This beauty is the art museum in Toledo, Ohio.

Here I am in New York in 1963 at Niagara Falls.

Annapolis, Maryland in 1999.

Highest Paid Public Employees—Football coaches

A government terrorist “training guide” that mirrors the IRS plan for conservatives

The Obama administration has a nasty habit of equating basic conservative values with terrorism. And now, in a document full of claptrap, its Defense Department suggests that the Founding Fathers, and many conservative Americans, would not be welcome in today’s military,” said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “And it is striking that some the language in this new document echoes the IRS targeting language of conservative and Tea Party investigations. After reviewing this document, one can’t help but worry for the future and morale of our nation’s armed forces.”  No mention of Nidal Hasan’s problem that was well known, but overlooked.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-defense-department-teaching-documents-suggest-mainstream-conservative-views-extremist/

Fetal ultrasound images from Mayo Clinic

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-ultrasound/PR00139

A baby's cardiovascular system begins developing five weeks into pregnancy, or three weeks after conception. The heart starts to beat shortly afterward. Twenty-three weeks into pregnancy, or 21 weeks after conception, a baby begins to have rapid eye movements. A baby's eyelids begin to open 28 weeks into pregnancy, or 26 weeks after conception. The same technology that shows us these wonders also shows problems with development, for instance the hand is revealing for a type of mental retardation.  Or the gender--many people don’t want a girl. So many women are advised to destroy the baby. Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama and the platform of the Democratic Party declare this is moral and legal and not a war on the weakest or the disabled or women. Pelosi claims to be a devout Catholic, but if so, her beliefs are in violation of the church’s teaching on creation and life. In my opinion, she is just a devout Democrat.

Old paint brushes

I was trying to remember this today. From Old House Magazine website:  “Soak gunked-up nylon brushes in hot vinegar for up to 30 minutes to remove paint and soften the bristles. Afterward, wash them in hot, soapy water, brushing off paint as needed, then rinse and let dry—good as new.”  Now if we tried this with gunked up window hardware, would it work?

7 Ways to Reuse A Banana Peel

No, I haven’t checked these out, but we  use a lot of bananas. Might be worth a try on bug bites or warts.  I wonder if it works on callouses? So I googled it, and found someone who thought so, “Banana peels also are wonderful for removing callus from your feet....just put the inside of the skin next to your foot, put on a sock and go on with your day....repeat for 3 or 4 days and you will have feet SABA.”

1. Help Your Garden Grow: Bananas are naturally high in potassium and encourages plant growth. Use banana peel or puree entire banana and bury/turn with soil.
2. Shoe Polish: Use the peel to make your shoes nice and shiny.
3. Stop the Itch: Rub the inside of a banana peel on a bug bite helps itch relief.
4. Pain Reliever: The oil in a banana peel will help relieve the pain from burns and scratches.
5. Wart Removal: Tape a piece of banana peel on a wart, continue until it’s gone.
6. Make Houseplants Gleam: Just like peels can shine shoes, they can also be used to make the leaves of plants shine.
7. Removing Splinters: Similar to wart removal, tape a piece of the peel over the splinter. The enzymes will help dislodge the splinter and heal the wound.