My son in law is having his sixth hip surgery in four years today (add to that he had gall bladder surgery in there too and the boy has had an awful lot of surgery). He has a congenital defect that causes excess bone to grow in his hip socket causing much pain, and he has some hyperactive nerve disorder which just magnifies his pain. The docs keep going in and cutting away the excess bone, but it just regenerates so he has to go through it over and over. I don't understand why the docs don't just give the boy new hips. They keep saying it is because he is too young (mid thirties now), but that really doesn't make sense. Are they saying he must spend his young healthy years in constant pain and unable to work, then they'll give him new hips when he is older, not as strong, and has had many years unemployed so that no one wants to hire him because he didn't work for so long? Erggg.

At least they can now do the surgery arthroscopically. The first four of these surgeries they laid him open from hip to knee, unattached the ligaments and such, pulled the bone out of the socket to cut away the bone, then put it all back together. Recovery was terrible. Recovery is much quicker and easier now, but still no piece of cake.

Anyway, hoping for the best - again. The kids really need him to be able to work, but I don't know that it will ever happen.

Update : Surgery is over. They took pictures this time, daughter says they look like something taken by the Hubble unless you know what you are looking at, I just say ewww. I asked her again why they will not do a hip replacement. She said she just asked the surgeon that same question. Doc says "wouldn't be ethical", still want to know how it is ethical to keep a young person in pain and incapacitated and just wait until they are older to fix the root of the problem. Whatever. The kids have been told that he should avoid sitting. Period. Seems the excess bone in front pushes the leg bone out of the socket in back and sitting just exacerbates that problem. So now the simple act of sitting is out. Good grief.

This is right here in my town. Of course you've got to understand, this town would give Berkley a run for its money. But still.... oh good grief



Understand why I home school?

Update: I had this up BEFORE Rush played it, really and truely I did!

Update#2: Well, now FOX is on it - kind of interesting to watch this fire storm break locally. The school spokesperson is saying this is a small clip of a longer program taken out of context. Well of course it is, but it is not edited or rearranged or added to and it doesn't matter how much longer the program was, this is still kids chanting about the O and chanting campaign retoric, and still disgusting. I don't think there is context that would make this OK.

This is disturbing, right?

So yesterday the O made his first speech to the UN. I don't know how much the rest of you heard or read, but it steamed me (not that it was anything new - same speech he's been giving all over the world anyway).
Then Mymood I'minajihad spoke to the same body later in the day - some time after mo'mar's hour and a half rant and looney toon diatribe.

Here is my puzzlement - the US delegation walked out on old I'maDinnerJacket but not on the O? Was there a difference between the two speeches? Because, for the life of me, I can't find any.

Can any of you help me with this? Obviously I am just too stupid to find the difference even though I am sure it is just glaring.

Verily, the waters did recede and the clouds did part. And low, the sun did breaketh through and shone upon the mountains. But the horses, ah the horses were covered in mud upon their bodies and did have mud packed into their hooves, yet they- not being cloven - were good hooves. The dogs did bark with excitement when they heard the word of the boy, and the boy said "let's go for a walk" and the dogs did run to the hooks where dwelt the collars and the leashes. Verily I say unto you, the dogs were happy dogs - yes they were. The dogs were happy because, being prissy of dogginess, they do prefer not to poop in the rain - so now, to their joy and delight, they may walk upon the ground and do their business and uncrosseth their legs.

Me and my man Noah are commencing building an ark...

Yeah, and I'm exhausted, maybe a little brain numb too.

It was a very busy ten day trip - worked from 7 am until 7-8- or even 9 pm every day except one.

That one day was Sat, September 12 - on that day my eldest, youngest, and I all got up a little after 4 am and hit the road by 5 am. We drove to the Franconia Station in Springfield VA, where we spent nearly an hour in a crammed full, huge room waiting our turn to buy tickets for the train into DC. My husband had said the week before that unless enough people gathered in DC to overwhelm the system, no one would pay any attention to us. When we walked toward the station and saw that the crowd swelled out the door just trying to buy tickets I knew we had a very good chance of indeed overwhelming the system. Metro workers were saying they'd never seen anything like the crowd and a couple locals I spoke to said the lines had been like that since about 8-8:30 am (we arrived a little after 10am) The train we rode in on was packed to the gills (did you know trains have gills?)

The crowd was simply amazing. I hate crowds, but this one time I found it exciting and exhilarating. The two most noticeable things to me (aside from the sheer magnitude of the crowd) was how clean things stayed - all day - and how happy and excited everyone seemed to be. For an angry mob there sure were a lot of smiles and laughter. It is my belief that people were delighted to see so many others who were of like mind and cared enough to do what it took to get to DC on that one day. I was proud to be a part.

How many were there? I really couldn't say, but I'll tell you this - the area we ended up in was packed and I've not seen that area on any of the pictures shown on TV. Police tried to keep people out of some areas, but the volume of humanity made their attempts moot. We spilled into many areas we were not supposed to be. And the idea that there were maybe a hundred thousand is ludicrous. It was also nearly impossible to make a cell phone call. The lines were jammed full.

Here are a few pictures from the day. I didn't have a sign, I'm not nearly so clever as many of those who did have them, but I did very proudly wear my Vive la Reagan Revolution T-shirt (red - black graphics, you get the idea :)...







The lady with the flag in front of the police car was giving this poor cop down the road. The cop was yelling at the crowd as we streamed up from the metro station that we needed to hurry because he was going to reopen the road. The woman was telling him there was no way she was going to let him open the road back up as there were still thousands of people arriving and it would be Tiananmen Square in DC if he tried to stop us. She was a hoot. The cop gave in.





The bikers are for you Dogette, thought of you as soon as I saw them. They were awsome folks too.







Notice the Joe Wilson 2012 sign. Joe was a big hero of the day, along with Glenn of course. If Joe got $5 from everyone who either carried a "You Lie" sign, or a "I Stand With Joe" sign or home made T-shirt - his coffers would be in very good shape right now. Also notice how clean the street is, we were more toward the end of the march and toward the beginning - just sayin.

Embiggen the Obama/telepromter sign - it's worth it (heehee)


Can I hear a hearty AMEN!



My two very favorite signs - both these folks had a steady stream of people trying to get pictures of their signs. The seven dorks are worth embiggening to read the names, heeheehee.


Don't step in Congress....




If you enlarge these photos and look at the faces you will see us all, we the people - just the folks. These are the people who make this country work. I'm not sure how Pelosi and her ilk get away with calling these folks an angry mob- potential domestic terrorists... honestly I don't understand them


Wish I'd gotten a picture of the 80ish year old woman with the WTF sign, I loved her!








And finally, as we were walking out, someone had strategically posititoned their sign...



It is good to be home, missed you guys - no computer for me to play with while away, no time or energy even if I'd had one.

I'll be out of the loop for the next 7-10 days while I go help D1 get stuff taken care of. Don't know if I'll have access to a computer or not. Hers is busted but she is supposed to get a new one issued (from the school where she teaches) soon. Just don't know if it will be while I'm there.

Anyway, keep stuff together - and watch for me on the coverage for the Tea Party in DC on the 12th. Barring a major storm, I'll be there.

Nicholas Winton, 100 year old hero.

Funny how you can be surfing youtube and run across this


Makes me think of Pete, and Pam and maybe Dave? Also makes me wish I was from Texas. I understand this song is something of a religious experience for Texans - These cuties make that understandable---

Then some how I end up here




Which brings tears to my eyes - how silly am I?

Haha, this is a good one. Fish poop, just sayin.

Well Joanie, it's back to the real world for me today too.



Days like yesterday have to be recognized and seized - they don't just happen. Every one of us has more on our plates than we can handle. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to step back and breath a moment, lest we go insane. There is always something we can be doing, should be doing, hanging over our heads and such. But are they always things we MUST be doing?

I learned some 15 years ago that all the busy in our lives can come to a screeching halt and what seemed of utmost importance 10 min ago is actually petty or even frivolous when an event, such as a doctor sitting across the table saying your child has an illness with an 85% survival rate, occurs.

It is all in perspectives and priorities. An 85% chance of a large return on an investment is pretty darn tempting. An 85% chance the weather is going to be beautiful on the day you plan to be at the beach will have us all loading up the car with sunscreen, beach toys, and towels. An 85% chance your child is going to survive Wilm's is like being told your child is going go be put in a room with 99 other kids, then someone is going to walk into that room with a gun. Eighty five of the kids will be shot in the kidney and lose that kidney, struggle for a year or two then recover and live - the other fifteen kids will die, and there is very little you can do to affect which your child will be.

That moment (whatever yours may be, that was mine) will put your priorities in order in a hurry, like - instantly. Suddenly the five committees you sit on really can do without you, the garage that needs cleaning can sit, the yard that needs to be tidied up - no biggy. You thought you had bills before? Suddenly you just don't care, they'll all get paid somehow, and so will the hospital bill - no matter what you may have to scale back on, do without - those things will all work out.

I hope all of you can take a day every now and then, preferably a beauty of a day like yesterday (and today for that matter) was here, and breath. Do whatever it is that makes you smile, enjoy the true blessings every single one of us is lavished with - seriously. I've been known to literally sit with a pen and paper and truly list and number my blessings. I run out of time before I run out of blessing. You will too, if you have eyes to see what we've all been given. I certainly hope none of you will need an event like ours to come to that place, though many of you probably already have experienced something equally jolting. And for those of us who have had such experiences in our past, we must beware - oh yes we must - it is so very easy to slide back into the mind set.

OK, musing over - gotta run practice with the boy before guitar teacher arrives :)

Have a blessed one each and every one of you -

You know those rare days when the temp is perfect - not hot, not cold - the sun shining, the sky brilliant blue? The leaves just starting to turn, a few dry ones blowing about - but not enough to rake by any means... The days when the birds are singing, but there's not much other noise outside - no garbage trucks, lawn mowers, construction eqipment rubbling or beeping... The TV off, no tragedy blaring at you... An early fire merrily dancing in the fireplace, the house reasonably clean and nothing screaming to be taken care of RIGHT NOW! The days when the dog/s want to snuggle on the couch watching you, or better yet, curl next to you while you steal a quiet hour or two to read... Yeah, it is one of those rare days today.
I'm gonna treasure it a bit now.

Here the voices...

Hey Pam! They are in Texas!

I Am going to Washington Sept 12! And I am taking my son, at least one of my daughters (maybe 2) and my son in law!!!!!!!

Hooray - I am conservative, hear me roar!

Come with?