Hip Hopping Grandparents...

We got our Christmas present to each other early this year. Anyone want to come on over and JAM???

I'm so sad...

R.I.P Tigger, 1989-2009

We had to put Tiggie down tonight, she has not been doing well this week, having trouble walking, lost control of bladder and just generally seemed to be pretty miserable. She had a good life though, especially the last few years when she reclaimed her rightful place in the house. She was a mother of five and grandmother to many, we suppose. She was such a sweet old lady!

Comparison

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here.

It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."


I was struck this morning by how appropriate this address from Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War is to our nation today. As we remember those who died on 9/11/01, those who forced down their plane in a field in Pennsylvania so that it could not reach the Captial and gave their lives so others might live, those who died in the planes, in the wtc, the pentagon, and all those first responders who ran into buildings to save lives as others ran out. And, as our country is engaged today in struggles within so that our freedoms and rights will not be compromised, I found these words from so long ago extremely inspiring.

"Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning...

...On That September Morn"?

I remember the morning of September 11, 2001 as though it was yesterday. I remember grabbing a bowl of cereal, flipping on the tv to the Today Show, and sitting down on the couch to watch the news while I ate. The next thing I knew, they were talking about how a small plane had hit the World Trade Center, and showing footage of what was happening there. As I was watching the live footage, I saw another plane, realized it was not a "small plane" and that it also was going to hit the other tower, and watched as it did. I remember the Today anchors looking at each other in disbelief and asking each other what was going on as they realized at the same moment I did that this country was under attack. I grabbed the phone and called my kids and husband to, first of all, make sure everything was okay where they were, at college, in other states doing internships, or here in Las Vegas, and second of all to tell them what was happening. I got off the phone and was in such a state of shock and disbelief, I remember wondering, is this what it felt like to the people of this nation the day Pearl Harbor was attacked? I wanted to do something, but couldn't think of anything to do, except grab our US flag, run out front and hang it up. So, I did, the only way I could think of to make my statement to those around me, "We Will Stand Strong"! And it has flown every day since! I remember that night Ed and I going to Panda Express to grab some dinner. It was crowded, as though people didn't want to be at home, but with others from their community. Everyone there was pretty subdued, talking quietly amongst themselves about the days events, but at the same time, they smiled at the stranger next to them, let someone go in line in front of them, said hello to people they didn't know. We had a court of honor scheduled for that night. The bishop called and asked to postpone it till the next night. We had just received a huge US flag from Terrible Herbst so the next night we hung it at the court of honor, it covered an entire wall. As the scouts and their families walked into the room, there were audible gasps and tears at the sight of that flag. I remember the US Congress, who days before had been debating removing the words "In God We Trust" from US currency, now standing on the steps of the Capital Bldg singing "God Bless America:" and I thought how things can change in a moment, how they had gone from considering denying God to asking for his blessings all in the blinking of an eye. "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning That September Morn"?

Whew!

Now where did that first step go???
(In case you aren't familiar with our cat Tigger, she is 20 years old and blind). I heard her meowing, or more like howling, and when I went to look she was trying to step off the 2nd floor through the banister, thinking she was at the steps! Watch out for that first step Tigger, it's a big one!

Today...

Today's challenge consists of a pandemic (swine flu) striking members of my household and we are quarantined in our home. It is more of a thinking exercise...do we have hand sanitizer and soap (yep), face masks and gloves (yep), fever reducing medications for all ages (yep), disinfectant cleaning supplies (yep), paper towels and toilet paper in our storage items (yep), comfort foods (chicken noodle soup), rehydration supplies (gatorade, water, etc.), (yep). I think we've got this one covered!!! Do you???

Today I learned....

i need to pack my backpacks with change of clothing and shoes and put them in my emergency closet! Tonight I learned that we don't want to rely on mre's as a food source in an emergency. Since we were supposed to be cooking without power, Ed decided we would crack open one of the many cases of mre's we have stored away. It was quite interesting, I chose spaghetti with meatballs, he chose bbq pork! When we opened them we discovered each packet contained the entree, a napkin, a mini bottle of tabasco sauce (which was a very strange color), a package labeled pound cake, a package labeled cracker, and a candy item, as well as matches, sugar, salt and coffee! My concern began to arise as I looked at the color of the tabasco sauce and asked Ed, how old are these? He laughed at me. Then I opened the pound cake and looked at the funny discolored patches on it and again asked Ed, how old are these? He laughed again. Then we heated the entrees in their nifty little heater envelopes, opened them, poured them onto the plates, and Ed said, I think I'll go see if there's a date on these. He came back laughing again, and informed me they are 22 years old!!!! We elected not to eat that meal and decided we will toss all those unopened cases of mre's in the trash for tomorrow's pickup! So, then we went to the case I bought last year to add to our 72 hour kit. Heated them up, everything was much fresher, but boy, the taste, couldn't even eat more than a few bites! But, I noticed that the package said that each meal is approx 1200 calories, so just a few bites is maybe all you need!! So, today we have learned two very valuable preparedness lessons and had a few laughs along the way! (I don't know how those serving in the military can survive on this stuff, let alone be expected to be the strongest military in the world!)