Private Eyes Are Watching....

I can hear the song, "Private Eyes Are Watching You" in my head. After Nov 4, we thought we would be through with politics for a while. Not to be. Our senatorial contest was a dirty one. Both major candidates flung stuff at each other. 40million $$ was spent. Most weren't impressed with the campaign. The third party candidate got 15% of the vote. On election night Norm Coleman, the republican incumbant, declared victory with about a 700 vote lead. That lead has shrunk to 206. The aftermath has been almost as dirty as the campaign. Lawsuits. False allegations that election officials were carting around absentee ballots in the trunks of their cars. Allegations of cheating. All this in Minnesota, the land of clean politics. We may have to take that off our signs.
One candidate was raised in Minnesota and lived much of his life in New York before moving back to qualify as a candidate for senator. The other candidate was raised in New York and moved to Minnesota. Who is the real Minnesotan? I dunno. The third party guy was responsible for getting Jesse Ventura in as guvner a few years ago. "Minnesota, the land of clean politics". I think "Minnesota, the land of strange politics" may stick instead.
We still don't have an official ruling on who won the senatorial contest. There will be a recount starting next week. It will take a month. There are recount panels. Recount official watchers, and now volunteers are coming forward to watch the watchers. Sounds like a third world election where Jimmie Carter mans the poling place. Maybe he will come too. He can watch the watchers who are watching the watchers. Is anybody still left to keep an eye on those bozos on Wall Street who have 700 billion of our $$$s and want more? Christmas is coming and they may not have enough to meet their bonuses.
God help us. Please.

Little Bocelli Fan

Mary reports the little guy, Roman, likes opera. He sat up and took notice when he heard Andrea Bocceli sing on TV. Good taste, Roman. He isn't even Italian. It must be the name Roman. I am going to share my CDs with mom who will put them on your Ipod. When I babysit I will probably not play that when you are trying to sleep. You never know when Roman is going to burst into an aria. http://www.andreabocelli.com/andreabocelli_ita.htm

(Good) Sign of the Times I Never Thought I Would See Again

The price of gas at our local station today. Funny, when the stock market started tanking a few months ago, I hoped my mutual fund had BP and Exxon stocks. Now they are losing too.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Sunday night was my last overnight with the babies for a week and I miss them already. Mike's sister Shannon is flying in from Chicago today to help. She is about our Andy's age, a nurse, and a very generous auntie who sent beautiful clothes for the kiddies.

The baby blog and new pictures almost every day will be my fix to stay connected until next week. Pictures are wonderful but something is missing. You don't get the sweet smell of their necks, the almost-there social smile I am trying to elicit, or the touch of soo soft skin. You don't feel the warm little bundles cuddled up against you as they sleep after feeding. My clothes don't smell like formula. You don't see Roman's big eyed expressions or Zoe's pretty princess little face.

I even miss the "watchcat" Wicket. She has appointed herself keeper of the kids. She patrols their room occasionally like a night watchman on rounds. If all is well, she stealthily leaves. If the kids are crying (sometimes both at once), Wicket is in your face to remedy the situation. She gets close, turns that Ewok-like face at you, looks with her dime-sized pea green eyes, and meows loudly. DO SOMETHING, the look says. Watchcat. Her mothering instincts are intact.

You can't say she would be a wicked mother. Wicket, gotta love her too.

Thanks to All Who Have Served

Qwerty meets Quirky

I'll have to check the dictionary, but I think I have found a Q word for Scrabble that doesn't need a U. Qwerty refers to the standard keyboard. Read across the second row starting at the left. Every now and then I hear of someone who wants to streamline the keyboard to make it more efficient. More efficient for them would not be helpful to me. I am a whiz on the standard keyboard. Actually, I was an award winning typist in my high school days. I could type 120 wpm accurately and have a lapel pin to prove it. I am still almost that fast now. Accuracy is not as important anymore now that you don't have to use correction fluid or carbon paper. Just fix your mistakes with delete and continue on.

Today's newspaper ads caught my eye with pictures of cell phones with qwerty keypads. Texters must appreciate this technology. Minutes before I had bristled when Jon asked me what I thought about the electronic "book" called Kindle. Quit messing with what works. I still barely understand our TV and can't play a DVD or record anything anymore. I can't play my CDs. Where did that "stereo" go? It was replaced by a bunch of black boxes with small print I can't see and functions I don't remember how to use. (There is a business someone could pursue catering to old ladies like me with fading vision who wish they still had their old equipment. Come to my house and set me up and never offer me an upgrade please. )After a moment's thought I acquiesed thinking Kindle would at least save space and paper. Saving paper is how computers were promoted in the workplace. Then everyone at work printed everything and a new techno tool, the shredder" was invented. Will Kindle save paper? I might like the idea of saving space and downloading books.

Jon just got a new cell phone contract so he could replace the phone. Why?? The old one worked fine. I understood its' functions pretty well. I could actually pick up messages. I am still lost on the new one. Even if it had a qwerty keypad, which it doesn't", I wouldn't be able to use my stiff fingers on such small buttons.

Every day I am becoming more like my mother who disliked new electronics. I can give up TV if I have to. I can listen to the radio instead of play CDs, but please publishers keep cranking out those printed books or I will despair.

Can I Give You a Snuggie?

At last. The perfect Christmas gift for those who live in cold climates. A Snuggie. That's not what you think. It's not a disposable diaper or some trickster yanking on your underwear but rather a warm blanket with sleeves. Everyone will be warm but look like they have joined some religious sect. They should be acceptable to fundamentalist women of a certain religion if they wear a head covering with them. They might be embraced by women who eat too much over the holidays and have midrift bulge. One size fits all or at least most people. They are gender neutral and modest. No Republican female candidate would blow the party budget wearing this $19.95 outfit. Even traditional nuns could add a little holiday cheer by going with the red. Judges could have a holiday alternative to the black robe.
https://www.getsnuggie.com/flare/next?tag=snedg100tm

Snuggies might be a good option for me these cool evenings. I honker down to watch TV or read in our leather chairs and freeze if I am not wrapped in blankets. Leather looks nice but is too cold in the summer when the AC is on and too cool in the winter for me. I usually cover the chair with one blanket and cover myself with another. Why don't I just turn up the thermostat? My husband is always too hot, that's why. We keep it at 70as a compromise.

While I agree it is better to keep the thermostat down to conserve resources, I would not be motivated to keep the thermostat down to save money. Our gas is free. That's right. It is free. For almost a year Excel Energy, who provide our electricity and gas, have sent our monthly bill with the charges for electricity according to useage and the charge for gas at $0. Zero. Nada. No charge. Last fall we thought our bills were low because we had installed a new superefficieint AC and furnace. Then we noticed the breakdown on the bill. All the charges were for electric use and gas was $0.00 Jon called Excel who thought we might have a failed meter and would have it checked. After a couple months he called again. The customer service agent was a bit snippy and said they knew about the problem. Okay. A couple more months and someone came to check the meter. A bit later it was replaced. The next bill? Zero for gas. $0.00 He called again. He mentioned we had a few furnace installed recently. They said they would check on it. We waited. Every month gas use is nada. We have a gas clothes dryer and hot water heater so use gas in the summer. Even if there had been some problem with the new furnace hookup, the dryer and water heater aren't new. As fall approached he wrote them a letter. Next month...the bill arrived. Again no charge for gas.
I am going to find out if Excel Energy has gas stations that sell petro for the car. We could use free gas for our vehicles too. Warren Buffet says there is plenty of natural gas.
Maybe I don't need that Snuggie after all. I think I will sneak over and set that thermostat at 75. Thanks Excel.