Lady with a Leopard~~~~

My sweet things, your opinion please~~~~~

What does this image conjure up in your mind~~~~~ Personally I like it.

Sometimes I feel as if I do have a "leopard by the tail" or leash as it maybe.  I'm home with my Family right now, and it is so festive!  

One would think it a "Thomas Kinkade" painting,  the house is so cheerful, Mom and Dad looking good and so is Baby Sis and her Sweetheart. 

It's cold, nipping the nose with a bit of frost, even Dad's dog has a nice red sweater to keep him warm.  I loved the train ride home, considering all the difficulties people have with cancelled flights,  unless you're on the west coast, visit family during Easter or the Summer time, and Skype during Christmas or even a long phone call.  Of course its not the same.  But it's safer.

This evening we are going to check out the local Christmas Tree lane and then go the Elks Lodge for a Christmas Dance, with Big Band music, Mom and Dad have become quiet the "Swingers", if I'm to believe my sister.  But it's fun.

And that is what I need right now fun.

Kisses Sweet Things

As she shakes the snow off of her recumberant body~~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

Yes it is I, the Fabulous Diva, I have been silent for far too long.

So what have I been doing?  I am now an independent  working woman, setting my own hours and fees, I'm fortunate that my income from my investment portfolio is very good and my retirement package is excellent, and my company has hired me back on an independent contractor basis so I'm making more.

Joe is still in the retirement process, his last day to work will be January 19, then he is free and considering what is happening not a minute too soon,  he has been covering a lot of shifts especially for those who have families, so right now I don't see him as much.

Heather's parents have moved into Lillian's home, it's paid for, Heather's mother works and the income is more than enough to cover taxes, insurance, utilities, upkeep.  Heather's Dad found work granted at 2/3's of what he use to make, but he is not complaining, he has medical and dental benefits and that is what counts.

The "little Beast' has been adopted by them and Heather is glad, her art work has been selling and she has received several commissions to do Portraits of several children, he portraiture work is fabulous and she has decided to do painting like Owen Smith and one other painter whose name escapes me but I know that he did a famous painting called "Nighthawks". 

But what she does is use her digital camera and takes photos of places, events and people and uses all of that as references for her work, even looking at old black white photo's for ideas.  What helped get her commissions is a painting she did of Lillian, working in a country kitchen but with a little girl helping.  There is such warmth in the painting as to reach out to you, and next to it is a portrait study in oil of Lillian, neither are for sale but it helps show what Heather can do.

She is still going to the University and working towards her degree.

Because Joe is working so many shifts I told him he could "crash" at my place or his little studio but since I won't really be seeing him I'm going to spend Christmas and New Years with my Family.  Joe said he didn't mind, Heather's folks have invited him over for both holidays---especially New Years, that is if he's not working, but they said he can come over for left overs if he needs to and unwind.  Heather's folks will keep an eye on my place until I return.

I will be taking the train again, I will not risk driving during the holidays, so I will leave tomorrow and enjoy my trip. 

If I sound tired, I am.  So much has been happening and I'm still adjusting.  This intense cold is hard to shake, even with a roaring fire and hot soup, I need the comfort of family this time of year and I know it will be a very warm and happy holiday time.

Happy Holidays Sweet Things---Kisses.

Trying to get back to functioning~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

Things of late do not feel normal.  With Lillian gone, there is an emptyness that will take sometime to heal.

Having Heather in my home is the best therapy for her at this time. 

From time to time either her parents or one of her two Uncles stay in Lillian's home for security sake.

Lillian's will (a trust really) help make things move more easily,  at first Heather thought that eventually her grandmother's house would be sold, but instead, the house has been left to her parents, with equal value portions of money to her uncles.

This is good really, her parents had to sell their home at a loss, when her father was un-employed, so even with Lillian gone physically she is still reaching out and helping family.   Lillian left Heather a letter, a lovely long letter, Heather reads it every night before she goes to sleep.   It helps encourage her to continue with what she is doing.

But everything is going to shift slowly, everyone wanting to make sure everything is done right.

Baby Sis is going to come up and visit with me for a week, so Joe is going to retreat to his apartment for a while, as he says "one man in a house full of women is courtin' danger, if I leave the seat up all three of you will come down on my head".   That doesn't mean he'll stay away, but with only one spare bedroom there won't be much space.

I'm looking forward to seeing my sister.  I've taken the week of Halloween off as vacation, with so much of my work already edging over to my associates I can aford to play "Hooky".

But I have to admit, I'm feeling a bit lost without Lillian's presence,  now I must go,  Heather is asking when are we going to the Spirit Store to get a few Halloween decorations, I think we will both welcome that distraction and I need to buy candy for our eventual trick and treaters.

Kisses Sweet Things

Loss of a Friend~~~~

Dear Sweet Things,

As you know I said I would be blogging only on occasionally----sad to say this is one of them.

My dear, sweet, wise and funny friend Lillian, passed away 2 weeks ago.  Blessedly in her sleep at home.

We had gotten together for dinner her, I and her great-grand daughter Heather, we also snuck in the little "Beast" Baby in her carry all, and had a wonderful time exchanging what we were doing in our lives.

Heather is nearly complete in her studies and has decided to look into the more business aspects of art, perhaps as a conservator or historian but she is formulating her goals much better,   she's had some art work sell and bring in a nice bit of change to help with her finances.

I've been slowly turning over things at my work, and finishing up projects and coaching people on certain things.   My Bosses want me to come in on a consulting basis as an independent analyst, and set my own hours. 

Joe will be retired after January 1 of next year,  he said he wanted to help cover the holiday hours.

BUT~~~~~~~

The following morning Heather came running over to my home, crying.  She couldn't wake up Lillian.

I ran back with her, and found Lillian very cold to the touch and no pulse, but I said we need to call an Ambulance, even though I knew it would be futile.  At the hospital we were informed that she had indeed passed away peacefully in her sleep.   Her heart simply stopped pumping.

I thought that she looked a bit tired when we got back to her home the night before, she said she wanted to go to bed early, but she and Heather had hugged each other and said 'I love you',  then she looked at me and said "Take care of my Grand daughter, some day I might not be around"  and I promised her I would.

Heather has not been able to sleep in her Grandmother's house so I've had her and the little beast sleeping in my spare bedroom.   Her parents, uncles and aunts have attended to all the arrangements and Lillian had a splendid funeral,  many police officers current and retired were there, she was well loved.

And now it's the process of settling the estate.  It will be a slow and for Heather, a painful process,  I've talked to her parents and offered to have Heather stay with me for as long as she wants while she goes to college until she completes her education and decides what she wants to do in her life.

I have to admit and so does Joe, it is nice to have Heather and the little beast around, and it helps Heather, so she can heal.  We've had talks, long talks, it helps her process her grief.

And I've noticed recently her drawings and paintings have taken on a new subject Grandmothers and grandchildren.   She has some wonderful photos of Lillian so she's planning on taking special classes on portrait painting, I think so she can complete at least one of one special person.

Now I have to get use to a shift in my life, I miss Lillian's presence very painfully and I appreciate my phone calls to my parents and e-mails from them even more now.  Yes, Dad has finally succumbed to using e-mail, he says it cramps his hands a lot less than writing a letter, but I still send him and mother a card with a little letter in it to keep the personal touch.

Now the weather is beginning to turn colder, Halloween is coming, even though one loses a loved one life still goes on.  And we must endure.

Later Sweet Things.

A Major Happy Decision~~~~

Hello Sweet Things,


As you can see I have not been blogging for a while.

These last few weeks I’ve come to a decision and have decided to quit work, I have a very good income from my investments and a very loving man at my side.

What brought about this decision was recently I began to experience rapid heart beat, brought upon by stress. I value my health too much to jeopardize it.

No, I’m not going to desert Lillian or her great grand daughter; I will continue to live in my Bay Area home, enjoy my friends and my family. I will use my Home as a base of operations and watch my own personal investments and really ENJOY life.

I will take the train to visit my parents, baby sis and her future husband, I will continue to drive up to my country home and enjoy its own peace and pleasures. I’m planning on converting it to a historic home museum that can have caretakers living in it for years and years to come, it has serious historic value and I’m going to make sure it and the land around it can never be developed, to preserve its bucolic peacefulness forever.

I’m young enough to be able to make these decisions and to enjoy everything and everyone around me.

Joe has also made that serious decision as well, he is in the process of retiring from the force, he feels that it’s time, he’s fed up with the stupidity of politics and wants to focus his talents on finding missing children, he is going to be joining a private investigation firm. Frankly I’m happy for him. I was worried about the invisible target on his back every time he went on duty.

He will always keep his contacts with the force; even some of his friends are considering retirement as well and for the same reason. If we decide to move up to the country there is a possibility he can join part time the sheriff’s office up there.

This decision was really not hard to make, but it took something like being in the hospital for nearly a week and tests to discover what was wrong to help me make up my mind. No it is not congestive heart failure, it’s just stress. That I can assure you.

I will regret leaving my position at my work, but I know in my heart and mind it is the right decision. I cannot do it quickly as I have to set up things so that others can carefully take over for me. But it is the right choice-----

Because it’s now time for ME TIME.

I’ll most likely be blogging here sporadically, because I’m going to be busy enjoying life. I may even help out Mother and Baby Sis, looking for things and patterns, Hmmm never know what will develop.

Not really a bad decision to make.  I will not desert my City by the Bay, nor my search for "The Black Bird".  It's just that things have taken a turn that was slightly unexpected, but not unwanted.

So for now, to all of you Sweet and Darling Things, get out there and enjoy life, yes be careful, but enjoy life.

The Fabulous Diva is discovering the Simple things in life and feels so much better.

Kisses Sweet Things.

The Characters of San Francisco "Tales of the City"~~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

I have been busy with work, and life, I'm trying to make a serious decision about quitting my job.   Not that there is anything wrong with my job or the company I'm working for or the people I work with.  They are all wonderful.  But I've been considering having "ME TIME".  I have a very good independent income, I don't really have to worry about a depression, ression or whatever.

My needs and wants have been simplified by many things, I'm just thinking about making a move, not out of the bay area, but just "finding myself".  But I think after todays events leaving my job might be a good thing.

Joe is doing fine, so is my family, so are my friends.  So it's really within me, Joe said he will support any decision I make, because even he feels the same way as well as a number of his friends.  Perhaps I'll become involved in an organization dedicated to preservation, or go into a business for myself, I really don't know but I have time and plenty of funds.  So I'll think upon it.
I’ve been scanning the news and there is so much to consider and rant about I don’t know what to chose from, I think I would prefer local news, after all we all know what is happening and not happening that should happen nation wide and internationally.

Work has been a “bit insane”, my friend Yoshi and I, as well as several others feel that with our strange weather cool in San Francisco but blazing everywhere else, it brought out the ‘nut cases’ or as I prefer to call them “51/50’s”.  (Frankly I think anything will bring out the 'nut cases')

There were just too many incidences to even begin to tell you,  early this morning there was this man who said Yoshi was staring at him when she was really looking at me as we grabbed a cup of coffee at our favorite coffee stand this morning; of course this man was never in Yoshi’s line of sight as he was standing 5 feet behind her, then this crazy fellow said “everyone-is-staring-at! ME!’ so I said to him with an evil look on my face and in my best strange voice  “You better watch out, "   then I tilted my head and said to him ala Boris Karlof ‘they’re coming to get you Barbara’” and gave him my best wide eyed zombie star.

(I soooo loved the original “Night of the Living Dead” the one in black and white)
Well he spun away from me as if the demons from hell along with Cerebus were chasing him down the street.   We laughed when he  ran away. Ahhh but dear sweet Yoshi said “It can’t get worse.” It did.

 Several of us went out for an early lunch from work and this one man right off the street comes to our table accusing my fellow co-worker John of impersonating a police officer, and poor John was dressed in a business suit.  He kept ranting at John so I told John ignore him, and we pretended he didn't exist, the man kept yelling at John and we continued discussing what we wanted on the menu, until the wait staff brought a uniformed police man to our table who escorted him out.

But the finishing touch came this afternoon we were finishing up things early at work when there was a commotion just outside our conference area, we stopped what we were doing and went out into the main area and was surprised to see this naked man (not the same one from this morning) wearing only tennis shoes (they may have been Michael Jordan’s’) and a idiotic smile on his face, running through and around the office area, generally was frightening the younger women, then he made the mistake of bouncing up to me.

Ahhh sweet things I can be soooo evil; he stopped in front of me (which was his 2nd mistake, his first was being naked), I suspected he thought that I would blush or scream, but instead I slowly looked him up and down,  in my best imperialist manner and with my well-manicured nail, pointed to his shriveled magic wanger and said “Is that all you’ve got? That IS pitiful.” And laughed.

It was enough to totally throw him off stride so that Security captured and handcuffed him; I never saw such a deflated look on a persons face. After Security marched him away, to be arrested by the Police, Dan came up to me and said “Remind me to never get on your bad side.”
One staffer asked if they were doing a re-run of the “Bay to Breakers” run, I could only shake my head thinking that there maybe something strange  in S.F drinking water., Yoshi, reminded of the "Bay to Breakers" remark  told me that she was thankful that she seldom goes to see the Bay to Breakers Run, at first she enjoyed it for the clever costumes, and interesting floats, but after seeing 3 naked, overly fat men running who were in serious need of a Richard Simmons intervention, was enough to give her nightmares for weeks and swear off French fries. Poor Yoshi, all those jello rolls of fat ala Homer Simpson, I'm getting a queasy feeling thinking about it.

BART was running slow, there were some problems on one of the track lines, I overhead that there had been a shooting or a stabbing at one of the stations, it seems like something is happening at one of the stations,  if not some deranged person, then a suicide or Occupy S.F. or Oakland or a fire.
I was grateful to get home early, and relax for the weekend.  And thinking what to do for dinner
I just set my things down when I heard a noise just outside my door, opening it I discovered my elderly neighbor Lillian had dropped one of her shopping bags, fortunately it only contained can goods, so I helped her get her things into her home and told her to sit down while I put things away for her. She's lying down now on the couch resting, I took her blood pressure and it's good,  Baby the little beast is lying next to her.

She's invited me to dinner since Heather is visiting a friend,  and her slow cooker has made her wonderful stew, so I promised I'd be back to cook the rice,  after I do a mini-catch up on my blog.  Sweet Things I just love her zest for life, her overwhelming desire to learn new things, her mind just as sharp as ever.

And I know she is going to love my version of "Tales of the City", I just hope she doesn't laugh so hard that her drink doesn't fly up her nose, that would disasterous, but then I know she'll tell me an uproarious tale when her husband was on the Police force.  I'm looking forward to that.

So now I'll finish my blog, and look out my window to  the City by the Bay, and think upon all the characters that make up the City; about Mr. “they’re staring at me” and “the naked runner”, Millie the 85 year old woman who takes Polaroid pictures of people, the twins so identical to wearing the same outfits, the Bush man, Tommy the escape artist who escapes out of chains at the cable car turn table at fisherman’s wharf, the old man who rides the cable car playing “Camp town Ladies” on his harmonica while his dog ‘sings’, the elderly lady whose dog carries her purse (her dog is a Rottweiler ), Judy the Hooker who wears hot pink Daisy Dukes’ even though she’s 70 years old, and so many more, each one who does something to be distinctive in a gray city, to break out of the drabness of the world.

Each has their own niche, painted upon the psychic canvas of the City, some to be remembered for a long, long time, some who will become distant faded memories, like Emperor Norton, but all not quite forgotten as long as there is at least one person to remember them.

And now my sweet things dinner at Lillian's, a fun chat then to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream, sweet dreams to all of you.

Aurora, Colorado

Sweet Things,
I am horrified at the shooting that occurred in Aurora Colorado. From what I have been able to gather the shooter must be insane, may have never been in his right mind for a long time but over the years learned to cover his mental state very well.


Much like other serial killers, but he was a brilliant student, perhaps too much so, and then reached a point where he over reached himself and being without a mental safety net felt to be a complete failure. Since his field was to be neuroscience, it is possible that he thought this to be the ultimate science experiment.

Because of his mental state he may be found to be guilty by reason of insanity like the Unabomber and spend the rest of his life writing his “ultimate thesis” in solitary confinement.

He could legally buy guns because he was so under the radar that there was only one “blip” on him, a ticket for speeding. He never had a psychiatric evaluation and based upon the laws of the law was fit to purchase weapons.

Only two people realized that he was unfit, but because they were so wide apart and for them isolated the two parts were never fitted together as a warning although one of them could have warned someone.

That was his Mother, the first words she said was “that’s my son, I have to go there” (I’m paraphrasing) she knew, she knew something wasn’t right.
The other person was a gun club owner, the shooter had applied to become a member, the owner called to leave a voice message about the orientation meeting they have to have before being finally accepted although his application said that he didn’t do drugs or was involved in any criminal activity. But when the gun club owner heard the shooters outgoing message, he described it as “bizarre, guttural (freaky)” he left two messages but told staff to watch for this person at the orientation meeting (which the shooter never attended) and to Not permit him membership---he was rejected because of bizarre behavior.

But the two persons never connected---the Mother most likely thought her son was under pressure, the gun club owner thought he was dealing with a nut case that wasn’t going to show up. But why oh why didn’t the parents question $15,000 dollars worth of purchases. Where did he get the gas canisters?

Joe feels that the shooter had been planning this for some time even before the two months that he got his guns, and ammo, he was already insane long, long before the shootings. Why did he leave the PhD program, because he thought he’d be killed or arrested? I think so.
Both Joe and I feel that even with all the laws in place and if all the gun control laws were working this shooting could Not have been prevented---it was going to happen one way or another.
The shooter was brilliant but insane, like the criminals in the Batman films all of them brilliant but insane. The most brilliantly insane one---The Joker.
And with that this shooter slipped into his insane world, he’ll never come out of it.
Heather and I went to the blood drive that was being held in a nearby church yesterday, it was the least we could do.

But I was feeling woozy and light headed when I returned home, I had been working so hard these last few weeks at work because of all the uproar in Europe and the Middle East, I felt I was living in my office. Now with Syria’s situation things are going to be very tense.


Joe got off duty and took pity on me and picked up dinner for us, and insisted that I eat. I felt like I wanted my mind to be numb so he surprised me with Season 88 and 89 of the “New Mission Impossible”, with fans on rotating their coolness (I don’t have air conditioning in my home, not needed for this area) and chilled Crystal light lemonade, he indulged me, he does know what I want.

Hot in the Country, cold in the city

Hello Sweet Things,

Once again it's Friday the 13th OOOOooooooo (scary sound), and I can happily say that nothing so far (knock on wood) bad has happened.

I made use of my long weekend off and went to check my country property and it is fine, but everything around the property is dry, dry, very dry.  My caretakers and I did a lot of brush clearing to make sure there would be defensible space and I am so glad I had the underground sprinkler system installed, it will help keep the grounds wet enough.  

But with a determined fire even that may not be enough to hold anything off.  The goats have been very helpful in keeping a lot of undergrowth under control, and all the milk they produced too.  My caretakers are also small holding farmers, in exchange for living on the property and taking care of it they can raise and sell crops and small farm animals and they are working in conjuction with a 4 H program and our local historical society working together to show what and how an old fashion farm works.

I was surprised to see a cow added to the stable as well as two horses, they told me that some of the fields are plowed using the horses when they do demonstrations.  There was something very comforting to see these two horses, Billy Jo and Bobby Jo  in the corral.  Buddy the dog goes right up to them and sometimes will fall asleep right in either one or the other's stall and they seem to like his company.

Fortunately I do not have to pay for any of their vet bills my caretakers are taking care of that.

But I went over with my caregivers a plan of evacuation in case there is a serious fire.

It has been very warm at the country place and I am so glad that the fire near Colfax is far, far away. 

Waking up in the morning to a rooster crowing, then having breakfast in the kitchen while a hen comes wandering in from outside looking for bits of bread crumbs, not being content with the feed and bugs she might find outside.

Sunday we went to the store and bought boxes of jars for canning, not that I'll be around to do the canning but my caretaker's wife is going to be doing it along with a number of the 4 H youngsters,  but then again I just might run up here just to get involved.

And now for this last week I've been back at work, a heavy marine layer has been making San Francisco the coldest city during the Summer, in a way I don't mind it, having two places to stay helps me balance my mind and my energies.  

I went in early to work today, just blasting through the paperwork,  taking the ferry home, now at this computer relaxing.   Joe will be off duty in a little while if he's not overloaded with paperwork, and I don't feel like cooking, hmmmm I guess it will be take out tonight and a fireplace burning to keep warm, unless it's a spare the air night, I'll have to check.

I've not had a chance to do much traveling so far this year, work and things have kept me home mostly, the family is doing well, so I hope to be able to go down and see them in a month or two,  and I'll take the train, my favorite mode of travel.

Hmmm I thought I was going to be wicked, devilish and instead I've become a homebody,  maybe.   Maybe it's time to see about going through the streets of San Francisco, in search of the elusive black bird, maybe it's something else,  I think I'm restless again.  I shall have to do something about that.

Do you like the picture,  sometimes Buddy the Dog can be like that.

Kisses Sweet Things

I"m Still Alive~~~

Short and Sweet  Sweet Things,

I'm still alive, still very busy,  I'm taking the rest of the week off to check on my property up in the country.

Heather and Lillian have gone to the parade, I'll be joining them, they have a spot saved for me and at least it's a short walk to the parade route, Joe has pulled duty today.

He's put in for retirement, much to my relief.  He's not going to be lazy, no, he does have another job lined up in private investigation and security.  But at least I don't have to worry about him as much.  However it will take a little time for the whole retirement process to go through.

I was sad to hear of the passing of Andy Griffith,  I've been able to catch re-runs of both his shows and enjoyed them.

But for now it will be fried chicken, corn on the cob, cole slaw, potato rolls, parades, fireworks and everything in between, then back to the gym for me after I gain several pounds.

Kisses, Sweet Things and have a Happy 4th of July.

Aftermath~~~~

Well Sweet Things,

My Assistant and I got to work early, I'm taking a short break right now.

If you want to know what's been happening go to SFGATE.com, they have pictures and stories,  but it was horrible, the vandalism, the willful destruction of property that are owned and operated by the hardworking people, NOT the 1% is more than enough to say that "Occupy" is nothing but a reason for hoodlums to gather and have the opportunity to do damage.

They destroyed a Channel 5 news van, burned a police car, vandalized private businesses and private cars,  my Joe has bruises that he showed me via video phone that are so black and blue it will be ages before they go, he may even have cracked ribs.  He is in a lot of pain right now and he's seen other officers get it worse, bottles and paint thrown at them, hit with crowbars and metal objects,  it's a job that he took on years ago, but it hurts him in other ways, people that need help that need the police.

One protester an Amanda Young said that (and I'm paraphrasing) this is not what Occupy is about, but that it does turn the people against them.   Oh Really??? And what gave you that idea...no protest can be peaceful, and this is not Syria or Egypt, if you want to do a peaceful non-violent, non-vandalizing protest you can here in the U.S.A with out fear of being shot at---if it's peaceful, Syria and Egypt are totally different situations they are held by dictators.

But turn those vandals, those criminals in,  show real solidarity that your message is peaceful.  Show that"Occupy" has zero tolerance to such acts.   Since you're not then "Occupy" has no validity, it is nothing but a criminal element.

Heather could not get to school via the normal routes, our neighbor drove her to classes by different route, she was even thinking of staying late until someone could come and get her or the buses were running normally again.

Since my Assistant and I have put in extra time by coming in early we are going to go home early via the Ferry which is running again----if this was an earthquake disaster they would not have shut down.  

And the cost in insurance, the rates will go up because of this  "Occupy" what have you done---anything positive???  I think not.   I am totally disgusted with "Occupy's" motives for they have none, I now view them as criminals, lazy good for nothings that want handouts without having to work for it. 

I paid my way through college, working part time jobs, fighting for grants, if I didn't have enough money for a full class load I got what I could afford.  I didn't have health insurance, going to clinics and dental schools for my medical needs, buying cloths at thrift shops, eating more Mac and cheese and raman noodles than I care to think about,  sleeping on floors in well-meaning friends apartments, trading baby-sitting for a place to sleep,  collecting bottles and cans to get money for foods or transportation, or walking everywhere, getting so thin that I looked like a refugee from WWII.

When my Father hears what I went through because of his stubbornness those years ago, he cries and asks forgiveness, which I give him, I can't hate him anymore, because he hates himself for what he did and now trys to make it up to Baby Sis and wants to make it up to me.   He has in his own way,  our healing our relationship has been like a soothing balm.  

But it has taught me that hand outs only make people lazy, unless it is done in a way that is positive.  You have to work for everything, save for everything, it cannot be handed on a silver platter, we want what our folks had???  They saved and scrimped and sacrificed for it, and so will you, think back to the 1930s' that is the only way.

Now I have to go,  the rest of the staff is finally showing up after all the delays, so a meeting in 15.

Later Sweet Things.  Kisses

Up date on Protests

 

Well Sweet Things

 the Trashing has begun, as a matter of fact it started last night when a so called “Black Bloc” of the Occupy S.F. left the Delores Park Event and started Trashing the Mission Business District including the Police station, with smashing windows of businesses, and cars, throwing paint all over everything and generally being A%$ holes---sorry if my language is not lady like but I am seriously pissed.

My assistant and I have done the right thing in staying at the hotel near our job, just a very short walk to it, and we started early this morning, we picked up “care packages” to see us through the day so we won’t have to look for lunch.  

I am just disgusted with what they are doing.  Here are a couple of news articles that I’ve posted for your “reading pleasure”:

  Occupy Oakland's May Day protests under way

Jill Tucker, Demian Bulwa, Will Kane

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*(05-01) 11:11 PDT OAKLAND* -- Protesters tried to dodge police Tuesday

morning as they marched through downtown Oakland, banging on the windows

of banks and other businesses in the opening act of Occupy activists'

May Day general strike.

A few hundred protesters, some of them toting metal shields and gas

masks, were playing a game of cat and mouse with officers, trying to

storm into a business before police could block the entrance.

At one point, protesters surrounded a Bank of America branch on Lakeside

Drive, pounded on windows and chanted, "Oakland is the people's town,

strike occupy, shut it down."

"We are here today because capitalism has destroyed basic human need,"

said a 20-year-old protester who only identified himself as Connor.

"I am sort of into the libertarian/communist thing myself," he said. "I

am an advocate of human need, not monetary need.

The group then marched to a nearby Wells Fargo branch, where one

protester was detained by police after writing "Love" and "Money" in

chalk on the bank's outside wall. After speaking with the bank manager,

police released the man.

The protest was the most militant of several gatherings in the downtown

area aimed at calling attention to economic inequality and other Occupy

grievances. Another group gathered in the Uptown neighborhood north of

City Hall, where protesters took issue with the gentrification of some

of the city's neighborhoods.

"The city of Oakland has pushed lower-income folks out of this area,"

said William Hastings, 23, a college student. "The city is spending

money trying to enrich this area, whereas people in these other

neighborhoods can't get basic things fixed, like potholes."

That group marched to Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe on 18th Street, where

activists tried to march into the locally owned restaurant. Servers

pushed the protesters out of the cafe while diners looked on in shock.

One patron, Kristin Nicholas, told protesters they were disrupting

classes at the Oakland School for the Arts across the street, which her

children attend.

"How dare they hijack my kids' education?" she said. "They work(meaning her children) really hard to get here."

The group then set off to a nearby Starbucks before meeting up with the

larger protest group.

Protesters are planning noon and 6 p.m. rallies outside City Hall and a

3 p.m. march from the Fruitvale BART station.

Jill Tucker, Demian Bulwa and Will Kane are San Francisco Chronicle

staff writers. jtucker@sfchronicle.com ,

dbulwa@sfchronicle.com ,

wkane@sfchronicle.com

COMMENTS---

 kitten_chow

      

10:20 AM on May 1, 2012  "I am sort of into the libertarian/communist thing myself," he said. "I  am an advocate of human need, not monetary need."

Umm, because you are TWENTY and your mom pays your bills?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

squeakywheel

Oohhhhhh, so the morning starts at 10 for Occupy?

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kenosmond

10:18 AM on May 1, 2012

Losers.

And another news article:

Protesters trash Mission District businesses, cars

Vivian Ho

San Francisco Chronicle May 1, 2012 06:46 AM Copyright San Francisco

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

Pedestrians walk by Weston Wear on Valencia after vandals with the

Occupy march vandalized shops, cars and the police station on the

street. Police and merchants were hit by vandals along Valencia Street

in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 30. 2012.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*(05-01) 06:46 PDT SAN FRANCISCO* -- Broken glass littered several

streets in San Francisco's Mission District after protesters vandalized

cars and buildings Monday night,

including a police station.

The vandals were in a group that marched from Dolores Park shortly after

9 p.m., following a rally in advance of Tuesday's planned Occupy general

strike, police said. Traveling down 18th Street and onto Valencia

Street, the black-clad, masked protesters smashed windows with crowbars

and signs, threw paint on buildings and spray-painted anarchy symbols on

the hoods of parked cars.

"All I heard was, 'bang, bang, bang,' and some dude had the valet sign,

trying to break our window," said Adam Koskoff, manager of the Locanda

restaurant on Valencia. "I didn't even see the crowd, and I ran outside

and got egged."

The vandals threw paint and eggs and smashed windows at more than 30

businesses, including Tartine Bakery at 18th and Guerrero streets and

clothing store Weston Wear on Valencia.

Both luxury and everyday vehicles along Valencia and Guerrero streets

were damaged. An Aston Martin had its windshield shattered, and brown

paint covered the hood.

Pink and yellow paint marred the barricaded, cracked glass doors of the

Mission police station at 17th and Valencia streets.

"It was like the station was under siege," said an officer, who asked

not to be named.

One person had been arrested as of 11 p.m., but details were not available.

About 15 officers in riot gear stood guard in front of the police

station, as other officers moved up and down the street, documenting the

damage, leaving cards on defaced cars and speaking to business owners.

Jeremy Tooker, owner of Four Barrel Coffee, was wiping paint off his

store's windows as broken glass crunched beneath pedestrians' feet. He

said a friend had alerted him of the damage after stopping a protester

from smashing the glass storefront with a crowbar - and taking a hit to

his arm.

"This just seems like they're frustrated with their impotency at this

point," Tooker said. "It's like, 'Look at me, I'm still here, I'm still

occupying.' "

As Koskoff smoked a cigarette by the damaged Aston Martin, he said he

didn't understand protesters' motives.

"They're coming through the Mission, where there aren't any

corporations, just a lot of small businesses, which is what they're all

about," he said. "It doesn't make sense."

Although the march sprang from a rally for an Occupy action, other

Occupy protesters shunned its participants as outliers. Some business

people, however, said Occupy bore responsibility for the damage.

"Occupy is saying it's not them, but we wouldn't be here if it wasn't

for Occupy, now would we?" Michelle Horneff-Cohen, a real estate

 broker, said as she shivered next to

the broken window of her workplace, Property Management Systems.

She said she had been dragged out of bed to deal with the damage.

Although her company has insurance, she said, it will have to pay for

much of the cost of repairs.

"I think it's bulls--," Horneff-Cohen said. "We are the 99 percent, and

this is bulls--."

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Comments:

swank7

6:53 AM on May 1, 2012

Occupy is completely off track - Horneff-Cohen is right - it's total

Bull shXX.

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justthink

6:52 AM on May 1, 2012

CITIZENS - TRASH AN OCCUPIST TODAY!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

docguch1972

6:48 AM on May 1, 2012

Was it the Occupy protesters again? They are not going to gain respect

for their cause if they are vandalizing and trying to hinder economic

recovery.

And another comment that describes how most of the general population feels:

Chris · Unitek College-----If I were in a position of power I would have a few fire trucks filled with pepper spray on standby, just for these pricks. When ever they acted out violently, or broke a law, I would dispatch fire and swat teams to clear the streets. I have been to Occupy Oakland, and saw exactly how pathetic these people are. One guy said that he had borrowed 50 grand for college...to become an arts major, and now the banks want more money than he has....have you ever heard of a starving artist you idiot? Why would you borrow 50 grand for something like that.... There are community colleges, Pell Grants (just about any one who makes under 45 grand can get). If you don't want to be in debt stop spending money you don't have and live within your means! The banks are not the problem, they are a business just like any other. The government inflated the mortgage bubble and then dropped the bottom out. If you want to protest something, protest lobbyists, they are the real problem. They are the ones that allow those with money(individuals, companies, and unions) to influence government. As far as medical debt is concerned the problem is the insurance companies and what they will or will not cover. You can put money into insurance all your life, and have coverage but have an emergency and get stuck with a huge deductible, or have them tell you that its not covered.

It’s me again Sweet Things----this is just a sample locally of what is happening, Ferry’s didn’t run, cops were protecting the Golden Gate Bridge to prevent “Occupy” from blocking it and if they did it would be a Federal Offense,  Bus transportation was disrupted and delayed,   I had people trying to get to work here via BART and they were having problems but they made it.

Granted on some of the Labor negotiations everyone has to work together, and we’ve had nurses strike before, but that puts lives in danger.  Especially in Emergency situations, a heart attack does not wait because someone is protesting; a child hit by a car can’t wait because of someone protesting, a fire doesn’t stop because someone is protesting.

About 90 percent of the comments on the news articles have been against Occupy.

It’s not getting better----

Here’s another comment from these event’s:

Protests on May Day turned violent in the noon hour.

By Christie Smith, Jodi Hernandez and Joe Rosatto Jr.

|  Tuesday, May 1, 2012  |  Updated 2:01 PM PDT

********

‘In San Francisco, the protests began on Monday night, where at least one person was arrested after cars, businesses and a police substation in the Mission was vandalized.

"It was unbelievable, I sort of went into shock," said Eric Koehler, owner of the Art Zone gallery, where a giant window was broken.

“For my mind it’s why us?” said Koehler. “We’re a local business, local art gallery, we show local artists’ work -- why are we a target for that kind of violence?”

Other shops that were vandalized include the nearby Therapy, Pica Pica restaurant and Chez Tartine.’

**********

With actions like this it is no wonder that many people are so against the “Occupy” movement.

In Cleveland the group there cancelled their events because of 5 anarchists who planned to blow up a bridge, according to news articles these 5 wanted to cause violent, destructive action against private property---Excuse me blowing up a bridge that is used by the general public to go to work is considered ‘private property’???  And with that causing a major amount of death??  It’s a good thing the FBI infiltrated that Occupy group to capture those potential murderers.

The Cleveland Occupy group want to distance themselves from the 5 potential bomber but what spawned their getting together and creating the scenario for their deadly deed?---The Occupy protests---so what is Occupy doing?  Creating Chaos, nothing concrete, nothing built,  mostly young people 20 something, their parents may have paid the bills, and aging activists that want to think that their lives have some meaning….when it offers so little.

Give me Mother Teresa any day! 

So my Assistant and I will spend one more night here at our hotel; we’ve treated ourselves to massages and mani-pedicures, WHY??  Because we’ve WORKED FOR IT!!

We got up early, started our day early, worked like hell and now we are going to relax and be pampered

We don’t pamper ourselves very often but there are times when it is a treat deserved after great stress.

I don’t mind paying for it, we managed to get a lot done today, and we’ll get a lot done tomorrow.  She is a trouper and she loves her Grandparents, called them to let them know we are safe and everything is all right.

Tomorrow night we’ll go home to sleep in our beds, my Joe is nursing some bruises and aches, but I hope to make him feel better tomorrow evening.

Now we are going to relax and refresh ourselves.

Later Sweet Things, Kisses.

Shootings and "Occupy"

 Well Sweet Things, although it’s been a while since I’ve last posted things have been extremely busy for me, so busy that it has been hard to even make the time to post.

But last week I had a hard time getting to sleep.

I received a phone call very early in the evening; usually I’m not home before 6 p.m. unless I go into work early and I had one of those days, when I got home there was a message on my answering machine.  

A friend of mine, Liz who lives several blocks away asked if she could spend the night at my place, she was frightened by an event that happened and couldn’t talk clearly on the phone.  I called her back right away and asked her what happened and she told me that there had been a shooting just a few doors away from her home.

A Shooting??  In my quiet little Town???!!!  In a way that explained Joe’s earlier message on my cell to call him ASAP, I had assured him that I was fine and he said that a situation had happened not too far from my place and he wanted to be sure I was O.K.

I drove to Liz’s home but could not get close to her place, the area had been cordoned off, I even had to show my I.D. and explain why I was there.

Liz had packed a bag with what she would need, and locked her home, in the fading light I saw as we walked back to my car the apartment building that had bullet holes in the wall.  

I put an order in for dinner to be delivered and calmed her down with a cup of chamomile tea as she told me what had happened.

She had put in a half day of work taking the afternoon off for a dental appointment, and came directly home, she doesn’t do dentists very well, at about 5 p.m. she heard a car screech up and someone yell out a name of a person, then after a moment a series of shots rang out, and the sound of car tires squealing away.  She looked out her window and people were coming out of their homes, she came out and eventually found out that someone in a car had targeted someone in the 2^nd floor apartment building, had called their name and that person came to the window, the next thing is about 10 or so shots rang out all aimed at the person but no one was hurt.  The car with the shooter then sped away. 

I said with 10 rounds, a clear target and still they could barely hit the side of the building and miss???  I guess the way I said it struck her as funny as she began to laugh, we were making jokes like ‘I guess the guy is not going to get his security and cleaning deposit’ and other things.  Although a very serious situation, laughter helped relieved the stress of fear that she was experiencing, but still it was not something to take lightly.

The sad thing is when I’ve gone to visit Liz, I’ve always seen Asian family members at that building, so I was concerned with the idea of Asian gang violence coming over from our near by city.   Someone was obviously targeted.  It was a miracle that no one was hurt or very poor shooting.   The police were all over the place and a helicopter had been circling over head, Liz gave her statement to the police but she felt nervous and alone, her room mate was out of town for a sisters wedding and Liz didn’t want to be alone.

So with a hot dinner, watching Season 2 of “Castle” followed by rocky road ice cream, Liz relaxed and fell asleep on the couch, I called Joe, left him a message on his phone and told him of our overnight visitor.

It was only briefly mentioned on the radio and nothing on Television although I was sorry to see that Lloyd LaQuesta from our local T.V. station was retiring but I’d have to say after 36 years of hard news reporting, he has more than earned his retirement.

Liz took the next day off from work and Joe took her home, I’ve called her to see how she’s doing and she felt better, except for the holes that she has seen in the stucco in the walls of the apartment building, but she’s feeling that this was an exception not the rule in our town, things like this happen, but happen rarely.  Joe was going to listen for any “buzz” on this, but our feeling is that there will be few clues on this, especially if the potential victim doesn’t want to give up any information.

But we shall see Sweet Things, we shall see.  Although I love my little town certain elements have been creeping in like an insidious cancer, tagging for one thing is cropping up, and there are more break in’s.  A change in attitude by the public both as pedestrians and as drivers is creating a more dangerous living situation, both walking and driving, its like people don’t care anymore; this does have me concerned, so much so that I’ve been changing my driving and shopping habits to avoid as much of this “anger” as possible, it’s like seeing mice in an overcrowded condition that is so bad that they start to kill and eat each other.  That is what I’m feeling at this point. 

On another front, Occupy Oakland and Occupy San Francisco plan to disrupt things again tomorrow May 1, the minute I heard about it on Sunday, I called my assistant, talked to her and her grandparents and advised that she pack a bag for 3 days and we’ll stay at a hotel that I know near our building, she and I will share a room, then on Wednesday we can go home after work.  Her grandparents felt better that she would be safe with me and not lose any work time.   The hotel has a nice little spa so I told her we’d have a little treat and it’s on my dime.  The dear thing is looking forward to it and I want to brain-storm with her about things at work. 

Frankly the “Occupy” groups are more of a nuisance than a benefit, they plan to block the bridges and that is a federal offence, frankly if they do, I’d like to see the book thrown at them.  If you want to change things do it the right way, there are channels.   To me they are like little children throwing temper tantrums for not getting their own way, rules are there to prevent chaos, but if you don’t like the rules see if there is a legal way to make it better, don’t harm the 99% that have to get to work to pay the bills, the mortgage, put food on the table, shoes on the children’s feet, because that is what you are doing…you are not hurting the 1 % because you are not tackling the problem correctly.

If anything the “Occupy” groups are adding to the problem, look at the increased expenses that the S.F. and Oakland groups have caused and who is paying for that??? The 99%....so what are they doing?  NOTHING.

A friend of mine said that because their home is underwater and because they don’t meet all  the rules for re-financing they have asked the bank to go ahead and sell their house, to go ahead and foreclose on it, even if it means damage to their credit rating.  They’ve looked at their income and the situation they are facing and in the end it was the only result, they and several other friends of mine have found it to be a relief and have been able to start fresh, and a lot wiser.

Another who managed to pay her home mortgage on time all the time, but knew her credit rating was not very good was approached by her bank that holds the mortgage on her home about refinancing, she said she wasn’t sure if she would meet the requirements, her bank said all she had to do was answer a number of questions and they would know if qualified or not, the worse that would happen is that she would stay at the same rate and nothing would change.  So she thought she had nothing to lose, she qualified and was able to lower her monthly payment drastically, the entire process was done within 3 weeks, all by e-mail, fed-ex, a couple of phone calls and her lawyer’s notary.  And no fee, 30 year, fix rate.

But what about the others who are being foreclosed, we don’t know the full story, many claim the bank is unreasonable, when in truth they didn’t qualify for one reason or another or didn’t fill out the paper work correctly.  Then there are others who were victims by scams, who didn’t understand the process.   I’ve always said go to a legitimate financial institution such as those banks that everyone says are the guilty parties like Wells Fargo which seems to be helping a lot of people in need; B of A I would not trust if my life depended upon it, if need be go to a credit union and see what they can offer, find a real-estate lawyer who comes highly recommended they maybe able to stop the whole process and get you on the right path.

But does the “Occupy” groups offer that?  I certainly have not seen that happening with them.  In some cases they have made the situation worse, have criminalized their situation, the protestors can walk away, but not the former owner of the home and they maybe worse off than before.

Any solutions?  All I know is that I have to plan my commute very carefully if I want to get to work and cover my responsibilities that I need to maintain.

“Occupy” be damned!

Until later Sweet Things.  Kisses.

Easter Doings~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

I'm posting from my parents home, took the train down here on Thursday.

Mom and Baby sis left on Monday by train to get things back on par. Dad missed them a lot.

I had hoped he would be able to come up and visit but several of his staff were ill, flu, so he's been putting in extra time.

We are going to make sure that he does take this whole week off to rest, his co-workers are back and have taken up where Dad left off, so this is a good thing.

We went to early mass this morning, so wonderful. And for once I was not wearing black or very dark colors, but tropical coral and yellow with splashes of green and white, it had me thinking of taking a trip to Hawaii, which I might do this year.

Baby sis looked wonderful in her pale yellow and spring green dress with matching hat, Mother made them just as she made my outfit and Mom looked so dignified and graceful in her dress of spring green with pale yellow trim and matching hat.

She is even sewing up gloves, said she had to master that skill, she had bought some old gloves that looked good but had serious moth holes that made them un-usable, so she carefully took them apart and designed the pattern.

Now that Dad has been home and sleeping regular hours he looks refreshed. We just had pastry, coffee and juice for breakfast, and won't have dinner until early this evening. Ted is with his folks right now and they will join us in a few minutes.

Mom has packed a light picnic lunch in case we get peckish and we are all going for a drive in our Easter outfits in just a few minutes, where too I'm not sure, but Dad will be driving one of Ted's vintage and Ted will be driving his other vintage car, we'll stay in touch via (cell phone) but Ted and Dad want to take us for an old-fashioned Sunday drive and damn the high gas prices, Ted's folks are also dressed up vintage style as well and although it's a little chilly we'll be fine. No rain and plenty of sun. Even Trixie the dog is coming.

Lillian and Heather are with Heather's folks for their Easter gathering.

I felt bad leaving Joe behind but he's not retired yet, although he's started the process, it will take 3 months to complete all the paperwork to get his benefits and retirement pay. So he's covering for an officer with family that has family coming to visit. He said to go and see the folks, when he gets off duty he'll join Lillian and Heather later so he won't be alone.

I've been so busy with work and family that I've not had a chance to sit down and post, but I have to say I'm doing well. Joe, Heather and Lillian are doing well and so is my family. Mom's little business is keeping her busy just enough to make life interesting without overwhelming her.

The Vintage Fashion show was wonderful, Mom and Baby sis made some excellent contacts and found some beautiful things as well as dress patterns.

Things in my little home town have been upsetting, that maniac who killed 7 students at that private university, the grandson of a respected retired city council killing a elderly man the grandson is a paranoid schizophrenic had really gone off the deep end as they say. A fire near my house that killed the home owner and his dog. And of course power outages caused by birds and a Mylar balloon.

It was interesting reading the 'tweets' one of them said "boom+power out+police sirens=zombie invasion?" but the news paper said that no zombie invasion was on the police log. I have no idea what is this thing about zombies unless it's the way people feel that is what the world is coming to.

I can hardly wait for the weather to get warmer, I need to go to my country home although things are going well my caretakers would like me to see things personally and the historical society wants to rent the house and grounds for a special event in July, so I'll have to go up in a week or two and I have a new car! And Joe is fixing up the old one for me to drive around town.

So much happening and so much to do. So much to comment on and think about.

But right now Dad is calling for me to "get off the phone" as he calls it. Right now when he said that I felt like a teenager---what a good feeling!

Kisses Sweet Things.

A slight cold and an update~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

Well I have a little cold, or it might be allergies, I'm going to see my doctor in an hour, fortunately her office is close by.

My Mother is visiting me for a few weeks, and Baby sis is using the commuter flights to come and visit, she came up Friday and left on Monday. We went to the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale, and had to get there very early, Lillian and Heather drove us and since Lillian has a handicapped placard we could park in the handicapped slot, so Heather, Baby sis and I went hunting for coffee and pastries. We all had so much fun and I found some things I can put into my office, Joe was on duty, so he went on Sunday.

Mom and Baby sis found things for their "business" Heather found some very interesting artwork and Lillian just enjoyed herself at the jewelry counter.

I just love it, and the next day Sunday was so nice that we went to the Antique Faire that is held once a month. Mother found patterns and things that she could use, Sis found some vintage clothing as well.

Then Monday Sis flew back home but she'll be back in two weeks, we are all going to the Vintage Fashion Faire in the City. And I hope to be better from this cold or allergies or whatever it is.

Joe has made a decision~~~he's going to leave his job, he has had it~~~not to worry he has another one lined up, he has enough to retire on and with this new job he will be in an excellent position financially. He's also moved into a new studio apartment, that's in easy walking distance from my place. I thought he'd want to move in with me but we both admitted that my place is not big enough for both of our interests, but the studio is more of a holding place and it's close by. I can understand, sometimes he needs his own "Man Cave", a place he and his buddies can get together without imposing on me, I hadn't realized that he felt that way. But yes, during the games they can let off steam without worrying about doing any damage by accident. But he's keeping his cars here.

In a way I'm glad that he's changing jobs, but he will still be in touch with his friends, and still be in the know with what they are going through. It relieves my mind.

And what have I been doing? Working Sweet Things, Working! Maybe that is why I'm not feeling so well. I want to travel, to drive someplace in my new car, but the demands of work are preventing me from doing it.

But to be able to have Mom here is a pleasure, and she's not alone, she and Lillian go off on their little excursions and Mom always comes home with a find.

Now I must go, my appointment is in a half hour even though it's only 10 minutes away, but I don't like to be late.

Until later Sweet Things. Kisses

Happy and Sad~~~

I know Sweet Things,

How can one be happy and sad at the same time, it's not impossible, but it is the way life is.

Nothing is ever one or the other, it is a combination of both, and each are passing at the same time or goes in cycles.

Each can be brief or long.

I am sad for two reasons, Whitney Houston, a voice and a gift of music, gone forever to never have a chance to regain what she lost, but her music lives on.

The other reason is I just received word that one of my teachers who helped me get my scholarships to college passed away. I had asked when was the funeral I wanted to go, but was informed that she didn't want any funeral at all. She was cremated and her ashes scattered to the four winds. She had done what she wanted to do, influenced those that she could, saw the results and was pleased. She paid forward as they say. And I can only do the same, I'll miss her, I called her, wrote to her, visited her when I could, and discovered right up to the end she still was helping those that needed help, quietly, no fan fare, just doing little things to make the world better. I, and those whom she helped can only do the same.

Happy at the same time, yes, I had a wonderful evening with people I know and love, and saw the silliest movie "Munster Go Home", completely juvenile, silly and yet with some double meanings. I felt like a kid and the little beast "Baby" decided to sleep in my lap and would growl in its sleep if I moved too much. Maybe someday I'll have a dog of my own, but in the meantime I'll enjoy the company of others.

Joe has the Ford running right now, it is ready to "go for a spin". I asked him about all the other parts like breaks, steering etc. and he says that they are fine, so this will be a test run. But we are taking our very warm coats and our triple A cards---It's just going to be around town, nothing on the free way. Which is good, I have to do some shopping close by. So for a little while we will induge in nostalgia and be like there were in the '40's before Pearl Harbor.

As a matter of fact I saw a house up for sale here in town that's '40's vintage and I'm seriously considering buying it. It will need some work but it's open house today so we are going to take a look there first and have a serious talk about it. Joe liked the looks of it and it's drive way and garage space. He wants to get out of his apartment in Oakland, and if he's thinking what I'm thinking and I think he is we maybe on the same track, he'll have his own space when he needs it and I'll have fun doing up another place. And I can get my own garage back for my new car.

Joe is ready, so am I.

Later Sweet Things, Kisses

A 3 Day Weekend and~~~~

And Sweet Things, I am putting together all the things that must be done to do my income tax return.

But all was not lost, Joe insisted that we go for a little while out of town, where to? To a Gun shop where I saw a lovely .38 Smith & Wesson 5 shot Body Guard with laser and hammerless.

Joe was insistent that it be purchased. And why, I ask him.

One always needs a back up he said and I came across the gun safe of my dreams, can it be delivered? I ask. For a small fee yes, well considering that gas is now over $4 a gallon that's understandable.

They did have a .38 special by Charter Arms, as well---in Pink! with a sign next to it saying "Yes! It's Pink!" Several ladies were admiring it and I think one of them will buy it.

I have GOT to get to a Gun Show! I'm missing the smell of cordite in the morning.

So a new gun, which I'll pick up in a few weeks and a new gun safe that will be delivered tomorrow and I have the perfect spot for it. And it is extremely fire-resistant---very important.

Joe is now grilling two lovely steaks on the outdoor grill, we'll have a little wine, the salad is made, I asked him if he wanted me to prepare a vegetable but he's grilling peppers, tomatoes and something else. He said he wanted to do something that passes for normal after all the insanity that he's been going through and for him to have this time off is precious to both of us.

Tomorrow he's going to work on the Ford while I do the mundane things.

But tonight it's going to be ice cream and popcorn over at Lillian's to watch of all things "Munster Go Home" on Svengoolie, with Lillian and Heather and the little Beast.

I feel like a kid again, enjoying a childhood that I never really had, not that I begrudge my parents on that, but it seems right to enjoy childhood things. I want to go on Merry-go-rounds and Ferris Wheels, Drive the bumper cars, and eat cotton candy that's so sweet it makes one's teeth ache.

Joe is not perfect, we have our arguments, but we never go to sleep mad, we try to find out why we argued. Joe has said he's never tried that before, trying to search for the "why" of things.

I can only agree, why yesterday I had a "hissy-fit" at one of our people, she always gets on a "high-horse" about something or other and wastes time complaining about it.

Yesterday I and my Assistant had bought several boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, and I know people have issues about that, but it has become a tradition for me and Joe loves the Shortbread ones.

So do several other people on the staff, when Miss High-Horse started complaining about all the unhealthy things in Girl Scout Cookies, and that they were made in China, when on the box it says Kentucky.

Finally I had had enough and said "If you are not happy with the cookies, write a letter of complaint to the National Office of the Girl Scouts and complain to them, do not waste my time, other peoples time or create an uncomfortable atmosphere in this office. With the time that you wasted complaining you could have looked up the address, wrote it out on an envelop and started drafting a letter of complaint----Those that want to, do so----Those that just want to take up air, complain---and it seems to me that you are doing the latter, so do something or be quiet and let us enjoy these so-called unhealthy cookies once a year."

And with that I took a bite of one of the Samoas and thoroughly enjoyed eating it right in front of her. I am happy to say so did the rest of the staff, while she went back to her desk.

I documented the situation and sent it on to H.R. this person has more than once created an uncomfortable situation by her belligerent attitude, and I am hoping that she will get a "side-ways" promotion. Which more than likely will happen.

Fortunately the feed back I received from the rest of the floor was positive on this situation so right now Girl Scout Cookies rule. On Tuesday I'm going to buy a box of Thin Mints.

And now the steaks are ready and Joe has poured the wine, and he's put on my favorite Dean Martin CD. Hmmmm I wonder what he's up to.

Kisses Sweet Things.