A Day in the Life

This was on sale at Herrschner’s and, since I’ve been eying it longingly for a while in their catalog, I took advantage of the sale price and added it to the countless boxes of stash:

It’s called “Hoopla” and comes from Design Works Crafts (click on the picture to make it larger).  Unfortunately, it’s on Aida so I’ll visit Joann or Michael’s to pick up some white evenweave.  I think it looks like it’ll be fun to stitch.

Stitching this would probably drive me insane, but I just love the colors:

Thanks to my weird-looking magnifying glasses (similar to these), I can stitch again.  Life is good.

Of course, this number is based on the assumption that I got it right here.

The downtown Sarasota Whole Foods is located just about exactly one-half mile from the office, meaning that I can usually get there, pick up something from the buffet and get back to work within my alloted half hour lunch break.

Not today.

I walked up to Whole Foods, listening to Pandora’s Beatles Radio on my Droid, got lunch at the buffet and headed to the checkout line.  I got into the “express” line and was maybe #7.  The woman who was #1 couldn’t seem to figure out the credit card machine and kept dropping her card.  I scooted over to a regular line that had considerably fewer people and was right behind a very Distinguished-Looking Man (whose tasteful hoop earring did not detract one bit from his distinguished-looking-ness).  At the head of this line, as it turns out, was a woman who apparently had been drinking since before breakfast (yesterday) and was having a lot of trouble paying the cashier.  She’d already spilled her plate of food (hey, lady, that’s why they have those convenient little Chinese food cartons!) and was still apologizing while trying to figure out the money.  Finally, Distinguished-Looking Man leaned over the conveyor, sighed deeply, and said in a rather loud voice, “I’ll pay for it!!!”   I could not help but laugh, and then said I thought that people here in Florida were supposed to be laid back — he looked at me, rolled his eyes, and said “Hey, even Paradise has its share of lunatics.”

Yes sir, it most certainly does.

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On a happier note, I had $5 in Borders Bucks and a 25% coupon so I headed over to my local Borders, as is my wont on Fridays.  I picked up a copy of Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.  I’d read the duo’s earlier book, The Nanny Diaries, which made me laugh so hard I cried.  Yes, I know it’s a novel, but I have known so many people over the years who could have been members of the X family that I really could be forgiven for thinking it’s non-fiction.

Borders also had a $5.99-and-under table and I took advantage of some bargains.  I bought several books at $3.99 each, including Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage, by Nicholas Wapshott and Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox.  And the TBR pile continues to grow…

When I first visited France back in the late 70s, I learned that everyone used fountain pens.  They even had disposable fountain pens and some sort of thingy that erased fountain pen ink.  I was in awe.  When I went back 2 years later to attend university, I did what all of the French students did and bought some of those cheapie pens when I bought the rest of my school supplies.  I loved them.  My handwriting had never looked so good.  Unfortunately, there were no disposable fountain pens yet when I came back to the US to finish my studies (and I certainly couldn’t afford a real one) so I used ballpoints again.

A few years later, I stumbled across disposable fountain pens in New York and picked some up.  Once again, my handwriting looked good, and I used them for pretty much everything, despite the fact that people thought I was a tad eccentric.  Then, in August of 1989, in honor of my 30th birthday, I went to Sam Flax on Park Avenue and bought this:

A marbleized blue Waterman Apostrophe.  I loved that pen.  I lost it a couple of times over the years, used disposables, tried roller balls, bought a Waterman Harmonie that leaked, etc.  But I always came back to my Apostrophe.

Until this past Tuesday.

I got to school, reached into my purse for my Apostrophe to take notes for my Probate class, and realized immediately that something was wrong.  My beloved pen had snapped in two and was irreparable.

So I visited ebay and Amazon and learned that the Apostrophe had been discontinued ages ago.  The only ones I could find were either in green or black or, if in blue, they came with a medium nib.   There is nothing like Joon or Sam Flax here in Sarasota, so I had to be daring and go through the Internet to buy my new pen.   So I went on to ebay and bought this from Montgomery Pens (based on Grand Street in New York’s Lower East Side — I probably passed it a zillion times over the years without knowing it):

It’s a silver-plated Waterman Allure with a fine nib.  I am very excited about it.   If I like this pen even half as much as my Apostrophe, it’s going to be a beautiful relationship.

Like a lot of readers who have more books on their TBR list than money with which to buy them, I am a big fan of the public library.  I have 2 local library systems from which to take out books, and I definitely take advantage of them.  I check my accounts every week or so to see where I am in the queue for holds.  This week, I had 2 books to take home: Unfinished Desires, a novel by Gail Godwin, and No Apology by Mitt Romney.  Unfinished Desires came highly recommended, and No Apology interests me primarily because of my love of politics.  I still haven’t finished Lost Moon (I talked about it back on the 31st), but am now about a third of the way through, and am finding it thoroughly engrossing.  Lovell, Haise and Swigert are in space, they’ve just finished the broadcast that wasn’t, and are just about to stir the tanks.  Even though I know how it ends, I still want to see how they get home.

Oh, and at some point, I really will start Pride and Prejudice. Honest.

Today is Opening Day.  I just love typing those words.  I love hearing them.  I particularly love living them.  Unfortunately, however, I no longer live in New York and my long-time habit of going to Mets Opening Day has gone by the wayside.  I’ve been thinking of how many Opening Days at Shea I went to, and I’m pretty certain I made it to at least 13, the last 10 of them in a row.

I saw Tom Seaver’s return in 1983.  I saw Gary Carter hit his first Mets home run to win the game in 1985.  I saw the raising of the 2000 National League Championship flag against the Braves, with Chipper Jones being hanged in effigy from the Upper Deck in 2001.  I saw the last Opening Day at Shea in 2008, and I cried.  But I had left town by the time Shea closed and didn’t get to go back for the Citifield opener.  My heart (and my friends) are there today.  Thanks to MLB.tv and WFAN.com, I got to hear or see pretty much everything.  No, it’s not the same as being there, but it’s all I’ve got so I’ll make the best of it.

I’d thought that the Roku I got for Christmas meant I’d be able to watch the Mets on TV immediately.  Unfortunately, it isn’t up and running yet; the message I got when I tried to log in said that I should come back in “mid-April.”   It’s a new product, so I will live with 2 weeks of laptop viewing ( hopefully the product will be bug-free by then).  The concept is awesome — to bypass the laptop and still get to see baseball games with built-in DVR capabilities and to be able to choose which feed I want.  The miracle of modern technology!

The boys played great today.  They took advantage of the Marlins’ very bad fielding and won by a score of 7-1.  Wright hit a 2-run HR to open the scoring.  Bay went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Frenchy went 1-for-2 with 2 RBI.  Santana looked great — 4 hits, 2 BB and 1 ER in 6 IP.  Frankie pitched a hitless, scoreless 9th to end the game.  Here is the box score.

1 down, 161 (and, hopefully, more) to go. LGM!

Yes, it’s early, but I cannot help thinking about 2012 and the possibility that we will be able to rid ourselves of the malignant, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, economically ignorant, scarily incompetent Marxist who currently occupies the White House.

Those of us on the Right get slammed when we refer to Obama and his minions as Marxists, but don’t take our word for it.  Take THEIR OWN WORDS for it.  Obama himself telling us that we need to spread the wealth (here, too).  Anita Dunn and Ron Bloom have publicly admired Mao.  Van Jones and his support for cop-killers and communism.  Nancy Pelosi scoffing at the idea that a mandate to purchase medical insurance is unconstitutional.  Max Baucus telling us that the health care reform act is really nothing more than an attempt to redistribute wealth.  Andy Stern’s SEIU thugs trying to silence dissent.  Alcee Hastings telling us that they make up the House rules as they go along.  And the latest Democrat to throw the Constitution (the document, not the ship) under the bus is Rep. Phil Hare of (drum roll please…) Illinois:

When asked where in the Constitution Phil Hare finds the power to take over the economy, our healthcare, and any other thing he feels that he’s smarter than us to take over, Congressman Hare admits that he doesn’t care about that silly old Constitution thingie.

Video is here.

I truly fear for the future of this country.

However, there is someone who could rid us of this troublesome President. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Paul Ryan, Representative from Wisconsin.

He gave a speech last week at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and it’s just brilliant:

Last week, on March 21st, Congress enacted a new Intolerable Act. Congress passed the Health Care bill – or I should say, one political party passed it – over a swelling revolt by the American people. The reform is an atrocity. It mandates that every American must buy health insurance, under IRS scrutiny. It sets up an army of federal bureaucrats who ultimately decide for you how you should receive Health Care, what kind, and how much…or whether you don’t qualify at all. Never has our government claimed the power to decide when each of us has lived well enough or long enough to be refused life-saving medical assistance.

This presumptuous reform has put this nation … once dedicated to the life and freedom of every person … on a long decline toward the same mediocrity that the social welfare states of Europe have become.

Americans are preparing to fight another American Revolution, this time, a peaceful one with election ballots…but the “causes” of both are the same:

Should unchecked centralized government be allowed to grow and grow in power … or should its powers be limited and returned to the people?

Should irresponsible leaders in a distant capital be encouraged to run up scandalous debts without limit that crush jobs and stall prosperity … or should the reckless be turned out of office and a new government elected to live within its means?

Should America bid farewell to exceptional freedom and follow the retreat to European social welfare paternalism … or should we make a new start, in the faith that boundless opportunities belong to the workers, the builders, the industrious, and the free?

We are at the beginning of an election campaign like you’ve never seen before!

Of course, Democrats will find a way to demonize him, but this man really needs to be in the White House.   He may be a bit young, and he is a Representative, not a Governor or a Senator, but he is truly one of the best and brightest in politics today and I would vote for him in a heartbeat.

Some people are making a case for General Petraeus, and I’d be more than happy to support a Petraeus/Ryan ticket. Pretty much anything is better than what we’ve got now.  I honestly never thought I’d miss Bill Clinton. *sigh*

Updated, 4/8/10: In the interest of fairness, here is a piece byAndrew McCarthy at National Review in which he states that Petraeus may have an “Israel problem.”  We’re going to have to wait and see where the truth really lies.  I don’t want to believe this, but do want to put it out there.

Almost. 😉  Because, if I were, I would do what I could to make this man my doctor.

Again, this is old-ish news, but for anyone who still hasn’t seen it, here goes.

A urologist near Orlando posted this sign at his office (you can click on it to see it better):

Here is the story:

MOUNT DORA — A doctor who considers the national health-care overhaul to be bad medicine for the country posted a sign on his office door telling patients who voted for President Barack Obamato seek care “elsewhere.”

“I’m not turning anybody away — that would be unethical,” Dr. Jack Cassell, 56, a Mount Dora urologist and a registered Republican opposed to the health plan, told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. “But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it.”

All I can say is “Good for him!”  But Democrat gadfly (nice way of saying Moonbat whackjob) Rep. Alan Grayson (of the “Republicans want you to die quickly” Graysons) is not amused:

An outspoken U.S. congressman is planning to file a complaint against the central Florida urologist who posted a sign on his office door warning supporters of President Obama to find a different doctor.

A spokesman for Rep. Alan Grayson, who angered Republicans last year when he said they wanted sick Americans to “die quickly,” told FoxNews.com that Florida Democrat is helping a constituent who was affected by the sign to file a complaint next week with the proper authorities. Grayson will also file additional complaints with all relevant boards or agencies,  Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski said.

But an apparently more rational person (not that this is hard) in Florida government says that Grayson doesn’t have a leg to stand on:

A spokeswoman from the Florida Department of Health, which licenses physicians and investigates complaints, said Friday there was no law prohibiting Cassell from advertising himself this way.

“Because there is no statute, there would be no grounds for a complaint,” spokeswoman Eulinda Smith said. “It would be legally deficient.”

Way to go, Dr. Cassell!

Applause.

The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

I wish you a joyous and blessed Easter.

But chiefly are we bound to praise thee for the glorious Resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord: for he is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath taken away the sin of the world; who by his death hath destroyed death, and by his rising to life again hath restored to us everlasting life.

Amen.

until baseball season starts for the 2010 New York Mets. I can hardly wait.

I was at their final Spring Training game, against the Orioles in Sarasota, and they did not look good.  Or, rather, they did not look good in the 5th inning and beyond.  Here is the box score.  Bay went 1-for-2, Wright was 0-for-2 and Frenchy was 0-for-4.  The Mets left 16 men on base and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.  In short, it was not pretty.

The day itself was, however, absolutely stellar.  I went with my Dad, and this was the first time we’d seen the Mets together since the 2002 season, so it was very special.  Another thing that made the day special was that I felt at home — I may have been at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, the winter home of the Baltimore Orioles, but I was surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of people wearing the old blue-and-orange.  The game was a sell-out and Mets fans made their presence known.  We got a couple of rousing “Let’s Go Mets” chants going, and a good time was had by all, despite the final score (which was 11-0).

I did take pictures, but our seats were not close enough to the field for any photos of the action to come out very well.  I also saw Jay Horwitz in the press box, but he was just a blur in the picture, as were Howie and Wayne, who were also up there in “the catbird seat.”

But I was able to capture a couple of images for posterity.  Click on them to make them larger.

Here’s the sign outside of Ed Smith Stadium:

Here is my ticket stub:

Here is the press level; Jay Horwitz is ever-so-slightly to the left of the #5:

Here is David Wright in the on-deck circle:

Here is a very confused person who sat right behind us:

And here is the ultimate ignorant, bandwagon-jumping Yankee fan.  True baseball fans know who Yankee # 3 is, regardless of which team we personally root for.   There’s no need to remind us:

OK, this is old news by now, but I do want to share it with those who may have missed it.

This is from The Hill, and contains the actual video from C-SPAN:

Addressing Adm. Robert Willard, who commands the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, Johnson made a tippy motion with his hands and said sternly, “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”

Willard paused and said: “We don’t anticipate that.”

I want to congratulate Admiral Willard for maintaining his composure because I would probably have literally been rolling on the floor laughing my derrière off.

By the way, Mr. Johnson represents the 4th District of Georgia, the seat formerly held by Cynthia McKinney.  ‘Nuff said.