Weddings, Birthdays and Hot Water!

WOW what a month this has been! Middle of September Handy Hubby and I drove to My moms house to be close to the festivities as our youngest son got married. She is adorable and a nice Christian girl and we are very pleased for them. The wedding was a 'themed' wedding – everyone was supposed to dress up in period dress from the 20's through the 60's. It was lots of fun and don't let anyone tell you that hamburgers, hotdogs and soda's aren't a pleasant change from standard wedding fare! Handy Hubby drove home by himself pickup loaded down with the last of the stuff in Mom's backyard shed that was ours. I can't believe he got all the way home without me to help him drive!! (smile, I call it navigating, he has another less pleasant word, nag or something like that!)

My Mom and I got on a plane and headed to Missouri by way of Dallas/Fort Worth (don't ask me how they figure out flight paths), to spend some time with my Grandma (Maternal) who was turning 100 years old! Quite a milestone birthday! Did you know they actually make birthday cards that say happy 100^th birthday on them? I didn't either! We got to spend about a week and a half with her before the birthday celebration with family was planned and had a wonderful time, even spent a whole day going from cemetery to cemetery with cousins. (Those of you who are into genealogy know this is not as creepy as it sounds!) Mom, Grandma and I all have birthdays in a two week time frame so we celebrated quite a bit!  Grandma still lives in her own house, drives (they renewed her license for two years now, she only missed one on the test), cans and freezes, and rides an exercise bike. She is slowing down and her mind is still there it just works a little slower than it used to! I do not know what her secret is and neither does she, when asked she will comment that she has never not eaten whatever she wanted to because someone told her she shouldn't. She was a farm wife of a man who expected her to work like a man, and she did. She had a creative talent that came out in her sewing (never a pattern), crafts (quilting and so many other things) and then she started to oil paint when she was 75 and she was prolific, fine art canvases, saws, candles – she just painted on anything she could get her hands on. She puts sugar on nearly everything, salts all her food (and her coffee) and eats a sweet pickle (home canned) with almost all her meals. I have a theory. She is a Godly woman(and has been for nearly 100 years!)  Someone once said of her “it doesn't do any good to tell her any gossip it just stops there!” I have never heard her say a bad thing about anyone, and neither have her daughters or anyone else who knows her. She is the most easy going person I've ever known. I think she just doesn't worry, she seems to have the ability to give it all to God and then let him keep it and not try to help him. (Ahem, apparently there are people who think God needs their input! So I hear anyway!)

There were almost 200 people at her party, and a good time was had by all. I also was getting in some much needed Mommy time myself, hadn't seen my Mom for about 8 months! Shortly after the party Mom and I got on the plane again in Kansas City and flew to Denver CO, where we visit my Dads family, my Aunt and cousins. It was the beginning of sugar beet harvest so it was very busy but still got to go to the mountains and see the aspens, go to the art collection showing at the Loveland museum, used book stores and an awesome quilt shop in Berthoud, CO! By now I had been gone from home for almost a month and while I was having a lovely time, it really was time to go home! Handy Hubby was missing me I think too!

I made my tearful farewells to Mom and headed for home, flew out of a snow shower into sunshine in southwestern Idaho. I have been home for a week and a half and am finally done putting the things away that came home before me in the truck, getting out my winter clothes, rearranging my studio to fit the rest of my 'stuff', and putting up the last of the apples. To top off my exciting month, yesterday, the plumber came out and INSTALLED THE WATER HEATER!!! Handy Hubby had been very busy and gotten all of the things done that he could do while I was gone and it was ready for the stuff that Hubby just really didn't feel comfortable doing. I HAVE HOT RUNNING WATER!!! I am very excited! We both took hot showers last night, I let him go first - he had earned it! I washed the dishes today without boiling any water, things are so much faster when the water comes out of the tap hot! We will not soon take this for granted. We are thankful for simple pleasures!

Life is good!!!!!

The War on Women

I wrote this post after the conventions and before things got sort of wild and busy and just forgot to post it,so here it is – late but hopefully still relevant.

“The Republican's War on Women” - This phrase irritates me on several levels, first is the assumption that this so-called war is real, then of course is the implied assertion that the Democrats are going to save women and thirdly the rather wild and even strange claims that are being made by the media and assorted sycophants such as moveon.org or Emily's list.

First let me admit a few things, confession being good for the soul. I am watching 'clips' of the Democratic National Convention, I tried to watch, I started to watch, my intentions were good, but then my blood pressure started going up and you know I decided that since heart attacks were the number one killer of women – the DNC had apparently declared war on me!!! OK I know it wasn't personal but I just couldn't watch the whole thing. I should also confess that I don't care about Roe v. Wade being the law. ( by the way revoking Roe v. Wade doesn't make abortion illegal, it just lets the states decide) I am staunchly anti abortion, but believe that until the law makes me violate my beliefs then it just allows others to do things I don't agree with. I am sure there were laws on the books in King Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom that allowed things Daniel didn't approve of, but Daniel didn't defy his government until King Darius made a law that would have forced Daniel to commit a sin. My responsibility is to educate and encourage young women not to have abortions and to contribute to programs that help young women who have become pregnant either keep the child and become a good parent or help place the child in adoption. I am not responsible for the actions of non believers, I believe that people are on their way to hell because they have rejected God and specifically Jesus, not because they broke one of the ten commandments. (Thank God, no seriously Thank God) So I guess I'm just mildly intolerant!!! (smile)

Back to the 'war on women', I wanted to be fair, I thought maybe I was hearing through my own mental filter (we all have one you know) that was leading me astray, so I Googled it – nope I was right – the 'war on women' is primarily about abortion, oh they throw a few things in there to change it up and make it sound more broad and pervasive but it is really about abortions - sorry “reproductive freedom”.

According to the Democrats the Republicans want women to die due to botched abortions, to get pregnant in the first place because they can't afford birth control, to loose the valuable breast exam services of Planned Parenthood (who knew that from the name?), and to take away legal protections against rape (no I am not kidding check moveon.org). Sandra Fluke, the poor 30 something student/activist at a very expensive college who can't afford her birth control is the  poster girl for the new woman.  "Hello - I graduated with honors from Cornell University, got my post graduate degree from Georgetown University, and can't find the $10 birth control at Wal-Mart! I have worked on behalf of domestic violence and human trafficking victims, testified before a congressional committee and it never occurred to me that if I could not afford my birth control I should quit having sex!" Really? This is the spokesperson for women in America?

Lets be honest, the 'War on Women' is very real, and it's been around for about 40 years or so (longer I think maybe), but it's not against the Sandra Flukes of the world – it's against me, and probably you. The war is being waged against women who home-school their kids, who stay married to the same man for years, who believe in the Christian marriage, who gave birth to the unexpected child and just squeeze the budget. The war is being waged against women who stay home and take care of the kids and create a home, against women who sacrifice careers for children, who let a man be the head of the house, who own a gun (or two) and who are ready to defend themselves and their kids (hubby has his own gun).

BUT WHY!!!????

Power – There used to be a saying that “the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world” no one says that anymore – the hand that used to rock the cradle and rule the world is now encouraged to live a “life of Julia” sort of pathetic dependence and then teach that dependence to their kids and then we all vote for more government help and then......yeah we get where this is going. The real 'war on women' has been going on for a long time and it has had a devastating effect on America.  Come on girls we need to vote!!!!