RDA

Happy birthday to Richard Dean Anderson!  :D

60?  Really?

Eddie Izzard

Tonight at the Fabulous Fox!

Bono Says....

"The Left mocks the Right.
The Right knows it's right.
Two ugly traits.
How far should we try to understand each other's point of view?
Maybe the distance grace covered on the cross is a clue."

This Day In History 1/9 1493: Christopher Columbus, sailing the Atlantic, sees 3 "mermaids", in reality manatees.

From 2009

Greetings!  And welcome to the end of the decade.....or is next year the end?

Whatever, I'm posting from the MyTouch as a test, and to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Back from vacation...

Well we had a wonderful time on our trip. We put about 4500 miles on the car in about 11 days. Sheesh..... The oil change light was screaming when we got home. LOL

We had gone on the Lincoln Highway from Mt. Vernon, IA, to Times Square, NY, this spring, so thought we'd go west this time. We didn't do the whole thing, because it goes to San Francisco, but we did quite a bit of it. We started in Iowa City, after seeing Nathan and Alex and taking them to dinner.

We drove through a lot of the US before heading north to Banff, Alberta, Canada. We actually went into Canada in BC. The Rockies are really beautiful, but the Canadian Rockies are superb! Honestly, everything else pales in comparison. My pictures don't do it justice. We saw quite a bit of Banff and Jasper National Parks, and then came home through Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Regina. We stopped at the huge West Edmonton Mall (billed as the world's largest, but I'll bet Dubai has something bigger. :P), but didn't buy anything except lunch. Yeah, the place is huge, but when you aren't normally a shopper, it was sort of ho-hum. I was surprised to see all of the oil in Alberta and Saskatchewan, but probably because I think of those two provinces as Beef country and Canola country, respectively.

I've posted a few shots here, but the rest are here, password is longaberger:

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a165/theshepards/canada0909/

Columbia Ice Fields-the glacier has been retreating, as most of them have.

Lake Louise-the color of the water is caused by the ice scouring minerals as it comes through the mountains and causing the blue color. Some of the streams were nearly milky white because of the minerals in the water.

Banff Springs Hotel in Banff National Park, Alberta. The hotel is one of those really neat Railway Hotels and was really expensive, of course. So we just enjoyed the lobby. :)

One of the most famous mountains in the area as seen from the village of Banff.

Last, but certainly not least.....the World's Largest Ukrainian Easter Egg, in Vegreville, Alta. It was computer designed and built for the Queen and Prince Philip's visit in 1974. You can read more about it here: http://www.tabloidcolumn.com/easter-egg.html

Canadians are soooooo polite.....

geocenter

Geographical Center of North America!

Oh those crazy Montana folk....

Whitefish, MT

Grafton IL riverfront

Nina or Pinta? Grafton, IL a few days ago!

One of the coolest things in the state....

Chimney Rock, NE

Update!

Hmm, guess I haven't been here in quite some time, but I've updated *other* blogs. Not that I don't love all y'all over here, but just haven't done anything exciting to talk about.

Well, that isn't true.....I went to the Longaberger Basket Bee with Monica-had a great time! Nathan moved up to his apt. at University of Iowa and has started classes and his teaching assistant gig. Go Hawkeyes! (I'm glad I don't live in Illinois anymore, because they are both Big Ten schools....like I know what I'm talking about. IA doesn't play Mizzou, so I don't have to worry about my car with IA stickers being trashed here in MO.)

But hey, I'm jazzed about this-so much so I'm blogging about it! (sad life....)

We've been invited to an "Ethnic Food Favorite" party/BBQ on Saturday, and I've decided I'm bringing this:

http://recipes.recipeland.com/recipes/recipe/print_full/Biff_a_la_Lindstrom_Hamburgers_a_la_Lindstrom_3590

Nope, never made it before, so I'll do a practice run on Friday to see if they taste okay. But what's so cool about this is the recipe has MY NAME in the title! So it has to be great, right? :P I can always fall back on Swedish Meatballs.

Fingers crossed....

Obama's birthplace

Since it's the anniversary of the adoption of the 14th Amendment, I thought this article was timely. Perhaps this will be the end of the "Obama wasn't born here" hooplah. However, I must remind myself that there are probably party members that don't realize that Hawaii (and Alaska, home of whatshername....that Tina Fey impersonator....) are actually part of the US now. Yep, as of 1959, they were both admitted to the United States as STATES! Heck, I knew that, and that was courtesy of a public school education. Hawaii had been a State for 2 years before Obama was born.

I guess this will dissuade any of them getting ideas of putting "Ahnold" forth as a possible presidential candidate. :P

Note to the GOP: "spend your time doing something constructive."

Can we move on now?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090728/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_birth_certificate

By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jul 28, 1:54 am ET

HONOLULU – State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they have once again checked and confirmed that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president.

They hoped to stem a recent surge in the number of inquiries about Obama's birthplace.

"I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen," Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a brief statement. "I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago."

So-called "birthers" — who claim Obama is ineligible to be president because, they argue, he was actually born outside the United States — have grown more vocal recently on blogs and television news shows.

Fukino issued a similar press release Oct. 31, but was prompted to speak out again because of the renewed attention on Obama's beginnings. Hawaii's Health Department has been flooded in recent weeks with questions from individuals and several national TV news networks asking for proof that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii.

"They just keep asking over and over and over again," Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said.

The Constitution states that a person must be a "natural-born citizen" to be eligible for the presidency. Birthers contend that Obama's birth certificate is a fake, and many say he was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland. They've challenged his citizenship in court.

One widely circulated YouTube clip of a town hall meeting showed a Republican congressman getting booed for saying Obama is a citizen. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh and CNN's Lou Dobbs have also raised the issue, and 10 Republican members of Congress co-sponsored a bill that would require future presidential candidates to provide a copy of their original birth certificate.

However, it appears Congress has moved on and has accepted Obama's island birthplace. The U.S. House on Monday unanimously approved a resolution recognizing and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming the 50th state. A clause was included that reads: "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961."

State law bars the release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest.

However, Obama's birth certificate along with birth notices from the two Honolulu newspapers were brought forward even before he took office. But that's done nothing to shake the belief by many Obama critics that the president was born abroad.

Fw: ELEANOR'S ETIQUETTE:

Sometimes, these are just too good not to share. :P

ELEANOR'S ETIQUETTE: Instead of participating in gossip, it's best to change the subject & discourage a chatty-cathy. You never know if she may turn the gossip to you.

Superman!

Greetings from Metropolis, IL, home of Superman!
It's Supah! ;)

IMG00009.jpg

Siamese cherries!

Some jokes....

THE DOCTOR VISIT

Went to the doctor for my yearly physical.
The nurse starts with certain basics.
"How much do you weigh?" she asks.
"135," I say. The nurse puts me on the scale.
It turns out my weight is 180.
The nurse asks, "Your height?"
"5 foot 4," I say.
The nurse checked and saw that I only measure 5' 2".
She then took my blood pressure and told me it is very high.
"Of course it's high!" I scream. "When I came in here I was
tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!"
She put me on Prozac. What a bitch.

_____________________________________________________

SHOPPING
An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car

has been broken into. She is hysterical as she explains her situation to the

dispatcher:

'They've stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even

the accelerator!' she cried.

The dispatcher said, 'Stay calm.. An officer is on the way.' A few minutes

later, the officer radios in. 'Disregard,' he says. 'She got in the back-seat by

mistake.'
_____________________________________

FAMILY

Three sisters ages 92, 94 and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96

year old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other

sisters, 'Was I getting in or out of the bath?'

The 94 year old yells back, 'I don't know. I'll come up and see.' She starts up

the stairs and pauses 'Was I going up the stairs or down?'

The 92 year old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea listening to her sisters.

She shakes her head and says, 'I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on

wood.' She then yells, 'I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's

at the door.'
_____________________________________
I CAN HEAR JUST FINE!'
Three retirees, each with a hearing loss, were playing golf one
fine March day. One remarked to the other, 'Windy, isn't it?'

'No,' the second man replied, 'it's Thursday.'

And the third man chimed in, 'So am I. Let's have a beer.'
_____________________________________

ROMANCE
An older couple were lying in bed one night. The husband was
falling asleep but the wife was in a romantic mood and
wanted to talk.

She said: 'You used to hold my hand when we were courting.'
Wearily he reached across, held her hand for a second and tried to get
back to sleep.
A few moments later she said: 'Then you used to kiss me.'

Mildly irritated, he reached across, gave her a peck on the cheek
and settled down to sleep.

Thirty seconds later she said: 'Then you used to bite my!
neck.'

Angrily, he threw back the bed clothes and got out of bed.

'Where are you going?' she asked.

'To get my teeth!'
_____________________________________
DOWN AT THE RETIREMENT CENTER
80-year old Bessie bursts into the rec room at the
retirement home. She holds her clenched fist in the air and
announces, 'Anyone who can guess what's in my hand can
have sex with me tonight!!'

An elderly gentleman in the rear shouts out, 'An elephant?'

Bessie thinks a minute and says, 'Close enough.'
_____________________________________
OLD FRIENDS
Two elderly ladies had been friends for many
decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of
activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been
limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards.

One day, they were playing cards when one Looked at
the other and said, 'Now don't get mad at me. I know we've
been friends for a long time but I just can't think of your name!
I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell
me what your name is.'

Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just
stared and glared at her.

Finally she said, 'How soon do you need to know?'
_____________________________________
SENIOR DRIVING
As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car
phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently
warning him, 'Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a
car going the wrong way on Interstate 77. Please be careful!'

'Hell,' said Herman, 'It's not just one car. It's hundreds of 'em!'
_____________________________________
DRIVING
Two elderly women were out driving in a large car; both could
barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along,

they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red, but they
just went on through.

The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself
'I must be losing it. I could have sworn we just went through
a red light.'

After a few more minutes, they came to another intersection
and the light was red again.

Again, they went right through. The woman in the passenger

Seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really
concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous. At
the next intersection, sure enough, the light was red and they went
on through.

So, she turned to the other woman and said, 'Mildred, did you know

that we just ran through three red lights in a row? You could have

killed us both!'

Mildred turned to her and said, 'Oh! Am I driving?'

Please !!!!
TELL ME THIS WON'T HAPPEN TO ME !!!!

DMAAC PICNIC

Dmaac/NIMA/NGA old timers picnic, Arnold, MO, June 3, 2009. Last year was the first year we attended, since Ned had only retired last year. There were about 50 last year, and more like 70 this year.

Good time had by all.....

Graduation pics

Cornell College, May 30, 2009-see previous post for details!

Nathan, my brother, sister in law, mom, Ned and me. The stained glass windows are from the Kings Chapel on campus. The building is from 1876, and it's where the baccalaureate was held.

Graduation was held in the gym.

My hostas and Irises

These are in the back garden. I think the hostas came from my mom, and I'm pretty sure my dad gave me the Japanese Iris.