Daily Musings Page 4

Gram the squeaky toy already had a hole in it. It was one of many that came in a grab bag as a Christmas gift last year. Only one is left now.
She doesn't play with them much when she can spend time out side in pleasant weather.
Her favorites are stuffed socks. I used to get lots of odd socks from the Laundromat at the corner, but it changed hands last Spring and they don't save them any more.
Andy P

The squeker in toys is my dogs mortal enemy - he has yet to not get one out within 5 minutes.

This message was edited Nov 13, 2006 7:29 PM

aren't they funny? I love the commercial with the dachshund and dirty old toy that has to be replaced (Petco?)

I love that commercial too! The dog has to honestly love that toy!

Andy, I agree. I sometimes back out of a post because my heart wasn't in what I wrote, or I decided it sounded like I had an attitude. I only got hot under the collar at one person and sent a seething reply; I went back early the next morn and rephrased it. I learned my own lesson. I don't have a temper, but ''they'' just hit me wrong that day.

Sarah is just too cute!

I've seen the Dachshund/toy commercial, too. Petco has cute ads.
I don't see many TV commercials any more. Either I'm on-line or watching shows that I've recorded and can zip past the ads. I hate ads, 16 minutes of them per hour.
Andy P

Daily musings....This week is the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Collection week. I am the contact person for the hospital I work in, and last year we collected 100 boxes. So far we have received 25 boxes. But we have the rest of the week to go. It's such a fabulous organization and they take these gifts all over the world to where the need is far greater than we could imagine. I love that these kids are so happy to receive toothbrushes and toothpaste, and school supplies, and candy, and yo-yos. They don't know about the latest crazes in this country. They don't experience the overindulgence of American kids. Even poor American kids. They get excited over a little stuffed animal. They love crayons. It's so hard to imagine that such a simple gift can make a child so happy. We are spoiled. I am thrilled to be a part of this endeavor.

There are so many wonderful organizations that give/share with the less priviledged. Funny how it never seems to be enough. I'm still a believer that the drug companies should stop wasting money on all the pens/pads/luncheons etc that the reps are required to spend. They should use that money to either make the drugs less expensive, find new ones or donate to all these organizations that we referred to above.

Andy, Nice photo show. I really liked the song too.

Nancy, great for you. True spirit of Christmas!

Missed you Anita. Drug companies all say they need those prices to fund research. However, the biggest portion of their budgets is not research it's advertising.(Over 80% in a lot of cases, I believe) And they aren't marketing to health care providers to save lives, they are marketing to us to "ask our Dr." about viagra and the stuff to clear up toenail fungus.

Andy, I had a little extra time this morning so treated myself and "suffered" through my painfully slow DSL connection to watch your latest Photoshows - just beautiful :)) I enjoy the music almost as much as the photos! Really liked the Predators show - I have this "thing" for dragonflies (collect garden art, etc) and the praying mantis are so neat - when my family was visiting from Maine the first time and saw their first praying mantis, they spooked them - thought they looked like aliens - LOL! I didn't take nearly enough pictures from the gardens this year - just too darned busy, but you're an inspiration for me to take more next year, especially of the bugs. Seems I'm always concentrating on the flowers but after seeing your pictures I realize I should be spending some time grabbing a few shots of the bugs as well. Thanks again for the "treat" :)

Debbie

The last time I was at my endocrinologist's office, there was a 'Viagra' soap dispenser in the ladies bathroom...a bit over the top, don't you think??? (I just realized I was grinding my teeth when I typed that). the lunches at the hospital in the clinics, the pens, the calendars, the sticky notes...it's everywhere you go. you can't open a magazine or turn on the tv. I've stopped my subscriptions to those like BH&G that are 75% ads. and with TiVo you can skip it on tv.

Andy, my DIL had a neat praying mantis story. When they were staying at her parent's cottage Labor Day weekend, there was one on their van, parked under some trees. It travelled with them everywhere they went. somehow never moved, never blew off, and continued to be alive and well. she's a pre-school teacher, so she started thinking it would be neat if it went home with them so she could take it in and show it to her class when school started. her dad decided he would make sure it was available for her so he captured it in a jar. well, the bug of course panicked. DIL couldn't stand seeing the legs flailing around trying to escape, so she let it out and put it back on the van. she was hoping it might still make it back to the city with them. they couldn't see it on top and she wanted my son to ask the guy in the thruway toll booth if it was there, but he wouldn't do it. well, it was gone when they got home.

have a great day, friends

Beautiful Wet Stuff, Andy.

Gram, That's a great mantis story, especially the tollbooth part.

Grampapa, the mantis story is so funny.

Andy, I'm with you. I don't ever watch TV in the daytime unless I'm sick. I record CSI and watch it almost exclusively. ( I never watched it when it first came out.) Or I watch comedy, the independent channel, ( I like suprise endings,) nature or discovery when it's underseas or in outer space. Does any one else freak themselves out trying to figure out how big the universe is? It has no edges or center. We are floating in, what?


As for the drug companies, what is with all the side effects? I think they are using people for guinea pigs. My Mom had to spent 2 sick days on top of being sick, just to get over the side effects. It's ridiculous!

I remember seeing a Mantis as a kid, I was fascinated. When I found one in the garden last Autumn I was over joyed and snapped a lot of pics. This season I found a bunch starting in late June, I think. I had to move one from a 'bad' location and even threw a grasshopper to one as food. They are all gone now, I'm dissapointed that I couldn't find any eggs.

Debbie, when I first got a digital camera (June '05) I shot flowers almost exclusively. Except for butterflies and dragonflies, I rarely cared for bugs. This season I shot more bugs than flowers. They are a little more of a challenge because they can move/fly away. I also get to see them up close once they are on my screen. Who knew that dragonflies had whiskers? Shoot more bugs, Debbie. They are lots of fun.

Thanks everyone for the kind words about the shows. I'd much rather share them that way than having prints sit idle in a shoe box. I wish there was a way to put a 'hit counter' on them.
Andy P

hey, been travelling and sick but I just renewed my DG subxcription and I'm here to stay!

xxxxx, Carrie

Excellent, Carrie.

I missed out on the sick tour? Did you come to my town.LOL
Were you still wanting some seeds from me?

sorry to hear you've been sick...tis the season, I guess. so glad you've decided to stick around :0)

I got my photos into the contest. There were 6 catagories I didn't have pics for. Bulbs, corms etc will a tough category to do well in, but I have 2 of my favorites in there.

I've been looking thru mine. I didn't take any of them with a contest in mind, so I have no expectations, but I think it'll be more fun if I enter. just gotta make some decisions, which I am notoriously GOOD at.

I don't really take them for contests either, I have a lot of nice focused framed shots and you look close at them and the background has junk in it. It's fun and I have no problem admitting to better photos than mine.

here's one I never posted.

now there's a winner regardless of the category...talking about your daughter, not the photo LOL

Gram, I didn't know a viagra soap dispenser would work!! Especially in a ladies room.

Al, you must be very proud.

She is a great girl.

Exquisite dragonfly! Love the chin whiskers. I think I had mantis eggs this year. On a daylily leaf. It was a large sack and since I had a mantis back there, I assumed it was hers. I never took a picture. BC. Before camera.

Glad your better Carrie. I went thru that a few weeks ago. I'll never quit signing up so everyone is stuck with me! :))

Al, she's beautiful and so are the dahlias. She has a nice tan. Is she your partner in gardening?

What a winning smile on your daughter, Al. She's a good lookin' kid...like her Dad!

Want to see something nice? I have 50 shoebox gifts collected so far. Two more days to go. This is how our spare room looks at the moment.

Those are beautiful Nap. I can see how a kid would be excited to open one. That's wonderful!

Just one more. I opened one for a picture. It's for a boy, 5-9 years old.

That is so neat! Reminds me of our X-mas's. Mom would ask, do you want one big present or a lot of small ones. We always took the small ones. We were never disappointed.

Nancy, I can see how excited a kid would be. what a wonderful thing! I remember getting a new box of crayons and a brand new pink pearl eraser for school. that was a big deal for me.

Yep, I remember giving a gift of 'school supplies' to a cousin one year. I couldn't understand why she wasn't thrilled to get new 'magic markers' and the luxurious 64 colors of crayons (with sharpener built-in! and all that lovely blank paper!! (I asked my daughter the other day about magic markers and she had no clue what I was talking about. So I said "you know, like a Flair" and succeeded in totally mystifying the poor kid!

xxx, Carrie

Flair -are they still around.LOL

Nancy - nice work with the presents - I'm sure they will all be appreciated.

Mrs. Billy - my daughter didn't do much out in the garden this year, she does play outside most of the time and does tan. My son just burns.

Ok, this is a picture of the room where I work on the shoeboxes. Most people give me boxes already filled, but I fill quite a few of my own, plus there are some people who want to participate but don't like to shop. I love to shop for these kids, so I take their money and their empty box, and I fill it.

I keep one plastic bin for candy, one for school supplies, one for toys, one for hygeine items, and one for stuffed animals. I refer to that one as my critter box. Wrapping is optional, but somewhere, someone will end up wrapping the unwrapped ones, so I do it. All this adds up to a mess.

But the big reason I am posting this picture is the rocking chair. Was it on this thread that I once talked about my 100 year old rocking chair? I think it was. Maybe not. Anyway, if anyone remembers the conversation, here is my 100 year old rocking chair.

I never heard about your rocker, Nancy. do tell.

My wife has a rocking chair story too, if I get the energy to hunt and peck enough, I'll tell it. Not to be confused with Al's rocker story (he's off his).
Nancy, congratulations on your good work!

Carrie, that is so funny. I still take great pleasure in a new notebook or 100 sheets of singles. I allow myself the luxury of writing on one side only. I bought myself the 72 crayolas in a plastic case with sharpener, then the 96 in a box, with sharpener, just to look at!

Al, I'm sorry your Son burns. That is a bummer. Use Aloe!

Nap that is a great mess! They made old rockers big and sturdy didn't they. My grandma had a huge one, it was passed to Mom and I think it's still at the house. I'd love to hear your story!

Ha ha! Good one, Dave. (sorry, Al)

Maybe I talked about it elsewhere. It's just that when this distant relative of mine went into the nursing home, she was 87 and had no living relatives except for a brother living in Manhattan. She had a lot of family antiques that had nowhere to go. The brother couldn't take them, and she was going to need her money for the nursing home, so we had someone come in and appraise/buy them. But there were these two rocking chairs that were in the family forever that I asked for. Both of them remembered these chairs sitting on the front porch when they were just little kids. I could not let them leave the family. They were more than happy to turn them over to me. The antiques appraiser verified that they were about 100 years old. So now one is mine, which I keep in this room. The other has been claimed by my cat. (I also took a hope chest which had been crafted by my great-uncle)

That's all. Not much of a story. But I'm thinking I must have mentioned the chairs in the Pets Forum, because of my cat owning his own antique rocking chair.

(p.s. Thanks for asking!)




This message was edited Nov 17, 2006 10:02 AM

That is a wonderful story. You are lucky to have them. I feel the same way about things that have been in the family forever. I had 2 straight back wooden chairs that were the only thing rescued from my Granddad's house when it burned down. He was just a kid. I gave one to my Mom's Sister.

Nancy,

There were a few years when we were on the list for a present from church. I didn't really need anything myself but my little daughters were quite wowed! They both have asthma so they may never have owned a stuffed animal in their life! I don't remember what the older one got but my younger daughter got a stuffed dalmation puppy. She loved that thing nearly to death! She still brings it with her on trips. She was probably three that year and now she's 12 so that dog has been her faithful sidekick for 9 years. (BTW, her name is also Nancy!) She's the one with the blank look on her face when I mentioned magic markers...

xxx, Carrie

Sniff, that is so sweet. I loved my stuffed animals too.