Eddielee - Archived Blog Posts

[eddielee]

I am distraught. My sister just had a mammogram and now she has to meet with a surgeon. She tells me it's nothing to worry about. If it's nothing, why does she need to see a surgeon? I know that during her previous mammogram that she had some fibrous tissue in one breast. My sister doesn't want to worry me. If it is cancer she won't say.

In the past two years I've lost 3 close Aunts to cancer. My Mother had breast cancer during the same time and my Uncle had prostate cancer. My Mother and my Uncle are doing fine now.

 

[eddielee]

The year is 1969. I'm a little boy standing in my Grandmother's kitchen, watching her make biscuits. She scoops out the flour and sifts it in a wooden bowl. To the flour, she adds a generous scoop of Frosty Morn lard. She works the lard into the flour until it forms fine crumbs. She pours in cold milk and mixes it to form a ball of dough. She pinches off pieces of dough, rolls them in her hand, then pats them down on a baking sheet. The biscuits go into a hot oven. They emerge golden brown, perfectly cooked. They are, in fact, some of the best biscuits in the world.

I have often tried to duplicate my Grandmother's biscuits. I don't seem to able to capture the exact look and taste of her biscuits. Of course lard is unhealthy, but essential if you're going to make an authentic southern biscuit. I measure things. My Grandmother took a scoop of flour, a palm full of lard, and a splash of milk, and made biscuits. She never measured the ingredients, but it always came out perfect.

How I miss those days. My Grandmother died in 1971.

 

[eddielee]

This is not going to be easy. There are no sufficient words to express how I feel. Yes, I'm down, the low side of bipolar disorder. I want to scream and slash myself with a knife until I feel better. Of course I have enough sense to know that slashing myself with a knife will make things worse. I keep reminding myself that this is a temporary condition. I hate it because it takes me out of life and puts me in a hole. I've lost interest in almost everything and spend most time in bed. I do take time to visit JUB and read my buddy list blogs.

I'll probably regret posting such a revealing blog entry, but I'm always open about my condition.

 

[eddielee]

I registered to vote when I was 18. I registered as a Democrat and wouldn't dream of voting any other way. For years I voted Democrat in State, local, and Presidential elections. I've mellowed over the years. I'm no longer a "die hard" Democrat. I'm a moderate Democrat.

I vote for what I feel is best, not for party loyalty. I have voted for both Democratic and Republican Presidents. I do embrace most ideals of the Democrats. I believe in the right of a woman to have an abortion and gay marriage.

I do part with the company when it comes to my specific views on abortion. Late term and partial birth abortions should not be allowed unless the health of the mother is threatened. I really don't like any abortion, but that is up to the mother. I think it's cold and irresponsible to have a late term abortion just because you don't want the baby.

I think that parents should be notified if their teenage daughter is having an abortion. Parents should always be involved in the serious issues of a teenagers life. 20 years ago, I would have felt differently.

I think the best way to reduce abortions is through education and opportunity. The United States pretended to teach sex education. It's nothing but a watered down, sugar coated course guaranteed to put teens to sleep. Unfortunantly the Christian right doesn't want our kids to know anything about birth control. Opportunity comes in the form of better options for women. A woman shouldn't be forced to have an abortion because of lack of money or because she doesn't understand the process of adoption. Every woman considering abortion should have the options of adoption and financial assistance fully explained to them before they have the abortion.

On gay marriage, I'm not so much obsessed with having gay marriage or nothing. I would be perfectly happy with civil unions. It's a tragedy when a gay couple lives together for years and one dies. The lone widow is left with no legal authority over the body of his lover or his estate. He can be shut out and even banned from going to the funeral. This is shameful and must be corrected.

 

[eddielee]

I apologize for my self-loathing behavior the past few days. I'm having a difficult time emotionally. I'm sorry for dragging down the JUB message boards. I will leave and delete my account if I don't get better soon.

 

[eddielee]

Well, I'm on my third microwave oven. My old one stopped working so a brought a new one. The new oven worked one day and then pfft! I traded it in and got a new one. So far it's working. I never knew how dependent I was on a microwave for boiling water, heating leftovers, and popping popcorn.

My spring blooming magnolia is blooming again. Nice, but strange. I wonder if it's an omen? The large purple blooms look great. I figure the rich soil and recent rains have caused it to bloom out of season. I'm scanning garden catalogues to order new bulbs for the fall. I'm going to put in some tulips and irises.

 

[eddielee]

Does Bear Grylls really rough it up in the wild? Accusations are being made that survivalist Bear Grylls, of the tv show Man vs Wild, may not be honest. The show features Bear showing how to survive in remote places. A camera crew follows along to film the action. They are not allowed to help Bear.

Bear Grylls is a highly intelligent man who served in the British special forces and climbed Mt Everest. There should be no question about his abilities. The accusations are that Bear is spending the night in hotels when he claims to be roughing it up in the wild. There are also allegations that his camera crew is helping him.

It should be obvious to anyone but a complete idiot, that the camera crew has to be well provided for. That includes staying at hotels. The question is whether or not Bear Grylls went to a hotel when he's portrayed spending the night outside. I'm waiting to here what Bear has to say. It is, after all, just a tv show. Time constraints, editing, and good production values may necessitate stretching the truth a bit.

Hopefully this scandal will not harm the reputation of this remarkable man.

 

[eddielee]

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards come out as the top three democratic presidential candidates in most polls. I think it's safe to go ahead and write off John Edwards at this point. He's so far behind Hillary and Obama, that without some miracle, he's not going to catch up.

I had high hopes for John Edwards. The only thing he has proved is that he has a nice southern drawl and nicely coiffed hair. Hillary is the front runner. She's experienced, but also a woman. I don't mean that in discrimination, I'd love to see a woman president. I only know that a lot of Republicans and Moderates dislike Hillary. Can she get enough votes to win a national election?

Obama comes in second to Clinton. He's full of charisma and fresh ideas. He lacks experience, and that's hurting him. Just like Hillary, can Obama get enough crossover votes to win an election?

I think that Hillary Clinton will most likely be the Democratic candidate for President. A Clinton/Obama ticket would be strong. A very conservative Republican stands little chance of beating Clinton, however a moderate Republican has a very good chance.

So, what is my conclusion on the next President? It's going to be Hillary or a moderate Republican.

 

[eddielee]

I've enjoyed my time at JUB.

 

[eddielee]

I'm going to the Doctor today. I've been feeling completely run down, both physically and mentally the past few weeks. I have an old back injury with arthritis, but the pain is much worse than it's ever been. I'm also very dizzy at times and have trouble breathing. I never enjoy going to the Doctor!

 

[eddielee]

I was too tired to post anything about my doctor visit yesterday. It seems that I have anemia, and have to take some prescribed supplements. Nothing too serious, but enough to make me feel run down. I've also got an infection, which was also making me feel tired. I'm starting a course of antibiotics. As for my back pain, my discs are degenerating, and there's not much that can be done at this time. Hopefully when the anemia and infection is under control, I'll feel so good that I won't care about my back.

 

[eddielee]

I'm glad I don't have to work outside. The temperature today reached 101, with a heat index of 113. It's going to be the same tomorrow, but cool off to the mid 90's this weekend. A cool thundershower would be nice. It's getting very dry.

I'm feeling slightly better with the medication, but I'm still not up to par. I make a few brief visits to JUB to check blogs and post a little. I hope in a few weeks I'll be back in full swing.

 

[eddielee]

I got bad news today that one of my favorite glass companies will be closing. The Fenton art glass company in West Virginia has been producing glass for over 100 years. They produced the original carnival glass which is so popular among collectors today. At this date, they are the longest continuously operating glassworks in US history.

During the past 30 years they have produced spectacular art glass which I have eagerly collected. Foreign competition and the popularity of modern studio glass is a few of the reasons that Fenton is closing. I'm glad that they would rather close, than to compromise their high quality and sell cheap glassware.

 

[eddielee]

We had a violent storm in our area Friday evening. It was a rather spectacular severe thunderstorm with hail and 70 mph winds. I got a bit scared when the large pine trees in my yard bent double and the branches started blowing off. Somehow I managed to keep electricity, but the lights did flicker.

The storm was a reminder that the worst of hurricane season is yet to come. The 70 mph thunderstorm wind was of short duration, a hurricane would last several hours. Hurricane Fran in 1996, produced hurricane force winds in my area for 6 hours. I'm not looking forward to another hurricane like that.

I need to beef up my supplies and buy some extra batteries. I've got some battery operated fans and lanterns. I've also got a battery operated tv and radio. I need to keep a supply of bottled water on hand. I have a feeling this is going to be a bad year!

 

[eddielee]

American's are wasting huge amounts of money and contributing to pollution by buying bottled water. I keep hearing the excuse "it's convenient". If you want bottled water, buy a home filter, and bottle your own water. You'll save a lot of money and you won't be throwing away all of those plastic bottles. The only people that have a good excuse for buying bottled water are those whose water is so contaminated or bad tasting, that a filter won't help.

I always filter my own tap water and then put it in a sports bottle for convenience. I'm also storing filtered water in the event of a natural disaster. It's easy, cost effective, and extremely convenient. It should be noted that much of the commercial bottled water with the pretty snow capped mountains on the label is actually filtered tap water!

 

[eddielee]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Hillary Clinton will most likely be the Democratic candidate for President. An extremely important issue is who will she choose as a running mate? Well, here's my opinion...

Barrack Obama, no. It would be a mistake if Hillary choose Obama to be Vice President. The ticket might capture Northern voters, but would loose in the South and Midwest. Obama seems like a nice guy with fresh ideas, but experience is also important. I know only a few people in my area that would vote for Hillary and if Obama is her running mate, they won't vote for her at all.

John Edwards, yes. Even though he's behind Obama in the polls, I think he would be a good Vice President. He has experience, and a damn good chance of capturing the South and Midwest.

An unknown person. Or at least someone not currently running. Who would this person be? I have no idea.

 

[eddielee]

Disgusted: That's a strong word, but I can't think of a better one to describe my feelings about the cynical attitude of some Jubbers. I don't expect people to be happy every day, that's not realistic. I know that there are a multitude of different personalities. It's just that some Jubbers go around with sour grapes in their mouths all the time. They either have a negative attitude about everything or they are a smart ass.

Now, I know that I've given plenty of attitude. I'm not like that all the time. I don't know if the cynical, smart mouthed, attitude of some Jubbers is caused by hard times or just a bad case of asshole-itus.

No, I've not had any bad arguments with anyone. I'm just making an observation.

 

[eddielee]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually feel sorry for Michael Vick. Dog fighting is a violent, gruesome "sport". I cannot understand what pleasure or entertainment a person can get out of seeing dogs maimed or executed. It's disgusting.

All of that being said, I don't think Michael Vick is an evil person. I think he's a guy caught up in a culture of violence. I also think he's very immature. No doubt he should pay for his crimes according to the law.

All the hoopla makes me wonder if Michael Vick wouldn't have fared better if he murdered someone. American's love pets, and that includes me. I see Michael Vick as a pathetic victim of his own ignorance and culture. I don't want to drag him out, like some people do, and tar and feather him. Let him serve his time and pay his debt to society.

Well, it seems that Michael has found Jesus. People often find Jesus or Allah when facing prison time. I hope he's honest, and not playing for sympathy.

 

[eddielee]

Most Americans know the story by now. Senator Larry Craig is caught cruising in a public restroom at an airport. There is so much wrong with this that I don't know where to begin.

I don't feel sorry for senator Craig, but I do feel sorry that we live in a society that forces a person to cover their sexual identity. Even if we lived in a more open society, I don't believe that the Senator would ever admit that he was gay. He has done so much against gay people. The worst thing, is going against expanding hate crime laws to include sexual orientation. He a classic example of a self loathing homo. If he hadn't been so anti-gay, I would feel a little pity for him.

He, or anyone else, is a fool to mess around with a stranger in a public restroom. I know it's popular among some gay men, but it has always been dangerous. You know nothing about the person you're about to have sex with. He could rob you, or worse, hurt and kill you. Safe sex is often not a part of restroom sex, so HIV is a big factor. Senator Craig should have known these things.

The Senator did not consider his reputation, which makes him a fool. He should have know he'd get caught. What's worse is he slipped the policeman a business card in order to intimidate him. "Hello, I'm Senator Craig and I'm above the law".

He pled guilty, even though he said he wasn't? Now he's hiding behind his wife(beard) and pretending to be a straight family man. The next thing he'll do is find Jesus. Oh how the mighty have fallen!

 

[eddielee]

I've been looking through a David Austin rose catalogue. I'm considering adding to my declining rose garden. I haven't been able to tend to it this year, so it's not very vigorous. I've got 4 rose bushes left out of a dozen.

I'd like old garden roses. I plan to get some gallicas, rugosa, and english roses. Graham Thomas and Othello appear to be two spectacular English roses. The rugosa rose "Roserie de la hay" is a very fragrant, trouble free rose. I've got a red French gallica rose but would like to find the "rose mundi" version of it.

Tea roses are okay, but there are so many that you have to know what your buying. Fragrant Cloud and Touch of Class are among the two best tea roses I've ever grown. Mr Lincoln is a very fine red tea rose. I've had some tea rose that I hated. I'll dig up a rose and throw it away if I don't like the color or form.