Day 2 Day radishes

September 30/ choices

My birthday is coming up in two weeks.  My daughter Meredith called and asked what I was doing on the 13th of the month, the night before my birthday.  I said that I had nothing planned,  so good, she said , we will count on you for the night of the 13th.  Then in the mail comes an invitation from Texas friends  who spend summers in Blue Lake, California to a dinner this week to their 60th wedding anniversary.  We can not attend as Mr. Radish is playing Mr. Rumpole. 

We have not been down to California for some time to see any of our old friends, and there is a window of time between this trial and the next one (of not to be found diliquent driver).  Ooops I forgot about the 13th.  But this time is the only time to see our Texas friends and the husband is very fragile.  We do want to see them as they have meant a great deal to us over the years. 

I call up my daughter and tell her I had changed my mind.  This was a surprise outing for me planned my both my youngest daughters.Meredith said, "Do you want me to tell you what it was, or not, you can not change your mind.  "No", I said, "it would grieve me too much".

"Okay." 

But I have been thinking what the present was.  I knew that they were taking me somewhere because they only invite me to dinner for celebrations on the weekend. I just knew I would like it.  Ah ha,  I said to myself, Richard Russo has a new book out and he is maybe coming to town to promote it.  When my daughter called today, she said, "What do you think you were going to do?"

I said, " I think you are taking me to meet Richard Russo  for champagne forhis new book signing at Barnes and Noble, or the Elliot Bay Bookstore." 

She laughed, "Oh, Mom that is even better, what a good guess. We were going to have your face done at Nordstrom by Trish Mcevoy herself."

Just stab me.

September 29/ David McCullough and John Adams

Mr. Radish and I have finished six of the  seven episodes of David McCullough’s  HBO series of John Adams.  Paul Giamatti  of Sideways movie fame plays John Adams. He does an excellent job portraying Adams.  I actually thought the sixth episode was the last episode as he is leaving the White House for home near Boston with a wagon full of “darkies”. He was going home as a plain citizen. 

 

Mr. Radish asked if I would like to see the feature on David McCullough. I was at my computer doing something and half listening.  But I became captivated by the piece and went to watch and became engrossed.  I loved the part about how his wife who he asked to marry him when he was 18, and she was 17 who was his best friend and helper which sort of repeated the theme of John and Abigail Adams.  He talked about the John Adams book and how there was a wealth of information because of all that John was constantly writing everyday.  John and Abigail wrote frequent letters to each other.  He said that he came to a point where he knew what Adams next move would be. 

 

 

McCullough also talked about writing.  He built a one room shed about 75 yards from his house with no phone, radio or computer, only his ancient typewriter and this is where he wrote the book.  No adults were welcome only children, and he said he would make time for them anytime.  He said about writing, you just have to write.  Eventually he said, that you will see that you improve.  I loved that part. 

 

I recommend this Adams biography movie because no matter what you believe politically, you will see your opinion affirmed, and you will see the opposite point of view.  And. . . guess what? The builders of our government were talking about the same things we talk about currently.  And the characters are equally emphatic as to their own side being right.  Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, friends for a long time had opposite view points on Federalism and states rights. 

 

Watching this makes one see what a high cost personally the founders made for our government.  Families were left behind, children abandoned.  The cost of the Revolutionary War, unbelievable!  George Washington was a great figure to follow.  His teeth were a problem to him.   Tonight, I think, we will watch the final episode.  What is going to become of plain citizen John, and will the angry Abigail let him back in the house?

September 28/ The decorum of those at the top

My daughter, NoName, www.expatprincess.com  yesterday wrote about Michelle Obama wearing spaghetti straps to a event.  It has raised some lively comments.  Someone asked, “In the end, “do we really care”? Politics and decorum have gone on for thousands of years.  If you are top dog, and you are confident that you will be top dog for generations, and you have something that every one needs, and only you can give it to them, you can wear  bikini to a meeting.  But if you are in public life, close to, but not President, and you will not be needing any favors from any nation, or asking for any foreign money, calling for military support, or demanding  Iran put down their nuclear weapons,  then you better dress with some decorum at public events. White House back yard BBQ’s  could be alright for spagetti straps, but public events probably not.    Others may perceive you as stupid for not knowing . 

 

What Mrs. Obama is saying is that she does not respect others, or she does not know rules. Just being cool, in several senses of the word, is not enough. Surely someone on her staff knows dress protocol. She is tossing overboard thousands of years of how one plays the game. One might ask, well isn’t it time to change all of that? Only, if you have a better plan.  Currently our country is not playing with a good hand of cards.  Frankly, I can not think of much that anyone really wants from us, except our medical system.  And given our current issues with Muslims, covered shoulders doesn’t seem to be asking too much. 

September 25 / Casseroles

Casseroles when my mother made them were a slam, bang thing.  You put them together in thirty minutes or the time it took to brown hamburger. They were what saved our mothers at dinner time. One great virtue was that they would save to be cooked at a later time.  With a salad and chocolate pudding, that was dinner.  They went out of favor as ethnic cooking, French, Italian, what ever became fashionable.  Also casseroles became expensive and time consuming.  Gourmet became fashionable.  When I was young families had casseroles a minimum of once a week and often three.  Tuna casserole was always one day a week.

My youngest daughter is organizing meals for an old college friend whose husband is having treatment here in Seattle.   She has asked me to make a dish.  Suddenly my old childhood meal more came back to me.  There was no More recipe on the Internet.  But I remembered all the ingredients more or less. I discovered several Internet sites which told how to build a cassarole. The one I most liked was called Cook It Quick at the link below.  

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqi.shtm

lThe above building was a shed by the railroad at a spot  near Conway, WA. called Milltown.

September 24 / Photo shoot

A friend and I went on a photo shoot today.  All of these are as they just came out of the camera.  Having a friend, particularity one that knows something about photography can really enhance the experience.  One thought can lead to another. Today we did farm land.  The weather is again one of those last days of summer goodness and being outside in the air and in the fields was therapeutic.  Now the farmers are digging up the last of of the potatoes.  And they are plowing the fields to put in a cover crop.  The snow geese will not be for about three weeks.  

One of our projects was old farm buildings.  The house at the top has about five to seven more years. 

September 24/ Look hard for cob web

September 23/ Product Day

We had a crisis the  other day.  Our front door lock would not work.  Essentially leaving us an escape of the garage door.  Mr Radish was miffed more so that usual.  I stayed home while he went to Coast to Coast Hardware, and then on nineteen miles to Lowe's who  did not have a lock that would fit.  Look at the lock, who would think that this would be so hard to replace?  Lowe's sent Mr.  Radish to a locksmith. There he waited 15 minutes for the customer ahead. No they did not have a lock to replace it, but what was the matter with the lock? Mr. Radish said that he could not get the key in the lock.  "Oh, hand it over here, that is nothing."  Out he gets a can of WD40 and sprays it in the hole.  The locksmith said, " You know you have to take care of your locks." Mr. Radish was very happy not to have to buy a lock. 

Get out your WD40. Might try the garage door too. 

September 20/ Colonial Inn/ Bragging Rights

Today was a magnificent day in the Pacific Northwest.  It was a day to be treasured as we all know that winter is coming.  Mr. Radish and I were gone eight hours, churching, counting the take, having lunch, visiting Barnes and Noble in Bellingham, but mostly we drove country roads new and old.  As children we took Sunday drives, and we wondered if our children will ever do the same.  Not likely. 

When I come to this restaurant, The Colonial Inn, on the famous Chuckanut Drive I can not keep from telling someone that I was here on my honeymoon 48 years ago.  Not exactly, but good enough for government work.  Today I chose to make my statement to an older woman in the bathroom stall.  The stalls that still have built in ash trays.  I said, " I came here on my honeymoon 48 years ago."  Boy did I make a statement.  I was telling her something that she did not know.  She came out of her stall and says, "Well I came here on my honeymoon 68 years ago".   She looked pretty good too.  She just said it, and she did not even brag.  

Don't worry, I have not forgotten black and white. 

September 17/ Anniversary and disgust

Today is the 222nd Anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. 
Mr. Radish and I started last night the HBO movie series, John Adams.  We have watched the first episode. It is excellent, and at this time in our country's angst I hope that my readers will rent it.

Today 0n the anniversary of the Russians invading  Poland in 1939, our Executive branch chose to to telephone the Prime Ministers of Poland and Czechoslovakia at midnight to announce that we were canceling our promised defense missile sites. This is after our friends the Poles agreed this week to send troops to assist in Afghanistan.  Apparently the Prime Minister of Poland is not taking Hilary's phone calls.  Mr. Putin is the big winner here. 

September 15/ Press credibility

Can the press tell me how many people were at the Washington, D.C. protest this last weekend?  I realize that the press went to Minnesota for Obama’s Health Care speech.  None the less, some reporter had to have been in town. 

 

Pictures were taken.  Some say they were Photoshoped well out of proportion.  Altering photos would be easy to do knowing how movies are made. For example, take  photograph of a few people and then with the photograph,  stamp again and again to make a crowd. I can do that, if I spent a week at it.   Or the other way, you could crop the crowd out.   

 

Counting is a relatively simple thing to do.  Were there,  give or take 10,000, 60,000 or were there a million? This is a huge difference. I personally have no judgment for crowds, but the Audubon society takes a count of birds the day after Christmas.  The counters learn how to estimate thousands of birds.  We could compare against the pictures of the Million Man March. We could compare density as against something which is known.  We could compare a fourth of July concert on the Mall green. 

 

The real problem here is deception.   The unwillingness for the press to report truthfully, accurately, and the desire to give a political slant by failure to report in this case removes credibility.  It is possible to say who cares about the protest?  In fact I did not, until I heard the differences in numbers, and then I did become curious and then interested. 

 

But here is the problem.  I am interested in Swine Flu.  I want to know how wide spread the virus will, and will the vaccine work, and should I take it. I am interested in our taxes.  I am interested in things like how the Chinese could send us into bankruptcy.   This inability to report with some accuracy is very similar to if the government can not efficiently run the Post Office, how can they run my health care.   If the press can not reasonably count a number of how many real people were at this protest, how do I know they have the ability to do their research on something as esoteric as Swine Flu.