Just Something to Think About the Proposed Healthcare

I've been reading about Healthcare, and it continues to concern me that the government is wanting to push this legislation through too quickly without seriously studying the matter and finding out the consequences of this bill.  It is going to be disasterous (sp) for the country, but don't look for it to explode immediately.  This will explode a little later, say 2013 and on.  And, mark my words, Medicare will be used to pay for the Medicaid benefits.  It's like we say here, you're taking away the clothes of one child to put it on another.  It is not good business, and from what I understand, not everybody is going to have coverage ANYWAY.

I pray the Lord will open the eyes of our leaders, give them wisdom, and teach them patience.  We don't need healthcare right now.  We need rational human beings to take over, study the case, look to see what states have already done that ALREADY WORK, like, say, Utah, and then begin to implement this honestly, with the budget we already have.  Why get more into debt to China?  

Thanks for reading this, and if you're still here, take a look at what arrived in an email today.

River

Fact #23: The Sad State(s) of ObamaCare

Under Sen. Harry Reid's legislation, states would be required to expand Medicaid eligibility anywhere from 133-150% above the federal poverty limit. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this mandate to the states would drain state coffers by $25 billion. Obviously, this is causing some great concern to state governors from both political parties. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York State Governor David Patterson wrote a letter to the two New York Senators fearful that Senator Reid's bill" could add close to $1 billion annually in new State Medicaid costs to New York , with serious implications for already strained State and City budgets." New York State has one of the most liberal Medicaid policies in the United States, and in these tough economic times, they're saving money by rationing care for women in the state seeking cancer screenings. And the Democrats in Congress hope to solve the problem by increasing the burden on all 50 states?
** How secret are the health care negotiations? Even the Left is locked out, according to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the second highest Democrat in the Senate. He complained to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the Senate floor, saying, "I'm in the dark almost as much as he is, and I'm in the leadership." To read more, visit The Cloakroom Blog for today's post, "The Gang That Couldn't Legislate Straight." **
*** What does Copenhagen 's climate conference have to do with abortion? Click on Ken Blackwell's new Townhall op-ed, "A Modest Proposal," to find out! ***

Faithfulness to Your Spouse and Pillows

[INSERT FREE WEB CLIPART OF A PILLOW HERE :D ]

A good marriage needs a good pillow.

I've been reading posts around the net about cheaters, enabling cheaters, "cheatees", and faithfulness.  First, I believe in marriage, I truly do.  I believe in a legal statement, to the world, that two people, man and woman, join in holy matrimony, until death do them part.  That is what I believe, and if you believe something else, well then, you do, and that's it.


I believe that marriage is work, hard work, sometimes.  I believe that in order for you to have a successful marriage, your husband has to woo you just like he did when you were courting (look for the verb), or going out, going steady... :)  I also believe that as a woman, I have to invest the same time and effort in making myself pretty and courting him as well. 


I believe that a good pillow fight is healthy now and then, especially if your husband doesn't HAVE ONE, haha!!!


:D


I believe that if you feel you have fallen out of love with your spouse, that you have to fall back in.  Often, love is a response to love.  If I start loving him, wooing him, and doing things for him that I know he likes and enjoys, then if he loves me, he will respond.  Even if you do feel in love with him, make a list, check it twice, of the things you know he likes, and then start doing them.  Even if "nothing" happens at first, you'll reap what you sow.


Love is a decision you make to become emotionally attached to someone, to commit to that person, to like him or her.  It's a decision.  The emotional tickles will follow, if you are faithful to the comitment and to wanting to make it work.  I can testify to that.


I've read what people call The Love Chapter in the Bible. Go look it up, read it, and then return here and see "my version. In my version, it reads like this:  

1st Corinthians 13:4 

River ('cause that's my internet nickname) is long-suffering, 
and River is kind ; 
River doesn't envy; 
River doesn't vaunt herself , 
nor is she puffed up , 
5 River does not behave unseemly , 
River doesn't seek her own, 
River is not easily provoked , 
River thinks no evil; 
6 River does not rejoice in iniquity, 
but she rejoices in the truth; Maybe I live in a fairytale state of mind, but this is what I aspire to, the love I want to bring every day into my marriage. And the pillows? If hubby says I have an unfair advantage on account of hiding HIS pillows, it's just too bad!

If you really want to know what the pillows are for, it for keeping a sense of humor. They are a soft place to land when things get rough, too. And for making sure that if you "hit" your spouse with some, that it's nice and soft, like a pillow, never to humiliate, never to bring down, but to build up, to edify. If your spouse knows that you admire her or him, and that you know that there is no one else like her or him, then your spouse will have that confidence, of being able to hold head up high, safe in the knowledge of a good woman's heart (or man's if that's the case). I thank God that I have a good man's heart.

I hope my little homily has been a blessing to you. I know I needed to read this as much as write it out. Have a great day!

River

New Crochet Granny Triangle Shawl

I have a weakness for shawls... "I feel pretty, Oh so pretty!" when I wear a shawl, and I like the warmth, too.  Yes, even though I live on an island in the Caribbean, I get cold when the temperature dips down to 75ºF.

I finished my shawl today, by trimming the fringe, something I really really like.  Any jokes about "lunatic fringe, Dave, and I won't "be good" this weekend, I'll tease you unmercifully, no matter what FB says.  You are forewarned!  haha!

Beholdeth, pictures of my shawl, as requested and modeled by DD.

CLOSE UP

Daughter again modeling the shawl. By the way, she is a woman's size extra small.

I made it with Carons Simply Soft, Colonial blue, if I'm not mistaken.  It is really prettier than how it's showing up here in this late afternoon light.


And here is the fringe.  I make an almost perfect fringe.  I am finicky about it, since I like it so much.  I like it nice and neat, and will redo it several times if I have to.  I used to have instructions for making "the perfect fringe" on the net; not that it exists... *smile*  Until I post it again, a tip for a good fringe is to pull quickly and evenly and it should fall into place as it should, and not with strands all criss-crossed.

Thanks for looking at my shawl.  Hope you have a great weekend.

Happy Chanukkah

To my favorite client in New York

Chag Sameach!

Pincushion at Crochet Soiree

The Crochet Soiree has a new free pattern, a cute pincushion:

http://crochetsoiree.blogspot.com/2009/12/free-pattern-friday-mary-engelbreit.html

You have to register to download it, but it's cute, and I think I'll make one.

Mistake

"It is not strange... to mistake change for progress."

President Millard Fillmore

1850-1853

Crochet Hat from Dirty Jobs

Mike Rowe said in his program tonight that a view named Lorraine hand made this for him.  Is IS crocheted, isn't it?  This is the Reindeer episode.

Az Computer ER Helps CBS 5 in Phoenix Az

I have an Apple Powerbook, a G4, generously given to me by my Fearless Boss.  He didn't lend it to me, he GAVE it to me.  I had one problem with it, since the hard drive was 6 years old, and had to be replaced.  But other than that, this baby is fine.  No viruses, etc.

And, it angers me when I read and hear about people scamming others.  What happened to honor, duty, and a good name?

My Corn-Free Safe Foods List

Because I suffer from a corn allergy, and am allergic to strawberries and Yellow #5, too, I've decided to make my own list of things that are safe for me.  This is my personal list of products that are corn-free, or at least have small or trace amounts that at least, for me, they do not bother  me.

• Martinelli's Apple Juice
• Blue Sky Soda, Cola and Grape flavor.  www.blueskysoda.com
• Pepperidge Farm Gold Fish
• Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Man cookies (although the last batch that I ate irritated my esophagus)
• Royal Borinquen Soda Crackers (Puerto Rico)
• Brookfield Cream Cheese
• Chantaine (France) Peach Preserves- Peaches, sugar, pectin, lemon juice.
• Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream
• Breyes Chocolate Ice Cream
• Chocolove Extra Strong Dark Chocolate 77% cocoa content www.chocolove.com
• Crispy Brown Rice (gluten free) by Erewhon, www.usmillsllc.com (organic brown rice, organic brown rice syrup, sea salt.)
• Nature's Gate Natural Toothpaste, Cool Mint Get, http://natures-gate.com/ Again, someone might be sensitive to this toothpaste, but so far, I'm okay using it.
• Amy's Cheese Pizza, www.amys.com (made in a facility that processes foods containing soy, tree nuts, and seeds.

These are links I found on the net, and others that were provided to me by my family and my Fearless Boss.
http://www.americanmedical-id.com/ Medic Alert Bracelet.  Walmart.com also sells one, but it's small
http://www.cornallergens.com/
http://forums.delphiforums.com/AvoidingCorn/
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/ for corn-free toothpaste.  I can't use this because the corn-free toothpaste has strawberries, and I'm allergic to strawberries.

Products I want to try:
http://www.gfsoap.com/ corn-free, fragrance-free soaps

Products I cannot eat:
Newman's Own Organics -does contain about 2% cornstarch.  I wrote asking if they can change to potato starch instead.  Who knows, they might!

Slowly Adding My Crochet Patterns

I'm adding my patterns to the right side bar, "down there" somewhere.  I'm adding them "as is" with no changes in the instructions, for now.  Later on I'll modify, add new pictures, etc. to them, as I'm able.


Also, I do have some newer designs I might add.  For anybody reading this, I write out the instructions for beginners.  These aren't really meant for experienced crochetsters simply because, well, you're that, an experienced crochetster!  :D


I have a few already in this blog, somewhere.  Just go the the top left corner where you'll find this:

Follow Share Report Abuse Next Blog»

 and insert the word


crochet


into the box and press return; you'll find them. 


:)


Have a good weekend!

How Sweet It Is to be Loved by You!

I am allergic to corn.  Without a doubt.  Every time I eat something that contains corn or a corn product I feel awful, my teeth start to hurt terribly, my mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach feel burning and I have a terrible malaise worse than the flu.  Everything literally hurts.  This happened to me today when I drank some Motts apple juice.  I am suspecting it has some corn product.  When Eddie left for work today, I was close to miserable, and when he came back, I was recovering from feeling miserable; now I'm just feeling very bad.

Eddie decided to heat some chicken fingers (blech, what a name to call those things) and fry tostones.  I can eat neither of them because they contain corn starch in the first, fried in corn oil the second.  Eddie's face just fell when I told him I couldn't eat any tostones (fried plaintain, squashed).  I told him that at some point I could perhaps soak them in water to bring out the corn oil if any, and then fry them in olive oil.  So, Eddie exited and I kept on watching a Christmas movie.

Some 20 minutes later, I went to the kitchen to find something edible, and found Eddie frying some tostones, that looked somewhat bloated.  I looked up and the Man I Married smiled at me and said, "I fried some for you!"  I said, "What?  You soaked them and fried them in..." and he said, "Yes, in olive oil.  Just for you."

And, they were delicious!  I feel almost normal, being able to eat tostones.  Next time I'll buy the plaintains and make them myself.

The end of my story:  I told dear husband, 'I'm going to kiss the cook!" and proceeded to do so.  And he smiled with his heart in his eyes, I finally understand that phrase, and told me, "The cook loves you!"

I tell you, I'm keeping this guy!


for a picture and recipe, go here:  http://www.elboricua.com/tostones.html

$800 Billion Debt to China Keeps Growing

Proverbs 22:7 says that, “the borrower is slave to the lender,” as demonstrated in President Obama's recent meetings with China's President Hu Jintao, and government-censored meetings with Chinese students in Shanghai. With the U.S. owing the Chinese government $800 billion, Obama pledged to treat China as a trusted global partner, despite China's ongoing and uncontested human rights abuses and intentional trade imbalance.


==============
The USA is quickly becoming a slave to another country.  This grieves me.  Until we pay the piper, we will never be free.  

Strange Thanksgiving Without a Table

To have a Thanksgiving, all you really need is a reason to give thanks.  And then, to actually GIVE thanks to God for the blessings you have received, and for the bad things you didn't receive, for the lessons learned...

The Sound Engineer I call Husband had a fit some time ago, and Honorable Son #1 is so like his father.  It was really The Danny Boy who started it.  He took a good look at my dining room table and said it was "dead," "junk" and that he was going to throw it out.  And Dear Husband joined him in his fiendish deed.

I'm only sorry I don't have a picture of the misfit table I had.  Once upon a time it was a new table, much appreciated in our house.  And then, we realized we had been "had".  It was not a solid wooden table.  It was made of a sort of a plastic that looked enough like wood to fool two young lovers (no, we didn't sleep together, I mean it in the old-fashioned sense) who only had eyes for each other and were ignorant of things of these sort.

The first time we spilled something, we realized our table was sick:  it was swollen.  We tried to make it feel better, but it stayed that way.  And through the years and three children and many MANY more spill, the table become more and more swollen.  One day it began to crumble.

The Sound Engineer I call Husband said, "That table is dead, but no one has informed it of the fact."

Some time later, The Danny Boy had his fit, and they both took the old table and sent it to its doom.  Now we have a tiny round table that seats 4 uncomfortably.  It doesn't seat 5, or 6, or 10, which is the number of people here today.  So, the giving of thanks was strange because we were not gathered around the table.  Some of us did form a circle, spontaneously held hands while my husband asked God to bless the food and thanked Him for the blessings of family and friends.  I felt strange that we were scattered throughout the house, no table talk, no elbows in our way, no "pass the gravy" either, just a sort of buffet-style meal.

Still, we had fellowship with each other, and were blessed by our company.  My hair was speaking to me, so I put a pretty handmade scrunchy in it, everybody liked the pumpkin (un)pie and the cheesecake and no one was in any hurry to leave, not even Beloved Mother, who usually wants to go home after about 45 minutes.  Father God, I thank You for this wonderful day!

Vertigo

I have vertigo!  I should be preparing  a cheesecake, but was ordered to bed by the despots, dictators, tyrants, I'm running out of great adjectives to describe the menfolk here.

I'm stuck in my dungeon, er-room!  Held hostage!  Help!  haha!  I should be mixing a cheese cake and pumpkin pudding.  I can't eat corn, and most everything contains some sort of corn, so pumpkin pudding it is, not pumpkin pie.  DD is looking for some extra food because I invited some of Honorable Son #2's friends over, thinking that the turkey was larger than it is.  So, I'll make some Hammentashchens (if they let me) and tostones, too.

Hope you all have a wonderfully peaceful day with your loved ones.  God bless you!

River

Thanksgiving Proclamation

[New York, 3 October 1789]
Click here to view original Page Image. 
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
 
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.