Toeing the Line
28 Dec 2011 17 Comments
in Aging, Christmas, Family, health care, Humor, Women Tags: Aging, brothers, daughters, health care, Humor, mothers, nursing homes, podiatrists, Sarah Palin, toenails
Quick Note from the Eldercare Underground: Grooming Edition
When my mother was still at the nursing/rehab facility the week before Christmas, they had a big party for all the residents.
I wasn’t aware of the festivities because my brother (“What’s-his-name,” as my mother now calls him) was down from Colorado to see her and I hadn’t been by the home for a few days, mainly to let him get the full brunt of her focus for a change.
I’m not dumb.
I was surprised to find, a day or so later, that my mother’s fingernails had been professionally done. They were all filed and painted a pretty, deep red and the ring fingernail of each hand sported a decorative design.
She said they had taken her to the beauty salon room the day of the party and did her nails, hair and even makeup for the Christmas big wing-ding.
I’d noticed that her fingernails had been getting kind of long and ragged looking, so I was glad that she’d had that attention. But it was her toenails that had caused me the most concern.
I hadn’t really had occasion to see her feet sans socks for quite some time and I have to say that when I did see them in the nursing home recently, I was pretty taken aback. It was quite apparent that she hadn’t cut her toenails since maybe Kate Gosselin went on her pretend camping trip with Sarah Palin.
My mother was about to be transferred to her new digs at the “Hotel,” so when we saw her physician prior to the move I asked if someone would cut her toenails for her. Please.
Apparently, and probably with good reason, nobody wants to do that, so the job is referred out to a podiatrist.
(Now, I was a dental hygienist for over 20 years and I have to say I’d rather muck about in people’s dirty mouths than fiddle around with their feet. )
Brief digression:
When I was in college before getting accepted into the dental hygiene program, I attended some classes with pre-RN nursing students, many of whom already had been LVNs and had experience in the medical field. When they found out a group of us were applying to the hygiene program, they told us they would rather “wipe a poopy bottom” than have to clean someone’s teeth. To each her own, I guess.
Anyway, the doctor told us that there were two podiatrists in town: one who made “house calls” to the nursing homes and one who didn’t. Naturally, I asked for the one who would come to the Hotel and do the deed.
But several days after her move, the nurse at the Hotel called and said my mother had an appointment Jan. 5th with the one who didn’t make house calls. Whatever.
So yesterday when I was walking from the parking lot into the Hotel, a man carrying a medical bag passed me on his way out. It immediately struck me that this must be the “house call guy.”
I have never personally encountered a doctor actually carrying a “little black bag.” I always thought that was just on TV, like in “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”
When I opened the door to my mother’s room I found her sitting in one of the lovely chairs we’d brought from her house, leaning over and picking up something off of the carpet.
It was toenail clippings.
She was surrounded with them. It reminded me of when we used to get our old pony’s hooves trimmed by the local farrier.
I helped her pick up the detritus and was grateful that the doctor had saved us (by us, I mean me) the trouble of another doctor’s visit and all that entails.
I’m just glad she didn’t get this look for her Christmas party:
Ya Think?
08 Oct 2011 12 Comments
in Humor, Politics, Texas Tags: G.O.P., God, Humor, Katie Couric, not mentioning the Bible, Politics, religion, Republicans, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Texas
Shades of Katie Couric’s famous “gotcha” question to Sarah Palin about what newspapers she reads:
“But Perry, campaigning Saturday in Iowa’s staunchly conservative northwest, barely touched on religion at all. In stops at Sioux City and Orange City, he never mentioned Mormonism, Romney by name, or even Christianity, for that matter.
Asked by Republican Steven Bernston what books have most influenced him, Perry mentioned only one: the work of conservative economist Friedrich Hayek. Bernston, a corn and beans farmer from Paullina, later said he was surprised that Perry didn’t at least mention the Bible.
“I don’t think he’s a reader,” Bernston said in an interview, noting that Perry used the question to switch to previous statements about his opposition to government efforts to stimulate the economy.”
She Came, She Signed, She Left After 30 Minutes
09 Jul 2011 118 Comments
in Humor, Life, Politics, Texas Tags: book signing, Bristol Palin, G.O.P., Humor, Politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin, show me the money, Texas
Well, the big Bristol Palin-Book Signing-Palooza took place last night at our local Fredericksburg Walmart store.
From the looks of it, the citizenry was underwhelmed.
The day before, our little burg had even made the pages of the satirical website Wonkette.com (click the link for the story).
There was excited talk of large crowds because this area is heavily Republican and also of the Tea Party persuasion, despite the fact that former President Lyndon B. Johnson was (and still is) such a huge figure in these parts.
Hell, Lady Bird Johnson continued to be a member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church (just down the street from my daughter’s house) up until her death a couple of years ago, even though Lady Bird had been a resident of Austin for many years. Old connections run deep in this part of Texas.
We didn’t attend the big event which kicked off at 6 pm because we had the grandkids here and because we really didn’t give a hoot. However we did end up at Walmart later in the evening after our weekly pilgrimage to McDonald’s.
I’d checked the news feeds earlier and found this little blurb and photo on the Fox News (where else?) San Antonio website about Bristol’s visit:
Palin Visits Fredericksburg Store
The daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin spent the evening in Fredericksburg. Bristol Palin signed copies of her new book “Not Afraid of Life” at the town’s Walmart store. The book talks about Bristol’s experience in the public eye when her mother campaigned as John McCain’s presidential running mate.
I think the part about “spent the evening” is a bit disingenuous. When my husband was checking out at Walmart he went to the express checkout that happened to be right next to the area where Ms. Palin had been holding court.
(As you can see in the photo, it was a set-up fit for a queen, complete with a bouquet of roses snatched from the floral cold case just a few steps away and a faux palm tree hauled in from the crafts department in the back of the store. Notice, too, the heavy knit scarf around Bristol’s neck. WTF? It was at least 98 outside, and not a whole lot cooler in the store.)
The checker had been there the whole time and said that Bristol had left after only 20 mins. to a half hour of signing. There was even a point where there was no one waiting, so she graciously (to her credit) went around and introduced herself to the employees in the area.
In the grand tradition of her Mama Grizzly, she’d brought little Tripp (have I got the name right? With all the Tripps, Tracks, Trigs, etc., it’s hard to keep up) along for added value. No Sarah, though.
The checker said that while Palin was still there an elderly lady went through her check-out line and muttered “Hmmph. What does she know about life?”
When my husband was just about done checking out, the Walmart employee said “When you get down to it, it’s all about the money, isn’t it?”
Indeed.
Our Lady of Perpetual Victimization
12 Jan 2011 10 Comments
in Art, Cartoons, Politics Tags: Art, cartoon, Politics, Sarah Palin, Tea Party
It’s always about her, isn’t it?
Dancing with the Mama Grizzlies
18 Nov 2010 12 Comments
in Cartoons, Humor, Politics Tags: Art, Bristol Palin, cartoon, Dancing With the Stars, Humor, Sarah Palin
“I don’t care if Bristol did advance to the finals. You’re not getting out the shotgun.”
Where Are the Grown-ups?
21 May 2010 2 Comments
in Biology, Politics, Venting Tags: "Drill baby drill!", BP, G.O.P., oil disaster, Politics, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin
Quotes of the day about the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico:
“We’re now looking at a scenario where response plans include lighting the ocean on fire, pouring potent chemicals into the water, and using trash and human hair to stop the flow of oil,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, in a letter to President Barack Obama calling for a formal moratorium on new offshore drilling permits. “If this is the backup plan, we need to rethink taking the risk in the first place.”
“It’s anger at the people who are supposed to be driving the ship (who) don’t have any idea what’s going on,” said E.J. Boles, 55, a musician from Big Pine Key, Fla. “Why wouldn’t they have any contingency plan? I’m not a genius and even I would have thought of that.”
“Everything in that marsh is dead as we speak,” Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said after touring the clogged marshes. “Had you fallen off that boat yesterday and come up breathing that stuff, you probably wouldn’t be here, either.”
Going “Rogue-y”
10 Feb 2010 8 Comments
in Art, Cartoons, Humor, Politics, ramblings, Thoughts, Uncategorized, Venting Tags: Art, cartoon, drawing, Dummies, G.O.P., Humor, Palm Reading, Politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin’s Next Book
Stick a Fork in Me…
20 Jan 2010 10 Comments
in Family, Life, Politics, ramblings, Thoughts, Uncategorized, Venting, Women Tags: "birthers", Democrats, G.O.P., God, health care, Humor, Obama, Politics, religion, Republicans, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin
…I’m done. With politics, with the Democratic party, with listening to the blabbering talking heads and pundits. Everything. I can’t take it anymore. This country is getting dumber as each day passes. I’m beyond caring at this point.
If “the People” want to keep things the way they were 50, 60 or 100 years ago, I say let ‘em have it. If they’re that dim, then they deserve the country they get under President Palin or whatever reactionary idiot they choose. Education, science, reason, intelligence…forget about it. “The People” just want someone they can knock back a beer with.
Count me out.
Cats are better. Put your trust in animals, they never let you down.
Palin’ Around with Excuses
11 Dec 2009 5 Comments
in Art, Life, Politics, Texas, Thoughts, Venting, Women Tags: G.O.P., Going Rogue, police, Politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Texas
One of my favorite blogs is Margaret and Helen right here on WordPress.
Helen is an eighty-four year old gal from Texas who has more political smarts and all-around intelligence than the whole Republican party plus the Tea-baggers combined.
Currently Helen’s trying to wade through Sarah Palin’s “book”–Going Rogue. 
Here is an excerpt from that tome and Helen’s trenchant comment on it:
Consider the following excerpt from the book which refers to a State Trooper who pulled her over for an illegal joy ride on a snow machine:
“It was Christmas Day; we were out in the middle of nowhere, a couple of kids on a snowmachine up against a big dude with a gun and a badge. I couldn’t help but wondering about his priorities, if he really didn’t have more important things to do, like catching a bad guy, or helping a poor old lady haul in her firewood for the night. Looking back, maybe that was my first brush with the skewed priorities of government.“
And that, dear Margaret, sums up my issue with Sarah Palin and so many others like her. They are so quick to look for the “bad guys” in everyone else never seeing the one staring back at them in the mirror each morning.
Boy, has Helen hit the proverbial nail on the head.
My son-in-law is a newly sworn in peace officer in our small city and has been on the job for about two months now. Already he has encountered people just like Palin who feel they are entitled to special treatment for reasons only they know but are unable to articulate; yet they somehow still consider themselves above the law.
One traffic stop involved a man who didn’t make a complete stop at an intersection well known to be one of the more dangerous ones in the city. (He not only didn’t stop, he sailed through at 40 miles an hour near a school zone.) The man sarcastically asked my son-in-law if he should get out and walk around the truck at a stop sign to prove that he had stopped long enough. Unrattled, my SIL responded with “Whatever you’d like to do, sir” and proceeded to ticket the offensive offender.
Another stop was for a truck that had a broken tail-light. Usually this would have resulted in just a warning for the driver, but upon checking the truck out, SIL discovered the inspection stickers for the truck (necessary in Texas before a car can be insured) AND his vehicle registration both had expired a couple of years ago. The driver asserted that he drove this truck only on his ranch (but was caught driving it on public streets), so he didn’t need stickers or registration. Wrong on all counts. This jerk went on to ask SIL if he was a “rookie” cop because the ones in Houston, where he was from, wouldn’t have ticketed him. Uh huh. Right.
Why is it Palin is always making excuses (or making up excuses) for herself? Police officers, State Troopers, sheriff’s deputies, etc., put their lives on the line every day. It’s predictably emblematic of her to complain about the way the trooper was carrying out his duty so she could pull the focus away from her wrongdoing. In other words, it wasn’t illegal until she had the bad luck to be caught by the trooper. He’s the one to blame.
For the life of me, I don’t understand why someone so anti-government would even want to run for the second highest governmental office in the land as she did.
But again, losing the election had nothing to do with her short-comings.
It was someone else’s fault. Naturally.
Do us a favor, Ms. Palin—stop making crap up.
For Palin: the Queen of Denial
10 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment
in Animation, Art, Humor, Politics, Thoughts, Venting Tags: Animation, Copenhagen Treaty, G.O.P., global warming, Humor, Obama, Politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin
Your 2 Cents