October 27, 2008

Another Look at Sarah Palin and the Election

I've been watching all the media hoopla and have seen interviews with Sarah Palin and of course the vice-presidential debate. At first I thought she came off as a good choice; she is a good speaker and has a good track record. Then I was swayed by the media and thought she was a totally clueless bimbo who didn't have what it takes to be a president if John McCain died in office.

But lately, I've been thinking about the interviews, the clips that are continuously played for us, and I don't think she's been given a fair shake. Take the interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson. Unless she was given a list of the questions they asked beforehand, and it's quite obvious she wasn't, they already had the advantage. And I wonder if either Couric or Gibson would have known the answers to some of their own questions if they (or someone on their staff) had not researched them and had the answers. And why aren't they asking Obama these sneaky questions?

When Couric asked Palin what magazines she read, I do wish Palin had been honest and said she was traveling all over America memorizing speeches, meeting people, and didn't have time to read magazines; but that she had people who read them and briefed her on the important issues. Instead, she went into politicalease nonsense and looked ill-prepared and unqualified. And as far as the Bush Doctrine question Gibson asked her, I imagine the majority of average Americans had no idea what he was talking about either. She just made it worse by trying to talk around it. It was obvious that Gibson was trying to make her look bad and I'm disappointed in that. I used to respect him. After doing a little research, I have found that there isn't just one Bush Doctrine.

Another thing that was brought up is that she was for the bridge to nowhere when she was campaigning for governor, but when she found that most people were against it, she changed her tune and campaigned vigorously against it. Maybe I'm just an insignificant little housewife, but it seems to me that that is exactly what we want our leaders to do - listen to us and then push for our demands.

I think Palin's biggest handicap is talking too much. She does beat around the bush quite a bit, but then, so does Obama. He just does it in such an intense way that he comes across as believable. She is more like those high school girls who don't know the answer to an essay question, so they write two pages of nothing in their gigantic cursive loops hoping they might accidently hit on the answer.

And that brings up another thought. It seems to be an election between Obama and Palin instead of Obama and McCain. No one can deny that McCain is qualified for the job, and there isn't enough dirt on him to make good copy, so the media wants the public to decide between Obama and Palin.

Poor Joe Biden is getting left out of the spotlight altogether. He got more media attention after being introduced as John McCain than for anything else. Joe the Plumber has gotten more media time, and look what the media did to that poor guy. He may have to work at McDonald's after his 15 minutes of fame.

Joe Biden is probably more qualified to be president than Barack Obama, he just doesn't have Obama's charisma. Unfortunately, McCain also lacks charisma, which is probably one of the reasons he chose Palin as his running mate. It's too bad McCain didn't pick Biden as his running mate. Their campaign would be as boring as warm milk, but both solid and competent.

We are continually told that McCain's age is his biggest handicap. He is 72 years old, and has had a couple of skin lesions diagnosed as melanoma which were removed and have not recurred. Not enough reason to think he is going to drop dead during his term. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he first took office and 73 for his second term and I don't recall that his age was such a big issue.

No matter what policy changes a candidate has in his platform, he still has to get them passed through both House and Senate before they become law, so it is unlikely that anything extreme will get through. Because of that, I'm trying not to focus on the things the candidate wants to change, but on what kind of decisions the candidate will make in a crisis. Obama seems to be cool under pressure, and hopefully will surround himself with good advisers. McCain is already experienced in war and a depressed economy, and hopefully will have learned from that as well as selecting good advisers.

Morally, I don't like either McCain or Obama. So the question for me is do I go with experience or charisma? Or does it even matter?

Until next time, may you have blessings and discernment,
Marti

October 16, 2008

The Standoff

I love fall, the cool mornings and evenings and that crisp smell in the air. Today was one of those cool, crisp mornings when I felt the need to be outside doing something. Or at least I did until I actually stepped outside. I had already decided that today was the day to start walking and cycling again, so I shrugged off the chill, snapped on my pedometer, and started out. That's when I remembered that I had stopped walking here because of roving dogs from the next street.

So I thought, no big deal, I'll just skip walking and ride my bike longer to make up for it. After I aired up the tires, I hopped on and started down the street. Something was terribly wrong with the bike. I think Hubby must have tightened the chain or something. I could hardly push the pedals in 3rd gear. Surely it couldn't be that my flabby legs just couldn't move the pedals. No, I'll blame it on the Hubster. I geared down to 1st, and the pedals turned, but I could have walked faster. I got around the corner and here came the dogs. I bumped it up to 2nd gear but the dogs were still faster. I pulled out my pepper spray, checked the wind direction - no wind, and stopped to face them.

I think that confused them because they stopped too; they probably aren't used to their prey stopping for a confrontation. So I stood there, holding my arm out and straddling my bike, realizing I was going down if they jumped on me. I yelled all the key words I had ever heard for dogs, "Down", "Off", "Back", "Home", and some I made up on the spot. Obviously, these dogs had never been trained, at least not in English. German, maybe. I don't know any German. I tried to remember any episodes of Hogan's Heroes and all I could think of is "I know nothing!"

Now the standoff was getting a little strained. They were too far for my spray to reach them, and the wind was beginning to blow - in my direction. Do I back up, bike and all, or do I try to go forward and intimidate them? Since the pedals were behind my feet, keeping me from taking a step backward, forward it was. Little tiny tiptoe steps since that is all I could manage while straddling the bike. Blasted bike. My desire to be out in the crisp, fall weather had definitely waned. I started to hate fall. I was cold now that the wind was cutting through my knit shirt. I realized I hate exercise and would rather be fat and unhealthy. The dogs don't care. They were warm and furry, and now curious to see why I was inching toward them.

Finally, I was within spray distance and the wind had momentarily died down. I aimed. I fired. Nothing. Nada. I was three feet from the beasts and my sprayer was dead. They were walking toward me then. My last attempt was to wave my arms in the air and yell menacingly. They backed off and I felt victorious, until I looked around and saw a car behind me.

Great. Now I'm the neighborhood lunatic.

Until next time, may you have blessings and working pepper spray,
Marti

October 12, 2008

Make a Cheap Picture Frame with Raised Design

 
I have been looking for a flat picture frame so I can put a design on it, but haven't been able to find one, and wondered if I could make one.

I wanted to start this Friday night so I would have the weekend to work on it, but since I don't know how to change the blades on the table saw I had to wait on Hubby to help, and he didn't want to help me until last night. Actually, I was the helper, at least with most of the cutting on the table saw.

I bought a 1"x3"x8' poplar board at Lowes for $8.41. I was only making an 8x10 frame, so the 8' board should have had a little over 3' left over, but we used the excess getting the dado and edge blade set up right..



I wanted to dado the inner edge first, but Hubby thought it would be easier to work with if it was already cut into the right pieces. It wasn't. It's really hard to run the board across the blade when there is a 45ยบ angle on the board. A flat edge would have been easier. Anyway, we got the dado cut and he had another blade that made a rounded cut on the outer edges. That was a scary-looking blade and I was glad when that was done and we both had all our fingers.  Edited:  We later bought a router table and that would have done all this easily.



After sanding the outer edges, I was ready to put the pieces together. I didn't want nails on the outside of the frame, so I glued the corners first. Not having any clamps small enough, I used rubber bands to press the glued corners together. I also had to cut a piece of carboard to fit in the dadoed groove and keep the frames aligned.

I let it set up a bit and then hammered joint fasteners into the corners from the back. I only mention this so no one else will try this, at least not by yourself. The first one went in easily, even though they were really a bit too big. But hammering it in made the other 3 joints split apart. I reglued them and nailed them on the spot, but there is a noticeable gap in each joint.

After the glue dried, I turned it over, filled the gaps with wood filler, and sanded it down. Then, and this is the reason I was looking for a flat picture frame, I used a stack of stencils glued together and lightweight drywall compound, and made a Gesso design in the corners. If I had grandchildren, I think it would be cute to put their names on the frame, but I think my daughters will be happy with leaves.





I painted a base of tan paint over the edges and leaves so I can sand down to that after painting the frame.


I then painted the whole thing with a black spray paint with matte finish. After it dried, I lightly sanded the top of the whole frame which exposed the tan paint on the design and the frame edges. I sanded a little too far in a couple of places and had to retouch some of the tan and then buff it off. I'm not sure if I like it this way. After it dries another 24 hours, I may spray a clear sealer over it.

 

This is something that can be done on walls or furniture too.

********

Another frame, this one made out of framing trim from a big box store.




Until next time, may you have blessings and creativity,
Marti

October 09, 2008

I Could Never Be a Pioneer Farmer


I finished chopping down the okra today and then tilled the garden, or at least half of it. This year, I expanded the garden by about five feet, and that part was really hard to work. Not only because the ground was rock hard, but the tiller kept getting bound up with the grass and a bolt in the handle kept loosening and falling off. I usually till with tines going backward, and to free them when they get clogged with grass, I reverse the tines. Once the tines are free again, the tiller takes off like a bucking bronc until I can get it stopped. It seemed appropriate that I name her Nellie (as in Whoa Nellie). In turtle speed, it's an effort to hang onto the handle and keep her going straight, and my arms are shaken all the way to my shoulders. Who needs a gym membership?

After I finished tilling, I raked out the grass from the new area, spread some wheat as my winter cover crop, raked over that, and watered it in. I'm beat, and I only did half the garden; the other half still has tomatoes, peppers, and okra growing in it.

Until next time, may you have blessings and soft soil,
Marti

October 06, 2008

I'm Baaaack!


I got busy last February, and quit posting for awhile. My father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimers, then Parkinsons, then not Alzheimers, and has been having a lot of medical problems. We had decided to move, and then buy a duplex or house with separate apartment. Then Hubby decided we would convert the garage into an apartment. Then he decided we would add on to our house. Then we were back to selling.

Anyway, by the time things slowed down and I could get back to regular posting, I had lost my password and couldn't remember what email I signed up with. Maybe I am the one with Alzheimers.

Until next time, may you have blessings and a happy fall, y'all,
Marti