Gram's Recipe Book - Food for thought and nutrition for the soul.

What does it take to remember a password?.....

2008-07-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

It is July, and it has been three months since my last post..why? Poor planning, poor thought processes or just bad karma - take your pick.

This time I have reset my password, to something I might remember and have written it down in a place I might be able to find again.

Hopefully, I will not lose it again or the other log in to the 2 other blogs I add to.

I am planning on adding some more things soon so this is just a dry run so to speak....More later

Lost in Cyber space ...... Passwords and such.

2008-04-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

It has been ages since my last post...reason being I had a small foul up with passwords and accounts.

I have been locked out of this blog due to my frustration and narrow sightedness. I'm thinking this is a very human condition and I am probably in good company.

The situation also got me thinking and wondering how many blogs are sitting out that with no one attending? Simply lost on some server with no one ever visiting or adding posts and I wonder how long such a site stays in existance?
The thought makes me want to laugh at the entire situation....cyberspace, servers and junk.

Next post will be sooner than the last and as I am getting older and perhaps crankier I may end up using this blog to jump on things that are a bit more controversial.....maybe

Christmas again and insanity strikes

2007-12-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Another year is almost over but first we have the celebrated day of Christmas.
This is a most holy day but it plays havoc with everyone. The true meaning of it is clouded in so much commercial hype of gift giving it makes me tired all over!

People stand in lines for expensive video games and new smaller music making toys and the list is endless. The point here is that you must buy, buy, buy....and I say ba Humbug.

This is not the meaning of Christmas - it is giant companies creating a feeding frenzy so their stock holders will smile. Everyone else spends way to much for toys, gadgets and new digs. Then if they are lucky the bills will get paid by tax time.

Is this all necessary? Or are you driven to excesses by guilt, or indulged kids or just to keep up with the Joneses?
Think about it........

Oceans, weather and sand

2007-11-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

I must be missing something here with all this weather and erosions stuff. Everyday I'm hearing the weather channel interview people who have lost their beaches or yards or in some cases their homes to beach erosion.

Erosion?...no, this is land redistribution which has been happening for eons. Except now we have people who expect to live close to the water and think they should have a say in what nature does.

States feel they have to maintain sand for tourists to walk on and residents expecting sea walls or help in preventing their buildings from being destroyed by water. I find it so interesting that we as a people think that our will and money can control the environment in such unnatural ways.

Old mother nature gives and mother nature takes it away.........and this is what's happening. It is not erosion. Forget beach replenishment, property owners plan on loosing your beach front view and you states figure out how to bring in tourists just like inland states do..with human ingenuity.

Senior Moments...Physical and Mental

2007-11-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

This past few days I have been working on organizing a storage room. Washing shelves, putting items in storage boxes. Washing walls and general cleaning. At the same time I have been working on other things that are related to our business.

My days have started at a run at around 5 AM and I have been physically active all day with only a few sit down rest periods,and by the time I get ready to quite around 6 PM I am exhausted. mentally and physically.

This is so disturbing to me as I have always been able to do things all day long and never had problems____it makes me feel old.

I am having a little problem adapting to the changes age is throwing at me. I cannot understand why this is so, I have been adapting since my mid thirties when arthritis in my spine made itself known. Since then I simply have changes things as necessary. What I am experiencing now is different. How do you change a lack of abilities? Don't do as much? Do it slower and take more time? The choices stink.

Makes me angry, but I am trying to consider options without loosing my mind.
Which BTW seems to be working fine....I am always learning and thinking and striving to be alert and that do more. That part of me is holding up while the rest seems to be on a downhill skid.

I shall start thinking about an exercise program. Did I ever tell you I hate exercising for the sake of exercise?
More on these thoughts later............................................................................

Spam, and the AARP

2007-11-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

As a member in good standing of the boomer generation I figured that I should join the AARP again. A number of years ago I became a member and know the organization does provide good information to the senior generation, even though I knew they had been instrumental in generating tons of junk mail.

I am smart enough to not choose any of the options for information via email. If you don't read those things carefully you can be inundated with a huge amount of ' email information', generally called spam! Even though I felt I had been careful with the registration and read things carefully, I found my email starting to see an abundance of emails that were geared toward the purchase of stocks and stock market information. Within a three week period my email account was seeing dozens of these spammy things every day.

This situation was aggravating me so I decided to go back to the AARP site and check their policies on sharing information...and sure enough there was we shall at times share your information bla, bla bla. I sent them an email saying I did not want any of my information to be made available to anyone. To this I added the reason being was to many spammy emails.
I was impressed as this type of promotion literally stopped overnight and my junk email dropped by half.

The really funny thing is, I knew that the AARP had been one of the biggest seller of lists long before the internet. Oh silly me...........

Erosion or evolution...depends on if you have ocean frontage

2007-11-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

I feel so sorry for those people on the east coast and the problems they are having with the beaches being rearranged by the Ocean.

However, seems to me that what we have here is a natural process of land rearrangement of real estate. This so called erosion is simply something that has been happing for millions of years.

The only problem is now we have people that placed homes in areas that are simply transient. This idea may be beyond the scope of thought by property owners and the states that have promoted and created a huge tourist usage.

Our nation spends billions to refurbish the sand on the east coast. In many cases it is a major benefit to private parties, either homeowners or hotels and other beach front property owners.
Coastal areas are prone to hurricane damage, oceans move sand and beaches either grow or they shrink...and people choose to place themselves into areas that are dangerous and or are changing.

I think we need to sit back and see if nature will put back on it's own. Maybe the problems are added to by the dredging to obtain the sand that is being placed back on the beaches.
Quick fixes usually result in additional problems down the road....

To all things a season and living things passed on.

2007-10-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

Changing of the seasons...mimics life and it's cycles.

It is another fall and the cold dark days of winter are only a few months away. I hate those months. Cold, nasty weather and I'm shut in so much of the time.
Did I tell ya I do not like winter?....well, I think it bares repeating. I HATE winter.

I am already looking forward to planting things in my garden, stuffing my new green house to the brim with little growing plants. It makes me smile just thinking about that late winter/early spring activity. I have already bought a bunch of seeds to start early....LOL a bunch of seeds!

I'll continue to surf the garden sites and drool over the catalogs I will have arriving throughout the winter.

Gardening was an activity my Mom enjoyed too, and that inclination to have dirty fingernails and things growing every where seems to have been passed on to me.

When I lost her two years ago I was lucky enough to have inheireted some of her keepsake plants.
A very old Hoya plant she had for since I was in high school, another smaller variety of Hoya she had had for years. Then there was a little ficus I gave her for a Mothers day gift 10 or 12 years ago.....She almost killed that poor little plant several times before I adopted them all about 7 years ago when Mom finally had to go into an assisted living situation.

The plants remind me of her and the things she enjoyed, and I find them comforting.

The seasons also remind me of the fact that life is not a forever kind of thing and we are a lot like the plants in the garden. Small and fragile in the spring and then become strong and productive in the summer. Fall brings a weakening and general loss of vibrancy till winter brings death.

I'm looking at the fall of my own existence and resent the heck out of the cycles we are all tied to. I am not going to dwell about the unknown but enjoy the seasons that I may still have; of course, I still will not learn to love winter.

I'm hoping that my own daughter or perhaps my sweet grandaughter will in turn take those beautiful plants I have and maybe a couple of my own and treasure them in some future time and place.

ramblings of a boomer

2007-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

Just a few thoughts on how one (me) feels as enters into an age group that is called "seniors:. To be honest I am thinking that I feel physically no different than I did 30 years ago...however, when I go to get up I feel the stiffness in the back and joints time has placed. There is also the loss of physical strength. That is probably something that I should be working on but time and work makes sneaking a couple hours out of the day nearly impossible. Maybe I can address that in the future.....big smile on that one.

I find that my mind is still sharp, I learn rapidly and am always learning something new.
I have found that I'm a little more narrow minded and critical of things that offend me. I'm working on being a bit kinder both in words as well as thought.

The old saying my Mother used crosses my mind.....'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all".
Perhaps that is a very good response to sharp thoughts and words." Will try to work on that one.........

Vacations and Play...

2007-10-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Many of us have way to few days away from work. Vacations are a maybe thing which depends on available time and money.
For the self employed vacations may just be a dream and a wish, but they are possible.

To succeed in having these escapes perhaps thinking outside of the box is the key. If you utilize areas that are relative close to home you can save money and actually have more time to play.
Here in the pacific Northwest we are lucky to have everything from the Pacific Ocean, moutain skiing and inland treasures for boating, camping or sightseeing.

I'm sure that no matter which direction you look you'll find something wonderful within a days driving. An Example of this would be visiting some of the old historic towns that are quite common in Oregon, Washington and California,

An example of this type of town with a new wrinkle is Walla Walla, Washington. An old city that has embraced the past while it has moved into the present.

The eastern portion of Washington state has a tremendous growing industry of wine making and there are some great wines are being produced by a number of different wineries.
Combine that with a small town that has turned old into upscale and welcomed the artsy, the wine companies and tourists alike.

Walla Walla has art galleries, wine bars and winery tasting facilities shops and wonderful small places to eat. Add to that a number of companies that provide tours of both the vineyards and historic areas this is a wonderful example of a close to home vacation opportunity.
If this sounds interesting more information may be obtained about Wall Walla and its vacation opportunities.

For another option go even farther east and you will find Lewiston, Idaho and its sister city Clarkston, WA. These two inland cities are in the process of enlarging and promoting the Lewis Clark region and it's recreational opportunities. Spring and summer water recreation is unsurpassed and the winters have some world famous steelhead fishing.
The high point of a summer fun Vacation would be a jet boat trip up the famous Snake River into Hells Canyon.

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Google and the link frenzy...PR and BS

2007-10-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

I keep reading about the Big G's decision to stop the buying and selling of links to inflate a sites importance. The more I read the more I can't believe that this huge company that has some very bright people working for it can't figure out how to fix the problem they themselves created.

In my opinion the whole situation has resulted simply by Google creating the problem. Did anyone really think that the situation that exists today wasn't foreseeable? Any time you wave the apple in front of a lot of people you are gonna find some who will take that big bite. Especially when the bite can result in big bucks for those involved.

Let's do away with the cute little PR toy on the tool bar. Do away with the concept that links make a site important and just make the content of the site the key to relevency.
Take a novel approach and change things.

Remember content? Work on an algorithm that rates content and a sites usability...its navigation and load times. Keep it as simple as possible and focused on what is on the page not who links to the page.

You might not have every site in the top ten of a search exactly what you were looking for but give the person searching some responsibility too. Everything is not up to a search engine. People searching need to learn how to ask. Then if need be, refine the search.

Google also needs to consider they are not responsible for every thing that happens in the cyber-world.....and while they are at it, do away with these stupid little toys that so many people feel is important.......or make more of them and sell chances to get that PR 5 or 6 or 7. Give the results of the sale to charity and laugh at the buyers.

Hunger in America....shameful

2007-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago local newspaper did an article on hunger in our area. I am aware that a portion of our population struggles to have enough food to prevent hunger or malnutrition.

When I think of this, I think about our seniors living on fixed incomes. There is still a population on Social Security that had no other income resources. With today's cost of insurance, utility bills, transportation and food there is usually little left over. Some changes have occurred since Medicare instigated the prescription drug benefits. But still the shortfall of income to outgo presents problems for many.

In our communities we have some resources for the elderly to utilize in regards to food and nutritional needs. We have food banks which our local population is usually quite generous to. When food resources are low organizations such as the Salvation Army, St. Vincent Depaul and various churches actively recruit more food products.

Unfortunately some people do fall between the cracks of the system. Families with children sometimes are forced to choose between heat, housing or food. This is heartbreaking situation and it's quite shameful for a nation as rich as ours. No old person, and no child should ever be hungry.

There is a second part to this blog which I'll go into later.

Joke of the day....Craig and the shenanigans of an Idaho Senator

2007-09-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

I have been following the story of Idaho's Senator and his problems resulting for the sex sting in the Airport restroom.

I would find it interesting to know why he was peeping into other stalls and then there is the business of feet spreading out so far as to enter another stall? I can not understand that at all...are the restrooms in airports so small that this is something that can accidentally happen?
Personally, I doubt that it is something that just happened. I just don't think Larry Craig's legs are that long...it is a reach of the imagination that the man just accidentally managed to do that and what's with the fingers waving around under the sides of that stall...another accident? Yeah sure and the moon is pink.
I have no idea what this man's motivation was but I sure can't swallow that he was an innocent victim. Unless it resulted from totally stupid.
I feel this is an example of how the powerful can fall when they feel above the rules of society and or law.

Then comes the "I want to withdraw my plea because I didn't know?" For crying out loud this is a person who makes laws and knows lawyers...and the public is supposed to swallow that one?
Well, I don't think I suffer from totally stupid. That condition must belong to Senators from Idaho?

Life and more stuff

2007-09-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

The Young are idealists and the old are realists........

I have noticed as I have grown older that found myself reflecting on some of the same things as I had when I was young....but now my mind tempers my reactions with my own years of experience. That is not to say I am immune to the worlds antics or the viciousnesses and stupidity
that is all to prevalent in many of the worlds societies.

I know through experience that I can do very little to help the big picture but if I choose a very small portion of an enormous problem I might be able to make one very small dent,
combine one small little chip with many other small chips and dents, big things might be possible.......but it takes many, many like minded souls to have any effect.

Happyness or contentment - more on life

2007-09-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

7. Happiness is a fleeting emotion which is usually dependent on someone or something. Contentment comes from within and is lasting.

There is a feeling in most people that they must be happy, and they spend their time chasing the "happy feeling". When it starts to fade there is a frantic search for someone or something that will bring that euphoric condition back.

Here lies the problem, when a person is chasing happy they are rarely really happy and never content...contentment is the wonderful feeling that life is good. It lasts through relation shipments, aging, and once a person decides that contentment is important they will find true happiness.

More on life and the human animal.

2007-09-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

6. I am happy with who I am - My ego does not need stroking for me to be happy.

Many people equate their own worth with how others see or praise their accomplishments.
Without this continuous attention they lack confidence and positive feelings of self worth. In some cases this results in fabricated or embellished stories of their life have little relationship with reality.

Such a shame to be so unsure of what and who you really are.

Social networks? The Good, the Bad and the not There.

2007-09-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

I read a post on social networks and utilizing social networking to help bring new visitors into a site or blog.

Sweet, but as I am far older than the mean age of the You Tube crowd as well as some of the other networking sites I decided to look at one that might be for the more mature group. Bingo, found one that has a boomer age look, clicked and went no where. Site temporally down?

Not a good sign, and somewhat disappointing. I was thinking that I might have found something that would allow the mature individual a network of like minded souls......

I don't think I'll totally forget about the Over 50 thing but I will look for others that might fit my needs.

Childern, parents and buddys?

2007-09-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

5. Your are not your child's buddy - You are his parent.
The two are not the same.

Parents are required to set limits and promote responsibility. Without this the child can become a monster which no one loves...except a blind parent.

Future for Snake River Salmon and steelhead?

2007-09-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

In our local newspaper the top story is about the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sending a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking that fish ladders be installed to allow fish passage on three private Dams on the Snake River. Now is the opportune time for this type of request be made as Idaho Power Company is in the process of multi decade relicensing.

The irony of this entire situation is the dams were supposed to have had fish passage when they were originally built but the fish were not important at that time and the complex of dams went into place without the ladders.....Politics and money, and that may continue to be a problem.

When these dams were erected it stopped steelhead and salmon from migrating up a major portion of their range. I am of the opinion this is something should go forward and perhaps we can see those great travelers run up rivers in southern Idaho, and even into Nevada.

There has been problems with the water quality in the three reservoirs that fall in place behind Brownlee, Oxbow and Hells Canyon Dam. Water quality is poor to vary poor in these reservoirs due to the heavy water usage for hundreds of miles of agricultural lands that suck up water and then discharge any excess back into the system. This water is high in phosphates, nitrates and God only knows what else. Over the years there has been little concern for the damage to the river system as long as Idaho Power had electricity for southern Idahos cities and farms had abundant cheap water..

Wealthy businessmen from Idaho along with high placed political entities have run roughshod on our beautiful rivers to make sure water flowed into irrigation ditches. The desert bloomed and the south part of Idaho had all the power it wanted..

My opinion is some of that desert needs to go back into desert, the rivers need to be cleaned up and our beautiful fish need do have a chance to come back from the edge of extinction.

Those huge potato farms, the multi millionaire processors and powerful Idaho politicians need to take a step closer to oblivion for the fish.

More stuff of life. Smart people

2007-09-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

4. Dull people might think they're bright - Smart people know they are

Neighbors, fences and more rules for living

2007-09-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

3. Good neighbors are created by tall, solid fences...a bit of humor, a great deal of consideration and a very casual and cautious non relationship.

If you find that a new addition to your established old timer non regulated area becomes a problem ....assert your property rights and keep pigs as pets.

More on real life and stuff.

2007-09-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

2. Do your grown children live at home?.....not because you need them there but because they find it more convenient than living on their own?

If the answer is yes, then it is time you learned how to say MOVE.

Some thoughts to consider,,,,,,

2007-09-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

For the next several days I'm going to provide a few fun things to consider. If they hit too close to home..... tough. Either get a thicker skin or change your life........

1. No one should be allowed to have children until they have successfully trained 2 dogs. Why 2? Because one pup may have been smarter than the human trainer and learned in spite of him.

Children are usually a lot smarter than a dog and if you can't train a dog, you certainly should not be messing up any kids life!

Common sense, intelligence and work ethic

2007-09-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Common sense, intelligence and work ethic are three things that people need most in life. You can be less than a genious and still do very well in the work place and life in general.
A mind that functions and the willingness to work hard, can and will provide everything one needs succeed.

Basic intelligence can be utilized to gain advanced schooling, a good job, and a secure future. The most important item is the acceptance of responsibility for your own actions and a good work ethic.

For a great many people that fail in life there is a lack of work ethic and an unillingness to work hard for anything.

If you watch people utilizing the social service agencies you will find some people that are truly needful and at the same time you have folks that are using the system. These people do not exhibit the willingness to work...they have problems, no education, no marketable work skills, kids to care for and this list goes on. But, if you look at that list you will see one thing that holds true...most of these problems are self made.
Those that lack basic education, quit. Those that have no job skills, quit. Those that have kids...the first one happens...those that follow are not accidents.

There are people that need a helping hand, I realize that - but in far too many being 'needy' results from making poor choices in life.

Here is an example of choices and taking the abilities you have and becoming a useful member of society. There is a sweet kid who works in a local supermarket. This young man holds down two jobs, works very hard, is pleasant and extremely reliable...he also has Downs.

Is he collecting money from social services?...no. He has a work ethic and applies himself. He is a productive and wonderful member of our community.

More should take this example and apply it to their own lives.

Disfunctional families...again, and again,

2007-09-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

I am continuously astounded at the family. Yup, that's the one, where you have kids sponging off parents for no other reason than they don't want to be productive and work like the rest of the world. Kids who lack the basic intelligence not drive and drink...and after getting away with it, stop when they see a friend being checked out by the local police. Kids, who have children they are ill prepared to care for and then have that second and third baby...do they have any understanding how that happened? Questionable.

This is one of those here's you're sign moments......As to the continuing saga of dysfunctional families, it's a source of entertainment, and disappointment of human kind in general.

If the 'family' were to read this, they would simply not recognize themselves.

Perhaps that is nature anesthetizing itself to it's own lack of abilities?

I am afraid that I have the opinion that the dull draw the dull and another generation is produced to continue that condition and tradition. How sad.

Change of Seasons

2007-09-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

When I got up this morning the air had a feel about it.
Fall is coming, this season signals the end of the growing year. I always hate to see that end of the flowers and green growing things. Spring and summers vibrant growth is such a welcome condition, flowers bloom, gardens grow and produce a bounty of good things to eat.

I feel a little like fall, somewhat over my prime but not quite ready to take up a rocking chair for recreation.
I have been doing a little groaning the past few days, it seems that the arthritis that is in my joints is making itself known. This is such a nasty condition, not usually bad enough to put one into bed but it certainly can take the fun out of things.

Due to the miracle of modern chemistry there is a number of over the counter meds that help with the joint discomfort...might not make it all go away but it helps enough to allow for normal activity....oh yes, normal activity consists of weeding the aging garden, vacuuming the floors, folding laundry and building another website...yep I may be in the early fall of my life but I am too busy to be wringing my hands about a little visit from Arthur.

More on websites and fantasy

2007-09-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

This mornings post concerned web builders that perhaps need to do a bit of research and learning prior to making websites for money.

On the other hand, people that buy something and pay good money for it should have at least done some reading and have a basic understanding of what they are getting. There should be some understanding what a website should do something beside sit out in cyber space doing nothing and being accessed by no one.

Perhaps people think if they have a website visitors will just come. If they are selling something those visitors will just buy........in real life that is just not true. Maybe the would be site builders think the same thing?

It is a really bad situation when no one has done their homework because someone will surely be disappointed.

This is another example of innocence or ignorance standing in the way of reality.

Websites, Web builders and SEO

2007-09-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

I thought I would visit the Web building subject again. I have several websites all constructed with Homestead's site builder and this program has served us well over the past eight years or so.

As the Web and the websites have gotten more complex so has drop and drag Web building programs. In actuality the program I use has a number of bells and whistles to intrigue most anyone wanting to build their own website. The truly sweet part of this, what you see is what you get program, is that learning code is not necessary. Anyone can build their own website.

This simplicity allows even the most inexperienced person to construct a decent looking website. And here lies the problem, many of these same people decide to build websites for their friends, family, or clients.

I find it interesting that so many of these pseudo-Web builders are totally ignorant of the common problems associated with SEO and good web design. I have always felt if you're going to do something learn to do it right before presenting it to anyone else. This would be specially true with the production and construction of a web site for someone who may be paying.

When learning the basics such as filling out meta tags, simple navigation issues and acceptable page width and length are necessary in providing a product that is minimally acceptable.

I know the old saying "ignorance is bliss", but in this case ignorance may be charging fees for substandard work. Granted, I have learned these things over a number of years but I would expect anyone selling a product to have at least learned the basics.

In reality a website can be somewhat cluttered, disorganized and poorly designed yet still do very well in search engine results if some basic SEO techniques are used.

Search engine optimization is without a doubt the most single important part of Web building. Optimization is the least understood and utilize process.

Without site optimization even the most well designed and attractive Web site is no better than a chalk picture on a sidewalk. It is invisible on the world wide web.

Simple chores, brain function and life......

2007-09-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about how many daily chores one can do without really thinking?
It seems that most all normal day to day chores are mindless repetitive activity and this is true for most gardening and outside maintenance activities. If you really think about it that is much of a days activities...nothing to think about.................mind withering nothingness.

I'm feeling that the loss of mental acuity in older people is related to this lack of stimulation of the brain.
I have read a number of reports and studies that confirm that brain power declines in those who lack stimulating activities....so read a book, surf the internet and learn something new, take a class...play card games and keep the mind strong and agile!

Changes, no change and prostitution of ones ethics for power.

2007-09-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, two posts in one day. I figure now that I am close to retirement age I can be odd, eccentric and maybe a bit cranky. After all I have been around more than 60 years and more than 40 years a real adult.

During this period of time there have been changes in this world that are staggering. Men have went to the moon, computers or artificial intelligence has come upon the scene. Artificial hearts have come and gone. Today organ transplants are a common occurrence.

Many good scientific advances have taken place and still we have diseases such as AIDS...that reared it's ugly head in the 80's and continues to kill millions yearly.
Birth defects still happen and affections such as Alzheimers and MS and other degenerative illnesses are common place.

War perpetually happens somewhere in the world and as we have gained knowledge we also seem to revert back to a simple and vicious behavior pattern.

The human animal falls prey to it's own ego and self interests. Nasty thoughts come to mind when I view the high offices of our nation and the people that lead us. I am of the opinion that power corrupts and those who have genuinly benevolent ideals and motives are lost to the power brokers of our nation if they manage to remain in power for any length of time.
To do good deeds they must prostitute themselves or be inadequate and so goes the loss of innocence.

Another Day, Another Dollar and Another Gripe!

2007-09-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to do a follow up on yesterdays little tirade on grown kids, permissive parents and reality.

This one deals with life and kids too....Starting in school we promote learning as something that should be fun. Then little Danny finds out that much of the time it is work and not really a whole lot of fun. This bright child complains and we hear something like, " It's not fair, school is just not fun."

Well duh, who in their right mind tells a kid - school, learning or for that matter life is going to be fun or fair?
My first thought is many people do and these same folks must have the intellect of a rock.
Next step, our intellectually and back boned challenged parents start trying to bribe their star pupil to getting half way decent grades...or in some cases just for showing up for class.
Most of the time this is simply non productive.

As parents we should instill the idea that learning may not be fun but the knowledge you gain will give you a deep satisfaction. It is or will be useful later, and it is your job..... so learn!

Then as the shining star of the house gets older there can be many other problems with reality...on both sides of the age group...Parents bail the kids out of tickets, drinking and/or drug problems, accidents and even opening the door to them when they decide to take a vacation to play.
We are talking about quiting jobs because they interfere with play time.......another duh moment here folks.

From one generation of permissiveness to the next generation who learn to live with their hand out. It is this generation that complains and whines about unemployment, not enough breaks and why they have nothing.

My answer is this, this is a child that never learned to work, learn or accept responsibility for their own actions. Why? because parents never stood up and taught responsibility to their children.
Why not? perhaps they themselves never learned. Or they were to busy being a buddy they never learned to be a parent. Or perhaps it was to much work??????

TV commercials and real life?

2007-09-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

I must be getting old or something but I am starting to wonder if the world is going to hell in a hand basket. The thing that has me wondering this is a commercial I watched on TV last night.

It was one of the those new appliance things where the little woman was standing in front of her old washing machines and her mostly grown son entered and plopped down a large duffel bag presumably filled with dirty clothing.
Her statement was something about wanting a washer that could handle moutains of laundry.....
Frankly, all she needed was to hand this young man the detergent and head up stairs.

No parent does their children service by treating them as if they were little children. Especially the grown up kind of kid.

Once a child gets big enough to load a washing machine without tipping over into it they can start learning to help with their own laundry. That includes drying an occasional load and even folding and putting them away.
This sharing of the work also covers meals, vacuuming, dishes and general house work. If you help make the mess then you help clean up the place. That is part of real life......or it always has been in the world I live in.

I have family and friends with grown kids that come home or never leave - there seems to be an entitlement attitude in these children. Mom and Dad owes them something.

I can't quite figure that out, but then my children were raised to be adults, independent and productive. They in turn are raising their own children that way.
So what is wrong with the picture of the grown kid dumping his dirty clothing at Moms feet? Nothing if Mom is a rug.

Or the son who tells his dad he wants to come home and save his money for a year and think about going to school. Excuse me, but this is a grown kid who has been out on his own for 3 or 4 years...this same kid had the chance to do that after high school. Which he had no interest in then. The operative word here is think, no guarantee no real commitment.
The sad thing is Dad let him do it... entitlement attitudes and parents that don't have the gumption to tell a kid no.

How sad life is when a commercial mimics real life, or real life is a joke.

You can teach a old dog new tricks!

2007-08-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

As I take one step closer to retirement age I find myself even busier that I was twenty years ago. I feel blessed to have good health and stamina enough to handle all the new things I have become involved with.

My newest, newest adventure is an e-book a friend and I have written on SEO for Drop and Drag sitebuilders. It took us most of the spring and summer but the book is complete and we are marketing it. How sweet that first sale was!

Both of us know we will not get rich. The little bit of income and the knowledge we can make life a lot easier for many people that utilize the same website service and site builder program is enough to make all the time spent worth it..

Along with our self help website optimization book, SEO Building Blocks, we have combined our two talents and are providing a Website Design and Optimization service for owners of Homestead websites.
Sue and I have done a couple of site rebuilds and worked together on optimizing several new sites and the results have been nothing less that spectacular.

We work well together and so far have managed to laugh and work side by side...from several hundred miles distance. That is what makes the internet and instant messaging and phones such great tools! Distance doesn't count - three cheers for technology!

Google, adsense and nonsense.

2007-08-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

The past couple of years I have had a couple of sites that t have been set up with adsense. They are sites that have good content and generally a fair number of decent links.
The pages have been well optimized and my daily visitors visitors continues to grow.

I am afraid that when I set the sites up I designed their content to things I knew about personally. Things that I have confidence in and of course these subjects are not high paying subjects. I do make enough money to pay my hosting fees and gives me a little extra....darn little. This makes me happy and as time goes on I'll make more which will be even nicer.

For some reason I managed to get myself on someones mailing list and have been getting a large number of junk emails that tout the huge amount of money the little housewife can make from home with adsense. I am a reasonably intelligent person and know there are some people making some good money with this program but the average person is not going to get rich having ads on a website...

I suspect that there has been a slow down or many of the marginal sites have went away. Google may be in the process of recruiting more sites to handle ads...... and those people that are filling my email box with junk mail are reaping the rewards of supplying the hopeful and the desperate into probable disappointment.

So goes life

2007-08-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Time flies and things happen in life that create road blocks for some activities. I have been lax in posting but hope that will get better with fewer projects that need finishes.

I have been busy writing an e book on optimizing websites for the search engines. This resource is for the drop and drag site builder provided by Homestead Technologies. This site building program is a great tool for those who do not want to learn coding or want to pay a web builder.

I have been building websites with this program since 1998 and have been studying and researching SEO for just about as long. Boy, have things changed during this period of time!
I have read hundreds of articles, waded through huge numbers of newsletters, bought white papers and e books and consumed everything new that comes out on this subject.
I’ve have applied what I know and have used this information to optimize several websites with tremendous success.

So with the help from a friend who is exceeding talented and fun to work with we wrote our book for Self Help SEO . We feel it should be a big help to the beginner web builder for any drop and drag site builder buy specifically Homestead folks.

I hope by sharing this information it will show that as a person reaches retirement age life doesn't stop and good things will continue if you have the will to try something new........

What is Important in your life?

2007-01-31T08:19:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I am a bit odd in todays world, but my needs are very few. I need to feel secure, I need roots and I need a solid loving relationship with my immediate family.

I do not need investments, a new car every couple of years, I don't need the newest or biggest TV, a big fancy home or a vacation every year.

In the previous post I talked about my Mother and her last years. I developed my attitudes from her.
You see, she was one of these people that didn't have a home - she had an investment which was traded every few years. Most of her adult years she was never content...never really happy with what she had or where she was. I often joked when she bought something that within six months she would start complaining about things talking herself into another move or change.
Mom never was content nor was she happy....because of her need to upgrade. When she was near the end of her life she still was fussy...driven without knowing why or for what. She never reached the point of quiet contentment. It was sad to watch and there was no solution I could provide.

I watched her behavior throughout my young adult life and turned in the opposite direction in behavior and attitudes. Stability and security make me feel safe and content. My happiness and peace of mind is continuous because of my contentment. My husband and I have lived on the same piece of property for over 35 years and I will probably die here. I am happy puttering in my yard, cooking and working in our business.

I live a busy and active life, and when it is all said and done I can honestly say I have been happy much of the time. Of course, it doesn't take much to make me happy, my husband holding my hand, the sight of birds at the feeder, a sunset.

All these things and many more simple every day happens trigger the warm feeling in my heart and I am happy and that feeling slides into a warm secure feeling of contentment.......

Tribute to my Mother

2007-01-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

I have gotten around to writing a short article on my experience with Alzheimer's and what happens to some families. This is also a tribute to my Mother and our travels through the stages of this awful disease.

The Watch

Her travel down the long road of life is nearing its end. I sit beside my Mother and listen for that shallow breathing that tells me she has lost this battle with death. I’m just waiting for that last soft breath to leave her body ending her struggle to continue on.

I wonder about the journey this small, shrunken woman is about to embark on….death, so permanent so alone.
I have decided that my own soul will open and accept a bit of hers and carry it on while the rest goes on its own way.

Altogether this is my 5th. year, 4th. month and 15 day of the watch - most of this time it has just been the two of us struggling with the frightening changes and continuous loss of our combined past. It is my chosen job to hold the memories for the both of us. It is my job to be her family and provide the love and security that all living beings require. During this time I have learned so much about life, love, forgiveness and family. Some of these revelations have been good while others have been disappointing.

Now at the end of her life, Mother has no memories of her past, no memories of her family, or children. The slow loss of everything that she had been through has been a horrendous experience for me…as I have experienced every stage, every hurt, and every fear with her for five, long hard years. Even though her mind is devastated with disease and time, she still recognizes the touch of a caring hand or the soft hug. She might not know exactly who I am but she still responds to my voice and touch - like a flower to the sun.

There has been little or no input from family, no real support, and little interest shown. This heartbreaking journey has been hard, for I alone have experienced her day to day pain and changes. Everyone else has blithely gone on their own journey without interruption, relatively untouched with the pain and changes she has suffered.

When my Mom takes that last breath I will be there holding her hand, stroking her hair. Perhaps my touch and caring will ease her into peace and rest. The last thing she will know is someone loves her….that I love her………………

My beloved Mother, Betty Campbell passed away August 18, 2006, with me at her side.

A blessing is doing something for someone...

2007-01-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

I have decided this is the year I'm going to learn or do something new. Something I can share with those around me and maybe that will make someones life a little easier or better.

Have you ever thought to volunteer your time or work at a senior center, visit a shut in or some other activity of this variety? If everyone would take just a few hours a month, this old world would be a much better place.

Think about it....it is something that could change your life for the better.

Gram

A new year and new start.....

2006-12-31T13:05:00.000-08:00

In a few hours we will be entering a new year.
For me it is a new start after several years of caring for the needs of an aging parent, that chore ceased when Mom passed away this fall... Then we have a business that has reached a point where I am struggling to handle my responsibilities. It has been wonderful seeing the growth and changes but there are times that a more laid back existence would feel good.

I am trying to keep up with my web sites, learn new things and live life to the fullest.
2007 should be a good one if the number 7 really holds a little luck.

I am making a couple of new years resolutions...I'm going to loose a little of the flab and fat I have been cultivating for the past couple of years. I know all the diet stuff, but food has been a comfort in times of stress.
Second thing I plan on doing is voicing my opinions a little more strongly and using my experiences to expose the good and bad we all experience. I figure I am old enough to get away with being more outspoken. If you don't like it then don't read it.......
This is my soap box and I plan on using it.

Sooooo, you all have a great New Year and if you get bored then stop by and read the newest post.

Gram

How was your Christmas?

2006-12-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

Are you suffering post Christmas fatigue, or are you one of those who are in the shopping mode?
I'm one of those who are simply pleased to have survived and even managed to enjoy the day.
The morning was our traditional visit the daughter and take part in family fun and present opening. Of course, there was an obscene amount of money spent but no debts were incurred.

That is as it should be. Buy what you can afford and then do not feel guilty, one or two nice gifts will do as well as a dozen.

We bought our own gifts this year, one major item is the new computer...which we should have this week. This is a necessity as our business is advertised throughout the web and a good fast system is necessary for web development. The second purchase was a bit less necessary but it will provide me with a great tool for the web sites and advertising. I broke down and purchased a digital SLR.
It will probably take me months to learn how to use it but I think it will be a great devise for what I'm going to be using it for. After I figure out some more things I'll post a few photos.

I have wandered enough for now..... I hope you all have a good day. Start resting up as New Years Day is coming very soon.

Christmas - Commercial or simple -What's Important?

2006-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, are you ready? There are people out there that manage to get their shopping done and are prepared for the big day.

I am not one of those people as there is only have one gift sitting in the closet. Not to bad for having 5 people on my list. What happens in my case is a morning of power shopping probably this coming Wednesday. Why then...that's an easy question...I have the day off from all my other chores and the business is on hold till after the Christmas holiday. Yea! Days off!

I do know what I am going to get everyone except the Grandson. I haven't quite decided which thing on his list of 'I wants' to purchase. There is a realistic amount we will spend and it will be in cash. We have found that everyone is very happy with their gifts irregardless what the amount spent.

Before our business got busy I had a lot more time and for a couple of years I made gifts. Afghans and pillows, hand crafted boxes for treasures, baskets of goodies from the oven.
Those special things were so warmly received. I wish there was the time to do this again for my kids and grandchildren.

There is such a commercialization of the Christmas holiday in our modern world that there is a feeling if all the wants and wishes aren't met than Christmas will be a bust. Why? It has to do with the advertisements we are force fed through ever media branches for months prior to the big day.
Every kid needs the newest video game player. Of course, there will also be a stack of new games that goes with this new, super duper, extreme player.
Games are fun but there is such a focus on these expensive toys that the average kid really can't
really appreciate. It is a game for heaven sakes not the key to heaven, irregardless what the manufacturers say. I find the months of hype and promotion of these overpriced toys months creates a a sorry statement about the buying public. Do they realize they have been manipulated and lead around like a bunch of sheep? Nope, not a clue.

There is a similarity to designer jeans, big name sneakers and those boxers that sport that status symbol of KC initials - Fads and the material needs of the generations continues on.
How important are these things in in the real world? Not.........................

Gram

Holiday Frenzy

2006-12-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Ho, Ho, Ho, the Holidays are upon us. Food, gifts and great meals are the focus for most of us this time of year. For many families this is one of the few times during the year when large
get-togethers occur.

For the Mom who is hosting the grown kids and perhaps Christmas dinner, it can be a exhausting time. The house is cleaned from top to bottom starting days ahead of the big event. There is the shopping for all the food and necessary items for a grand meal and cooking usually starts a day or two prior to Christmas. The make ahead items such as pies and goodies are done and stored in the fridge.

On the big day Mom is up very early preparing the turkey for the oven. Starting the giblets and neck to make that fantastic gravy everyone loves. Then the sweet potatoes and white potatoes are started cooking for the mashed and candied potatoes. Way too often our hostess works herself into a frazzle long before all this meal preparation starts, then it goes from bad to worse.

In my case I found that after the meal was eaten and some of the mess cleaned up everyone was content. The kids generally had to make appearances at other family gatherings so they would gather their gifts, give hugs all round and hurry off to the next stop on their list. When the last person was out the door I would collapse in a puddle of fatigue. I know everyone had a great time...everyone except me. I had been so focused on providing a great meal and a good time I missed out on the fun.
When everyone else was watching TV or visiting I had been occupied on making things just so.

No wonder there is such a rise in stress and depression during the holiday season. We expose ourselves to unreal expectations on how things should be. We fuss about buying gifts and making sure everything is perfect.....and usually things are not exactly the way we expected or wanted.
Let down and disappointment rears their ugly head.

How to enjoy the holiday season? Decide just what is important for you. Are the days of preparation on that big meal worth it? If not, find a nice restaurant and make reservations for the family. Spend the day not cooking.
If the eating out is not your bag then have everyone bring 1 or 2 items for the meal. You can even be brave and use throwaway plastic dishes....

What is more important? How your dinner table looks? Or, is it who is there to share the love and companionship of the day? Frankly, I think enjoying the day and those I love is more important than a perfectly set table with the good china and silver and a spotless house.

Think about it...And Enjoy the Upcoming Holiday Season
Gram

Eat healthier and lose weight?

2006-12-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

There are options for healthy foods and at the same time you might even lose some of that spare tire you have around your middle.

Oh yea, you already have a diet....and I am going to say diets almost never really work. There are probably tens of thousands of pounds lost while people are on some kind of diet, and there are tens of thousands of pounds gained right back within a relatively short period of time after the diet. Dieting is a demoralizing process.

Granted some of these 'programs' are temporarily successful, especially those that provide your food.
They are also quite expensive and you cannot live your life eating from those little portion controlled boxes that are designed to help trigger weight loss. As soon as you reach your goal and graduate to regular eating again the weight soon starts settling in on the hips or around your middle. Why? Because you have not learned what to eat.

We also have the 'take this fantastic little pill and loose that unwanted flab'. If you listen close to the ads you may hear this statement Take this diet aid, eat healthy and with exercise you can loose many pounds of unwanted weight.
So forget the diet aid and learn to eat healthy, add some good old fashioned exercise and your body will loose weight without anything else.

Eating healthy is simple...Reduce or eliminate sugar...all sugars. That includes the so called natural sugars such as honey.
Start eating whole wheat products. Breads and pastas that are 100% whole grain products are easily available and contain all there natural vitamins, enzymes and fiber. The combination of all these items make it possible for the body to regulate how it metabolizes the calories you are taking in.

Increase fresh fruits and vegetables and if it can be eaten raw then that is a bonus.
Regular white potatoes need to go, the starch in a white potato is just one little step from sugar and the body doesn't have to work to make that change which can result in almost instant fat.
Change the rice you eat to brown rice...again it is full of fiber and vitamins.
The fiber in food slows down the digestion and assimilation of the starches in the various grains and fruits.

You will also need to modify the fats in your diet to be heart healthy.
Learn to read labels and become educated on foods and nutrition.

If you eat a sensible portion of lean meats, high fiber fruits, vegetables and whole grain products you will be on your way to a healthier life. Combine that with some exercise and weight loss as well as better health can be yours.

If you learn how to eat well you do not have to starve yourself or be deprived of your favorite foods. You will have to change things but your meals can still be extremely enjoyable, filling and healthy.

You are responsible for yourself, you need to learn and you will have to put forth effort to succeed.

Sunday wishes

2006-12-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

I am wishing that those of you who have family in nursing homes or are alone spend a little time with them. Give the gift of yourself and your time.

I had a nice long post on how families can fail the elderly or those suffering from diseases such as dementia or Alzheimers. Some how I managed to lose it and I'm thinking it was not meant to be published today.

God grant you peace on this Sunday.......
Gram

Food, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2006-12-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

I was going to post yesterday but the internet denied me that with it's almost child like sulking.
As a nation we are so dependent on our technology and 'toys' that when they do not function we are lost. It is a joke on us.

I am going to save the subject on Alzheimer's and family for later.

Here in Washington the day is sunny, beautiful, and cold. Even though it is Sunday it is a work day in our house and that is something that most homeworkers understand.
How do you deal with the meals on those non stop days? Have something delivered, use the slow cooker or actually take the time to cook something up?

Here's a very simple slow cooker recipe. It is tasty, healthy and it really doesn't require much effort...........

Boneless chicken breast and gravy

1/2 breast for each adult.

1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. parsley

Dredge rinsed and dried chicken breast in flour mixture
Brown chicken breast in a small amount of olive oil.

Place browned breast pieces into crock-pot
Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1 can water and
1 can chicken broth over the meat.
(1/3 cup of a light, white wine may be also added)

Cook on high heat approximately 4 hours or until the juices run clear
or all day on low.
Serve chicken and gravy over brown rice.

Add a vegetable or quick green salad, fruit for desert and you have a perfect meal.

………………………………

Some serious thoughts on foods and lifestyle

I am a firm believer much of our physical problems can be linked directly to what we eat or don't eat and how we spend our free time.
Diabetes, heart problems and obesity are running rampant through our nation today. Why? Lifestyle and food?

We are a country that consumes tons of sugar, eats that wonderful soft white bread by the truck load, consumes mountains of pasta, lakes of sugary sodas/drinks and fatty snacks by the box car.
To top off all that we try to figure out how not to do any more physical work than possible. We refuse to walk anywhere, look for parking spots at the store as close to the door and our kids usually get a ride to school....even if it well within walking distance.....

We've gotten lazy, fat and unhealthy. Is there hope?

There are options for easy diet changes that can stop weight gain, help provide better nutrition and in most cases help improve our health.
More on that later.

Happiness passing it along....

2006-11-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I touched on what makes you happy. My thoughts on this - happiness is a very fleeting and short lived emotion. One which is usually dependent on someone else.

It is so much easier to make someone happy, simply a hug and a bit of praise will bring that special feeling. Everyone seems to glow with the knowledge that someone cares. I found this so true this past several years.

My mother became a statistic when she fell victim to a brain wasting disease...essentially Alzheimer's.
She spent 5 years traveling down that scary road of losing her memories, her family and eventually herself to this devastating disease. However, even on her worst days she responded to the touch of a hand, the sound of a familiar voice or a gentle hug.

She might not have known exactly who I was those last years but she responded to the feeling of belonging that caring gives. That attention and contact made her happy, granted the emotion was short lived but her response brought a mirrored feeling to me. Happiness touched my heart and for a short time eased the overwhelming and continuous grief I lived with.

There is so much to this kind of story, emotions of guilt, sadness, fear, resentment and the overwhelming responsibility for another human being. This is not like the responsibility of raising children. Those you love, guide and raise the best you can and they progress down the road to adulthood.
A parent with an affliction such as Alzheimer's regresses back the same road they traveled on many years before....and you cannot stop it.
I chose this responsibility because she and I lived in the same city, because I have always been the 'easy' person in our family structure and because it was destined to be my job.
Out of Mom's three children, I was the one who could or would make the time be make sure she was never really alone on this long journey to death.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll sort through a little more of this subject.

Right now, I want to give you all a recipe.....How to cook up a bit of happiness
give someone a hug, tell them how important they are to you. Finish off this warm feeling with a big smile and a touch on the hand.

Happiness - Life's Heartbreaks and Simple Things

2006-11-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

After serious research I have decided that there is not one recipe I'd cook a turkey for just to have leftovers, that's not to say there aren't a few dishes that are pretty good eating....but I could live just as long and die just as happy if I never again ate leftover Thanksgiving fowl.

I am off on another subject here....what makes you happy?

Think about this one, and let's be perfectly honest. Is it a relationship, your children, money or something else? I have grown a lot personally in the past few years and I am going to discuss some personal things that have allowed me to know contentment and in an odd way happiness. This has nothing to do with my relationship with my husband or children. The situation involves other family and aging parents.
I will break this entire situation down and perhaps give the reader an insight on the gift of giving. Finding something good and pleasant in a desperate, heartbreaking situation that allows you to survive and grow personally.
But that all starts tomorrow.

Jobs, Time and Left Over Food

2006-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Another day another dollar, or in the working woman's world another 14 chores that didn't get done. I made no post yesterday due to the fact it was one of the 14 chores that just didn't need to be done right now. I'm one of the lucky women, I work from home which definitely has its advantages. Don't get me wrong it also has some big disadvantages but in my case it works.
More about that some other time.....

After a full day of being busy I made supper which was leftover Thanksgiving Turkey.

Do you ever wonder just how many recipes there are for left over turkey besides the usual hot turkey sandwiches, a general rehash of what was left of the original meal and turkey soup? I'm going to do a little research for recipes that make those left overs interesting. My problem is I don't have a very good track record when it comes to those half empty bowls of food that just won't go away.
I'm betting I'm not alone.

A blog for the readers!

2006-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

I've decided that there are a lot of blogs in this old world, and most of these center around the writer.

I'd like my blog to be more about the reader..Like the working Mother who comes home after a 9 to 5 work day and decides on what to feed the family. Dinner might not be labeled gourmet food but it is down to earth family eating.
Gram’s Recipe Book is trying to provide ideas and recipes for healthy, nutritious food that is quick and easy. This blog will be an extension of the website.

If you want fancy or elaborate foods you may share your recipes or ideas on how to make simple into fabulous.

We can turn that simple meal into something special with a little imagination, a little preparation and usually very little time.

I'll give you ideas, examples and hopefully allow you to go beyond ordinary when it comes to your daily meals.

I’ll also try to provide you with useful information on nutrition and how it relates to the family.
Don’t be fooled, this blog won’t be entirely about foods but will include fun ideas and activities for kids of all ages.

We'll also touch on with how we deal with home, life issues and the changing world. This web blog can become food for thought, and a nutrient for the soul.

Gram might be getting older, but I still love-sharing .....

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