The Weekly Muse

My first week back to work after 2 weeks of pneumonia - is behind me.  It was rough, I won't lie, and I am also glad to be getting back to a normal routine. The first 3 days of the week weren't horrible - at least not as much as I was expecting. With my boss away on business it made for a ease-back-into-work situation that was much welcomed.

But he was back on Thursday and yesterday - he was fully back in the saddle. It was the roughest day by far and I left work early for a doctor's appointment!  It was non-stop for the 7 straight hours I worked and every minute was packed with work, demands, meetings, etc... I was very glad to be leaving early.

My doc appointment was for a final check-out after pneumonia.  To ensure the lungs really are clear and that I have the right plan in place to deal with the allergy season that is now in full-swing.

I am happy to say that I am well past any infection. My lungs sounded clear, my blood pressure is back to normal (from an illness-related high of 172/90...), my pulse has settled down and most of the symptoms are behind me.  I am still easily-fatigued and my doctor indicated that it is a sign of how sick I really was.  She indicated that she hasn't seen me this sick in many many years.

15 of them to be precise.  It's been that long since I've been that out-of-it for a non-surgery reason.  I'm hoping it will be longer than 15 years before it ever happens again.

I am blessed with an amazing doctor and because I was her last patient yesterday, we were able to really talk about my allergy situation.  This year is predicted to be one of the worst in a decade and I am seriously behind in respiratory health.  So we have a new plan to deal with the ever-increasing pollen counts - increasing the strength some existing meds and adding a couple into the mix for the next 6-8 weeks.  We hope it will keep things well-maintained so I don't get any further behind that I already am.  Time will tell.

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It is a quiet morning. The Oracle is off to his weekly shooting league - which he hasn't been able to get to in about 6 weeks.  He left this morning with a spring in his step that I haven't seen in quite some time.  I actually think he may have been skipping by the time he got to the Jeep to drive off.  He has worked so hard the past few weeks taking care of me, worrying about me - I am so glad he took off this morning to do something for himself.

I too shall be indulging in a little personal pampering today.  In about 2 hours I will be soaking my aching feet in a warm, scented bath - preparing to have a spa-level pedicure.  I've been looking forward to this all week.  A side-trip to Starbucks to procure treats for myself and the dear friend who will be attending to my every need and I anticipate a fully-relaxing 90 minutes of soaking, pampering and girl-talk.

***le sigh***

It is a quiet piano-music kind of morning.  The birds have been singing like mad; the kitchen is cleaned up finally, the laundry is humming away and I'm thoroughly enjoying a cup of salted caramel hot chocolate.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Keurig?

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The rest of the weekend shall be - quiet and restful.  Church this evening of course and possibly dinner out at a recently discovered gem of a cafe a few towns over.  Dog Lane Cafe is primarily a college hangout, given that it's across the street from UCONN.  And yet the times we've been there we've seen just as many non-college patrons as well.  The menu is diverse, each dish is prepared to order, the coffee is freshly roasted and ground on-site and their desserts come from the always-wonderful Cheesecake Factory.  It's a funky place with fish tanks, sofas, club chairs and an enthusiastic staff. 

Or we may just order pizza after church and just come home.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day with temps in the low 70s and the thought came to me this morning - we may go to the beach.  Our beloved Misquamicut Beach has been fully restored after the ravages of Hurricane Sandy and tomorrow may be the perfect opportunity to take a leisurely drive and check her out.  Pack a couple of chairs, blanket and some fresh-made Tabooleh & crackers - and spend some time healing with the feel of the sand beneath my feet and the constancy of the surf sounds.

I can feel my blood pressure dropping and my pulse settling down even more just thinking about it.  Hopefully we can make it happen...

Enough

I have had it with politicians and their innate sense of self-privilege:

Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.

The talks — which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers — are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.

"...political fallout..." - they should be afraid, very afraid.  I believe that this kind of bullshit is getting really old in this country these days.  What's good for them is far too good for those who they are supposed to serve.

We need to send these asshats a reminder that THEY work for US; not the other way around.  We need to keep track of who votes how on this measure - and those who vote in favor of themselves need to receive a different vote from their constituents.

One that boots their sorry asses right out of office.

Further from the article:

There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isn’t revised, could lead to a “brain drain” on Capitol Hill, as several sources close to the talks put it.

They say this like it's a bad thing. We desperately need a "brain drain" in the swamp that is Congress; we need a total refresh of lawmakers who actually care about the people who put them in their jobs, rather than the grass they stand on.

And to further illustrate just how far down the rabbit-hole the current Administration - in particular the person occupying (and I mean that not in the residential sense) White House - we have this gem:

President Barack Obama’s 2014 budget puts a $3 million cap on tax-advantaged retirement accounts to crack down on “wealthy individuals” using these investment vehicles to earn “substantially more than is needed to fund reasonable levels of retirement savings.” [emphasis mine]

So now, in addition to telling us what kind of health insurance we should have, The One Who Won is telling us how much money we should have for our own retirements. This is not a surpise to anyone who has been paying attention since 2008 (hear that, MSM???), but this is:

The limit would not apply to Obama’s own pension, which is worth at least $5 million, because it is not in a tax-advantaged account, according to Brian Graff, executive director of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. Obama’s pension, which guarantees him a Cabinet-level salary for life indexed to inflation, is a “non-qualified deferred compensation plan, similar to what corporate executives get,” he says.

I don't particularly care about the nuance related to "tax-advantaged accounting".  P.BO gets a guaranteed salary for life that is automatically adjusted for inflation - ensuring that he will continue to garner his own wealth - while he wants to stifle that same opportunity for people who actually EARN their money - unlike this socialist-in-sheep's-clothing.

Like the article says - for a group that can't even keep Social Security afloat, they have a helluva nerve trying to legislate the retirement savings of hard-working Americans.

Hell, the politi-crats in D.C. even ensured that the sequestration furloughs of air traffic controllers doesn't affect Dulles and Reagan National airports.  Because once again - what is good enough for them is far too good for us - the peons in their worlds.

It's time folks - LONG past time I would say - for us, the voting public, to start voting these dirty-rotten-rat-bastards out of office. They are incapable of doing their fucking jobs for the people who voted for them, so it's time for those people to exercise the only right they have in this entire cluster-fuck - casting their vote in a different direction.

h/t to The Anchoress for the links

Of Predators and Rain

I mentioned awhile back about seeing a Bobcat go bounding across the road in front of us one morning. Well, last night I had a sort-of repeat of that experience.

Driving home from work around 6:45pm I could see up ahead of me a small-ish animal crossing the road.  It looked like a dog ... moving at a leisurely pace, not a care in the world.  Just meandering really.

As I got closer - I realized it was not a dog.  And as it made it to the other side of the road I slowed down to a stop just at where it had crossed to.

And there on the path, still meandering, was a gorgeous Bobcat.  As I came to a full stop, he looked back and I got a full view of the most gloriously beautiful wild feline face.  It came to a full stop of its own, looked at me appraisingly for a few seconds and then - in one graceful leap - it was into the low brush and out of sight.

I sat there, trying to reason out that I had just seen a Bobcat - again.

We've lived in our home for nearly 25 years and this is only the 2nd time I've been that close to one of these most magnificent creatures.  As an apex predator they really don't have a care in the world. The only threat to them is - us.  And I am certainly going to go out of my way to avoid hurting them at all costs.

And to continue our foray into the wilds of my rural hick town - this morning as I was getting ready to go to work it was partly sunny.  It had rained overnight and the sun was peaking out every so often.  It promised to be a lovely if cool day.

30 minutes later as we were leaving the house, the skies opened up and it began to pour.  A hasty hustle into the car and we were off.  As we approached the area where I saw the Bobcat last night, we slowed down in the hopes of maybe seeing it on an early morning hunt.

Not my image but it looked just like this, with more cloud cover behind it.No such luck but...as we glanced around I realized that there was an incredibly vivid rainbow in the sky. As it was raining steadily and heavily, the rainbow just blazed and as I looked back once we moved on, I could see blue sky peaking out again.

God's magnificent bow in the sky.  And yes, it is now a gloriously beautiful bright sunny day out there.  The wind is brisk and the sky is cornflower blue.

It is - good to be alive.

And So It Begins

Advanced Warning: I will not write the names of the 2 Boston bombing terrorists in this space.

They will be referred to number only.

The surviving Boston bomber (#2) says his older brother (#1) was the influence, that he just went along with it.  That there is no international terrorism ring or domestic sleeper cell.  Convenient isn't it.

Since #1 is dead, likely at the hands of #2 as video evidence shows that #1 was alive until #2 ran him over in his attempt to escape the fate that awaited both of them - there is no one left to refute the claims and interfere with the cries for pity.

Ten days before he swore an oath to follow the laws of this great country, #2 tweeted this:

"Idk why it's hard for many of you to accept that 9/11 was an inside job. I mean I guess fuck the facts y'all are some real #patriots #gethip.

And less than one year later, he murdered 4 people and critically injured nearly 200.  I read someplace in the past few days that there are nearly 100 people suffering from a lower limb amputation...and that number could well grow as the injuries received fail to heal properly.  Those bombs were designed to cause as much physical death and damage as possible; in fact it's a miracle that "only" 3 people died at the bombing sites.

#2 has been formally charged, as an American citizen, with the use of a weapon of mass destruction.  Now, the last time someone in this country was charged this way was Timothy McVeigh and the charges were federal because the Murrah Building was a federal office building.

And yet - WMDs are typically used by...terrorists.  How is it that #2 is going to escape federal terrorism charges and be treated like an ordinary American criminal?  And in the State of MA - there is no death penalty so the citizens of MA will likely be spending their tax dollars keeping him incarcerated for life.

That is unless his attorneys somehow convince a court that #2 was badly influenced by his older brother, that he suffered some kind of mental trauma and be allowed to - walk free.

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit...because I don't see that outside the realm of possibilities.  Slim perhaps, but not off the table.  If #2 is going to be charged as an American citizen in the State of MA, then there will be no special consideration given to the gravity of his crimes.  What he's done will be stripped down to the basics:  murdered 4 people, injured nearly 200.  The background of the crimes - the actual motivation - will certainly get lost in the shuffle. Any remotely skilled attorney will see to that.

#2 should be classified as an enemy combatant.  Period.  Get all the info they can from him - because you know he's lying from the get-go - then have him ... disappeared.

Sunday Verse

Cast me not away from Thy presence and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and with Thy Governing Spirit establish me. (Psalm 50)