Buffalo Gal

Candiates’ wives are always closely observed by American voters during election years…all of them I would guess…wives of senate, house of representatives and especially wives of presidential candidates. One husband was in the picture for awhile this year but when Michelle Bachmann dropped out so did her husband’s fame or non-fame. I can’t even think of the guy’s name but I know the names of the wives in this years’dogfights.

MICHELLE OBAMA is making another notable news splash. The London Daily Telgraph reports that FLOTUS went on a $50,000 dollar shopping spree at a highly upscale lingerie store called “Agent Provocateur”. Her 50 thousand spree for fancy lacy corsets, satin Hollywood type bras and other Unmentionalble did a favor for that store’s economy. But will it play in Peoria with cash strapped Americans learn of our very own Marie Antoinette’s let them eat cake attitude when it comes to her spending money like the proverbial D—— sailor on shore leave? I don’t think it will be looked on too kindly at all. If I were a jobless or homeless American I would be outraged by the Michelle Obama’s extrravagnace and sense of “entitlement”. (I AM the FIRST LADY and I can spend all the money I feel like spending–especiallhy on myself). The First Lady earlier spent several hundred dollars for one pair of canvas sports shoes. (all the Little People can be happy with a pair of Keds)
This spending spree added to her taking separate airplanes ( at htousands of goverment dollars expense for fuel et al) from the President when she does not want to delay her arrival at Martha’s Vineyard or Hawaii for one of the multiple vacations she takes will not be looked upon favorably I predict.
( google “Agent Provocateur Sales Boosted By U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama” in London Daily Telegraph, 30 January 2012)

CALLISTA GINGRICH Callista—- with her perfectly groomed suits and hair- lacquered “helmet” had been by husband Newt’s side constantly in the Republican primaries and caucuses. But the big question I have is this:
IS CALLISTA A SELECTIVE MUTE????? Has anyone heard her speak one word to anyone on the campaing trail? I have seen her mouth move in camera shots taken informally but I do not know if she says anythihng out loud or is just pretending to speak. It is a big thing to ponder.
Have we ever had MUTE FIRST LADY IN HISTORY?????

ANN ROMNEY: Last week Mitt’s wife Ann..mother of 5 sons..was a big hit with a campaign crowd of Hispanic voters when one of her adult sons who has lived in Chile introduced his mother in perfect and eloquent Spanish.
There is nothing as pleasing to speakers of more than one language to hear their native tongue used to speak to them.
Ann did not speak in Spanish—- but her son’s doing so laid the groundwork for a most favorable appearance in a Florida campaigan stop.

RICK SANTORUM’S WIFE” I have seen her but not heard her speak. The Santorums returned to Pennsylvania when their youngest daughter became ill with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized…a fine move by devoted parents.

RON PAUL’S WIFE: I have not heard her speak either and cannot even think of what she looks like..very much in the background.

I hope to hear from more candidates’ spouses as the dogfights continue through the winter campaign season.
Speaking of dogfights…do you ever feel like you are at the classic “Dog And Pony Show” when you watch political debates???
These so called “debates” aren’t really debates at all. They are question and answer sessions governed mostly by whoever the Questioner happens to be. The most silly debacle I recall is when George Stephanopoulos asked Mitt Romney a question abpout abortion…..one that came out of mind of Stephanopoulos only. It was not even part of the discussion for that nights’ round of debates but was designed as a “Gotcha” by George in an attempt to GET Romney.
I am getting thoroughly tired out by these so called debates which are not debates at all in the real sense of the word. Nothing would be as refreshing as a real Lincoln-Douglas Debate with two candidates at a time and NO moderator or Lord High Questioner from a media outlet.

There is something special about January..believe it or not. It is surely not the weather, usually. January is marked (normally) by ups and downs….snowy days, winds out of the north or southeast that feel coldest in January, dirty snow if there is any melting or freezing, yucky road mush thrown onto windshields on salt and sanded mush roadways, days getting longer (now that is a January POSITIVE), and in my case…I get “cravings”.
I refer to foods.
Lately the craving has been for rice custard. It is one of my favorite desserts and it is not sweet at all. You can eliminate a lot of sugar out of custard recipes ..I think my favorite ingredient is the nutmeg sprinkled on top of the whole thing before baking it. I have a really good recipe for rice custard; it takes 5 beaten eggs, 4 cups of milk in which a small amount of rice has been cooked. Only the sugar, salt and vanilla flavoring remain. When the rice, milk and egg mix is combined and baked you have a taste treat that only eaters of almost white food love! My NorthernEuropeanNorwegian taste buds are showing. I have made rice custard twice in just one week.

I crave split pea soup…totally home-made by beginning with a nice ham broth that is best when a picnic ham or a really meaty hambone is cooked for long hours til the broth is so flavorful it is incapable of description. Cooking celery ribs and a couple of carrots and some onions with the broth helps also.
All of it is strained when it cools and then you can begin the split pea phase(I like to refrigerate the broth first and get all the congealed fat off before proceeding) Making split pea soup is a real “process” as are most truly tasty and purely homemade dishes are.
The dry peas can be soaked overnight and precooked til they are getting tender before adding to the ham broth. Then another long process sets in and the soup is simmered for hours. The overwhelming aroma of simmering split pea soup is present in a home for all the cooking time.
Homemade beef stew is another January taste that does not ever come up during the summer. That is another LONG cooking process that is so worth it.
As is always present in all seasons…. there is still the definite craving for creamy chocolate things…which I resist most of the time but every now and then—–I MUST EAT a Pearson’s Nut Goodie!
I am going “supply” shopping today and I am very sure that ingredients for the above-mentioned January cravings will be on my list. Unfortunately I have to go to Fleet Farm for some bird feeding supplies and they have Nut Goodies on sale there all the time!

After reading a lot of commentary and editorials lately I am convinced that there is not a great deal of difference between Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama. Like two peas in a pod, more and more likeness is coming to light with every passing day (and incidents).

**Both of them are so egotistical and arrogant it makes you wonder if Washington DC can hold the two of them.
Gingrich’s ego and arrogance have become apparent in the series of
candidate debates. He thrives on audience approval; he even
demanded a return to allowing audiences to cheer or jeer after ABC
moderator did not allow that in one debate.
Obama also plays to whatever audience he is in front of; he has
made his gravest mistakes in getting carried away with impossible
promises to his best audiences.
Both Gingrich and Obama’s physical demeanor cries out with a live
description of egomania and arrogance. Look at them when they
both thrust their chins upward, scowl in disapproval when crossed by anyone else.

**Both Obama and Gingrich are incredibly thin-skinned.
a recent witness of this trait was Obama’s petty comments to Governor
Jan Brewer on a tarmac in Arizona when Obama was greeted by
the governor. He immediately raised the subject of Brewer’s book in which Brewer had
said things about him that he did not like in her book SCORPIONS
FOR BREAKFAST. He walked off and left Brewer standing there.
Both Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal (southern border state governors)
have been left standing on other tarmacs after the Thin-Skinned One
took them to task over illegal immigration stances.
I can see Newt doing the same thing to anyone who disagreed
with him. Senator Bob Dole is quoted as saying this about his
years in Congress with Newt. “He {Newt) was a one-man band.
It was his way or the highway.” That sounds an awful lot like
Obama…..his unconstitutional appointments recently show that he,
too, is a one- man band and he does not take advice from anyone,
just as Newt Gingrich does not take advice….he only hands it out and
so does Obama.
(Google: “Mr and Mrs Cranky Pants” by Michelle Malkin

** Neither Obama or Newt are good at governing.
Obama has been in campaign rather than governing mode since
he took office. Newt seems to be better at campaigning also;
there is plenty of testimony from former House of Representative
colleagues about Newt’s disorganization as the Leader of the House
and his propensity for an idea a minute with no concrete actions
to carry out any of them.
Both Obama and Gingrich are masters of deflection when it comes
to serious issues of governing. They can both change the subject
to deflect their own incompetence in so many areas where they
should have governed rather than the campaign blather they
come up with.

** Both Obama and Gingrich are given to braggadocio and lies.
it is far easier for both men to brag about themselves and their
“accomplishments” which are often blatant lies or distortions.
(as in the “success” of the Obama stimulus!”)
Obama has proved his unwillingness to even consider the oppos-
ition’s proposals brought forth in Congress. Obama proves that he
too is unwilling to take any advice and unless it is “his way” the
Opposition can take to the “highway”. Obama is so good at
blaming others for his own failures that you would think you
were out on an elementary school playground when you
listen to Obama making excuses. I think Newt would do exactly
the same, because Egomaniacs never think they are wrong.

Michael Barone, an astute political commenter sums it up in an article titled “Gearing Up To Govern” in which he opines that Romney actually seems committed to governing.
In contrast to governing:
“Obama isn’t (gearing up to govern) and that’s one thing Republican candidates might want to bring up in future debates. Obama rejected the Bowles-Simpson recommendations out of hand and he seems untroubled that the Democratic majority Senate hasn’t passed a budget three years oh a row. That’s contrary to the requirements of the law, as is the administration’s delay of sending its own budget up to the Senate.
But this is a president who flouts one law after another. He made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess, in violation of the Constitution, one was to a position whose occupant, according to a law Obama himself signed, cannot act without Senate confirmation. He vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline on environmental grounds that the law says could not be considered. His policy on whether religious organizations can require employees to share their beliefs was swatted down by a 9-0 Supreme Court vote…………..But a candidate(for the presidency) who concentrates less on denunciation and more on governing could have an advantage over an incumbent who is more about denouncing than governing , himself.”
(“Gearing up to govern” Michael Barone, National Review online,Jan 26, 2012)

We really don’t need any more of Two Peas In A Pod.

After a long hiatus from Silver Sneakers (last went in week of Christmas) I went back to renew friendships and get a good workout today.
It amazes me that I have become such a “road sissy” in winter. I am used to going to the DL CC with two friends who have gone for the rest of the winter to Hawaii. I am left alone like the last leaf on the winter tree— clinging to its branch. How dramatic can I be? I used to be a fearless daily driver in all seasons when I was still driving to my school each weekday. 8 years of retirement have truly sisified me as a winter driver.
Then as a bonus, after our class, it was SS social activity day……and we went to the social center in the Community Center and played……TA DAH!………….Apples to Apples, a game I have played with my grandkids many times.
It is not only a good kids’ game but we had a lot of fun playing as older adults.
Not everyone had played it before and we had some card players among us who had a hard time not playing for numbers or money! But after everyone caught on to the new-ish kind of card game….we had a lot of laughs. If we had drunk milk, it would have come out of some of our noses.
We raised our endorphins first upstairs with our SS excercise and toning workout but we also added good brain chemicals from all the laughing we did.
Have you ever noticed how much better you suddenly feel after having a hearty laughing session with friends or family? There is a true physical reason..laughter is truly a good medicine because it raises good brain chemical levels…endorphins to be specific.
I have felt terrific the rest of the day and will probably sleep like the proverbial baby tonight…or the log!!!!
I came home and it was gorgeous for being January 26….melting snow and ice and warm sunshine. I took the Princess (kitty) out for a walk..this means I walk and she rides as I carry her around so she can sniff all the smells outside. She is uninterested in spending much time outside when she gets her delicate little paws full of cold snow. We walked around the yard and “watched the birdies” as they ate the birdfood and suet for them on deck and under spruce trees. They certainly sing for their meals…they sound so happy and thankful it lifts my spirits.
My kitty is not really a kitty at all—she is going on her 14th birthday next summer.
On the way home from Detroit Lakes today, I pass by Boyer Lake which is next to the Sunnyside Nursing Home. Out on the ice I saw a lot of fish houses but what frightened me were the pickups out on the ice. I get the heebie-jeebies thinking about vehicles going through lake ice…and there have been a number of ice accidents already. The ice might still be thinner than usual with our too-warm temperatures through December and the first part of January. When I used to go ice fishing with my Dad so long ago, we never drove out on the ice; we parked the car on the shoreline and walked out to the fishing darkhouse. I get the creeps seeing so many ice fishermen take unnecessary chances on thin ice. You also never know where an underwater spring might be. Now I just read that a ND fisherman’s body has been found: his vehicle went through the ice on a lake and he got out and started to walk but he collapsed and apparently died of exposure or something else like a heart attack. Falling through thin ice and getting soaked in icy water could do it for you. Foolishness! No sense to a few ice fishermen.
I have been hoping for a clear sky night and tonight might be it; I am eager to see if we are getting any Northern Lights displays from the radiation storm on the sun. Some places have realliy gotten a light show from the aurora borealis…probably farther north on the globe.
I plan to go out and take a look when it is dark.
The days are definitely getting longer now. We are on the upswing again heading toward June 20. It is the best time of the year…for me.

“Pistol packing Mamma, lay that pistol down”..the words of the chorus of an old popular song.
There was a real pistol packing mama in Daytona, Beach Florida recently.
64 year old Karen Granville was up late watching TV when she heard a helicopter circling her immediate neighborhood. It was a police helicopter pursuing a 22- year old criminal who was on the run after police attempted to arrest him for any number of crimes…possession of marijuana and cocaine with intent to dsitribute, attempt to commit a felony and then fleeing law officers. He made the mistake of running into Karen Granville’s back yard and was trying to scale her fence when she came at him with her .38 special revolver and demanded “Stop right there (expletive) or you are going to be dead where you stand.”
The suspect stopped and Karen held him captive til police arrived to complete their arrest.
Mrs. Granville said her adrenaline was flowing over “100 mph” and she was determined not to let him go. Many residents of Daytona Beach are fed up with all the crime in their city .
Just a short time ago another Daytona Beach citizen( 82 year old Charles Robbins) shot and killed a 24 year old man who was breaking into his home on January 11 only about two weeks before Granville held 22- year old
Roderick Willis at gunpoint til police arrived.
The Daytona Beach police chief said he does not encourage vigilante justice but says citizens have a right to protect themselves from criminals.
The real story from Daytona Beach reminded me of the internet/email story that makes the rounds about an elderly lady arming herself with a handgun after so many robberies and purse snatchings were occurring in parking lots of grocery stores and other retailers. The story is told that the elderly woman coming to her car with her groceries found 4 men sitting in it already.
She pulled out her handgun and told them to get our of her car or she would shoot them all. The 4 men fled like rabbits at the sight of the gun. When the woman got in the car, she realized it WAS NOT HER CAR and in great embarassment over what she had done, drove to the nearest police station after she located her own car. As she walked in the same 4 men were standing at the desk reporting their near assault in the parking lot and when they saw her they ran again!!!
Karen Granville did not make any mistake in holding the man with her .38 special, however. She said she was glad to be of help to the police although she had to drink a glass of water in order to calm down.

The release of Mitt Romney’s tax returns has revealed a few uncomfortable truths for leading Liberals.
Romeny gave 15% of his income to charity; Obama gave 1%
Joe Biden gave $360.00
So can we conclude that Liberals are pikers with their own money but love to spend other’s taxpayer dollars like the proverbial sailor on leave?

Read these two pieces from January 24:

“Who’s Greedy? Obama gave 1% to charity, Romney gave 15%”

“Mitt Romney gives millions to charity, Joe Biden gives $369.”
(Dailey Telegraph.London Jan 24)

That was some truths that were not counted on to be revealed by the release of Romney’s tax returns.
I will be interested to learn more about this subject.

****************I am adding another “read”that I found compelling. It has to do with candidate Newt Gingrich and I may as well confess I am NO FAN of Newt Gingrich. I sincerely do NOT want him as the candidate to run against Obama..he is too overloaded with too much baggage from his past ..politically and personally. The Republican party may have to choose a candidate based on what is best for the party and the nation…and it is not Newt by a long shot.

Read this one: “William Jefferson Gingrich” by R. Emmett Tyrell Jr. (New York Sun,Jan 25, 2012)

Somemore recommendations for reading from national news outlets.

Wes Pruden (editor emeritus of the WASHINGTON TIMES has written an interesting op-ed on the topic of morals among candidates and other politicians. Wes Pruden is from the older generation and we have a different outlook on morality I believe.

1.”Newt Gingrich And The Moral Thing” Wesley Pruden, Wash. Times on Jan. 23

Another thing that caught my eye was an article on a space site regarding the outburst of solar storms on our sun. True scientific data supports the fact that our sun influences our earth climate, greatly, and there has been an absence of solar storms since 2005 which has had a definite effect on earth’s climate. This article is informative and interesting.

2. “Huge Solar Eruption Sparks Strongest Radiation Storm in 7 Years”
Space. com staff, Jan 23, 2012.

Then an amusing one about John Kerry…. although breaking your nose and blackening your eyes is not too funny….but I had a funny thought when I read it.
“3. John Kerry Breaks Nose Playing Hockey” CBSBoston, January 23, 2102.

This is the classic story of “I ran into a door”—- only this time it was playing hockey. I still wondered if Ter-AY-SA might have hit him with a bottle of Heinz ketchup during a heated argument between spouses!!!!! (not really but I did think it)

For anyone who enjoyed Dale Connelly on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Morning Show” for many long years, Dale has a blog titled “Trail Baboon” and it has the same signature originality and great humor that Dale Connelly is so good at……I read it and laugh and snort quite regularly at his tall tales he weaves on the blog.

Being a proofreader for a couple of local area newspapers has made me aware of a tempest in neighboring towns’ (Twin Valley- Gary, Ulen- Hitterdal) school districts which are consolidated districts.
NCE (Norman County East) which is the consolidation of Twin Valley and Gary has proposed a “pairing and sharing” of high school sports programs with neighboring district, Ulen-Hitterdal. The reason is because of “low numbers” for high school sports in both districts.
Apparently both high schools have to include 9th and 10th graders on varsity teams in order to have enough players. (When I was a highschooler in a small school that was just common practice..I remember 9th graders “starting” on the then- called “A-Team” if they were good players)
Some of our best football players were younger guys but apparently now the ahtletic director at NCE says that such young men really aren’t ready for playing at the varsity level. Maybe kids are different now but I doubt that.
People in one of the districts (UH) raised a terrible ruckus when this proposal from NCE came up again (it was not the first time and it had been rejected)
Some townspeople were angry because they had not been informed of a near-decision by the school board without a chance for input from district parents. It became a real to-do and now the proposal has been “tabled”…. that good old school board trick of delay and buying time for reconnoitering when the heat in the kitchen gets too overwhelming.
I don’t know how it will turn out but I am kind of stunned by the priorities.
Sports programs…all of them…both boys and girls sports..basketball, track, baseball, wrestling and the all- important ones….basketball and football…seem to have priorities over everything else in the schools’ agendas.
Is this because small schools need their own sports teams to give meaning to the townsfolks’ lives? It seems to be that way and that applies to large school districts also. When towns of any size put up huge billboards on the edge of their town proclaiming the a high school team to be “Winners” of certain district, regional or state championhship, you know how vital school sports are to town residents. I have never seen a billboard proclaiming any winners in academic things…..a town near my home had consistent “winners” at the state and national levels for many years in the science competition for high schools but no billboard ever went up about that achievement. This small school was so consistent in producing outstanding science achievements by highschoolers and their excellent science teacher/advisor, that I was truly amazed by thier successes in the national science competitions.
When a high school produces students who consistently score high marks in Math competitions, no billboards go up about that either.
Music and Arts programs are similarly ignored..at least partially..in favor of the almighty highschool sports teams. It is..and has always been that way. One single trip by a basketball team to the state tournament is remembered for decade upon decade…especially in MN in the days of the one- class high school basketball tournaments of older times.
High school sports teams and their successes and their “numbers” are obviouly more esteemed than academic standards and achievements.
Lip service is paid to academics but in the heart and soul of a school district is it sports that gives true meaning to life …mostly among the parents and other “adults” in a community.

There is even an article in today’s (January 24) FORUM about these disagreements in the school districts in NE Clay County.

Sunday was a Jackpot Day for op-eds about the recent South Carolina primary vote with its surprising results a’la Newt Gingrich vs Mitt Romney.
The online news sites are overflowing with analysis and opinion and all of it is fascinating…to me at least.
If you google “realclearpolitics” you will find a banquet of op- eds about the election in SC plus other subjects.

One I found interesting did not have anything to do with SC but plenty to do with Michelle Obama:
1. “Michelle Obama has every right to be angry” by Bill Maxwell in the St Petersburg (FLA) Times

2. “How Gingrich won…why Romney lost” Byron York in Washington Examiner

3. “Bullying blowhard Newt lacks restraint to be real conservative” editorial in Chicago Tribune, Jan. 22/01 by John Kass

And a non-S.C. op ed

4. (On Keystone) “Obama chooses American decline” Gale Norton in Washington Times

(this one was the most stunning to me)

Well not really whooping, but celebrating a little. My icy cold January birthday has come around again and we met part of our family for a meal at Johnny Carino’s. Lots of good conversation and warmth…three grandkids were there and they are growing up so fast. Our youngest one is 14 and all the rest are older. Time flies when you are enjoying your life and growing older.
I give thanks each day for every day I have and also for continued good health. What a blessing it is!!!
I am prepared to cuddle up with a fuzzy warm blanket that is a Christmas present. That was one of the best ever since I am devoted to hunkering down on cold days/nights with a good book (the latest is a newly discovered American writer and her work..Mary McGarry Morris and the book was LIGHT FROM A DISTANT STAR. In it a 13 year old girl who is very mature in her outlook—way more than a lot of the adults in her life….has the great misfortune to discover the dead body of the family’s apartment renter.
It is a clear look at a small town and its residents and the danger of jumping to conclusions about the killer. Excellent fiction by a really good modern American writer.
I am now reading a second one by the same author THE LOST MOTHER and it is equally gripping even after reading only 3 chapters.
Two members of my family (including the cat) told me that they had bought me a “red sequinned dress”. When I got an envelope I said “it must be an awfully small dress” but it was a gift card from Barnes and Noble. Those guys know what I like!!!! (and it is not red or sequinned)
It has been a great day even if it was windy and raw. Last year there was a small blizzard on that same date…the story of my life..birthdays kind of spoiled by nasty weather…or winter illnesses like flu or bad colds.
This one….perfect!!!