Countertops updated

Apparently countertop replacement requires the skills that Eisenhower brought to the invasion of France.  Materials must be chosen and paid for.

  Then the fun begins.  Your old countertop must be removed.  Including the sink.  Next, special estimators will arrive to measure the size and shape needed, leaving the kitchen unusable and looking like a crime scene..   So no cooking or washing in the kitchen.  If the procedures duplicate my previous experience with contractors, since they have been paid, they will return some time in the future which suits them.  The remote future.

  Some day, if you're lucky, they will return with the new countertop, which you have to pay them to install, or do it yourself.  I can''t picture myself wrestling unaided with a large and awkward  sheet of quartz weighing approximately ten tons, so I will have to wait until they condescend to send someone to install it.

  So I started with new flooring, which does so much for the kitchen, and the countertop returns to the wishlist behind the longed-for trip to Australia.  In short, in Neverland.

Books I like

Since I dislike so many books, people want to know what books I like.  I must like some of them since I waste so much time reading. 

  First I want to mention why I hate writing review of books I like.  I am not sure why I like them, or what about them I like.  When I re-read a book, I find so much in it that I didn't appreciate more.  There are depths in a good book, layers of meaning.  Every time I re-read anna Karenina, I find something new--re-reading  opens up unending new insights and I appreciate it not better, but differently.

My favorite classic fiction: Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, Great Expectations, anything by Dickens, practically anything by Trollope.  I have no objections to long books, if they are good.


Books I hate is a much longer list: Anything with a political message, particularly progreesive.  Anything "transgressive," anything by "women" writers, published because the author is a woman.  Anything where the characters have winsome names, like Turtle or Tempest.

I like American history, because I am an American and learned something about American history, albeit reluctantly, because I had to,  in school.  Other countries, not so much, because I know so little about them that I can't fathom the background. I would need to know much more, to know where I am. English hisotry, about the Tudors, particularly Elizabeth I.   British and Irish modern history, because I typed so many papers about them when my husband was getting his PhD in British history, and because the Irish are such greeat writers.  I particularly like Conor Cruise O'Brian. 

  I also like reading about musicians, and musical instruments.  I recently read a biography of Maria Callas,  and an auto-biography of Placido Domingo, and one by Julie Andrews.  I recommend them unreservedly. These people knew who they were at an early age and believed in themselves, a revelation to me, who still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, even in the face of mortalitty.

  Music reveals new depths every time. That's why you can listen to the same pieces over and over and find new things to love and admire.

The dog that didn't bark

The Mueller report was a bullet to the brain to the democrats, but unfortunately it takes more than a bullet to the brain to shut up these guys.  Possibly they don't have brains.  Or maybe they are the undead and it takes garlic to silence them.

  In any case, they are a hardy crew, who have the stamina to arise from their graves every four years to vote.  Not like the rest of us, who do nothing useful to anyone and just molder in our graves, taking no part in public discourse.

YouTube fixes my toilet

sorry I haven't kept up with current issues. such as what senior citizen will win the Democratic nomination.  I actually haven't even done my income tax yet.  I've been too busy watching youtube. 

  Ever since I heard a kid say he taught himself to play the tuba on You Tube, I have been fascinated with YOu Tube.  I taught myself tai chi--sort 0f--and practiced singing lessons.  I read about the Nickolas Brothers and the Clancy brothers.  followed the Hedy Lamarr story. 

  But the YouTube videos about toilets have been taking up most of my time.  I have one toilet which stops up regularly, and of course it is the one I use most.  YOuu might think there is not much that can be said about toilets, but you would be wrong.  There are several competing philosophies from people who take toilets seriously.  There are discussions on how to use the plunger properly.   How to keep the toilet from getting blocked in the first place. What substances to use to keep things -flowing. 

  After much waste of time,  I have gone with the white vinegar school of toilet maintenance.  In the unlikely case you have never heard of this, the theory is that the jets get blocked with minerals and will no longer wash away offending matter as they should.  The theory involves pouring white vinegar in the tank, which clears the jets.

  It seems to work, too.  Only don't use too much toilet paper.

So what happened to my new year's resolutions?

I resolved to practice my singing for half an hour every day.  I also resolved to do tai chi for ten minutes every day.Also to work on my painting every day.

  I haven't done any of that.

  I also resolved to replace the kitchen countertop ASAP.  I did not do that either.  I looked into countertop replacement and found that it would be easier to tear the entire house down and start all over again.  So instead I had a kitchen floor installed.  The installers were the Platonic ideal of installers.  The flooring which they replaced was installed by my hairdresser's daughter's volleyball coach's unemployed husband.  And it looked like that, or worse.  And now it is gloriously beautiful.  So beautiful that it makes the countertop look shabby and the walls appear to need a new paint job.

  But nobody's perfect.

Sexy politicians

We certainly have come a long way since Ted Kennedy's affairs were greeted with a wink and a nod.  If that.  Ted was forgiven because of his advocacy of progressive issues.Not issues that would cost him anything financially.  He had fleets of accountants to shelter his income and that of the rest of the Kennedys.  It was always your taxes that would pay for his grand ideas.

  Other politicians come to mind.  Nelson Rockefeller was a Republican, but one who loved to spend the taxpayer's dollar, so he was forgiven for being a Republican and something of a sex fiend. Your daughters would not be safe in the same room with him, but that was their lookout.

 Then there is the hardy perennial, Bill Clinton. Given the evidence, you wouldn't want your daughter in the same government building, even if it was the White House.  Is conduct was shrugged off repeatedly by feminists, because he approved of abortion.

  It's amazing what conduct is unforgiveable .  The requirements are always changing.  It was enough for Al Franken to run his hands suggestively over a poster.  His career was over.  I would be inclined to cut Northam some slack for the photo.  Bad taste is forgivable.  I find his views on abortion morally repugnant, but no one else does.  I would certainly go after his medical license, though.

 

My take on Northam

I know the whole world has been waiting for my opinion of the scandal surrounding the Virginia governor. Well not everyone in the world.  In fact, hardly anyone in the world.  The fact that nobody reads my log is so incredibly freeing.  I can express my thoughts honestly without incurring hostility, or even criticism.

  So here goes my opinion on the Northam sccandal:  I think it's dumb.  Undoubtedly he wore that outfit to a Halloween party and after a few drinks everyone thought it was hilarious. Or even transgressive, but in a good, ironic way. Drunks are easily entertained.

  The problem is Hallloween parties and the fact that people who are presumably adults take them seriously enough to put on costumes and make jackasses of themselves.  In my childhood, children dressed up in costumes and went around the neighborhood begging for candy.  The adult role was to sit in the house and dole out the candy when the kids rang the doorbell.  If the weather was nice, they might even sit out on the porch.  In my opinion, the performed their role superbly.

 In my day, folks, you can attend a party in regular clothes and have a good time.  Actually, people dressed up in their best clothes.  Women wore dressses  and men wore something called a necktie.  Parties are for socializing with your friends and having a good time.  Getting drunk and/or hitting on a member of the opposite sex is optional, and was frowned upon in the best circles.

  When I was a child I dreamed of growing up and dressing up and going to parties or nightclubs.  My role model was Myrna Loy in the Thin Man movies.  You can bet that Myrna did not dress up like Butterfly McQueen.  She wore amazing long gowns and high heels.  But by the time I grew up no one dressed up for parties.  Most people wore T-shirts,  The elegant ones wore T-shirts without slogans.  The getting drunk etc part was still part of the scene.  However they did not dress up as Batman or Cinderella.

  So I say, cut the governor a bit of slack.  Sure he advocated killing newborn babies, but no one minded that apparently. It's just abortion carried a bit too far, and we're all okay with that, aren't we?  The fact that he is dr Gosnell light disturbed almost no one except oddball people with extreme religious views, like Christians.

On reading

  I have to have at least two books in hand--one that I am currently reading and the one i am planning to read next.  i actually prefer to have a stack of unread books in case of emergency. unfortunately i find most books tiresome, which limits me a bit.  i like popular fiction, but the choice has to be well written and have credible characters and action which is not too implausible.  A little bit implausible is okay.  I'm not talking Great Books here. But I don't like to read about superhuman powers, for instance, or plans to blow up the planet. 

  I have tried to read to improve my mind by catching up with the books I didn't get a chance to read;  I was a literature major anyway and stand for Great Literature and culture generally.  I utterly failed to be impressed by most Great Books..  For instance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  Don Quixote.  Not crazy about Faulkner, either. 

 .  I like books about American history and English history  and Ancient Rome.  Biographies of great men, but only British and American ones.  I particularly like to read biographies of musicians and musical gossip generally.  I even like to read the notes in music programs.  

Vexing questions

Can someone please tell me the rationale for the continuing existence of Publishers Clearing House?  Nobody subscribes to magazines anymore except doctors' and dentists' offices.  Anyway, thiey no longer even pretends to be selling magazines.  Or books.  Or anything, really.

  So why does this pestiferous organization continue to exist, to broadcast television commercials, and to send out direct mail solicitations.  Why do they still award money to people?  Or are the persons who are televised swooning, shrieking and jumping up and down in their doorways really paid actors?  In short, just what the hell is going on?
  
  While other organizations which have outlived their mission--think Boys Town--have quietly ceased to exist, Publishers clearing House appears immortal.

Modern travel.

A very old friend has died.  This lady and her husband were close friends when we were young parents.  The male half of the team was best man at our wedding.  So we go back a long time.

  It brought back memories of the death of my husband.  He suffered from some neurological disease, and to make matters worse he had fallen and broken his femur.  We hoped against all expectation that he would get better and come home, but that goal was receding farther every day.

  After two years in the nursing home, aka Roach Motel, my daughter in California wanted me to visit her.  He seemed no worse--and no better, either--so I decided to go.

  After an 11 hour trip on United Airllines, I arrived on a  Thursday.  On Friday I was exhausted.  Sarturday morning I was starting to feel like my old self when I received a call from the nursing home that he had had a sudden heart attack and died.

  It was Easter weekend, and there were no flights that day, so I booked a ticket for the next day, which was Easter Sunday.  Then my troubles began.  You can't fly direct to Philadelphia from San Luis Obispo, so I was booked to go to San Francisco, or Los Angeles, I can't remember which.  But neither could United Airlines.  When the flight I had booked arrived, the B team who were in charge on that weekend could not print a boarding pass.  So I was not allowed to board the plane, but there was another plane due to the other city, whichever it was, so they would get me on that one.  But they couldn't, because they could not print a boarding pass.

  All this took a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, yelling and screaming, and agita of the highest order.  Not on the part of the United team, however.  They took it stoically.

  Finally, there were no more planes either coming or going, so someone came and got me and I spent another day in San Luis Obispo. On Monday, I was able to catch a flight which left SLO early in the morning and arrived in Philly at almost midnight. 

  The advantage of this epic drama were that my mind could not linger on the death of my husband, so filled was I with impotent rage at United airlines, San Luis Obispo,  and the State of California generally.

How the hospital killed my father.

  An item on instapundit's blog brought to mind what happened to my 99 year old father.

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/16/677054343/bleed-out-shows-how-medical-errors-

  He was hospitallized because he had had several episodes of losing consciousness.  It was determined that the solution woud be the inertion of a pacemaker so the blood would get to his brain. 

He had the surgery and was discharged from the hospital but got sick again.  Returned to the hospital, where it was discovered that he had been implanted with an infected pacemaker.  So they removed the pacemaker and inserted a new one.  The infection was still in his bloodstream, however, and they discovered that one of the valves in his heart was damaged.

  They decided that they would not or could not replace the valve.  The infection continued and he soon died.

  I know what you're going to tthink, because t thought the same myself:  he was 99 years old, and was lucky to have lived as long as he had.  We could  sue the hospital, for loss of earnings, perhaps? The whole idea was ludicrous.  Nevertneless, he was dead and he was my father.  I thought he had more mileage on him.  Before his recent fainting spells, he had been going to the gym, taking care of himself, and cooking dinner for himself and my stepmother.  He had his wits about him  And we were all sorry to lose hum.

  Could he have lived another year, or three, or ten?  Nobody knows.

  Some slob was careless, and someone died. 

  I asked my Uncle Max, who whas a doctor, "When did doctors start curing more people than they killed?"  He said it hadn't happened yet.

Me at 10.  I find it very hard to upload pictures on this computer.  This is a test.

Lone Republlcan

I joined the Republlican Jewish Coalition because I am the only Repupblican Jew I know, although I have subspicions about the rabbi.

  I was surprised and pleased to receive an invitation to a Chanukah party.  So I went.  I wanted to see a real-live Republican Jew. 

  There were a lot of them.  Most of them were couples, between 55 and 75, and very nice. Thei all pretty much knew each other.   Most from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.   No one from Delaware.  No young people.

  Where are the young people?  If we don't atttract young people, Republican Jews are going to become extinct. Or do the young have better things to do on Saturday night?

My late husband, in 1952, when he was 21, in the U S Army.

Miriuam the Killer

In general, I hate the animal kingdom, and all its members hate me.  Every kind of pest has invaded my space: raccoons, mice and now ants.  A deer almost wrecked my ccar a year or so ago, and squirrels keep eating the bulbs I plant. In general, everything smaller than an elephant is my enemy, and I sm theirs.

  I have ants!  Every year, in the Spring, they invade my house, and every year they are smaller.  The first year, I had normal size aints, about the size of a fly or a little bigger.  The next year, they were smaller.  Those that started the Winter--of all the nerve!--are even smaller.  I suppose that eventually they will be the size of microbes and I won't be able to see them.

  It really annoyed me that they came at this time of year; I consider it unsporting of them.  The antbaits I put out this past Spring are inoperative, and I can't find new ones  in the stores.

  So when I saw a few humdred of them creeping around my stovetop I was so enraged that I picked up the nearest spray can and pumped the contents all over them.  It happened to be Scrubbing Bubbles.  I poured it on all the surfaces of the kitchen, and lo and behold they were gone!  So I have discovered a non-poisonous antkiller. 

  Peace has been reigning for days now.  However, I used the bathroom adjoining the kitchen, and I saw one--just one--on the floor.  So I guess they will be coming back.

Macron criticizes nationalism

What a pygmy he is!  Criticizing the American Presidency but too gutless to mention the name Trump!

This is truly a cheap shot.  France is a mess, areas of Paris are No Go places because they are governed by either Muslims or criminals (But how can you tell the difference?). Cars are burned in the streets. Jews are attacked on the streets while just minding their business. A bit of national shame is in order.

  And they criticize us, who saved their country, spending our blood and treasure to insure that they lived another day to insult us.  They, who would not fight to save themselves but left it to others.

  I'm not defending Trump--he can take care of himself.   But Macron  has no right to try to shame the United States in the presence of our elected leader.  They are not fit to drink the water in which we wash our socks. 

  Just another smart-ass with an unwarranted sense of superiority to the crude Americans.

Curdling the milk of human kindness

I need a vacation from facebook.  I was surprised by my reaction.  I felt sick from all the hatred spewed by normally inteligent people.  The rancor against Trump could not be worse if he had been seen pulling the trigger dressed up in a Hitler uniform.  People want to remove him at once, throwing 200 plus years of orderly government in the dumper without reflection.   If such a thing took place, we could not get our system back.  Because we are pygmies.  We are not worthy of the government bequeathed to us by the founders.

  How did these people get the impression, no really the unshakable conviction, that Trump was a racist?  He is crude for sure.  He is not one to take an insult without fighting back.  His Tweets are apparently not dignified nor fitting for a statesman and the leader of the free world.  He should be above reacting to insults. So say his opponents.

  Then I remember George W Bush, a gentleman, who took the high road, affeciing not to notice the slanders hurled at him every day .He never defended himself.   It did not stop his opponents from calling him Bushitler among other nasty things.  Trump must have taken note of what happened to his aristocratic predecessor and refused to play the same game. 

  I hope the election results will discourage the democrats' rage and show them the way to improve their methods.  It would be nice to have a two-party system.

   

A tale of two Weiners

Believe it or not, there are two candidates named Weiner on the ballot in Delaware.  One is a boy and the other is a girl.  The girl spells her name differently.I thought the name was out of style.  After all, how many guys named Adolph do you know?

  I'm not comparing Anthony W with Hitler.  He was just a sex offender and ugly to boot.  Another mystery: How did he attract the lovely Huma?

  I guess they were both passionate about politics.

Senate bullfight

I was in New York City during the hearings, and everyone had their televisions blaring.  All New Yorkers, aka Democrats, were prejudiced against Trump's choice before they knew who wound be chosen.   Because Trump, you know.

  A standout in the crowd of picadors was Cory Booker.  Booker obviously sees himself as a sort of Obama manque, which is odd as no-one could be more manque than Obama.  He is so full of hot air that I expect to see him  floating toward the ceiling.  A few hat tricks, a baritone voice,  a censorious rhetorical style, and  a  Chicago-style way of dealing with opponents were all he had.  But they were enough to derail the country for eight full years.  

The stuff that's in the car @ the wreckers

You could probably reconstruct my life by analyzing the stuff that's left in my car, a car that's at the body shop waiting for the insurance company to approve its repair for $9,000.

  There's my handicap plates, and the handicap placard, and the cane I use from time to time to make everybody feel sorry for me, or to not fall down, whichever comes first.  I'm not allowed to fall downuntil I retreive these items. Of course I have a brush, comb and mirror, doesn't everyone?  in the console.  Also multiple lipsticks and a small bottle of hand cream, in case I have to wash my hands.  My electronic thingy that gets me into the Jewish Community Center and the bag containing my swimming stuff, including a clean towel, a bathing cap, and spare underwear.

  Another electronic gizmo that allows me to sign up at the gym and the gym bag, also with clean underwear and a towel.  And earphones, with wires to plug them in.  Then there's the cell phone charger that's always plugged into the car.  The EZ-Pass in case I want to drive somewhere.

  A couple of umbrellas and a sunshade for the car, also a snow shovel and a brush to clean off the windshield in case it snows.  I don't need that immediately, but will soon, because my scheme to open a GoFundMe account to buy a condo  in Florida hasn't had many takers.  I guess thee money is more urgently needed to pay the legal fees of crooked FBI officials.  Their GoFundMe accounts are flourishing.   Maps.  Coupons from Bed Bath and Beyond and many other retail establishments.