Arrrgh!!!

This evening, Dear Husband and I sat in the living room while we had a quick dinner. We were watching the news and there were two stories in particular that caught our attention.

First, at a Boeing plant in Pennsylvania, a Chinook helicopter going through final assembly was found to have cut wires. A second helicopter had a washer where it didn't belong. It gave me the chills to think that someone would willingly damage these helicopters, knowing that the crews who flew them might possibly die.

We both felt that this story was underplayed in the news. I checked for the story at CNN before I began writing tonight, and felt they had underplayed it as well. Perhaps there is a reason for this. It may be that they didn't have the details yet. They may have not wanted to speculate (although that doesn't seem to bother a lot of TV news departments these days). Perhaps Boeing was not willing to have their name splashed over the news for substandard products, although it was clearly an act of sabotage. They may have chosen to keep a lid on the story as security tries to determine what happened, and who might have had the opportunity to do the damage.

The second story was similar in a way, but was really one of local impact. Four or five students at a Chicago middle school vandalized the school. The news staff interviewed dozens of people from school staff and administration right up the chain of command to Mayor Daley. The school authorities have not decided just what will happen to these students, but there is discussion of expelling them from school.

Tables were turned over, books and papers thrown to the floor. Something was spread over, or ground into the carpet, and perhaps some equipment was damaged. All these things could be repaired.

If the students are expelled, just what does that mean? Will they be free to run around while the rest of the students finish out the last month of school? Will they be allowed to return to school next fall, and repeat the year, or do they have to find a way to finish the last semester on their own? I can see I really need to talk with my sister, Nan, who teaches kids "at risk." Her school provides kids with their last chance at a public education before they are asked to leave the system.

Dear Husband and I were of the opinion that in-school suspension, no extra-curricular activity, and time spent cleaning up either their mess, or other messes, would be a better choice than expulsion. By taking them out of an arena where they get any reinforcement for what they've done, and by making them work to repair damage, it would take the "fun" out of the rampage. Now would be a good time for these students to learn that you have to be responsible for your action.

Let me say that we are concerned that a story which has national impact received less coverage than this local story. While it occurred out of state, had the damage not been discovered, the sabotage would have increased our concerns about terrorism, and it could have had a global impact. Perhaps terrorists have found a subtle way to redirect our focus, forcing us to review all that we do. How can we know if we've hired a saboteur, or a patriot?

On the other hand, perhaps we need to focus on the local level. If we "nip it in the bud" as Barney Fife used to say, we might head off problems in the future. Could it be that once a kid finds he can hold a school district hostage, be goes on to bigger projects? Do saboteurs act to support a political ideology, or are they kids who were once vandals, looking for a bigger thrill.

I don't have the answers. As usual, I have a LOT of questions, but I certainly hope that those people who have chosen to work against society, be they child or adult, learn that you have to be responsible for your actions.

...for myself, yesterday. I had a mammogram, a dexa test, and a pap smear. I know....two of the most unpleasant tests women have to do, and I did them on the same day. But it went well. I had a radiation tech who really knew her business, and I think she may have taken just six "pictures." That I'm not sure of the number is a testament to how well she did.

Last year, I went to a different facility, and was roughly pulled around and smashed into position TEN TIMES!! I vowed never to go to that facility again. This time, I was in the same building as my doctor, just steps away from my next test. I think I may write a letter of commendation for the technician, because she did a phenomenal job.

Then, I had a visit with my doc, who did the pap smear. She is incredibly deft. I tend to dread this test because I've had doctors who apparently didn't know their anatomy, but this doctor is very good. I prefer having a woman do the test. I'm sure you know all the reasons. It seems to me that someone who has the same plumbing as I do, responds differently to this test than those who don't. I'm not guy-bashing. I am just more comfortable having a woman do the test.

The results won't be in for a bit. The tests have to be read, and then the results shipped to my doctor. Finally, someone from the office has to mail the information to me, so I don't expect to know the results for a couple of weeks. That's okay....I can wait.

I've scheduled fasting blood tests for both Elegante Mother and myself in June. I've been talking with Joy, at The Joy of Six, about weight loss and exercise, and how difficult it is to get yourself into the groove on things that will make your life better. I told her that I may use the coming blood tests as a focal point to try to improve my diet. Perhaps if I have a specific goal that isn't so overwhelming, I might have more success. We can hope!

And.....I had a tetanus shot! Since I'm playing around in the dirt, and Lord knows what's in that dirt after getting a new roof put on the house, and adding compost made elsewhere, it seemed like a good idea to get that shot.

Am I ready for summer? I sure hope so. At least I don't have those tests hanging over my head, and I can get on with things!

We've been having an amazing day! We rose fairly early, and Dear Husband and I put together a breakfast buffet for Elegante Mother and the two of us. It seemed to hit the spot; everyone left the table satisfied.

We gave the digital picture frame to EM and THAT was a hit! YES!! We explained that all my siblings could put together pictures of their families that could be played in this frame. *G* I can't wait for EM to start nagging them about the pictures! (chuckling) Meanwhile, she is sitting, watching the pictures waiting to see who comes up next.

It's rained heavily, and is still raining. So much water has accumulated at the south end of the herb garden that Mrs. Mallard is floating in the water. She could actually swim, if she didn't paddle too deeply! *G* The wind is whipping the trees around, and it's chilly. The wind seems to be from the northeast. The gutters are having trouble keeping up with the rain running off the roof. DH checked the sump pumps and one seems to be running a little slow, but we are still dry, and should continue to be so.

I'm going to fold some clothes and hang up most of our wardrobe, water the houseplants, and then I get to sew for several hours. I'm trying to get the blocks pieced for my second grand-daughter's baby quilt. there's nothing better than finishing a piecing project and getting it ready to be quilted! *S*

I hope you're all having a great day. For those of you who are mothers, Happy Mother's Day!

Ed's sitting in the curve of my arms as I type this. If there's an unusual number of typos, chalk it up to my communing with my cat...

Yesterday, I spent about three hours in the gardens along my driveway. I saw some weeds encroaching on my peonies that I knew had to be dealt with. Several years ago I used the lasagna method to reclaim the center section of the garden along the lower driveway. That bed is probably 60-70 feet long, and has three distinct sections. The center area is still rather bare, but I've got rudbekia, perovskia and some salvia started there. I believe that I will be transplanting more plants into it fairly soon. The north end of the bed needs weeding to kill off an infestation of Bouncing Bet, a plant that I put in the gardens years ago and can't seem to kill off, but there are day lilies, daffodils, iris, lamb's ears and more salvia settled in there.

The south end of the garden is really in disrepair. I had planted physostegia and echinnacea over two-thirds of it, but the physostegia has died out, and there are places where I have sumac, poison ivy, grapevine and some shrubby volunteers that I really don't want. I think I may transplant some of the purple coneflower to the center part of the bed, and move one beautiful meadow rue plant to a more shaded area, and then ask Dear Husband if he will help me take the rest back down to dirt.

Which brings to mind.... I called a local gardening company which is just getting established. I asked if it would be possible to hire gardening muscle for either a morning or an entire day. I need just one man, I think, to help lift lilies in mid-June. When the owner called back to talk to me he told me that the best he could do was two men for an entire day, complete with truck, trailer and tools for $800.00! HOLY COW!! I COULD put two men to work for a full day, but the price is simply outrageous. I hope DH will take this as a sign that my garden time is really valuable!

I think I will try calling a few other landscapers to see if they are willing to spare a laborer for half a day. I need someone who understands about lifting the iris with as little damage as possible, and once they have been lifted and stored where I can work on them in the shade, I want the soil amended so that I can replant. I could put someone to work for an entire day, but not for the first price I've been quoted. I hope there will be someone who wants the work.

I spent this morning raking up the weeds that I'd pulled on Friday. I sawed down a few branches on the pear tree that had died, and I used the weed-eater to clean out an area that is getting infested with weeds. I used the weed-eater around the edge of the front lawn gardens, and along the south side of the house. It made me run a bit late for the Red Hat ladies, but it was worth it to get it done. The next time out, I'll need to cut down volunteer shrubs and mulberries, perhaps on Monday.

It was good to get some of the cleanup done while the grounds were still moist and easy to work with. There's a lot left to be done, but I'm glad I made the start.

Mother's Day will be here in just a couple of hours. It's going to be a chilly, rainy day that we will spend inside, for the most part. Elegant Mother loves lobster. Unfortunately, her appetite is so small now that she can not eat an entire lobster tail at one sitting. We discovered that Red Lobster has smaller lobster tails, so we offered to take her there for dinner. One of my sisters will be joining us, so there should be something new added to our table talk.

It can be difficult to decide what to get Elegante Mother for Mother's Day. In the past we have resorted to gift certificates to book stores, to hobby stores, or to nurseries. Sometimes the gift is a day out, or a special meal on a weekend. This time we broke our own rule and bought her something electronic.

I was shopping on Thursday at a office supply store and found a variety of digital picture frames were available. The one I wanted, the simplest of those offered, had been sold out, but they were able to ship it to us from the warehouse the very next day. Voilà! Instant gift!

I purchased several flash drives on Thursday, and spent some time Friday night transferring pictures to them. One was Red Hat Lady pictures that I wanted to share with the Queen of our chapter. That was quite fortuitous, as they asked me to take pictures of everyone who attended the meeting today, so that we could create a photo book of our members. It will all fit on the same drive. I plan to repeat the picture taking next month, to try to get pictures of those who were absent today.

On the second drive, I'm going to collect all the shots I've taken of our exercise class over the past two years. I can take the flash drive to one of the pharmacies or discount stores and have a set of the pictures printed and put it into an album for our leader. I'm not a terribly good photographer, but I'd be happy to make copies of the prints for my classmates, if they wish.

And we come to that last flash drive. I selected a range of pictures from the family computer and moved them to the flash drive. I have more pictures on the office computer, but I'll have to shift those to a disk, and transfer them to the family computer because all the USB ports already have connections in the office. Who knew when we bought it that we would want more ports!??

The digital picture frame is very easy to use (once you get the power supply connected properly.) With the flash drive, it will hold tons of photos, and can be set to shift at a variety of speeds. Best of all, I can give others in my family flash drives to fill, and we can swap the drives every now and then so EM can see all of her family.

We plan to surprise her with it tomorrow. I'll make breakfast and plug the frame in while she's out of her sitting room. I can show her the on/off button. It's all she needs to know! *G* I hope it's a hit!.