The Babbling Brooks

It's Very Sad...

but it explains a lot about how Senator Obama was elected. I wish Senator Obama only the best throughout his administration. Our country needs a great leader. But I think we are in for a rough ride. Our economy, our security, and our traditions are at stake. Click HERE to see what I'm talking about. It doesn't bode well for our future that so many of our citizens are so uninformed. I'm not saying that everyone that voted for Senator Obama was uninformed. I know there are those that believe in his value system and his economic policies. I truly hope that I am wrong and some of you will be telling me, "I told you so", in a few years.  

Detour!

The plan was that today we'd be somewhere in northern California. We left our friends in Kent (Washington) yesterday morning. We were to stop at Brad's in Orting to pick up Legend's birthday gifts, stop at Corki's to leave her bottle of huckleberry wine and Susan's "montana jam", then go to Portland (Oregon) where we'd have lunch with Johns siblings. After visiting there, we'd drive to southern Oregon and spend the night. We'd have 5 days before we were expected in St. George and we figured we'd just take our time, maybe visit Chris in Sacramento and the Sumners in Nevada City. The plan lasted all of 20 minutes into the day. As we pulled out of Brad's driveway John said he was feeling a tug to go home to Montana for a few days instead of heading south. It took me about 2 seconds to agree and we turned east instead of south :) Chinook Pass was still open so we headed that way and were treated to a beautiful day on Mt. Rainier!

    

So here we are at home! John is in town getting the mail and a few groceries and then is going flying. I'll be wrapping the birthday gifts and catching up on a few other things. We'll be leaving Thursday morning for St. George! 

Help Someone in Need...

Do you know a family that could use some help this Christmas? 

You can nominate them to receive giftsfrom Five Minutes for Mom. The same site that is sponsoring all the Christmas Giveways (see below) are sponsoring Under The Tree giveaways. The companies providing the prizes for the Christmas Giveaways are also donating prizes that will be given to specific families that have been chosen from among those nominated. If you know someone you'd like to nominate, click the link below and enter. Be sure to read the instructions before leaving your nomination. You will be posting in a place that is accessed by the public, so they ask that you not leave names, etc...Thanks!

 

Christmas Giveaways Galore!

Ready to win some amazing gifts for Christmas??? Five Minutes for Mom has a slew of prizes they're giving away. To enter any or all of the drawings click below, follow the directions, and watch your e-mail that says you're a winner. Good luck!

Happy Birthday, Lynn!

  

We shared dinner at Salty's on Redondo Beach yesterday with Lynn and Arthur to celebrate Lynn's birthday. It was a great meal and great company...Happy Birthday, Lynn!

 

Legend Loves Ribs!

And why, you may be asking, would I bring this up now? Because I am entering a Fun With Food Photo Contest and I couldn't pass up the chance to win some groceries! I'll let you know if I make the finals! Just look at that smile...bet it makes you want to eat some ribs! 

Now...Go Do The Right Thing!

I had a good time today. John took me to lunch at my favorite place, The Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue (WA). I don't even like cheesecake, but they have a great menu. Most of the time I order my favorite dish. Today I looked at the menu and was going to choose something else, but when our server came to take our order...I caved! Fish tacos,again! Fresh grilled fish with spicy cabbage, fresh salsa, and spicy avocado cream in warm corn tortillas. Yum!! After we finished I went to the ladies room and waited in line (of course, it's a ladies room...there's always a line). And who should come out of the stall announcing, "This one isn't flushing!" It's.....Dr. Laura! I was 99% percent sure it was her, but she was even tinier than I thought. She went over to the sinks and when I saw her backside, I knew for sure. There it was...Harley Davidson in rhinestones and sequins on the back of the jacket and the seat of her pants. I didn't want to create a fuss, so I just gave her a knowing smile as she passed by on the way to the door. We made a stop at The Container Store for a few items, then headed to the Will Call window at the Meydenbauer Center to pick up our tickets for the one-woman show, "In My Never To Be Humble Opinion" starring...Dr. Laura!

   

 We both enjoyed the show very much. She introduced the infamous Benjamin Pratt who does the music on her radio show and he was just as good with her stage show as he is on the radio. She read and talked about some of the e-mails and stories people send her. She shared stories about herself and she answered questions from the audience. No, you didn't have to stand up or raise your hand or ask in front of a crowd. They collected the questions on cards before the show began so that it was completely anonymous...unless maybe you happened to recognize that the person you were with probably wrote that question! This is the last stop for this show. I'm not sure how long she's been doing it, but she is retiring this one and preparing for a new one.

 

 

See ya!

I'll catch this up when I can, hopefully in the next few days. We are leaving in the morning to see Dr. Laura in Bellevue, WA on Saturday and visit family and friends for a week. After that we'll be heading to St. George for Legend's birthday and Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to those Grandma hugs and kisses! I'm off to bed...6:00 is almost here!

Election Day 2008

 So how was your day? Did you vote? John and I arrived at the polls before 6:00 this morning to get things set up for voting. We attended Election Judge training at the county courthouse about 3 weeks ago and were scheduled to work till 2:00 this afternoon. It was a great experience and it was good to see that citizens here in northwest Montana take their vote seriously. We had some voters that belong in other precincts show up where we were working and we had to send them elsewhere, most of them had to go to outlying towns. There was a handful of voters who thought they could come in today, fill out a new voter registration and vote in this election...not in Lincoln County...unless you go to the courthouse in Libby where they could then vote a provisional ballot. They were disappointed, but it was encouraging to see that about half of them said they'd go to Libby to vote today. That's a 140 mile round trip and...it was snowing today. I spent most of the day recording voter names in the ballot book, assigning a ballot number, and making sure that ballot got to the correct voter. That was a great place for me. In a place like the Tobacco Valley you see people over and over again...at the grocery store, at the post office, at their employment place and this gave me a chance to put some names with some faces. I even met a few neighbors (from Gateway) that I hadn't met before!

     

It snowed off and on all day. Looks like winter is starting to arrive. This is the first snow of the season in the valley, even though we've been watching it snow on the mountain tops for a few weeks. Here's what our new grass looked like when we got home...

  

Tonight....I'm tired! Looks like it's early to bed!

 

Glass Wind Chimes

My grandma had a pretty little glass wind chime when I was little. I thought it had a magical sound and loved it! So I got my own, but that was several years ago and the fishline strings finally got too weak and a couple of the glass pieces fell and broke. I need a new one! Well, here's a chance to win one at The Post-It Place. If you'd like to win, click HERE and leave a comment. Yep, some of those bloggy giveaways are still going on and this is one of them, sign up by Friday for this one. I had no idea there were so many things being given away on blogs. I have a whole new list of places to check now! 

Memo to Barack Obama #5

Have you put this information out to the citizens of Virgina, Pennsylvania, Ohio...you know, those places where they mine coal? The coal that keeps thousands of people employed, the coal with which millions of people heat their homes, the coal from which much of the nations energy is currently produced...Just in case they haven't heard here it is....in your own words...

 

Oh, sorry Senator Obama, this particular clip doesn't include the last part of your statement...you know, that part about how our electric rates are going to skyrocket as a result of your energy policies. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it in your own voice.

This is unbelievable!

I guess I missed this rally! He's promising what???????

 

Do people really believe this stuff?

Memo to Barack Obama #4

According to your campaign messages I am getting closer to being "rich" every day!

You said that everyone making less than $250,000 per year would be getting a tax cut, you were only going to raise the taxes of "rich" Americans. Then you said that everyone making less than $200,000 per year would be getting a tax cut, you were only going to raise the the taxes of "rich" Americans. Then your running mate, Senator Biden, said everyone making less than $150,000 per year would be getting a tax cut, you were only going to raise the taxes of "rich" Americans. Then Governor Bill Richardson who is on the campaign trail for you said that everyone making less than $120,000 per year would be getting a tax cut, you were only going to raise the taxes of "rich" Americans.

So my question to you, Senator Obama, is what will be your definition of "rich" tomorrow? I'm really wanting to know just whose wealth it is that you want to "spread around".

I'll be listening to see if I've made it into the "rich" category!

Memo to Barack Obama #3

I'll bet you didn't watch the Mike Huckabee special on Fox News today. As a matter of fact I'm sure you missed it, so I'd like to bring your attention to what he heard when talking with a high school student. She likened your "spread the wealth around" idea to her experience as a student. Let's say she's a hard worker. She studies hard and makes good grades. She and some other hard working students got an "A" grade on their last test. There's some students in her class who didn't work very hard, probably didn't study at all. They received a "D" grade. But hey! The teacher thought that wasn't really fair. So she took part of the "A" grades from the hard working students and gave it to the students who received the "D" grades. Voila! Everyone gets a "C". Oh yeah......that's fair!

The Great Bloggy Giveaway Carnival....

There were almost 1500 giveaways in the carnival this week. My eyes and typing digits are just about about worn out reading and entering contests, but it's been a lot of fun. I hope to participate with my own giveaway next time now that I know about it. Most of the contests have ended and the drawings have started. I've already been notified of 2 wins!! I'll keep them to myself for now in case I win any more in the next day or two and then I'll let you in on what I've won. For now, let's suffice it to say that one 6 year old boy I know is going to be a happy camper!!

NOTE: As of today (Nov. 17th), I have removed most of the posts regarding this carnival since the links were no longer good and most of those giveaways have been awarded. Watch for the next Carnival at the end of January!

Happy Halloween!

Have a boo-tiful day and a haunting evening!                       

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

courtesy of Dr. Laura (We're going to her one woman show on November 8th!) 

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

SARAH PALIN:  Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.

BARACK OBAMA:  The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN:  My friends that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:  When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road.  But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH:  We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY:  Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL:  Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON:  I did not cross the road with that chicken.  What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:  I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY:  Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions.  I am not for it now and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON:  Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL:  The problem we have here is that this chicken doesn’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH:  Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE:  That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:  To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:  No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going.  I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level.  No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS:  Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA:  In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:  Isn’t that interesting?  In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:  It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:  Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:  I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook.  Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:  Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS:  Did I miss one?

Unofficial State Mottos

Time for a little levity...I got this from the Koocanusa News which we find around town on restaurant tables, grocery stands, etc. It's a free flyer full of fun facts and stories. Being a former resident of Washington State, #47 is my favorite cause it is oh so true. WARNING: You are about to enter a politically incorrect zone.....

1. Alabama: Hell, Yes...We Have Electricity.
2. Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong.
3. Arizona: It's A Dry Heat.
4. Arkansas: Literacy Ain't Everythang.
5. California: Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.
6. Colorado: Don't Ski? Don't Bother.
7. Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only Smaller.
8. Delaware: We Like The Chemicals In Our Water.
9. Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids.
10. Georgia: We Put The Fun In Fundamentalist Extremism.
11. Hawaii: Welcome Mainland Scum, Leave Your Money.
12. Idaho: More Than Just Potatoes. Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Good.
13. Illinois: Please Don't Pronounce The "S".
14. Indiana: 2 Billion Years and Tidal Wave Free.
15. Iowa: We Do Amazing Things With Corn.
16. Kansas: First Of The Rectangle States.
17. Kentucky: Five Million People, Fifteen Last Names.
18. Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos.
19. Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster.
20. Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It!
21. Massachusetts: Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's.
22. Michigan: First Line of Defense From The Canadians.
23. Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes and 10 Zillion Mosquitos.
24. Mississippi: Come Visit and Feel Better About Your State.
25. Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work.
26. Montana: Land of the Big Sky, the Unabomber, Right-Wing Crazies, and Honest Elections.
27. Nebraska: Ask About Our State Motto Contest.
28. Nevada: Hookers and Poker!
29. New Hampshire: Go Away and Leave Us Alone.
30. New Jersey: I Got Yer ##S%##! Motto Right Here!
31. New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent Pets.
32. New York: You Have The Right To Remain Silent, But No Right To Self Defense.
33. North Carolina: Tobacco Is A Vegetable.
34. North Dakota: We Really Are One of the Fifty States!
35. Ohio: At Least We're Not Michigan.
36. Oklahoma: Like The Play, But No Singing.
37. Oregon: Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner.
38. Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal.
39. Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island.
40. South Carolina: Remember the Civil War? Well, We Didn't Actually Surrender, Yet!
41. South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota.
42. Tennessee: Home of the Al Gore Invention Museum.
43. Texas:Se Habla Ingles.
44. Utah: Our Jesus is Better Than Your Jesus.
45. Vermont: Too Liberal for the Kennedys.
46. Virginia: Where Government Stiffs and Slackjaw Yokels Mix.
47. Washington: Our Governor Can Out-Fraud Your Governor.
48. West Virginia: One Big Happy Family...Really!
49. Wisconsin: Come Cut the Cheese!
50. Wyoming: Where Men Are Men and the Sheep Are Scared.

Memo to Barack Obama #2

You, Senator Obama, and your socialist ideas are a threat to this country.  "Spread the wealth around" and "redistributing" sound a lot like....."From each according to his ability, To each according to his need." Karl Marx was wrong, too.

 

Happy Anniversary...

to Chris and Yvette! Wish we could be there to help you celebrate...we love you!

Helmar USA.....Call for Design Team!

Helmar Adhesives of Australia is expanding their market into North America and is looking for design team members in the USA and Canada. My friend, Tracy, has been on their team and done many projects for them that have been used in advertising and at trade shows. She has been named VP of Sales and Marketing and is helping put together this design team. You can get all the information and learn how to apply on her blog at Treasure the Moments . Good luck! 

Governor Sarah Palin as Commander In Chief

I received the following information in an e-mail. I don't like to pass along information that can't be verified, so I did a little searching. This was first posted in a discussion forum on www.hannity.com . I was able to verify the information given in the first 3 questions as being completely correct and given that those are true...it follows that the other 2 would also be correct. So with that said I am sharing this here. I think it says volumes about the experience and competence of Sarah Palin and her ability to become Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces if it were necessary. 

(start of post from forum)

Question: What is America's first line of missile interceptor defense that protects the entire United States ?
Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard.

Question: What is the ONLY National Guard unit on permanent active duty?
Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard

Question: Who is the Commander in Chief of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

Question: What U.S. governor is routinely briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counter terrorism?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

Question: What U.S. governor has a higher classified security rating than either candidate of the Democrat Party?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.

(end of discussion from forum)

Let's not forget that Governor Palin has executive experience as head of a personnel system employing thousands of people and managing a budget of billions of dollars. The woman is smart. She is strong and she knows how to get things done. I'm not the least bit worried that she could find herself in the position of leading America. Are you???

It's Hunting Season

 

So we went hunting today with our cameras. We were pretty successful and found a herd of mule deer up on the slopes on the east side of the valley. This is my favorite photo of the day. We also saw some elk, but they were hiding themselves in the trees and we couldn't get a really good photo. As we were driving back we spotted some turkeys, but they were moving really fast to get into the tall grass.

John's new toy.....

     

There's a snowplow that attaches to the front, so he's all set for winter. He'll be able to plow our road up to Mountain Dreams himself from now on. And, conveniently, he'll now be able to ride in the woods with the rest of the boys.

Oh, Canada....

Yesterday we went for a drive north into Canada to see the fall colors and went to Cranbrook for lunch. The photo was taken near Fort Steele, British Columbia. We stopped in a jam-packed antique/second-hand store and poked around. Came out with some fun items...an old steel lunchbox in great shape (which will make a fun storage box for something!), a couple of hand tools for John, some old mercury glass Christmas ornaments, a four-paned window that is going to become a picture frame for pictures of the four grandsons, and a few other odd items...it was fun! Our friend, Elaine, has been here all week visiting so we got to enjoy her company, too!