What's the deal?

.

For many of the Lions Clubs in the United States tomorrow and Saturday are White Cane Days. In many communities across the country, folks in gold or purple vests will be standing in front of banks, post offices, supermarkets, and in some places even blocking intersections while they hand out small white canes. Of course there are some Lions Clubs who aren't going to let anyone tell them when to have White Cane Days and will do it some other time.
What this is about, though, is that many non-Lions are under the impression that the Lions are selling these little canes. That's not the case. The Lions are promoting Sight Conservation. The Lions are doing their best to create an awareness that there is much that can be done to prevent blindness. That what White Cane Days is about.
The Lions Clubs aren't averse to accepting donations while they are distributing the White Canes and it is important that everyone know that those funds collected are used exclusively by the local Lions Clubs in their community for Sight Conservation activities such as, but not necessarily limited to, eye examinations and purchasing glasses.
So if someone in a Lions vest approaches you with a little White Cane, please accept it and don't worry if you can't make a contribution because wearing that White Cane is what the Lions want you to do.

Well, I fixed it

.

It's only temporary because, according to Blogger, the old post editor is "going away soon."
Don't get me wrong. There a number of things I like about the Updated editor. I just can't think of what they are right now. What I really don't like about it is the photo uploading process... or I should say the photos are only pretending to upload.
The only encouraging thing is I'm not the only one having these very same difficulties... go look at the help forum... so this will probably be fixed someday.
What's really mind boggling to me is I took so long to actually change back to the Old editor. It's true it took some time to figure out how. What I mean is I had some patience and actually gave the Updated editor a chance. That seems so out of character.

now if I can only
get Thunderbird
to connect to my
email server

I am having a heckuva time

.

I switched to the new Blogger posting thingamahootchie the other day... at their suggestion. Now I am unable to directly upload photos images from my hard drive.
That's not exactly right. The process starts okay. The problem is that it doesn't stop... at least not in any kind of reasonable amount of time.
I have found a workaround, but hope it's only temporary. I really dislike having to upload to one place to download to another. It has really put a crimp on postings to the blog that has yet to be renamed.

maybe I should forget the pictures?

So Suldog said

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If you look back a couple of days, you will note that I posted about another dentist visit. In terns of dentist visits this was almost painless. I did get a cramp when I reached for my checkbook. As it turned out, I never did see the dentist because no further adjustments to the appliances prostheses are necessary. I only visited with the hygienist and then we ended up talking about computers more than anything else.
Anyway... earlier today Suldog commented that, If I could get pictures from my dental adventures of the last year, we could each post some and let the blogosphere  decide "Whose Mouth Is Nastier?" I'm sure he's talking about how they look, because if he means language, I'm not going there. I worked too hard to clean up that part of my act.
I have found the before picture. It's not from the dentist. I may eventually access their photos, but this one will do for now.
So, Jim, whenever you're ready I have it already to post.

it sounded like a
challenge ...or a dare
they always seem
to get me in trouble

It's easier than writing my own

.

So here's a link to a grammar blog that Blogger saw fit to make a Blog of Note.

day off, or off day?

Another

.

I didn't know that Thomas turned 65.

He doesn't look a day over...

...what?
nine?

I may get the hang of the new editor... someday!

I didn't know

.

If I Didn't read other blogs, I never would've found out that today is special.

Celebrate the seventh annual
National Punctuation Day®
September 24, 2010

Find out all about it here.

then come back and
tell the rest of us

Checked my email

.

Found this.



She's grounded

until she's 18

Guess where I went this morning

.

That's right!
I went to the dentist. Now I don't have to go back again until next time.

Oh!
My next appointment isn't until next year. It seems strange. For the first time in over a year I don't have a dentist appointment for some time in the next week or so.

I did get invited back for birthday cake next Monday, but that's optional.

hope they don't forget
what I look like

What?

.
I posted some music here yesterday... well after the original post.
Sometimes my posts work that way. I keep thinking of stuff I want to add.
Surely you didn't think I planned any of this ahead of time? I only do that over at the other place, which, by the way still has no entries for the renaming contest.

o0o

If you have a chance visit Suldog's blog today and have a chance to win a book by posting the random name of any comedian who's appeared in more than one movie.... or something like that.

probably not Phyllis Diller

Hey kids, what day is it?

.
That's right!
It's an anniversary... the third anniversary of the day I discovered this.
Well, I won't hold you here any longer. Go along. Have a good time.

Listen Here

Aaaaaargh?

Reactivated?

.

My blogging friend, the Brighton Pensioner, has at least temporarily started posting again to Les Levandes. If you haven't had an opportunity before, go all the way back to the beginning and read the entire blog from the beginning. It's really quite good... and interesting, too.

...unlike the gibberish
you might find here

I was tagged by Suldog

This post has been removed at the request of

that's my story
and I'm sticking to it

Still playing...

P.

The Anderson Lions have replaced a fundraising event, which we depended upon a great deal, with a brand new, different activity.
The original event mostly involved providing labor... and really meant we had to have warm bodies... to secure a reserved parking area. The organizers then made a donation to the club's charity account, which the club, in turn, used to provide services to the community.
The new activity involves just a little more. Lions are selling Community Birthday Calendars with advertising on them. We've been relatively successful, considering none of us is particularly enamored of approaching folks to sell them something... or even ask for donations. Besides asking for ads it is also necessary to sell the calendars. The hook for that is advance purchasers may list up to four dates during the year to be printed on the calendar. Most folks pick birthdays or anniversaries. Anyway, this all involves a bunch of Lions gathering a lot of information before a deadline. Then turning it in at almost the last moment for one person, who is slightly more proficient in the use of a PC, to prepare for sending to the calendar maker. The calendar maker has been good enough to provide software which assists the info specialist.
There is only one minor difficulty. The software was designed to work with almost any Windows operating system except Vista. Guess who is the info specialist and who has Vista. Anyhow I booted up the laptop with Windows XP and did all of the input. I won't say how long it took, but the members had all of August to sell more ads and calendars. I hate don't like using the XP laptop. I think it's the flat, narrow keyboard... that and the fact that I'm not a really proficient typist. Anyhow I spent most of the day yesterday keyboarding and double checking information. In fact I am still verifying information and waiting to receive some more ads.
What fun!

at least it's keeping
me off the streets

Playing catch up

.

You might imagine there is a lot one has to do when one returns from what amounted to a month long road trip. Sure, we were home four days during August, but two of them were spent running around dealing with vehicle issues.
Well, we have been home two weeks and it looks like maybe finally all... or most of the little things and big things have been dealt with.
Somehow, though, I did manage to totally ignore the fact that I had a board meeting I was supposed to attend at the senior center. If I had turned on my cell phone its calendar feature would have reminded me that I was missing it. That's handy!

Much of the last two weeks has been spent preparing Lions Club stuff... even to the point of the club having a budget meeting last week.
Tonight we have a full agenda and a guest speaker. I am only guessing, but it will probably be a long evening.

Don't forget to enter the Name the Blog Contest we instituted last week. I still haven't determined what the prize will be.

How long should I leave a link to another blog over on the sidebar when nothing has been posted?

your input is
important to us

Old habits

.
A friend recently retired. She has still been been working, but under entirely different circumstances so that she has the freedom to pick and choose when she will work. She commented that she was really "too busy to spend this much time at work." I can relate. I had much more free time when I was employed full time.

o0o

A blogger friend is quitting smoking. He is actually posting about it on his blog... kind of keeping a journal. I'm not sure I could do that. Oh, I already quit smoking. I mean keep a journal about trying to stop. That would just bring it to mind every time I wrote. Heck! I probably couldn't keep a journal anyway because my mind's so darn squirrely. Grandma Skip and I sort of discussed the quitting thing and concluded that it's probably almost impossible if you enjoy the cigarettes.

o0o

About the only holdover from when I was working that I still have is rising early. That is it's early compared to... what? Let's just say that 7am is sleeping in. Not setting an alarm is a luxury that I have enjoyed tremendously.

6:01am this morning, ok?
yeah, I looked at the clock

Dang II

.

No strikethrough today.
I had only heard rumors, but yesterday it became official. The first of the Christmas holiday displays was out. The store, a major big box retailer, had only hinted prior to this by increasing the toys from one to three aisles. But yesterday, right next to the two aisles of Halloween crap merchandise, was a Santa and who knows what else.
Thus, I have move the friendly reminder (stolen from Suldog) from the bottom of the blog to a prominent spot on the immediate left.

let's blame it on
global warming

Dang!

.

You may be a little curious about the strikethrough in the title of this post.
It's because I am just a tad irritated. No I'm not. I'm a lot irritated. I am irritated at the inconsiderate grommets who fail to take proper care of grocery baskets when they have finished unloading them.
In the last 13 years I have had two vehicles, a '97 Ford Ranger pickup that I just sold in July and a '06 Honda Accord that is arguably the best car I've ever had. I have been careful with these vehicles... and Grandma Skip's Mustang. However, the grommets in the parking lot have caused me some grief. What really irritates me is that has been the same parking lot on each occasion.
The first time it was the Ranger that was bitten by the shopping cart. I was minding my own business, almost on the street, when out of the corner of my eye I spied a cart, that some fool had turned loose, rolling toward the truck. I managed to dodge most of it, but the cart clipped the right rear taillight and managed to break the lens. The second occasion was within a month after we'd bought the Honda. I came out of the store and found that another cart had been set free among the unsuspecting vehicles and had selected mine to come to rest against the right rear quarter panel, leaving a fairly obvious (to me) dimple. Then today, just a little while ago, some clown, rather than return their cart to the cart return corral, decided that it was okay to just shove it to the front of the parking space between their vehicle and the Honda. Only they did a poor job of steering and managed to scrape paint from the left front fender, leaving an obvious scratch.
I'd like to say I have learned my lesson and won't go back to said store. That's probably not going to happen. I will, however, probably visit less often, even if it means spending a little more. What I'd really like to do is get my hands on the grommets. They're the ones who make life miserable for others.
Oh, just substitute Ding for the title.

...and a certain seven
letter word beginning
with 'A' and ending
with 'E' for grommet

I forgot

.

Tuesday I had a dentist appointment.
Wednesday I had a dentist appointment.
They were even semi-related to one another... the appointments, not the dentists.

Tuesday's was with the guy who planted the posts that my lowers latch onto so they don't flop around. They took a bunch of pictures and congratulated themselves on the wonderful job. They want me back again in a year.

Wednesday's was with the dentist who does all of the grunt work... like making sure everything fits. We spent more time talking about getting lost in Milwaukee and touring South Dakota than we did talking about my mouth. Even at that, she managed to find something she wasn't happy with and made another minor adjustment. I go back again in two weeks. Then two weeks after that I see the hygienist.

vacations are more fun

Are you ready for some football?

.

It is time once again to confuse those who do not necessarily follow professional sports too closely.
Thursday the 2010 NFL campaign begins in N'awlins, where the defending champion Saints will meet the Minneapolis Lakers Minnesota Twins Vikings, led by Father Time Brett Favre.
It is easy to get confused this time of year because so many things come together. In some communities it is almost time for midterm examinations; Major League Baseball is just now beginning to get interesting; NBA is gearing up for it's 2011 season; Colleges have already started; NHL can't be far behind; and stores have Christmas stuff out.
I'm sorry if I sound a little miffed. I like my sports one at a time, my holidays, too. So let's finish up baseball (and do it in early October for gosh sakes). Let's celebrate the holidays in order... starting with Admission Day (California joined the U.S. in 1849) tomorrow, then Halloween, Veteran's Day, etc.

maybe you
can fix stupid?

Something else we saw

.

Virtually every state we traveled, except Nevada, had miles and miles of cornfields and most of them had soybeans and sunflowers. We did see grain fields in South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana and there were potatoes in Idaho. Here in California we saw rice, tomatoes, sunflowers, alfalfa and the ubiquitous corn. We also saw some wildlife. A groundhog wandered across the brother in law's patio while we were there and there were a bunch of prairie dogs watching us drive through the badlands. A second coyote acted extremely put out when we passed it on the road in Idaho. In addition there was livestock galore, mostly cattle and horses, with a few goats along the way.
I'm sure we probably missed something, but at 70... or more... miles per hour that happens.

the groundhog saw
his shadow but it
had no effect

A contest

.

Not here, over here.

It's what bloggers do
when they don't have
any original ideas

Out the door early

.

Once more it's the first Sunday and time for the Community Breakfast at the Frontier Senior Center. That's not why Grandma Skip and I rushed home, but it is why I was up at 5:30am and fumbling with the alarm clock so it wouldn't go off and wake her up. My fumbling was unsuccessful, though I at least reduced the alarm to static instead of the annoying beeping sound.
That is also why this post comes so late in the day. By the time we were finished I didn't get home until after noon and I was beat. I sat in my favorite chair and promptly fell asleep while trying to read the recent issue of The Economist.

other than that
there's nothing
to report

Westward ho!

.

From Rapid City, where we stayed the night... and found a really neat restaurant, too... we drove back into the Black Hills to see Crazy Horse and then followed Spearfish Canyon north to join up with I-90 again to head for Billings, Montana. We were running late so we didn't stop to see the Custer Battlefield, but we did cross the Little Bighorn River three times.
At Billings we found another neat restaurant and were rained upon again.
From Billings we drove in the rain to Livingston and then south through Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park to Jackson, Wyoming, where we weren't really all that interested in where we ate.
I will post photos over on the blog which has yet to be renamed.

yes, I am fully aware
that there is no
rhyme or reason
to the chronology
of the posts here
...so what?

That was fun

.

We should plan another trip...
Oh, yeah!
That's right. We're driving to Seattle toward the end of October. We'll see the grandkids, their parents and the granddog. Then we will see a couple of the same folks we saw in Michigan last month. Sounds like a long time ago, huh?
We won't be taking the Mustang this time. There's more room in in the other car and no temptation to put the top down.

something else is
in the works, too

Catching up

.

One of the joys of driving across the country is that the time zones slip upon us slowly. Thus, there's no jet lag. Sleep is one less thing we have to catch up with.
On the other hand, there is a huge stack of mail to sort through, laundry to sort through and then there are the pictures... and ultimately the question, "Why did I take that one?"
Looking through our photos, it appears we did things at a relatively leisurely pace until we reached South Dakota, where we seemed to visit every little spot available. I assure you, we did not. Otherwise we'd probably still be on the other side of the Missouri River. We did visit the Badlands, which are directly off the freeway and only require about two and a half hours to view... unless rock climbing is of interest. About the only wildlife seen there were prairie dogs, which look like rats with furry tails. The one drawback to entering the Badlands while heading in a westerly direction is that the exit is in the town of Wall, home of the notorious Wall Drug. There are all manner of signs, all along the Interstate... and elsewhere... advising of the approach to Wall and what is available (you name it).











I'm fairly certain that the mileage on this sign is incorrect

We managed to refrain from any purchases, partaking only of the free ice water. There's no limit. From there, it is only a relatively short distance to Rapid City and the Black Hills.
Still on the same day we scurried off to Mt Rushmore because we'd been told the lighting ceremony was worth seeing. What we weren't told was that there is a speech, then a movie, then a flag lowering ceremony before the thing gets lit up. After a long wait, we found that out and decided to forgo the lighting ceremony because the weather was just a wee bit uncooperative.

The rest of the trip we limited ourselves to fewer attractions.

yeah, I'd do it again

Home

.

That's it... we're home... it's hot!

What I've learned

.

Let's see. Today is day 23 of our little journey.* I have grown to greatly appreciate being able to brew a full pot of coffee when I awake in the morning... I appreciatr it even more when Grandma Skip makes it. I appreciate having instant connection to the Internet. I really appreciate having my clothing either hanging in a closet or in a chest of drawers. I've come to appreciate that some people's dogs are better behaved that other's children... but they still bark. I have really learened to appreciae that some places mark their roads and highways well... others don't. Mattresses and pillows... what can I say about them without sounding like a chronic complainer?

it's a negative free zone ...right?

*I calculated that it has been 5124 miles so far