Barb’s Blog » Archive for October 2008
The Best Part
Even though I loved showing John my part of the world, and even though we both enjoyed all the places we visited, the best part for the both of us was finally meeting face to face after 9 years chatting on the web. I have to say, John was a good sport from the moment he got off the airplane – from being whisked to Times Square, to riding in a car for four hours with 4 crazy gals, to putting up with my nuthouse. He’s quite a guy. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Walks With John
Being John’s last full day, and having walked nearly as far as our legs would allow us, we spent it close to home, but again walking. Anyone who knows me even a little, knows that I love to walk and use this time for thinking, and when walking with someone, sharing thoughts. So we walked up the church road, Jacobsville Park, and one of the best thinking places I know, Kinder Farm Park. I think we were … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Annapolis
Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and a very pretty and historic city. We decided to go for a look. John enjoyed all of the buildings, brick work, and even some maple pecan fudge. In 1694, soon after the overthrow of the Catholic government of the lord proprietor, Sir Francis Nicholson moved the capital of the royal colony there and named the town Annapolis after Princess Anne, soon to be the Queen of Great … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
We took a day to do some shopping for John’s boys, Jeff and Jamie. We went to Annapolis Mall to a shop called Zumiez. We found a few items exclusive to that store and not available in Australia. While in the area, I thought it would be a good time to just quickly cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It is a remarkable structure over a body of water that means so much to Maryland. I just … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Harpers Ferry
Naturally I had to take John to one of my most favorite places on earth, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Harpers Ferry is wedged between the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and bounded on the west by Bolivar Heights. Not long after the descendants of Europeans pushed their way through the Harpers Ferry Gap, it became apparent that this site was no ordinary place. Robert Harper, a Philadelphia builder, gave the community its name. He settled there sometime between … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Maryland Renaissance Festival
I have long wanted to go to the Renaisaance Festival, but for one reason or another, I never got to go. While still in Australia and his trip still in the planning stages, it ended up that Maryland’s RenFest was one of the items that helped decide when John would come. He asked me to pick a weekend of my choice, and he planned his trip around October 18th, as I chose Chivalry Weekend. Out of all … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Shenandoah Valley
Jim and Chris invited John and I to the Shenandoah Valley Long Branch Hot Air Balloon & Wine Festival . They also held a car show. So after being in a few cities, off to the mountains we went. On the way there, we made a stop around Harpers Ferry, and with Heather leading the way, we scaled down a hill to the waters below. The view was beautiful with Harpers Ferry in the distance. The girls climbed a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Washington D.C.
John and I went with Laura, Heather, Tom, Chris and Baby Cameron to Washington D.C. First leg of the journey was to hop on the metro, which seemed to excite Cameron. First stop was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History… The museum’s collections total over 125 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts, making it the largest such museum anywhere. It is the second most popular of all of the Smithsonian museums … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Maryland Zoo
I owed Miquel a trip to the zoo and John also wanted to see the zoo in Baltimore. I was happy that Laura joined us. Rhinos hold a special place to John and I, so it was fun to see two of them nuzzling. Laura taking a photo of the elephants. It was feeding time at the giraffes. The three of them that I was happy to take to the zoo. They all made the day special for me. And I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Baltimore National Aquarium
After doing some quick food shopping at Giant, (out of milk) we went to Baltimore’s National Aquarium . The aquarium has a collection of 16,500 specimens of 660 different species. Particular attractions include the dolphin display, rooftop rainforest, and central ray pool, and multiple-story shark tank. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is widely considered to be one of the best in the United States. We went around a few times, including the Australian section. The dolphin show is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
National Zoo in Washington D.C.
John is a docent at Perth Zoo , so it was only natural that we visit the National Zoo in Washington D.C. and we have plans to visit Maryland Zoo another day. The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo and was founded in 1889. We visited the163 acre (0.7 km²) zoo arriving to a very full parking lot around 11:00 am. We didn’t leave until 6:30, where John got to see a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Roadside America & Amish Country
From New York City, which is one extreme, to the hills of Pennsylvania to Roadside America and Amish Country. Roadside America , is the largest indoor miniature village I have ever seeen. It is a panorama of life in rural United States. The exhibit spans more than two hundred years in time and lets you see, in exquisite miniature, how people lived and worked in pioneer days … through the years since then … right up to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Mr Dolphin is here!
After nine years talking over the internet, John (or Mr Dolphin as my kids call him) is finally in the US for a first visit face to face. After he traveled a grueling 20+ hours, we (Chris, Laura, and Heather) took him to New York City! Maybe not the best thing to do, being so tired, but he was a good sport. On Broadway, we saw some street acts… John at Times Square Of course we me up with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Closely Guarded Secret
Thomas Jefferson said, “If the America people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currencies, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their prosperity until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” Hal Lindsey has … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Any REAL Journalists Out there Anymore?
Wasn’t last night debates BORING? I was excited about it as I learned it was a town hall forum. Then I heard the “big newsman” got to filter all the questions. Then I knew, it was lost. First of all to say, I love blogging. I know that I had to be pushed into it, but once I got into it, I really started to love it. I was aware that when I started that there would be a certain element of posting stories the mainstream media wouldn’t. I don’t like politics and I don’t like politicians, but if the newspapers and news would just do their JOB, us in the blogsphere could relax a bit. Never did I realize the blantant slants and the overall inability to see that the truth … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Kenya Arrest Man Who Wrote Obama Exposé
Just yesterday I blogged about Obama using taxpayers money to campaign for a radical Islamist in Kenya and his rather dubious connection with a man who lost an election and incited riots. This has already been investigated and now I find it strange that one of the writers of the book The Obama Nation is being held by the Kenyan government . It wasn’t that long ago when an ABC reporter was arrested for simply looking into … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Hotel Xerraire Booking Up Fast!
Every house where love abides And friendship is a guest, Is surely home, and home, sweet home For there the heart can rest. Henry van Dyke (1852 – 1933) Not all, but most know that this autumn into winter is filling up fast at our home. We are very excited here and have been ocupied with preparations. I have already called most of my clients to let them know I will be very busy. We have John coming in from Australia this weekend to stay two weeks! I find myself in a confused state of wanting him to feel like an honored guest but at home at the same time. How does one do that? Enric and Miranda have also agreed to visit us, and over the Christmas holidays, Petra & Leoni will also stay … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Mortgage Crisis in a Nutshell
How did it happen? …a banker would draw a red line around certain neighborhoods that were off limits for the bank’s loan underwriters. No one in the government or the media cared that the people living in these neighborhoods were known for having bad credit. No one in the government or the media really cared anything about the borrower’s credit history in general, or debt-to-income ratios, whether the borrower even had a job, or loan-to-value ratios, or a borrower’s personal net worth and they certainly didn’t think these factors should be considered in the mortgage process. That just wouldn’t be “fair.” Owning a home in America is a right, by God! They even coined a term for it–NINJA loans–no job, no income, no assets. But these were voters, constituents, and they … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Strange Bedfellows – Friends of Obama
“Life is partly what we make it, and partly what is made by the friends whom we choose.” ~ Tehyi Hsieh … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Barack Obama & Raila Odinga Connection
Barack using taxpayers money to campaign for a radical Islamist in Kenya? Why not, makes about as much sense as all his other friends. … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Heil Obama?
Too many references to Hitler to ignore…. The first part in the following video are children singing praises to Obama, the second part, singing praises to Hitler. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Election Sleaze in O-Hi-O
Democrat Barack Obama’s presidential campaign blitzed bars and advocates for the homeless have lined up vans to ferry potential voters from shelters. The prize could be thousands of traditionally elusive voters in hard-fought Ohio who would have the chance to register and vote on the same day — if the courts don’t intervene. Grab people from homeless shelters to vote??? Do they buy them a sandwich too? So here is what is happening today. People are showing up to register and vote. There is no affirmative evidence that these people have not registered or voted somewhere else. There is no control. Normally in an election, partisan election monitors are allowed into polling places so that they can police each other. But not in two counties, Franklin and Montgomery, in Ohio. Brunner also issued … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
A Better Congress from Random Names in the Phone Book!
Seem harsh? People were polled and most felt we could have a better congress. Congress was front and center in the national news last week and the American people were far from impressed. If they could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, 59% of voters would like to throw them all out and start over again. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 17% would vote to keep the current legislators in office. Last week, the House of Representatives initially rejected a financial bailout bill proposed by the Bush Administration. Later, after the Senate added a number of items that some call “pork” and others call “sweeteners,” the measure eventually passed. While the bill survived Washington, it did so at a time when just 30% of voters … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Grandiosity
Obama, Oprah, and the Guru: Malignant Narcissism By Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr. Grandiosity, more than anything else, is what characterizes Obama’s character and campaign. Grandiosity is also, more than anything else, what characterizes narcissism, and Obama’s narcissism has become obvious to many. Tony Blankley refers to Obama’s posturing as the “height of hubris.” Jeffrey Kuhner writes that Obama “is a self-absorbed narcissist who portrays himself as a political messiah — the anointed one.” David Limbaugh writes of the “unspeakably presumptuous extravaganzas as those [that] feted Mr. Obama at Berlin and Invesco Field.”Obama I am the Dream In reference to Obama’s narcissism, Charles Krauthammer asks, “[H]as there ever been a presidential nominee with a wider gap between his estimation of himself and the sum total of his lifetime achievements?” Sam Vaknin, Ph.D., author of … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Should I Detach from an Abusive Father?
“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” - Albert Einstein Consulting Clinical Psychologist’s Reply As you’ve discovered, loving and forgiving someone doesn’t protect us from who they are, how they behave, and any danger they pose to us. You have a right to protect yourself from physical, verbal, and mental abuse — no matter how the abuser is related to you. People employ different strategies in your situation. One strategy is to detach from your father and his abusive behavior, recognizing that he is still a danger to your self-esteem and that he is more invested in protecting his pride than his children’s emotional health. Another strategy might be keeping him … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
I Love My Dyson!
Went to the store to buy a hand vacuum to make vacuuming easier to do the steps in the house and came home with this: Dyson DC14 Telescope All Floors Bagless Lifetime HEPA Upright Vacuum Cleaner DC-14, 110V, No Loss of Suction* – Brand New 5 Year Part & Labor WntyRoot8Cyclone™ technology. Telescope reach. Instant stair cleaning. Wide channel for large pieces. Easy to carry ergonomic design. Hygienic and quick to empty. No extra costs, no … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Biden, God Love Ya.
My daughter and I made a strong point to sit down and watch the Biden and Palin debate last night. Not long into the debate she picked up on errors and absolute lies on Joe Biden’s part. We didn’t find as many as StopTheAclu found. 1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY. 2. AHMADINEJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it. 3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Wooden Arrows
“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” ~ Ronald Reagan Congress continues to live up to its 10% approval rating and passed the Senate version of the bailout bill last night. The bill that started out as only 3 pages long (It’s now the length of a novel) has some interesting items attached to it: New Tax earmarks in Bailout bill. - Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502) - Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503) - 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504) Tax earmark “extenders” in the bailout bill. - Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308) - American Samoa (Sec. 309) - Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310) - Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311) - Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312) - … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
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