Congress Asks For Probe Of Clemens

With the war in Iraq, an impending (existing?) recession, the continuing healthcare crisis, a crumbling housing market, the need to develop renewable energy sources, and endangered species being cavalierly delisted, do we really need to spend taxpayer's dollars and Congress' time investigating and regulating baseball?

Didn't the Founding Fathers draft a constitution designed to keep government from micro-managing the lives of its citizens? In the whole scheme of things, does it really matter if Roger Clemens, or any baseball player, had steroid or HGH injections, when people can't afford to put gas in their cars? Isn't that an issue for baseball, rather than the government and US citizens?

Now, Congress is dragging the Department of Justice into this mess, because Clemens testimony differed from that of his trainer. Will the lunacy never stop?






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Jules

Hansgrohe Faucet

Okay, we have serious faucet issues. The one on the bathroom sink is at least 20 years old. Most of the plating is pitted, corroded, and/or falling off. It has got to go!

In the shower, we don't even have a handle. We use a pair of pliers to turn the water on, since Michael keeps destroying the fixture. And don't even ask about the shower head.

So, naturally, I went shopping. (Hey, it's what I do!) If you've never seen a Hansgrohe faucet, you don't know what you're missing. These fixtures are beautiful and the sleek lines fit any decor.





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God Bless!

Jules

Zero Gravity Recliner

I hadn't heard of a zero gravity recliner, until recently. Now, I want one - badly. Mark and I both have bad backs - the price of being tall, it seems. Arthritis and compressed discs makes sitting, standing, and lying down uncomfortable.

What this recliner does is place the body in a position that is similar to astronauts during take-off - legs higher than the heart, at a very specific angle - effectively removing all additional pressure on the spine. Can you imagine how amazing that would feel? Right now, I can only sit or stand in one position for a short time. Then, I have to shift to relieve the discomfort in my back.

To quote Will Smith's character in Independence Day: "I gotta get me one of these!"




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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Low Vision Aids

One of the joys (?) of getting older is a change in vision. I've always worn glasses, well since the 2nd grade, and my vision got progressively more near-sighted as I got older. In the last few years, something new and interesting started happening - thanks to advancing age. My vision started 'improving'.

As we age, we tend to become more far-sighted - less able to see closer objects. As Bing Crosby put it in White Christmas, we start "playing the trombone." For someone as myopic as I am, these changes mean that what I had to hold under my nose to see before, I can now see at a distance of over a foot.

Mark, however, had perfect vision. The same changes that are helping me, cause him so much trouble that we have had to find low vision aids to help him see. Our apartment is, despite the sunny Arizona weather, generally quite dark, which means we have to have strategically placed lighting. Depending on whether he's reading his phone or his computer or directions on a frozen pizza, Mark has different strength reading glasses for each situation.

I'm seriously thinking about getting him a 'big-print' keyboard, as well. He's definitely not a touch-typist, so seeing the letters on the keys is critical. For a while, he had a black keyboard for the desktop that drove him crazy. We got an ivory one that's not as bad, but I know we can do better.




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God Bless!

Jules

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Gain

Did you happen to see this, in the news, a couple of days ago? Artificial sweeteners, it seems, actually alter the ability to regulate sweet intake by interfering with the natural link between sweetness and calories. Of course, these results are from rats, not humans. But there is emerging evidence that people who consume large amounts of no-calorie sweeteners may be at higher risk for obesity, abdominal fat, and diabetes, among other weight-related health problems.

Apparently, when you eat dessert or a candy bar, your body associates the sweetness with an impending influx of calories. It responds by increasing your metabolism and, generally, signals a need to cut back on other excess calories and/or increase exercise. When the sweetness comes from saccharin and the body doesn't receive the extra calories that it expected, it gets confused. So, the urge to cut consumption elsewhere or become more active isn't triggered.

Luckily, I can't use artificial / no-calorie sweeteners; they upset my digestive system. Not to mention, I've never found one with a taste that I could tolerate.






Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

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at Independent Designers

We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Tool Storage

One of the most difficult things about living in an apartment is finding a place for all of the tools that we use on a regular basis. It's not just a hammer and a couple of screwdrivers. We need tool storage for drills, wrenches, pliers, sockets and ratchets, and a myriad of things for working on the truck and the bicycles. Plus, it has to be a solution that let's us get at what we need, without rearranging the entire apartment.

Currently, we have things stashed in a tool box, plus most every spare inch of space we could find. It's a reasonable compromise. Just don't look in my closets.




Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

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God Bless!

Jules

Downer Cows Fed to Our Kids at School

I was absolutely shocked by this video and this story. Did you know that 'downer' cows, cows that are too ill / weak to stand on their own, are being forced to get up and walk to their death. Then, the meat from these sad, slaughtered animals is sold to school systems throughout this country - and fed to our kids as school lunches.

Please watch the video and ask your Congressperson to stop this insanity - for the good of the animals, and the good of our kids. It just MUST stop!






Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.

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at Independent Designers

We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Books

I am, and have always been, a voracious reader. My favorite author, in my youth, was Shakespeare - not just because his plays are such a timeless description of the human condition. It was the language that captured my emotions; so incredibly evocative of the characters lives and emotions. Language was the other reason that I fought my way through "Beowulf," in the original Old English.

Over the years, I developed an affection for other books and genres. For a long time, I was a member of a guild that offered current bestsellers at a discount. Although the quality wasn't first-rate, the selection and the prices were incredible.

Currently, I have a membership in a craft-related book club. So, once again, I'm broadening my reading horizons.





Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Checking Accounts

The one thing that I truly hate is trying to find a bank that offers great checking accounts. When I lived in Michigan, I had a tremendous bank with amazing FREE services. I honestly didn't think I'd find an equivalent when I moved to Arizona. I guess I had developed East Coast snobbery. (Don't tell my family in Colorado; I won't get to visit for Memorial Day.)

Luckily, there are some tremendous financial institutions that even have branches in Arizona!






Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.

Be sure to Vote For JMark Afghans, etc.
at Independent Designers

We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Comfort

I had this really strange dream the other night. In it I was making stuffed animals for 'my kids'. But for the fact that I have never made these particular critters and, as things generally work in dreams, the kids weren't mine - it made perfect sense.

When I was very, very young, my grandmother made me this stuffed turtle. It was soft; it was cuddly; it smelled like . . . love. On one side of the turtle was - for lack of a better term - a tag. It was like the tags that you find on one end of a pillow, but softer and slightly frayed.

When I was stressed, which was most nights, I cuddled that turtle and found myself stroking the frayed edge of the tag. It calmed and relaxed me. Oddly enough, when I have a lot of stress, I have an urge to cuddle that turtle. And I still have the memory of that comfort.

Interestingly, my grandmother also made these adorable turtles for some of my cousins. None of those turtles had a tag on the side. I wonder what behavior my grandmother was trying to help me overcome.






Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.

Be sure to Vote For JMark Afghans, etc.
at Independent Designers

We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules