The Women Behind The Men.....

The political campaigns this election season are coming close to making a mockery of electing the next person that will lead our great country. Does it really matter that one candidate gets a spray tan and another has makeup applied before going on stage? Does that have an impact on our economy, or global warming or crime?

I was having a difficult time “liking” anyone, and I began to wonder about the women behind these men. One of these wives will be our next ‘First Lady’ (unless Hillary wins)….and then…..maybe former Pres Clinton will be our ‘First Man?’

I decided to do some "investigative reporting".....and find out what I could about the "other half." The order in which these are presented is in no way indicative of which one I prefer. (I just know who I don't like.)

Bernie Sanders, soon to be 75, has been married twice. His wife would be “First Lady Jane.” She’s 9 years his junior, has her Ph.D. and was a College President. Jane has been on the campaign trail with Bernie, fills in for staff, and is an adviser to him. It has been suggested that she compares to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Donald Trump’s third wife, Slovenian-born Melania is 24 years his junior. She’s a jewelry designer and former model, and she would be the second foreign-born first lady. The first was Louisa Adams, the English-born wife of John Quincy Adams, back in 1825. Melania encourages "The Donald" to try and be "Presidential."

Ted Cruz has been accompanied on the campaign trail by wife Heidi. With a degree from Harvard, she’s a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Investment Firm (where she has taken a leave-of-absence to help Ted campaign.) She worked in the George W. Bush White House. She’s a very outspoken member of his team and it is sometimes thought that she might be more of a liability than an asset. Iowa is a favorite state of mine, and after reading how she felt about Iowa.....well you can do your own research......it may just be a rumor.

Marco Rubio’s wife, Jeanette, was a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader for one season. She’s more of an introvert and would much prefer to focus on their family and their four children. She has no college degree and her claim to fame apparently is her poor driving record. She has received 13 traffic violations in the past 17 years. (Far be it from me to comment on that....I'm no stranger to traffic tickets.)

John Kasich's second wife, Karen, is 12 years his junior. She was a business executive before retiring to stay home and raise their twin daughters who are now 16. It says a lot for Mr. Kasich that his first wife, to whom he was married for 5 years, still campaigns for him.

If Hillary Clinton is elected President….would former President Bill Clinton be the “First Man?” Normally, it’s the First Lady who decides on the next set of China, Silver, and Crystal. Would that be his responsibility? Would he be planning State Dinners? So many questions.

It’s a given. With the election of a new President, we get a new First Lady……unless we get a First Man! I think Marco Rubio might receive the biggest benefit. Jeanette would have a driver and he wouldn’t have to pay any more fines!

Whoever wins the Big House, let’s hope that our next First Lady has the class of Nancy Reagan, the grace of Barbara Bush, the poise, and elegance of Jackie Kennedy is as soft-spoken as Rosalynn Carter and as "First Lady-Like" as Laura Bush. If we have a "First Man"......well, that would just be a first!

It often takes the woman, behind the man, to put our best foot forward!

(Again, the placement order has nothing to do with preference.)

#campaigns #candidates #politics #debates #candidatewives

I know this isn't something you would expect to come from me......or is it that you wouldn't "suspect" it would come from me.....

Just call me your "Fashion Adviser" for today....This is what you're going to see, this spring: (I watch too much news!!)

There will be Floral tops paired with jeans....(uh......maybe)

Bomber jackets with jeans.....(gonna' need more underarm deodorant, where we live!)

There will be "clunky" high heel shoes.....(I can't wear the "unclunky" ones...don't plan on seeing me in "clunky") .....My cousin, across the road, (Sue Hodge) still looks beautiful in her high-heel shoes .....will she be in fashion with clunky? Wait and watch!!

Hair will be braided and wrapped up, around the head. (was kinda' cute...but I don't think mine is long enough. However, I have some granddaughters who can pull this one off.)

And wait for this one......

Slip dresses.....yes, you read right....slips.....as in full length, under your clothes lingerie. Thin straps (like slips), lace at the top and bottom (like slips) made of silk or nylon (like slips)...........(I could just hear my daddy saying...."Go put some clothes on!)........Although, I do like staying in my pajamas.......maybe...........

Now, aren't you glad I am a good second-hand news reporter!!!

One Step Further.......

On Thursday mornings, I bag up the week's garbage, and Precious and I take it to the road for the good men (yes, they are convicts but they're still "good men") to pick up.

When I say "Precious, let's go take out the garbage," that little Pomeranian that looks a lot like a little teddy bear (she's so cute) comes running...just as if she knows what I'm talking about.

While I'm bagging, she's dancing around...and usually barking (everything that happens is accompanied by a "bark"). I load the bag, or two, into the trunk of the car, and Precious knows to position herself by the back car door. I lift her in and we head down the long driveway, to the road.

Precious puts her feet up and stands so she can look out the window. I stop, on the road, put the garbage out and when I start back to the car, I notice that she's moved to the other window so she can watch me.

I get back in the car.......watching carefully as the "going to work" traffic often flies by on my country road. Sometimes, I just make a quick circle, driving into the grass to turn around and sometimes, I take Precious for a short ride....turning around at the Jehovah's Witness church down the road.

We get back to the house, and I pull under the carport and up to the back door. She jumps out, and if she doesn't have to potty, she runs up the back steps, ahead of me. And she looks up at the Hoosier cabinet (where I keep their treats) and she barks. After all, she took out the garbage....shouldn't she get a treat?

This morning was no different.....I bagged, she danced and barked, I took it to the car, she danced and barked (she's afraid I won't let her go). I loaded the garbage into the trunk and put her into the back seat, and to the end of the driveway, we went. I looked up and down the road and saw NO GARBAGE in front of my neighbor's houses. Had I missed it, already? Couldn't be. It was just a little past 8:00 a.m.

I unloaded the two bags, at the end of the driveway, as she ran from side to side on the back seat. I decided to drive thru the neighborhood (no, it isn't like a subdivision...it's a long country road) to see if anyone had their garbage out.

I finally found a couple of houses with bags of garbage, out front. So, my neighbors either had none or were late, like me. By this time, Precious had begun to whine and bark.....she's no "car rider" (maybe she really belongs to daughter Gale.....she doesn't like riding in a car, either).

We got back home, and I saw bags of garbage had been placed out front of my nearest neighbor's house. Whew!! Precious and I went into the house...and she barked, really loud, for a treat. I had made her take the garbage out, and go for a cold (it's 33 degrees) ride, too!

As I sat, in front of the warm fireplace, I wondered why I couldn't take this one step further. She understood "taking the garbage out".......why couldn't she just learn to do it!!

#garbage #Pomeranians #treat #Precious

What's That Shining?

Last night, I couldn't sleep and after tossing and turning....I finally decided, about midnight, to get out of bed. Of course, when my feet hit the floor.....so did "the girls." When Precious gets up, she has to go out.....or thinks she does, anyway. She's my cute little 3 1/2 year old, looks like a Teddy Bear, Pom. Bella, the smaller black Pom, does not believe in leaving the confines of the house and is very comfortable doing her "business" on a Puppy Pad. I think she could be diagnosed with ADHD, so I'm not at all unhappy that she stays inside.

I turned on the front porch light even thought the moon was almost full and bright enough for us not to need it. I picked up my flashlight and stepped onto the porch, and Precious charged down the front steps. At the bottom, she turned around and looked up at me, as if to say "okay, are you coming?" I turned on my flashlight, went down the steps and onto the brick walk, and Precious ran ahead of me. She ran across the driveway and into another part of the yard. The moonlight shining through the trees created shadows that played tricks with her, and she began chasing "boogers" 

Ace, the large black lab that lives next door, was barking non-stop. Usually, he's pretty quiet unless there's a reason not to be. Precious was trying to find the "perfect" place to potty and was ignoring Ace's barking.

She left the side yard, came back onto the driveway and began walking toward Bob's shop.

I always pan the yard, trees and surrounding woods with my light...just so I know who (or what) is walking with us! I have thick woods on two sides of my yard, and there's heavy underbrush. Anything on two, or four, feet has ample hiding places. I've never been afraid walking outside, at night. I pay attention when the weather gets cooler and the coyotes begin to roam the woods and the creek bank. As Precious started toward the back, I flashed my light onto the woods at the back of the yard.

What was that shining back at me? My light beam was just above the area where I often burn trash (when there isn't a burn ban). Had I picked up a glare from something left in the burn pile? I flashed the light, again, and saw that there were two yellow eyes looking back at me. They were near the ground....probably a cat, a possum, or a coon. Suddenly, those eyes were no longer "near the ground" .......whatever it was was had now stood up and was about the size a big dog might be. But it wasn't barking. It wasn't a dog. Once again, it "crouched" back down and seemed to be slowly moving my way. I quickly realized we had become something's prey.

Precious still hadn't "done her business"....and I didn't care! I quickly grabbed that little dog up. I was thankful she hadn't seen those eyes, or she would have given chase. I was also thankful she didn't try to run away when I bent down to pick her up. I think it all took place at the speed of sound......she had no time to react. As fast as these old legs would move, I headed back toward the front porch. I didn't take time to look back to see if we were being followed/chased.

Inside the house, I put Precious down. Neither she nor Bella were barking......I think both knew that something was going on. I went to the kitchen door and before opening it, I turned on the outside light to make sure there were no "guests" there. I turned off the light, opened the door and shined my light into the yard. "It" was still there, but had moved to the east....about midway the back yard.......and closer to the house. My light wasn't bright enough to determine what visitor I had in my yard, but I could tell it was moving. And whatever it was, it wasn't afraid of me! (I had cornered the market on fear!)

By the time I turned on the outside security lights, "it" had apparently moved into the woods. We have bobcats and coyotes in these woods, and there are a few people who even say they've seen black panthers. My granny told stories about the panther that roamed these woods and the creek bank, years ago.

I think Precious must have been aware of the danger that lurked in the yard. She didn't bark to go outside, again.......I heard her "circling" .....trying to find just the right spot on the Puppy Pad. Thank goodness!!

#inthedarkofnight #panthers #coyotes #bobcats #Pomeranians #outsideatnight #woods #countrylife

Perseid Meteor Shower ......not

I was awake until 3:30 this morning, in an attempt to see the Perseid Meteor Shower. Based on friend Carolyn Arender's statement, I should have gotten out of bed and gone back outside. I'm so glad someone saw it and corroborated the theory that there was going to be one. I made several trips outside to view this heavenly display, and I saw about 5 in about 5 hours! (It wasn't a shower, it wasn't even a trickle!)

As I was standing on my back deck, looking to the Northeast (as directed), I wondered "why do I need a chair?" One of the television stations had suggested a comfy chair, a blanket, some snacks, and bug spray. (I had none of that.) Standing there, looking toward the Northeastern sky, I was bothered by a tall tree in my line of vision (or so I thought.) Precious decided, about this time, that it was time for a potty break. I took my flashlight and followed her out into the yard, and looking up I realized this was where I needed to be. About that time, quick as a flash, sorta' up above my head and not too terribly high above the tree line.....not falling from sky to ground, like a falling star, but horizontal like a plane landing.....it was there and it was gone. This explained why my cousin Teresa, in Iowa, had mentioned they "heard a sound, like a whoosh, not loud but audible." I had wondered "how, in the world, can one hear a sound from that far away?" (like the falling star) It wasn't that far away, and it was UP.....facing north and facing east, but UP. Now, the crick in my neck was explaining why they had suggested a comfortable chair!
I also understood the need for a light blanket, or jacket. The air had cooled off, considerably. It was really quite pleasant. The quiet of the country night was only interrupted by the sounds coming from the Georgia Pacific plant ...... meaning that the breeze was blowing from that direction. Occasionally, the Lab in the outside pen, next door, would bark to let me know he was still guarding things. It had gotten cool enough that other "creatures of the night" were beginning to stir.
There's a small branch (brook) that runs in the gully behind my house. It has very little water and flows into Okohay (Cohay) Creek - about a mile down the road. I suddenly heard some type of cat - not a kitty cat - a much larger cat, calling from the water. It was enough to get all the dogs to barking, and it was enough to get this "Meteor viewer" headed back indoors.....for awhile, anyway. NASA's website had stated the time for viewing was 9 p.m. - 1 a.m., and the television station had stated 3 a.m. - 5 a.m. Could I stay up that long? Why yes, of course I could, and I had been known to do so. So then, if I was still awake at 3:30, why didn't I get up....just one more time....and go look? It wasn't about the "cat on the branch"....I had long forgotten that, and it had probably moved on. I made a prediction (when I didn't get up), in those early morning hours. I thought, "tomorrow morning, I'm going to be disappointed that I didn't get up and go look." I'm such a psychic....that prediction was right, I am disappointed......especially since I've heard how magnificent it was!
#PerseidMeteorShower #creatureofthenight #largecat #CohayCreek