2016 … an unPRESIDENTed year ! 2017 … ????

Our President-elect has become famous for many things but perhaps topping it all is his tendency to tweet ! As ridiculous as this may seem it is no laughing matter. His recent tweet accusing China of an “unpresidented act” when they seized an unmanned American submarine is a perfect example. His misspelling of the word unprecedented highlights his ignorance but the fact that he tweeted about it at all is incredibly frightening.

We all know that “the pen is mightier than the sword” and that wars and grave decisions have begun when words are used unwisely. We also know that the minute Trump has a thought that he feels is worthy of sharing with the rest of the world he tweets about it (and often denies he wrote it, even when we have the evidence in black and white.) This gives an entirely new definition to the phrase “open door policy” and could easily be our undoing.

What happens to our system of checks and balances when our President arbitrarily bypasses it all ? Our government, set up by the U.S. Constitution, is divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. They are independent but are devised to “ensure the misuse of power.” It is this MISUSE OF POWER that I see happening and I just pray that our elected Senators and Representatives of both parties are strong enough to keep it in check.

Hang on tight America … 2017 may be our biggest challenge ever !

Potent drugs for women …

                                 … to help us get through the next four years !

 

 

DAMNITOL  ... Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 full hours.

FLIPITOR ... Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.

MENICILLIN ... Potent anti-boy-otic for older women. Increases resistance to such lethal lines as, 'You make me want to be a better person. '

BUYAGRA ... Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases potency, duration, and credit limit of spending spree.

ANTI-TALKSIDENT ... A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories with total strangers in elevators..

PEPTOBIMBO ... Liquid silicone drink for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases libido, decreases intelligence, and prevents conception.

DUMBEROL ... When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country music and pickup trucks

My mother, the Santa Collector ...

This is just one of many hundreds of Santas that my mother collected over the years. She had traveled quite a bit so she had a veritable United Nations of Santas. Then, of course, we (her five daughters) couldn’t resist adding to her collection … which we did for many years. Each of those were carefully labeled by mother with the date and the name of which girl gave it to her so that “he would go back to his rightful owner once I’m gone”.

Mother lived to be 94 and when she died in 1988 we honored her wish. We dispersed her collection by claiming those with our names attached and then divided the rest of the collection by choice.

This was the beginning of my own collection which includes this hand-blown glass Santa that I picture here. It comes from Germany and is probably my most valuable one. He measures barely 3 inches from base to stopper and is filled with red water. It’s really a very sweet piece but the picture does not do it justice. I have only seen one other that resembles it and that was about ten years ago in an antique shop. I was shocked at the hefty price tag. Of course that was interesting but there’s actually no way to judge the value of a collection like this … the memories alone are priceless. 

So, as I end this entry I call on my all-time favorite Santa to help me wish each and everyone of you a safe and joyous Holiday Season… or, as he would say it …

HO, HO, HO !

“GOOD to the LAST DROP”

 

The “Good to the Last Drop” slogan to advertise Maxwell House Coffee started in 1917 and is one of the most recognizable slogans ever written. I never hear those words, without thinking of my father.

 

In the 40’s our whole family would gather 'round the big wooden radio in the living room to listen to our favorite shows like “Maxwell House Coffee Time”, better known as the “Burns and Allen Show”. We never missed an episode which always began with Gracie Allen saying "Another cup of Maxwell House coffee, George?" and George Burns replying, "Sure. Pour me a cup, Gracie."

 

Maxwell House was also the sponsor of the radio version of “Father Knows Best“. Each episode began with the youngest daughter Kitten asking, "Mother, is Maxwell House really the best coffee in the whole world?" to which her mother would reply, "Well, your father says so, and Father Knows Best!"

 

And I always thought that MY father knew what was best too…

 

... so, to this day every time I hear the words “good to the last drop” I recall his chuckle and the way he’d say “WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE LAST DROP???”

 

 

….it's all about the company you keep !

"To be on the cover of Time as Person of the Year is a tremendous honor," Trump told the Today show's Matt Lauer. "It’s a very important magazine, and I’ve been lucky enough to be on the cover many times this year."

That's an interesting quote coming from a man who in 2013 called Time "flimsy" like a "free handout at a parking lot." I guess he's changed his opinion now that he feels he is among the world's honored elite. I wonder if he realizes that Time's editors choose a person yearly that they feel has influenced the events of the year “FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE”… not for their sterling character.

 A list of winners is featured on Wikipedia and I wonder if he is proud to be among these …

 1936: Wallace Simpson (her relationship with King Edward the VIII led to  

           his abdicating the throne.)

1938: Adolph Hitler

1939: Joseph Stalin

1957: Nikita Krushchev

1979: Ayatolah Khomeini

1982: The Computer... denoted as “machine of the year” to herald the dawn 

           of the Information Age.

2011: The Protestor … representing protest movements global wide.

 

                     To quote my good friend Jan … just sayin'

 

 

... the Reservoir.

Isn't this an amazing picture? My niece Wendy took this on her phone while meandering around our local reservoir. It brought back memories of the early days (1950's) when I first met my husband to be.

As some of you know he had just left Life magazine and was out on his own. He had visions of a free-lance career in photography and he loved what nature had to offer. I remember many a day waiting as he developed the film, printed the pictures and processed them in a toxic chemical bath and then (literally) hung them up to dry. It was a cumbersome process to say the least but he loved it.

Today it's incredibly easy to take a picture but one thing does remain the same. Anyone can snap a photo but it takes a person with an artistic bent to make the picture memorable. Some of my blogger friends have this talent, as does Wendy … obviously. She said she was on a bridge looking down at the water when she spied this scene. The time of day had mirrored the intense blue of the sky and a simple shot of lily pads suddenly produced a photo worthy of framing !