A little history about the post office. It began in 1775 and has grown to be the largest and most efficient postal system in the world. It’s remarkable in that it has a fleet of 215,625 vehicles, the largest nonmilitary fleet in the world. It services 31,871 retail locations, handles forty percent of the world’s cards and letters , has 570,000 workers on its payroll. In 2010, their income was $67 billion and use zero dollars of tax payers money. I find this remarkable and I am proud of what the post office does and has become.

Not too many people know about the added burden the republicans put on them. During the lame duck session, just before Nancy Pelosi took over as Speaker of the House, they passed a bill requiring them to prefund the postal workers retirement and pension benefits for the next 75 years! But, to do it in a ten year period. This bill passed and now this large weight of extra funding is an impossible feat for them to succeed; meaning the Postal Service will have to find 5 ½ billion dollars each year to fund this.

I find this destructive to our way of life. Instead of helping our economy and create more jobs, they are trying to cause a job loss of 120,000 jobs. How? In order for the Postal Service to meet these strict demands they put on them, they have to cut jobs to make ends meet.

Now you have to ask yourself what do the republicans want? They want to destabilize and destroy the one thing that helps small businesses and the American people the most. They are out to destroy the Postal Service as we know it. They want to privatize it! That means fees will double for anybody that depends on the Postal Service daily. What about people who depend on their medications being mailed to them? They are usually the elderly or the disabled who are the poor and can’t afford this added burden. Then there are the small businesses that depend on the mail for their bills and checks.

Who depends on the Postal Services. The urban and rural areas mainly, because the larger cities have the Fed Ex and the UPS. So, what will happen if the Republicans get their way. First, the urban post office will be run by the Government which will then be using tax payers’ dollars to fund it, or second the deliver companies will operate central offices in urban areas where patrons will be required to travel many miles, fifty or more, just to collect their mail. Don’t forget the added fees which will not be the 44 cents it is now.

Here is an odd fact that I don’t think the Republican really thought this through completely. The most inconvenience that will be felt, if the Postal Service is privatized, will be in the known conservative areas. This is really a minor fact to them because they hate unions and collective bargaining and the Post Office is unionized. Do I need to say more!


 

I like just plain coffee, nothing fancy. But, here in America we’ve been after the more fancier, tastier, pricier coffees such as those coffee latte etc.I'll drink it once in a while, but I'm not too crazy about the sweet taste.

Coffee is certainly a national obsession. Americans drink over 400 million cups of it each day. Whether store-bought or Starbucks, the secret to coffee is in the roasting. I grind my beans, but have an instant when in a hurry, just to get my caffeine kick start in the morning.

Taste is important, but it’s the caffeine that keeps us coming back, I’m sure. Caffeine is a classified drug, and like any drug it triggers a reaction that varies from person to person. While some people swallow 10 cups a day, others get by on just one – or none.

If I drink coffee regularly and then one day not drink any, I do sometimes get a withdrawal headache. That scares me a little, but not enough for me to quit drinking coffee. It keeps me awake when I need too, so I’m not complaining.

I read somewhere or heard it on the news that a health study was done on coffee drinkers. It was found that long-term coffee-drinkers can help prevent the onset of such illnesses as Type II diabetes and Parkinson's.

That could be good news for the 400 million people for whom life without coffee would be unbearable.

 

I wish our elected officials would do something about our jobs being lost to China. I always wonder what people are doing that don't have jobs, how do they live, are they alright? Living expenses has gone up so much that you need a good paying job just to make ends meet.
These are the ten states that suffer the most from jobs going to China: I looked at this and wondered what our outlook is going to be in five, ten years. Is it going to be better or worse?
Georgia has lost jobs, primarily in industries “including computers and electronic parts, textiles and apparel, and furniture,” according to the EPI. One of the hardest hit is the northern part of the state, the city of Gainesville. Georgia has historically been known for its textile industry and remains one of the top cotton-producing states in the country.
Two of the nation’s 20 hardest-hit congressional districts are located in Massachusetts. The cities of Lowell, one of the country’s earliest textile centers, and Lawrence, home of a number of textile and electronics manufacturers have lost jobs.
Ohio is one of the U.S.’s biggest manufacturing states. It is home to major companies such as Procter & Gamble and AK Steel Corporation. However, the state’s manufacturing sector is declining at a faster rate than the nation’s. The automobile sector has had the highest unemployment growth since 2007.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, “Manufacturers in Pennsylvania account for 12.5 percent of the total output in the state” and employ “10 percent of the workforce.”
North Carolina is home to the U.S. Textiles and furniture, among the two industries that have lost the most jobs to China.
Florida is not normally considered to be a major manufacturing state, yet it does excel in some areas, such as medical device manufacturing. The state has lost almost 115,000 jobs to China from 2001 to 2010.
Illinois is another traditional manufacturing power that has lost a significant number of jobs to China. .
New York has lost 140,000 predominantly middle-wage manufacturing jobs in recent years as a result of China’s unfair labor practices.
Texas has suffered greatly from the trade deficit with China due, largely, to the prominence of the computer and electronic parts industry in the state. Four of the top 20 congressional districts that lost the most jobs in the country are located in the state. Many Chinese companies have close ties with Texas. Two companies, Huawei and ZTE, have set up their U.S. headquarters in the state. Oil company CNOOC has also bought an exceptionally large amount of mineral rights in the state in order to extract shale oil.
California has lost almost half a million jobs to China, according to EPI. Like Texas, many of these were lost in the computer and electronic parts industry. Additionally, eight of the nation’s 20 hardest hit districts are in the state.
As I said in the beginning, this is just horrendous how our country has gone downhill throughout the years and we just let it happen. I'm worried about all the people without jobs and I'm hoping someone has the sense to do something about this. Come on Congress, wake up and save our country!
 

The U.S. postal service announced Monday that they're ditching the rule that you must be dead at least five years to appear on a postage stamp.
So who should be on the stamp?

Those who died less than five years ago are certainly eligible such as Michael Jackson, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor.

And as far as those still living, you'd want it to be someone who's been around long enough to establish a career reputation like Robert Redford, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, maybe Harrison Ford.

The TV world offers many classic choices. Oprah Winfrey, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, and Betty White.

For directors, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg could make it, and maybe James Cameron, too. The USPS could issue a two-pack with Cameron and his ex-wife and fellow Oscar-winning director, Kathryn Bigelow.

In music, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen could all be considered. Broadway stars would be eligible too — hello, Rita Moreno. Don't forget the world of radio — Howard Stern.

And though their faces are less famous, don't forget authors. Stephen King and Garrison Keillor would be pretty recognizable.

I wonder which the post office will choose to be on their stamp.





 

On the news, bloggers were criticizing the first lady's jewelry as she was embracing her husband. The real story is that she BORROWED it to help someone's succeed in his business venture. They want to bring her down for some time now, but it’s not going to happen. She does more good that is never reported on, then any other first lady. She is one special lady, and she’s got a heart of gold.

I hope President Obama will be able to get his job’s bill approved by the do-nothing congress and get some of these out-of-work people back to work. This economy needs a boost, and it should be now.

The congress can’t agree on a spending bill that might shut down the government. Eric Cantor put in the bill that he want cuts so he can help the hurricane victims in their time of need. What an outright hypocrite. JUST HELP THE PEOPLE ALREADY WITHOUT CUTTING FROM OTHERS THAT NEED THE MONEY TOO!

 

I think ancient underwater cities are intriguing to think about. Oh, to go scuba diving down and see just one of these aquatic cities would be an adventure I wouldn’t forget.
Now, the big question is: Are there proof of extraterrestrial visitations? What about the infamous city of Atlantis? There are so many questions out there and some people are beginning to make their case that yes, aliens have been here.
Peru has a sunken city beneath Lake Titicaca where ancient Indian text describes these cities and the aliens intermingling with the human race at the time.
What about the 600 foot stepped stone structure off the coast of Japan? This site predates the Egyptian pyramids by thousands of years. How can a human build something so big back then?
Could evidence of ancient alien contact lie buried in Earth's deepest oceans?
Intriguing as it is, this has kept me awake just thinking about it. It’s mind-boggling how close we were to aliens back then and why we are so leery of them now. Why is that?
We know we can't be the only ones in this whole universe...

 

"It came with my online shopping", said a online mystery shopper. She handed a large hairy tarantula to Chessington Zoo for them to do whatever they wanted with it.
Can you imagine shopping online and in the bottom of the box is a large hairy tarantula inside? Yikes.

It is thought that the creature could be a type of African baboon spider, of which there are at least 49, with around 900 different types of tarantula.

'It's very fast, it's very aggressive, and it's very big,' was reported by the spider man, Rob Ward, at the zoo. This just happened on September 18, 2011.


 

I watched a dvd on Ancient Aliens last night. It was quite enlightening.

Would you believe in the concept that extraterrestrials, with superior knowledge of science and engineering, landed on Earth thousands of years ago and shared their expertise with early civilizations? I think they did, and this forever changed the course of human history

What proof could possibly exist of such a visit? I think the theory points to two types of evidence. The ancient religious texts and physical specimens such as cave drawing of which shows alien-like men as they looked to the earlier civilizations. Then there is the stone sculptures such as the pyramids and the Stonehenge; proof that man couldn’t possibly have done such a vast task as lifting these huge stones and putting them in place.

This was quite interesting, making you think of all the possibilities on the fact that aliens helped us.
 

"Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature". Eric Hoffer
(My sentiments exactly.)

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail". Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Now this is something to think about;)

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment". Jim Rohn
(And it's what I try to be everyday.)
 

People have been dropping off their pet Burmese pythons in the Everglades for a while now, when they get too big to manage. Now they've bred by the thousands and they are hard to control. What if someone drops off a couple of pet Anacondas from South America? The big snakes are up to forty feet long and can kill humans. Can you imagine yourself hiking in the Everglades and coming across one of these deadly predators.

I was listening to Rachael Maddow this morning, and she talked about now finding an Anaconda that someone just nonchalantly dropped off in the Everglades. Can you imagine what will happen if this snake finds a mate and begins to breed? The place soon will be crawling with these deadly snakes and can become a real problem! Actully it already is with the Python.

Well, President Obama wants to stop the importation of these snakes into our country, but the house held a special meeting that wants to block President Obama’s bill. Republicans are against any regulation and I guess protecting these snakes is one of them. Import all you want is their motto until it becomes such a big problem that we won’t be able to control them, then what? Anyone up for a hike in the Everglades?

This all for now,

Jeannie

 

Not much to report on Monday, though it's another warm day to get out and enjoy. Grandkids will be coming home from school soon, have to plan supper.
I listened to the news today, the jobs bill has been presented to the do-nothing congress and they are already tearing it apart, so I don't expect anything to
be done on that. What a bunch of idiots! Our country is falling down around us, and nothing gets done. I've really had it with their political playing!
I better sign off as for now before I really start to get angry.
Jeannie

 

The date everyone remembers from ten years ago. May we remember all those people who lost their lives on that day. My prayers are with the families.

I just saw a merit badge giving to someone for erotica, and thought to myself, "That will never be me." When I was younger, I read a lot of romance novels. My husband use to say to me, "Why don't you write one, you should be able to after all those books you read." It's a thought, I just might. Who knows, WDC game me the incentive to write on different genres. I use to just write children's books, now I have branched out. I never would have thought I could do it, but I have. Thank you WDC?

Well, this Sunday was a sad one for all of us. We lost out pet goat, Bambi.

My granddaughter was heartbroken and said, “I don’t think I can go to school tomorrow, grandma. I'll be crying all the time when I'm there.”

I told her, “ Bambi was suffering, Leah; she was getting old, and she had a good life. You don’t want her to suffer any longer, do you?”

Leah said, “No grandma! When I went outside just now, I saw Bambi’s soul go up to heaven. She was leaping around as she floated up to heaven, .I think she is happy now.”

She made herself feel better when she spoke about Bambi going up to heaven, but the tears were still running down her face,

She has come to grips with the death of Bambi, because this morning she was all ready to go to school. To lose our beloved Bambi has been hard on all of us. She was an amazing pet and we all loved her very much. It even affected Nicholas, but he pretended to take it like a man.

This is all for now,
Jeannie


 

Saturday was a beautiful warm day at the farmer's market. We had a crowd that enjoyed everything there was to offer there. I think this will be our last warm day, so people took advantage of it.
Gail, my daughter, put the last finishing touches on my house, I love it. She made a beautiful rock garden in the front yard, and with a new coat of paint on the house, everything looks beautiful.
That's all for now,
Jeannie
 

Friday is a busy time, getting all our produce ready for the farmer market on Saturday. The grandkids come over and help, then we have a cookout at the end of the day.
The goats and sheep have to be feed and milked, and Leah is a big help in calming the goats down. They must know that she loves them. Her goat Valentine is very mischievous, I think she spoiled her. She has to have her nose into everything that is going on. Bow, our German Shepherd is another one who is very curious and wants in on the milking. He paces back and forth, cocking his head to listen to what is happening. Of course, he isn't allowed inside, he would cause a ruckus.

I'll sign off for now,

Jeannie

 

I was mainly working on my stories today, redoing them to meet my expectations. I'm a preferred author now, and I don't want my stories to sound unprofessional.
I listened to President Obama's speech, he sounded very optimistic and had a good plan for job creation. I wish he would have mentioned more on keeping companies here in the United States than overseas. Congress has to stop with their subsidies giving and make it more expensive for them. Less profits, they'll come back in a hurry.
Speaker Baoener and his fellow Republicans all looked like they were sitting on their hands, didn't clap too much. Paul Ryan looked half asleep and McCain had that stupid grin on his face. It made me think nothing again was going to get done in congress. People need to get back to work and all Congress does is nothing. They really don't care, they have jobs and that's all that counts with them. I'm really fed up with their politic playing!

Will sign off as for now,
Jeannie

 

The second day of school for the grandkids went well once again. I'm happier it got cooler here in Minnesota, because those nineties, with that high humidity would have been hard on them to sit in school when it's so hot. In the low seventies is my kind of temperature too!
Well, the Republican Debate was in full swing last night, with Romney and Perry at each other's throat, figuratively speaking. It was exciting to watch. I wasn't going to, but I did. Nobody really won it, in my estimation.
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Well, the grandkids started their first day of school. They were really happy when they came home on the bus, bursting with stories of what happened.
Nicholas wasn't too happy that he already had some homework to do, though, but mom managed to settle him down and get it done.

Marvin went to the auction today and bought three more sheep and two milking goats. With the prices of everything these days, I'm ready for some savings. The milk bill has always been too high in my estimation!

Grandkids had to come over to see the newcomers to the pasture. Bosco, our llama is looking a little wild-eyed lately, as if to say "I have to protect all these animals from the coyotes."

Our German Shepherds can't get into the pastures, because Bosco will chase them down, he's very aggressive against dogs, so they protect on the outside of the fence, Bosco protects on the inside, and never the twain shall me, so to speak.

The Republican Debate is on tonight, and I'm not sure if I'm up to all their empty promises that they love to spew. So, no, I don't think I'll listen.

Will sign off as for now,
Jeannie

 

Labor Day I stayed home to write my story, "Eleven Parties of Fun or Danger?" I had an idea, and I wanted to be alone to write it. Most of the family went kayaking or movies, but I chose to stay home. When you have an idea, you have to get it down on paper. I did just that, now I'll continue to edit it until I'm pleased with it.
I don't have anything else to write about so will sign off.
 

This Sunday we had a cook out at my Son’s place. It is our annual get together that we always have at the end of summer. The children had fun playing with my son’s Lhasa Apso, his name is Sid and he’s such a cute little dog, so well-trained and does tricks that the kids were entertained for hours with his antics. It actually was a show for everyone. We brought along our German Shepherd, Louie because he’s such a sweetheart with children. He knows his tricks too and Sid and Louie got along really well. We had good food to eat and the day was enjoyed by all.
 

Early in the morning, we get ready to go to the farmer's market to sell our tomatoes. It was a very rainy day, but Rochester, MN people are hardy, they like to stroll in the rain.. Of course, they come prepared with their umbrellas. I love the market, everything smells so fresh and clean that you just have to buy lots of vegetables for tasty meals. We grow herbs too, so cooking has become a challenge on making food tasty with my different herbs.
Our grandchildren came over in the afternoon to play with our friendly goats and sheep. It fun watching them. Leah, my granddaughter has already made friends with her goat Valentine, who follows her everywhere she goes. Nicholas, our grandson, is more interested in grandpa's machinery..He was a big help this summer just keeping our lawn mowed and our animals fed.