Posted on 08/08/2004 8:30:41 PM PDT by The Mayor
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THE WEEKEND THREAD
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Ahhh...me too (((Lady)))
You ladies are amazing............I sit here in awe of you.
I HATE ironing and avoid it at all possible costs.........about the only time I do it anymore is if I am sewing.
To give you an idea of how often I iron, my steam iron is in a box in storage and has been there for more than 2 years (long story having to do with selling a house and moving) I have been using a travel iron on the rare occassions I need one.
Marines, families break bread before war
By: Darrin Mortenson - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- It's no picnic where they're heading. So before they leave, the 1,000-some Marines and sailors of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment enjoyed a fun-filled family picnic at Camp Pendleton Friday before they deploy for seven months of dangerous duty in Iraq later this month.
The battalion is slated to replace a sister Marine infantry battalion west of Baghdad, where at least 30 Marines have been killed in fighting against Iraqi insurgents since March.
Event planner Jackie Fergusen, whose son went to Iraq with the battalion last year, said the event was all about letting the troops and their families know they are part of a community that cares.
"It just makes you want to cry to see all these Marines leaving without some kind of recognition," she said. "They need a chance to relax and have fun ---- the single Marines and the families, all together ---- because they are going to be gone. It's just a good time before they go."
The troops agreed.
"It's a morale thing," said Lance Cpl. Sam Lebowitz, 25, of New Jersey.
Lebowitz is among the approximately one-half of the battalion's troops who participated in the invasion of Iraq with the unit in 2003 and will be returning for a second tour.
By noon, some 500 troops and their families blanketed a dusty parade field in the San Mateo section of the base, adjacent to San Clemente, to partake in games and demonstrations and to chow down on the BBQ lunch donated and prepared by volunteers from a local supermarket.
Volunteers from local chapters of veterans' organizations ---- including Veterans of Foreign Wars, Retired Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart ---- helped with the event and helped serve the departing Marines and their families lunch.
"It's just out way of helping out," said Vietnam Veteran Skip Cline, who said he was wounded while on a mission with the same battalion in Vietnam and still had a "special place for anyone who serves in "2/5," as the unit is known.
"They didn't do this kind of stuff for us when we left," Cline said.
Some of the Marines said they could already see the "other side" of the seven month deployment.
Other troops said that they realized that, for some, this deployment could last forever.
Sgt. Jerry Uribe said the men of 2/5 have been watching the news carefully and communicate weekly with Marines from the battalion they will replace. They are well aware of the dangers and conscious of the heavy toll their predecessors have suffered there.
"It actually helps us stay more focused," said Sgt. Jerry Uribe of the grim news that often flows from the volatile region west of Baghdad. "No one thinks they can mess around. They all know this is a different kind of warfare where you never knows who's a good guy or a bad guy."
The battalion commander, Lt. Col. R.P. Newman, urged the Marines to take advantage of the chance to relax Friday.
He thanked the community for supporting the troops, singling out the San Clemente Albertson's store that donated 3,600 steaks and chicken quarters, 12,000 soft drinks and bottles of water, and 1,500 pounds of coleslaw and potato salad for the hungry Marine "grunts" and their guests.
"If you look around, you'll find out," Newman told his men Friday. "Every time you think you are alone, you're not."
What a fabulous thing to do!!!!!!! wonderful story.
ROFL!!!!!!!!!
My house cleaning rules are pretty much the same as yours and LadyX - as long as the dishes, sheets, towels, and clothes are clean - the rest can wait til I get off line!!!!!
Cooking is a different story - that is something I absolutely LOVE to do - but in such a way that I don't have to do it all the time......I love to cook in mass quantities and then freeze everything.
Within the next couple of weeks I will seemingly drop off the face of the planet when the canner and dehydrator come out of hiding with the onset of all the fresh produce.
Ah, I remember. The cooking of large quantities of food to freeze. The large garden full of fresh homegrown produce. Getting out the canner, sterilizing jars and lids. Plugging in the dehydrator and making the best jerky ever. Piecing together the Victorio Strainer so I won't gag on the seeds in my canned tomatoes.
However, that all went the way of my ironing. I sold most of my canning jars and equipment three moves ago. I *do* miss it all but I'm a realist. Do I really see myself out sweating and tilling a garden in the Alabama summer heat? I don't THINK so! I shall bask in the coolness of my air conditioned house and open up veggies Birds Eye has so thoughtfully frozen for me. Hunts does a mean canned tomato sauce, too. All I have to do is hop over to the neighborhood grocer of choice and voila! it's all done for me.
I know... you are in awe of me, right? No, it's my turn to be in awe of you!
Now, are you *still* in awe? (grin) And don't even ask me about cooking!"
Lakeside, I am convinced you and I are "Cleaning Clones" - - as in The Less, The Better!!
LOL
When your health is compromised for many years, can't afford cleaning services, you work full time with a commuting distance of 20 miles, and would rather spend "free time" mowing and weed eating and growing flowers or reading or writing instead, you have long ago decided cleaning has been kicked down to "Essentials, If You're Lucky" status.
As for 'cooking,' there is a wooden sign over my stove that says "CLOSED."
'Minimalistic' best describes my approach (BIG grin).
Years ago, living in a rented house in 1972 in Ft. Pierce, Florida, although in a main section, the street (as was true of many there then) was unpaved.
The house was not air conditioned (put window unit in the master bedroom so we could dress for work without perspiring), so nearly all the time the jalousie windows were wide open to catch the breezes.
They also allowed billows of dust and grit to coat the window glass and the terrazo floors and whole interior..:((
It was impossible to keep it spotless.
Add to that, with only one car, I had to get the children off to school, drive my husband 22 miles to his work - drive back 20 to my work - in the evening, reverse course 22 to get him, and back 22 to home).
One day my neighbor and I were discussing such challenges, and she asked my criteria for cleaning,
My response to that was "If the windows are dirty enough for the neighborhood children to scrawl messages on them with their fingers, then it is time to clean them..."
You cannot always be what you ought to be..:))
I can so relate..............I remember my summers in Sarasota in the 70's before my grandparents put in central AC......................windows were always open and my grandmother insisted on a clean house..........I learned to hate sweeping very quickly.
Now I live with a similar situation - no central AC, just 2 window units and so there is sand and dust and dirt coming in everywhere......but I have gotten over my hatred of a broom - I far prefer it over a vaccuum!!!! There are advantages to hardwood and linoleum floors!!!!
My grandparents did get central AC - I don't have the necessary duct work to do so - so I deal with sweeping. Fortunately for me both hubby and the yung'un pitch in to help --- now if I could only find a way to keep the dogs from shedding...................sigh.
"now if I could only find a way to keep the dogs from shedding...."
Please ping me with the solution to that one when you find it. And, no, shooting them is not an option. (grin)
I think I got everybody!
Do you attend a Redneck Church?
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... people ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the
5000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish, and what bait was used to catch 'em.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... when the pastor says, "I'd like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering," five guys and two women stand up.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... opening day of deer season is recognized as an official church holiday.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... a member of the church requests to be buried in his
4-wheel-drive truck because "It ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of."
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the choir is known as the "OK Chorale".
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... in a congregation of 500 members, there are only seven last names in the church directory.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... Baptism is referred to as "branding".
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... high notes on the organ set the dogs on the floor to howling.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... people think "rapture" is what you get when you lift something too heavy.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the baptismal pool is a #2 galvanized washtub.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the choir robes were donated by (and embroidered with the logo from) Billy Bob's Barbecue.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the collection plates are really hub caps from a '56 Chevy.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... instead of a bell, you are called to service by a duck call.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the minister and his wife drive matching pickup trucks.
You Know Your Church Is A RedneckChurch if... the communion wine is Boone's Farm "Tickled Pink".
You Know Your Church Is A RedneckChurch if... "Thou shalt not covet" applies to hunting dogs, too.
You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if... the final words of the benediction are, "Y'all come back now Ya Hear!"
Good evening back at ya Pippin! Time for me to call it a night. See all ya'll tomorrow...
Good Night! :0)
ROFL!!!!!!!!!
The only shooting that has been going on around here lately has been against (hubby's words) "Mr. No-legs." The one he got today was better than 5 feet long and hubby said it was still moving even after 20 rounds in it.
He was only using the BB gun - I would have used the .22
Of course that is easy for me to say since I was posting here while he was out ridding the world of another snake. Hubby claims there are only 2 kinds of snakes on the planet - dead ones and ones he hasn't met.
{Conversation To Be Continued...:))}}
Nitey nite!!!!!!!!!
Howdy!!!!
I took a benedryl a bit ago - and expect it to kick into high gear very shortly - I may bug out with out warning - so this is my warning!!!!
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