This could be us Someday

I do not ever intend to make fun of anyone in my blogs and most blogs are for me instead of others. I love funny commercials, and Caltex has a good one here, maybe it could be me someday? I hope it brings a smile to your face and if not, let me post some songs for you old timers below. Actually I think it is about a company who boasts their employees go the extra mile- now that is a good goal and concept for anyone.

If you are over 55- you may remember some of these song titles from yester years.

Herman's Hermits --- Mrs.. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker .

Ringo Starr --- I Get By With a Little Help From Depends.

The Bee Gees --- How Can You Mend a Broken Hip.

Bobby Darin --- Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash

Roberta Flack--- The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face.

Johnny Nash --- I Can't See Clearly Now.

Paul Simon--- Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver.

The Commodores --- Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom.

Marvin Gaye --- Heard It Through the Grape Nuts.

Procol Harum--- A Whiter Shade of Hair.

Leo Sayer ---You Make Me Feel Like napping.

The Temptations --- Papa's Got a Kidney Stone.

Abba--- Denture Queen .

Tony Orlando & Dawn--- Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall.

Helen Reddy --- I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore.

Leslie Gore--- It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want To.

Bonnie Tyler - It's My Heartburn

The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda (Get Up Out of My Chair)

And my favorite:

Willie Nelson --- On the Throne again!


Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.

The Senate is investigating deceptive sweepstakes practices. These companies target the elderly and make them think they will receive a bunch of money, but in reality they never see any of it.
The most popular of these scams is called Social Security

Those Voices Do Not Speak for the Rest of Us

Many  have not returned ballots in Douglas County as of yesterday. The other 69%  actually will vote" by allowing " others" votes to count more, by simply by not caring to vote. I respect those of opposing views- that is your right- we can still be friends.  My vote was not swayed by polls- or who is projected to win.  I vote on issues and morals mostly and for my grandchildrens sake.

Voting at various times has been described as a right, a privilege and a responsibility. Some argue that these terms are mutually exclusive while others believe that all three terms apply equally.In the end, no matter which position one takes, it is clear that every vote is important. 

To illustrate this I am reminded of an election that happened two years ago when one Robert McDonald ran for city council in Walton City, Kentucky.  After all the votes were counted, he ended up in a 669 to 669 tie with another candidate. Under the law, there had to be a coin flip to determine the winner.  Even though he was allowed to call the coin flip, he still lost and the other candidate was declared victorious.The irony here is that his wife, who was going to school, working nights and caring for their three children, woke up just 10 minutes before the polls closed and Mr. McDonald reportedly told her that he thought he had done enough to win and didn’t think one vote would matter.  She didn’t vote (presumably she would have voted for him), and obviously he was wrong.

545 PEOPLE--By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, ‘if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?’
Have you ever wondered, ‘if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?’

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.... The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Its up to you- Vote! Vote. Vote. Please Vote. Quit listening to excuses and blaming others- VOTE. And Don't just blame the president- congress must approve all spending- hold them accountable as well.

This Old House

Thank you for your prayers and patience! (I do not deal well with stress and lack of control.)  Friday we officially closed the sale of our Tumwater house at 4;30pm. It was empty since June 30th when the renters moved out (same day Jan retired) and was on the market for 106 days. Probably 8 or 9 trips to Olympia and who knows how many papers we had to scan, sign, and email back.

We lived in that house after moving from Spokane in early 80's. Jan found the house-I think I was ready to give up?  I actually quit my job to move back to Spokane and then, re-moved  back after they rehired me a few weeks later. (change is hard on me) We had Darcie while living there and did home school and daycare in that house. (we reunited with one of the daycare girls this summer)  Jan and I turned 30 while living in that house. The neighbors were super, (one still lives there and 3 we know of have passed on) We still have many friends there, and the location was great. I worked for Allen Homes, Denny's Restaurant, Dairyfresh, and Charlie's Home Center while we lived there. Evergreen Christian Center was our church home with Pastor Smith and Pastor Hastie. I love the memories. We moved from that house  back in Sept. of 1985-thinking maybe we could move back- when I accepted a State job in Pasco.  Our first renter was there 10 years or so and we even took a family vacation to Canada together. I am guessing we had 7 or 8 different renters in 29 years- each one special and different kind of memories but special. Somehow with age, It became less fun to work on repairs and even this summer was filled with long days of work and frequent trips to work on house. I think we reroofed the house three times and not sure how many times painted it.

Both our realtors and closing agent went far out of their way to make this work- and to put up with me. Thank you Rachel Dillingham, Kami, and Stephanie Woodson- you will not know how many times I thought this was not going to work out. I certainly wish the buyer the best, he has 4 kids including a set of twins and hope he can sell the house someday just on the value of memories. It will be nice to go to Olympia the next time just to visit friends, and not have to work on the house for 15 hours each day and sleep on an air bed.

This video was made 6 years ago of the house- it is time to move on, let go, count my many blessings, and give thanks. No immediate plans- just taking a deep breath is good.  I had forgotten what it was like to sell a house, the one previous to this one in Spokane was the last one we sold, and was stressful to me as well. As I told the closing agent- this will probably be our last home sale; we will probably live here till we die and let our kids deal with the stress of selling.

I would guess that is Grace and Jeremy, and yes it does snow in Tumwater.

same house 30 some years later (after Global Warming?) and first day of listing

A typical load back, of tools and garbage, after typical 2 days of work

We were blessed with sunshine each time we went over this summer-

the color is the same as our home here in East Wenatchee.

Below is a sky view taken from Zillow.com-  near the Tumwater Golf Coarse and not far from 1-5. The Capital 5000 Building was next to entrance to Palermo Valley. Our house was by the "N"

5001 Palermo Ave SE, Tumwater, WA 98501

 4 beds 2 baths 1,604 sqft Edit  

Edit home facts for a more accurate Zestimate.

Sold: $155,000

Sold on 10/31/14

Zestimate^®: $188,620    

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A Zestimate® home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home's value.

Spacious and lovely rambler centrally located in Tumwater in most desirable and safe neighborhood. Extra Large Kitchen with lots of counter and cabinets. One block to city park, close to golf coarse and exercise club, extra large corner lot, fenced yard with fruit tree. Large finished Garage with garage door opener. Short and easy I-5 freeway access.

Facts

• Lot: 6,969 sqft
• Single Family
• Built in 1965

• Views: 3,013 all time views
• Heating: Baseboard
• Last sold: Oct 2014 for $155,000

• Last sale price/sqft: $97

Features

• Cable Ready
• Double Pane/Storm Windows
• Fireplace

• Flooring: Laminate
• Parking: Garage - Attached, 480 sqft
• Patio

• RV Parking

Additional Features

• 3rd Party Apprvl Req: None
• Appliances That Stay: Dishwasher
• Appliances That Stay: Microwave
• Appliances That Stay: Range/Oven
• Appliances That Stay: Refrigerator
• Basement: None
• Bonus room location: M
• Building Information: Built On Lot
• Dining room location: M
• Energy Source(heat): Electric
• Entrance level: M
• Exterior: Wood
• Floor Covering: Laminate
• Floor Covering: See Remarks
• Form 17: Provided
• Foundation: Poured Concrete

• Heating and cooling: L
• Heating/Cooling: Baseboard
• Bath Off Master
• Dbl Pane/Storm Windw
• Dining Room
• Living room location: L
• Lot Details: Corner Lot
• Lot Details: Dead End Street
• Lot Details: Paved Street
• Lot Topog./Veg.: Fruit Trees
• Lot Topog./Veg.: Level
• Master bedroom location: M
• Parking Type: Garage-Attached
• Possession: Closing
• Potential Terms: Cash Out
• Potential Terms: Conventional

• Potential Terms: Lease/Purchase
• Potential Terms: Owner Finance
• Potential Terms: Rehab Loan
• Property type: RESI
• Roof: Composition
• Sewer: Sewer Connected
• Show map link: Y
• Cable TV
• Patio
• RV Parking
• Site features: L
• Status: PI
• Style: 10
• Utility room location: M
• Water Source: Public

Appliances Included

• Dishwasher
• Microwave

• Range / Oven
• Refrigerator

Room Types

• Dining room

Construction

• Construction quality:
  6.0
  

  Provided by the county assessor, this grade is based on a scale that varies by market. For more information, or to update the grade, contact the county assessor's office.
• Roof type: Composition

• Stories: 1
• Unit count: 1

Other

• Floor size: 1,604 sqft
• Heating: Electric

• Last remodel year: 2014
• Parcel #: 67100300500

• Zillow Home ID: 49403899

Price History

Date	Event	Price	Agents
10/31/14	Sold	$155,000-22.5%	R. Dillingham, S. Sampson
10/21/10	Listing removed	$199,900
06/17/10	Price change	$199,900-0.0%
02/21/10	Price change	$199,990-6.1%
02/04/10	Listed for sale	$212,900+1.4%
12/18/09	Listing removed	$209,960
11/08/09	Price change	$209,960-4.5%
10/25/09	Price change	$219,960+10.0%
10/12/09	Listed for sale	$199,960
More Less

Tax History

Find assessor information on the county website

Year	Property taxes	Change	Tax assessment	Change
More Less
2013	$2,471+10.9%	+10.9%	$177,450	+13.5%
2012	$2,228-3.5%	-3.5%	$156,400	-9.5%
2011	$2,309+5.3%	+5.3%	$172,800	-9.0%

Good to Be Alive

Has TV and abortions made us calloused to the value of life? Today is extra special as one lady had decided not to end her life today after saying she would earlier on news. Perhaps I do not understand what she is going through ( or did anything to chage her mind); or know what you are going through- but Life is precious and God has a plan for your life.  I hope I get to meet Jack Rushton Someday in Heaven- he is an inspiration to me. For 23 years he was paralyzed from a surfing accident until He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Christmas Eve 2012.  Take time to listen to his video that was made several years ago. I posted a news article below of two women dealing with tough issues thrown at them. Don't Give Up. It is good to be alive.

BRISTOL, Conn. – A Connecticut woman has a message for Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old Oregon woman whose decision to end her own life has gone viral: “Please don’t leave us yet.”

Maggie Karner released a video on Wednesday in which she reads a letter she wrote to Brittany.

Maynard had been married a year when she discovered she had an aggressive brain cancer. Last April, doctors told her she had six months to live.

“Honestly, I really do get it,” Karner writes. “Brain cancer sucks in a really big way. It’s a beast that lurks and prowls… but you know what? Death sucks, too. It rips us from the people and the passions that we love the most.”

Maynard posted YouTube videos in which she and family members talked about her decision and supported an expansion of assisted suicide laws. She started an organization, Compassion and Choices, to promote that idea.

Karner has also been diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma multiforme, but she says she is choosing life.

“When Robin Williams took his own life, the world lost some of its beauty and joy that day. Brittany, if you take your own life, the world will lose some of its beauty again.”

Karner talks about the millions of people who are following Maynard’s story from across the country.

“No one is judging but people are watching.”

On the same day Karner released her video, Maynard announced she was giving herself more time.

“I still feel good enough and I still have enough joy and I still laugh and smile with my family and friends enough that it doesn’t seem like the right time right now,” Maynard says in a video released to CNN on Wednesday. “But it will come, because I feel myself getting sicker. It’s happening each week.”

For now, it appears Maynard has heard Karner’s message.

“Please don’t leave us yet. Lets choose life for as long as we’ve got.”

God Is

Too Kind to do anything Cruel,

Too Wise to Make A mistake,

Too Deep to Explain Himself.

Romans 11:33



You cannot be thankful and unhappy at the same time

The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings not his cash

Rushton Jr., Jack Louis, broke free from the confinement of his paralyzed body at 12:15 AM, Christmas day, 2012 at his home in Tustin, where he lived for 38 years. He was 74. Almost 24 years ago, Jack severed his spinal cord while body surfing, leaving him ventilator-dependent and paralyzed from the neck down. Through his positive and determined life, he has inspired thousands. Though paralyzed, Jack took great joy from his daily productivity. From the seat of his wheelchair, he authored two books and wrote hundreds of inspirational essays that he called Observations. Links to his books and Observations can be found at jackrushton.com. He regularly appeared as the keynote speaker in religious and secular settings. He loved speaking to young people. He taught the same adult Sunday school class for more than 22 years and simultaneously served as the Patriarch for the Orange Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His disability did not define him. Jack was born September 26, 1938 in a humble home in the mining town of Ruth, Nevada. He was the third of four sons born to Jack Louis Rushton and Vera Bertell Young. Although Jack loved baseball and basketball, he excelled at the piano and clarinet, earning a music scholarship to Brigham Young University. While there, he earned both his bachelors and masters degrees. Later, he also earned a doctorate of education from USC. In 1958, Jack left BYU to serve for 30 months in the LDS Central American Mission. His missionary service changed the focus of his life and left him determined to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a religious educator. For 25 years Jack taught religion classes to high school and college students. He loved his work. At the time of his injury, he was also training and recruiting teachers throughout Southern California for the Church Educational System. During this same time Jack served in many church leadership positions, including seven years as a bishop. He was serving as the Irvine Stake President at the time of his injury. Jack certainly would not have thrived these last 24 years were it not for the meticulous care and unwavering devotion of his wife, Jo Anne. She tirelessly provided for his every care. For 48 years, she honored their vow: in sickness and in health. Jo Anne survives Jack, along with their six children, Michael, Richard, John, JoLene Stratford, Rachel Riley and Jaclyn Brown. He is also survived by his 20 grandchildren and his brothers, Darrel and Kim. Poignantly, at this time, as Jack's family and friends contemplate his legendary life, we are reminded of his motto and catch phrase: "it's good to be alive." Because of his example we are motivated to try harder and reach higher.