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 a place for my responses to the prompts from Andre the Blog Monkey's Banana Bar |
Fun times never stop at "Invalid Item"  .
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January 3, 2022 Prompt: TWOFOR TUESDAY - Take your pick of either or both of these blog prompts. 1. True confessions: Tell us why you'll always be a hippy. 2. If money was no object, but you can only renovate one room in your house...What would you do?          I have decided to answer both the prompts for today because they go well together. It seems as though this question was just for me, or people like mee. I'll always be a hippie because - well, I'm a tree hugging nature loving hippie. I absolutely love plants. So much so that my while obtaining my degree in biology, my research focused on plants. But not just plants - plant genetics. Not to genetically modify anything but to understand more about plants and their growth and flowering patterns and how those patterns are altered by their environment - all the way down to the genetic level. What does that have to do with being a hippie, you might ask. Simple. The more I understand of nature the more I can keep all my plants and trees healthy and happy. I'm also a tie-dye wearing, frisbee throwing, animal loving (and pot smoking) peace freak. And in my mind, I will always value the peace of nature above the hectic chaos of urban life. Laid back and easy going is my preferred way of doing things. What would I do with lots of money and a room to renovate? I would make the most awesome sun-room/reading room, full of light and plants and, of course, books. Three of the walls would be floor to ceiling oak bookshelves holding house plants and books by all of my favorite authors. The fourth wall would be all windows in order to let the light in. In the middle of the room would be a papasan chair, a big comfy recliner, and of course I'd have to have a bean bag chair in there as well. OR (if the gub'ment made weed legal) I could turn one of the spare bedrooms into a grow room and use my education and experience with plants to grow some amazing weed to help with my seizures and lupus SLE. While it isn't why I decided to research plants, I suppose it is a dream of potheads everywhere to be able to grow their own smoke. Then I'd know exactly what went into what I put in my body, right? Of course, this is just a pipe dream, so is the sun room. Money will always be an object here in my world. I just make the best of it with what I've got. Hell, at least I'm still alive to see more days. Word Count: 448  |
Sunday, January 2, 2022 Prompt: READ IT IN THE SUNDAY PAPERS We used to read the newspaper in the old days, then discuss our feelings about the various news stories. We called it conversation. Write a blog entry about a current news story in your area. Tell us your opinion on the topic and invite your readers to engage in a conversation in the comments.  Doing a search of current Texas news, I was inundated with articles on sports, politics, and the pandemic. Honestly, I have grown tired of reading/hearing about all three. Let's get back to real news already people! I did find a break from the current norm with Overloaded Human Smuggling Plane Crashes in Texas Desert. Pilot Flees, Cops Say - and there were couple of articles on murders and the like. So, let's discuss a bit on this plane crash, shall we? Here's the condensed version. This Texan, probably with more money than sense, decided to smuggle illegal immigrants across the US/Mexican border in his plane - but since he had more people in the plane than it was built to hold, he lost control of the plane and it crashed in the South Texas desert. This ass-wipe then fled the crash, leaving his passengers to fend for themselves in a new country and wounded from the accident. Local law enforcement, border patrol, and TxDOT all arrived on the scene for search and rescue. As of this article, they still had not found the pilot, but they say it is possible he didn't walk away from the crash unscathed - that he might even have lost an eye. My opinion: First, I think he deserves much worse than losing an eye. I hope he gets bitten by a rattler in the desert or something equally painful. Anyone who puts their love of money over the safety of a fellow human being needs to be knocked upside the head at the very least. (There's my Texan-ism coming out for y'all to see) People like this are a huge part of the immigration problem. I'm not opposed to people coming to the US to better their lives. In fact, my husband is an immigrant (he's Canadian). I do have a problem with these smugglers who make money off these poor people who just want better lives though. Human life is important regardless of where they are from. I hope they find this guy and throw the book at him. As far as the people coming into the US illegally, I understand that they want better for themselves, but there are legal routes for moving to the United States. And the legal routes would cost them much less in the long run - in both money and their lives/safety. Word Count: 458 |
Jan. 1, 2022 Prompt: "Write a personal review of 2021. Tell us about your hopes and expectations for 2022. Write at least one new year's resolution." My personal review of 2021. That's a hard one. So many ups and downs, triumphs and struggles. I have to say, it was better than 2020 but that isn't saying much at all. 2021 was going good enough until those dreaded last couple of months. Holidays are always hard but this year it just seemed like I kept on taking hit after hit as the year beat me down. Yet, humble me it did not. Like I said, there were ups to go along with the downs. I found out toward the end of 2021 that I am going to be a grandmother. I think I am getting used to that idea. My oldest (the one who is preggers) and I have a closer relationship now than we did for at least the five years before. I have seen both my girls further their lives and both are happier because of it. My relationship with the hubby is stronger now than at least 19 of the 20 years leading up to 2021. So, maybe my financial situation leaves a lot to be desired. And maybe my health and mental stability were all over the place, but they're both works in progress - truth be told, I am a work in progress. But I got a job at the end of the year to help out with the financial side of things. I expect 2022 to continue on as normal. Just because a new year has arrived doesn't mean I magically don't have the same old problems any longer. In fact, a new year means additional problems. With the rollover of the year, insurance plans start over again. That means I have to start over on my total out of pocket expenses on my medical insurance. More stress on an already financially stressed household. But we'll get through it somehow. We always do. I hope to write more this year. I hope to finally get on Disability so I don't have to force myself to work through excruciating pain daily. I hope to be the best darned grandma that I know how to be (and the bar is set high on this one because my grandmothers and my Mom are/were some of the absolute best). And I hope to get to go camping and fishing more this year. With the camping equipment my in-laws gifted us for Christmas, we now have fewer excuses to keep us from doing so. Happy New Year everyone. My resolution for the New Year is to LIVE. Not just survive, but to enjoy life and find meaning in even the smallest of moments. AND HAVE FUN while doing it. Word Count: 468 |
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