Life on the High Plains

I'm about to get on a plane and fly across country. My first fight post PE on 9/26. I'm a little nervous, but I've got my compression socks on, my medication, lots of water , and exercise instructions from my hematologist.  Wish me lucK! This dang new bogging app won't let me add any photos. 

Recently my daughter and I have been discussing IPA beer and how's it made.  This discussion led to the topic of hops and how they provide the bitter taste in beer.   This week's Skywatch Friday is from my archives of when I was in California last year and toured the Sierra Nevada Brewery.     In the back of the brewery they have beautiful gardens.     Here's how hops are grown.     After harvesting they are baled...     then mixed with barley, yeast and who knows what else in a vessel such as this where it's mashed, milled, fermented, boiled, etc.   Then it's packages and shipped in a nice cold truck to a location near you.   See, I paid attention on the tour.   Happy Skywatch Friday!

Okay, so Mr. Trump is our President-Elect.  I don't like it, but I'm accepting it.  I need to stop looking at Twitter though because his Tweets make my blood boil, or they make me roll in laughter--I don't know which. Here's today's tweet. Keep in mind that I'm not a proponent of burning the U.S. flag, but if I wanted to then that right is guaranteed to me by the First Amendment. Would someone please take this man's phone away and close his Twitter account?  I think it would be awesome if we all sent Mr. Trump a copy of the U.S. Constitution for Christmas so that he can read it before the inauguration. Mr. Trump, I'm really trying to respect you as my future president, but please stay off social media! Then there's the Muslim hatred posted on Facebook.  I have to take all these idiotic posts with a grain of salt and consider who is posting them. Breaking News:  not all terrorists are Muslim!  It's a very small minority, we should...

Since 9/27 my blog has really suffered.  I didn't realize how awful I felt after that PE until I started feeling better about a week ago.  The last eight weeks were brutal--I was exhausted, anxious, stressed, and a little depressed.  If I had it to do over again I would take more than five days off of work--that was a poor decision.  I should have stayed home for at least a month.  Probably the only person who really knew how bad I was feeling is a co-worker who listens.  In the last week there has been a huge improvement...I'm starting to feel like my old self again. So, since so much is missing from my blog, let's have a recap of November. It all started with such optimism and hope.  Then this night happened and you all know the rest. I've accepted it though.  I'm so glad to have daughters who believe in human rights for all Americans.  Yes, we all shed a lot of tears after that night, but I'm not a failure as a parent as so...

Where has the last 15 years gone? Believe it or not, Mr. Beans is learning to drive.  He took classes and passed the written test on the first try. Then he got to spend a day at the defensive driving course.  He went in as a young man who did not know anything about driving and he came out a man with unbelievable defensive driving skills. At the end of the day his mom, Irv, and I got to go to his driving recital where we were his passengers on several trips aroud the course. I'm not going to lie, it was a little scary, but at the same time it was amazing how much he learned in one day. Afterwards all the new drivers were presented with a certificate. A celebratory family dinner followed at Mr. Beans' choice of restaurant. How did 15 years go by so quickly! Way to go Mr. Beans!  And in case you didn't know it...you're my favorite grandson!

This week we need uplifting thoughts in our country and what better way to do it than through Skywatch Friday? Nothing makes me happier than my family and this summer the majority of us went to Montreal together.  It's a beautiful city and the Biodome is an amazing structure. Look at that blue sky! I wish I were in Canada right now.  I wonder if that immigration website has caught up with all the demand yet. Happy Skywatch Friday!

Rural America has spoken. No woman in the White House this year, or probably ever. Hate wins. America loses. Women will be sent back to the middle ages. I hope those STUPID IDIOTS who voted for a third party candidate as a protest are proud of themselves for handing that PIG the election. I'm a woman with a potential life threatening pre-existing health condition.  I soon won't be insurable.  Thanks America! The end.