Vacation Pics - Fort Leavenworth

While the Mothership & I were tooling around Leavenworth, we decided to hop across the river & see where that road went. We didn't get very far as we saw this pretty tower off in the distance & decided we wanted to know what it was. So, we stopped at a fireworks stand & asked. Turns out it was part of the old prison at Ft. Leavenworth. Fella told us we could go on base & wander around a mite so that's what we did. And here's the pretty tower...

We liked this pretty little gabezo (no, that's not a misspelling, long story) so, yeah, here it is. Enjoy.

The architecture was so pretty, especially this house (Yeah, yeah, I know - military base - not supposed to be pretty, but hey, I just call it like I see it.)

Of course, what would a trip to Ft. Leavenworth be without a little gun pron? (Note to self: find one of these babies for the front lawn.)

I mentioned coming across the cemetary in a previous post. This site was so sobering, especially when we saw the number of "Unknown Soldier" markers. It was so vast, we could hardly wrap our heads around it. I didn't say anything to Mom, but I felt that we didn't belong there, like we were intruding on holy ground. The men that those markers represent are why this nation is the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." Those markers stand for the courageous men & women standing in the gap for us even now.

To those of you who have served, who are serving & the families of our soldiers, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are in my prayers every day.

Vacation Pics - KC & Leavenworth

Hey look! A post!

Looks like Blogger is going to be nice to me today, so here we go.

On Sunday of our vacation, the Mothership & I went to Kansas City to go to the Victorian Trading Co. I've gotten their catalogs for several years, but unfortunately, I have really good taste (which means I have really expensive taste), so I haven't really bought much. I do have this print framed & hanging in my hallway, plus I picked up several more that were on sale while we were there.

In the back, they have a parlor tea room that is completely furnished in red velvet & mahogany. A little over-blown by today's standards, but perfect for the purpose. Mom & I had a quick spot of tea.

They also sell vintage-inspired clothing & hats. In fact, Mom got the hat I wore to the church's tea party on sale there. There are a lot of dresses I would love to wear. If only I were rich & skinny...After several more stops, we went home through Leavenworth and saw this lovely house. There were two sets of medieval armor on the porch - you can barely see one. The landscaping is gorgeous and, of course the house is as well. Love the gingerbread & the Mansard roof.
We thought this little single-engine on the roof of a bar & grill place was pretty nifty.

And who can go through Leavenworth without seeing the Penitentiary. This isn't a very good shot of the building, but I liked the clouds. They keep buffalo out in that pasture, or at least they used to. We also got to drive by the house & duplexes that my Great-Aunt owned. Viking Dad & his three brothers own them now.

Get Out Your Shades, Baby...

The Blogs of Summer are here!

Get your beach gear gathered and head over yonder to Bloggin' Outloud to nominate your favourite blogs during this season of the sun. Nominations are open from today through 12 noon, Sunday the 23rd. Voting will then commence on Monday the 24th and continue through Thursday the 27th. Results will be announced that Friday.

The Categories are...

1) Chick & Mommy Blogs

2) Humor & Satire Blogs

3) Milblogs/Military Support Blogs

4) Random Blogs That Don't Fit a Category

5) Kitty Kat Blogs (And Other Pets too!)

6) Political Blogs (Or Something Close)

And yes, you can nominate yourself. For all the beachy details check out Lyn's post here, then slather on that sunscreen and nominate away!

What are you waiting for? GO!

Hmmm...

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a wanderer. You constantly long for a new adventure, challenge, or even a completely different life. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. Your feet may be on the ground, but your head is in the clouds. You believe that people see you for how you are, not how you look. But deep down, you know that's not exactly true. Your near future is still unknown, and a little scary. You'll get through wild times - and you'll textually enjoy it. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

From tommy...

Gaaahhh!

I finally get ahold of the pictures from my vacation & now Evil Blogger is refusing to load the pictures.

Bad Blogger. BAD!

Hey!

Whatcha doin' here? Why aren't you checkin' out all my kitty buddies over at the Friday Ark & the Carnival of the Cats at For The Junta?

I Got Some 'Splainin' To Do

My parents have expressed some concerns over my last post. They worry what people will think of me when they read about the meds I'm on.

I have fibromyalgia & have been displaying symptoms since I was 13. This involves chronic pain throughout the body & stiffness (I was once misdiagnosed with arthritis in college), chronic fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, headaches, numbness in the extremities, sensitivity to touch & difficulty focusing. This site has more information.

These conditions have had a huge impact on my life. I have had to quit my dream of training horses professionally. I can't go into nursing as I planned. I am constantly exhausted & yet unable to sleep. Three times one summer while I was at Cessna, I had to be sent home for 3 days due to the dizziness & blackouts.

All that said, there are times that meds come in very handy for helping to control some of the symptoms. Sleeping pills, anti-inflammatories, pain pills... Since Cessna I haven't used the pain meds other than plain 'ol ibuprofen or tylenol. The Zoloft I mentioned in the previous post helps with the depression that can come as a result of constant pain. Don't worry, it isn't bad, just gives me that obnoxious weepiness.

So, that's what I deal with on a daily basis, but I really have it pretty good. Yeah, I'll most likely have this the rest of my life, but it's not cancer, it's not MS or a multitude of other things that others have to put up with. And if someone thinks less of me for depending on a few minor medications, well, that's their problem & they just need to get over it.

Drugs Are Cool, Man

I mean the prescription variety, of course.

I'm on a new sleeping pill, Trazodone. I used to take it back when I worked at Cessna. When I got laid off, I went off all my meds due to the whole no insurance thing. For the past six-ish months, I've been on Flexeril & Ativan, but they either didn't work or left me feeling really sluggish when I got up.

So far, I'm not doing extremely well. I'm feeling really out of focus & my vision keeps going all wacky-hoo on me. That may be due in part to the Zoloft I've just started taking. That one is for the weepy-ness. My doc said that people who deal with chronic pain often get in what she calls a 'fragile' state. I was so messed up before I went on vacation that I would tear up over nothing. Someone asked me how I was doing & I said "I can't answer that or I'll start crying". And I don't cry. It was driving me nuts.

Since the vacation, all of that is better, but I've been back to stretching my days out too long. Yesterday I was up for 21 or 22 hours before I went to bed. I was up again after 5 hours & couldn't sleep anymore. That was with 100mg Trazodone & a wee bit of Barefoot Cellars Sauvigon Blanc.

If this doesn't improve, maybe I'll have to look into a good whack on the head before going to bed.

What's In A Name

I know I said (last week!) that I'd have vacation pictures up, but the Mothership's van is in the shop &, as we can't find it anywhere else, the camera must be in it. So, until it's fixed & back home, no pictures.

Speaking of the van, Mom & I were discussing names for her van while we were on the road. She's had the thing about a year & it still isn't named,

My little Avenger is named Lucy, the 1/2 ton Dodge Ram (Mmmm, Dodge.... *drool*) I drove before is Lily (she's Dad's now, but I still have visitation rights) and my first truck, a 3/4 ton Ford diesel with dual-exhaust & glass-packs, was Nelly Brown. Before that I drove the folk's white '85 Lincoln Town Car, Abe, & the '78 Ford Fairmont who was named Daisy.

Well, that was her name before Ramone & his friend Kern got ahold of it, the pressure washer & a torch. Daisy turned into the Beast. They torched off the roof, the doors, all the quarter panels, the trunk, everything. I think the only outer piece of sheet metal left was the hood. They would take that thing out mudding & come back absolutely filthy. My cousin, who was probably 12 at the time, drove it with all of the rest of us girls along for the ride. She almost flung us out tearing over the terraces in the field. Larry, Ramone's black Lab always rode in the back seat or in what was formerly the trunk.

Oh, yeah, in between my two trucks, I drove The Nasty, a Dodge Dynasty. I bought Lily after I had to have that hunka junk towed from Wichita for the third time.

You want to hear some odd people names? Some of the more different ones I've run across here at work have been Previous, Precious, Princess, A'Piffani, Ray-Vun & Terlisa. I'm sure there are many more, but my subconcious has most likely blocked them.

Peanut & Jer are going to give all of their kids 'J' names. Peanut has had names picked out since before she even met Jer.

I am personally a fan of old-fashioned names. Mine is not necessarily old, but it is fairly uncommon. There is one actress/celebrity of sorts who has it, but every time I've run across my name in a book or movie, that person was always bad. What is up with that?

I say it's a conspiracy.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

I know, I know - it's Wednesday (well, I'm still on Tuesday, but that's night shift for ya) & I'm just now getting around to my Sunday-ish hymn. I really need to get a phone dealy put in at home so I could do all this there. Enough with the excuses, on to the bloggy-ness...

(Um, yeah... Ignore that first paragraph. As you can see it's not Wednesday anymore. In fact I'm actually posting a Sunday hymn on Sunday. Shocking, I know. And this is also behind the times as I meant to do this relatively close to the 4th, but hey, better late than never I guess.)

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready to leave work, a patriotic song came on the radio & a co-worker said that she didn't really get the point behind all the patriotic stuff. I, unfortunately, gave in to my weaker side & didn't confront her.

What I should have said was this:

The whole patriotism thing is a big deal because, like it or not, this country is the greatest one on the face of the earth. No other nation in history has done so much to ensure that it's people are free. No other nation in history has done so much to protect the weak & defenseless in other parts of the world.

Were you to say something similar in many other countries, that would not be considered your right to state your opinion. You would be hauled away & jailed for treason. In other nations & cultures, you would be killed for just your 'infidel' clothing - a t-shirt & capris. And it would all be legal.

The big deal, for me at least, with the patriotic songs is that they are a reminder. A reminder of all that this country stands for, of all that has been done & sacrificed by generations so that we can have these freedoms that are so natural, so easily used & so easily forgotten by us here in the United States. These same basic human rights are often foreign concepts to others living outside our borders.

While we were on vacation, Mom & I drove around Fort Leavenworth for a while one evening. We stumbled upon the cemetery there & the first thought for both of us was "It's so big!" Then we drove a little further & realized that had only been the tip of the iceberg.

So many white stones. So many soldiers.

All of those soldiers lived & died to protect this nation, this 'social experiment' that set the precedent for freedom. Those soldiers & the ones serving today are the reason this is the greatest nation in the world. Their courage & self-sacrifice leave me speechless in awe & gratitude.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Chorus

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watchfires
Of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar
In the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence
By the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

Chorus

I have read a fiery gospel writ
In burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with My condemners,
So with you My grace shall deal":
Let the Hero born of woman
Crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.

Chorus

He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.

Chorus

In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.

Chorus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Gah! Dang computer keeps double-spacing everything. I'll have to get to another 'puter later to fix it.) – Yay, it’s fixed!

Lyrics found here
Week 6 - Praise You In This Storm
Week 5 - Come Thou Fount
Week 4 - The Old Rugged Cross
Week 3 - Fairest Lord Jesus
Week 2 - Be Thou My Vision
Week 1 - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Horse Hills or Hilly Horsies or Something Like That...

Ever think about how difficult the settlers who moved in to this land (Kansas) had it when they first came?

I do. I mean, nowadays we have all these fancy-shmancy highways & byways & what-all & everything has been leveled out some - the hills have huge chunks blasted out (those would've been some pretty explosions) & the valleys have been built up so our pretty little Dodges can just zoom all over the place.

Way back when, in the good ol' days, those folks would've had to get a honkin' big wagon, pulled by horses (or mules or oxen, but horses are prettier, so I'll just picture those in my mind) up & down the hills that the Mothership & I soared over at 75 mph. It wouldn't have been much of a problem around here (can you say flat) but up around Leavenworth & Atchison, well, let's just say that I feel for those poor dearly departed ponies. (I think I'm having issues with all of the parentheses here. Oh well.)

These are the kinds of things that I ponder whilst going down the road.

Okay, I'm done now. G'bye.

Party Time!

From Lyn at Bloggin' Outloud I found the 4th of July Tag Party.

He said to "consider yourself memed", so memed I am.

Instructions:
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. In the search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).
3. List three important events that happened on your birthday.
4. List two interesting birthdays and one interesting death.
5. List one holiday or observance (if none, make one up).

Here we go...

January 20th

3 Events
1. 1892 - the 1st official basketball game was played in MA
2. 1942 - the RAF dropped 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin
3. 1981 - Iran released 52 American hostages 20 minutes after Reagan was inaugurated (Yay!)

2 Birthdays
1. 1930 - Buzz Aldrin, astronaut
2. 1896 - George Burns, comedian

1 Death
1993 - Audrey Hepburn, actress

1 Holiday
Inauguration Day! The whole nation celebrates just for little ol' me every four years!

Your turn... & let Lyn know when yours is up!

Vacation Kitties

There will be lots of vacation blogging & pictures to go with this week. First up we have a few kitties that are visiting.

...

Sammy belongs to Mr. & Mrs. B, Mom's cousins. He prefers the company of Mr. B, who becomes a bit more marshmallowy in the company of Sam. He is a huge fluff monster, but very sweet & never uses claws or teeth.

This is Newman. He belongs to big bro Flanders, wifey Belle & their hobbits. He is an outdoor cat, with aspirations to become an indoor cat. Unfortunately, his credentials & good looks are not enough to get him through the front door.

Newman playing with the nephews in the sandbox. He didn't even mind when Bobo sprayed him with a little water.
Sydney the psycho kitty was rather happy when I got home after more than a week of being away. She quickly claimed her favourite perch, also known as my back. Crappy picture I know, I forgot to take off the flash, but you can kinda see I'm getting cheek rubs.Not quite a kitty, in fact he moves like a cutting horse, but this is Zipper, Mr. & Mrs. B's pup. Part German Shepherd, part Yellow Lab & part Basset Hound. He wouldn't let me pet him, but freaked out a little when I was on the roof & untouchable.

Hair, Hair Nowhere

Well, it's done. Thanks to all of you who indulged me by voting. Just so y'all don't think I'm incapable of making up my mind, I was going to do something about the hair anyway & thought it would be a hoot to do the poll. Anyway, on to the results...

Before

WHACK!

I couldn't believe how much lighter my head felt!

Ta-Da!
Hey, who's that chick with the cheesy look on her face?

I'd forgotten that my hair springs up & is kinda wavy when all the weight is cut off. There's still a little perm left, but not much. Now I get to turn heads at work & church. (Insert evil laugh here.)

note from LG's dad

I'm just letting you know that ladygunn is stuck out of town for maybe a day or two b/c of vehicle trouble----the hair poll is now defunct ---pictures will be posted upon her return. watch for upcoming photos of her saved head!!!!

~~~~~~~

I think what he meant was shaved head, although it is saved in a sense. By the way, in case y'all can't tell, I'm back after all, just a wee bit later than originally thought. ~ LG