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For Book Lovers
Friday, 8:38 pm
By Kate
Jul
02
2010
Since this is a long weekend (in the US, at least), maybe this will give a couple of you something to go with your later morning coffee…
Bookshelf Porn..... I might be embarrassed to tell you how long I spent gazing on all of the sumptuous photographs. There are many people out there in the whole wide world who love books. I love peeping into their homes and public spaces filled with books. Maybe you will, too.
While poking though the Bookshelf Porn photos, I found a few of a book shop in Paris, called Shakespeare and Co., that completely captured my imagination. I think that the shop has been around nearly as long as time. It seems to be a most magnificent and magical place. Here is an article in the U.K. Guardian from last March that is a feast of word pictures. For the more visually attuned, watch this You Tube video of the bookshop and interview with the manager.
Shakespeare and Co. is one place I’d really like to visit before shuffling off this mortal coil.
Enjoy the books.
A letter from a friend
Monday, 5:11 pm
By Cyn
Jun
28
2010
Below is a letter I just received from a friend--a woman who used to work for me in another life! Her son is dying of kidney failure and is desperate for a transplant. Her other son is a perfect match but they will not allow him to be a donor--read below to see why. I am posting this to see if any of your readers, Kate, might have ideas or suggestions. I did forward this to Niki Tsongas, to Sue Tucker, to my friend Deb Silberstein who is running for Sue Tucker’s seat and asked all of them to continue to forward it. I suggested to my friend she try to get in touch with John Kerry and to even try Scott Brown although I seriously doubt he would care one way or the other. Any ideas you might have would be welcomed. Thanks.
Cyn,
I apologize for being such a bother but I need to ask this favor. So, I am going to explain the situation as best as I can.
Last Tuesday, the 22nd both my sons met with the surgeon and she outlined the situation on paper so they would be able to understand it better. My oldest son is out as a donor because he has the same gene and because the disease is rare they don’t have a whole lot to go on other than that Peter needs a kidney transplant. But, he also has a 50% chance of reoccurrence and in order to stop that at this time there is only one (1) drug on the shelve and it costs ---$300, 000 per year --- and the insurance does not cover it.
Where is our government Cyn? that allows these Pharmaceutical companies to make their own prices and make their own rules at people’s expense? This disease attacks mostly children and rarely grownups. How can families afford such a price?
I have heard that some pharmaceutical companies are helpful for people that cannot afford their medication. I am not sure if this applies to this high priced drug but I thought..... If you can tell me how to get in touch with Niki Tsongas maybe a letter to them from her office might be helpful OR she might be able to tell me what else to do. It is all I am asking because you have met her and maybe she can help.
Again, and again I apologize but I have to reach out and do what I can do to help my son. Thank you, Martha
Good Morning!
Saturday, 8:49 am
By Cyn
Jun
26
2010
We are having such (unusually) nice weather for this part of the country, that I have just not had time to pop in and say hello. Between work, driving around in my new convertible (LOL), reading on the deck, the time just flies by. But the weather has been nice, sadly, too dry cause our lawns are burning already (again unusual), but at least we have seen a lot of sunshine.
Just wanted to say hello and bitch about something for a second...Why do you think there are so many naysayers about President Obama and his policies and his administration? How can these people stand there with a straight face and complain, complain, complain. And yet when you suggest that for 8 years the foxes were guarding the henhouse and that is why we are in such a mess, they just sneer and make some inane comment about our president and walk away. I get so mad.
I honestly believe some of these people--no make it MOST of these people, would have been happier with an old war hero - who is not in the best of health and an ignorant hillbilly running this country instead of an extremely intelligent, thoughtful black man? And there is the key I suspect, a “black” man. I think racism is more rampant in this country then we ever thought. Everyone knows there are certain parts of the country where it is pretty obvious and we all know people who are either outwardly racist or quietly racist, but I think there is far more than we ever believed. I mean, how else can you explain it? Sarah Palin, and she is ignorant--not stupid, she is definitely not stupid, but she is NOT intelligent. She is little more than a hillbilly with a gift for public speaking (well to some people--personally I would rather listen to cats howling in the middle of the night) or you have someone who not only can string a lot of words together, who actually KNOWS what those words mean. Ahhh well, what can you do.
I am going to start carrying a list of the accomplishments of this administration around with me and just hand it out to people who make nasty comments. I met the VP of a company the other day--a company my boss works for, I was introduced to him and the person introducing me felt the need (why??) to mention that I am a huge Obama supporter etc. It was all done in a nice way and in a joking way, all was fine. But this AH, felt the need to turn it into something else and absolutely sneered as he made several untrue and well, quite frankly, not very nice comments, ending up with, well, enjoy it now, cause he is only here for a short visit.
There are some republicans that make me want to separate their head from their shoulders with a baseball bat and he was one of them. You know the type, tight-ass, sneer, look down their noses. I so wanted to take this guy on you cannot imagine. But, because I have the utmost respect for the person who introduced us and affection for this man and his wife (who I work for), I had to shut my mouth, smile and say something inane and walk away. GRRRRR
But I think I am going to come up with something I can carry with me (no not a baseball bat) and hand to these idiots.
And on that note, I have to close, thrift shop volunteering today and since it is closed for the month of July, everything in the shop is $1 today, should be bedlam.
Have a good one--any and all suggestions for putting jerks in their place are appreciated--welcomed!!
Hello Sunday
Sunday, 11:18 am
By Cyn
Jun
13
2010
I thought maybe someone might be poking around here since the weather is awful. Weekend has been really crappy so far--anyone in New England remember the long range forecast for this weekend? Words like mild temps, sunshine, progressively getting nicer each day and so on. Yeah, right. Instead it has been getting progressively worse and colder. But I am sure once the work week begins, it will be lovely. Bitter? Who me? Never!!
So, what is happening around here? Apparently nothing. I don’t think anyone has commented on anything in weeks. I just don’t have Kate’s magic touch, that’s all!!
Speaking of Kate--did the lad graduate this year or is it next? Time flies!! If this year, then congratulations to both of you. Wow!!
Am working on a questionnaire to be sent out to classmates of mine from high school. We are having a reunion in July--a middle between two significant years reunion - and I absolutely refuse to write or acknowledge those years cause it is damn scary!! I like to pretend it was just a short time ago and when I see the number it tells me I am in la-la land. SO, anyway, I said I would do the questionnaire and get it out to everyone and a friend is going to put it all together into some sort of booklet. But, I don’t want it to be cut and dried, am trying to make it humorous. So, I am turning to you all. Help me with some off the beaten path questions!! If you were filling out one of these, what would you like to see on it??
I am going to go back and see if I can find the class predictions or whatever it was called. It was something along the line of “...in 20 years so and so will be doing...” I think mine said I would be a carhop on roller skates. Yeah, well I did have a certain reputation back in high school. ;) Of course, roller skates have given way to rollerblades and believe it or not, carhops are coming back into style. We have one close by called Sonic. My goddaughter went with friends, she told me she was going to something called a ‘carhop’ and afterward, she said it was no big deal. They bring your food to your car and you eat IN your car. I laughed and said that’s what we all did back in the ‘old’ days.
There is a page on FaceBook called Plug the BP Oil Spill with Sarah Palin which is a riot. There are over 192,000 members already and counting. Lots of suggestions of other people to use as well. One of whom is Dick Cheney. Remember him? Big mouth up until the oil spill, had lots of suggestions and criticisms of the current administration?? Yeah him. So where is he now when the blame for much of this can be laid squarely at his doorstep. Hmmm, funny how he has disappeared. Must have gone back to that cave he was so fond of.
I did find something I want on that page and so now, This is on MY Christmas list!!
OK, I have a lot to do today so must say so long. If you have any suggestions about my reunion questions, I would love to hear them!!
Ciao’
OK, I just blew it
Monday, 10:25 am
By Cyn
Jun
07
2010
I spent an hour posting a whole lot of nothing, hit the wrong button and of course, had NOT saved anything. So lost it all, now no time to redo. I will try later on to recreate what I had written. SO, stay tuned, I will be back later on today I hope!!
OK, have lost it entirely (my mind) cause what I wrote DID post perfectly so this post is totally irrelevant. Like me!! I know there is a way to delete it, but I can’t figure it out. Just chalk it up to the fact that today I am living in a fishbowl. I have big, tall, small, little and some in between, men swarming all over the outside of our house. It’s like the night of the living dead. Had the house powerwashed a week or so ago, then they come back to scrape, replace, paint the wood trim and scrape and restain the deck. Weather held them up so today the whole crew is here. Literally there is someone on a ladder at every possible point in the house. I AM in a fishbowl. And it is making me a little crazy. I’ve got to get out of here, I cannot do this. YIKES! 
Ciao’