Uh-oh, I missed a day of blogging, Saturday, but I was busier than usual, and it was a very enjoyable busy. First, I made a French toast breakfast with bacon and eggs for everyone, including the dogs. Then I went with friend Jackie to the Bodacious Broads brunch. After that, I got nails done, and then my friend Lucy came over for our regular  Saturday night tête à tête. That didn't leave a lot of computer time.

I missed church again, but knew it would be useless to try to sing, and going to church without being able to sing just doesn't much appeal to me. I can stay at home and do the rest of it. I'm feeling better and believe this bug has surely run it's course almost, but when I start talking, I start coughing and get very hoarse, very quickly, so I'll just let the old vocal chords rest a little longer.

I'm loving the cooler weather we've had lately. The trees are stepping out timidly, slowly, one at a time, in their latest fall fashion, lots of gold and orange and cranberry red. They look stunning against the clear blue sky.

My nightly routine has been disrupted. Keith Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC for making political contributions, seems it was a serious infraction for their political talk show hosts. Now I'm torn between Plan A: sign the petition to bring him back, boycott the network, and finding some other programs to watch; or Plan B: sign the petition, watch the MSNBC shows and wait for the whole thing to work itself out. I've decided to go with Plan B. Saturday and Sunday nights aren't nearly as much fun without Chris, Ed, Keith, Rachel and Lawrence. "Hello, my name is Cathy and I am a political talk show junkie."

It's been a wild week for those of us thrive on the excitement of politics. I'm sick of the winners gloating about what "The American People have spoken" with their wins. Benji made one of the best statements I've read yet about their bloviating:

The American People didn't care about any of it. The percentage of people who turned out (and who always turn out) for midterms was abysmally low. I am so tired of people talking about The American People as if every person who could move or get to a wheelchair went to vote on Tuesday. They didn't. It was a small cult turn out, and your cult is a little bit more committed than our cult. That doesn't in any sense give you the right to dictate anything.

So not only am I an addict, I also belong to a cult. Lord, have mercy!

One of the things I enjoy so much about Facebook is that it has connected me with some brilliant people I, otherwise, would never have known. It isn't difficult to tell, by the remarks they make on a mutual friend's post, that this is someone with whom I would be compatible. If I were single and looking for another partner, I'd definitely want to use FB for initial stages of getting acquainted.

The lunch we had yesterday at The Cherokee was most enjoyable. I split a pizza with a new friend and met several others for the first time in person. Only 4 of the original 8 were there with 6 new people, so we had a total of 10. Our waiter was the same as last week - Coach. His picture is in the dictionary with curmudgeon.

I skipped choir rehearsal again last night, but what good is a soprano with no voice? I've had some sort of respiratory bug, all throat and lungs for two weeks, now it's moving into my head. Last week it felt like the flu and it may have been - chills, fever, body aches, head aches, coughing, etc. Now it's moved to my sinuses. If this is not all cleared out by Monday, I'll go to the doctor. He can't tell me, "It has to run its course."

Now that election day is over, and the Republicans are back in charge of the House of Representatives, it will be interesting to see how far their heated rhetoric gets them in producing meaningful change that benefits the country. If the public says JOBS are their #1 concern, exactly what is it they plan to do to put all the unemployed back to work? As much as I would like to see the unemployment in this country go down, I'm not expecting quick results. Tax breaks for the wealthy do not produce more jobs. It's time to bust that myth and let it die.

Rather than lunching with the Water Lilies today, I'm commiserating with some left leaning buddies at The Cherokee. We met for the first time last Wednesday and decided that together we might be able to decompress best with simpatico spirits following what promised to be a disappointing election day for us. I'm hoping we start a regular lunch bunch.

All is not doom and gloom today. Sarah Palin is on thin ice with establishment Republicans. Good. The Republicans now own this miserable economy along with Obama and the Dems. Good. Their failure to make significant progress within the next two years bodes well for Obama's re-election. Good. And Blue Dog Democrats have learned our Democratic patience is exhausted. Good.

Now, for some good ole-timey comfort food at the Cherokee.

I normally like to ease into the day; I wake up in stages, each cup of coffee brings a brighter level of consciousness, and by the 3rd one I'm almost ready to face the world. Sometimes my Facebook friends, who are never more than just a click away, start the old adrenaline rush much sooner than I prefer. Today was such a day, Election Day.

Today my FB friends greeted me with everything from rosy optimism to sheer unadulterated panic. Some are gloating already with the prospect of Nancy Pelosi losing her job as Speaker of the House. Some are explaining how divided leadership is good for the country. Others are dreading a takeover by wild-eyed, ignorant Tea Partiers. One man wants Democrats to maintain control so Armageddon will get here sooner. My friend Jackie posted this video, The Best is Yet to Come by Frank Sinatra and Jon Secada, so cheerful, it gave my spirits a much needed boost. 

Okay, my 4th cup of Joe calls. Time to shuck the fun stuff and get down to business. Let's vote, Dems!

Do I remember how to do this? It's been 8 months since I blogged. I'm hoping that 3 paragraphs/day here will satisfy my English professor son, who every November tries to involve me in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. I may have a novel in me, but he will have to take the raw material I've provided and write it himself. Think of this blog as raw material, Benji.

What has transpired in the time since last I wrote? Nothing of earth-shattering importance. The warm weather of spring evolved much too quickly into scorching summer, which hangs on yet, with high temps today expected to be in the 80's. My AC runs every day and the heat has been on only a couple of nights, so far.

I've made more trips to Plantersville this year than any other year since moving down here in '87. Benji is living in his Dad's home there and gets Pip once a month for a long week-end visit. I've missed only one of those visits, so far. It's a great escape for me with the added bonus of Gramma-time with my youngest grandson.

We usually enjoy a very laid-back time together with the 3 of us focused on separate electronic screens between short bursts of interaction. Pip, like his dad, loves video games. Being autistic, he has the ability to hyper-focus, and he's figured out games that are quite advanced for a 5 year old. He's also a big fan of the old cartoons like Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny, preferring the slap-stick comedy shtick to the newer cartoons of today. Watching him watch them is a real treat, no passive involvement there. He runs, he jumps, he rolls on the floor, he giggles, he gasps, he repeats the whole memorized script.

His speech is improving slowly and can usually be interpreted by paying close attention to the vowel sounds he makes. Every once in a while, he surprises us by talking as clearly as most other children his age, so I believe his delayed speech will soon be a non-issue.