General Discussion, Thursday, June 21, 2018

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Stella

Happy Summer!

Sailing

Christopher Cross

Well it’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me, oh

It’s not far to Never Never Land
No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me, oh

Sailing (takes me away)
Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
(I heard it could be)
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
(Soon I will be free)
Soon I will be free, yeah …

 

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187 Responses to General Discussion, Thursday, June 21, 2018

  1. Lucille says:
    June 21, 2018 at 12:44 am

    HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER

    Liked by 6 people

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  2. Lucille says:
    June 21, 2018 at 12:46 am

    GOOD NEWS!

    “Republicans Defeat Democrats’ Attempt to Fund International Planned Parenthood After President Trump Defunded It”
    by Steven Ertelt – June 20, 2018 | 5:55PM WASHINGTON, DC
    http://www.lifenews.com/2018/06/20/republicans-defeat-democrats-attempt-to-fund-international-planned-parenthood-after-president-trump-defunded-it/

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply
  3. Valerie Curren says:
    June 21, 2018 at 1:35 am

    Hope this works–blessings to all!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  4. czarowniczy says:
    June 21, 2018 at 1:51 am

    Into the belly of the beast today, into NOLA to meet the people who have the termite contract on the house. Mucho importante, those formosan termites we have in town eat nearly anything – they caught ’em eating the tarred caulking rope that waterproofs the levee wall system.
    Also a quick trip to the Chineeee big box store for things we just can’t find locally and we need to pursue our favorite hobby – eating! Maybe go into Belle Chasse for our fav seafood eaterie, extremely informal and absolutely fabulous. Their stuff comes right of the boats at ther docs just down the road.

    Liked by 6 people

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  5. nyetneetot says:
    June 21, 2018 at 2:04 am

    Mornin’ stella! (Smiter of those that ought to be smote) 😎 🍸 (Long Island Iced Tea)
    Mornin’ WeeWeed! (Master Mixologist Extrodinare) 😎 🍸 (Old Fashioned)
    Mornin’ Menagerie! 😎 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Jack Daniels – Single Barrel )
    Mornin’ Ad rem! (Queen Felis catus) 🐱 🍸 (Flaming Lamborghini)
    Mornin’ Sharon! 😎 🍸 🍸 (earthquake)
    Mornin’ ytz4mee! 😎 🍸 (cosmopolitan)
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸 (white wine and perrier)
    Mornin’ partyzantski! 🙂 |_| (Tom Collins)
    Mornin’ texan59! 🙂 |_| (Black & Tan)
    Mornin’ ZurichMike! 🙂 🍸 (fuzzy navel)
    Mornin’ Col.(R) Ken! (hand salute) 🙂 |_| (Boilermaker)
    Mornin’ czarina33! (aka czarina) 🙂 🍸 (Lynchburg Lemonade)
    Mornin’ czarowniczy! 🙂 |_| (Wild Turkey Rare Breed)
    Mornin’ letjusticeprevail2014! 🙂 |_| (Irish Car Bomb)
    Mornin’ Patriot1783-ctdar! (aka “ctdar”) 🙂 🍸 (grasshopper)
    Mornin’ tessa50! 🙂 🍸 (flaming volcano)
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸 (sidecar)
    Mornin’ varsityward! 🙂 |_| (Godfather)
    Mornin’ MaryfromMarin! 😀 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Mortlach)
    Mornin’ Wooly Covfefe! (aka “Wooly Phlox” aka “taqiyyologist”) 🙂 |_| (Roy Rogers)
    Mornin’ Howie! (aka “doodahdaze”) 🙂 |_| (Classic Daiquiri)
    Mornin’ TwoLaine! 🙂 |_| (Gin & Tonic)
    Mornin’ Sha! 🙂 🍸 (Lemon Drop)
    Mornin’ BigMamaTEA! 🙂 🍸 (Harvey Wallbanger)
    Mornin’ cetera5! (aka “Cetera”) 🙂 |_| (Blackberry wine)
    Mornin’ The Tundra PA! 🙂 🍸 (Gentleman Jack Whiskey Sling)
    Mornin’ lovely! 🙂 |_| (Backdraft)
    Mornin’ michellc! 🙂 🍸 (Salty dog)
    Mornin’ auscitizenmom! 🙂 🍸 (Kiss on the Lips)
    Mornin’ Margaret-Ann! 🙂 🍸 (White Russian)
    Mornin’ Auntie Lib! 🙂 🍸 (Tom and Jerry)
    Mornin’ holly100! 🙂 🍸 (Jack & Coke)
    Mornin’ Pam! 🙂 (Not even water)
    Mornin’ Ms.Tee! 🙂 🍸 (Mojito)
    Mornin’ koolkosherkitchen! 🙂 🍸 🍸 (Cuba Libre)
    Mornin’ ImpeachEmAll 🙂 |_| (Flaming Dr. Pepper)
    Mornin’ Monroe! 🙂 |_| (Stinger)
    Mornin’ Les! 🙂 |_| (Rusty Nail)
    Mornin’ shiloh1973! 🙂 |_| (Jack Daniels)
    Mornin’ TexasRanger! 🙂 |_| (Whiskey Smash)
    Mornin’ Ziiggii! 🙂 |_| (B52)
    Mornin’ oldiadguy! 🙂 |_| (Rum & Coke)
    Mornin’ smiley! (“stuck in spambucket”) 🙂 🍸 (Spanish coffee)
    Mornin’ derk! (“Stellars”) 🙂 🍸 (Kamikaze)
    Mornin’ Jacqueline Taylor Robson 🙂 🍸 (Shirley Temple)
    Mornin’ facebkwallflower! 🙂 |_| (Night Train Express)
    Mornin’ Ms. Cindy! (aka “Ms Cynlynn” aka “ms cynlynn”) 🙂 🍸 (1970 ducru beaucaillou)
    Mornin’ sandandsea2015! 🙂 🍸 (1961 Château Montrose)
    Mornin’ amwick! 🙂 🍸 (Blue motorcycle)
    Mornin’ hocuspocus13! 🙂 🍸 (1970 Chateau Latour)
    Mornin’ Sloth1963! 🙂 🍸 (1971 Moulin Touchais)
    Mornin’ MTeresa! (Ex-lurker) 🙂 |_| (Albanian Raki Moskat)
    Mornin’ rheavolans! (aka “Rhea Salacia Volans”) 🙂 |_| (Hot Buttered Rum)
    Mornin’ joshua! 🙂 |_| (Mudslide)
    Mornin’ John Denney! 🙂 |_| (RumChata)
    Mornin’ litenmaus! 🙂 |_| (Stolichnaya elit, no ice)
    Mornin’ kinthenorthwest! 🙂 🍸 (A Lonely Island Lost in the Middle of a Foggy Sea)
    Mornin’ TwoLaine! 🙂 |_| (Smoking Bishop)
    Mornin’ patternpuzzler! 🙂 🍸 (Old Lady)
    Mornin’ Senatssekretär FREISTAAT DANZIG! 🙂 |_| (Red Russian)
    Mornin’ G-d&Country! 🙂 🍸 (Blind Russian)
    Mornin’ Gary! 🙂 |_| (Yuengling)
    Mornin’ valeriecurren! 🙂 🍸 (Flaming Sambuca)
    Mornin’ Lucille! 🙂 🍸 (Peach Schnapps)
    Mornin’ Lburg! 🙂 🍸 (Lburg lemonade)
    Mornin’ davidhuntpe! 🙂 |_| (Baileys Irish Cream on the rocks)
    Mornin’ skipper1961! 🙂 |_| (Brompton’s Cocktail – No cherry, no umbrella, no plastic monkey)
    Mornin’ mightyconservative! 🙂 |_| (Benjamin Franklin’s clarified milk punch)
    Mornin’ whiners and complainers! 😛 (No drink for you!)
    Mornin’ to people posting that I missed. 😳
    Mornin’ to all you lurkers! 😕

    Also just in case someday; mornin’ to Elvis Chupacabra, F.D.R. in Hell and sundance! :mrgreen:

    Breakfast!

    NEW and IMPROVED breakfast with extra bacon for ZurichMike!

    Doughnuts and coffee!

    Liked by 6 people

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  6. sandandsea2015 says:
    June 21, 2018 at 8:28 am

    Stella, another great song! Christopher Cross had such a gorgeous voice.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  7. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 9:08 am

    Liked by 3 people

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  8. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 9:48 am

    President Donald J. Trump’s schedule for Thursday, June 21st:
    · Cabinet meeting
    · Working lunch with governors
    · Meeting with Secretary of State
    · Meeting with Secretary of Defense

    Liked by 3 people

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  9. TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
    June 21, 2018 at 11:37 am

    Morning All! 🙂
    Today’s Escher is San Cosimo Ravello 1932

    In this drawing you can see the beginings of his future, more famous illustrations he called “impossible constructions”.
    Below is a bright and sunny fadeaway illustration for the first day of summer

    I have 11 more Escher’s set up showing a varied group of his drawings going by date. If that is too many, or if you want more of the “impossible constructions” and less of the others, let me know. I was trying to show his progression as an artist, and highlight some of his less known works. 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

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  10. TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
    June 21, 2018 at 12:20 pm

    OK – so a medical question for you all.

    Has anyone had inflammation of the gallbladder with NO gallstones? After many tests this is the doc’s best guess.

    I have to keep a detailed food diary for 2 weeks, then he will decide if I need a $1,000 test of my gallbladder, or whether I should just do food avoidance (which I already do) to try to avoid that STABBING PAIN in the middle of my chest. Any more food avoidance and I’ll soon run out of food to eat.

    Has anyone had their gallbladder out? Did you have side effects after it’s removal?

    Thank you to anyone who wants to share their personal medical info for the world to see 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • stella says:
      June 21, 2018 at 12:29 pm

      My daughter was, at first, given an ultrasound attempting to find gallstones, but it was negative. It wasn’t until further tests (I don’t know what specifically) that gallstones were confirmed, but the doctors said they were like “sand” – very fine and difficult to detect. She had her gallbladder removed. This is now fairly easy surgery. It take a couple of weeks to recover, instead of the more serious surgery in the past. In her case, she remained sensitive to fats for a while, but has gradually returned to normal.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
        June 21, 2018 at 12:43 pm

        Thank you! I understand every person is different, but that is really good to hear.

        Did she have debilitating, stabbing pain in her chest for 1 1/2 – 2 hours after eating, and a feeling of a tight band in the front of her chest? I am not sure if that is specifically because of gallbladder being swollen. I am also glad she can eat fats. People need good fats.
        In my case, I am always hungry when i eat carbos, and even lean protein without fat, but give me a small palm sized chunk of salmon, and I’m stuffed for 5 hours! Prior tests show I have 150% normal stomach acid, and digest especially carbos extremely fast. I have read some people can’t ever really have fat after gallbladder removal, and for me that would cause massive blood sugar swings.

        Liked by 1 person

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    • stella says:
      June 21, 2018 at 12:43 pm

      Here’s a video about the new kind of gallbladder surgery:

      Liked by 1 person

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      • stella says:
        June 21, 2018 at 12:47 pm

        There used to be a channel on cable that showed real operations, and this is one of the surgeries I watched. It wasn’t very bloody at all, and fascinating to watch.

        Liked by 1 person

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      • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
        June 21, 2018 at 1:03 pm

        Thank You! I never knew videos like this existed! Very informative.

        Surgery is always a serious procedure, but since the hospital I go to is NOT a teaching hospital, I am actually most worried about gallbladder removal possible side effects such as long term diarrhea. This past winter due to medicine given to me by GI doc because of abdominal injury from moving furniture, I had diarrhea for 2 months, and could not leave the house at all. I can’t imagine the rest of my life like that, and that was listed as a possible side effect.

        Funny – what worries one person does not worry another, but I guess it depends on what your experiences are. Thank you once again. I’ll just stop here. I don’t want to get people down – especially on the first day of summer! 😉

        Liked by 1 person

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        • stella says:
          June 21, 2018 at 1:46 pm

          I’ll add one thing here. If you do have gallbladder disease, and it continues to progress, you may be forced to have surgery eventually, and it might have to be conventional surgery.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
        • auscitizenmom says:
          June 21, 2018 at 2:47 pm

          I don’t think you will bring anyone here down. I think we all are pleased to help, if we can. Disclaimer: Any advice or information I give is tainted by the fact that I have an aversion to medications and surgeries. 🙄

          Liked by 2 people

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          • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
            June 21, 2018 at 4:37 pm

            🙂 Thank you for your kindness – yup – I’m not crazy about surgery either, but as Stella wrote above, I’m not sure about how this will progress, and I’d rather have surgery in my 60’s than when I’m in my 70’s. I’m starting the food diary tomorrow morning, and will test out foods to see if there is a reaction, especially with fats.

            It figures I happily have 2 sets of out of state relatives coming to visit, but they all want to “do lunch”, but I eat very little and am in pain and sick afterwards. Oh well…. plaster that smile on my face and have just coffee to keep going.

            Liked by 1 person

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    • auscitizenmom says:
      June 21, 2018 at 12:47 pm

      Almost all my cousins have had their gallbladders out. Most of my friends have had their gallbladders out. Usually because of gallstone complications. Some seem to be better off and the others seem to have the same problems they had before, along with not being able to eat things that have fats in them, like cheese, without it giving them instant diarrhea. I doubt that is very helpful, but it is good for you to think about this.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
        June 21, 2018 at 1:19 pm

        I appreciate this info. It is good to know the good & the bad beforehand. I would rather know than be surprized by bad news – I would be better able to handle it, and if it’s good, then I’d be very happy it was not the bad alternative.

        The “instant diarrhea” is what worries me since I digest carbos & protein so fast causing blood sugar swings. I guess I’ll have to constantly eat very small amounts of carbos & protein.

        Isn’t it important to eat good fats for cholesterol, and even fats in general for your brain? Exercise does decrease any bad effects of animal fat. My doctor always says it’s the sugars and simple carbos that cause weight gain and high bad cholesterol. If you can’t have fat, what happens about that?

        I have always thought these super skinny vegans are depressed because they don’t get enough fat in their diets.

        Liked by 1 person

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        • auscitizenmom says:
          June 21, 2018 at 2:07 pm

          Have they checked your pancreas? I imagine they have, but I have two friends who had pancreatitis and their pain sounded like what you are describing. The pain was really severe.

          Liked by 1 person

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          • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
            June 21, 2018 at 4:44 pm

            I looked up abdominal ultrasound on the web, It was one of the multiple tests I’ve had the past 3 weeks, and it supposedly shows the pancreas. The doctor said all but the some benign liver thing, was normal. I forget if he said the gallbladder was swollen or could be swollen. Interesting I do NOT have any right side pain, just in the center, which I agree is more the placement of the pancreas than the gallbladder. Thanks for the info. It is something I will ask about at follow-up in a couple of weeks.

            Liked by 3 people

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        • stella says:
          June 21, 2018 at 3:29 pm

          I’m lactose intolerant (severely) so I commiserate with you. All we can do is our best.

          Liked by 1 person

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          • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
            June 21, 2018 at 4:50 pm

            Lactose intolerant here as well. Small amounts of full fat dairy with 2 lactaids are OK occasionally. I miss CHEESE! (big pout – insert one of those funny “Power of Cheese” ads here – hahaha!
            Yup – One foot in front of the other. My father’s friend had a saying printed up & gave it to me: “It’s not the mountain in front of you, it’s the grain of sand in your shoe”. Then he’d say “So you’re the one to shake the sand out of your own shoe!

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            • stella says:
              June 21, 2018 at 5:23 pm

              Small amounts of hard cheeses are still in my diet occasionally. I miss fresh goat cheese!

              I buy Lactaid’s cottage cheese and ice cream. They are pretty good products. There are also drops you can buy to add to regular dairy, but they are expensive.

              Liked by 1 person

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              • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
                June 21, 2018 at 7:32 pm

                Wow those drops are expensive. I just chew the tabs.
                I miss all cheese, but I’m the opposite, prefering more solid cheese. Once my dad got a good job I remember having a big 1/2 wheel of parmesian in the basement refrigerator. I loved the more dried out outside part with the almost crystaline texture – YUM!

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                • stella says:
                  June 21, 2018 at 7:49 pm

                  You can use the drops in a quart of whipping cream (which isn’t available lactose free), shake, and let it sit for a couple of days for the enzymes to work. It helps a lot.

                  Liked by 1 person

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    • Jacqueline Taylor Robson says:
      June 21, 2018 at 6:35 pm

      Had mine out years ago. I went back to work in just a couple of days. Had the “keyhole” surgery and it left just 2 wee holes and a tiny scar under by belly-button. The scars faded away quickly, and I felt so much better! I can tolerate eating pretty much anything I want now.

      Liked by 2 people

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      • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
        June 21, 2018 at 7:35 pm

        From your keyboard to God’s ears JTR. So glad it worked out well for you.

        Did you have gallstones, or was it taken out for another reason if you don’tmind me asking?

        I’m wondering if the reason it is taken out (gallstones vs autoimmune for example) is an indicator of side effects after removal.

        Liked by 1 person

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    • John Denney says:
      June 21, 2018 at 6:39 pm

      20 some years ago, a co-worker had gall bladder problems. I remember researching back then and talking with him about it, and learning that people who go on low fat diets get gall stones.
      The gall bladder stores bile until you have a meal with sufficient fat in it to make the gall bladder spasm and eject its content into your digestive system.
      If you don’t eat enough fat for it to spasm, it concentrates the bile; if it concentrates enough, it crystallizes into stones.

      Liked by 1 person

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      • stella says:
        June 21, 2018 at 6:50 pm

        Neither my mother or daughter ate low fat diets. Nor did my grandmother. It is a hereditary condition in most cases, and usually affects women. I suspect I also have gallbladder problems, because I had an attack a number of years ago.

        Auto immune liver disease also shows up in my family now and then – sometimes it is serious (it killed my nephew and my grandmother) or mostly benign (my mother, who had an enlarged liver, but lived to 91).

        Liked by 1 person

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        • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
          June 21, 2018 at 7:43 pm

          No one in my family has gallbladder problems except one cousin. We do have multiple people with multiple autoimmune diseases. So sorry of hearing of your family dying of autoimmune, especially your nephew. I hope your attack was just a freak occurance. It sounds like it, since it was years ago.

          Liked by 1 person

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      • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
        June 21, 2018 at 7:39 pm

        I don’t have gallstones, and eat good fats. That’s why it’s a bit of a mystery. Most people have it out because of gallstones. Sadly another instance of me being “special” as DH says,or a medical oddball as I say 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

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        • stella says:
          June 21, 2018 at 7:52 pm

          You may have gallstones that are not yet diagnosed. More tests may identify them, which is what happened with my daughter. I have been reading about gall bladder disease, and there are several causes.

          Liked by 1 person

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      • auscitizenmom says:
        June 21, 2018 at 7:50 pm

        That is very interesting. I had never heard anything like that. But, it certainly makes sense to me. I knew a woman years ago who was on a liquid diet program and losing weight fast and ended up with a problem with her gall bladder. Of course, they said there was no connection, but it seemed there clearly was. This would explain it.

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    • sandandsea2015 says:
      June 22, 2018 at 6:19 am

      Wow! Okay, well, I had my gallbladder out a few years ago, but have had pain recently and that’s what I’m being tested for. I am supposed to have an endoscopy done to see what’s going on. The gallbladder surgery gave me huge relief, but I have times where things still hurt and my gut just doesn’t work right. (TMI, I know.) Anyway, I found an excellent product on vitacost that really helps the problem until I can find a permanent solution, which might require another procedure. With it, I can eat most things with little issue. I’m gluten and dairy free and limit my fat intake, which also helps. https://www.vitacost.com/natures-plus-ultra-zyme?q=Natures+Plus+Ultra-zyme&ta=Natures+Plus+Ultra-zyme

      You might check with your dr. in Dallas, to see if this would be okay for you, before trying it. They also have a smaller bottle for half the price.

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      • stella says:
        June 22, 2018 at 8:44 am

        There are a lot of things that can cause digestion problems. My grandfather had pernicious anemia (the body’s lack of intrinsic factor, which allows absorption of vitamin B12). He died of it in 1924, as did one of his sisters. The condition is now treated with B12 shots.

        The obvious one is diabetes, which was also a death sentence until the 1920’s.

        The husband of an acquaintance almost died, until they figured out (at U of M Medical Center) that his problem was his body’s inability to process trace aluminum in his diet.

        Liked by 1 person

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        • sandandsea2015 says:
          June 22, 2018 at 8:59 am

          Fortunately all my blood tests have come back normal. Just a slight elevation of my HDL and LDL, but nothing to worry with. My doctor thinks my problem may be related to the gallbladder surgery, but I will need the endoscopy to find out for sure.

          Liked by 1 person

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          • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
            June 22, 2018 at 10:07 am

            Oh my gosh Sand&Sea! Please let us know the resuts. I pray it is something temporary or easily treated. In the past I have had multiple endoscopies because of inflammation of my esophagus. I just imagined it like that old movie where they shrunk the people & sent them inside some rich guys body, but this time they were on a leash 😉

            Thanks for the link to the enzymes. I have used digestive enzymes in the past because while other people get energy from eating, I get exhausted after eating. I have most of my energy in the morning before eating. I will be calling Dr Rea before my 2 week food diary is done & report back to my GP. Thanks for the reminder!

            Liked by 1 person

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            • auscitizenmom says:
              June 22, 2018 at 10:28 am

              I have always had more energy before breakfast than after. I used to take a long walk and then do aerobics and weights, all before breakfast. I just didn’t have the energy after. My limbs felt weak. I have been told that is because your energy goes to digesting.

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            • sandandsea2015 says:
              June 22, 2018 at 11:08 am

              Thank you, G & C. I’m praying it’s a super easy fix. Prayers for you, as your seeking answers and that an easy solution comes quickly! 😊

              Like

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  11. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 12:57 pm

    Where is the First Lady? Check out this White House Press Pool report (part of it)

    Subject: FLOTUS pool #1/McAllen, Texas

    First lady Melania Trump is in McAllen, Texas, on an unannounced trip.
    FLOTUS planned to tour two facilities, both in McAllen: The Ursula Border Patrol Processing Center, a Customs and Border Patrol/DHS intake center where migrant families spend a few days, and Upbring New Hope Children’s Shelter, part of Lutheran Social Services. That’s an HHS grantee facility that currently houses about 60 kids, ages five to 17, from Honduras and El Salvador. Most are teens. About evenly split between boys and girls. Only six of these kids were separated from parents, and the rest arrived as unaccompanied minors, according to a “senior administration official.”

    The shelter opened in 2014 in a facility that had been a vacant nursing home and assisted living facility.

    Heavy rain caused a last-minute change of plans, with flooding at the Border Patrol center. So we’re heading to the children’s center first. We landed in McAllen at 10:50 am CT in a heavy downpour — a gully-washer, as they say in Texas. A flash flood warning alert sounded on phones a moment after landing. Motorcade drove through deep water at several points.

    A press pool is traveling with the first lady, including wires, stills and TV. Ground rules included secrecy until FLOTUS arrived at her first stop in Texas. The pool wasn’t told what city we were going to until after takeoff. The tours will be pen and pad only for the pool. No photos or audio, for the safety and privacy of children, we are told.

    Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is traveling with FLOTUS.

    At Andrews, Mrs. Trump boarded the plane wearing white pants, white top, white sneakers, sunglasses, and a green jacket.

    Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, gaggled shortly after takeoff. All material below is from her:

    The trip – why, when it came together

    FLOTUS asked her staff on Tuesday to plan a trip as soon as possible – before POTUS signed the executive order, though Grisham wasn’t sure if Mrs. Trump had an inkling that the order was coming.

    “I don’t know what she knew. She knew what she wanted to do and she told us,” Grisham said.

    “She wanted to see everything for herself…. She supports family reunification. She thinks that it’s important that children stay with their families.”

    “This was 100 percent her idea. She absolutely wanted to come.” And it was her idea before POTUS signed the executive order, Grisham said, and she had no second thoughts after the order was signed. “She wants to see what’s happening for herself and she wants to lend her support, executive order or not. The executive order certainly is helping pave the way a little bit, but there’s still a lot to be done.”

    President Trump supported this trip but he didn’t send her.

    “This was her decision. She told her staff she wanted to go and we made that happen. He is supportive of it but she told him, `I’m headed down to Texas,’ and he supported it.”

    The Air Force plane, a C-32A, landed at McAllen Miller International Airport. (Something your pooler learned only today: the first lady’s plane is designated “Executive One Foxtrot.”)

    Is she doing this trip in order to persuade the president to do anything differently? “She wants to see these children and she wants to help children. It’s not about anything more than that…. She wants to see what’s real. She wants to see a realistic view.”

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    • Lucille says:
      June 21, 2018 at 2:08 pm

      Melania has a good heart. I think, perhaps, she doesn’t recognize that this is all a political ploy and a method of attempting to oust her husband from the Presidency by people who completely despise her, her husband and her son.

      “…migrant families…” Uh-huh…”migrated” all the way from Central America through several sovereign nations, paid hundreds of dollars to coyotes. If the parents couldn’t accompany, they sent birth control pills with their pre-teen daughters because they knew they’d be raped…oh, my…absolutely the type of people NOT to welcome to our country.

      Liked by 3 people

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    • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
      June 21, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      I do not understand this jacket choice, & no matter what her spokeswoman says, NO it’s NOT just a jacket when you are the FLOTUS. If I’d be upset at Michelle or Hillary wearing it in these circumstances (which I would), and I’ll say it’s a stupid/awful thing to wear when Melania wears it, even though I do believe Melania truly cares about children. I do not understand this choice at all. I actually thought it was photoshopped. Wearing a jacket that says ” I really don’t care” when visiting children, has got to be the worst choice in FLOTUS clothing I can remember.

      http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/21/melania-trumps-dont-care-jacket-causes-stir-on-border-visit.html

      Sorry if I upset people, but this is my opinion. Why would she ‘shoot herself in the foot’ with this jacket? Is it photoshopped?

      Like

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      • stella says:
        June 21, 2018 at 5:26 pm

        She changed the jacket and didn’t wear it in Texas. It was a mistake, I agree. The media looks for anything they can to discredit her.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
      • lovely says:
        June 21, 2018 at 6:30 pm

        Just my opinion, not trying convince anyone of anything here 🙂 !

        I posted over on the FLOTUS thread. I’m tickled that she wore the coat. It was a message to the MSM and the swamp about their constant harassment and denigrating her. She’s European and is probably still flabbergasted by the despicable, vile, unethical, underhanded way that the MSM behaves.

        Peter Fonda just tweeted for some one to kidnap Barron so that he can be locked in a cage with pedophiles.

        It seems to me that Melanie has simply had enough of this nonsense and is following in her husbands footsteps by counterpunching with a heck of a wallop.

        Would I criticize Hillary or Michelle for wearing it? It would depend on their intent. They would have no reason to wear it so I can’t really flip the women in this circumstance. I would pretty much criticize Michelle and/or Hillary for anything that they did because it would very likely be done with malfeasance.

        I may be in the minority, but I was in the minority when candidate Trump was calling people like Frank Luntz a stupid cow and I thought it was a magnificent move.

        The Left always bullies people, fight back is what I say, Melania could have worn a lovely jacket and the MSM would still say terrible things about her. I haven’t watched any news yet or read anything other than the NYP article about Melania’s jacket, NYP disapproved. Good let them criticize her clothes instead of her humanity and her son.

        Liked by 2 people

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        • stella says:
          June 21, 2018 at 6:34 pm

          Donald J. Trump — President of the United States
          42 mins ·

          “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” written on the back of Melania’s jacket, refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
          • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
            June 21, 2018 at 7:18 pm

            You posted this while I was typing 🙂 I am glad she no longer cares. They are like the tar pits, and by not caring she is free of them. Don’t waste precious time on the crazy and unimportant. Indifference bothers them because it hilights their umimportance

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
        • TheOriginalG-d&Country says:
          June 21, 2018 at 7:13 pm

          I understand her being horrorified at the disgusting, sick tweet by the “person” whose name I will not give him the satisfaction of printing. He is obviously a “has been” loser who did it for publicity. I agree media will attack her no matter what, and she is more than right to be upset at the level of criticism especially against Barron.

          It may have been for the media as you say. That crossed my mind at some point. I just don’t understand why she did this message on this particular trip.

          I’m thinking wearing this message for this particular trip may not have been the right time. I would have had something like a White House veggie garden photo-op tomorrow, and worn it there. Once one pic got out of it, all of the MSM would carry it even though they normally would not cover a WH veggie photo-op. If she did NOT do it when going on this trip, and wore it to some meaningless garden photo-op, the message would be less garbled between the coat and the trip to TX. Sort of like “Revenge is a dish best eaten cold”.

          Sadly, I think in criticizing her for THIS jacket on THIS trip, the media is criticizing her for her humanity, which is of course ridiculous. She obviously loves children.

          🙂 We both want the best for her, and her family. The opposition is literally going crazy, probably for the 1st time in this country. The death of reason and logic, at the same time as learned hysteria and psychosis is cultivated, is something not discussed much, and it really does worry me. I’m not sure how it can be changed. In the past something like war or depression slapped these useful idiots upside the head, but that’s not a good fix, and I don’t see either happening here any time soon (which is a good thing).

          Liked by 2 people

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          • lovely says:
            June 21, 2018 at 7:39 pm

            I just don’t understand why she did this message on this particular trip.

            I can’t imagine a better time for her to have worn the jacket.

            I imagine that the MSM which has been clamoring for her to appear, saying she had plastic surgery, can no longer bear to be in the presence of her husband, is a terrible mother, doesn’t care about children, and on and on, would heave entirely ignored her going to the border to meet these children and see the facilities for herself, if she had not worn the jacket.

            The Jackals got played again. Another Trump dangled a juicy steak in front of them, they lunged and got hit square in the face with a concrete block.

            We both want the best for her, and her family.

            Amen.

            The opposition is literally going crazy, probably for the 1st time in this country.

            Because they keep mistaking a concrete block for a steak. Getting their teeth knocked down their throats again and again must be getting very tiring.

            The death of reason and logic, at the same time as learned hysteria and psychosis is cultivated, is something not discussed much, and it really does worry me.

            Agree 100% . Too much of the world is consumed with madness and shout it out as virtue. Most of them believe it is virtuous behavior.

            I have posted this quote more times that I’d like to admit lately.

            Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. __MLK

            And lo and behold, Melania hammers a note right into the skull of MSM.

            Most of the children coming over the border are unaccompanied minors.

            Many of the children are already in foster homes and not in the facilities.

            Melanie’s got this OGC 🙂 !

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
      • sandandsea2015 says:
        June 22, 2018 at 6:34 am

        I don’t know if this helps understand it or not, but read this about the jacket:

        https://twitter.com/harmonyrachell/status/1010039626516459520?s=12

        Like

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  12. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    The Real Child Abusers of Border Insecurity
    The zombie lawsuit causing family separation that never dies.
    June 21, 2018
    Daniel Greenfield

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270517/real-child-abusers-border-insecurity-daniel-greenfield

    What the media has been falsely calling President Trump’s family separation policy began with Hollywood actor Ed Asner’s housekeeper and a lawsuit by the ACLU during the Reagan administration.

    The issue was child trafficking.

    Teenage girls were being smuggled into the United States. Some were being sent on to their illegal alien family members in the United States. Others were being sent to the United States as cheap labor or being trafficked for prostitution. People purporting to be family members might show up asking for them to be released into their custody. And immigration authorities were faced with a horrible situation.

    The ACLU was less interested in the teens than in Attorney General Edwin Meese. Reagan’s AG was the Sessions of the day. A man whose name so enraged the left-wing group that at one point it circulated petitions demanding that Reagan fire Meese and called him the most dangerous official since Nixon.

    Flores v. Meese, the case that led to the family separation policy, was born with Ed Asner’s housekeeper and the ACLU’s obsession with Meese. But the case, with various AGs replacing Meese, dragged on. And the ACLU went on insisting that refusing to release teenage illegal aliens violated the Constitution.

    In ’93, when Jenny Lisette Flores, the girl at the center of the original case, was 23, the Supreme Court finally ruled 7-2 against the ACLU and rejected its bizarre claim that illegal teens had a right to be released. The verdict was brutal and made a hash of the ACLU’s opportunistic misreading of the Constitution.

    Visit the link for the rest of the story.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  13. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    Today is the first day I can remember when I have a significant number of viewers in Mexico. Not many, but the second in line after viewers from the United States.

    Liked by 2 people

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  14. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    This is really interesting. We will be hearing much more about this soon. He spoke at even more length during the cabinet meeting earlier today.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Lucille says:
    June 21, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    I sincerely hope that your readers from Mexico watch this…

    The Media’s Lies About Immigration Are Going to Get Someone Killed, and They Don’t Care

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • czarowniczy says:
      June 21, 2018 at 11:08 pm

      Thje media’s loose releasing of information has got a number of people killed. My first encounter was in Viedtnam where the media were so hot to grab headlines they frequently released not only plans on upcoming operations but personal data on troops. It wasn’t unusual for families of casualties to find out about their loved ones’ deaths from the media before they were notified by the military. I know that we were told Communist embassies would religiously watch the national news to try and glean intelligence from their broadcasts and it wasn’t unusual for them to get juicy tidbits.
      Y’all think that was ancient history? Remember Giraldo Rivera being evicted from Iraq in 2003 for releasing details on troop movements?

      Like

      Reply
  16. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    Remember this? She’s baaaaack!

    Like

    Reply
  17. John Denney says:
    June 21, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    I love sailing. Learned on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, and today’s photo is the view I had in two different years skippering a rented sailboat to Catalina from Long Beach and back after a long week-end at Twin Harbors. Five or six of us friends split the rent for a 27 footer one year and a 23 footer a couple years later, and I was designated captain. My sailing buddy on both trips captained another, slightly bigger rented sailboat on both occasions (33 and 27 feet), so we had a total party of about a dozen people.
    Long ago. [sigh]

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  18. stella says:
    June 21, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    Voters Blame Parents, Not Feds, For Border Children Crisis

    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/june_2018/voters_blame_parents_not_feds_for_border_children_crisis

    Most voters blame the parents of the separated children at the border for the latest illegal immigration crisis, not the federal government.

    When families are arrested and separated after attempting to enter the United States illegally, 54% of Likely U.S. Voters say the parents are more to blame for breaking the law. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 35% believe the federal government is more to blame for enforcing the law. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  19. Lucille says:
    June 21, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    Hope your first day of summer has gone swimmingly…as for me, I’d love to be here…

    Sun Sand and Sea

    A Beach Front Villa…

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  20. auscitizenmom says:
    June 21, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    lilbirdee12’s prayer:

    Our Heavenly Father, Your children come to you tonight to ask for healing and peace throughout our country so that we may return to being One Nation Under God. Guide us to be leaders in Your Kingdom, spreading Your Love and Salvation to all. Forgive us our sins and deliver us from evil.

    Lord, we ask for a blanket of protection over all our troops and law enforcement who serve to defend and protect us. Bless our representatives with the strength and wisdom they need to achieve the path You have chosen for us.

    Please place Your Guardian Angels of Protection around Donald Trump and Mike Pence and their families as they seek to lead America back to You.

    Grant us patience, Lord, as the evil ones try to anger us and cause us to fall.
    Spread blessings over Israel and Netanyahu.

    We humbly ask that You please comfort those who are grieving and in pain.
    Thank you Father, for Your Love and the gift of Life.

    In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  21. jeans2nd says:
    June 21, 2018 at 10:19 pm

    A question, Stella, if you do not mind.
    How does one know if one has been banned?
    Does one receive a notice, or does one’s comment(s) just go spinning into the ether?
    Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. auscitizenmom says:
    June 21, 2018 at 11:00 pm

    If you live in Minnesota and are near Uncle Louie’s Cafe, you should go there whenever you get a chance. They had FOX and FRIENDS come in there to do a segment this morning and the left is going nuts telling people not to eat there and calling them Nazis, etc.

    Liked by 2 people

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  23. czarowniczy says:
    June 21, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    Nature is cold and neutral.
    Our purple martins arrived early thisc year but on pair came in later and had its brood late. We’ve been watching as the three chicks stuck their heads out and the parents went bonkers trying to feed them all.
    The martins fledges had all graduated and it looks like they were just waiting for this last group to fly before they flocked up and started moving towards the coast. They’ve been flying around their house coaxing them out and today, while were away, they flew. I was outside working on a pump when I saw one fledge sitting on a perch.while two adults flew around it trying to get it to join them. It flew and the three headed south. Great, I thought, they all flew.
    Uhhhh…nope. Coming back in I saw a dark shape huddled in the rain soaked grass – it was a wet, cold fledge, probably the runt of the three. It didn’t resist when I picked it up or while I held it until it was dry as I was going to lower the nestbox and put it back in, hoping mom and dad would come back to feed it. We sat out there until well after sundown and nope, the martins are gone.
    Now we have a martin fledge in a nestbox we built in our den. We couldn’t leave it to die from cold/hunger in the abandoned house and we’re told our chances of getting it to eat and fly are slim but whatcha gonna do?
    First thing in the AM we’ll go and round up some grasshoppers and crickets from the yard and see if we can get it to eat and develop wing strength. If it doersn’t work – no loss. If it does we go from there.

    Liked by 3 people

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    • lovely says:
      June 21, 2018 at 11:52 pm

      Bless you and Czarina.

      Prayers for the little fledgling.

      How did the school trip go?

      I’m off to sleep but I’ll check in tomorrow.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • czarowniczy says:
        June 22, 2018 at 12:21 am

        This was to check our property – termite treatment folks came by.
        The superintendent of the school district called me back and I…expressed our fears and reservations. I laid out that Czarina had over 20 years of experience in educational requirements and keeping a school within Federal, state and NGO requirements and has a teacher’s certificate while I had LEA experience in some of the most violent schools in the US.
        I also mentioned it took us over a year to have my GGS’s ADHD addressed by his previous school and our perseverance, along with a friend in the DoJ, got him to where he should be and we don’t want that progress lost.
        It was a long and fruitful conversation – all of the right buzzwords, lotsa good words and his promise that he’d personally look into my GGS’s case.
        I did find out that only one of the ‘parochial’ schools is accredited and over 2/3rds of the students who’ve transferred from this school to the accredited parochial school have transferred back to this public school.
        I ewas assured that the high suspension rates were due to the school having a high number of children from ‘ transient’ families and the school takes great pains to identify these problem students and if they don’t follow the rules they get suspended/trandsferred to alternative school.
        The top 60 students from each grade are bundled into a pod that strokes their abilities, allowing them to have the education they need while not being held back by the special-needs students.
        In have his assurance that my GGS will be safe and receive the education he’s entitled ton and he has mine that if he isn’t/doesn’t we’ll do what we have to do to remedy the situation.
        I think swe may have gotten somewhereas, while we were in NOLA, the principal of the school my GGS will be attending called me to discuss my concerns. We’ll see what she has to say tomorrow,

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • auscitizenmom says:
          June 22, 2018 at 1:11 am

          Well, the good news is that they suspend the problem students. The real problem is when they don’t.

          Like

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        • lovely says:
          June 22, 2018 at 7:27 am

          The superintendent of the school district called me back and I…expressed our fears and reservations.

          I think we may have gotten somewhere as, while we were in NOLA, the principal of the school my GGS will be attending called me to discuss my concerns.

          Standing ovation Czar! Just the fact that you had a positive interaction and a call back, rather than a defensive “you must hate children and be a racist” from the superintendent is very positive!

          Prayers will continue 🙏🏼.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
          • czarowniczy says:
            June 22, 2018 at 9:59 am

            Vzxarina really knows her poop. She was the QA honcho for a state live-in school for the developmentally disabled that was under the control of the Feds. She knows about the system and what students with disabilities, regardless of how mild, are guaranteed and the ability to put her point across.
            I have the ability to deal with bureaucrats and find those ways to make the lives of those are resistant…uncomfortable. A winning combination.

            Liked by 2 people

            Reply
    • auscitizenmom says:
      June 22, 2018 at 1:09 am

      It is so hard to watch Mother Nature handle things. The duck who laid eggs not far from my front door, hatched 13 out of about 20 eggs, under difficult circumstances. It was pouring rain and the was a problem with a downspout. But, she went off with 13 babies, and later 8 babies were back, but no mama. I watched for 2 days and was going to call someone whose name I had gotten but when I got up that morning they were all gone. I hope the mama duck came back and got them. If it was a predator, I think there would have been some sign and maybe a couple of babies left, or maybe feathers everywhere. But, no.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      • czarowniczy says:
        June 22, 2018 at 1:17 am

        Yeah, it’s tough – we see a lot of it. On the other hand if I try I can tell myself I tried.
        We had a starling one of Czarina’s students found. No one could fing the nest so they gave it to us, probably feeling that if it died it wasn’t on their hands. Mr Bird lived wikth us for years, the inside of our house was his world and we, the dog and the cats were his flock. He’d perch on your arm, drink you wine otr beer, sneak bites of your foiod (he LOVED froed chicken) and would bathe under the sprayer on the kitchen sink.
        He’d perch for hours on our shoulders(you learned to put cloths on your shoulders while he was about) and twice, when he flew out of an open door, flew about a bit and then returned immediately home. Funniest thing was he really liked Sprite but eaxh time he took a beak full he’d do a little tap dance before he settled down and went back to the Sprite.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
        • auscitizenmom says:
          June 22, 2018 at 1:18 am

          LOL You have the greatest stories. 😀

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          • czarowniczy says:
            June 22, 2018 at 1:23 am

            We have a picture of Mr Bird bathing in our sink, if we find it we’ll post it. Even the casts liked him – he’d sneeeeeeak up on a sleeping cat, pluck out a hair and fly off. He’d fly around with the cats in pursuit but the cats would never harm him.
            He never had a chance to develop his peers’ calls so he learned the car alarm chirp, the gate hinge squeak and even Czarina’s allergy cough.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  24. lovely says:
    June 22, 2018 at 12:01 am

    You just can’t make this stuff up.

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘They’re together and they’re safe.’ Father of Honduran two-year-old who became the face of the family separation crisis when she was photographed in tears as her mother was searched by U.S. border control speaks out

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5869829/Father-two-year-old-face-child-separation-crisis-speaks-out.html

    Wictor has a great tweet storm about the separation drama.

    https://twitter.com/ThomasWictor/status/1009920049287606272

    Like

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