The Stone Has Been Rolled Away!

Amen.

Good Friday

It is Finished

By Bill & Gloria Gaither

There's a line that is drawn through the ages

On that line stands an old rugged cross

On that cross, a battle is raging

To gain a man's soul or it's loss

On one side, march the forces of evil

All the demons, all the devils of hell

On the other, the angels of glory

And they meet on Golgotha's hill

The earth shakes with the force of the conflict

And the sun refuses to shine

For there hangs God's Son, in the balance

And then through the darkness he cries

It is finished, the battle is over

It is finished, there'll be no more war

It is finished, the end of the conflict

It is finished and Jesus is Lord

Yet in my heart, the battle was still raging

Not all prisoners of war had come home

These were battlefields of my own making

I didn't know that the war had been won

Oh, but then I heard the king of the ages

Had fought all the battles for me

And that victory was mine for the claiming

And now praise His name, I am free.

It's Getting Closer!

I'm talking about Otter's big birthday this coming Sunday.  She got her gift from us today.  I tried to get just a picture of it, but I wasn't able to.  So, here's the page from the store.  I'm not responsible for any comments made, they were "family friendly" when I posted this but I don't know if they will stay that way.  Anyway, here's what she wanted:

Otter's gift from us

It's very pretty.  We also got her several teas and a refill on the sugar she likes from Teavana.

She's thinking that she'll probably want to put her tea set in the china cabinet, I told her we could rearrange it slightly and she thinks that's what she'll do.  The china cabinet needs to be cleaned, everything taken out and wiped off, the shelves dusted, etc., and that will be accomplished soon.

After we went to Teavana (where we bought the tea set from Otter's friend who works there so he could get the commission), we hit our "favorite" party supply store.  We had a few things to get there and I also informed Otter that I will be coming in on Friday after I get off work - she'll be working then.  I'm going to get at least one mylar balloon.  She's just hoping that she's not the one on balloon duty that day, apparently baloon duty is scut work that nobody really wants to do.  After that, I'm going to continue on down the road to the bakery and pick up the cake I ordered a couple of weeks ago.  Said cake will be coming straight home and  going into the refrigerator - Otter has requested that I cover any visible spots on the box so she won't see it before Sunday.  She likes surprises.  Since that is what I've usually done, I don't think it's going to be a problem! :)

Our annual observance of Taco Night has been changed slightly.  Otter has to work Saturday afternoon/evening and I think she'll get off at 10:00.  So, we've decided to have Taco Night on Thursday since she won't be working that night.  Last Year's Entry for Otter's Birthday (Taco Night Explanation)  Otter said that there is no way she's going to miss Taco Night, and we agree with her.  It's one of our fun family traditions.  Even when she's out on her own and has her own family, we will still celebrate Taco Night.  Even if it's just me & Willie Boy!

I saw the latest trailer for the new Star Trek movie.  This trailer has not made it to the US yet, it's being shown in Europe but our local paper had a link.  I'm hopeful.  I'm also fairly certain that they did at least one thing right:  The bad guy does NOT seem to be Khan.  I am not so certain anymore that it's actually Gary Mitchell, but it does at least seem to be inspired by the Mitchell character.  It looks good and I'm thinking that it might be what I want to do on Mother's Day.

Although it might not actually be ON Mother's Day anyway since I think it starts later on, but also Nana (Bill's Mom) is probably going to come see us over Mother's Day.  We are excited that she is coming to see us and it will be nice to see her on Mother's Day, we just are eager for her visit and it's going to be hard to wait until mid-May.

The Pachinko herd has increased.  Again.  On top of the 16 he got two weeks ago, he acquired another one today.  And he may be getting another one tomorrow.  Bill thinks he has 61 now.  He does sell them, it just takes longer depending on the level of work/repair/restoration they need.  He's also been casting parts and selling a lot of them.

But my stash is still easier to handle.  Yarn is squishable, after all.

Palm Sunday (and Other Stuff, Too)

(We'd actually forgotten that today is Palm Sunday, until we got to church and Otter noticed the palm leaves up at the alter.)

Other stuff:  I'm still celebrating International Crochet Month.  Just not as much as I'd like to!  My new glasses are slightly smaller than my previous pair, so I made myself another pouch to hold them at night.  That was yesterday's project.  I had planned on working on one of the three blanket projects I have going, but I needed to do something that I could actually get finished so I made a new pouch for the glasses and it's about half the size of the old one!  The old one was a little too big anyway, but not that big.  I might work on one of the blanket projects today, but that depends - I've been fighting off a mild migraine so I'm not sure.  Sorry is this is a rambling post, but I do have a headache after all.

I read an article in the paper yesterday about an indictment issued against the groundhog, since he forecasted an early spring and it's wintery in lots of places.  The article was in fun, but it certainly is cold for this time of year.  We had 2" - 4" inches of snow forecast overnight as a possiblity, in other words the forecasters were covering their behinds and forecasting a "possibility."  When Otter got off work at 9:30-ish last night, it was cold but other than a little rain (off & on all day) to make the streets wet there wasn't anything.  She got home about 9:45 or so, and the weather front was supposed to hit sometime between 2 & 4 this morning.  When we got up, it was cold but dry.  When we headed to church, it started to snow but it was just an occasional flake.  Small flakes.  It was colder, and when we left church it was even colder!  There were more flakes and they were bigger, but they were melting before hitting the ground.  It snowed for a couple of hours, but they never made it to the ground and now it's stopped.

Otter's gone to her D & D game, they try to play on Sundays but this if the first time in about a month that they've all been able to get together at the same time.  Bill's working on pachinko stuff and I'm (what else?) doing laundry.

The Chupacabra vs. the Alamo movie was on Scy-Fy last night.  It was so bad it's hard to find the words to describe it!  I saw bits & pieces of it, we generally enjoy Scy-Fy's stupid Saturday night movies but this one was so bad we couldn't even watch it all.  I saw the beginning and the end, Bill saw more of the middle of it than I did.  But it was still just so bad as to be indescribable.  Frasier is not happy, he chupa relatives were insulted and he is demanding an apology.

One week from today is Easter.  It's also Otter's birthday.  We are going to observe Easter, obviously.  But we're also going to observe Otter's birthday on her birthday.  The original plan was that she was going to have some of her friends over and we were going to grill burgers & dogs.  But that was before we realized that her birthday actually falls on Easter this year.  So, the plan has changed a bit.  She'll get together with her friends a little later and they may do something other than grill.  But she still wanted to have the original meal plan since it is her birthday and that is what that meal plan was for (it's the "big 21" after all.)  (Also, having had more than I care to remember in terms of my birthday being treated as an afterthought with a holiday being so close, her request was not a problem!)  So, we're going with her request as far as the food is concerned.  I've already ordered her birthday cake, I'll pick it up on Friday.  And this year, it's from a well-known local bakery with an excellent reputation so I really don't think it'll be a cake wreck.  She knows what she's getting for her birthday, she picked it out herself and we'll go get it this week.  Her store is closed on Sunday, she was going to request it off since it's her birthday but they are closed on Easter so it was never an issue.

We're just trying to figure out where the last 21 years have gone, shouldn't see just now be about 5?

Adjustments

It's been a full day.  I've been running since I got up, which was actually about 10 minutes early.  Bill had to turn off the power to one part of the house yesterday so he could replace an electrical outlet, and we totally forgot about the fact that it always messes up the alarm clock we use.  The clock has a battery back up so it never actually turns off, but it always speeds itself up when the power is restored.  But I didn't mind too much, I was already awake but still in bed.

Otter's annual lung/asthma recheck was this morning.  She was going to take herself, but they kept calling me yesterday (4 times!) to confirm the appointment and each time they had it wrong.  They apparently scheduled her for allergy testing, although that was never mentioned.  Then they thought that she was just going in for allergy shots, although that was never part of it either.  The other two calls were the same.  After that mess, she said she wanted me to go with her in case they tried to start testing, etc. but they managed to get it right.  Her allergist was amazed at how well she's doing.  He said that this is the kind of appointment he likes, and for her to keep up whatever it is that she's doing.  He didn't make any changes, she still uses her daily inhaler twice a day and the rescue inhaler if/when she needs it - but she hasn't needed it in over a year!  She goes back in a year.  Hopefully, by then they will have gotten on the ball!

We met Bill for lunch at our favorite TexMex place.  The waiter was bringing our drinks and he managed to spill an entire glass of water - almost on me.  I just barely managed to get my purse (the Coach!) and feet up out of the way, I got a little splashed on my legs but I wasn't upset.  He was embarassed, but it was just an accident and no harm was done.  We had fajitas, which were (as always) good.  After that, Bill was heading home but Otter wanted to go to the library so I dropped her off on my way back to work.  And the Teenager wasn't happy that I didn't bring her back!  He saw her between the doctor appointment and lunch, so he wasn't as unhappy as he'd have been if he had missed her entirely.

After I dropped her off and was heading back to work, the rain that had been threatening finally started.  And swiftly turned into sleet!  I thought it was Spring?  Well, there is a reason we say that Oklahoma weather is bipolar and today it certainly was.  It has been cold all day but the sleet stopped quickly.  It's just cold and grey now, and will be for a few days - we have a chance of snow late Saturday night into early Sunday morning.

After I got off work, I picked Otter up and we went to the mall.  My new glasses came in yesterday but I didn't have time to go get them, so we went today.  Otter wanted to get her glasses adjusted and she did that when I got my new ones.  I think I'm going to like them.  I haven't had plastic frames in a long time, but they are comfortable.  They're also smaller than the previous ones.  The prescription isn't that much different, but now that I've got the new ones I realize that they were worse than I thought.  After the glasses, we wanted a coke so we hit the food court and Cinnabon had freshly made cinnamon rolls, so of course we had to get one!  And because we are TEXAN, our cokes were actually Dr. Pepper.

As if all that wasn't enough, we went to the grocery store next.  We were discussing which Wallyworld we wanted to go, since I needed to get Ridex, allergy meds, toothpaste, vitamins and a bunch of other stuff that is actually quite a bit cheaper there and we realized that there is a Walmart right next door to the mall.  So we didn't have to drive very far.  We managed to miss the bulk of the afternoon rush-hour traffic and got in and out quickly.  I really prefer the regular grocery store, but sometimes it's a Wallyworld trip and today was one of those Wallyworld days.  They weren't too crowded.  I don't like to wait late in the week, but I just didn't have time earlier or I'd have already gone.

The dogs were crazed when we got home and let them in.  They are pretty playful most of the time, but they love the cooler temps and today was no exception.  They were invigorated and nutso.  I had to bend over to pick something up, and Frasier was suddenly right in my face - sniffing my new glasses.  Silly boy!  But since we bought (many) bagged pasta and they each got a couple of pieces when I was putting it in the container we keep it in, they were happy dogs.  Now, they are probably snoozing dogs.  Smart puppies, actually - at least Frasier is.  Maggie Moo is sometimes as dumb as a box of rocks, but they know a good thing when they see it and naps are good things.

Bill's at an auction in a neighboring small town.  There are a couple of specific things he wants, and hopefully they'll go pretty cheaply (and he'll get them.)  I don't miss the eBay/auction days at all, but sometimes I still like to go to auctions.  Just not on the massive scale we did when we were actively selling huge amounts on eBay.  It was fun, but it ran it's course and I'm glad that we've moved on.  Well, Bill has - to pachinko machines!

Now, back to my laundry.  Otter likes to have clean clothes for work, for some reason.  I have a deal with her:  I iron her work clothing and then she does whatever household chore I come up with in return.  Since she started working, I don't have a maid any longer!

My allergies are better today.  I've realized that I'm probably not actually allergic to aloe vera.  I can use things that have it in them, the sunburn gel, hydrocotisone cream and lotions for example.  It doesn't bother me.  But if I use it straight from the plant itself, I think it's just too strong and that's why it irritates my skin.  We have odd allergies, in the family.  No doubt about that.  I'm allergic to ecinachea (sp?), acai and a couple of other things that are supposed to be good for me.  But they aren't.  I can't eat kiwi or have any contact with lavendar.  Those are just a couple of examples.  Froggy is allergic to bananas, but I could eat them every meal and never have a problem.  She likes kiwi (I think), but I will scratch off every bit of my skin if I eat it.  Otter can't have honeydew, cantaloupe or blueberries.  Weird.  But we just have to deal with it, it's just kind of hard when we either accidentally come into contact with our eat something bad or, and this is the really "fun" part, find out the hard way that we're allergic to something.  There's only one type of beef jerky that Otter can eat, something in the spices used will send her into a migraine faster than the speed of light.

Fun!

Allergies Should Be Illegal!

They really should be.

I've been fighting mine for days, they were tolerable until Friday evening.  Then they started getting worse, and I've woken up with sinus headaches every morning since Saturday.  Today's headache wasn't as bad, but the rest of the day was worse!  I've lost track of how many times I've sneezed, I've gone through innumerable kleenex and my nose looks like it's been sandpapered.  And I can't take anything for it!  None of it works for me.  NONE.

And, in an ironic twist, I happen to be allergic to echinacea (sp?) which is supposed to help fend off allergy attacks so I can't even pre-empt them.

I think I need a drink.  Then I think I need an early bed time tonight.

Day Off

I took today off.  Bill is off this week and Otter was coincidentally off today, although she's run off for the day.  She's gone off with one of her girlfriends, they were at the mall I know because Otter texted me a picture of something she'd bought.  Brat bought the new David Bowie cd!  Yes, I do mean BRAT because I'm jealous. :)

Bill and I ran a couple of errands this morning, including Braums to get lunch to bring home.  We also went to Ace Hardware, which is one of his many Home Away From Home stores.  He bought oil for the lawn mower, big spender I guess.  He also mowed, after lunch.  I put out several pieces of yarn a few days ago, the birds use it for nest building.  I cut it into small pieces, but I like to get it out before he mows because the mower will shred it more and spread it out more.  The birds seem to like it, I've found it in several nests over the last couple of years.

We also went to Hobby Lobby.  I managed to avoid the yarn aisle, but it wasn't easy - Bill's as big an enabler as Otter is!  But the lady ahead of us in the check out line was buying a skein of yarn and a book on teaching yourself to crochet, I talked to her for a while and I hope I encouraged her.  I gave her a few suggestions and also told her about one of the local yarn stores that has lessons.  Always fun to start another yarn addiction!

I did manage to get some crochet in today.  Then I got busy cleaning a pachinko machine background and now my arms hurt.  Especially my right elbow, usually it's the left one.

I've also done a couple of loads of laundry and vacuumed.  Otter vacuumed the living room before she left this morning, but I did the rest of the house - except for her room, that one is her job!  I put a little more potting soil in the plants in the bedroom, which is why I needed to vacuum in there...

The dogs have most spent the day snoozing.  They did go out to play in the backyard for a while.  Actually, there were out there for a long while.  Because I forgot I'd let them out!  Maggie Moo was standing with her nose up against the door, there was no way I could open it to let them in without smooshing her nose but she didn't seem any worse for wear.  Of course, they came in and went right back to sleep as soon as I let them in.  Dog's got their priorities, that's for sure.

Well, the dryer just finished up so I guess I'd better go get it emptied and then I guess I'd better get the laundry put up.  Then I have some ironing to do.

Since Bill and I had Braums for lunch and Otter won't be home for dinner, I'm not making anything spectacular tonight.  Homemade sloppy joes probably.

Even with having to do laundry, it's been an enjoyable day off.  But I'm not looking forward to having to get up at 5:00 tomorrow morning!  Well, at least I won't be along - Otter has to get up early for work also.  :)

Greenies

I'm wearing mine, hope you are wearing yours!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I guess I could have not said that, since Poohbear already did.  Oh well.  :)

Bill doesn't have any green on, so I've been pinching him frequently.  Otter doesn't have any green on, but she is wearing her uniform and is at work so she gets a pass.  Although I'm sure Bill will make her pay when she gets home this evening!

(Notice the new ticker at the top of the page?)

Froggy, you asked me a question via comment on the last post.  Blogger never told me that there was a comment waiting, when I signed in just now I saw it.  Anyway, the Chupacabra vs. The Alamo is on movie that was made by/for the Scy-Fy network.  Formerly known as the Science Fiction channel but then they changed their name a couple of times, you might have it as part of your cable/dish package.  It looks really stupid, but then the Scy-Fy movies generaly are.  I thought it was supposed to air yesterday, but it might actually be this coming Saturday.

It was warm the last couple of days, windy and sunny.  Spring has sprung, and my allergens are out in full force.  It has gotten warm enough that we've started using the fan at night.  I took the humidifier apart yesterday, cleaned it and put it up until next Fall.  We changed the bedspread from the heavy camo quilt (Bill's) we use in the winter, and put the lighter patchwork quilt (mine) on the bed.  So of course it's cold & rainy today!  Back in the 50's and it's been misting off & on all day.

Movie Review:  Red Dawn.  Bill and I remember the first one, this is the remake.  It was pretty good.  In fact, I think it was better than the first one.  There are a few lessons we took from it.  1)  An unarmed populace is easy to control and 2) don't trust the media/politicians in the event of an invasion.  Also 3)  fight back.

As I mentioned earlier, my allergies are bad.  Really bad.  I spent Thursday and Friday feeling like they were coming on, and Friday evening is when they hit big-time.  I've been sneezing, coughing, congested, hoarse and had a sore throat since then.  I also had a small nose bleed Friday, first one I've had in a while but probably not the last!

Otter has to go to the doctor on Thursday, her annual lung recheck/asthma appointment.  She's trying to avoid exposure to any of her allergens if at all possible.  Her asthma has been so good the last several months that I don't expect any bad reports Thursday.

Bill's off this coming week.  He has comp time that he has to use or he'll lose it.  I'm taking Monday off and Otter is already off on Monday.  She's probably going over to one of her friend's houses, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do.  I'd like to crochet, but I might not have time.  Bill has a pachinko repair/cleaning job and I usually get roped into those.

Also, he's got plenty to keep him busy.  He got a call from someone last week, this gentlemen lives in a neighboring town that is about 30 minutes away.  He has been collecting pachinko machines and was ready to sell his collection.  Bill went up there Friday.  He brought home 16 new machines (well, new to Bill anyway) and about 3,000 pachinko balls.  There were 20 in the collection originally, but the man either kept 4 or gave them to a friend that wanted them, I'm not sure.  But the point is, Bill got 16 machines in one whack!  They are all in the garage, which is pretty full now.  With those things, you kind of have to get them when you can and that sometimes means that it's months between machines or finding a whole bunch of them at a time.  Although I don't think he's ever gotten this many at one time before.

At least my stash is squishable!

Seriously?

I mean, really?

ScyFy, what were you thinking?

The Eyes Have It!

(Alternate Title:  The Eyes of TEXAS Are Upon You.)

I got my eyes examined today, in case you are wondering about the title.  Or the alternate title.  I knew I needed new glasses, they were never really right and I could tell that my eyes had changed a bit.  Not much, but enough that it was time.  The eye doctor's office opens at 1:00 on Sundays and we got there just after 1:00.  I was the 2nd or 3rd person, so we had to wait but not long.  I did need a new, slightly stronger prescription.  I thought about skipping the bifocals and just getting two pairs of glasses but then I decided to just stick with the bifocals.  Glaucoma test was fine and my retinas look good.  But he found something.  I have the beginning of cataracts in both eyes.  He said that they are "baby" still and he can just barely see them, but that I will eventually have to deal with them - like about the time I hit medicare age, so 10 - 15 years from now and maybe not even then.  I'm not surprised.  I wasn't happy about it, but Mom had them and they can be hereditary to a point.  But I'm glad that I do know, so that I can plan for the future and having to deal with them.  I ordered my new glasses, they'll be back in about 10 days.  Normally Lenscrafters makes them while you wait but they are just enough over the line past that so they are sending them off to be made.  Whatever, I don't really care.  I'd prefer not to have to get them back while my eyes are still dilated anyway, it's easier to be able to see clearly when I get the new ones.

While we were at the mall, we went into Teavana.  Otter has been thinking that she wants one of their china tea sets for her birthday and she finally decided which one she wants.  One of her friends works there, I asked him if they get commissions for sales and he said that they do so I told him that we'll make sure he's there when we go back in to get it.

Movie Review:  Wreck It Ralph.  This one is cute, we really enjoyed it.  Of course, we are the generation that invented Video Games and this movie is in many ways a tribute to the early games.  It was very well done, the early games characters had the right graphics and way of moving, the new ones were correct for their original game.  The story was cute.  We've been disappointed so many times lately, this was a nice surprise.  I think it's on Otter's list of movies to buy.

Otter's about over the bug she had last week.  I fought it for a couple of days myself, and Friday night I felt really bad.  But it's pretty much gone now.  And not a moment too soon!

Today's the time change day.  The one that we don't like.  Frankly, I think the whole thing should just be scrapped but that's probably not a surprise to anyone!

I worked on my afghan yesterday.  I got about 2 1/2 rows done on it.  It's probably just over half-way done now.  I haven't worked on it much because it's basically a blanket now and it is warm.  I would prefer not to work on it when the weather's warm, but since we haven't really had winter in two years I haven't been inclined to work on it much!  But I am going to force myself to work on it and get it finished as soon as I can.

After all, March is International Crochet Month!

Margaritaville

It's been a week of Mondays!  Or at least that is what it felt like to me.

Otter probably agrees, seeing how she had to go to the doctor on Wednesday.  She was really tired after work on Tuesday, but she was probably actually coming down with something.  She woke up Wednesday with a very sore throat and almost no voice at all.  I went in to work and she went back to bed, I checked on her a little later (by text) and she said she was feeling worse.  So I came home and tossed her in the car, since I was seriously worried about strep throat.  It's not strep, but it is a strep-like infection and the doctor said that he's seen a lot of it lately.  He told her to stay home and gave her an excuse for work, since she was supposed to work Wednesday afternoon.  She went back to work yesterday with her excuse in hand, but they were ok about it.  She worked late yesterday, she got off at 10:00 p.m.  I took her to work yesterday since she was feeling so cruddy and we knew she'd be exhausted by the time her shift ended.  At 10:00 p.m., she more or less dragged herself to the car and I'm really glad that I was her transportation because I don't honestly think she would have been able to drive herself home.  She took an allergy pill and went to bed, then I left her sleeping when I left for work this morning.  She woke up about 10:30 ish.  She had today off already and she's spent most of it in bed and resting.  She goes in tomorrow, noon to 9:30 p.m. and I'm thinking I'll probably take her then as well.  She is a lot better but not well yet, but she probably did overdo it yesterday but she really needed to be at work.

Of course, I had a hard time getting to sleep myself last night.  But that was probably due to the caffiene I consumed in the form of iced tea and then diet coke with and after dinner.  Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have been able to stay awake until 10:00 either! :)  Also, I've been fighting a sore throat myself for the last day or two.  Well, that is what happens when you drink after your sick daughter!  Although I didn't know it at the time, Tuesday evening when I used her tea cup to get some water.  I have a thing about not eating/drinking after anybody, and I almost never actually do it.  But the one time I do, it comes back to bite me.  OK, I guess I'll go back to not!

Frasier has been tranquilzed the last couple of nights.  I have him 1 1/2 pills two nights in a row and then one last night.  I'm not sure if I'm going to give him a pill tonight or not.

Now, I think I'm going to Margaritaville!  Although I can only use the "good" tequila, because I am apparently allergic to something in the cheap stuff...  (Yes, Otter.  I know that there is a joke in that.)

March 2, 1836

(I am aware that I am late with this, but given the week we've had I figure that I'm lucky to even get it in the correct month.)

(I didn't write the parts in italics, see the Source Page link if you want more info.)

Declaration Source Page

 The Texas Declaration of Independence

(March 2, 1836)

The Texas Declaration of Independence was produced, literally, overnight. Its urgency was paramount, because while it was being prepared, the Alamo in San Antonio was under seige by Santa Anna's army of Mexico.

Immediately upon the assemblage of the Convention of 1836 on March 1, a committee of five of its delegates were appointed to draft the document. The committee, consisting of George C. Childress, Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney, prepared the declaration in record time. It was briefly reviewed, then adopted by the delegates of the convention the following day.

As seen from the transcription below, the document parallels somewhat that of the United States, signed almost sixty years earlier. It contains statements on the function and responsibility of government, followed by a list of grievances. Finally, it concludes by declaring Texas a free and independent republic.

The full text of the document is as follows:

The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836.

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression.

When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood, both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the everready minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants.

When, long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms themselves of the constitution discontinued, and so far from their petitions and remonstrances being regarded, the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons, and mercenary armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet.

When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.

Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of our grievances is therefore submitted to an impartial world, in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now taken, of severing our political connection with the Mexican people, and assuming an independent attitude among the nations of the earth.

The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States of America.

In this expectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made in the government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who having overturned the constitution of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative, either to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood.

It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by which our interests have been continually depressed through a jealous and partial course of legislation, carried on at a far distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an unknown tongue, and this too, notwithstanding we have petitioned in the humblest terms for the establishment of a separate state government, and have, in accordance with the provisions of the national constitution, presented to the general Congress a republican constitution, which was, without just cause, contemptuously rejected.

It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure the acceptance of our constitution, and the establishment of a state government.

It has failed and refused to secure, on a firm basis, the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.

It has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.

It has suffered the military commandants, stationed among us, to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyrrany, thus trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizens, and rendering the military superior to the civil power.

It has dissolved, by force of arms, the state Congress of Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly for their lives from the seat of government, thus depriving us of the fundamental political right of representation.

It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into the Interior for trial, in contempt of the civil authorities, and in defiance of the laws and the constitution.

It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by commissioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far distant ports for confiscation.

It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.

It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments.

It has invaded our country both by sea and by land, with intent to lay waste our territory, and drive us from our homes; and has now a large mercenary army advancing, to carry on against us a war of extermination.

It has, through its emissaries, incited the merciless savage, with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the inhabitants of our defenseless frontiers.

It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolutions, and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrranical government.

These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the people of Texas, untill they reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from the Interior. We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy conclusion, that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and the substitution therfor of a military government; that they are unfit to be free, and incapable of self government.

The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our eternal political separation.

We, therefore, the delegates with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme arbiter of the destinies of nations.

Richard Ellis, President of the Convention and Delegate from Red River.

Charles B. Stewart
Tho. Barnett
John S. D. Byrom
Francis Ruis
J. Antonio Navarro
Jesse B. Badgett
Wm D. Lacy
William Menifee
Jn. Fisher
Matthew Caldwell
William Motley
Lorenzo de Zavala
Stephen H. Everett
George W. Smyth
Elijah Stapp
Claiborne West
Wm. B. Scates
M. B. Menard
A. B. Hardin
J. W. Burton
Thos. J. Gazley
R. M. Coleman
Sterling C. Robertson
James Collinsworth
Edwin Waller
Asa Brigham
Geo. C. Childress
Bailey Hardeman
Rob. Potter
Thomas Jefferson Rusk
Chas. S. Taylor
John S. Roberts
Robert Hamilton
Collin McKinney
Albert H. Latimer
James Power
Sam Houston
David Thomas
Edwd. Conrad
Martin Parmer
Edwin O. Legrand
Stephen W. Blount
Jms. Gaines
Wm. Clark, Jr.
Sydney O. Pennington
Wm. Carrol Crawford
Jno. Turner
Benj. Briggs Goodrich
G. W. Barnett
James G. Swisher
Jesse Grimes
S. Rhoads Fisher
John W. Moore
John W. Bower
Saml. A. Maverick (from Bejar)
Sam P. Carson
A. Briscoe
J. B. Woods
H. S. Kimble, Secretary

We've been Queened!

Otter treated her father to dinner tonight.  We went to Dairy Queen.  Which is actually not as cheapyish as it sounds, we haven't had Dairy Queen in this area for years (like before we were here) and now we have one.  So, it was actually an outing and not "just" fast food.  (I wasn't ignored, she bought me green apple Jolly Rancher candy which I absolutely love but almost never actually get.)  We also had ice cream, since it's the rule at Dairy Queen:  you have to have ice cream!

Otter was texting with a friend of hers, and she was telling him how as a Texan, she is contractually obligated to eat at DQ.  So then he wanted to know what else that entailed.  Her answer:  Whataburger, steak, chicken fried steak, fried chicken, biscuits and/or gravy, pecan pie and Tex-Mex.  I think that covers most of it.

We also had another errand, Bill had to get his driver's license renewed so we did that before we went to DQ.  The rest of the story is that his license actually expired on the last day of January!  But nobody realized it.  I mentioned that I have to get mine renewed this month, and Bill wasn't sure when his was due so he checked it this morning.  Can we say "oops"?  He didn't have any trouble, mostly because it was "just" expired and not suspended.  He had to take them a certified copy of his birth certificate, which we did have fortunately.  If he'd been further from the expiration date, he could have possibly had to take either the written or driving test again.  (No, I won't wait past the end of the month to renew mine!)

Frasier's getting talky again.  At night.  He's done it every so often, and I've usually given him a tranquilizer the next couple of nights.  Then he would be fine.  But he's done it a few times lately, and the last two in a row.  But he's not barking, just talking and not that much.  I heard him the other night but ignored him, then he did it early one Saturday morning but I closed the bedroom door since it was somewhere around 4:00 a.m.  He might have heard Bill when he got up this morning, we're not sure.  It wasn't a lot of noise and it was pretty close to breakfast time.  So, I'm hoping that he's not ramping back up again because nobody wants to go through that again.  If he does get back to where he was at last Fall, we're probably going to see if letting him into our room at night does the trick.  Mostly, he's just wanting Mom.  But Mom needs her sleep, and so does everybody else!  We'll see what happens.  The anti-gas pills the dogs are on do seem to be helping somewhat.  At least now we don't have do wear gas masks to sit in the livingroom and watch tv!

Assorted Sunday Ramblings

It's Sunday.  We went to church.  Otter is on a date.  Bill is working on pachinko machine cleaning and I've been helping.  Really exciting!

I was going to get back to weeding the edges of my rock garden, but it's just windy enough to cause allergy issues.  Or actually I should say that it's just windy enough to make my allergy issues worse!

Frasier's not happy.  He's not happy at all.  With me.  Because I gave him a bath!  He needed it badly.  He apparently rolled in something nasty yesterday and he stunk.  I mean he was really bad.  He stunk, to High Heavens, as Mom would have said.  He's been a gassy dog lately, and we thought that was his problem when we first noticed an odor yesterday evening.  This morning, I realized that he was actually stinky, and not just his rear parts.  So after we got home from church, I tossed him in the tub.  Literally tossed him, after dragging/pulling/carrying him (all 72 pounds!) to the bathroom and then shutting the door so he couldn't escape.  He was really filthy, the water was black almost immediately.  After I let him out of the tub, he wouldn't look at me.  He got a major towelling, I used 4 or 5 big towels on him.  Then I got his collar back on him and opened the door.  He ran outside immedately, and he's spent most of the day out there.  He comes in every so often, but then he turns right around and heads back outside.  I also washed the dog's blankets, since they also had a little odor.  Maggie doesn't seem to mind them being clean, in fact she could hardly wait for me to put their blankets back in place so she could curl up on them but they were still pretty warm from the dryer and that might have been part of her haste.

They have had a flatulence problem lately, I went to Petsmart and bought a supplement pill that is supposed to help them.  Frasier gets two pills, since it's weight-based.  Maggie Moo will get one.  She's not as bad as he is, but it won't hurt and it might help.

March is International Crochet Month.  It's also International Craft Month.  I posted about it on the craft blog, but I have to mention it here as well.

My personal motto!  (Right after Resistance is Futile, Y'all!)