Dear Mr. President

Below is a letter written by a young physician by the name of Dr.Starner Jones. His short two-paragraph letter to the White House accurately puts the blame for our spiraling health care costs and challenges on a "Cultural Crisis" instead of a "Health Care Crisis". His letter presents my own views so perfectly that I felt compelled to share it.

Dear Mr. President:
During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer.
And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture", a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me".
Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.
Respectfully,

STARNER JONES, MD

Amen & Amen

Here we go again.

It appears that it has been a little less than forever since I last posted, so we'll see if anyone is still interested. My excuse for the long absence is that I was completing my Bachelor's degree. All done now - thanks be to God. Since I was spending inordinate amounts of time writing papers and otherwise completing assignments on the computer and also have an unhealthy addiction to Facebook - something had to go. It was the blog. I sure wasn't going to give up knitting or goofing off. And I do have a house and family and critters and a full-time job to maintain. So, that being said - I'm BACK! (Just imagine the whole Jack Nicholson crazy eyes and intonation - K? K.)
Since the snow and ice in the ATL has been beaten to death by newscasters everywhere - I will give you pics of the yard (taken this morning when I finally saw it after 3 days of house arrest at the hospital) Enjoy. Postings will continue to be created on a whim and with absolutely no rhyme or reason.

Not getting much done

Jenny seems determined to help with my schoolwork. But I think? Not so much. Here are a few more pictures of what has been going on in the ATL for the last month.
Jim and I spent some time at Heritage Park near our house.

The Magnolia tree in the yard has been especially pretty this year.


The baby birds are all grown up and gone but lightning has killed the garage door opener and we're praying the birds only nest once a year.

Brenna had her very first dance recital last week. She dances like her Aunt Kel but is way cuter.

Weekend fun

Just pics

Just a few pics of the critters around the house.
>This bird nest is in the garage so we are periodically dive bombed as we go to and fro. We're looking forward to the eggs hatching and the wee birds moving out so we can close the garage door finally.

A little bunny hiding under a tree. Forrest spends a lot of time watching the bunnies running through the neighborhood. Thankfully he only watches and hasn't brought any home.
And of course Beau loves a rainy day with the covers over his head.

Odds & Ends

My beautiful niece Cayla has lost her first tooth this week. The Tooth Fairy was appropriately generous and she has a mouthful of wealth ahead of her.

This little guy has been hanging out in the back garden the last couple of weeks and we finally got a pic of him. He spends his time chattering at Forrest and driving him to distraction because he can't get to him.
I'm looking forward to Spring break followed by yet another session of school. I started a pair of socks as a reward for finishing this session. Only two more assignments to turn in! Colinette Jitterbug is a lovely yarn with a tight twist. Very nice to work with. My goal is to complete the first sock on this break and the second one by vacation in June. Posting will continue to be sporadic but I will keep it up as often as I can.

Let it Snow!

As long as I can stay in and be warm it can snow all it wants. Which means that all snow must cease and desist by 0530 tomorrow because I have to go to work. Lord knows I'd rather stay home and watch the dog priss outside trying to his feet dry. Here is the last FO for a while. Mo needed some thick warm socks for the North Dakota winter.


This is around 1100 - Snow just starting



Ooooh look - 2 whole inches of snow!

Yes I am entirely aware of how pathetic it is to get excited over such a small snowfall. But hey, It doesn't happen around here very often and staying inside, drinking hot chocolate, and watching snow fall is a pretty sweet way to spend the day.