So today was a day filled with good news, seemingly good news and thank goodness it's over for me news.  The good news is that we are having a granddaughter and all seems to be going exactly as it should.  How exciting!  The quilt is nearing completion so it will be done before she is born, whew.

The seemingly good news is that Joe Alcorn came through his surgery and will have a few days before his next round.  Bless Amy's heart, she has to be the trooper on this one and so glad that Cyn could be with her as well as the mother of another friend.  It's awful to wait, not knowing how things are going and then to have to wait longer for news.  We wish Joe a full recovery, it won't be speedy, but we certainly hope he gets stronger and stronger every day.

And the other news, I have voted, it's mailed and now I can ignore the political crap that continues to take up way too much time and energy.  For Pete's sake, the campaign started well over a year ago.  I am quite certain that I am not the only person that thinks that is not only foolish but unnecessary.  How many times do we need to hear the same BS over and over.  How about cutting down on the time of campaigns, the cost of campaigns, the BS of campaigns and have a realistic campaign season that will allow for the voters to learn what they need to know and then get on with living their lives without thinking that it is stupid to pay millions of dollars to run a campaign for a job that doesn't pay as much as a corporate executive makes.  It turns the president into an OLD person (just look at the before and after pictures of every president) and has more stress associated with it than probably any other position on earth.  Not only does the President get the media climbing all over them but so does the family.  Sure glad Dad didn't want to have a position like that!!

But, for the rest of the country the voting will take place soon and then, blessedly, we will get a break from the whole thing for awhile….at least a couple of days.

Greg's parents are coming for Thanksgiving.  What a pleasure, we are looking forward to it.

I was thinking about Midnight tonight and wondering how he is doing, haven't heard anything for awhile.

That was just too awful for words, the Bears have the lead, they look like it's finally going to be their way and bamb, the Falcon's kicker, who had missed one earlier, put it through the uprights with seconds to go and beat the Bears.  The Falcon's have to be thrilled but darn it for the Bears.

We went to church this morning.  It's always a good feeling to go and hear a message of inspiration and network with other christians after the service.  We had our picture taken for the directory today.  The gal that is putting that together is doing a great job, even though she has most of her finger tips missing.  Don't know why but they are, doesn't seem to stop her from doing what she wants though.

Next Saturday is our turn to feed the people in the park.  We are supposed to meet at the church at 7 am which may mean that I miss it, shoot, it's a 35 minute trip to get there from our house.  I'll just have to wait and see.

Going to check and see if Cyn is home yet, if not I'll run over and feed the cats.  I didn't go before church and she thought she would be home before the Dallas game which starts in just a few minutes so better check.

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So you go to get into your car, it's got to be 150 degrees F in there with the sun baking down on it.  You start the car, turn on the air conditioning and NOTHING happens!  Could it be that your air conditioning compressors shot?  Great!  Now what do you do?  You go to auto ac parts.

Going to the online store will save you money and get you quality parts with super speedy delivery.  And the delivery is free with full warranty on all parts you order from them.  So, get your ac compressor from the guys that understand how awful it is to get into a super hot car with no air!

It's a shame that Mexico and the US are having such a difficult time in taking care of the border issues with the drug cartels.  The murder and mayhem seem to be elevating in seriousness with the beheading of many and the shootings that take place along with the kidnappings of some.  Now, it seems that the cartel is focusing primarily on the opposition gang but when innocent bystanders get in the way they too are at risk of being injured or killed.

It's not the normal people of Mexico, it's the drug cartels that want to have the "ownership" of the drug lanes into the US.  Power, money, drugs and lack of enough resources to stop the "war" have become headline news in papers all along the border.  The stories coming out of the area make it appear that the entire country of Mexico is filled with "bad" people when in fact, there are many areas of the country that are as safe as the US, have generous, gracious people and beauty.  It's just that those places don't make the news.

The kids are headed to Mexico today, I hope they have a blast and don't encounter any delays or problems at the border.  Holiday weekends mean lots of people getting away and with the celebration going on at Rocky Point the traffic will probably be worse than normal.

Ok, so I cooked like a mad woman, made some really cool things that I've never made before, baked some cookies that were just fabulous in Iowa and really didn't turn out as well here, but that's ok. Then, cleaned so that everything was ready and hosted a coffee for the candidate for Pima County Attorney, Brad Roach.

Brad has a great set of goals for the office with the wisdom to say that he thinks that, should he get elected, he would serve two terms (if he gets re-elected) and then leave the office. His thoughts are that you can become tainted with all the political pressures that are applied to any elected office and he doesn't want that to happen to him. He even has a person selected (or directed) to "boot him in the butt" when he begins to get the big head. Good for him. Not only that but he has a plan to reduce the crime rate in Pima County which has a higher ratio of crime than New York City. Now come on, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that something has to be done to get the problem under control. If you are going to spend all your time in court with petty problems and not arrest and convict those that are repeat offenders you really aren't going to get the crime under control.

Our current County Attorney tries lots of cases (well, she doesn't, she hasn't tried a case in many, many years and hasn't attended a court hearing either to encourage or support her team) to grab the publicity in the local papers. That actually works to bring people to the mind that she's doing something (she is, just not the right things) but other than funding opportunities because of the publicity there really isn't much getting taken care of.

When all the law enforcement agencies in the county support the current County Attorney's opponent you have to know that something just isn't working for her. Brad Roach has the support of every law enforcement agency in the county. Now these are the people that KNOW who the criminals really are and want to get them off the streets, but in order to do that they have to have the backing of the County Attorney to prosecute them rather than blow the cases off and let the "bad guys" back on the streets. How discouraging for the law enforcement officers to have to deal with that type of attitude. Let's see, if I try 6 little cases instead of one bigger one I get in the paper 6 times instead of once. I guess if you are a publicity hound and really don't care about the type of crimes you are prosecuting then it has accomplished the goal. On the other hand, the officers have spent untold hours putting together the case of a known drug dealer or repeat offender, which would take the prosecuting office more time to try but get a real problem off the street instead of taking the "easy" way out, only to have them ignored or plea bargained down instead of taking it all the way. How hard will the officers work to build a case, take it to the County Attorney who then decides that it just isn't worth her time, or the time of the 400 (her number) other attorney's in her office to try?

I've heard both candidates speak. I made my judgment on which one to support by the logic of their plan to make a change. I didn't hear anything from Barbra LeWall that led me to believe that anything would change, it would continue as usual with crime increasing dramatically. From Brad Roach I at least heard a plan, a logical, methodical plan that will decrease the crime rate in Tucson, give the assistant county attorney's the opportunity to try real cases and give the law enforcement officers the support they need to continue doing their job. Wasn't a hard decision to make.

So, that being said I hosted a coffee for Brad Roach last night. It was a delight to have the people come to hear him (and eat…although not nearly enough…had LOTS of food left). Scott and Nancy came from our neighborhood, Peggy came from quite a distance, two fellow Rotarian's and their wives (Steve and Gama) where here as well as Cyn and us. Brad probably changed the voting mind of a couple of those that were here and have voted for the current County Attorney before, but even if he didn't (but I believe he did) they now have heard the other side of the equation.

The house is now back in order and the chicken is thawing for dinner tonight. Micher is here visiting Cyn which means fried chicken dinner. It will be great to see her, even with her broken foot. I've done that and know it's not a comfortable situation, and it takes a long time to heal, but, determined Micher still caught the flight, changed terminals in Dallas and arrived in Tucson for a trip to Mexico!

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It has been a wonderful experience to be working on our sites from here.  The quality has improved, the dedication has improved, and the creativity is soaring.  Gosh it's nice to be able to work in an environment that is conducive to getting things done and not babysitting.

Not only is the work on our sites going well but the opportunities for exploring other interests is so much greater.  Having a coffee for a candidate will be a great way to learn more about politics in this state vs the other state.  We are looking forward to it.

The International Luncheon will also be a nice change of pace.  Being back in the world that I truly loved when I was involved before is stimulating and exciting.  It was such fun to put the programs together, to meet the people, to learn about their cultures and to show them that Americans really are good people, not a country to be afraid of but one to share understanding with and work toward common goals.

The Car Show will be another experience that will be fun.  A fellow Rotarian from our club wants to go with me and since I really like her I am looking forward to it.  It will be another opportunity to network with other business people and perhaps get some more leads for the site.

We have Cow Pie Bingo tickets to sell, I have an idea for a location to visit which I will discuss with a fellow Rotarian tonight and see what she thinks.  It will require some courage, but hey, competing with the casinos should be a riot!  We'll see.  I need to check with the casino to find out how much trouble we would be in if we tried my idea.

Having the family home this weekend was superb.  Each and every one is so very special.  Being able to spend some time with them, laugh, talk and cook is just about as good as it can get.  It really helped to have my youngest step in and help with the preparation and getting things on the counter in an orderly fashion and then she and her friend did the dishes.  I owe them for that!

The baby quilt is coming along and now I know that I have another one to make and a quilt for my oldest granddaughter.  She wants one before she leaves for school.  The birthday girl told her Papa that she wants him to make her a new quillo-case so it sounds like we will be busy this winter doing projects for the girls.

The file cabinets are now in the garage, ready to be cleaned up and moved in.  It will be so nice to be able to have those things that need to be organized all in one spot and neat rather than piled hither and yon.  The site visit will be next Monday so we want as much ready as we can have done.  Getting all new computer equipment will make life so sweet!

Now it is time to leave for the Post Office and then Rotary.  When I get home tonight it will be cleaning time and tomorrow the event.  Most of the food is ready so the load tomorrow will not be as heavy as I was afraid it might be and the thought of having friends and neighbors over is just sweet.