Ringing in 2009

It was a great, funny ride! AND Clean! We can recommend it to any & all ages. Even the kids would get most of it. Since Adam Sandler became a real life dad it seems he evaluates what kind of movies he does. Anyway, it was a action-packed, laugh-out-loud flick. We took in the 4 pm showing. There were 8 of us in the theater, I think.

Then we ate dinner at Mimi's mainly because they sent me a $10 off dinner coupon for my birthday. Sally, Gerry and Sally's mama (Freda) joined us for both events.

We were home by 7 pm and in bed by 10:00. But as usual, I can't sleep again so here I am bothering you again.

One piece of good news is our good friend (computer guru) Wayne fixed up the old puter so dad can have his very own and not mess mine up anymore!!! YA HOO RAH! She's not the girl she used to be, but will serve him well enough to play solitaire and go on-line to get subbing jobs. He also asked if he could do a blog on it! I said, OF COURSE! So get ready for some "with love, from dad" entries. Beware however, his spelling is atrocious & he writes in one, big long sentence. Other than that he is just bursting with wisdom and sometimes even a bit of wit!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Goodbye Christmas, Hello Valentine's Day

They went up just after taking down our McCain/Palin signage was retired. Seems we just get them up.... and then, well you know. We were 1 of about 5 folks in our subdivision that had some sort of nativity scene on display. Ours is kind of a cheezy plastic set, but it is our belief it's most important to display the 'reason for the season'. Somehow the polar bear blow-up or a trio of penquins

rocking back and forth just doesn't do it! Dad is ADAMANT about this and I heartily

support his effort. He actually bu

ilt a 'manger' and draped it with branch trimmings... looked pretty authentic! We looked all over for more 'nativity' pieces to add to our display without success. A donkey/sheep/ camel/a wise guy or two and maybe a shepherd!? Any or all would be welcome. Maybe next

year.

So we're already gearing up for the next holiday: Valentine's Day! Thankfully no major creche required...maybe a simple heart wreath for the door or some valentines in the window. I'm planning to eat a large quanity of chocolates to celebrate. What are you going to do to decorate for the 'LOVE HOLIDAY'?

THE POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD

Dad & I love our calling as Empty-Nester's Family Home Evening coordinators. It is not only fun & interesting, but there are always spiritual experiences associated with it. All our empty-nesters are included; sometimes teaching or bringing treats, etc. We just make sure there's something planned. Most older people are pretty reliable, so it makes our calling easy. But more than anything, we LOVE these people, they are like family to us. What a blessing to be part of their lives, the great parts as well as the challenging parts.

Tonight was an example of the love we all share because of one of our members has cancer, (the docs only gave her 6 months a year ago). She's only 54 years old, her name is Linda. She had been doing pretty well; we were hopeful she would overcome this disease. But she received bad news from her onocologist today. The cancer is growing in her brain, liver and bones again. Mike, her husband was in charge of the lesson tonight; they were late arriving. (dad & I always have a 'dog & pony show' on hand 'just in case'.) When they arrived, Mike shared the bad news with me, I suggested she have a blessing. Afterall, we had approximately 600 years of Priesthood power represented. We went ahead with our FHE lesson (the great new Pres. Hinckley video). Then we gathered everyone around so Mike could explain what was going on.

What a beautiful spirit filled the Relief Society room while we watched those 12 great men lay their hands upon her head & administer to her with the sacred oil. Tears were flowing & testimonies of the priesthood power were strengthened again. Her blessing didn't promise a healing, but it did promise peace & comfort in her trial. We all pledged in our hearts to do what we can to help them. They have not been blessed with children & most of their family lives in California & Utah....so we're their family!

Mike was also given a beautiful blessing, giving him strength to be able to handle all that may come his way. He's a great guy.

We ALL have or will have trials. It is said 'not more than we can bear'; but sometimes we wonder don't we? Through it all we always need our Heavenly Father's help & guidance. He is ALWAYS there for us....He is waiting for us to ask. Go ahead, ask Him, He wants to bless you.

DIZZY DAME AT THE MESSIAH

They angels came...they ALWAYS do, filling in where we are weak & making a beautiful 'noise' unto the Lord! Inspirational, as usual. BUT here's the rest of the story......

She was fine; beautiful in Christmas red. The prelude Christmas Carols were just beginning when she grabbed my arm & said "oh no, not now"! My dear friend, Beth, (our low-tea hostess) has a condition that rears it's ugly head at the most inopportune moments. She has extreme vertigo that hits for no apparent or predictable reason. The poor thing didn't get to sing a single note the entire performance. She had to sit in her seat with her eyes glued to a fixed point across the chapel (the air vent) for 1 1/2 hours! (Cannot close her eyes either.) She ALWAYS carries medication to counteract the dizziness.... ALMOST always! She had it with her during church earlier in the day, in her scriptures...which were on her desk at home! Nothing we could do and she would not allow us to carry her out....so there she sat. Husband was summoned at the last "hallejujah" to race home for meds while we attempted to comfort her & lighten the moment with our own 'fainting at the worst possible time' stories. Sooooo, NOW we (a couple of her friends) carry 2 pills with us....just in case.

So I have to say it was a memorable Messiah performance. It's always worth the time & effort even tho it takes some doing once in a while to get myself out the door to rehearsals. I will be back next year, IF the voice allows. I hope I'll know when to stop; there's a sister in our ward that someone truly NEEDS to tell!

IS IT GOING TO BE AN AMUSING DEPRESSION ?

You may have to use a magnifying glass to read this cartoon, but thought it was pretty close to the truth we're all facing these days. Dad & I did some home teaching last night. The single woman we visited expressed sorrow that she hadn't paid much attention to her mother's 'green thumb' ability. (She's about 50 years old.) She wants to grow some food for herself to save $ & to actually have something to eat! She's on disability but could still do something...maybe pots or a small raised bed, etc. Dad & I offered to help her & that she could grow plenty in pots or boxes, etc. She's indicative of a lot of people who haven't felt the need to learn gardening for food (not just for pleasure & beauty). I'm here to say, I think we ALL will be spending a lot more time getting our hands dirty so we will have something good to eat that's affordable.
May I suggest you find the book written by Mel Bartholomew, an engineer turned gardener/writer....who wrote "SQUARE FOOT GARDENING". I first learned of him on PBS many years ago (25?), found his book, then his videos & implemented his techniques on the D St. raised bed garden. (he has a site at Thanksgiving Point in Utah as well.) Love, love this method! Easy, fruitful, 80% less watering, 80% less space needed, 80% less watering and virtually no weeding! Sound good? Check it out! You could be providing wonderful fresh produce for your family and getting your dose of vit D for strong bones at the same time! Today's advice: Get some food storage & start a small garden asap.

INABSENTIA EXPLAINED

I blame it ALL on dad! Seems every time he 'plays' with my computer (says he doesn't DO anything!), it goes berserk! Most of the time I can get it back up and running (whilst gritting my teeth & murmuring). This time it didn't work.
We get his sub-teaching jobs on-line; checking the site often. I was up checking at 4;30 AM; everything was fine. He checked at 5:30 AM and (he says) it was fine. I got on at 7:30 AM and NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH, ZERO! WOULDN'T EVEN BOOT UP! So called computer guru friend, Wayne, who took it home & found a deep fried hard drive with all data forever floating in cyberspace. Yep, all the pictures I DIDN'T back up! (lesson learned AGAIN!) The timing really sucks! But, off we go shopping. Settle on a pretty good deal on a Acer; friend Wayne went along to help. Of course, that's just the beginning of the process.....have to load everything on (assuming I can find the discs, etc!). So have been off-line for a few days. Still a way to go, but I'm BACK as of yesterday; at least to check the blogs & emails. Can't keep a good dog down....not for long anyway!

PUERTO PENASCO aka ROCKY POINT - Thanksgiving ala Mexican beach

What's better than turkey with dressing covered in gravy & pumpkin pie? Well, not much, but spending thanksgiving on the beach in Mexico passes for pretty darn good! Four days of sea & sand... and for dinner?...all-you-can-eat blue crab! We had a very restful visit across the border. The pics show us doing various things...but mostly nothing! Even new puppy, Lucy Chi Chi enjoyed sunbathing on the towel! Dad & Sally braved the coolish ocean....well, dad did! Sally did her ankles. You'll notice the ever-present venders. They walk up & down the beach carrying their wares (some very heavy pottery, etc.) We always buy something....usually around $20. My heart particularly hurts when it's a mama & her little kids or an old woman (like the one dad is buying chiclets from in the pic). We know they don't have Social Security or welfare there, and we have so much compared to them...so what's $20? Sally's mom, Freda, came along for the trip, but spent her sun time under an umbrella. We buy fresh caught shrimp, red snapper, scallops from the vendors in old town. You can see one of the shrimp boats with it's nets out in that long shot looking out across the sea of Cortez. In fact you can see the Baja peninsula on a good day on the other side of the ocean. And you are rewarded every evening with a beautiful sunset. All this and only about 3 1/2 hours from Casa Grande....what Arizonans call 'our own beach'. Lots of Americans with their families as well as their ATV's.... a lot of sand dunes to play on. You can rent them there as well as horses to ride. Ask Sally about her ride on a large white stead trying to fit in a child-size saddle....owww!

The only down side is the long line to cross the border back into the U.S. It's at it's worst on sunday when everyone wants to go home. We were in line for 2 1/2 hours, backed up for about 5 miles. If possible it's much better to wait till monday. We'll probably do that next time!
VIVA MEXICO! We'll be back!

THINK YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THE PILGRIMS?

Don't you just LOVE pop quizzes? Here's one to test your t-day knowledge. It helped me to appreciate what we have & how we live today! Have fun!

http://cid-121f078748f7eb1e.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!121F078748F7EB1E!128.entry

MORE TEA? ONE LUMP OR TWO?

Our illustrious hostess, Beth gifted us all the pictures taken at the low tea party. She had each of us pose holding a frame. Note my leopard gloves! Side story.... didn't know what to wear to a low tea. Had to make a Walmart run & my eye caught the leopard print gloves. PERFECT! Had the top & a scarf to adorn my hat! Voila, low tea party outfit! FYI: that's Maxine (one of the Cancun Chiquitas) in the middle & next to her our hostess, Beth.

AN ENGLISH 'LOW TEA' PARTY CON HATS

The cute little teapot invitations went out. We were all invited to an authentic 'low tea' party. (who knew low tea was so named because it was served on a low table?!) Our hostess, Beth, (left rear with black hat/white bow, barely seen) has English lineage & has visited her country many times. One of our group (Linda) has cancer & is not given many months to tarry on this earth, so we have been wearing hats to church in a showing of solidarity because she has lost her hair to chemo & was the only person so adorned each sunday. (We love her, but not enough to shave our heads!) We buy them at Salvation Army, garage sales & even Dillards (but only on a REAL good sale). Linda is back row, pink dress, 5th from the right with straw colored hat. SOOO, that was the impetus for a party....to give her something fun to look forward to & for us to wear our proper hats & gloves (if we wished). Beth never does anything half-way, so I can promise you we had it all! All the fancy finger foods & treats, including bisquits, as they call cookies in England along with mulled cranberry hot drink. All impeccably served. We learned about high tea (yep, served on a high table!) & that it is served later in the evening usually with a meat course....so dinner? (The queen doesn't even start her high tea till 8 pm.) We played games, but mostly talked & had fun. Yes, we're a bunch of more mature sisters, (probably range in age from 45-80) but we sure have a great time together & I can't think of a more loving, thoughtful & supportive group I've been part of in my lifetime. Doesn't seem to be any petty snipings or gossiping & always looking for ways to help each other. I'm terribly proud to be part of their lives and am sooo grateful they are part of mine. I have found the older I get, the more important my relationships become. Girlfriends can be any age in any part of your life & they are the some of the richest blessings that, I believe, will certainly transcend this life into the next and furthermore, I believe we knew very well before we even arrived on this blue ball called earth. Worthy indeed of cultivation for eternity. I surely want some of them greeting me who already knew me and loved me anyway!

THE LAST 'POM' POST? hmmm....

Debbie, this is our pom shrub. We harvested at least 40 large poms from it. As you can imagine, they weighed heavy on the slender branches. But Mother Nature being who she is, the branches are flexible & allow the fruit to slowly hang lower & lower. I have never seen a pom shrub till this one; always a tree, somewhat the size of a filbert tree, very easily climbed & sturdy enough to hold several kids sitting in it dripping red juice down their elbows. (Memories!) I'm convinced it is how 'tie-dyed' shirts started! The flowers are a lovely red blossom & quite attractive. Our largest fruit is 14 inches in circumference! Very respectable!



So now the jelly recipe Sherri & perhaps then, we can be finished with our pomegranate tutorial? (But am always ready & willing to share any & all of my life's collection of knowledge.)



5 cups pom juice (about 10 poms), 7 cups sugar, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons), 6 oz. liquid pectin (Certo)

Combine juice, sugar & lemon juice in LARGE pot. (should not be more than 1/3 full) Bring to boil, add pectin & stir constantly. Bring to a 2nd boil for about 1 minute or until foam forms at the top. Skim foam & remove from heat. Fill jars 3/4 full. Seal & process in water-canner for 7 minutes OR pour thin layer of parafin wax. (caveat: some people have trouble with the jelly 'setting up' properly...saying things like it's too hard or never did gel. So you either have to 'slice it' or pour it on pancakes! But mine is fine. I believe it's important to use the Certo pectin, which I use for all my jams/jellies, anyway. Good luck everyone, and please report your results as well.



Oh, by the way, here's the link to the 'secret underwater method' to harvest the arils'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvC0iIfTVPA

INBIBERS BEWARE...THIS IS A NON-ALCOHOL ZONE

With a bit of interest concerning POM drinks; here's a run-down on a few good recipes....all delicious & healthful. Beware of the POMTINI however.... it contains pom juice, VODKA, grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed lime juice & simple syrup. (see pic, it is lovely) So what could you replace vodka with? How about any sparkling soda or cider; add a orange rind in a pretty flute & enjoy!

My cold weather fave (not here in AZ tho, it's 82' today) is the ESKIMO KISS! One quart pom juice, 2 quarts fresh apple cider, 8 cinnamon sticks, 6 star anise, 12 cloves & 12 allspice berries, cracked. Place in a saucepan & heat just to boiling, cover, let steep for 2 hours, strain & serve hot with cinnamon stick garnish. YUMMO!

Finally, the perfect drink to bring in the new year! Pom Mimosa. Looks gorgeous in a tall flute (see pic). Take 1/2 oz pom juice, add to 1 glass sparkling cider & garnish with pom arils, letting them drop down into the stem. (arils=pom seeds). Pretty simple & very elegante!

Pomegranate Jelly recipe to follow soon!

A POM A DAY KEEPS THE DOC AWAY

These are our actual poms, just picked!

They hung on our shrub like Christmas ornaments... so beautiful & crimson. I waited impatiently for them to ripen. (don't touch them till November!) When the birds began breaking them open, I figured it was time for us to harvest. So NOW what do I do with them?

We used to visit our cousins, the dairy farmers, in Merced, CA....they had a pomegranate tree & we couldn't wait to pluck the fruit & dye our fingers red retrieving each precious jewel & pop them inside our mouth. YUMMO! So you can imagine how eager I was to eat one! It was delicious, but I had too many to just eat them.

I hit the internet; found a few recipes, but mostly for small amounts of the jewels (sprinkle them over salads, top a cheescake with them, mix up a 'pomtini'!) Research finally rewarded me with a solution: Pomegranate jelly! Yahoo! Now I was in business! BUT how would I get as many jewels as would be needed to extract the juice from to make said jelly! Once again the internet came through. A 'secret water method to quickly retrieve the seeds'....even had a You Tube video!

The term 'quickly' was a bit misleading, but it actually worked pretty well and didn't leave my fingers scarlet. (will confess steaming the juice out of the seeds doesn't work very well.) I'm left with: remove seeds to cuisinart, pulse several times (till seeds are broken open), then sieve them extracting the juice.

So yes, it's A LOT of work! Much easier to buy good ole grape jelly, BUT then I wouldn't have had this great experience and the satisfaction of using what the Lord has provided. What was that?........something about PROVIDENT LIVING?

THANK YOU ONE & ALL FOREVER & EVER!

Cannot allow this day to pass without praising those that sacrificed
so much for our freedoms. Some of them did not return home...
they do not go unnoticed or without gratitude for the most supreme
gift they could offer.

We have, in our family, some of those men who do/did sacrifice
their time & indeed risked their very lives in defense of the
greatest nation on earth.

Thank you Steve Rudolph, who is deployed even now. He is a transport nurse traversing back & forth from Iraq to Germany accompanying wounded soldiers. Thank you Jeff Power, who was deployed to Iraq & worked with the Army Special Forces. And indeed he was injured in a couple of ways....knees still requiring more surgery. Thank You Gary Clark who was deployed in Afghanistan & worked as an intelligence officer...under cover. Thank you Thai Hanna who just signed up with the Army. He's hoping it will pay for college when all is said and done.

Thank You Grandpa Hand who didn't wait to be drafted in WWII, instead inlisted in the Navy & was off the Hawaii coast/Pearl Harbor. Thank you Dad, he was a foot soldier: Co. D, 41st Infantry - Heavy weapons Co. - 81 mm, he was a mortar man. Thank you Uncle Pete Buller. He served as a tail gunner in a b-17 bomber which had a very high life loss because they were an easy target hanging under the plane in a bubble. Thank you Uncle Ken Hanna who served in Korea. You never woke him up by touching him after that service; he'd come up swinging!

We can never thank you all enough and we need more just like you to keep this the land of the free and the home of the brave! GOD BLESS YOU & GOD BLESS AMERICA!

MY LAST WORD....HONEST

Okay, I'm REALLY trying to 'get over it' & I'm
doing well, truly. But I need to share one last word about the election, then I'll blog about such things as 'the wonderful sunshine of Arizona' or the beautiful 'Sea of Cortez' , aka, Rocky Point, Mexico...where we are spending thanksgiving. (Yes, that was bragging!) Or how cute Lucy, our new puppy is! But, just so you know, having listened to all the rhetoric and promises, it really boiled down (for me) to the MORAL issues... most of all the killing of perfectly viable babies through 'partial-birth abortion'. As I visited with some 'members', I was astonished they didn't even know Obama's stand of such things & were just focused on what he 'says' he's going to CHANGE for them. I found it impossible to dangle that chad for him. So, now it's off my chest & we can get on to more important matters.....like Dad is building us some nightstands & our tomatoes are setting fruit & I still can't find my best wig! The list is endless & fascinating!

ALWAYS AN AMERICAN FIRST

To wrap things up, we offer the final summary cartoon; and the probable reason we now have Pres. elect Obama. Dad feels McCain/Palin did pretty well....within 6 million votes of winning the election. 80% of the press is either left or WAYYYY LEFT! We can hold our heads up high and we are ready to pray for and stand up for the American way in behalf of Mr. Obama's presidency.....he's going to need it!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

THE MESSIAH 'ROCKS'

So I shouldn't pat myself on my back quite yet for putting a link to the 'Hallelujah Chorus' in my last post! Keira walked me through it over the phone, and I thought I did it right! WRONG! Sorry about that. Let's try this again, shall we? Listening to it should launch your psyche right into the holiday spirit....I know it does me. And btw, this time The Tabernacle Choir does it at break-neck speed....as well it should be done!

Enjoy and here it REALLY IS:

MY 'I VOTED' STICKER IS BETTER THAN YOURS

You must admit my "I voted" sticker really is cool looking! However, it took a bit of work to get it off it's backer paper. I ended up using the razor on my key chain (the same instrument used to stealthfully cut out the pages of art in the chiropractor's office.) to separate the parts.

Oh well, we DID DO OUR DUTY & now we know we are not in main stream America anymore! How very sad! Even more sadly, a couple of our home teachees is an Obama devotee & are very active members! Somehow shocking to my soul, what with his stand on partial birth abortion, et al!

A bit of sunshine news here in Arizona tho (no pun intended)! Proposition 102 passed! The marriage between a man and a woman! Hallelujah! Score one small point for conservatism.

Speaking of HALLELUJAH, we began rehearsals last night for the MESSIAH once again! We are all rusty & don't remember it quite as well as we thought we would, but it certainly was soothing to the soul to sing that memorable 'HALLELUJAH CHORUS', if even badly, in the face of the voting turnout! How wonderful to sing these ancient notes that are still so meaningful to us today. Hard to believe it is 267 years old! Enjoy!

here it is:

Watch the conductor's right leg; therein lies his enthusiasm for Handel!

(I'm thinking of wearing the red dress for our performance, what do you think? tee hee)

TUG-A-WAR...LET'S PLAY

Opie watched while Lucy had a 'play-date' with a friend's dog (Angel). He decided it looked like fun even for an old man (11 yrs. old = 77 man years!) After Angel left the fun began & now they play till they both collapse panting, rest up and go for it again! Maybe it will keep his heart healthy! And Lucy isn't the least bit intimidated.

Dad takes them both for early morning walks....well, he says he takes Lucy for "a drag". But she'll get better. We find we are laughing a lot more around here, she's always doing something silly! It's good for the soul....laughing!

MY CUP OVERFLOWETH....OR AT LEAST MY BASKET DOES

So I hear about this thing called "BOUNTIFUL BASKETS CO-OP" from dear friends, Bob & Jean Harford, our thrifty 'nor-easters'(see pic). A few members of our FHE group had tried it and loved it. We drove to a park on the north side of town Saturday morning at 8 am after having placed my order on line by wednesday night. You bring your own boxes & you receive a basket of fruit and a basket of veggies for $15.00 + $1.50 delivery fee. Everyone gets the same things. We got: 1 canteloupe, 9 oranges, 7 bananas, 4 apples, 8 lemons, 1 pomegrante, 1 double pint strawberries, 11 cucumbers, 1 lg head leaf lettuce, 4 tomatoes & 1 cauliflower. So, I immediately went to Wal-Mart with my list & priced everything...(the quality was not as good). The total came to $51.06 compared to my $16.50! I would say the Bountiful Basket quality is equal to Costco. They deliver every two weeks & they also had breads, honey, box of Fuji apples (which I bought 35 lbs for $22) & access to grass-fed beef. It's all volunteer. I will definitely being doing this again in two weeks. Check it out at: bountifulbaskets.org -- they may have it or something like it in your area too!

HE'S STILL GOT IT

How cute is he standing there waving goodbye holding his little
brown lunch bag (with his name on it!) and his traditional
uniform (slacks & knit pullover shirt)? No, I didn't make him
wear a name tag too! He's teaching what our friend and fellow sub-teacher calls "the hoodlums". They've flunked & been kicked out of regular classes; this is the last chance class. There's between 5-10 students, a full-time aide & dad plus various administrative people, psychologists & specialists coming and going all the time. (A lot of resources thrown at them.) All the kids are on 'distant learning' computers....pretty much all day. So dad is somewhat frustrated because he wants to 'teach' these kids. The fellow who's class he's tending is 68 years old & somewhat 'doddery' according to the aide & the guy's wife! He broke his arm badly (pins, etc) & probably won't be back in the classroom for at least a couple of weeks. Which is good news for us in the $ dept. You get an extra $20 a day after 9 days in the same classroom; so here's hoping he has to have surgery or something! (I didn't say that!!! Well, at least I didn't really mean it. tsk) Dad says if he were in charge, he sure would change some things....but alas, they're just looking for credentials in the classroom & a babysitter.

BTW, saturday, the 25th has the potential of making our prayers come to fruition. The cash-carrying-California-buyers are coming to Payette to look at our house! Their agent says it fits the bill for their criteria! Don't stop the praying yet!!!!!

BUT....SHE'S SOOOO CUTE!

I know, those of you who are NOT pet people just don't get it! I am the visiting teacher to Mary. Mary has 2 white schnauzers (mom & dad) & they had their 4th litter....it was an oops, but she had 7 puppies, all white. They're rather rare. She sells them for at least $500 each, (& they're usually all pre-sold) so that took care of that for us! Well, with the recent economic down turn, folks started backing out and so she made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Dad said okay, calling it my Christmas/birthday present. Fine with me. Opie growled slightly at first, but when the treats came out....Well, hey, how bad could she be?! He's forgotten he was the interloper for Charlie 11 years ago! Aunt Sally went with me to pick her up & then we went shopping for puppy food & Sally found a 'princess bed' for her & got a haircut (hated it)! Already spoiled rotten! But as I've always said, "it's okay to spoil your pets, cause they don't have to grow up & be responsible citizens!" Don't you think Sally looks good with a puppy?

So I guess you'll be checking out mental institutions for me...what with the snake thing & now a puppy! Yeah, bout midnight tonight I'll be saying "what the he_ _ was I thinking?" BUT SHE'S SOOOO CUTE!

60's DEAD HEADS aka CANCUN CHIQUITAS

It had to happen! The 'Cancun Chiquitas' cannot go long without a party! Rhonda's birthday was the perfect excuse this time & since she's a 'WILD CHILD OF THE 60's', tye dye's were mandatory! We partied at Alice Cooper's restaurant in Phoenix. (That's his cardboard cutout)

You all know how long Sally has been in my life (54 years!) & I love her like a sister. Don't want to know what life would be like without her in it. Feel the same way about Rhonda & Maxine. These three women are truly my sisters; we love each other without judgment & with tremendous support. Each of us have had our trials in life (everyone does), they are not borne alone. I KNOW we promised to find each other when we got down here to earth, it just took a little longer to catch up to Maxine & Rhonda! Girlfriends are the salve of life & a good belly laugh when needed. May I encourage you to nurture your friendships whether they are blood or adopted; & keep looking! You may find that eternal friend that's been looking for you too! (btw, Nancy made the t-shirts for all of us! Soon she'll have on-line store.)

SNAKES, REALLY BIG SNAKES

It's not like I planned it for days or even MINUTES! They started pulling them out & they kept coming & coming...all 15 feet EACH of them. Mr. Bananas (guess which one he is), & Squeezee; boa constrictors both.
Perhaps you already know I have ALWAYS had an unnatural fear of any kind of snake...ALL my life!

Couldn't even peruse an encyclopedic photo or drawing of reptiles. I would go into white-out mode. IOW, I wouldn't see it! Everything would go white & I would have to fight the urge to faint.
I have been working on it for many years. Told myself over and over these are also our Heavenly Father's creatures & he did not make a mistake! So the day has come for me to face my fear straight on. I said nothing of my intention to anyone, wasn't sure I could actually do it. Paige wanted to go into the enclosure, so I said I would go with her, much to the shock of Dad & Sally.
No, they're NOT slimy or cold; feel a lot like a slicker raincoat, smooth. (never pet them against their scales, they don't like it). I allowed them to slither around my foot & Squeezee came up to my face, tongue flickering. I am amazed & proud of my accomplishment.

Moral of the story? We can overcome nearly ANYTHING in time, has taken me 65 years! CAVEAT here: NO, I will NOT willingly pick up or touch another snake, particularly wild ones. I believe my courage was largely based on their tameness, size, the fact they are touched by humans on a daily basis & they aren't very fast movers. Oh yeah, I also kissed a camel (named Humphrey, what else would you name him?) & a giraffe on the lips, thank you! They give you carrot sticks & suggest if you want a kiss to put the carrot in your mouth (sticking out) & they will come get it and give

you a kiss in the process!

I MUST HAVE BEEN OUT OF MY MIND THAT ENTIRE DAY!!!!!

The picture to the left is of the famous Montezuma castle....cliff dwellers. They lived there for 300 years, used ladders to get up and down. Fascinating people. They think they left because there was a drought.