Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The ramp is done!
So, SWMBO and I groaned and strained and finally finished treating it yesterday with something that makes it look a little bit like redwood.
By the way, if you click on that second photo to expand it, you'll see how nice the "redwood" ramp plays off my coveted bright orange screen door!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Around the neighborhood
The next time I tried to shap the shutter, the camera told me the battery was too low.
So ended my photographic adventure with the fair, though I did walk through, sampled a Santa Barbara wine, watched a mime (VERY briefly), and headed for home.
Today, SWMBO decided we should go up to the top of Mingus Mountain for a picnic. Nice views from up there.
The actual mountaintop is electronic with television towers every few feet.
So ends my adventurous weekend.
As usual, all of the photos are more impressive if you click on them for the larger shot.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Growth is a good thing!
Sam's Club and the Cracker Barrel restaurant are not far behind.
Prescott Valley is growing!
Monday, September 8, 2008
McCain & Palin
She would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a heartbeat --- something Mr. McCain continues to oppose. She has sued the Bush administration for declaring the polar bear a threatened species, fearing it would interfere with oil exploration in Alaskan waters. She has questioned whether humans are responsible for climate change. Governor Palin's views are alarmingly out of touch with reality. No less alarming was Mr. McCain's decision to welcome them into his campaign.
We must be very, very careful in the voting booths eight weeks from tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Eagleton effect
So, now we have Sarah Palin named by John McCain as his choice for the v.p. nomination and the media is going crazy as revelation after revelation comes out. Rather than detailing them all here, I urge you to go to the Colonel's blog and read his multiple postings on the subject.
So...is Governor Palin this year's Eagleton? Will she survive? It's not looking good for her at present but John McCain is a stubborn man. At any rate, for this blogger, politics has become fun again.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
American Politics
But what now? Not only has the attention to Palin been taken away by the oncoming Hurricane Gustav but the Republican Convention is in turmoil, with McCain on t.v. today telling his folks to "take off their Republican hats and put on your American hats." (He had barely finished speaking when I received a telephone call from a friend who asked "What is McCain doing? He was talking like he already has been elected and is running the country!") Gustav has also caused the cancellation of speeches by Bush and Cheney to the convention and apparently shortened the convention itself.
Earlier today, the BRD called to say "Remember how the Republicans were praying for a thunderstorm to wash out Obama's speech the last night of the Democrat convention? Now look what's happening to their convention! They should be careful what they pray for!"
I was tempted to call her back later and sing "Obama will win now . . . with God on his side!"
Meanwhile, back to Palin. I have several friends who live and formerly lived in Juneau, Alaska. While one says she is smart, tough and dedicated to her family, others deride the choice of a woman with so little experience being a heartbeat from the presidency. Particularly with a 72 year old president with health problems.
She also believes in:
- Teaching intelligent design alongside evolution in the schools.
- Drilling for oil in the ANWR area of Alaska.
- Global warming is NOT human-caused.
- Women should not have the right to decide for themselves whether to end a pregnancy.
- The war in Iraq is a good thing.
She also refuses to live in the governor's mansion in Juneau, preferring instead to remain in her home in Wasilla, a long air flight away. And, despite campaign promises to the contrary, would like the state capitol moved from Juneau to Anchorage.
I'm sorry, folks, this woman is not playing with a full deck, no matter how many fish she catches and how many moose-burgers she consumes.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sarah who???
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Transformation
People began to notice him.
Tonight, I can't imagine anyone, even my lifelong Republican father, who couldn't have been moved by this speech. Granted, he is a natural orator. But tonight he overcame all the rhetoric and got down to the points of his "change."
I was a supporter of Hillary Clinton to the end of the primaries. But tonight, I totally came over to the Obama side. For the first time, I saw not only the high-minded speechifying but the true measure of the man.
I will be proud to do what I can to elect Barack Obama the next president and I think he may go down in history as one of our best.
====================
Other convention highlights:
The speeches of Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton. I thought Joe Biden's speech was good but not great. Although I didn't see all of it, I gather the speech by the governor of Montana was quite a barnburner too.
I was quite happy not to see any sign of John Edwards.
Contrary to the view of Colonel Colonel, I think the Clintons were spectacular at this convention and both of their speeches were great.
================
AND, I thought Michael McDonald's verson of "America" was nearly as good as the late great Ray Charles'.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Carpentry
So she hired a carpenter. The guy she had used once before, who did exemplary work, never answered her phone calls this time so she found a different guy.
SWMBO asked if she could have him build a ramp down from our back door to the ground, a distance of about three feet. SWMBO's ailing knees can't handle steps very well any more but since we would now be using the back yard for our outdoor time, she needed a comfortable way to get down there.
Well, after two or three weeks, here's what the guy has accomplished. (And he hasn't shown up since last Friday.)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Miss me?
So . . . what do you all think of the Democratic Convention so far? It was good to see Ted Kennedy last night although he seemed to have trouble reading the teleprompter. But he can still stir up the crowd. His niece, Carolyn, comes from good stock but she definitely is not a spellbinding speaker. The biggest surprise of the night for me was how good a speaker Michelle Obama is. Her talk even kept me away from the Diamondbacks game for an inning or two.
It will be interesting to see how this 70 day election cycle plays out. I hear both Bush and Cheney are going to speak at the Republican convention. What can they say? How will the conventioneers treat them? That should be interesting.
Equally interesting: How this 70 day election cycle will play out.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A New Look
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Elvis has left the building
Elvis Presley died on this day in 1977. He was 42. Had he lived, he'd be 73 now.
But he left early. His way.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Potpourri
----------------
John Edwards. What can one say? The story is not going to end and as revelations follow revelations, he seems to look more and more sleazey. On NBC tonight, there was a report that said a friend of the girlfriend said the affair began much earlier and lasted much longer than Edwards has claimed.
And the money. It costs a ton of money to relocate both Rielle Hunter and the former Edwards aide from North Carolina to million dollar homes in California. The man who claims to have paid the bill says Edwards knew nothing about it. But, can we believe him?
-----------------
Back to the Olympics, or at least to Beijing. A friend of mine is there helping to cover the events. He has sent pictures and many videos back for personal use. I can't run the videos but I have seen pictures of Brian Williams, Lester Holt, Dave Barry, and an array of formidable appearing "food" in what is known as the "snack area". The Chinese have put on a great show so far but that food - - - sorry, can't take it. And my friend, who has a much weaker stomach than I, certainly can't. I can't imagine what he's eating.
-----------------
As regular readers of this blog know, we have roses. Lots and lots of roses. We also have an archway over our front patio. We've been trying to train the roses on both sides to climb up, over and join. I've been encouraging them recently with a little bending of stalks and tucking them into the lattice work. Hopefully, they will soon join and grow together.
-----------------
A friend of mine in Idaho sent me this by e-mail today:
An elderly couple was celebrating their sixtieth anniversary. The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their old neighborhood after they retired. Holding hands they walked back to their old school. It was not locked, so they entered, and found the old desk they'd shared, where Andy had carved "I love you, Sally."
On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an armored car, practically landing at their feet. Sally quickly picked it up, but not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money--fifty-thousand dollars.
Andy said, "We've got to give it back."
Sally said, "Finders keepers."
She put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic.
The next day, two FBI men were canvassing the neighborhood looking for the money, and knocked on the door.
"Pardon me, but did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armored car yesterday?"
Sally said, "No."
Andy said, "She's lying. She hid it up in the attic."
Sally said, "Don't believe him, he's getting senile."
The agents turned to Andy and began to question him. One says: "Tell us the story from the beginning."
Andy said, "Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school yesterday. . . "
The first FBI guy turns to his partner and says, "We're outta here."
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Bye Bye Dick
Friday, August 8, 2008
John Edwards
There was something smarmy about the way he looked.
When he denied the reports from, say it, the National Enqirer . . I wanted to believe him. But I didn't.
There was something about the way he looked. The way his eyebrows raised and his eyes slanted. His hair. Way too perfect.
So I believed the tabloid reports, in spite of Edwards' angry denials.
And today, it came true.
Now Edwards says the baby isn't his. He says he didn't pay the woman off.
But those denials are coming in the wake of his other denials. And there are already reports coming out that seem to deny the truth in both of them.
John Edwards. Just another in a long line of sleazy politicians who think . . as he himself said . . that they are "special", and above it all.
When will they learn?
When will we learn?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Dollmaker
Well, she's not really a princess but she does have an amazing talent. Mary Ellen Frank, living in Juneau, Alaska, has become a highly acclaimed dollmaker. She takes as her inspiration the Native Americans who live in her state. The doll's faces are carved from wood and animal fur is used to make the clothing.
By the way, that's the BRD holding one of Mary Ellen's creations and ME sits in the background.
This is another amazing creation by Mary Ellen.She had just attended and demonstrated her art of making leather faces and hands at the annual conference of the National Institute of American Doll Artists in Las Vegas, Nevada.
She had come to Prescott to visit a mutual friend and took a few hours to visit us today.
It was a pleasure, Princess!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Rain, rain, rain
The pictures are larger and more effective if you click on them.
Heavy rain in a short time in the desert does not just soak into the earth.
Through the front gateway you can see our front yard flooding.