I'm going to take a break from this blog until after the 4th of July. Have a safe holiday.

Are you smiling today?

A mother is driving her little girl to her friend's house for a play date. "Mommy" the little girl asks, "how old are you?" "Honey, you are not supposed to ask a lady her age," the mother replied. "It's not polite." "OK", the little girl says,
"How much do you weigh?" "Now really," the mother says,
"those are personal questions and are really none of your business." Undaunted, the little girl asks, "Why did you and Daddy get a divorce?" "That's enough questions, young lady! Honestly!" The exasperated mother walks away as the two friends begin to play. "My Mom won't tell me anything about her," the little girl says to her friend. "Well," says the friend,
"all you need to do is look at her driver's license.
It's like a report card, it has everything on it." Later that night the little girl says to her mother,
"I know how old you are. You are 32." The mother is surprised and asks,
"How did you find that out?" "I also know that you weigh 130 pounds." The mother is past surprised and shocked now. "How in Heaven's name did you find that out?" "And" the little girl says triumphantly,
"I know why you and daddy got a divorce." "Oh really?" the mother asks. "Why?" "Because you got an F in sex."
:)

Walkin' Wednesday

Last Saturday, my hubby found this bench at a yard sale for only $5 woohoo! I put it over on the side of the house were we put in the "first" set of planters. Everything is growing nicely. I'll have to share more of the beautiful flowers I put in this area.
This a part of the "second" set of planters we put in the front of the house.

This is part of the "second" set of planters too.

A picture of the "second" set of planters together. (that is my ADT sign if you are wondering) I have red and yellow rose trees in the first one - orange and lilac rose trees in the second one.

My hubby and I go out every morning and check all the planters for new flowers. I found two jalapenos on one of my plants this morning. The torch bougainvillea that the "dog" (from ****) dug up - I repotted and put in the FRONT yard is going to make it :)

I took Trixie and Bandit for a walk after hubby left. This is what I found in one of the neighbor's yard.

I found this in another neighbor's yard. Trixie, then found the neighbor's cat. We had to make our walk short. I have two cats and Trixie doesn't give them the time of day but..... neighbor cats, ummmmm different story.

What is it? Tuesday

This is a close-up picture.
While driving around running errands, I saw this tree. I always keep a camera ready in the truck just-in-case. I stopped in the middle of the road (not looking to see if anyone was behind me first - oops). I need an "I'm a Blogger" bumper sticker for the back of my truck! Does anyone know what this tree is called?

(The people that live in this house don't speak English. So asking is not an option - I tried)

Dog Friendly Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

Yesterday, I took my other sister (I have two) and her husband to the Phoenix airport. She asked me if we could bring Trixie (the good dog) along with me. We didn't but it got me wondering about what people do with their dog when traveling. Sooooo I looked up Phoenix Sky Harbor and dogs. These are some of the pictures and info I found out. Did you know Phoenix Sky Harbor is considered the "friendliest airport"? I didn't either. This airport is definitely dog friendly!

TERMINAL 4: The "Bone Yard", located outside the baggage claim level on the west end, "Mutt Mitts" are provided for owners to clean up after their pets and water buckets are available for a drink. Two water faucets are located within a lighted area filled with gravel in the shape of a bone.

TERMINAL 3: Sky Harbor added another pet park called "Paw Pad" outside Terminal 3 near the base of the control tower.

TERMINAL 2: Just recently added "Pet Patch" just right outside Terminal 2.

These are some of the tips I saw online for traveling with animals.....

Do not tranquilize your pet, as the effects of tranquilizers on animals at higher altitudes can be unpredictable. (Phoenix is at 1,000 above sea level - so problem there)

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has set up rules and regulations for the transportation of live animals, and your pet is required to be at least eight weeks old and fully weaned before traveling by air.

Whenever possible, book a direct, nonstop flight and avoid holiday or weekend travel.

Try to plan schedules that minimize temperature extremes. The kennel that you use must be sturdy, properly ventilated, and large enough for your pet to freely be able to stand, turn around and lie down. ( LOL, well, if you are traveling to Phoenix then, to minimize temperature extremes you would only be able to travel here during ahhhhhh January and February)

Get your pet comfortable with the kennel prior to flying; this reduces stress on your pet. (I can't imagine ever traveling with Bandit - the dog from He**)

Give your pet food and water within four hours before your flight. You will have to sign a certification of the time when you last offered food and water to your pet.

Give yourself plenty of time for check-in so there is no rushing and everything is done properly (I swear - this is what it says - no rushing LOL)

We Have A Doctor In The House!

Yesterday was my nephew's graduation. Each of the 52 graduates got to invite 15 guests. Out 1,400 that applied for their doctorates only 53 were accepted. One of their classmates died before he was able to finish - they gave him an Honorary Doctorate ( there was moment of silence for him during the ceremony). It was an honor for me to be asked to attend. In the picture above, my nephew had just been presented his diploma. See on the left side of the picture? They are putting on the "sash."
These are the words to the oath they all say orally during the presentation.

While saying the oath, they are standing. Their right hands are raised. The guests are seated during this part of the ceremony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dress If you want to learn about the gowns, caps and tassels, this link is very interesting. When obtaining a doctorate degree, each field is represented with a different color "sash."

This is my very proud sister and her husband with their son .... "The Doctor!"

Every one flies back to Colorado today. They fly back again to Arizona in couple days for the wedding. On Friday, the title will be Dr. and Mrs. ....... I wish him and his to-be-wife the best!

Purina Diet

Yesterday I was at my local COSTCO buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Nugget, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
What did she think I had, an elephant? So since I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again.. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.) Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's ass and a car hit us both.
I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard.
Costco won't let me shop there anymore.
(Sorry, just another one of those wacky things my hubby's brother sent me :)

Do You Know Where Your Parents Are?

No need for GPS ... Just look for a mailman! My hubby tells me stories all the time about people stopping him and asking for directions. Today two 80 year olds stopped my hubby and said "We think we're lost." "Where are you going?" he asks. They came from Surprise and were looking for the Casino. They thought they were in Apache Junction and that there was a Casino there.
I put an H with a circle around to show where my hubby was. See it? Just right of Tempe..... See Surprise? I circled it too. It's way up on the top left side of this map. They thought they were in Apache Junction - I circled that too. It's way out on the center of the right side of the map.
He asked .... "Which Casino are you going to"? "Harrah's Ak-Chin," they answered. I circled that too. See it in bottom center part of this map?
He said, "Yes, I believe you ARE lost (with a straight face)!" He told them if they really wanted to go to Apache Junction to find a Casino - go ahead - but, they need to get back on 60 find 10 and head South 35 miles to find Harrah's Ak-Chin.
He called me and told this story with a chuckle. My hubby the GPS/Mailman!

Auction Tonight

http://a1auctionz.com/

Hubby called me and asked "Did you see the auction photos for tonight?" "No, why?" I said. He said "Check it out and then call me back." The above link is to tonight's auction - then click on photos on the top left side.

Although, my front and back yards are more of the manicured professional done yards...... It would be fun to go see this stuff and watch it sell.

I found this weather vane for the top of the barn. Remember when I had the only house with an umbrella on the top? This a rotty weather vane - cute, huh?

Will let you know how it went at the auction!

WW2 POW house

http://www.sierraestrella.com/powcamp.html

A few years ago, there were these officers quarters and barracks for sale. They were used here in Phoenix when there was the POW camp during WW2. Several years ago, when these building were for sale my hubby and I lived not far from where these buildings were (Scottsdale Rd./Thomas) At that time we were looking into expanding our house. We considered buying and moving one of these on our property to use as a guest house.

With serious consideration, we decide against it and bought our current house. We built "the barn" (as I call it) on this property. When we EVER get it done, it will be a guest house. It seems that everything else keeps us from finishing our 3/4 done project.

The POW building that we had considered was sold. It was placed in North Tempe as a single family residence. I drove by it yesterday and took a picture of its "new looks."

The above link tells the history of these building. It is very interesting and I encourage you to read it if you have time.

I've been getting the house ready for company this week and then again next week. I wish the guest house (our barn:) was done.

Grand Opening I Love This Bar & Grill Mesa AZ

Special ***Thank You*** to AZWright for putting hubby and I on the list to this invitation only event. Last night was the Grand Opening Celebration of Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in Mesa, Arizona. http://www.tobykeithusa.com/
After we got our tickets, we stood in line. There was valet parking and limo service.

There were a lot of people there (my picture doesn't show all the people :( The radio station KMLE Country 108 was outside broadcasting. Tim and Willy were there. http://www.kmlenation.com/


They announced all the important people that were there - the mayor of Mesa, I think they said Sandra Day O'Connor ( but it was loud and I didn't hear most of what they said) and more .... then they announced Toby Keith. I got this picture. I was wayyyyyyy in the back. Toby Keith did not perform while we were there :( We left at 9pm.



I had to take three pictures of the guitar above the bar - it was huge. They gave two free drinks to each person. We wore wristbands and they marked when we got our drink. There were hors d'oeuvres. I got to try the Twinkies that I posted about last time. They are good!





This is more of the guitar above the bar.






And the rest of the guitar.





My hubby was "in heaven" last night. There were lots of beautiful women there last night. This is a picture of hubby and Miss Rodeo Arizona.

Hubby's VERY favorite part of the evening was meeting Miss Arizona AND getting a picture of him with her! She was so nice.

We met Adrian Betti with http://www.944.com/ You can see more pictures of the event on this website. On the top of this site look for - I Love This Bar & Grill and click on the picture. He has over fifty great pictures on there.

I had a GREAT time! I was taking pictures of everything and everybody. I took a picture of this young lady. She saw me take a picture of her soooo she snapped a picture of me. I started laughing and snapped another picture of her and her husband. Her husband came over and posed with me so she could get a picture of us. Almost everyone had cameras!

There were a lot of veterans there. They announced something about free hamburgers for active duty servicemen. I'll have to check into that....

The girls behind the bar wore black t-shirts, short jeans and Toby Keith belt buckles.

My hubby and the restaurant's manager.

The guys behind the bar put on "shows"

We left at 9pm. Everything was lit up outside. There were spotlights in the sky. We had a GREAT time! We will definitely bring our friends and family to I Love This Bar & Grill. Again Thank You to AZWright :)

Grasshopper Cake - Greeley, Colorado

Did you ever eat grasshopper cake? (No relative of Grasshopper Pie). If you are a newcomer to Greeley, you will shrug your shoulders, turn up your nose, and shudder, but if you belong to a pioneer family there you will smile and say, "Yes, my grandmother made it!"
Grasshoppers compounded the difficulties that the intrepid band of Greeley colonists had to overcome. Between 1872 and 1874, grasshoppers stripped the countryside of everything they could devour. The pests left nothing that was worth taking. Feed for chickens was scarce, eggs were a prohibitive price, and cake became an unknown luxury.
Mrs. Ralph Hilton, a plucky capable woman, concocted a cake made without eggs and took it to a social. The eggless cake was christened "Grasshopper Cake" and the recipe was welcomed in all homes when the price of eggs went up.
Grasshopper cake is still made by Greeley pioneer families.
**** copied from Across Colorado Recipes and Recollections - The North Plains - page 268
Unfortunately this cookbook did NOT publish the recipe for Grasshopper Cake :(
Now you know where Grasshopper cake comes from - I knew you all were wondering about this ;)

I like FREE :)

We've all heard of yard sales, ebay, craigslist, dumpster diving (no I never done that), out in the alley by the trash can....... It's my hubby's day off and he is working of course (that what you do when you are a mailman). He calls me, "Dear, get in the truck and come over here." "What's going on?" I reply. "This house I'm delivering mail to has shutters by their front gate with a FREE sign on them," he says. "I'll be right there!"....said by me rushing out the door.
I like FREE and especially when it's something I can use. The smaller ones will be perfect when I clean them up. I'll put those in the kitchen. The tall door ones :::smiling::: I'll connect the three doors together to make them into a "screen." I'll put thoses in the BBQ area. Perfect! And FREE!
I know, I know.... you'll want pictures huh?

Almost Wordless Monday

ahhhh...... I don't think so!