For a cause

 Go check these out on Mr's Etsy site.  All proceed will be donated to
The Wounded Warrior Project

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TombstoneBeads

A bird of a different look

We call this beauty a Mexican Bird of Paradise

 

These beauties are all over the park here.  They seemed to have bloomed all at once.

Wine Country in Southern Arizona

Yes by golly there are eight count em eight.  We ventured to a couple of them the other day.  Needless to say along the way we saw some spectacular scenery.

among that prairie grass there are some pretty spectacular vineyards

we'll be visiting the wineries next Sunday for a brunch 

that one of wineries serve

lots of good prairie grass for the horses and cattle

 always see wild creatures in the desert

Wonder if Hitchcock filmed here

and you are?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interloper

I am so pretty

 

 

They are everywhere

looks like the dinner table is full

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the love of a city

Norm and I lived in New England  for thirteen years.  I went kicking and screaming.  I'm a California girl folks.  Do you know what the weather is like in New England?  It snows that icky white schtuff.  Needless to say I endured.  Made some terrific friends.  Guess where those good friends are from.......
BOSTON!!

Norm had an office in Waltham which was one of those swell Massachusetts small towns.  He had to go to that office or Boston  proper for business at least once a month and many times twice a month.  I was the lucky wife that got to tag along.  What wonderful times we had in that fantastic city.  We have a soft spot in our heart for that city and the great people that make up their city and the surrounding area.

Boston Gardens (the original place) where the Boston Bruins hockey team play and the Green Monter where the  Boston Red Sox play.  Strolling down Boyleston St, wandering over to the shops on Newberry and then getting off track in the Combat Zone.  I had my first latte in Boston. Oh and my first of many lobsters.  Like I said such great memories of  a wonderful City.

Oh yes and the wonderful Boston Police Department.  What a great bunch, understanding and extremely kind.  Don't ask me how I know.

Yep these folks are certainly Boston strong!!  I applaud each and everyone of them.

Bird City

Well actually we are in Tombstone Arizona.  Home of our marriage forty some years ago.  Home of one of my very favorite movies Tombstone, the one with Kurt Russell not the one with Kevin Costner.  

Anyway I do digress.  This area in the Spring is the bird capital of the world or so says the Chamber of Commerce.  And our intrepid cat Bogey knows this is the best bird watching place he has ever seen.
Watch I'll show you.  The photos are all in a matter of an hour.

this is Bogey's everyday scene - sweet little hummingbirds

then this guy appeared

swooped in for a small taste of liquid nectar

then out of nowhere comes this redhead interloper  Bogey doesn't know what to do.  When the heck am I ever gonna get my nap with thses strangers showing up for my viewing pleasure.

then out of nowhere comes this feathered pedestrian.............what's a cat to do!!

Enjoy SPRING!!!

Grocery shopping etiquette

Is there such a thing anymore?  I try my damnedest to be aware of other folks coming doing the aisle.   Or even crossing over the aisle.  But there are people that just wander about and all they care about is what they are doing. And it would help a lot if you elderly ladies left your husbands or significant other in the car in the parking lot.  They are impeding your thought process and pissing me off.

I write this after coming home from doing some marketing.  I didn't need a lot just a few items.  But hell now I need an Excedrin.

Another annoyance is chatting in the aisles.  Here we have Miss Edith  who hasn't seen Miss Helen in a month a Sundays.  Do they really need to catch up while we are all trying to do our marketing?  In a word NO!  But if you or I say anything more than excuse me they look at you like you could be a terrorist.

Now I know the offenders are not reading my blog but you are so pass the word.  It's common courtesy folks.

Leave me a comment cause I would love to hear your opinion.

BTW I have some news to post but I post it after we get thru this busy weekend.

Mother Nature is annoyed at something

Doesn't one go to Southern Arizona for nice temps  oh anywhere between 70 and 80 degrees.  Well that has yet to happen until today.  Hot damn it reached 80 - no wind!!

The forecasters Doppler radar gizmo thingy finally got it right.

Now let's have some good thoughts for my dear friends in South Carolina.  They got snow.  Now my sweet friend is a bit different and doesn't mind that white schtuff.  Cause knowing how the weather works she'll be wearing flip flops next week and I'll have to get my sweaters back out.

I repeat is Mother Nature pissed off or what!!

The most unusual cloud

I carry my camera with me most of the time for occasions like this. 

I was totally fascinated with this grouping of white stuff.

Happy New Year!!

 We are tucked away out on the Arizona desert.  We arrived just before New Years after spending a few days with my family.  Lotsa fun, card playing, laughs and FOOD!!

We will stay at this location till early spring before we find our way up to Colorado.  Making a return visit after two years and looking forward to seeing everyone.

We have a couple of adventures we will be taking part in while here.  I will post some photos a bit later.

Hope y'all had a great Christmas and New Year!!

Happy Halloween

          

                

Pulling up the anchor

We have been at this particular spot a few months.  When that happens you tend to get comfy meaning it's gonna take us awhile to put everything back in it's proper place.  

We have some places we still want to go and see.  Hopefully the fires that damaged the area will allow us to go sightseeing.  I'll be sure to post some photos if in fact I get any.  

We really do like this area, too bad the fires put a damper on seeing some sites.

Looking forward to return to  "South State"  and being with family and friends for the next few months.  You know by now there will be a few blogs from that visit.

So far now

What would we do without cellular phones

We,  Mr Doodles and I are RV'rs.  We are traveling all the time.  To be able to keep in touch with family and friends by way of my Verizon phone well there is nothing  better. 

When we are in one of the big box stores and Mr wanders off I can call him almost like a GPS and get his location.   I am able to call my sister from the market and ask her to read me that recipe  cause I forgot to put the app on my phone.  See we added another word to our vocabulary   APP

But folks let me remind you that I am sick and tired of almost being  run over by some jerk while they were on their phone.  If in fact you think your conversation is more important that very minute than you paying attention while driving well you just might want to check with your insurance company to see if you are covered for an accident while you were chatting or texting.

Let me list a few incidences that happened just in the last few days. 

• lady ran a red lite at a very busy intersection, I in a truck and another car were very lucky to have missed her.

• a fellow was on the phone  when a fire truck with full sirens blasting swerved to get out of his way.

• an older gentleman in a work truck was texting while turning left I happened to be turning left also and he ventured over in my lane.  He had the nerve to mouth  "sorry".

• and last but not least a woman ran her cart into the back of me because she was checking her coupons. Knowing she ran into me she said  "trying to save some money here".

Those are but a few I even was aware of.  Sit in your car and count the number of folks around you in their car  on the phone.  You can bet the conversation doesn't end when the lite changes.

All I can say is ya better have a lot and I mean a gob lot of insurance if you hit me cause I'm coming after you if you were on your phone. 

Cell phones play an important part in all our lives just don't let your usage before a nightmare.

Look who's having a birthday!!

This I the first photo I took of Bogey

and this is a favorite 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love this little guy!!

He is turning three.

Bogey we love having you travel with us ~ you are a joy!

The many uses of vinegar

 I know this is not a cooking blog.  BUT I have stumbled onto the many uses of vinegar.

I'm not going to bore you to tears with the bajillion uses but I am going to post the link, 

then you can decide.

It all started when I needed a shower door cleaner.  If you don't know we live in our RV.  We have the pleasure of encountering many different kinds of water while traveling about the country. There are some days that I just shouldn't Google  anything cause it can be a definite time waster.  Back to the googling part.  I see first there is  130 then 150 then a whopping 254 I present you with the many uses of vinegar.  

Wanna hear about a great soap scum remover.  Here goes two parts white vinegar to one part Dawn dishing soap.  Here comes the weird part but no arguing cause it works..........heat the vinegar slightly in your microwave  (DO NOT BOIL) then add the Dawn, put it in a spray bottle, shake it a little, spray on affected area and let it set for a little bit.  My little bit = about a half an hour.  Go find your Magic Eraser, spray down the shower with hot water then wipe down the area with that Magic sponge thingy (love those things).  Rinse well.   Ta Da clean soap scumless ;) 

I neglected to mention I was doing this to Mr Doodles cause he wondered why the shower smelled like a salad.

Now one more hint and this one is a dandy well for me anyway.  A bit of background, I have been bothered my allergies and sinus problems for as long a I can remember.  Some days are worse or better than others,  Yes I have been to a ton of Dr's regarding this and I could prove it by showing you the drawer full of crap  drugs they have prescribed.  Because of this problem I am so lucky to have a problem with mucus.  YUK!!  I know not my favorite thing to discuss.  Google throat mucus and you'll be amazed at the number of sites that appear.  Anyway drinking cider vinegar diluted with warm water is a life  sleep saver.  I can sleep most nites without choking.  

OK I have bored you to tears I'm sure but I must tell you that I bet I post another hint about vinegar soooooooooooo

 

newest piece

Mr has attempted a  new piece...........

                  I kinda like them.

clouds doing photoshop

it appears that the wispy cloud just barely visible on the right was trying to brighten the sky.

2012 Olympics

The Olympics are just around the corner.  I love the Olympics.  Winter or Summer.  Doesn’t matter. Thank heavens for my DVR.  I think why I enjoy the Olympics so much is the athletes dedication.

We were watching the diving trials and the synchronized women’s team advanced to become Olympians by just a few tenths of a second.  Good heavens these young girls have worked for four years to get to that point and to be denied a seat on the plane because of  a lousy three tenths.  I have never competed so I cannot even imagine the feeling.

A couple a months ago we were in a beachside seafood joint.  We had just been seated when about twenty folks wandered in luckily they had called ahead.  They needed a couple of extra chairs so we offered them our extra chairs.  Two and a half hours and a couple of really good margaritas later we became fast friends.  

Come to find out they were judges at the Olympic Gymnastic trials.  Several of them were also going to London.  Several of them  had been coaches.  Some of them were even gymnasts themselves in their younger years.

By asking one question of the head judge we got an incredible education on the way the teams as well as the individuals are judged.

What a great bunch of folks they were and when we watch the gymnasts compete we will think back to that nite and remember how difficult it is for the judges.  They did tell us in a whisper "look out for a young lady by the name of Gabrielle".

 Good Luck to  Team USA!!

Gila National Cliff Dwellings

This happens to be where the fire is raging in New Mexico. We have spent many months in this area and the Gila National Cliff Dwellings is one of our favorite hiking trails. I understand this whole area is closed down. We hope to make a return visit someday soon.

Needs no explanation

for some sunny news!!