Sunday

On Saturday night at work a good deal of the time is spent looking at my watch and figuring out the number of hours until "day's off". So why am I so anxious to have a day off.....here is a profile of this Sunday.

First on the list is laundry. It is always a good feeling to get that out of the way for the week and Sunday seems to be a good day as most of the people in the RV park have apparently picked a different day of the week to be their laundry day. At this time of year it is easier since the RV park has really emptied out....people heading home.

Then, at this time of year anyway, it is time for me to work on my tan for BB '08. I am pleased to report that for some strange reason, I actually tan in the Southwest. I have spent the bulk of my life in the Midwest and have never tanned. Since moving to the Southwest my skin does tan and believe me I really like that!!

Then we decided to go to Smith's Grocery Store. For Christmas the Avi gave us each a $25 gift card for Smith's. We have been waiting in vain for lobster to go on special to use them. Since that has not happened, we decided to use them up today, so 2 bottles of 750 ml Jack Daniel's found their way into the cart!! Imagine that! We also got an au gratin potato mix so we could have potatoes and ham for supper. Sounds like a plan...

Too hot to cook indoors so out come the volcano and dutch oven. That's OK since Rex has been dying to use them anyway.

Ah, the usual perfect result!!

We also managed to find time to stop at Circle H for a cocktail after our trip to Smith's. One of our favorite things to do is make lists while enjoying a day off cocktail. We usually have paper and pencil in the car, so we plan things. Today's plan revolved around our upcoming camp out at Pahrump the end of April. As usual, most of plans revolve around food!

By accident I have been growing my hair out. Finally today I managed to actually pull it back into a pony tail. When Rex asked me how many years it had been since I have had a pony tail, I really couldn't come up with a real answer. My best guess is between 15 and 25 years. At any rate a long, long, long time ago.

Last night after work I had the opportunity to chat with my son, Chad, and he mentioned that this week he will be making his reservation to visit us in Lake Tahoe in August....cool....it is always wonderful to see people from home and Chad is a good visitor. We are already planning a return trip to Placerville and hopefully we will also make a trip to Sutter's Mill-the site of the 1849 gold strike and beginning of the rush. I have been wanting to visit there as it is somewhat close to Lake Tahoe, but haven't made the trip yet....Chad's visit is a good excuse.

Can you guess just what in the hell this picture is all about...

or this picture??? After cocktails is just not the smartest time to start looking for stuff in the "basement", especially when all of a sudden the key lock decided to get stuck. So once again, Mary has to climb down the laundry chute (the first picture) and manually turn the lock from the inside. Really tight quarters as you can tell.

Ending the day with one more picture of a flowering cactus. They are really cool to see.

WEED WHACKER

IT'S BEEN A WETTER THAN NORMAL WINTER SO ALONG WITH THE BEAUTIFUL DESERT FLOWERS WE GET A CROP OF WEEDS ON OUR CAMP SITE.

TIME TO GET THE OLE WEED WHACKER OUT AND CLEAN UP THE WEEDS.

GOOD JOB MARY !!!!

AND WE FINALLY GOT ENOUGH HEAT TO MAKE THE CATI BLOOM. THIS IS MY FAVORITE AND IT'S RIGHT ON MY CAMPSITE.

"SUNNY & 80"

SPAM BUTTON

ONE OF THE NICE THINGS THAT HAPPENED AFTER BUYING THE NEW ACER LAPTOP WAS LOADING THE SOFTWARE FOR MY YAHOO MAIL ACCOUNT BROUGHT IN A NEW UPDATED VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE.

AT THE TOP OF THE E-MAIL PAGE IS A NEW BUTTON TO CLICK CALLED "SPAM". YOU KNOW HOW WHEN YOU GO TO CHECK E-MAIL, THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS TO GO THROUGH THE LIST OF INCOMING E-MAILS CHECK MARKING THE ADVERTISEMENTS, EARN YOUR DEGREE AT HOME, GET LAID TONIGHT, ETC., AND THEN YOU HIT DELETE?

THE PROCEDURE IS THE SAME, ONLY INSTEAD OF "DELETE" YOU HIT THE NEW "SPAM" BUTTON. THE E-MAILS ARE DELETED AND THE ADDRESS OF THE OFFENDING E-MAIL IS PERMANENTLY BLOCKED FROM YOUR IN-BOX. THE E-MAIL IS ALSO BOUNCED BACK TO THE SENDER CLOGGING UP THEIR E-MAIL BOX.

BEFORE HAVING AND USING THIS "SPAM" BUTTON I WAS RECEIVING ABOUT 25 SUCH E-MAILS A DAY. NOW AFTER 10 DAYS OF USING THE SPAM BUTTON, I'M DOWN TO ABOUT 4 UNWANTED E-MAILS A DAY.

WHAT A NICE NEW FEATURE. IF YAHOO MAIL IS DOING THIS I'M SURE THE OTHER BIG WEB BASED EMAIL PROVIDERS ARE DOING THE SAME. NOW MAYBE THE TIME TO UPDATE YOUR E-MAIL SOFTWARE TO SEE IF YOU CAN ELIMINATE THE SPAM E-MAIL IN YOUR ACCOUNT.

"SUNNY & 80"

NETLIBRARY

MARY LOVES HER AUDIO BOOKS. OVER THE YEARS SHE HAS INTRODUCED ME TO THE CONCEPT AND I ENJOY THE MYSTERIES (WHO DONE IT?), SUSPENSE (WHAT NEXT?), AND WESTERNS (COWBOYS?). MARY FOR YEARS HAS CHECKED THESE AUDIO BOOKS OUT AT THE LIBRARY. FIRST IT WAS CASSETTE TAPES, AND NOW IT'S CD DISKS.

WE WOULD OFTEN SHARE IN THE LISTENING OF THE AUDIO BOOKS WHILE ON ROAD TRIPS IN THE HONDA OR DRIVING BACK AND FORTH TO WORK. IT MAKES A LONG CAR TRIP MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE LISTENING TO A YARN SPUN BY LOUIS L'AMOUR ABOUT THE SACKETT BROTHER'S ADVENTURES.

TODAY WE GET OUR AUDIO MATERIAL THROUGH NETLIBRARY. NETLIBRARY IS A NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE PROVIDING AUDIO MATERIALS TO THE LOCAL LIBRARIES. YOU CAN NOT ACCESS MATERIAL DIRECTLY FROM THEM, BUT MUST INSTEAD GO TO ONE OF THE PARTICIPATING LOCAL LIBRARIES.

WE OF COURSE USE THE CLARK COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM, WHICH HAS A HUGH SELECTION OF AUDIO BOOKS. IN LOOKING AT THE INTERNET HOWEVER, THE LA CROSSE PUBLIC LIBRARY ALSO HAS A NETLIBARY SET UP. CHECK YOUR LIBRARY TO SEE IF THEY USE THE NETLIBRARY SERVICES.

ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR LIBRARY ACCOUNTS SET UP, PROPER FREE SOFTWARE, YOU USE YOUR COMPUTER, SO IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU ARE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE INTERNET SERVICE. THIS SERVICE IS JUST LIKE CHECKING OUT A BOOK AT THE LIBRARY, "FREE".

YOU CHECK OUT THE BOOK ON THE INTERNET, AND DOWNLOAD IT TO YOUR COMPUTER. AFTER THE BORROWING PERIOD THE SOFTWARE MAKES THE BOOK SELF DESTRUCT, AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RETURNING IT TO THE LIBRARY.

YOU HAVE SEVERAL OPTIONS FOR LISTENING TO YOUR BORROWED AUDIO BOOK. YOU CAN PLAY THE BOOK ON YOUR COMPUTER, YOU CAN BURN THE BOOK TO CD AND USE YOUR CD PLAYER AT HOME OR IN THE CAR, OR YOU CAN UPLOAD THE AUDIO BOOK TO YOUR MP3 PLAYER.

WE USE THE MP3 PLAYER OPTION. IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THE MP3 PLAYER YOU SELECT IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE SOFTWARE USED IN PLAYING AND DOWNLOADING OF THE AUDIO BOOK. FOR EXAMPLE, THE POPULAR I-POD, BY APPLE DOES NOT WORK. THIS IS OF COURSE BY DESIGN SO THAT YOU HAVE TO BUY YOUR MUSIC AND AUDIO BOOKS FROM I-TUNES.

OF COURSE AN MP3 PLAYER IS A PERSONAL DEVICE AND ONLY ONE PERSON CAN HEAR THE BOOK. ALSO IT'S VERY DANGEROUS TO USE THOSE HEADPHONES OR EAR BUDS WHILE DRIVING A CAR. THE SOLUTION IS AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE THAT BROADCASTS YOUR BOOK TO AN FM RADIO SO YOU CAN HEAR IT THROUGH YOUR CAR'S STEREO SYSTEM.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE, PUTTING ON THE BOSE HEADPHONES TO LISTEN TO MY BOOK COMES IN VERY HANDY WHEN I BECOME BURNED OUT ON HGTV, OR IN THE CAR WHEN WE ARE LISTENING TO TWO DIFFERENT BOOKS. MARY USES HER MP3 PLAYER AND EAR BUDS AT WORK ON BREAK AS SHE TIRES OF THE SPORTS AND NANCY GRACE ON CNN.

JUST AN IDEA FOR YOU MEDIA FANS OUT THERE. IT'S BECOMING MORE POPULAR AND WE OFTEN WE HAVE TO SIGN UP ON A WAITING LIST FOR A BOOK WE WANT TO HEAR.

"SUNNY & 80"

TOPOC MARINA

DO YOU REMEMBER THE BLOG A FEW WEEKS BACK WHEN WE MENTIONED THE TOPOC MARINA? I HAD FORGOTTEN MY CAMERA? PICTURES OF HARD BODIES?

THE TOPOC MARINA HAS TO BE ONE WILD PLACE DURING THE SUMMER TIME. IT'S GOT TO BE A LITTLE LIKE GLEN HAVEN, WI AT HOME, ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

THIS IS THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING , NOT TOO IMPRESSIVE, BUT CHECK OUT THE BACKSIDE SET UP FOR THE BOATERS......

MARY SEEMED TO GET A CHUCKLE OUT OF THIS SIGN BEHIND THE BAR......

ONE OF THE ATTRACTIONS OF THE BAR IS A HUGH HP COMPUTER PRINTER THAT PRINTS DIGITAL PICTURES POSTER SIZE. THE COST IS $50 PER PRINT.

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES HANGING IN THE BAR. AN INTERESTING BAR IDEA TO BE SURE.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HARD BODIES? I HAVE THEM IN A WEB ALBUM, CLICK HERE, AND IF YOU'RE NOT INTO PICTURES OF HARD BODIES JUST SKIP IT.

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY DELILAH !!!

Mice Update

As I said, I was wrong when I told Wendy that the mice would not cause a smell in the house. I figured they were in the basement, but the circulating fan on the furnace chases the odor all over the house. So they are being evicted. To the garage........

I picked out the far corner of the garage, in a window, for the daylight they need. It is a hard place to photograph because the strong light comes from outside...

..........I am not a carpenter, but over time a framework of 2X4's took shape.......

.......this is the door, ready for installation....

...........here is the door installed. The large structure next to it is a trailer for hauling snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc., that's stored in the garage.............

......here you can see some of the pink Styrofoam used for walls and to insulate the "incubator". Also in place is a baseboard heater Jake wired in place for the heat, along with a thermostat............

...........The door is covered with pink and the mice are ready to move in..........

.....they are enjoying their new digs, but are disappointed that they can't see the lake very well. The house smells much better.......

.....the challenge is to keep the temp around 70. The garage is heated but to only about 45. The temperature on the other side of that window can go to -30. I put some 3M clear plastic sheeting on the inside of the window for extra insulation, making a "double-pane" into a "triple-pane". But still, it will be a challenge to regulate........

.......here is what it looks like from outside. Kinda hard to see in the picture..........

......the final touch is a peep hole, to check on them without opening the door and letting out all the heat.............

..........Let's take a look..........

..............Yep, still there. The Daves on the left and the Steves on the right. We are about a month into the experiment now and have some observations already. The Daves (the control group) are eating more, bigger, have better fur and look generally healthier. Both groups fight more than I think they should, but the Daves have drawn blood, with three of them injured and bleeding. Not sure why. They have healed up now and that storm seems to have blown over. We are off to a rough start for proving that my vitamin regime will make the Daves live longer......

Uncle Hans

Hooch's

Monday, Monday....wasn't that a song by the "Mama's and Papa's"??? One of my favorite 60's groups. As everyone knows, we have Monday's off so we set off to Hooch's for 75 cent tacos. Our route today was the famous Route 66. Lots of color in the desert this year!!

I just love these orange flowers......they really stand out in the desert that is mostly full of yellow ones.

The yellowish stuff on this bush is really interesting. I have no clue what it actually is but it is almost web like. It is moist and silky like corn silk. Really amazing!!

Ah, our destination....Hooch's Bar and Grill. The reason for today's visit is to meet up with (bear with me..) my daughter's high school friend, Amy's, boyfriend. Last year Amy was here with her boyfriend whose Mother lives in Lake Havasu so this year he came back with his daughter and called us to meet again for the Monday "favorite".....


Taco's.......and don't they look absolutely great???? Even though the price increased by 50% this year from 50 cents to 75 cents we still love them!!! So do all the visitors we get and introduce them to.

Ok so we decided this was a working week end and the next thing on the list was to wash the Honda...of course we hand waxed it when we finally got home.

We decided we deserved another drink after all that work.....so here we are having another cocktail...You notice we are sitting outside to accommodate the "smoker"!!!!!

Gotta love those Mondays!!

FIELD TRIPS

I MIGHT BE IN A LITTLE TROUBLE WITH MY DAUGHTER AMY, EDDIE, MY GRANDSON, OR EDDIE'S GRAMMY FOR THE UNCOMPLIMENTARY PICTURE OF EDDIE I USED IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG. SORRY, BUT AFTER RAISING AIM AND PAULIE, IN BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN FRANKVILLE, THE PHOTO GOT A TRUE BELLY LAUGH OUT OF ME.

PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE SELECTED A MORE APPROPRIATE PHOTO FOR EASTER, OF EDDIE........

WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, DO REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE A KID, OR RAISED YOUR KIDS AND THEY WENT ON FIELD TRIPS AT SCHOOL?

FOR ME, IT LOOKED A LOT LIKE THESE PICTURES OF MY GRANDSONS. THE SETTING WAS DIFFERENT, LIKE THE OSBORN WELCOME CENTER DOWN BY ELKADER, IA.

OR MAYBE ZABO'S CONSTRUCTION, POSTVILLE, IA. (AND IF YOU CAN PICK MY GRANDSON ALAN OUT OF THIS PHOTO, YOUR NAME WOULD HAVE TO BE AMY OR JUDY).

NOW MY GRANDSONS LIVE IN PANAMA CITY, FL. SO I COULD ENVISION A FIELD TRIP FOR THEM THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS.......

BUT NEVER IN MY WILDEST DREAMS, COULD I IMAGINE A FIELD TRIP FOR A FOUR AND A HALF YEAR OLD LIKE THIS.......

THESE ARE PICTURES OF MY GRANDSON, ALAN, BEING LOADED INTO THE COCKPIT OF AN ACTIVE F-15 FIGHTER JET !!!!

I JUST .....

I JUST ....... DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY........

(CAN I GET INTO THAT TOP GUN LINE?)

TILL TOMORROW.....

"SUNNY & 80"