Freedoms

Been nursing a sick doxy this week. She got into something....ate crap she shouldn't have. Not sure of too many details, but I am sure of one thing. The freedom-loving wiener ate a whole clove of garlic (don't ask how I know...too graphic for this idyllic blog). Garlic?! Did you know garlic and onions can be quite toxic to dogs? After two vet visits in four days...I get it. Dogs shouldn't have the freedom to eat garlic. The doxy is recovering...thank God

Pondering the meaning of the upcoming holiday weekend..... .I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in the USA. Hope I live up to the blessings and responsibilities of citizenship in this great land. I don't want to take one minute for granted.
A familiar poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. It inspires me every time I read it. Many thanks to Emma Lazarus:

The New Colossus



Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,


With conquering limbs astride from land to land;


Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand


A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame


Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name


Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand


Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command


The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.


"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she


With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,


Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,


The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.


Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,


I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Liberating love to all this weekend!

Stay away from the garlic.



meet me at the ballpark

Our local baseball team unveiled a new mascot at the ball park last night. Didn't have the privilege of being there, but OH....HOW I WISH I HAD BEEN THERE!

Seems the team owner/manager ordered the costume (we are the Sox!) but didn't have time to check it out before the mascot started pressing the flesh. Read all the sordid details HERE.

Voila-instant classic mascot and how to trend on Twitter!! I'd like to shake his hand....or whatever. Wouldn't you love to have your photo made with the new, energetic and virile Amarillo Sox mascot?

Looks like a sock to me!

Are you feelin' the Sox love?! You've gotta understand....it's kinda hard living in Amarillo right now. We broke the temperature record yesterday....the thermometer registered 113 degrees at my house. We've got at least another week of extreme heat ahead of us. We are in the midst of the worst drought ever recorded. We are crackly dry and most every day a fire flares up somewhere. It's damn depressing here right now. Never seen anything like this.

Maybe this mascot is just the ticket to lift us back to life!

Take me out to the ball game!

See ya at the ballpark!

3 strikes and yer out love to all.

new baby technology

Have you gone to an upscale baby store lately? Wowza! Visited Baby Bliss in Dallas recently because the pregnant sprout told me I should take a look-see. Baby paraphernalia sure has changed....I literally had NO IDEA of the purpose of  half  the items in the store. The baby design market has been claimed by the Europeans.....think IKEA...only for baby. Ergonomic bottle shapes, video monitors, pads with sensors, and swaddling blankets complete with womb noises to soothe the fussy newborn are de rigueur.

Aye, the strollers! Have you seen the new strollers?! Oh, excuse me....they are no longer referred to as strollers, rather infant transportation systems....ahem. Technological marvels and they are a bargain at the price of a little less than a Prius.

I tried to find an internet photo of the type of umbrella stroller in which I schlepped my infants. Couldn't find a photo that was realistically ugly enough. Picture folding, rickety bright yellow vinyl attached to four headstrong wheels each wanting to turn his own direction. Included was a plastic strap that had to be threaded through a metal loop around baby's waist while baby was impatiently screaming and flailing. The strap coming up between baby's leg to keep him from falling out was broken. Sunshade? Don't picture one, cuz I didn't have one. We didn't know sun was bad for babies back then. The noisy contraption was heavy, but it did fold in half and would kinda fit in the back of a Suburban.

From that....to my future grandson's infant transportation system!!

Ta...dah!!!

Read how the company describes the modern marvel:

Bugaboo - Cameleon Stroller - Red Base
The Mercedes of stroller...what can't this stoller do? The Bugaboo Cameleon is a celebration of individualism and transformation. It adapts to the needs of you and your child from 0 to 4 years in almost any environment and climate. It features adjustable suspension, an adjustable handlebar, and an easy-to-compact aluminum frame. Equally unique, it also offers a wide range of tailored fabrics, colors, and thoughtful accessories which allows you to customize the Cameleon and transform it into an expression of your own taste, mood, and style.


Features Include:


- Undercarriage with wheels


- Seat/Carrycot frame


- Carrycot fabric


- Seat fabric


- Sun canopy


- Under seat storage basket


- Mosquito net


- Rain cover


- Carry handle


- Maintenance kit


- Customizable tailored fabrics (one fabric color included)


- Reversible seat


- Reversible handlebar


- 2-Wheel position for sand and snow


- 3-Position tilting seat


- Folds compactly


- Wheel suspension


- Easy maneuverability


- Aerosleep mattress


- Adaptable to various car seats


- Carrycot can be used separately


- Weight - 19.8 lbs.

The pregnant Sprout proudly demonstrated all the features of this incredible stroller....forward, backwards, in, out, up, down, gadgets that attach and unattach with the press of a button.
It even comes with an optional port for your ipad2 and an electrical outlet for blending margaritas on the fly. Honest.

I confess...it's an engineering marvel. Amazing. But.....will this techie challenged, arthritic-handed granny be able to use it? Uh....we'll see. Maybe if it was equipped with an Icy-Hot dispenser. I'll write the company.

While in Dallas, I purchased a practical gift for the grandson.

One never knows when the grandson will need to trim the sails with his granny, Ms. Lustywhip. Best to be prepared.

 Top-sider love to all.

stripper or granny?

I'm admitting it. My thinking is just wrong on so many levels....but, I can't help myself.

The dilemma:  the middle sprout is having a BABY!!! One of the male variety!! Isn't that just the most outstandingly happy, super-duper wildly wonderful-est news ever? Why.....yes it is!

Among the impending details....the Texan and I must think of our 'grandparent names'. Are we simply gonna be granny and grampa or grandma and gramps or what?

The trend among my savvy-grandma friends is to christen themselves with a cute and memorable grandma moniker. This is an outstanding idea.....BUT....I know I'm the WORST....they all sound like stripper names to me. When they read this, I will now have no more grandma friends.

Maybe I'm the sicko....but YOU be the judge. Here are some actual 'granny' names. I've taken the liberty of adding the flavorful and zesty last names.

Bubbles Glitzhaven
Mimi LaFeet
Sugar Mittens
Birdie Paradisio
GayGay NoSay

See what I mean? Stripper, stripper....stripper! I'm so wildly desperate, I visited the stripper name generator (don't even PRETEND like you haven't seen these links on Facebook. I'm not buyin' it!) to uncover my colorful, exciting granny name. My results:

Raquelle Lustywhip

What do you think? Appropriate? I kinda like it.

Anyhoo, I'm still mulling. May take the simple way out and just go by my first name......Kate, or Kathy. What do you think? The beloved, now-deceased mother-in-law was simply 'Trish' to my kids. It seemed to work really well all these years. As always, Trish set a fine example.

I value your opinion. Don't be afraid to speak up.
I'm also in the market for a good pony. You'll contact me if you know of one....yes?
What about Lexxxie?....oh....pity the poor grandson!
Raquelle-amour to all this week.

aftermath

We escaped the hot Texas Panhandle for a mountain vacation over the holiday. Going to the mountains is a beloved summer tradition in our family. Here's our THRILLING BEAR STORY from last m-day.

On Saturday evening, we received a call there was a wildfire in our neighborhood. Some family members tried to make it to our house to maybe turn on some sprinklers, but they were turned back by law enforcement and heavy smoke. The area was closed. What could we do?......nada. We had (very slow) internet access at the cabin and we watched the local news reports. The news was grim......103 temperature and winds in excess of 40 mph.

In short, our house blessedly escaped the fire scare. The main damage was just down the road.

At least their outbuilding survived!

Upon arriving home, we surveyed the damage. It left me speechless.

This was just one of a row of 5 or 6 homes that were completely gone.

This was one of my favorite houses to drive by on my way home. It was a gorgeous Tudor-style house with impeccable landscaping.

The gardens and the seasonal displays were always outstanding. I marveled at the lushness of these grounds in the arid Texas panhandle. Someone put in lots of loving care to make this house an oasis of beauty.

Imagine driving through your front gate and seeing this destruction

This was the home of a popular local veterinarian. He and his wife lived here for 30 years. There was a gorgeous 3-story prairie-style home nearby. It was one of my favorites as well, with it's big wrap around porch and gorgeous windows. I could hardly find any remains of that house. The destruction was total.

I did what anyone would do:  burst into uncontrollable tears for these losses. The years of memories, the family photos, the mother's day cards from the kids, the wedding photos, the favorite easy chair.....all ashes.
Made me think of this post about how much I love my home.

While much of the country is flooding, or being hit by killer tornadoes-the Texas Panhandle has received just 1/2 inch of moisture since January. The grasslands are barren and the cattle have nothing to eat. The wheatfields are generally total losses. The wind has been unending and it has been unusually hot. The day of the fires, the humidity was 7%.

Our gorgeous Palo Duro Canyon has not escaped the fire's grip. Remember the gorgeous photos  of the canyon? Thousands of acres have burned around the canyon.

The hardy folk of the Panhandle are uniting to pray for rain. I've not seen conditions as dire in all my 34 years living here. I'm joining in the prayers.

Enjoy your home. Rising Phoenix love to all.

the wild bunch

Dogsittin' the wild bunch while everyone is off watching the son-in-law be an ironman.

wiener, bichon, golden-doodle, bichon all looking for treats

The s-i-l finished the ironman with his best time EVER!

Good thing he wasn't raptured....or is it? I'm still here....is that a bad sign?? Hel-lo....hel-lo (tapping the computer) anyone still out there?

Left behind love to all.

rockin' with TSO

We did something fun.

Some out-of-town friends (big Trans-Siberian Orchestra fans) invited us to accompany them to the TSO concert in our town last Friday night.

My exposure to TSO consisted of hearing bits and pieces about their wonderful Christmas concerts. I'd seen a few videos....that's about it.

We went and it was just....WOW! What they do is unique and thoroughly entertaining. The talent on display is stupendous. The visuals of the performers, the lasers, the stage lighting, the huge LED screens and the pyrotechnics combine to knock your socks off.

Wanna see some photos of TSO? Here goes.

The Narrator of our story

The title of our story was Beethoven's Last Night. It was an imaginary journey into circumstances surrounding Beethoven's talent and his unwritten Tenth Symphony. The narrator drove the storyline and set up the acts. This handsome fellow was mesmerizing. His voice bellowed through the auditorium in Shakespearean prose. We were all rightly smitten in the palms of his confidently upturned hands.

Our main character, Beethoven

Our Beethoven thrilled us with his passionate voice. This singer/actor had it all....he could sing opera-style, he could ROCK it, and he could break your heart and bring you to tears with his dulcet tones. I was in awe. His voice was inspiring. He really 'did it' for me.


Evil Mephistopheles

This guy is Lucifer personified....the handsome devil was always trying to trick poor Beethoven into giving him his music. There was lots of fire onstage when he sang. He possessed a hellacious voice.

A view of stage right.

Yep....we were on the front row!

Pyrotechnics. Don't sit on the front row if you can't stand the heat!

Look at this smile!

I adore this photo. Our violin man looks to be having the time of his life, yes? The expression is one of pure joy and all of us front-rowers were reflecting this attitude back to him. Does your job inspire you to smile like this?

The sultry love interest.

This young lady was simply bursting with talent and sexiness. Her singing was sultry and oh......that dress. PER-FEC-TION. At the end of the show, they introduced the cast. I didn't catch her name but they said she was from our little town. I couldn't believe it! Does anyone know her? If you do.....let me know. She had mad dancing skills, too!

Dancing girls.

As if the pyrotechnics weren't enough, TSO sealed the deal with sexy dancing girls. Think the Laker Girls or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. The were radically gorgeous and they did double-duty as singers.

The show-stopper.

I didn't exactly catch her name, but this seductive red-head brought the audience to it's knees with her third hand. Other than her saggy chin, I thought she was damn sexy and she rocked the crowd with her raspy voice. Could this concert end any more perfectly??

The Texan and I got home at ***gasp*** eleven-thirty! I'm talking in the p.m.!

It was a great night. Thanks Roddy and Donna for asking this boring couple to such a hip and fun show. We loved it and we love you for asking us. You're rock stars.

Bic Lighter love to all this week.