Sleep Tight

They're here, they're there, they're everywhere and they are pestiferous.

Rescue Me

'Cause I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too
Come on and rescue me
-Rescue Me sung by Fontella Bass

"Brittany"
My husband and I donate money to American Brittany Rescue an organization that finds homes for unclaimed, abandoned, and owner surrendered Brittanies. This weekend I did more than send in a yearly check when I volunteered to help get a Brittany from eastern Kansas to her foster home in Colorado. Sometimes finding dogs new homes means transporting them across country and ABR will set-up a route and then find people to drive segments of it. I drove to Oakley, KS, my first transfer point, to pick-up the dog and then drove her to Burlington, CO where I handed her over to her foster mom who then drove her to her temporary home in Denver. She will stay with her foster mom until a new owner can be found for her.

Although the above paragraph reads as factual and unemotional, the experience was anything but that. Saturday was a very long day and I drove 247.09 miles round trip on what turned into a very windy day. Nothing I hate more than passing a trailer rig that has slowed down minutes before because a gust of wind almost blew it out of its lane causing the trailer section to do a little serpentine dance. I'm always afraid that any rig I pass is going to the that little serpentine dance while I am right next to it. I also fell instantaneously in love with the 3 year old Brittany who spent about an hour and a half with me. She was well behaved but so stressed out by the long trip she was making and the numerous changes in cars and drivers that she would not look anyone in the eye. She would let you pet her and cuddled up to me when I sat her in the back seat of my car to give her a drink of water. I almost cried as I watched her foster mom drive away with her. My drive home was very lonely. Still, I would do it again as somethings are worth the pain they cause you.

Sweet, Sweet, The Memories You Gave To Me

Out of the clear blue of the western sky comes...Sky King!

One of my first women role models was a teenage girl named Penny King, niece of pilot and rancher "Sky" King. Penny was brave, resourceful and, the thing I admired most, a pilot herself. I envied that ability and the fact that she got to fly the Songbird, Sky's Cessna T-50 Bobcat or Cessna 310B, depending on which episode you were watching.  She, along with Amelia Earhart, sparked my interest in aviation.

Today I learned that Gloria Winters, the actor who played Penny died back on August fourteenth at age 78 or seventy-nine. She started acting as a child and retired from acting after Sky King ended. Although she is now gone, she will live forever in my heart.

NY Times obituary.

An interview with Gloria Winters.

Information about the show here.

Watch episodes of Sky King here.

Women Singers Of The Sixties Week 5

Nany Sinatra

I got some troubles but they won't last
I'm gonna lay right down here in the grass
And pretty soon all my troubles will pass
'Cause I'm in shu, shu, shu
Shu, shu, shu
Shu, shu, shu, shu, shu, shu
Sugartown.

I never had a dog that liked me some
Never had a friend or wanted one
So I just lay back and laugh at the sun
'Cause I'm in shu shu shu,
Shu, shu, shu
Shu, shu, shu, shu, shu, shu
Sugartown.

Yesterday it rained in Tennessee
I heard it also rained in Tallahassee
But not a drop fell on little old me
'Cause I was in shu shu shu,
Shu, shu, shu
Shu, shu, shu, shu, shu, shu
Sugartown.

If I had a million dollars or ten
I'd give it to your world and then
You'd go away and let me spend
My life in shu shu shu,
Shu, shu, shu
Shu, shu, shu, shu, shu, shu
Sugartown.

La,la,la,la,la,la,la,
La,la,la,la,la,la,la,
la,la,la,la....

Women Singers Of The Sixties Week 4

Norma Tenga

I'm walkin' all around the town
Singin' all the people down
Talkin' around
Talkin' around

Me and my cat named Dog
Are walkin' high against the fog
Singin' the sun
Singin' the sun

Happy, sad and crazy wonder
Chokin' up my mind with perpetual dreamin'

Driftin' up and down the street
(Driftin' up and down the street)
Searchin' for the sound of people
(Searchin' for the sound of people)
Swingin' their feet,
Swingin' their feet

Dog is a good old cat
(Dog is a good old cat)
People what you think of that?
(People what you think of that?)
That's where I'm at
That's where I'm at

Happy, sad and crazy wonder
Chokin' up my mind with perpetual dreamin'

(Music interlude)

Dog is a good old cat
(Dog is a good old cat)
People what you think of that?
(People what you think of that?)

That's where I'm at
That's where I'm at
That's where I'm at

Women Singers Of The Sixties Week 3

Brenda Lee

Coming on strong
Coming on strong
I can feel the heartaches
Coming on strong

I can feel the teardrops
The pain and sorrow
Ever since you've been gone
They've been coming on strong

Pain
(Pain)
Come on in
(Come on in)
Hello sorrow, I see you're back again
(Back again)

Teardrops
(Teardrops)
Glad you dropped by
(You dropped by)
'Cause you can help drown my pride

And since you're here
The time seems to fly
To let you know that you're gonna be with me 'til I lose my mind

But you've been gone
Much too long
And I can feel the heartaches
Coming on strong

Only thing you left me
Was misery for company
And mem'ries of a love gone wrong
That keep coming on strong
(Coming on strong)

Coming on strong
(Coming on strong)

Coming on strong
(Coming on strong)

Coming on strong
(Coming on strong)

Coming on strong
(Coming on strong)

Coming on strong
(Coming on strong)

Women Singers Of The Sixties Week 2

Babara Lewis

Baby, I'm yours
(Baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours
(Yours)
Until the stars fall from the sky

Yours
(Yours)
Until the rivers all run dry
In other words, until I die

Baby, I'm yours
(Baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours,
(Yours)
Until the sun no longer shines

Yours,
(yours)
Until the poets run out of rhyme
In other words, until the end of time

I'm gonna stay right here by your side
Do my best to keep you satisfied
Nothin' in the world can drive me away
'Cause every day, you'll hear me say

Baby, I'm yours
(Baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours
(Yours)
Until two and two is three

Yours
(Yours)
Until the mountains crumble to the sea
In other words, until eternity

Baby, I'm yours
'Til the stars fall from the sky

Baby, I'm yours
'Til the rivers all run dry

Baby, I'm yours
'Til the poets run out of rhyme

Women Singers Of The Sixties Week

Sue Thompson

Quit beatin' your chest and actin' like you're gonna bite a big hole out of me
Quit messin' and testin' cuz this ain't at all impressin' to me
Paper tiger, paper tiger
You paper tigers are all alike
Your roar is much worse than your bite.

Quit spyin' and sighin' and lyin' and tryin' to be so mean
Cuz you ain't scarin' nobody, baby, you're just makin' a scene
Paper tiger, paper tiger,
You're just a'flutterin' in the tree
Ain't shakin' no one but the leaves

Oh how you try to be so brave
Thinkin' that I'll run back to ya and be afraid
And so you try to come on strong
Thinkin' that I will go along, but you're wrong
Paper tiger, paper tiger,
You paper tigers are all alike
Your roar is much worse than your bite.

Your roar is much worse than your bite.

Come here, kitty
Here, kitty, kitty, kitty
Ha, ha, ha
Come on, kitty

Puppy Update

Duke, my husband, and Little Sally Pumpkinhead

I cannot believe Little Sally Pumpkinhead turned one year old the first week of this month. I don't know if you can tell in the snapshot above but, although she is not as long as he is, she is a tad taller than Duke. It's those long legs of hers. Remember, this is the puppy that came to us so tiny the breeder did not think she would grow very big. It's amazing what feeding and watering can do.

She is maturing and has learned to sit when you ask her to, whoa when you ask her to, and wait until she is invited to eat instead of rushing to her dog food dish and gobbling up whatever is in there. She still has episodes of "tiny bear on crack" behavior and waits to see if you really mean it when you tell her to come but all in all, she is doing very well.

Kitchen Update

This is more of a house update than just a kitchen update. The night before last we repainted the stucco on the outside of the house a color we can live with. My husband started painting before me and when I walked outside and saw the color on the walls I smiled. This reaction is a lot better that the "Oh, My God!" reaction I had with the other two colors. My next outdoor project is to paint the front door red. This house is screaming for a red front door. It actually wakes me up at night and I do wish it would be more patient. I need my sleep.

We just started the last phase of the kitchen up date which is the trim. The trim had to be ordered and it took a lot longer than expected for it to get here. Yesterday we laid all the trim pieces between two sawhorses in the garage and began painting and staining. We could not have picked a worse day unless we had waited until the middle of a cold and blizzardly February. It got up to 101 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a nice 38.3 on the Celsius thermometer. That would not have been too unbearable it the humidity wasn't high enough to cause large drops of sweat to fall off my face as I leaned over my work. And that would not have been too unbearable it all the mosquitoes in the area hadn't boarded a bus somewhere south of town and then driven to my house. And that would not have been too unbearable it all the flies hadn't hitched a ride with the bus load of mosquitoes. I guess I should be happy that the wasps did not get the party memo and so stayed away.

Anyway, now that the trim is done our contractor with be installing it in about a week. That leave a few odds and ends to get done and then the big reveal. Can you believe this all started back at the beginning of May? I am so happy with how it is turning out, I don't even mind the delays. It is so worth it.

Happy 85th Birthday, Millie Garfield!

Millie, these sunflowers are for you, have a wonderful birthday.

(Millie's blog can be found here.)

Note To Blogger

Fix that tiny problem which causes this little groups of letters and symbols (&,n, b,s,p) to appear in Edit HTML whenever you edit a sentence in Compose mode. It screws up the spacing and creates breaks that do not appear until you post. I can fix the problem by going to Edit HTML mode and deleting the symbols but why should I have to do so? It is your job to make sure your code works correctly.

And Another One Bites The Dust

The myth that women drivers are more dangerous than men had again been challenged in a new study done by the New York City Department of Transportation. The transportation planners commissioned the study to help them decide ways to make the city safer for it pedestrians. Several things that they learned were surprising.

1. Taxi were less likely to be involved in pedestrian/automobile accidents that privately owned cars.

2. Jaywalkers were less likely to be involved in an accident that people who cross with the light.

3. Eighty percent of pedestrian/automobile accidents that resulted in serious injury or death involved male drivers.

4. Fifty-seven percent of all cars registered in NYC belong to male drivers.

5. And as as we already knew, beside the fact that women drivers are safer than men, left turns are dangerous.

What Day Is It?

Is it Monday already? 

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette

 Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) -  Asleep At The Wheel

Advertising As Art

You can trust your car to the man who wears the star.

History of the Texaco Oil Company.

Small Town Update

This morning:

Hot

Muggy

Cloudy

Rainy


Now:

Hot

Muggy

Windy

Too much sunlight

And hot.

Thank You, Steven Slater

Fed-Up Flight Attendant Makes Sliding Exit

Thank you, from the people who serve food and drinks to the public at restaurants, bars, cafeterias,  fast food places, hotels, golf courses, resorts, amusement parks, movies houses, and other food outlets.

Thank you from all the people who work with the public in bookstores, clothing stores, shoe stores, sporting good stores, furniture stores, grocery stores, drug stores, computer stores, appliance stores, phone stores, department stores, and other retail business.

Thank you, from all the people who fix the public's broken automobiles, appliances, plumbing,  electricity, furniture, and other personal property.

Thank you, from all the people who work for local, city, state, and Federal governments fielding all public questions and requests.

Thank you, from all the people who work along side you in transportation- which includes planes, trains, buses, and automobiles.

Thank you, from all of us who work with the public.  We feel your pain.  You really shouldn't have done what you did but I  do admire the panache with which you did it. Grabbing those two beers on your way out was brilliant.

(Oh, and the answers to yesterday's post are- First, I had a 1 in 5 (20%)  chance of pulling out six non-matching socks and, second, I had a 1 in 100 (1%) chance of pulling out nine non-matching socks. I could have made a lot of money in Vegas betting on the second outcome.)

Marriage To A Math Genius

On Saturday I did some laundry and then had this conversation with my husband.

Me:I just finished washing a bunch of socks. When I reached into the washing machine and pulled out a handful none of them matched. What are the odds of that?

My husband: Humm, that's an interesting math problem. How many socks did you pull out?

Me: Seven. Six.  I reached in and pulled out three more socks and none of those matched each other or any of the ones I had already pulled. What are the odds of that happening?

My husband: Wow, that would make the odds even higher. How many socks were there in all?

Me: Fourteen pairs, all different except for two pair that were the same type and color- blue. And another two pair that where the same type and color-black.

My husband: None of the remaining pairs matched each each other or the blue and black pairs?

Me: No.

The next morning he gave me the answer. Any guesses?

The Rules According To My Dogs

In dog world, if you give me treat after breakfast and sometimes give me an extra special treat, that extra special treat does not replace my regular treat.  You must give me both.  If you do not I will follow you around giving you the laser eye until you realize that this what is expected of you.

More Proof That The Lunatics Want To Run The Asylum

Headline in this morning's Denver Post- Bike Agenda Spins Cities Toward U. N. Control, Maes Warns.  New World Order conspiracy theories never died, they just get twisted into campaign fodder for silly and desperate political candidates like Dan Maes.

Sarah Palin Called Me! (not)

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
-Plato

Primary run-off elections were yesterday and since I wanted to vote in them I switched my political registration from undeclared to Republican a few months ago. I did not know this meant I would be receiving tons of mailings and phone calls from the Republican candidates. I would pitch the mailings before leaving the Post Office and let any phone call that came up "out of area" or "toll free number" go to the answering machine.  One caller was Sarah Palin endorsing one of our local candidates. I would have been impressed,  (1) if it hadn't been a recording and, (2)  if I wasn't  sure that she wouldn't be able to pick the man out of a crowd even if someone offered her a million dollars.

Now I am sure that if I had registered as a Democrat I would have received just as many phone calls and pieces of mail which shows just how unimaginative both parties are these days. For the most part registered Republicans vote for Republican candidates and registered Democrats vote for Democratic candidates. The smart thing to do would be to send out mailings and make phone calls to the voters who are registered as Independent, Libertarian, Green Party, Tea Party, or any other non-Republican/ Democrat affiliation. This lack of creative thinking is the major reason why  I will be heading back up to the court house tomorrow to change my registration back to undeclared.

Summer Days, Drifting Away

Summer lovin', had me a blast
Summer lovin', happened so fast
I met a girl crazy for me
I met a boy, cute as can be
Summer days driftin' away,
To uh-oh those summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more,
Did you get very far?
Tell me more, tell me more,
Like, does he have a car?

She swam by me, she got a cramp
He ran by me, got my suit damp
I saved her life, she nearly drowned
He showed off, splashing around
Summer sun, something's begun,
But uh-oh those summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more,
Was it love at first sight?
Tell me more, tell me more,
Did she put up a fight?

Took her bowlin' in the Arcade
We went strollin', drank lemonade
We made out under the dock
We stayed up until ten o'clock
Summer fling don't mean a thing,
But uh-oh those summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more,
But you don't gotta brag
Tell me more, tell me more,
Cause he sounds like a drag

He got friendly, holdin' my hand
Well she got friendly, down in the sand
He was sweet, just turned eighteen
Well she was good, you know what I mean
Summer heat, boy and girl meet,
But uh-oh those summer nights

Tell me more, tell me more,
How much dough did he spend?
Tell me more, tell me more,
Could she get me a friend?

It turned colder, that's where it ends
So I told her we'd still be friends
Then we made our true love vow
Wonder what she's doin' now
Summer dreams ripped at the seams,
But oh, those summer nights

One Snake, Two Snake, Bull Snake...

While walking on the edge of a dirt country road the other day (the day of the two rainbows) I almost stepped on a snake. I don't know why I didn't see it until it was six inches away from me.  It might have been because I was more focused on watching the storm clouds to the south of me.  I knew that  if they were heading my way I wouldn't have time to finish my walk before the rain started. Funny thing, when I first saw the snake I wasn't afraid of it since it did not look right. It lay as straight as a line and looked flattened and at first I thought it was dead. Then a black, pencil graphic thin, forked tongue flicked out of it's mouth and I knew it was alive.

I stood there looking down at,  more confused than frightened, wondering why it wasn't moving. If it had been a rattlesnake it would have been coiled up like a garden hose with it's head up and hissing at me.   It  was not doing that so I decided it must be a young bull snake. I found it interesting that the body markings were just the same a rattlesnake, no wonder bull snakes were often mistaken for rattlers. My eyes traveled down the body to the tail and it took my brain a few moments to absorb what I was seeing. The tail ended in rattlesnake buttons. I was standing six inches away from a live rattlesnake. A live rattle snake that had not move a muscle but its tongue since I first walked up to it. I took a step backwards, I took another step backwards and then about three steps to the side. I walked past the snake and without taking my eyes off of it made a big detour around it.  I keep watching it until I had my head turn to the right as far as it could rotate.

As I walked away I thought about what had just happened. Why didn't the snake attack me? Then I thought about the time of day, early morning, and realized that the snake was still waiting for the sun to warm it up. The snake looked flattened because it was pushing its body into the ground trying to get as much of its skin exposed to the sun as possible.  It did not curl up and try to strike me because its body was still too cold to react with any semblance of speed.  It did the only thing it could when it sensed danger, it played dead.  If the temperature had been warmer the snake would not have been on the road at all.