Friday, March 28, 2014

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN LEFT HOME ALONE & UNATTENDED??

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A few more things into the rig today.  Seems each time I carry something out I end up re-arranging things I have already re-arranged every other time I have carried something out.  It is the way of Snow Birds.

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OCOTILLO BLOOMS

Some years we have already been home by now.  But those were the earlier years when we had tired of being in the rig for months on end & just wanted to get on home, stretch out in our large overstuffed recliners with big TV & a decent stereo sound system playing endless ambient music.  Spend a couple days in the nice spacious hot shower & just wander from room to room going ‘WOW’ is it ever great to be home & have all this wonderful space to stretch out & live in again.  Fortunately we have this at both ends of the trip now & that sure makes traveling a whole lot nicer for us.  Now if we can just convince all the people back home to get outside with their hair dryers & tackle all those frozen snow banks around our 5 Seasons Park.

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Dictionary defines the word ‘explanation’ as, ‘a statement or account that makes something clear.’  Sometimes in my rambling thoughts describing things or offering opinions I get myself off track.  It can be a bit confusing to a reader at times so when someone questions something I have said I generally always come back with what I hope is a clearer explanation about things.  And I don’t mind doing that.

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High overhead this morning one of those daring young men in their flying machines must have got his foot a little heavy on the gas pedal & launched himself right through the sound barrier causing a double sonic boom that about blew our shorts off.  Wonder if his Commanding Officer will have a few words with him when he gets home.  Ya, ya, I know jets don’t have gas pedals.

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VERY FIRST BEAVER TAIL CACTUS BLOOM ON OUR PROPERTY >>>

Have you ever been left alone & unattended with 37 freshly baked Oatmeal cookies left cooling on a kitchen countertop?  Nobody around, no security cameras anywhere, not even an alert doggy keeping a watchful eye.  Just you & 37 freshly baked warm Oatmeal Cookies.  Happened to me this morning when Kelly baked a batch then took Pheebs & headed off to the Library.  No……..you do not want to know the rest of the story.  Some things are just better left unsaid.

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The battle of the Alamo raged on for over 13 days back in 1863 when hordes of Mexican troops savagely attacked the weary defenders.  A similar type of battle was just waged by Contessa & Colin in Mexico lasting long hours into the night.   Battle weary & exhausted they did manage to stem the tide, fend off, & kill countless numbers of their armed to the jaws assailants.   Check out ATTACKED!!

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MAMA GILA WOODPECKER PEERS OUT OF HER SAGUARO NEST IN OUR FRONT YARD

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Ever wonder about dreams? I am a lite sleeper so frequently wake up 3 or 4 times during the night. Not very restful but I do dream a lot & I figure the reason I remember them is simply due to the fact that I don't slip into that deep heavy sleep for the entire night. I have also learned that as I am waking up from a dream I can remember it better if I don't open my eyes. I liken it to opening the back of a 35mm camera with a roll of unexposed film in it. As soon as the light hits the film the images are erased. Same thing with the brain so if I'm coming out of a dream I resist the urge to open my eyes & look at the clock. Well, as long as it was a good dream that is. I try to go back into the dream sometimes but it usually begins to fade & I'm only able to retrieve bits & pieces most of it. I like my flying dreams best as I float over trees & people on the ground. I have never remembered a landing but my take off is always the same. I take about 4 quick steps forward & very carefully step up into the air & begin to float skyward. Sometimes I fly very fast but most times I just kind of move along slowly hovering over things here & there. And sometimes there are others in the air with me. Meeting old friends is another part of the dream process I enjoy. People from 50 & 60 years ago occasionally come to visit. No rhyme or reason but all of a sudden there they are & I'm talking to them. Could be someone I only met once or twice decades ago or it could be a current friend. People who seem to have the most impact & leave the longest lasting memories for me are the ones who have passed away. In any dream sequence a departed friend or relative may appear & it is always such a good feeling inside to once again see & talk with them.  But it doesn’t last.  They drift away into the mist & a sadness fills the void. It's those dreams that I try to hang onto as I'm waking up. I try to re-enter the dream & run after my old friend or family member to see them just one more time.  But they are gone until one day they choose to re-appear in my dreams to once more put a smile on my sleeping face.  And I like that………………………..

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  Three elderly men are at the doctor's office for a memory test. The doctor asks the first man, "What is three times three?"
"274," came the reply.
The doctor rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling, and says to the second man, "It's your turn. What is three times three?"
"Tuesday," replies the second man.
The doctor shakes his head sadly, then asks the third man, "Okay, your turn. What's three times three?"
"Nine," says the third man.
"That's great!" says the doctor. "How did you get that?"
"Simple," he says, "just subtract 274 from Tuesday."

16 comments:

  1. Al, I count only 28 cookies remaing. :)

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  2. I read a book about remembering dreams and do the same as you describe. My best dreams are the same as yours. I seldom have nightmares, but I am in a cockpit with an FAA inspector and I have to get out of bed and walk around to clear my head. Guess that means something to someone...not me. Happy to be retired.

    The MOA the guys play in allows sonic booms, but to hear two quickly is odd, The Space Shuttle always had two quick booms and the reason was explained on some poster I read and forgot. Perhaps the plane had some external stores that caused a second boom. I really enjoyed all the booms as a kid, but somebody complained and it was to be no more. Happy you got to hear them.

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  3. we use to have one of those wood peckers from your picture pecking away out our metal street lamp every morning...... I wonder what kind of a shock he got when he finally got to that worm?

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  4. Flying dreams are interesting. I used to have those and many times I would have power lines blocking my ascent. Wonder what flying dreams mean?

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  5. I read Contessa's blog and I don't think I'll ever recover from it. Now I want to bake oatmeal cookies. Stop that. lol

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  6. Love oatmeal cookies, thats why we don't bake them. Cannot resist. Colin and Contessa run in with the termites is like a scene from a horror movie.
    Sure glad it was not us.

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  7. Love dreams. The best ones seem to come as the seasons are changing. Another little trick that works for me...shift to your left side before you open your eyes and the not quite remembered dream will almost always fall right into your consciousness. weird, but it works for me. something to do with left brain right brain.

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  8. Some years back I woke rather suddenly while having a flying dream. I remember realizing it was a dream and that I really could not fly. I was very sad about that and don't think I have had a flying dream that I remembered since. I wish I could.

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  9. OK ...we have to know.....how many cookies did you eat.
    I wish I could remember dreams....I never do.

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  10. I thought you would get several comments about opening the back of the camera containing unexposed film and destroying the images. If it is unexposed film, there are no images to destroy.

    On another thought, you have a lot of room in that rear compartment in your Winnie. I wonder if anyone has been able to put a little door between the compartment and your bedroom, thus allowing kids to sleep in it. Make it big enough, and you could sleep in it instead of the overcab bed.

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  11. I very seldom remember any dream. In college I had sleep paralysis a few times. My mind was awake but I couldn't move for a while. Now that's scary.

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  12. Hey Al,
    I was just thinking... I follow the blog of a photographer who is currently living near Yellowstone. She takes fabulous shots and sells them on fineartamerica.com. I don't know any of the particulars of selling on that website, but your photography sure makes me think you could sell some there if it would be something you are interested in and cost effective for you!

    I've seen you're thinking about coming across Kansas... We've been having some terrible windy days!!! Wednesday there were semi trucks blown off the roads all over the state! Just FYI! I know you will keep a good eye though!

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  13. I had just taken a swallow of lemonade yesterday when that "heavy footed" pilot did his thing, scared me so bad I spilled lemonade all over myself!! How many cookies did you eat??

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  14. Where are all the cookies gone?
    Uncle Al took all of them
    without a thought of Kelly girl
    even though she's such a pearl.

    Baking cookies all the day
    She let them with her husband stay
    without a thought of him eating all
    even though he'd such a ball.

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  15. Fascinating dreams you have. I sure wish I could fly like that. I invite you to read a book by Paul Elder called Eyes of an Angel. I'm pretty sure you would find it quite interesting.
    Love oatmeal cookies, hate termites!
    Grace (in Tucson)

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