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In addition to lovely weather, a great reason to take a trip in the springtime has to be the flowers one finds along the roadside. Here are some wild California Poppies we saw growing in a field:
In addition to the wild flowers, we encountered some lovely blooms in the courtyards of various motels we stopped at along the way. These roses decorate the Mission de Oro Ramada Inn at Santa Nella, California:
More photos from the Mission de Oro are HERE.
George Orwell wrote some wonderful books, but he took a man's view of how home security works. Consider this quote which the folks at LA Police Gear put on their web page: "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." ---George Orwell on a BBC broadcast, April 4, 1942. I've know a few women who, whether they were rough or not, were certainly able to keep watch in the night, too. Orwell, who managed to reach acclaim without the benefit of a formal education, has been accused of having been sexist in his language. Although Animal Farm, for example, was rather devoid of appropriate female role models, Orwell's appraisal of people in general seems rather dismal, so it is hard to say if he looked down just on women or on everyone. However, it is interesting to note that he once criticized a so-called "Women's Magazine" for not depicting enough men in the advertisements.
Orwell was 47 years old when he died of Tuberculosis, surviving his first wife, Eileen Maud O'Shaughnessy, by 5 years. O'Shaughnessy, who had a degree in psychology, but died at age 40 of an iatragenic illness, was said to have greatly influenced Orwell's writing, especially the book 1984. When he went to Spain to fight in their Civil War, she accompanied him.
Looking back in disillusionment at that war, Orwell said "To survive you often have to fight, and to fight you have to dirty yourself." Indeed, but one must remember that the war did not come to Orwell, he went to it.
And why, you might ask, was I reading about Police Gear? The good folks at LA have some really unique gear for civilians, too, including high-tech collectibles.
The flashlights could, I think, be used by men or women.
Women, though, I should think, would especially like their Surefire Titan Ultra Compact Variable Output Flashlight:
What is not to like about that flashlight? It operates from zero to 65 lumens with over a thousand output levels. The size of a finger, or in my case probably a thumb, the LED is microprocessor-controlled. Made of titanium with a sapphire window among other delicious features, this one might be hard to break, but the clever lanyard ring and quick disconnect/reconnect will help you not to lose it.
We enjoyed the drive, but are glad to be away from motels for a while. I took a few pictures along the way, and drew a couple, too:
These photos are from the Rest Area outside Boron. We have seen the Joshua trees many times before, but never in bloom. Here the huge white flowers had all blown away in the strong winds, and this is what was left:
Janet and Borracho will be offline for a few days, so please check us out when we are reconnected.
Oh, but Borracho sent out the first edition of his newsletter already, so be sure to sign up and make him purr:
http://drann.typepad.com/dranns_art/2008/04/borracho-now-ha.html
Speaking of junk mail (previous post), with all the capers little Borracho pulls here on the internet, I have to be sure we are protected so we have firewalls and script blockers and call blocking and identifty theft protection up the wall. Within a very short time of my signing up for LifeLock those obnoxious credit card offers disappeared entirely. The unwanted catalogs, which we hope the nice folks at Catalog Choice are going to cut off at the knees, and the credit card offers were the most pernicious, because both print your name and address all over, and the latter, in particular require copious amounts of shredding to get rid of account numbers and other personal information that doesn't need to be rolling down the street. Lifelock provides really affordable protection against identity theft and that is important, but getting rid of baskets full of junk mail every week is icing on the cake, so we renewed a while back for our second year of protection:
It doesn't have to be that way. Not anymore. Here is a secret: I actually do enjoy buying something from one of those order by mail outfits on occasion. Getting a catalog from them once in a while is OK, too. What would I do without my Clotilde catalog? I treasure that one and save each one in a file until the new one comes. Pawing through it is much more satisfying than going online to look for gadgets.
But with all respect there are some others I not only can but MUST live without. It had gotten so bad that I hardly dared buy anything mail order at all because it seemed to start a deluge of sister-catalogs. We travel a lot and have to pay for our mail forwarding. Who wants to pay to forward junk mail from companies that interest us not in the least and sell merchandise we would not be caught dead buying?
Here is the solution:
All you do is select the catalogs you have been getting that you don't
want and they contact the publishers and act on your behalf to tell
them to quit sending them to you. I like that way better than having
to call each one and yell at them. In truth, the folks on the phone
are usually quite gracious, and I don't actually yell, but I feel like
it, as truly I do have better things to do. So do you.
Just say "SCAT!" to those junk catalogs!
For updates on my cartoon cat Borracho and his friends, please check out my art blog: drAnn's ART
Sgt. Rio sez you gotta click the link NOW!
A scraggly yet venerable cactus plant lives all by itself in the supermarket parking lot down the street from us.
A nondescript hermit most of the year, when it bursts into bloom, this plant is magnificent:
Don't be fooled by the furry-looking clusters of brown that dot the leaves, there are spines thinner than a human hair, reddish in color, and about a half inch long that will literally jump out and get you if you dare step too close to this one. Although even on close examination they look perfectly innocuous, if one of these weapons gets embedded in your skin you will know it. Try to pull it out and the fragile stem just breaks off, but there is nothing fragile about the hook on the end. It is there to stay.
I have never actually touched this cactus, yet every spring when I go out to photograph it a few spines seem to follow me home. I can't seem to help myself, though. Next year it will happen again.
Art shots are HERE.
I just took a long look at my kitchen. It is cozy. I like it, but if I won $20,000 from Reuzit in their Transform Your Home promotion, that is certainly the place to start. To begin with, it could use a new floor. Then I'd upgrade the countertops. Next that sink has got to go and while we are at it, we might as well put in a foot-switched automatic faucet. We have EZ-faucet electronic controls on the bathroom faucets and they are so great, but those would turn on every time someone set a dish in the sink.
Although our dishwasher is pretty new, I'd yank it out and replace it with side by side double dish drawers instead of the configuration we now have where one drawer sits on top of the other. Who wants to bend over to get the dishes in and out ?
Let's see, top-loading pull-out mini freezer and trash compactor would nest side by side in the cabinet to the right of the sink. In my view it is all about getting the most convenience in the smallest area so that the same space looks and feels more spacious.
Really that is all we need, but I'm a fairly thrifty shopper, so there would probably be enough money left over to retrofit the upper cabinets with the kind of shelves that pull out and drop down for easier access.
I wouldn't get tired of the new floor very soon, or any of the upgrades either, but I do get tired of the same scent from room fresheners, don't you? I like the idea that Renuzit is offering us as chance to win real money for home renovation while at the same time heightening awareness of their innovative new product.
Renuzit's electric scented oil air freshener keeps the air in my cozy kitchen smelling nice without being boring. Besides, I'm fussy about the smells in my home, and we already use other Renuzit products, especially their Super Odor Neutralizer. My favorite for the laundry area is their Nature Garden scent.
Taking a trip back through time, some of you will remember that the idea for starting this blog came the day I was installing pull-out shelves in the kitchen. Here is a close up:
Now it is your turn! Wouldn't you like to win $20,000 to fix up your fixer upper?
Submissions must meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible:
(1) upload video or a photo and essay
(2) Explain and demonstrate why your home needs a makeover
(3) Explain how Renuzit TriScents can help you.
Be sure to follow the official rules.
We just got another thank you card from the garage across the street. Now if they gave us lousy service and showed attitude when we brought the car in, that card would be meaningless, but these folks rock!
So the last time we went, I took my camera and asked if they would mind if we took some pictures to share how happy we are with their service:
Mid Valley Auto Center has been our repair shop of choice for many years, and their expert friendly service never ceases to astound us. Not only do they do good work on the car, but every visit to their facility is a new adventure due to the down-home honest friendliness of all the staff. So before I forget, thanks to you, too, Corky, Tim, Jackie, and Frank!
And Jennifer, Larry, Eric, Duffy and Ben. And the tow truck guys, too. They are Kyle, Joe, Mike, and Gene.
Mid Valley Auto Center Cares for Your Car
One huge attraction at Mid Valley is Tim's amazing model car collection. They are every where, even in the corners at ceiling level:
