ROCKSTAR TOUR day 2

ROCKSTAR TOUR- Day 2

We loaded up and headed south. The country side was full of sheep and lambs. I was as giddy as a child. Memories of my grandpa and granny and the sheep and lambs that grazed over the hill behind their house came back to me increasing the feeling of adventure.

Fields of car eating aliens and from what I could tell they were eating black vehicles. We were safe to proceed.

We passed a winery that advertised Apricot Wine. 

Orchard after orchard of oranges.

Tumbleweeds were weaving through traffic across the I-5. Which brought up a discussion of where they come from? What are they made of?  Tumbleweed is a plant that dries out and disengages from their root and tumble away in the wind. It deposits seeds as it dries and tumbles. They are commonly found in desert areas. One type of this tumbling weed came from Russia and is known as Russian Thistle, in bags of flax seed that were brought into South Dakota. Russian Thistle can remove up to 44 gallons of water from the soil and takes a serious toll on wheat crops.

There we were driving and minding out own business when we pass the Visalia Crime Scene Lab truck being closely followed by a Tulare county sheriff. Mayhem in Los Banos?  Chaos at an apricot ranch? Big trouble on I-5 California?

We stopped for lunch and there they were; the grieving family with Uncle Fred or Aunt Betty or maybe grandpa in a beautiful walnut burl box. They were together in a flurry and a few cowboy hat clad men watched. It was a spectacle.

As we were once again minding our own business driving down the highway a truck loaded down with copper sulfate goes flying by.  This compound is toxic to the environment and is harmful if swallowed.  However Copper sulfate pentahydrate is a fungicide and used on grapes, berries and melons to reduce risk of fungus.

We rolled up into the foothills of Angeles National Forest and were soon on snowy ground. Yeha!!!!!  Snow!!!!

Enjoy!

Rockstar Tour 1

Day 1 –ROCKSTAR TOUR

My day started out fairly normal. At least right up until the part where I was trying to schedule a meet with Frida the girl who would be sitting my cats. She was unable to make a meet with me but was available the following day or later in the afternoon. By then I would be gone on the Rock Star Tour so I had to come up with the back-up plan. I called my brother. He agreed to do it.

So as I am finishing packing I go into my room to retrieve my sapphire and diamond ring to wear and it along with two other rings are gone vanished not where I had put them.  It took about 15 minutes to talk myself out of a panic promising to relax and it would come to me on the plane that I had put them somewhere else. I still have no clue where they could be. However I do recall that on three separate occasions employees of the apartment have entered my home without me being there and since it is just the gold and gemstone rings with diamonds that are missing it looks suspicious to me.  I am hoping that as I relax into the tour that it will come to me where I may have put them.

As I am traveling down the road to my daughter’s house I came upon a traffic nightmare which was untangling from the mess caused by a car catching on fire and burning on the freeway. Bright spot is I did get to see some firemen.

I walk up to my gate at the airport and there on the ground sits a small pink backpack and no one around it. I see some children to the right of me but they are very busy playing. Not another sole insight. I keep an eye on it and after 10 minutes I mention it to the woman behind the counter. She asks several guests and no one claims it. I am now getting a wee bit nervous; especially after there is a public service announcement about reporting any unattended baggage.  She picked it up and I waited for an explosion.  She then walked back to her counter and set it down. I am about 10 seconds from finding a TSA agent. When a panicky dad walks up and asks if she has found a little pink back pack. This incident still is not sitting right with me.

Finally I make it on board the plane and the couple sitting next to start to argue.  Oh great 4 hours of tension from them. He finally gave in to her crazy demand and they settled down. I had the armrest up because it provides more room she insisted it needed to be down. Not that she was using it she was creating a barrier between us. Some people are just not comfortable around rockstars! Well, as you would expect her frigid behavior toward me and her harassing her husband became a challenge I was determined to take on. After a wiggle in my seat and a huge sigh I looked over at her book and said “oh never mind I see you just started it.”  She was reading The Life of Pi. She melted and became very friendly. Do you know why? Because I am a ROCKSTAR!!!! Oh yeah!!!

After being picked up at the airport we headed straight for In and Out Burger!!!!  Matt our host was awesome!!! He gave me a hat and a bumper sticker. 

The rest of the evening is a fuzzy exhausted blurr…..

She is at the Gate

I saw a glimpse of her face and was startled. But the rest of her said something else. Had I imagined it, was my eyesight in need of glasses? I brushed it aside but I could not shake the impression. I had to take a second look. I braced myself so as not to stare, I mean after all, if she was what I thought she has a right to do what she wants. She was behaving somewhat skittish, like a two-year-old nervous filly at the starting gate of her first race.

 Did she realize how she looked? Was she out of her normal hunting grounds? Was it her first attempt at a hunt? Or, was that deer in the headlight, frantic, fragile aura she was producing attractive to her prey? No I was not attracted I was intrigued, puzzled and I bloody well wanted to spend an hour asking her why. I moved in her direction and walked as close as I could get.  I was moving through the store as though I owned it she was moving through it as though she was trespassing; huge difference. 

 Dark brown Ugg boots, she was short, maybe 5’4”, denim shorts (almost Daisy Dukes), one of those sparkly western looking T-shirts that are so popular around here.

 Her hair was shoulder length and blonde. She might weigh90 pounds. She must have sensed my approach. She turned and looked right at me when I was no more than 5 feet from her. My first conclusion was correct. She may have been dressed like a 17 year-old-girl but I am guessing she was closer in age to 47. She was pretty or would have been if she put on another 20 pounds. She looked scared. I smiled as I passed her which seemed to startle her. I still want to hear her story. What happened to her? Hey Michelle, how about we do a series on cougars and jaguars, what they are about, what happened to them.  Dressing like their daughters and competing in the same hunting grounds. Oh wait…..flashback to my Sociology years….

I have not had an assignment in months. Do you think I have been fired?

Lady Tamara has to get ready for her pedicure. 

I would love a Brazilian blow-out too, maybe a manicure.

 Neiman Marcus is having their Beauty Event stating next week.

 I am so excited!!!! Love it!!! My daughter wants to have Gina put extensions in my hair. Who will be looking like a prowling jaguar now?

Enjoy!!

Thanx Darius

I have bought a box of sugar cubes that are made on Reunion Island also known as Ile Bourbon. Anyway they are called rough cut cubes and are not uniform in size. 

I may get a cup of tea that is very sweet or it may be barely sweet. My morning cups of tea are now a bit of a mystery. I am never sure what I will get. I like the way the look in the Fostoria sugar bowl. 

The bowl is round on the inside and smooth but the outside is the Fostoria American pattern so it also looks like cubes.  The contrast of it all is pleasing to me.

Reunion Island is a French republic. It lies east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It is 39 miles long and 28 miles wide and similar to Hawaii. The language spoken on the island is Creole.

Sugar cane was brought to Europe by the French. They discovered the sweet cane during the crusades. Emperor Darius of Persia make a references to a “sweet plant that gives honey without bees” during his conquest of India. It was then called a spice.

I have been working out for weeks again and now that I am plumping up my muscle the fat that lies atop it is also being plumped out so now I look much fluffier than I really am.  This makes me giggle at times but then it also causes me to erupt in tears especially when my clothes do not fit. I know this is a temporary situation and it will start to reverse but bloody hell!!!!

I thought about giving up workouts for lent. I also thought about chocolate. I failed to decide. First time in years. Ahhhh…maybe that is it…. I gave up Lent. Good one. Thanx peeps.

Lady Tamara has an adventure planned with her favorite Shoe so I must get ready.

Au revoir

Happy Valentines Day

Great Dane - Not

We had only a few choices last night, mother and I, of shows to watch on TV. We chose NCIS Los Angeles. 

I think she likes LL Cool J. She also admires Henrietta and her boldness, bravery and sauciness.

 After that we switched over to the AKC dog show at Madison Square Garden. We tuned in just as the working dog group lined up. They had some dogs I had never heard of. We were having a great time laughing at the dogs the handlers, the announcers. Then the announcer introduced the Great Dane and informed us out here in TV land that they were not Danish dogs. 

WHAT??? Who knew? We were shocked. Did anyone else believe that a Great Dane was Danish? Well why call it a Great Dane?

Great Dane, German Mastiff, or Danish Hound these are what it is called. They were bred to hunt deer and wild boar. They socialize well with other dogs (if introduced to the Dane as a pup), cats, children and family members. They do not like strangers. The dog originated in Germany as a cross between an English mastiff 

and an Irish wolfhound.

 A French naturalist while traveling in Denmark in the 1700s first saw these giant dogs and called them Great Danes. The state dog of Pennsylvania is Great Dane. Scooby Doo and Astro the dog of the Jetsons 

are both Great Danes. Just Nuisance a Great Dane is the only to have been enlisted in the Royal Navy as a morale booster.

I received a Valentine present yesterday in the mail from T. I was surprised, pleased and just plain giddy. It is an Invicta watch with mother of Pearl face, crystals and 18k gold-plated, Swiss quartz movement.  

It came with an instruction book the size of phone book. It is gorgeous!! I love it!!

Lady Tamara must now go read up on her watch.

Wyatt's Threshold

Dear Clueless woman, just because there is not a stop sign or a yield sign in the parking lot does not mean you are to drive into a lane of traffic without looking for oncoming traffic.  I had the right of way. You did not even glance up or over or look you just drove.  You did not even glance into any mirror or notice I was right on your tail. I had to slam on my brakes. Still you failed to notice.  Then as you did finally arrive at a stop sign you simply looked left and turned right without stopping.  I would have excused the rest but that move alone inspired me to create volumes of various reasons about why you were so careless and oblivious.  I pray that you are just witless.

I watched Wyatt Earp last night and though the movie ends with a brief history about what happened to a few of the family members it did not tell me what happened to Morgan’s wife Lou.  I want to dig into history and ferret out that information. I love a good puzzle/mystery.  What did inspire me was the tradition of carrying the bride over the thresh hold. Is anyone else curious?

Carrying a bride into her new home protected her chastity. If a groom carries her into his home her eagerness is now hidden. She maintains her virgin reluctance for the happenings in the marriage bed. She is viewed as pure.

Folk myth also says if a bride trips on the threshold on her way into her new home she brings bad luck into the home. So the groom carries her.

Evil spirits that are Earth bound often attach themselves to the innocent and pure. These innocents are susceptible to these spirits through the souls of their feet as they are in contact with the ground. If a groom picks her up and carries her inside the evil spirits release her as her feet are no longer on the ground.

These traditions are ancient and date back to the early Romans.

Want to know why the groom has a Best Man? Maybe tomorrow I will share this exciting tidbit.

Lady Tamara must now write about Valentines for her Artz Council. 

Pink Hoogie

Must have been Cougar day at World Market yesterday because there she was platform high-heeled black shiny shoes, leopard print leggings, black sequin top and black cardigan, blonde hair piled on her head looking like a hot mess and huge gold hoop earrings. 

She was my age. She was not the only one. I giggled my way through every aisle and around display. I was there to buy curtains for my guest room. I made my purchase came home and ta-da…. Where there should have been two panels in the bag there was only one. I have to go back today and return them (it). They were not going to work out anyway; too long and too heavy. So now I must start my search again.

I awoke from a nightmare this morning and could not go back to sleep so at 4:20 I made hot cocoa and went shopping on line. 

After filling a cart I decided instead to go for a walk. Some huge burly guy was making his way to his apartment looking at me as though as I were a thug in a pink hoogie and was going to mug him. Really? 

He got up to his place opened the door and then stood there watching me until I walked on by. He then closed the door. There is a guy that must get to his office every morning at 4 for no matter how early I walk he is there, usually on the balcony smoking. What does he do that he must be there so early?

I did a wee bit of ghost hunting this weekend and discovered my mother is a direct descendant of Augustine Clement the artist. He was in Boston in 1636. He came over on the James with his wife, 2 children and a servant. He was a painter of portraits and I would love to get my hands on one.

George sent me another one of my photos what do you think?

I went shopping for some jeans on Friday and what I discovered is that there is no standard for sizing. I tried several different styles by several different manufactures and none of them fit the same. Some were too small and some were too big and some that fit were too short. 

Which leads me to request stores to buy some styles in a long or tall, not all of us are 5’5”. I went to a “plus” size store thinking they would be longer and they were but the jeans were all too large at the waist. Even the 1 pair of jeans I have now does not fit right. Why can I not have nice things? I am going to Dillard’s and checking out the NYDJ and see if I can fit into those.

I hope whatever treasure you hunt today is easy to find. Lady Tamara is on a quest.

Black Ham Pretzel Roll

 Yesterday I went to see the Hobbit. 

No I have not read the books. Was it just me or did the movie just ….end.  I thought it was about a dragon.  I waited this long because I was not convinced it would hold the attraction The Lord of The Rings Films would. 

Meaning the men characters were beautiful and the dwarf was not although I loved him.  Dwarfs were not alluring no matter how attractive. 

These dwarfs ARE very attractive! 

This is because I am 5’10” and desire a man to be larger than I. Surprise! I adored the film right up until the end. Is there a part 2? Oh I just looked there is a part 2 and 3.All righty!

I had a most remarkable sandwich yesterday. It was Black Forest ham, pimento cheese, spinach, and onion on a pretzel roll. Sounds a wee odd but it was AMAZING!!! 

I also got the vegetable soup which I will eat on Saturday; the day before it was mushroom bisque and a turkey, Havarti, fresh basil mayonnaise on sourdough. I can buy lunch and dinner for about $10.00. Problem is they also bake up fresh cheesecakes and bread puddings and brownies every day. They are located ½ mile from my house.  I am working for them. Maybe the newness will wear off ….no, fresh local produce used in the soups; the rolls are still warm when they make my sandwich. Why shop, why dirty my kitchen? Maybe I should ask about a frequent buyer reward card. The restaurant is The Four Kings in Universal City. People you need to try this!!!!!

I must get a letter out to Schertz Animal Shelter, I found them 2 volunteers.

Lady Tamara is going to warm up the Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding she bought yesterday from The Four Kings for breakfast.