Loving is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction.
                        ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


Did someone say "Money"?


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...a meme where you match photos to song lyrics

THE GAMBLER Link: by Kenny Rogers [original, and as far as I'm concerned, the best video!]
Photo Credits: A fun one this week...I got out our old fashioned western 'numberless' cards [the way they were in the 'old west' era] and dealt out a winning hand, and a losing hand. "Reading" peoples' faces is a pirate skeleton doll that Bud designed. Train bound for 'nowhere' is a permanently displayed engine in Cheyenne Wyoming [sorry, it's NOT summer...it's a snowy winter day]. The Whiskey is actually iced tea in a Cutty Sark [brand of whiskey] glass. Time for dealing is Bud's old pocket watch...but MY MONEY!! And Jack Daniels poker chips round it all off-----



On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,


I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, I've made my life out of readin' people's faces,


And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."


So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.


And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.


There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.


Now Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner


and ev'ry hand's a loser,



And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

In the good ol' Summertime....



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In the summertime....it's sun tea time!!
I love the imported Green Teas. And we have an Asian Market here in town. This is where I go when I am out of tea. And for some reason, this outing when I bought tea, I failed to READ the box label. And I get home and find it's NOT tea BAGS, but, LOOSE tea. I already had it opened before I realized this, and I wanted to make sun tea. I couldn't possibly even think of returning it once it's been opened. The mother of necessity sunk in. I used a coffee filter, measured out my green tea leaves, tied the filter with a long length of thread...tossed it in the container of water....and voilà....sun tea. With no loose tea residue. Nothing better on a hot summery day, than a tall tall glass filled with huge ice cubes and the wonderful thirst quenching drink!! Oh....and another thing I do sometimes, is to add a drop of mint extract in the water for a more refreshing drink to serve with a meal. But, I've learned to make sure to read the box label for future purchases...geez!!!


- - -

Speaking of "Summertime" -well, it's one month into hurricane season. For both the Atlantic/Gulf region AND the eastern Pacific region. Already, the eastern Pacific has had two tropical storms turning into hurricane force. The high pressure area that was keeping us in such a drought for months finally lifted and broke away from Texas last week giving us a day of rain. Now the High is back over our coast and keeping this new tropical storm, the first for the Gulf, away from our shores. The brunt of it anyway. It's heading into the mountains of East Mexico [Old Mexico]. Perhaps, if we are lucky, we may get a few showers from this depression, but if any, it won't be much. At least I don't think----the High Pressure Area above will see to it. Either case, Tropical Storm Arlene is the first of the 2011 season. And there'll be MORE to come!!!

Strawberries 'n' Cream


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Crepe Myrtle trees and bushes in our yard are beginning to bloom!! The bush by our stone bird bath [photos 3 and 4] is the newest...only two years old, the species is called STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM...











Plumbago anyone?


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MACRO MONDAY





Blue Plumbago Bush just below my computer room window.


- - -

MONDAY MORSELS and

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Only two iris bloomed this Spring...

...the one with Yellow is Japanese Iris, the other is one sent to me as a gift - from DAWN!!! I also realized that yesterday, for my week's summary post, I had neglected to tell about my loss. In the past 6 months, I've been eating way too much and not getting enough work-out, weight control, exercising. So I've started taking the time to measuring and serving up an actual serving size for my meals...in all courses. Can you believe one serving of frozen yogurt is only 1/2 cup?!!! That's torture!! Anyway....I started the regime on Monday this past week, and so far have lost 4 [Sunday night] pounds. I've read and researched ways to deal with the temptations and the pitfalls of dieting. There is one aspect I disagree with and that's that you don't check your weight daily, but weekly....that, for me, would trigger an instant reaction "I lost a couple of pounds last week, I can eat more today" kinda attitude and it would not be as effective. If I continue to check about the same time each day, I'm more encouraged to continue. If I lose a pound, great and it instills more stamina...if I didn't lose any weight for the day, then it tells me to work harder!! I don't want an up and down roller coaster ride from one week to the next. It's a DAILY task, that must be met with daily checking!! Or it won't work with me. My goal is to lose 20 pounds by November. I have no idea why I chose November, it just seemed right when I set up 'goals'. Maybe it's 'cause that's the month I always have my yearly physical exams by both my PCP and my Cardiologist.

Addendum: Just now, 7:25 a.m. I lost another pound over the weekend!!




As long as there's sand...as long as there's sea----


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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY
---there's shadows everywhere!! Beach, sand and surf...




Actually, I think the shadow the sand created behind the 'hill' shows a reclining face...the forehead, a nose and a quite prominent chin! Call me odd.
8:47 a.m.---Margaret commented it looks like a seagull...with the tail feathers ....YES...yes! I see that now that it's mentioned.






SUNDAY'S SUMMARY

The past week, I quickly read a teen novel. Yes, you read that right...a teen novel. I saw it on the book shelf at the used book store for a dollar and the subject matter caught my eye. More so, the novel's dust cover. It was really fascinating. There was a younger face, but war zone depictions within the shadows and areas of his 'saddened' facial expression. Then, when I noticed it was about Pearl Harbor and the attack by the Japanese, I was instantly grabbing it to buy. It was a great book. "A Boy at War" is historically correct in every way. [at least from what I've read in history books] Well written. Years ago, Bud and Erik did a diorama of Ford Island for a school project, we've had a couple of trips to Oahu and have seen and been to all the marked places added to the 'scenery' of this book. The teenaged boy's father was on the USS Arizona that 'day of infamy'...December 7th, 1941. For your Jr. High School students/children who are interested in United States History, I highly recommend this read. I'm gonna send this book to Dillon, my youngest grandson; he loves anything with history. I also bought two other books on the last trip there. I began reading, and think I will love this book....One Thousand White Women. [a novelized version of factual events--supposedly...it's ALL FICTION, in the 1800s] It's written by Jim Fergus---as a diary of May Dodd. America 'sold' or traded 1000 women of ill repute, prisoners, and those from asylums to the Cheyenne Indian Tribes - now don't go getting your panties in an uproar; it was suggested by a chief of the tribe to create more Native Americans of mixed blood so 'we will get along' better. I just began reading it this week, it promises to be a whirlwind novel!! I'll get back to you when I finish. The other book I found for a buck is "A Bend in the River". A war novel...in the Stalingrad bloody battle era. The book cover reviews made it sound really interesting.

I don't mind cooking at all, but in the Summer months, I like making gobs of food in one day only. I usually end up spending a day in the kitchen, preparing a meal that will be used for leftovers for a day or two. Or, if I can stretch it out for four days, I'm a happy camper!! Luckily, Bud'll eat anything without complaining. In fact, I'M the ONE who gets tired of leftovers a lot quicker. Anyway, my big meal prepared was Chicken and Rice...Oriental style. I use only chicken breast meat. Skinless. Once this is cooked in broth [stewed] I add to the broth two large bags of frozen Stir Fry veggies. To that, once the veggies are heated well, I add brown rice and steam until the rice is tender. To that mixture, I add two envelops of Sun-Bird Fried Rice Seasoning packets and a quarter cup of low sodium soy sauce and 1/4 cup of peanut oil. Stir....heat through and serve in my Chinese Rice bowls. Along with this, as a side dish, I serve imported from China, Mandarin Orange slices and imported plum wine served in a sake cup. And the fun part...fortune cookies. It's simple; easy, and VERY tasty. All in all, the cost would be about $7 to $10 dollars for the entreé; for us two, about three or four meals!! The weather 'officials' are giving us warnings daily about the extreme dangers of the heat indices. Altho it rained a bit this past week, it's still NOT enough to get us even close to being out of the drought situation. But, the hardy, drought resistant, crepe myrtle are beginning to bloom...I'll share some photos of them on my Tuesday blog probably. We've watched all the new DVDs we purchased from Blockbuster. Finally, we watched King's Speech!! One of the best movies ever. It was truly a compelling bio-drama!! It helps, also, that I like all who starred in the flick...especially Geoffrey Rush. Well, heck, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter are super too!!! Tuesday morning, I couldn't take it any longer, the lack of getting out to the sea was becoming something like Spring Fever...being cooped up without a walk on the beach was making me stir crazy. So just before the heat of the noon hour, Bud and I drove over to the grand opening of the improved Pier on Padre Island....with an open cafe and all. I posted photos the very next day --shared HERE if you missed the post and would like to view the pictures.

[the smaller images can be enlarged for better viewing]


Oh and for closing, my thoughts: The Houston Astros are the comedy relief of ALL MLB!!! Sure, they've won - but so little. I need more excitement than what they're giving us this season. Geez. Red Sox have lost four games in a row, making the Yankees in first place for their division again...cool. It's a see-saw battle with those two teams; like every season. Jeter is still on the DL and I suspect he'll be there for more than the 15 days as previously announced.

But...but, butt!!!


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I've been working a bit on hard copy photos from long ago, and scanned several for blogging. This is one of them. I believe these are gazelles. The photo is from the San Diego Zoo. Now, wonder what they're saying to each other? Something like: "I'll never kiss and tell!!!" perhaps? What's a good caption, y'wonder.



WEEKEND FUNNIES


The Crist family worked at a zoo. Each year they predicted the general luck and overall mood of the year by watching the the gnu. If the gnu's ears were forward, that meant a successful, joyous year was almost certain to happen. But if his ears were laid back flat against his head, it meant that an unlucky or very unhappy year was sure to come. One year it was young Mary's turn to "survey" the animal and come up with the prediction. It was her first time solo, and in her excitement, she forgot to take the key to the cage. She was late in coming to check on the gnu. Well, she saw the wrong ear position and predicted a bad year, when in fact it was quite good. To explain the error, the local newspaper ran the following headline a year later: MARY CRIST MISSES AN HAPPY GNU'S EAR!

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An enterprising mayor of the city of Granby, Quebec, a community south of Montreal, established a municipal zoo that has become a significant tourist attraction. It has also given rise to many unusual events. Last September one of the star attractions, Arnold, an Indonesian ape, escaped to the dismay of the zoo director. The matter was a serious one because the members of the staff of the zoo, while expert at caring for animals, had no experience whatsoever in rounding them up or capturing them. The zoo director appealed to the office of the mayor for help and the secretary to the mayor asked, "Have you looked in the yellow pages"? The director said he hadn't, but would, immediately. To his surprise, under "animal capturing service" he found a listing for the Acme Ape Apprehenders. He called them immediately. Within 20 minutes, a panel truck arrived at the admin office of the zoo and a small man emerged and rushed to the director who was waiting at the door. "Is there a wooded area in the vicinity?", the little man asked. The director said there was, within one half mile from the zoo. "Hop in the truck", the little man said. The director did and they drove off. Minutes later they arrived at a small grove and immediately spotted Arnold on a branch about 25 feet above the ground. The two men got out, went to the back of the truck and the little man opened the door. An excited little dog jumped out and began running around in circles. The little man reached into the truck and took out a suitcase, which he opened. In the suitcase were a pair of handcuffs, which he handed to the zoo director, a sawed off shotgun, which he leaned against the trunk of the tree, and a baseball bat. "Now," the little man said, "I'm going up into the tree with the baseball bat, and I'm going to knock the ape out of the tree. The instant the ape hits the ground the dog, well trained, will bite the ape by the crotch and chomp-down with his jaws. The ape will, instantly and instinctively, grab at his crotch with both hands due to the pain, and you snap the handcuffs on and we've got him. The zoo director, pointing to the shotgun leaning against the tree, said "I'm not too sure about this -- what's the gun for?"

The little man said, "Look, I'm an expert. I know what I'm doing and things will go just fine, after all, I have the baseball bat. I know my job and it'll never happen but if the ape should, by any chance, knock ME out of the tree, SHOOT THE DOG!!!"

- - -

What's the difference between a Northern zoo and a Southern zoo?
In a Northern zoo you have the name of the animal and the Latin name underneath. In a Southern zoo you haven the name of the animal and a recipe underneath.

- - -

Not really a joke per sé, but quite funny in context. A Quote:

"There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry."
~George Armstrong Custer

Custer, and the men of the 7th Cavalry died at the Little Bighorn, June 25th, 1876. At the 'hands' of the Native Americans, on Crow land...by the Sioux Nation. 135 years ago, to the day.

Unbelievably True [fictionalized]...



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BOOK BLURB








This is the 'book cover' from the week's posted photo. Upon viewing this, the challenge for this meme is to write a blurb [the inside cover flap] that will entice the reader to drop down their VISA on the counter and purchase the book and enjoying it. It's to be either fiction or non-fiction. For all the rules, just click the button above; then, participate!!

Here goes---






book title:
*:*:HARD CASE EVIDENCE:*:*:


    In the remote Andes Mountains, Sarah finished her work at the science lab. Five men, and Sarah, were renowned in their field of research. As she took off her lab garments in the decontamination cube...she let loose her dark auburn hair and shook her head to let the strands flow. Brad watched her disrobe through the glass panes. At the kitchen facility, a built-in cellar, below, stored the fresh foods. Sarah made her way. She had planned on a special dessert for the nighttime meal. Pudding, cherries, graham crackers, sweetened pineapple and bananas!! Easy..."Sex in a Pan". She grabbed a clutch of ripening fruit; returned to ground level. Before the door latched, a Brazilian Wandering Spider emerged from the shadows, making its way to a darkened corner, targeting the men. Outside, an icy winter night...inside, hot and steamy. The spider venom, these researchers discover, cures erectile dysfunction!!



[149 - Word Count Tool]

In its entirety, the text is copyrighted by law.
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© 2011



"A comedy of errors!" Dr. Rooth, PhD

"Thanks to research labs, after reading this resource, I just know Sarah is a saint." Abigale V. Burning, author

"Sarah, you look Mahvelous!!" Dr. Ahhhhz, M.D.


TRUE STUFF:


South American Research Viagra and Spider Venom

A 2nd version of Sex in a Pan recipe


FRIDAY FODDER

Finally, the rains came!! I was thrilled. To the point I'd say, I was a farmer's daughter thrilled. Bud had just finished with the electric edger when it started to get really dark and overcast. The humidity was unbearable. I was in the back yard, covering the solar lights along the patio [we've learned to cover them around here when there is a threat of any kind of moisture...the solar panels tend to get corroded if too much wet gets into them]. We both timed it so well!! Of course, it's probably too little too late for all the crops around the countryside here, but at least a bit of moisture. Now, of course, it'll be scorching once the pressure area moves out. You just can't keep me happy. rofl!!!!






Nostalgic...


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...a meme where you match photos to song lyrics



Song Video Link: You Light Up My Life [originally by Debbie Boone]
photo credits: nighttime window with lamp reflection, seagull with sun behind it, sunrise and wave drifts, 'light of my life'...Bud.

So many nights I sit by my window


Waiting for someone to sing me his song
So many dreams I kept deep inside me
Alone in the dark but now
You've come along

You light up my life
You give me hope
To carry on
You light up my days


and fill my nights with song

Rollin' at sea, adrift on the water


Could it be finally I'm turning for home?
Finally, a chance to say hey,
I love You
Never again to be all alone

You light up my life
You give me hope
To carry on
You light up my days
and fill my nights with song

You light up my life
You give me hope
To carry on
You light up my days
and fill my nights with song

It can't be wrong
When it feels so right
'Cause You


You light up my life