The Clampett's are on the move, again

The time if finally here, I've been waiting for months. What with the truck's transmission falling apart and the big car show, it was iffy whether we'd get to go. But here we are taking the 5th wheel, with doggy, and heading out to meet my seester and husband in Pomona. They've been traveling with friends from Canada so I'm double excited to finely meeting Mr. and Mrs. Nutz. Do check out her Flickr. She has some wonderful pix of the Las Vegas area.

We have plans to see the Drags and do some other things I hope--like a bit of horse racing--but I'm afraid the Oak Tree Meet ends on Sunday the 4th. We need a "day stretcher" to fit in all the things we'd like to do.

After we leave Pomona we'll head to the desert and stay for another few days near Rancho Mirage. Mary is expecting us and we are planning an early Thanksgiving only without Big and Lil Bird. They are winging their way to London for a round of business. Maybe they'll have a pint of Guinness for us all. We'll miss them but I'd go if I had the chance.

The party's over

Los Doyers didn't make it to the playoff this year and that saddened me. The Red Sox swept the series to win the title; a little disappointed. Like I said before, I watched hoping a National League team would win. If the truth be told, the real reason I watched was those games would be the last baseball until Spring. "O, wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

Please don't think I'm in a down mood this morning because the other big event, our car club, the Roam'n Relics charity car show, was held in Moorpark, CA on Sunday and was a big success. They usually are. After twenty-eight years we know how to put on a big event. How big? Over 450 cars, too many spectators to count, and lots of money raised for our charities.

We won't count how many pairs of tired feet, weary backs, or draggin' asses we had; all the club members will be fine in a day or two. We never measure success by those things, we measure it by the faces of the kids and families we help all year 'round.

To all those street rods that packed High Street in Moorpark yesterday, we can't thank you enough.

I've become the Art Nazi

My first art sale was last Friday and Saturday and though I had fun and learned a lot, it suffered from a lack of too many of customers. Ya know, you have to say that part about I learned a lot. It's like when you're trying to get a date for a friend and you say, "She's real smart and a good listener, too." That being said, I actually did learn something, bottom line, they didn't like my prints enough to buy them. OK, so I'm disappointed but undaunted in my quest to sell something.

What I did find were some pretty nice people, they bought my handmade cards, and some pretty odd ones, as well. For those of you that don't personally know me I've always worked at some job or another that required quite a bit of customer service. Basically I can be pretty polite, when I want to, and when you're trying to sell something that's what you have to be. I do have grooves from biting my tongue but they are starting to heal.

An older citizen came up to my table and without any prompting shared with me why she couldn't buy any of my prints. I nodded and hoped she'd move one, no such luck. Then she went into some long winded story about how her husband can't lift his arms above his head to hang any of the art they already have and she showed me by lifting her arms way over her head. I knew this to be true because if he could lift his arms he'd have strangled her long ago. Then she proceeded to tell me what a creep her cousins boy was because he's been promising to come and hang the art. Still nodding, still hoping she'll leave since I had a small table and her wide ass was taking up space for real customers, and still biting my tongue. Ah, finally she moves on, relief.

Or so I thought. The next day she walks up and starts the whole conversation, again. When she gets to the arm lifting I stop her and say, "Since this is the same story you told me yesterday I assume everything is still the same." Yup she said and was off. I usually would have listened to her whole rambling and not said anything but, hey, it's MY business and if I want to be rude to people I can. If people can be selective about what they are buying I can be selective about who I sell to. No Art for you!

Breast Cancer awareness month

Most jokes about gender generalizations leave me cold but this one hits the nail on the head. Oh, I can't believe I used that lazy, hackneyed platitude but it was such an easy joke. That's what perpetuates gender stereotypes; jokes. So let's laugh a bit more at our selves.

The battle between the sexes--you know, like the war in Iraq--will never be won but we are so oddly drawn to humor we joke about anything. For me, I like the fact that I'm so different from my spouse. I don't understand all he does but after 37 years I've realized I don't need to. He'd echo the same if asked.

We are different. We are hardwired to handle problems and enjoyment differently which gives both sexes twice the ability to solve problems. As long as we listen to each other we'll survive.

And while I'm on the topic of listening, girls, listen to me for a moment, if you're over forty, make that appointment for your yearly mammogram. Most insurance companies pay 100% of the cost. Sure it's uncomfortable for a few moments but the pain outweighs the benefit. Just do it, then go buy yourself a new hammer, err, shoes.

To balance the stereotypes. "If men ruled the world"

• Birth control would come in ale or lager
• Garbage would take its self out
• Tanks would be easy to rent

… and so on, you know the drill.

That's not wind it's a collective sigh of relief

The winds have died down a bit here and though you can't see Simi Valley, we are under the blanket of smoke, we are now out of danger. The fire took the same path it did in '03 but stopped near Fillmore.

Our garage, car, and just about every closet you open smells like we've been smoking meat. After the horror story reports from San Diego, we'll take some smoke.

Nose full o'smoke

It is the season here is Southern California, the burning season. The winds are the major culprits but having homes built in canyons, albeit a beautiful areas, make protecting from the firestorms damn near impossible. The firefighters go way above their job title this time of year.

We just happen to live south west of the Canyon Country fire and although we do not live in a hilly area they are all around us. What we suffer from is the smoke. They winds drag the smoke, and sometime embers, across the canyons and into Simi. A few years back we had quite the scare as it burned a number of different areas here. It even shut down our annual charity car show it burned so close. With this year's show being held next Sunday we are all holding our collective breath.

Time to take a shower

This morning, about an hour before dawn, and the next few mornings is the time to see the Orionid meteor shower. They will be coming out the constellation Orion, one of the easier to recognize, and we saw quite a few this morning. Our morning sky cooperated with a clear view and the moon had already set so we enjoyed quite a treat.

As a bonus, Venus is still the morning star and it is spectacular in the predawn sky. Almost unnerving it's so large. Are those Venusians looking back at us?

When will it be over?

The baseball playoffs are only mildly holding my attention. I can't figure what team I like. The Rockies and D-backs had the unmitigated gall to beat out the Dodgers. Well, that's the way I like to think it happened.

None of the teams are concerned with my allegiance enough to say, send me a nice card inviting me to watch their games and root for them. You know, like those cards the magazine companies send you for years after you no longer subscribe. That would be a nice gesture. No, they are just assuming us fans of the game will care one way or another who wins. Which might be true. I guess I'd be rooting for a National League win and Arizona seems to have spunkier players though Colorado's team is hairier.

This does present a problem but with my sister and company back in Arizona for the second time this year and and it's looking like they may, at least for the winter, stay put for a while I could be leaning towards the Diamond Backs to take the Pennant this year. Who knows, I might be visiting Arizona and want to take in a baseball game and I'd be quite ashamed to say I didn't root them on in their hour of need. Such a conundrum.

I'm addicted to peace and quiet

Out of town for me can be as local as 25 miles at my daughter's or Palm Desert which is more than 150 miles down the road. It was the latter this week and a well deserved rest. I've been working hard getting items ready for the October Arts and Craft Sale and since my beloved was in Sacramento attending a car show I hustled my bustle down to visit Mary, my step-mother.

I had a bonus, her sister, Pat--always good for a laugh or three-- was also visiting and as an extra, extra, their brother-in-law dropped by one evening and stayed for dinner. B-I-L lives in Alaska but has a place just a few golf courses away. He'd brought his builder down to get ideas for remodeling his condo the two of them showed up with a bottle of wine and stayed for an impromptu dinner.

B-I-L is a former Governor of Alaska and is quite the story teller. It was an enjoyable evening and I slept until almost eight the next morning. Blame it on the wine. I passed for 8:30am coffee with the two Alaskans and walked the dog instead. Both of us were happy.

It was so quiet there, no traffic, no barking neighbors--no stress weekend. Now, back to work.

At the same location for two years

Two years? I've been ranting and rambling for two years? Looking back over the last two years it seems I've become less political in the posts. Crap, that worries me. Maybe I've just given up until we get the current administration out of office in November. Let's think about how we vote this year, folks. Can we stand anymore of this?

This is great, I don't have to remember what was going on in my life last October, I can just link back to the previous posts. Jeeze, a lot of stuff has happened. Anyone who says retirement is boring doesn't know the same people I do.

What was going on October 5, 2006 and October 5, 2005.

I'm smarter than my pants

It's not that I subscribe, one-hundred-percent, to the notice it's wrong to wear white after Labor Day it's just that I was raised by a mother who put clothes aways for the winter. I admit I always thought it not all that fashionable, as well. Stating this causes a conundrum of conscience for me.

All summer long I've searched for a pair of white slacks that I really enjoy wearing. Nice, expensive slacks and they were no where to be found--until this morning, while cleaning out a closet for the truck that comes to the neighborhood ever so often. There they were, just mocking, me hanging in the back of a closet, knowing full well it is September 24.

What's a girl to do?

Well, yesterday the temperature broke 90 with warm the rest of week so, Sherman, set the way back machine for August and hand me those pants.

October calendar

Not meant to scare, this pumpkin started out a friendly guy but somehow turned a little ominous.

Do you enjoy these calendars? I know a few people download it for their desktop. Let me know if you could use a different size.

• Click on appropriate link. large calendar, 1680 x 1050 or small calendar, 800 x 500
• PC users-right click or Mac users Control click, the image and select "Set as Desktop Background"

The calendar is now your background and all your files or shortcuts will be floating on top. You can rearrange them but not the background calendar.

Don't want it once you've selected it?
PC users:

• Select Start, Control Panel, Appearance & Themes, Change desktop background.
• If the image is distorted, select "center" under Position.
• To remove, select none and apply.

MAC users:

• Select System Preferences
• Desktop & Screen Saver
• Select a new image
• If the image is distorted, select "center" from the pull-down