What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

You know what also stays in Vegas? Your money,that's what but I don't plan to go crazy. I've gotten that gambling bug out of my system lately. Most likely because I do not have much of an income. Retiring early means two things, you're young enough to have fun and since you actually aren't old enough for Social Security you better have that fun on a budget. I'm not complaining because if I wanted more money I could, perish the thought, go back to work. I've been stashing a few bucks away every week so I can at least enjoy giving some money to the casino.

If anyone is looking for a desktop calendar for July they'll need to be patient. I've taken a leave of absence from this blog until July 1 and not sure if I'll even get one up then. Good news, I'm getting back with my watercolor teacher and should produce something in the next few months. It should be good to be back with my artsy friends, again.

So wish me luck, 31 black is my number and maybe I'll have a photo of Vegas for the July calendar.

Tennis anyone?

In February of this year I did something very stupid. Some believe I do stupid things just so I have fodder for this blog and I'm trying to deny this but these events just keep popping up. I've spent more time in therapy this year than a Hollywood starlet, and that will be the last time anyone compares me to a starlet, I promise.

So what's my new round of therapy for? My old elbow that I keep injuring. I did it a disservice when I couldn't use my right broken wrist and now am paying the price with a case of lateral epicondylitis flareup , which to some people is tennis elbow. After a particular nasty two weeks I finally got to see the Dr and he shot me full of cortisone which made me feel I want to go out and pitch 12 more innings and play Roger Federer a few sets. That stuff is amazing. Too bad you just can't order it up for all sorts of situations.

For the time being I feel great and every morning I wake, try my arm, and bless that Dr Needle for all this good work. Like every thing else this should wear off and I'll be back in the same situation and Dr Needle says I might have to go to Dr Knife which I'm trying to avoid because Dr Knife's real name is Mr Pain.

It's crazy not to be cool!

While downtown last week I neglected to add this little tip on beating the heat. It was so frightfully hot I had to call short my trip to Pasadena.

In LA we have a some what efficient subway called the Metro; how original. Now this is by no means perfect but I've been a rider since it opened and I love it. I just wish it would go to the Westside or closer to me but hey, baby steps, we've only had a traffic problem since the 40s.

Where we do become original is in the names of the trains. Each Metro train is given a color designation and the train to Pasadena is named the Gold line. We also have Blue, Red, Purple, Green, and I can't imagine what would be next; the salmon pink or maybe taupe or how about the plaid line. It is LA, after all, and we are a rainbow of color here on the west coast.

We also have the Orange line which is a bus traveling in it's own roadway and only stops at a few stations. This has been a great success with only one drawback, cars can accidentally get into this roadway with some pretty serious accidents. If you read my sister's blog, she has an article from Dave Barry about Miami's famous bad drivers. If bad driving were an Olympic event Miami might just edge us out for the Gold but LA would most definitely be in the running for Silver.

Back to my new hint to beat the heat. With the temperature breaking into triple digits I found myself in the need to cool down. I'd been to Pasadena walking about and was now back at Union Station waiting for my train home. It would be at least an hour and a half in a crowded, non-air conditioned terminal and I was getting pretty dopey with the heat. I prompted me to get a big cup of ice and some soda to cool down. When I'd finished the soda I found munching on the ice was quite refreshing. I also found when I dropped a cube, quite by accident, down the front of my dress it was even better.

This turned into one of the ah ha moments--necessity being the Mother of Invention--I needed to cool down! Off to the Ladies Room to pack my foundation garments with sufficient ice chips to see me through the next hour. Boy, did that work. They slowly melted, made my dress a little damp, and with the slight breeze, cooled me down to somewhat normal temp. It was either that or soak my head in the sink, I needed to cool down, folks. Don't judge me.

Here are some rules to follow when trying this new method to stay cool.

1. This might only work if you are wearing a dress.
   
2. Always wear loose fitting clothes.
3. Always wear a print, less likely to show the wet areas.
4. Find a vendor that has ice in chips not big cubes.
5. Don't really give a damn if people think you odd for putting ice down your cleavage.
   

Trust me, I was the most comfortable person in the terminal at that time except the woman with the shopping bag on her head, I bet it was wet.

Tuesdays with Moon

Here I am again with "no gas Tuesday" and lots to do. I started out early though the temp will not be breaking records today it was reported to sneak into the upper 80s. It was only 78 when I started out this morning. I made three stops this morning and was only gone two hours. That's good even if I was driving my own car.

Walking in the morning, when it's cool, is very enjoyable. I enjoy the freedom of not wearing a coat or jacket. I do wear some sort of head protection as my poor old head sunburns something horrible. Right now it's a baseball cap but that gets a bit warm. I remove it as much as I can in the shade and think some sort of scarf might be an alternative.

There's a bus stop just a half-block from my door but I usually choose to walk to the one that's about two miles down the road. This morning I walked a bit farther to the shopping center, Target, Trader Joe's, and the sort, then got on the bus for my next errand. While waiting for the bus a photographer for a local "free" paper asked if she could take my photo for a story about increased bus participation. She also asked me a few questions about why I take the bus and being me, I told her all about my "no gas Tuesday" plan; she was surprised but pleased and snapped a few shots while I was boarding the bus. I hope she got my good side.

Doing my civic duty

Los Angeles is in one of the nastiest heat waves I've seen in a while. It was 110 on my patio but I had the luck of going downtown where it was only 98; like a vacation in the Arctic.

To get to the court I can take a variety of different modes of transportation with my favorite being the Metro-link. The station had oodles of parking, is only fifteen minutes for my house, and when I get on it isn't too crowded. The train is air-conditioned with comfortable seats though the leg room must be a challenge for someone tall. There are four seats two facing front; two back so if you're paired with a tall person it could be uncomfortable. With Ipod plugged in I'm content to listen and close my eyes from time to time. If I have a seat mate wanting to talk I'll respond but I can take or leave the morning conversation.

The hour trip last week stretched into better than an hour and a half and this didn't surprise any of the regulars. Seems there was an entry door problem. Some wouldn't open; some did so I boarded the car that did. For me, problem solved. The conductor seemed to have some issues so he fussed for about ten minutes at each stop and that made us late. I'd really intended to have breakfast at Philippe's so no harm for me, I just switched my plans to lunch, which was quite tasty I might add.

The photo at the top of the page is one of lil bird's doggies, Max. You've seen him before. Him and his "brother" Multi are staying with us while the kids are on vacation. Max love to be in the middle of things and since he looked quite important sitting on my desk, not unlike the architectural lions outside some buildings, so he'll be my snap for this post.

Tuesdays with Moon

To prove last Tuesday wasn't a fluke I didn't use my car again today. Posting about this means I'd have to be accountable to someone and I wasn't sure if I could live up to a challenge but here it is, another Tuesday and I've succeeded getting things done with public transportation and my own two feet. I logged about five miles and two buses and let me whine a bit, it was 92 sunny degrees out today.

Every time you start to feel smug about an accomplishment reality smacks you in your face. Getting on my final bus I stepped aside so a woman with five bags full of groceries could board. It then dawned on me she was using the bus because she had to not because she thought it stylishly green to do so. I hung my head in shame. Not that it's wrong to give up your car for a day from time to time, nope that's what we all should do. Riding the bus is a great reminder we need to control this runaway price increase in oil if for no other reason than that women with the five bags of groceries.

Graphs I can understand

I never was good at graphs but this one explains it all. Not all on Graph Jam are as funny but ever so often they hit the mark.
more graph humor and song chart memes

Why do the good ones go too soon?

NBC's Tim Russert died today.

Russert quote:

The best excercise you can do for yourself is lift-up someone else.

I like that.

This site is so free

Lil bird found this site and posted this on our food blog, Peanut Butter Étouffee. Like anything else, it can be addictive but at least you are helping someone. We throw away more food than some children get in a year so check it out, learn something, and feel good that you wasted a bit of time for someone else.

While you're there, check out some of the sponsors, they are the ones footing the bill.

Free Rice is a sister site of the world poverty site, Poverty.com.

FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.

2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this site.

Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your vocabulary can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you.

Why'd ya wait so long?

I love the title of Scott McClennan's book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception. Why the hell didn't he say something then? That would take real guts, screw this job, this career, this life--tell it all while it was happening.

I can dream, can't I?

Lady-in-waiting to the Princess

On this non-productive day you actually couldn't say I did nothing but I wasn't very productive. Now, ask me if I care; nope. I princess-sat with our little darling. This happens from time to time to even the most organized. A last minute change in the babysitting lineup and I was home. Glad to do it.

Now if you listen to the video you might think it's just gas, but look closely, the princess is givin' you the raspberry. Not bad for under four months.

We did find out something about this grandma, she is seriously challenged in doing the diaper change. No, I don't mind the stinky kind I just have trouble getting these new ones, with the tabs, on correctly. I laughed at the thought of doing the cloth diaper and pins as I did for my daughter. Then there was that little bit about her laying on the tail of her undershirt and then that needed to be changed. We made it through the day with only a few costume changes.

We played and talked and watched a little TV; she seems to like Don Imus which is odd, not many do. Our lunch menu was limited her a bottle; me some crackers and then, the stress of modern day life being what it is, she was off to nap. The only thing we didn't get to do was take our walk. Ah, well, next time.

Bobby, we hardly knew ye

If you wonder why some Baby Boomers are cynical just remember what we've been through. The answer to the 60s seemed to have been assassination

• John Kennedy-November 1963
• Martin Luther King-April 1968
• Bobby Kennedy-June 1968

Don't forget to throw in Cuba, Civil Rights, and the Vietnam War. The 60s was a hideous decade; there was always some sort of conflict. How we treated minorities, women, and the soldiers returning from a war. No wonder Tune in, Turn on, and Drop Out was popular. It was depressing just to turn on the news and listen to the body count.

Bobby Kennedy gave some of us hope that we could pull out of the 60s with him being elected president. On June 5th that hope was changed into one more violent static of that decade when he was shot and killed. The news of this was just one more numbing event of the 60s. The only thing good about the 60s was the music.

Carpinteria is a small town on the California coast about 15 minutes south of Santa Barbara. It has be one of my favorite places to stay. And for sure, the most beautiful sunsets I've photographed.

If you'd like to use this month's calendar as your desktop pattern for your computer please use the following instructions. If you have any questions you can leave a comment or email me at mooncrazy.debono@gmail.com

• Click on appropriate link. large calendar, 1024 x 680 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