Burlyboys

Silly tRump

2011-12-10T10:13:00.002-07:00

Humpty Trumpy holds a debate,
Humpty Trumpy spreads fear and hate,
With all of Trumps money
And all of Trumps hairs
Nobody comes, because nobody cares.

Don't you just love to "hate" this women?

2011-11-14T00:21:00.007-07:00

Sorry to say, but this looks like the future of America.
More money for education and to our dedicated teachers may be our last chance. How many Americans working at McDonald's do you want?
Otherwise, Uneducated Christian Bible thumpers is all we get!
The American Taliban.

Let's not miss this quote;

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross"
Sinclair Lewis, 1835

Sadona, the morning at the dog park

2011-10-31T12:33:00.001-07:00

All these pictures were taken at the dog park and the trail around it. Kody and Aleah had a great time, all dogs were friendly. The picture above is someone's house, can you imagine having this view?

Across the valley.

Q

The whole place is spectacular!

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Thanking David

2011-08-29T02:16:00.012-07:00

There once was a kind man named David, he had a kind dog named Sophia, in the kind city of San Francisco, where I lived with my dog Rocko (rotten lab, pun intended. Rottweiler Labrador mix) and my husband Steve before we made the moved to Tucson AZ.

We got Rocko from the SPCA as a puppy and David adopted Sophia at the same time, we didn't know each other.

I would take Rocko to the dog park all the time to burn off all his puppy energy and to hang with other dogs. One day, when Rocko was about two years old, I saw him bothering some people and I hollered at him to stop. He didn't stop, which was unusual, for he was always well behaved. Just then, this guy yells to the dog to stop and the dog did. But he was yelling out the name Sophia. And my dog Rocko came running up behind me.
There are two dogs here that looked exactly the same! My Rocko and his Sophia. I approach the guy about this and we start exchanging notes. He got her from the SPCA and she was from a litter of thirteen that were born there. This was my story to. We have siblings dogs. Brother and sister. We decide to exchange our info and it turns out that the guy only lived two blocks from us. And in a city like SF, that was amazing. I was not at the neighborhood dog park, I was at the one on the beach, a couple of miles away.

From then on, we called each other to arrange meetings so they could play. At least once a week we'd meet at the beach. One day as we met there, he says that he has to move and he can't take Sophia with him. My first instinct, I panic, what are you going to do with her I ask? He says, that he was hoping that I'd take her. Instant relief! I have been wanting another dog, but my husband keeps saying no. Now he has no choice, we are getting Sophia! We make the exchange and she comes and lives with us. This was odd for Rocko, he likes Sophia but isn't it time she goes home? No buddy, get used to her, you're not an only dog now. They do settle in and became the best of friends.

Rocko already had a brother living with us. We had a cat named Boo, and Rocko idolized Boo. Boo was Rocko's big brother even though Rocko grew four times as big as Boo, little brother still wanted to climb under the office desk each day, just as Boo did. Sophia on the other hand did not care for Boo at all! Now it was Rocko's job to protect Boo. She learned quickly not to mess with Boo.

From here is the letter I wrote to David, to notifiy him of Sophia's passing. Yesterday I came across his email address, so thought it time to inform him. He loved her as much as I did.

David,

My name is Darrell, I'm sure you remember me, I am the guy you gave Sophia to when you moved from San Francisco. I just came across your name and email in my desk after so long of it being buried.

I just wanted to Thank You again for letting Sophia join our family and her natural brother Rocko. They have been the loves of my life! They truly were the best dogs ever! We called her Queen Sophia, she carried herself with the best grace and dignity even to the end.
Yes, I'm sorry to have to tell you that she is no longer with us, both her and Rocko have passed back in 2009. Had I found your email sooner I would have informed you then.

Sophia suffered a stroke in 2008 which affected her equilibrium so she had balance problems but was still all there in her head. I simply would loop a belt around her waist and help her along. I was her wheel chair for the last year. Since she could not walk on her own I'd take her and Rocko to the dog park daily to visit all the other dogs. I'd lay out a blanket on the ground and she held court with all the dogs coming over to greet her and pay respect! Everybody called her the Queen. She was amazing!

Rocko to had issues walking in his old age, but could still manage on his own, he did not like to be helped except getting in and out of the truck where he would give an unapproving grrrrr. At the dog park he would stand where all the people gathered and act as if he was involved in the conversations people were having, following each person talking with his head. Like he was a person to.
Beside the many talents he had, he could do one thing that amazed people, he could say his own name. People would ask him, "What's your name," and he'd respond, "Raroo". Over and over again they would ask him and he'd respond Raroo every time. It was wonderful. And everybody loved him greatly!

The two were truly loved by all that met them!

In 2003 we moved to Arizona, two black dogs in Arizona need relief from the heat, so we got them a nice ranch to roam around on and a swimming pool to cool off in. They really enjoyed all the wild animals to chase and the pool to jump in before their later health issues. Sophia swam right till the end, where I'd put a doggy life preserver on her so she could still swim after her beloved frisbee.
Rocko would play life guard and watch for anybody that swam to the deep end, where he would go after them to urge them back to the shallow end, or safe side.

They lived fantastic lives and we loved them very much! The end came when Rocko ended up breaking his front left leg trying to stand one day. Since he did not like to receive help from anybody, it came time to have them no longer suffer from these problems. The hardest thing I have ever come to, I'm losing my two best friends and I must lose my best friends, only for their sake! Sophia was going down hill with her stroke issues and Rocko could not move himself around anymore. We called our vet and she said that she would come out the next morning to put them out of their troubles.
That night we gave them filet mignon wrapped in bacon and treated them like the Marvelous friends they were! They knew just how much they gave us and we tried to show them the very same love back! For they were the most amazing dogs ever! I can't stop saying that enough! I have you to thank for letting Sophia share her life with us.

They came into this world together, and went out the same way, together. It was the worst day of my life! I am still missing them so much!

During their last year we got another rescue dog named Kody to maybe help Rocko and Sophia feel some youth again. He looked up to both of them to. Now that he has inherited their world he has become little Rocko, following his lead in all things Rocko and Sophia loved so much. After their passing we went and got another rescue dog named Aleah. I only wish Aleah could have known both of them to, like Kody got the chance to. In Rocko and Sophia's honor we now have two name sake dogs, Kody, named after Rocko and Aleah, named after Sophia. We also planted two trees in honor of my best friends.

I may not see them each day as I had for thirteen years, but I do feel their love and thank them daily for sharing their lives with me.

The two best dogs ever! Still in their youth.

Her Majesty Queen Sophia

And Sophia doing what she loved so much, jumping in the pool after her frisbee. Rocko, playing lifeguard sitting on the steps, chomping on his frisbee.

I do hope this makes it to you! And again, sorry for the dreadful news.

Back Home Now

2011-08-27T11:47:00.004-07:00

We drove home on Thursday and it is kinda nice being home except for the heat and it is still humid. Driving in we saw rain downpours and the Monsoon Clouds looming around Tucson. The very thing we escaped by going to San Diego. Now I have to deal with the things that got neglected while we were away.

City Fest and the Lighting of the Hillcrest Sign

2011-08-23T12:26:00.002-07:00

We happened to be here for City Fest on Sunday August 14th. The locals call it an alternate LGBT Pride. They close off the the streets, set up a stage and have a street fair. On this City Fest was the lighting of the Hillcrest Sign that spans across University Avenue. The sign has been there for many years but they took it down to refurbish it in lower energy LED lights. At 8:00 in the evening they uncovered it in celebration of the new lighting. Sorry, the picture is not very good but look at all the people!

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Within Balboa Park

2011-08-22T16:34:00.001-07:00

San Diego hosted a Panama Exhibit just like San Francisco did back around 1915. Unlike San Francisco that demolished most of the buildings, San Diego preserved theirs. And they stand today here in Balboa Park.
This is one of them and is now the San Diego Museum of Art. We went here to see one of the exhibits, the Stickley Collection. Photos were not allowed of the collection, unfortunately. I am a big fan of Mission Furniture and the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century.

The drive is called El Prado and is lined with the beautiful buildings.

This is called the Old Globe Theater. We came here one night to see the performance of Amadeus, the story of one man's determination to upset Amadeus Motzart's career, brought on by jealousy. There are three theaters in this square, one in the round, one a traditional theater and the one we attended, an outdoor theater (next picture). The performance was fantastic and being outdoors here in San Diego at night was wonderful!

Here is the entrance to the outdoor theater. Before the performance, we were treated to appetizers and an open bar, brought to us by a Gay Collective that Steve, my honey, found out about, and this was the reason we chose to come on this particular evening. We met and chatted with some really nice people.

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Some detail on one of the buildings. They can be quite ornate!

Marston House, Street Tour

2011-08-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

Sarai Johnson and Paul Johnson, of Johnson & Johnson Architectural Inc. We're our docents on our street tour of the Marsden House area tour, I say of the area because earlier in the week we did the actual Marsden House tour. A sort of Prairie School early design of Frank Lloyd Wright. The style of the house changed to the Prairie School style after mid construction. Today was the neighborhood tour in which George Marsden seem to have living around him, many of his is business aquatints, friends and his one son. He founded the historic Balboa Park and he was a prominent businessman in the early days of San Diego.

This is the sons house. Right next door.

One neighbor across the street.

The back side of the Marsden House.

And the front of the Marsden House. Right at the northern end of Balboa Park.

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Our San Diego Vaca

2011-08-15T01:54:00.001-07:00

All I want to say is, this vacation is killing me! Having too much fun! Wish you were here!

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Wine Tasting at Bernardo Winery

2011-08-13T23:18:00.001-07:00

Today we went wine tasting in Rancho Bernardo. A village north of San Diego. This place is a little park, full of vineyards, artists, cafe's and of course, my favorite, wine! We enjoyed the best bruschetta and a cheese plater. Roasted garlic, sundries tomatoes, olives and an assortment of cheeses, all to be spread on French bread and crackers. We started with the cab and moved on to other tastings.

For a refresher we sipped on a fruity sangria. Cheers!

Steve's loving this!

My iPad does not capture just how beautiful it all is around this winery.

And the local artist are right there creating art. Here we have the glass blowers doing their thing.

For some reason I only took pictures of them doing their art, not any pictures of the finished glass, which is for sale on shelves right behind me.

My honey enjoying himself and wishing you all his blessings with a final glass of rose champagne for desert.

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Coronado Island, Dog Beach

2011-08-12T16:04:00.001-07:00

Today we went to Coronado Island and the dog beach there.

Kody loves his ball and the handy throw stick makes it so you don't have to use your hands to pick up his grimy slobber ball.

It's not easy to take a picture of ourselves holding the iPad.

I kinda like this one with my buddies behind me.

Aleah was in heaven exploring the beach smells.

As Kody waits for the throw, Aleah rolls around in the sand, she's loving this!

Point Loma is that dot of land on the right, we're at the opening of San Diego Bay at the top end of Coronado Island.
I'm bringing the kids back to this beach on Wednesday, when our local dog park is closed for maintenance. It' really nice!
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Point Loma Sea Food

2011-08-05T22:37:00.001-07:00

This is the best seafood here in SD! I love it! You order inside at the counter, they call out your order when it is done and go outside to find a spot at the harbors edge. They do have tables both inside and out, but we like to sit out. And with dogs, it's the only place. Funny, I always order the Crab Cakes, with a glass of dry white wine, I'm in heaven!

From here you can see the downtown skyline, at a distance.

Dogs get to watch us enjoy our meal, I do share, but not much. Their not much interested in the view, with Crab Cakes so close.

Lots of boats moored here.

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San Diego Zoo, kinda

2011-08-04T13:02:00.001-07:00

Here we are at the World Famous San Diego Zoo. Well, outside the zoo anyways. Dogs were not allowed inside except for service dogs. Somehow the zoo gate keeper was not convinced that both Kody and Aleah were my service dogs. Aleah was not able to translate the gate keepers remarks to me well enough, but I got the drift. hehe Kody led us away with our tails between our legs.

We could buy commemorative t-shirts if we liked. But they didn't have doggy sizes. Kody was a fan of the tie-dye. Aleah liked the shirts with animals on them. Mild disappointment.

It was pretty crowded, Kody and Aleah were big hits with the kids at the gate. The parents could have saved big, if they just paid me half of what the zoo charged.

We did get to enjoy the tropical foliage. Shade was nice!
We walked home and the house keeper was just finishing up. She did a good job and it is nice to have a clean home again. Time to start messing it up.

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A Day at Dog Park.

2011-08-04T10:03:00.001-07:00

Discovered dog park in Balboa Park yesterday.

Full of friendly people and dogs.

Kody and Aleah seemed to love the shade.

And of course the grass.

I hear this bridge is called suicide bridge, people used to jump off it. It is pretty high, but now it has fencing so you can't, thank good ness!

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Dog Beach II

2011-08-02T14:13:00.001-07:00

Kody is no longer afraid of those waves! He's lovin it!

Big or little waves, he's going in after his beloved ball!

Sometimes he loses his ball in those waves. This big black lab came to the rescue one one throw. Kody could not find his ball, so this friendly woman sends her big guy in and out he comes with Kody's ball. My hero! Kody would have not settled down till he had his ball.

Again, Aleah finds the cutest big dogs to flirt with!

And I found two myself! These cute boys had the dog of the day! A rotten lab. Pun intended. Just like my two highly missed Rottweiler/Labrador mixes that passed some years ago. Rocko and his sister Queen Sophia. This dog is named Bandit and he is two years old. Cute as can be!

A good day was had by all, except for Steve who stayed at the house working. Notice the high clouds. The monsoons are reaching all the way to San Diego, where it is more humid then usual. Sorry you guys if we brought it with us!

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Dog beach

2011-07-31T13:34:00.001-07:00

We spent the morning down at Dog Beach. Love this sculpture of a transparent Surfboard with a dogs paw print in it, sorry, it doesn't show well here. It was real bright outside and I could not see the screen on my iPad very well.

Steve is here with Aleah and Kody is that dark spot swimming after his ball in the San Diego River which feeds out into the ocean.

Here's Kody not sure what to think of the waves rolling in. He liked the water in the river better I think. But he got used to waves right away once his ball was thrown in, he did go after it. Now he's gonna want a surf board, teenagers!

Lots of dogs enjoying the day! Their people did to.

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Aleah found some cute guys to hang with. She likes to lay on her back and wiggle around in the sand, come and get me! She did have one brawl, I didn't see what started it but she was not gonna walk way. She loves a good brawl. It didn't last long, just a tiff. No harm. And it turns out that the dog and owner were from Tucson to. Was that the problem?

After our fun, we drove over to Point Loma Sea Food (my fav), and pigged out. Yum!

San Diego

2011-07-27T14:28:00.001-07:00

We're in San Diego and having a great time! We rented a flat in the Hillcrest neighborhood. It's very nice and close to so much, we can walk to restaurants and bars and the best part, Trader Joe's. It has a great kitchen so I can make breakfast and dinners. Steve took no time off work and is doing his thing right here during the day. And we brought the dogs, it's a doggy vacation.

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As you can see from the pictures, we gave it that lived in look already and we have only been here for three days. But it has maid service, YIPPY!

Our Neighbors Horses

2011-06-27T16:50:00.001-07:00

As our neighbors ore out of town for a vacation, I get to help take care of their horses. I am in charge of giving one of them his medicine. No big deal but because I am not their regular care giver am a bit nervous doing this. I have now done it for a couple of days now, and am much more comfortable giving the meds. They are very friendly horses. The one on the right in the second picture Is the one I usually ride, her name is Cochina and the one getting the meds is the guy in the first picture, his name is Jackson Brown. I forget the third horses name, is that bad of me?
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Thanks Alaska

2011-06-24T14:10:00.005-07:00

The word 'Cu~t' (rhymes with stunt) is a word just too vulgar to describe bad, evil, lying, selfish females. The new word is 'Palin'. Thanks Alaska for adding to the English lexicon. The old word was just too hard to say, or even type for some of us, it needed some cleaning up, it needed lipstick, Sarah did manage to give it that..

Dangerous Woman!

2011-06-24T14:04:00.002-07:00

This woman is the stupidest woman ever! Well,,,,,, she does know how to rake in the dough from other stupid people! So I guess she is bright enough to take advantage of her own kind. Dog eat dog! Imagine what she would do to our country! As far as the picture below..... I say, do it Sarah, do it!

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The Fire!

2011-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

As we drove down to the town of Bisbee to celebrate Gay Pride. There is a stretch of road that runs across the valley from the town of Sierra Vista. Here they are experiencing majors fires! We saw them! The mountains above the city were covered in smoke and the fires were creeping down the hillsides. Into the town. They seemed to have reached the town. We saw the flames and massive pillars of smoke! It was an terrible site to see! This picture does not really capture the scene but gives you an idea. The town is in all that smoke!

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Location:Ok St,Bisbee,United States

Can I post while laying in bed?

2011-06-16T08:34:00.001-07:00

This is a test to see just how easy it is to post remotely. Here is a picture of Aleah being herself,

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MORE OF BRAD THE TRUCK

2011-06-12T16:21:00.006-07:00

I'm sending out these photos I guess as part of my healing, and to say good-by to my vehicle friend 'Brad'. Brad was so good looking, a little stud and a damn hard worker.
This is where I got hit. If it was any further back, like on the door, they say that I would not have lived with how fast the other driver was going.My poor Brad, I loved that truck. He served me well for many years. On the upper drivers side windshield is written o5 o1 09 this is the date it happened, January 9th 2005. Below that is Brad's A.Z. license #. Also notice how many vehicles there are in the impound lot, they drive really bad here in Tucson. The American way, only be concerned about yourself. SAD!The black truck on the left is the one that hit me, big bully pick on someone your own size. When we looked inside, it was littered with beer cans.See my shoe? on the floor of the drivers side? The drivers side door doesn't fully close any longer. While this was new and I was dealing with a head injury, Steve told me that after the accident I kept telling people that "What happened to me? I fell on my shoulder," but he kept correcting "no you were in an accident." Later when I read the police report it said that I was found near the scene. So now we think that I unbuckled myself ( I had a seat-belt bruise ) 'fell' out and then passed out. I guess we'll never know for sure. He did almost miss running into me, maybe he thought he could squeeze through. That's probably why he floored it. I have no memory of any of this, that bothers me a little, or maybe it's better that way. Yes, I don't want to remember!Good bye my friend. I'll miss you! We had great times together!

Our Chicken Coup, 6th in the series

2011-06-06T13:59:00.004-07:00

The property is horse property, but we are not horse people. We moved here from San Francisco (we're city folk, and fitting in nicely). I can ride a horse and I do all the time, because my neighbors have horses and need riders to help keep their horses exercised, so they ask us. It's all open range out here so you can ride through everybody's property for miles. The previous family had horses and did roping in the roping arena ( I'll show it in the last picture). Because we don't have horses, I turned one side of the old and rustic stables into a chicken coup. That blue tank on the left is our well, pretty good water but hard, although, it sure is better then city water! The stables look old and they are, we kinda like that! There are two stables with a tack room in the middle. I turned the left side into the coup, the right side I plan to house swine for pork. Our house is to the left, about one hundred feet.
Inside this stable is the hen house, nesting boxes on the left center. We have six egg layers. All the girls have the same name, Matilda, chosen by my neighbor. My neighbor says that she can identify the one she named Matilda, but they're all Matilda to me. Plenty of eggs for us! We're always giving eggs away to all our friends. Six eggs a day, I just can't eat that many! The feed store buys them from me too, three bucks a dozen, not bad! Thank goodness, I'm not counting on that for income!
They like their yard, it is snake, coyote and bird of prey proof. They get all the green waste from our kitchen that I'd normally throw out or compost, they love it and wait for me each morning to come and give them a treat. As far as composting goes, I pick up all their droppings and that makes great compost. The term 'chicken shit' now takes on a whole new meaning for me these days! I surrounded the whole coup in chicken wire and snake wire, dug the heavy snake wire into the ground two feet and anchored it with pressured treated wood (to stop coyotes from digging under. The pig pen will be to the right in this picture. Swine coming in September after our next trip. We also raise 'Broiler Chickens' Chickens that you raise for two months for eating. I try to keep the freezer filled so as to not buy store bought chicken. These chicks are three weeks old and growing fast! They live happy lives, when I clean their separated coup each day, they get to run around with the egg layers. I can't let them out with the egg layers all the time because they'll be pecked on, you've heard of the pecking order, well this is where it comes from. I do the butchering myself, it's not difficult except for time to do the killing, never easy! These chicks have names too, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner, Dinner and Dinner.

This is our roping arena, it's old and very rustic. We use it as a place to run Kody and Aleah during the summer months, when snakes are everywhere. It is so open you can see snakes on the open ground, and it serves as a parking lot when we host our winter bonfires or for pool parties. Our neighbors stables are right there ( the white building), they have really nice stables because they are horse people. Real Cowboys and Cowgirls, husband, wife, son and daughter.
Here's Kody, excited to run after his ball when there are no rabbits to chase. You can see his Boxer head with the Greyhound body. He's my funny little guy! Quite a dog!!!

Back To Picton, The Last of The South Island

2011-06-04T16:25:00.002-07:00

From the west coast we head along the north coast to Picton to catch the ferry back to the North Island. This coastline is also very beautiful! Full of deep fjords.
Something that I didn't mention before, is the harvesting of lumber in New Zealand. They have, what I think, is a really great way to produce lumber. Trees are grown like a crop. Planted and harvested continually like any crop. As we drove around both islands, we saw evidence of the process. Trees were cut down and replanted to keep the system going. They did it in a way that did not look like the clear cutting process that goes on here in the states. They do it in a way that is not offensive nor too obvious. As you can see in the picture above, there are areas that have no trees right next to areas that are forested. It looks so natural that you'd not have noticed it if I didn't point it out. It even looks good, well manicured. And I'm sure keeps the fire danger down too. When driving, we did notice the forests had all the same sized trees. There were forests that looked big and old, there were forests that looked young and new, with all the same aged trees. And then we'd come across a newly planted tract that looked just that. Freshly harvested and freshly planted, But that was not an eyesore because we knew the process and this is what happens in such a program. I loved it, as we saw signs that read, New Zealand's forests, Supplying the world in a sustainable way! Good on ya NZ!
The two pictures above show the port at Picton where the lumber is loaded and exported to where ever. Here I had a funny experience. I have had trouble understanding the Kiwi's continually on both islands because they tend to speak too quickly and don't pronounce consonants! Here we stopped to take these photos, there was a man there with his children. He was pointing out the lumber and telling them that "when he was a boy, this is the spot that they froze and exported the land." "Before they turned it over to exporting lumber, they exported the land here." I was baffled! I was overhearing him and at one point had to ask, "how did they export the land here?" He responded to me, "LAMB, not LAND". OH! I miss heard you I told him. It wasn't that funny, but was happening all over the place. I could not understand the people very well at all! And they said they were speaking English.
Here we ate dinner before we catch the ferry ride back to the North Island in the morning. It is a beautiful little village, Picton is.
And here is one of the ferries that carry people and autos back and forth.

Hokitika and the West Coast of the South Island

2011-05-27T11:37:00.002-07:00

The west coast is, I think, one of the most beautiful coastlines I've ever seen and I come from the west coast of northern California. It was a spectacular vista. The best I've ever seen.
After Queenstown we drove north and over to the coast to continue our travels back up to Picton where we catch the ferry to the North Island. We took our time doing this fantastic coastline.You can see the layers of the coastal landscape.This is the Franz Josef Glacier. It is on the central mountains that run up the South Island. We stayed the night near here.Notice the turquoise color of the river water. This is typical of glacial melt. I saw this in Alaska when I was there in 1985.
Hokitika was one of the small towns along the west coast that we liked the best. It seemed to be an artist community and they were having artist sell their crafts on the street. We bought some New Zealand Jade and a blown glass sculpture for our neighbor here in Tucson that was watching our dogs and chickens. There were other towns along the drive but Hokitika was by far the most fun!Midway up the coast we spotted this landslide. It has a plaque that tells of the earthquake that caused it. It happened years before we got there so again, I'm not taking credit for this one either. hehe

More of Dave

2011-05-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our Zip Line experience in New Zealand was lead by these guys. I do not remember the names of the two on the right but the one on the left is Dave, yum Dave! And that is my husband Steve behind the three. I remember Dave not only because he was so witty and cute and beefy, but because he had mentioned that he was working to replant some native trees that were burned out by Maori centuries ago. We could donate 10 NZ dollars to the cause per tree and have the trees we support be named in honor of who ever we'd like. Sure, there will be no plaque but it makes us feel good to do this for New Zealand and in our heads to have trees named after our two beloved dogs that are no longer with us, Rocko and Sophia.
Dave digging the hole.
Dave planting the tree named for Rocko.
Planting the tree named for Sophia.
Our trees dedicated to Rocko and Sophia will be growing next to each other. This makes me so happy! They were brother and sister. Our Beloved dogs live on! Thank you Dave!

Queenstown

2011-05-19T14:07:00.002-07:00

Queenstown was my favorite town in New Zealand. We stayed there for three nights. We rented a very nice apartment right on the lake and loved it! The plan was to have a place to do our laundry midway through the trip. The kitchen was similar to our kitchen here at home so I decided to make dinner on two nights and of course made lamb. One night we discovered a fantastic Chinese Restaurant.
Queenstown is a sportsman's paradise. There is so much to do especially extreme sports. In this picture you can see (just barely) at the top of the mountain behind the town is a building up there and a clearing going down to town. This is a tram that takes you to the top and to all the adventures to explore. We did that. We signed up to do a zip line. I have seen it on TV and have been wanting to do one. Steve says that he will do it too, even though he is afraid of heights. I am surprised he is even willing to do the tram ride up.

My husband getting ready to zip line. He is so nervous! Look at that Stoic expression on his face.Before we got started, Steve said that he needed to go use the restroom back at the main lodge. He took off up the path and it seemed he was gone for a long time. I was convinced he skipped out on me. I asked another guy there to help me search for him. As we looked up the path, there comes Steve walking back down towards us. He Didn't flake out and was going through with it!Here he goes! He is holding on for dear life!I took more chances and went without holding on. I even went upside down on some of them.Here is our sexy guide Dave. Woof! More pictures of him on the next post.
On the top of the mountain we also did a luge ride. Five times each. And I took no pictures of that, not sure why. It was a blast too! We could have Bungee Jumped or even do a Para glide too but that seemed too much. We were exhausted!

The Pool, 5th in the series

2011-05-16T13:25:00.003-07:00

This is how the back yard looked when we bought the place. The people we bought it from put this pool in. That left side of the house was the carport originally. And before the pool you'd drive up into it from where the pool is now, they closed it off and made it the Arizona Room. The right side of the yard (notice the short little wall) was just dirt and the carport that they used is on the right, you can see the back of their car. Where the fire place is is where I added the new front room.
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The first spring that we were here. We redid the pool. It was an older pool with chipped plaster and forty years of calcium buildup. We drained it, jackhammered the old decking and had pool guys replaster and strip off the tiles. I removed part of that short little wall to open up the yard some.
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They dug new lines for the vacuum and skimmer after I tore down part of the little wall. Just beyond that wall you see is where the new garage is. I tore down that wall too after I built the garage. This was not the fun part for sure! My jackhammer was the best investment!
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These are our former two dogs, Rocko and Sophia. They are brother and sister (rotten labs, hehe, Rottweiler Labrador mixes). They're gone now and my heart is broken from their absence. They were the best and they loved the pool! We called it Sophia's Pool and Rocko was the lifegaurd. If I'd go to the deep end Rocko would get all nervous and come after me cause of my prosthetic shoulder. Rocko is in the water going after a frisbee and Sophia is egging him on. That Arizona room is right there on the left, you can see the screens that I will remove and put in new windows and a solid door. I put down that patio with pavers, built the shade structure and the table. It's the Orion Patio, done in the shape of the constellation Orion in the night sky. It's pretty cool but I need to weld some angle braces to shore up the posts. I built it after a major accident that I was in and had a head injury, my work suffered from it but you couldn't stop me from keeping on. This winter I plan to redo the whole patio and fix my mess ups!
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Here's our newest dog Aleah sitting on the steps. She's a rescue and hates the pool, she is only doing this cause I told her to. She'll let me hold her and carry her around in the water but she holds on for dear life! She is waiting for this picture and then she is out of there! I did the tiles here in the steps when they were plastering. And that is all I did on the pool besides the boulders.
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Kody, our other dog is jumping in after his beloved ball. We took out the old dilapidated diving board and put in these boulders for jumping off of into the deep end. After the boulders they came back and put in the new decking

More of Milford Sound

2011-05-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

The cruise was scheduled well in advance and we had no way of knowing what the weather would be like, but we seemed to have lucked out! We brought something for every type of weather.

Being on a smaller boat let us go right up to the incredible waterfalls and even up to sea lions we spotted along the way.

Sea lions

Here is a spot that you can go inside this tube that has glass sides and you can see what is just under the water.

My hubby showing off Mitre Peak, the dominate feature at the little village.

Te Anau and Milford Sound

2011-05-09T16:15:00.010-07:00

Leaving Dunedin we hopped on New Zealand's highway one (the Clinton Gore Highway, called this because along it there are two towns named Clinton and Gore. Gore being the larger of the two), we headed west to Te Anau where we spent the night and explored the Worm Cave. The town of Te Anau is on Lake Te Anau and you can catch a boat that takes you across the lake to the Worm Cave. After a short walk, you enter a cave that has great lighting to show the water falls below the raised walkway that you walk on back deeper into the cave to catch a small boat that takes you into the grotto that is loaded with these tiny worms. They are suspended from the ceiling and they glow. It was pretty! No pictures were allowed so as to protect the worms. It was a nice boat ride that we did at dusk.

In the morning we drove northwest up to the West coast of the South Island to the Eighth Wonder of the World, as we were told, to Milford Sound. Milford Sound was missed named many years back because, as it was pointed out to us, it is actually a fjord. The day was a rainy one but that only added to the beauty because as it rains the water pours from the steep walls of the severe landscape.

Here we had to cross a one lane bridge (one of so many in NZ), one that goes over this tiny stream. On this day it was not a tiny stream! It was a torrent! I'm standing on the bridge(taking my life in my hands) to get this picture of the falls just before it goes under, and partially over the tiny bridge.

We decide to get a room at the only hotel there, for the sand flies scared Steve very much. He is a bug magnet and didn't want to be eaten up alive. I was so glad we did because the view from the room was nice!

We spent the rest of the day walking around the tiny village there. Exploring the sites. The rain gave up to a simple drizzle. The next day we had scheduled a cruise out into the Sound, or Fjord. In the morning we walked over to the harbor to catch our boat and found out that we are on one of the smaller boats. Steve had planned this because he had heard that the smaller ones go closer to the water falls and right up to the vertical rock walls. The day couldn't have been better. The drive in had all the rain and the next day was a beautiful one. It was prefect! My next post will have pictures on the Fjord. And even, under the Fjord!

Panning the Room, 4th in the series

2011-05-06T11:27:00.001-07:00

OK, I'm standing in between the kitchen and the dinning room. I'm rotating around to the right, taking pictures of the whole place. There were once walls separating these rooms and now it is all open. Funny thing about opening it all up, you see how small it really is.

Those paintings on the wall are some of my paintings. Next project is to knock out that wall and reclaim the space behind it. Right now it is the Arizona room (screened in room) and laundry, it goes out to the pool. It only has screen on the windows, I'll have to install windows and that will cost some bucks so it is on hold for now. We replaced all the windows in the whole house and bought expensive ones when we had lots of money. I want to use the same type of windows. That door was the front door originally and the Arizona room was the carport. It took us awhile to figure it out. But once we did it made sense. Why is there a doorbell button in the Arizona room we thought? The previous family that lived here did the switch and put in the original pool where the old driveway was when that was the front of the house.

Look up at the bottom of this picture at the center ^ and the right side, you see little light color spots in a jagged line. Those are the nail holes that held the old walls to the floor. I had to put in this post and a big beam above it when I knocked out the supporting walls here. This is the only part that made me nervous. It is the center spine of the house and holds up the roof. I beefed up the header over the door there and put in a post behind me too. It's an Eichler Ranch house, all the cross walls you can pull out, but the two exterior side walls and the center wall hold everything up.

That door (former front door) is the one I bought to replace the one they had had. It was not solid and was very cheesy. And that is my dog Kody laying on the rug.

Kody, the Wonder Dog, he's Boxer and Greyhound mix, makes a funny little guy. Boxer head with a Greyhound body.

The Geisha painting is also one of mine. The purple wall is in the room that I added on, it's not staying purple though, I'm over it! That's now the front door (trim and finish work still to be done). I have a problem finishing things, which drives my husband nuts. I always seem to feel like starting the next project before finishing the last one. When the previous family reoriented the house, making the front the back and visa versa, they left the sliding Glass doors on and used them as their front doors. ICK! There was a pair of them. Also, you can see, we're not afraid of using COLOR! Just not purple!

Notice the maps of New Zealand on the table, can't seem to put them away yet. Although we've been back for more then a month now. The TV show The Biggest Loser did two episodes in New Zealand. It's fun to see the places that we were just at. They first showed Auckland and then the second week they showed Queenstown. Queenstown was my favorite! We stayed three nights right on the lake and did a zip line and luge while there. It was so much fun!

A Fellow Blogger and New Friend

2011-05-05T12:12:00.001-07:00

In Dunedin lives is a man who's blog I enjoy very much. Our politics are similar and he also posts pictures of HOT men! So I check out his blog as often as I can. I contacted him before our travels to New Zealand so as that we might meet. After our train ride he met us at the train station and we went off to a local brewery for a beer and to meet his partner. Then off to dinner we went. They knew of a place near their home that they liked so we followed them and had a nice dinner together. As we did, they invited us to stay in their guest room for the night. We enjoyed our visit very much! We drank wine until the wee hours and watched 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. I haven't seen this movie in many years, and we laughed and laughed, we had a great time! His blog is; Life is a Sexually Transmitted Disease... You can find it here, http://apteryx05.blogspot.com/

This is the beautiful view from their house. They're really great 'blokes'. And I have a new 'Mate'! NZ speak.

President Barack Obama

2011-05-02T23:46:00.006-07:00

I will be the first to say, I was losing faith in our President. I could not understand his lack of action on the issues he promised us during his presidential campaign.
(I have read both his books and thought them both highly thought out, and well written).
I had so much to be hopeful for!

Lately, he looked so comfortable, happy to be our new, "staid leader". Like so many before him.

Yes, he did succeed in giving us a 'lacking health care reform bill', got "Don't ask, Don't tell" repealed and other perceived lack luster reforms, yet highly needed. Reforms that corrected bills that were pushed forward by the previous criminally greedy, profit driven republican'ts.

With this news, Obama's, bringing to justice, the notorious killer, Osama Bin Laden. I finally see it. I see an amazing, brilliant man able to hold his own, without giving way, during all that media criticism, his drive to do what needed to be done, and what America needed to feel; also a heart felt campaign pledge.

Despite enduring personal attacks by his opponent hopefuls in the 2012 elections (Trump, Palin, Bachman and Gringrich) . He got it done! During all the mass media deluge of negative "carnival barkers", he, our now proven Great Leader, showed to be focused on a mission. A mission, long awaited, to prove to those that hope to replace him in 2012 that he will be one of our Greatest Men to Lead Us. Bless You Barack Obama! I hold you in High Esteem!

Democrats can be and are, Fierce!
Now let's see, the setting back of the right wing social agenda of hate and persecution of those that use their brains and reason, instead of following doctrine dictated by bigots and hate mongers!

Moeraki Boulders and Dunedin

2011-04-26T17:24:00.012-07:00

These boulders are on the west coast as we drive down to Dunedin. We had to stop and see them cause they are pretty rear. I think they formed higher up in the volcano, they rolled down and settled here on the coast.

As they roll down, some have crashed into each other and broke open. You can see that they are hollow, like they are lava bubbles. They're cool! And littered all along the coast here. We stayed just around the small bay at that point in the first picture for the night before we drive down to Dunedin the next day.

Dunedin is an old city in which gold was found nearby, it was important for the economy of New Zealand in the 19th century. There is a beautiful train station that we are headed in, to board a train up to the canyon where the gold was found. It was very picturesque but the seats were so small, difficult for us chubby Americans to fit into.

At the top of the canyon we were aloud to disembark and stretch our legs before the return ride back to Dunedin. One nice thing, they provided champagne which you could buy, and we did together with a nice piece of chocolate cake.

The Kitchen, 3rd in the Series

2011-04-26T13:22:00.003-07:00

This picture is after I gutted the kitchen and am redoing it. This first picture is where the sink goes in the kitchen. The exterior walls are Adobe block so we attached furring to them so as to apply the dry wall to it. Only here did we install dry wall on the interior walls of the Adobe. We re-plumbed and upgraded the electrical for a modern kitchen.

I designed the lay out for the counters including an island after many tries at arranging. I really like the final lay out and decide to go ahead. The counters are in and this picture is shortly after the concrete counters tops are poured, I didn't pour them, I don't really like doing concrete myself. I leave it to the professionals. They're covered with paper for a couple of days to cure and the paper is the same color as the concrete, just a coincidence. That copper pipe next to the post on the left brings the gas and electricity to the island which houses the stove. One of my better ideas if I say so myself. I love copper!

These were two rooms (tiny kitchen and a small breakfast room) that I made into one bigger kitchen. Notice the dishwasher drawers in both pictures to get the perspective. The kitchen is done, I love it! The whole interior was gutted at one point or another. I took recent pictures and will post those as soon as I download them. The quality of these last two are bad, taken with my dinosaur camera phone.

The South Island NZ

2011-04-25T13:19:00.002-07:00

View from the Ferry ride. Queen Charlotte Sound. Coming into quaint little Picton.

We docked in Picton, a small village along the Sound on the north side of the South Island. It was very picturesque. The whole ferry ride was so beautiful! We didn't explore this place as we had a schedule to get on. We'd have more time here on return.

Our travels took us to Kaikoura along the west coast of the South Island where we spent the first night on the S Island. I have no pictures of Kaikoura. Not sure why?
We were in Christschurch just before the quake and took no pictures there either, I wish we had! Because it is now not the same after all the shaking, and we where right there where the worst of the damage happened. We went to a bear gathering downtown at a Brewery that night and met all these great guys, one of which had a B and B walking distance from the gathering, he offered us to spend the night at his place. It was very nice of him. We did and sat with his guests drinking wine til the wee hours. While we were there we had heard of the Quake that they had in September of 2010. We saw some damage from that quake around town and said that it would be fun if we had a small tremor while there because we are originally from San Francisco and had lot of experience with the Earth moving. I felt sorry for our words after hearing about the quake.

Just outside of Chch we drove to the Banks Peninsula which is a volcano crater. The lowest part of the crater is at sea level and that water comes in from the ocean. Click on the picture above to see it better.
These are some sheep that were right there where we sipped coffee over the crater. They could care less about our picture taking, they seemed to just enjoy the hillside and views, as were we.

Leaving Banks Peninsula, I saw this sign of a valley named after me, kidding. hehe We took this picture while driving on our way south to the Moeraki Boulders. Next NZ post.

More pictures from the desert, 2nd in the Series

2011-04-22T14:25:00.008-07:00

These first three pictures are what the place looked like the day we first saw it. The guy on the couch is my husband and the guy in the chair is our real estate agent. He so cute! Woof! He's gay and was a neighbor too, but has moved. His ranch was pretty close to ours, just a little walk through the desert.
All three pictures are part of the same room, I am just rotating right to take the shots.

This one is after we bought it. It's a cool fireplace, it separates the dining room from the living room. This was once the back of the house. Now it is the front, I built that room I showed you in the first pictures here, making it the front room or foyer. You can see part of the porch that I ripped off through the glass door. The kitchen half is to the right, I'll show you that area in the next house post.

Our house, 1st of the Series

2011-04-22T01:04:00.023-07:00

This is how our house first looked when we bought it in 2003 and before I totally changed it.

One night I sat down with a bottle of wine and came up with this design for the new room and garage. It's based on the Eichler design of the house, in which all the rooms have an angle in each room that shows this slight sloping in the ceiling line. I used this gradual angle in almost everything.
I ripped off this porch,
poured a foundation and built the new room seen below.

Before that room,
I built this garage, because our trucks were being invaded by pack rats in the carport. I had worked for a Landscape Architect doing all his construction jobs, but I had never built a building, until this garage. Then decided to bite off the room on the front. After all this was done, we walled it in. The only thing I didn't do on these projects, was build the fencing walls, to keep the snakes out. I hired a guy and his crew that did a great job! Before, it was all exposed, so snakes could come right up to the house. And they did!

Here is the view out front. I have so many more pictures of all the crap I've done since we moved here, if you want to see more, keep looking. More to come. It's pretty exciting how this old and dumpy ranch house became a really cool home!

Wellington

2011-04-19T16:05:00.008-07:00

This building is the nation's Capital Building. They have nicknamed it "The Beehive"
We're now in Wellington, the nation's capital, to catch a ferry headed for the South Island. We took two days to drive (on the left side of the road) down the North island so we can do the South Island first. Wellington is a beautiful city and it reminds us of our home city of San Francisco Ca. It is a coastal city on a bay with little houses climbing up the hilly slopes. Much like SF. We didn't have much time here but will explore it more on our return. From the ferry it looks so much like being on the bay in San Francisco. Talking to a waiter at a restaurant that we had breakfast at (the best breakfast ever!) He told us that Wellington is like Australia's Melbourne and that Auckland is like Australia's Sydney. Having never been to Australia we interpreted this to mean that Wellington is Like our San Francisco as Auckland is like our Los Angeles. So our conclusion was that Wellington has an aire of more sophistication and Auckland has more body conscious people and is bigger, which we did see.

On the ferry, first thing , we find a Red Wine for me and a glass of Champagne for my hubby. I'm on the right in the Tye Dye.

The ferry heads out to sea.

And you can see just how much it reminds us of San Francisco!

We're off to the South island! Here we go!

Big Gay Out

2011-04-09T12:44:00.007-07:00

Our last day in Auckland just happened to be their gay pride day. It was totally coincidental. We didn't know about it until we were there. They don't call it Gay Pride, they call it Big Gay Out. It is a celebration in Coyle Park on the water with beautiful views across to downtown. As tourists we didn't even need to find our way there. There was an arranged bus that went around to all the bars and picked people up and take them to Coyle Park and back.
I was impressed with this Drag Queen that performed, she actually performed using her own voice and did not lip sync like so many do. She was fabulous!
It was a fun day and lots of people there were shirtless and showing off their tattoos which were very popular. We also noticed what good shape everybody was in, there did not seem to be any over weight people in New Zealand. The Maori are naturally bigger but still in good shape. Later we found this to be an Auckland thing. The people in the city are just more body conscious. But overall not as fat as Americans.

The event was a success with candidates speaking, entertainment, beer, lots of food and a beautiful day. It was a good time and I'm so glad we got to experience it. Tomorrow we hit the road for our travels around both islands.

Auckland

2011-04-08T13:46:00.008-07:00

Steve, me and Brett the owner of the Eagle Bar on Karangahape Rd.
Auckland is a nice city located on an isthmus on the north island of New Zealand. It's the nations largest city and the one we flew in and out of. Our adventure started there for three days at a Bed and Breakfast in the Ponsonby neighborhood. We arrive before the room is ready so the woman that runs the place greets us with a hug, and asks us to come back in a bit. So off we go to explore the neighborhood and get a cup of coffee. The area is beautiful with lots of cool shops and we find the restaurant that Steve wants to eat dinner at. Also, we find the Gay Center on Karangahape Rd. (otherwise know as K Rd) and all the Bars and meet the owner of one that is so friendly he keeps buying us drinks. The weather is warm and humid, which we are not used to and we are sweating like crazy walking up and down the hills of Auckland.
These sculptures were in the park on Ponsonby Rd

The next day we head downtown to explore the waterfront. The tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere is The Sky Tower. A similar building to Seattle's Space Needle. Up we go to the observation deck at the top for a look around. Reading the little signs that point out the various surrounding stuff I glance up and see outside of the window a man dangling right in front of me. He hangs there for a second and then drops. Straight down but he is tethered by a steel cable. I was blown away! This is one of the thrills you can do on this tower, but we decide that it is just over the top for us.

And now another problem

2011-04-04T10:16:00.003-07:00

Just recently the girls have started laying soft shelled eggs. I found one the other day on the highest nesting box where they have never laid an egg before. Today I found two more in the same nesting box. They are more white and flexible then the other egg shells and very fragile. I cracked the first one open and inside it looked like an typical egg.
Not sure what is going on, I looked on line and found this is not uncommon. The remedy is to feed the girls calcium in the form of ground oyster shell or even ground up egg shells. There could be a problem feeding them egg shells in that they love egg shells naturally and may start eating their own eggs. Some recommend not starting them on this path. I'm not sure what I will do. I'm off to the feed store to ask them for advice.

Tiny Little Eggs

2011-04-01T13:50:00.003-07:00

For some reason we have a hen that is not keeping up with the others. I don't know which one it is and she doesn't do it all the time but about once a month she lays a tiny egg. This week she laid two in three days. They are cute and we really don't mind. I wonder if they hatched, would we get a tiny bird?
And even though it is April 1st, this is no April Fool's Joke!

New Zealand

2011-03-28T11:38:00.014-07:00

Downtown Auckland, from the waterfront with the historic Ferry Building in the center.

I am convince that New Zealand is one of my most favorite countries in the world. I grew up in Northern California and loved having experienced the nineteen sixties and seventies there. New Zealand looks very much like Northern Cal. in so many ways, but on steroids . I was taken back in time to my childhood. Even the music we heard over there was from that time period, I'm not kidding. Not at just one place or two, but everywhere we went we heard sixties and seventies music.

The next and most curious thing is that I got to see in New Zealand was my High School Girlfriend. OK, the reason we went to NZ was to see her. I had found out that she was living there when I was researching my thirtieth HS reunion. I found her name on the list of graduates and contacted her via email. She was unable to attend the reunion at the time so I decided that I would go and visit her. I have always wanted to go to NZ so it was a perfect excuse. The thirtieth HS reunion was in 2008 (I just gave you my age) and I planned to go to NZ in 2010 with another friend from HS, Pat, but he was not forthcoming about his expenses and kept stalling on giving the OK on his decision. I asked him one final time and he told me that he would rather go to Europe for his first travels out of the country. In other words, he doesn't have the money. So I convince my hubby to go with me and he starts the travel plans as he does so well. He suggests that we go in 2011 and we could go for a month, otherwise he could not get much time off. OK, I email my HS girlfriend Dori and tell her when we are now coming. She is disappointed that it will be another year but is still happy that I am coming at all. She tells me that the best time to come would be our winter months since it is their summer. I tell her that I would like to come for Cupcake Day, hers and mine. Cupcake day is your six month Birthday. So we would be coming in February since both our B'days are in August. She likes the idea and tells me also that she has not had many visitors from the states come to visit her besides her mother and sister. We both are thrilled about the reunion that we alone will celebrate.
Here we are in her home in Hastings New Zealand. I think, we both aged nicely! We look great!
I have so much more to say about NZ, there will be more to come.
The posts below are some of my art that I posted to my blog to show Dori while over there.

and more

2011-02-07T22:36:00.005-07:00

More my art, B&W

2011-02-07T22:29:00.004-07:00

My Art III, Men

2011-02-07T22:23:00.008-07:00

My Art II, colored people

2011-02-07T22:21:00.004-07:00

My Art

2011-02-07T22:16:00.003-07:00

Tis The Season

2010-12-23T12:05:00.006-07:00

Sally did it again, she found a needy family with two small boys to help make they're Holidays. We contacted the Grand Parents who told the boys to write to Santa a wish list and we went out and bought the presents, wrapped them and gave them to the Grand Parents to put under the tree on Christmas day. It is so much fun to make a little kids Christmas come true!
A Merry Christmas Indeed!

Here is Sally's Christmas tree
And here are the presents before we delivered them.

Bearly Getting Anything Done

2010-11-09T07:53:00.004-07:00

I've discovered this site on the Internet. It's called called Bear411, it is taking up a lot of my time. It's getting serious! I find that I am spending a vast amount of time on this computer, time that I never did before. Even more time then when I was writing my story and learning how to read again after my head injury in 2005. This site is for that burly man that is attracted to that other burly man. It's, I guess, one of the new social networks that have become so popular. Friends of mine have been after me to sit down at the computer and use Blogger and Facebook, which I have done a bit, but I find I am using Bear411 so much more. Men have a way of getting my attention it seems, because I have met the most sexiest of sexy men on this site! And horny men too. I sit down with the intention of just checking in with the site and find hours later, I've been here half of the day. Nothing is getting done! And I have so much to get done! I hope it is just a fad with me because, it is not like me to do this. That said, Lets go see who is on.

Improving our Language

2010-09-21T20:49:00.002-07:00

Reclaimed Space

2010-07-08T13:05:00.012-07:00

Our office is getting bigger, and, now the house has a butt hole. A couple of years ago I built a new garage behind and off to one side of our house. The closest, most efficient way out to the garage was to go through the guest room, through the sliding glass doors (which I put in), out into the back yard, pass the office to the old car port, then, there it is. We've done this for years, but no longer. On the back of our house is an old storage room, 10' x 5' feet with an exterior door only. No access from the inside. With the garage, there is no need for this room and haven't used it for years. It had shelves for storage that have been soaked with many spills over the forty years of who knows what chemicals the Anderson's has spilled over them. I cleared this room and aired it out for days. Took the old crappy door off and put in a new, energy saving glass door. Hanging doors is not one of my best talents but this one went well, as a matter of fact, it turns out to be the best door I have ever hung, and I have hung many (I have replaced every door in this house). Now I am knocking the wall down that separates this room from the office. It feels so much bigger. I will put in a coat closet and upgrade the electrical, but of course, slowly. To make sure I am doing the right things. Although I like the natural adobe block, this too is stained with years of goo, so I will be painting it to match the other painted adobe walls, or at least compliment them (I'm thinking a nice caramel color). Last night I got this idea that our house now has a butt hole/back door and is no longer hemorrhaging from the side. With the room I built on the front of the house the year after the garage went in and now the new back door, 5o sq. ft. added to our office, this place is turning out to be kinda nice.

Next project, to enclose the Arizona Room. It will be a much bigger project and more time consuming. Rusty can have this office and I will get my new art studio complete with running water.

WE'RE GONNA GO EGGS, five weeks later

2010-05-30T22:37:00.005-07:00

The girls are getting bigger. I love them in their dinosaur kinda way but they are not the Chicky chicks I like to call them. They are more like fraighdy cats. I try to comfort them when I come into their yard but they still cower in the corner when I enter. Here's a picture of them getting nervous as I get closer. I do hold them gently, and talk softly to them, but I guess it is being so different and so much bigger, they run from. I don't like having to use a net to catch them. You think it's the net? Maybe? It's the only way to get ahold of them. I've carefully handled them from day one, protected in the garage sink with the heat lamps to keep them warm, but I think they know that after eggs for breakfast, they're dinner.
-------------------------Day one------------------------

More Vacation, back in February

2010-05-15T21:45:00.001-07:00

It was Bear Rondevou that weekend but we almost didn't notice. We did nothing with the 'special weekend' except go to the Lone Star and not know anyone. I will say that the last time I was in San Francisco it looked like a young city, or it seemed that all the people I saw running around the Castro were so young. This weekend it seemed just the opposite, everybody looked my age. I'm sure this was because of the Bear invasion.

One thing that Steve and I got to do was visit with our former next door neighbors Judith and Herbert. It was wonderful to see them. We stopped by their home and they treated us to an elegant dinner in Glen Park. We also saw their Construction project that was completed since I was there last. It looked Great. A new garage with an apartment over it. They kindly made me an offer that I may take them up on. They said next time I am in the City, I may stay in their apt. I'd love that, and just may do it.

They had quite a time with this project. The woman that so out bid all the other buyers and paid us a fortune to purchase our former house/my home art project, turns out to be a Republican't, and a vile one at that. She thinks she now owns the whole block after what she paid. She has her gardeners "clean-up" yards that are not hers, meaning cut down things that she does not care for or trim them if they may someday block her view. She took out a very hard to get silver tree that neighbors paid me to put in their yard. Next she put up a stink when Judith and Herbert started their construction. She tried to block them, saying it would encroach on her and it looked bad for them at one point but it served her good when Judith and Herbert changed their plans to accommodate her and ended up with a much better structure that is actually taller then the first plans and actually do encroach on her but 'are to code' and approved, so fuck off. She brought this on..... I do have to apologise to them for giving them a monster to live next to. I got to profit from my first house at the peak of the market and I feel she may never sell it for what she paid me, but at what price is the question? To let loose this 'evil' in our quite, liberal, little, San Francisco enclave.

WOW IS ME!

Here is my little gold mine BEFORE THE MAKE OVER. That's my jeep too. Judith's house is to the right. I can't believe this little house did me so well. The blue grey house on the left is world beat musician Danny Haines, before said 'Silver tree', now gone.

Now You're Mad?

2010-04-27T11:25:00.003-07:00

I read this on Facebook today and wanted to put it here.

YOU WANT TO GET MAD? We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, but now you get mad! You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President. You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy. You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got ousted. You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.. You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us. You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war. You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq. You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people. You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans. You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden. You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed. You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown. You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich. You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides. You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark. You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans… oh hell no. AND NOW YOU’RE MAD !
By: Christian Struzan

The Jumper

2010-03-25T13:23:00.009-07:00

While I was in San Francisco I had a weird experience. I was coming up from the Metro, (Powell St. Station), on the escalator and saw a funny thing, and a scary one too. There was a woman standing there at the base of the second set of escalators and starring out with a funny look on her face. She got a cue from someone and started walking towards me, past me in the opposite direction. I look back and there is a man doing the same thing but following me. At the top of the escalator I look around and there are cameras and people with mics, booms, and such, they are filming something. So I step aside and watch. I see the woman get back into position, the man take his position and then do another take. This time I decide to go back down and come up again just to get into another take, because I think that I was in one the first time I came through and saw them. I take my position and wait. There is a delay, so I go over to the man (he does not look famous) and ask him what they are filming? He says a commercial for a phone co. Now he gets his cue and off I go, right behind him. We pass the woman and up the escalator we go. I try to look nonchalant and casual hoping to get in a final take, since they are doing so many. I figure, at this point, that I am in two takes so will now go about my thing, watching as I leave I notice that they have all stopped and are all looking up in the same direction. So I look up too and there is a building there with a man on the ledge. WOOOH! A jumper. Really? Is that what he is doing? He's in a pair of blue underwear and nothing else. YIKES! Really? To go to where I am headed I need to jump on a bus and right now the bus I need is pulling up. I get on and tell the driver that there is a jumper, she says that she needs to call it in. Everybody on the bus looks and announce that the cops are all over the place. So we head off, comments of all kinds are being made. It is the first time I had ever seen this kind of thing and am so glad not to see if the guy jumps. I know I could not bear to witness his death. (in this picture you can barely make him out, I took this with my little cell phone camera while on the bus, second window from the top right. Directly above the location the filmcrew was using)
On my way back to our hotel and to meet Steve and his co-workers for after work drinks, I mention to the guy next to me on the returning bus that earlier there was a jumper on that building I am pointing out. He tells me that he saw it on the news. The guy jumped.........
Wow!!! I am so glad I got out of there and didn't see it. It would have been awful. Poor guy, who knows what would make someone do this, but to jump off a building in such a public place, that is just too much and puts others in the way. I don't mean that he'll land on someone, but that he is involving all others, being there or not, like it or not. I believe, a person may make ones own decisions, but if you choose suicide, do it in private. Do not force this on any other. It is ones own private act, not mine. I don't mean to be cold, but what was he doing? Trying to dye in a TV commercial just as I was trying to 'jump' into one? I have no information about all this because, truly, I was just passing through.
I do hope I made it into a TV commercial, that would be fun. Not into this TV drama, that would be not.

we're gonna do eggs

2010-03-24T22:38:00.003-07:00

We got little Rhode Island Red chicks, six of them, so now we are truly using this land for something. Next year we're talking about raising pigs like our neighbors do. And soon the garden will go in.

2010-03-17T09:21:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to include these two pictures. This one is from the lobby floor below our room looking up and back towards the front of the hotel.
And this one is on our floor looking back towards the front but from the eighth floor. It was so beautiful.

The Vacation

2010-03-08T11:23:00.005-07:00

The City was beautiful. We had a good time. This was the view from our room. The ferry Building. Usually we are on the other side of the hotel so we see other views and have a bigger room, but this time our room was still good and we looked out to the Market St. side. Here is a picture of the lobby. Pretty. While Steve walks across the Street for his work meetings I got to visit my ill friend when he had enough energy for visitors, then the rest of the time I got to be on Vacation in my home city. I know it was rough and I felt very guilty having fun (NOT).
While running around "on vacation" I stopped by the "Painted Ladies'

Still more to come.........

Vacation

2010-02-28T14:59:00.005-07:00

We just got back from a trip to San Francisco. For me it was a vacation (sort of ), but for Steve it was work. His work wanted him to attend a meeting there and I went along for a visit to see my friend that has been through a great ordeal lately. Since Steve's work would pay to either fly or drive him there we choose to drive because they would not pay for my air fair. We drove to Palm Springs to spend our first night with our friend and Steve's co worker Kevin, who would also be going to SF for this same meeting.
=========This is Kevin's cool Palm Springs Pad.=========

For our second and third nights we were in the Debuose Triangle staying at a bed and breakfast for the weekend (which so happens to be Bear Rondevou). I called my friend and arranged a time to get together to talk about his ordeal, but the rest of the time we partied.

Enough for now,,,,,,, more to come

What A Girl!

2010-02-10T23:46:00.008-07:00

It has been one year since we lost our beloved kids, Rocko The Wonder Dog and Queen Sophia; this year has been eased by the magic of a surprising little girl named; Aleah the Cartoon Character.

One year ago today she blessed us by moving into our home and ease the heartbreak of our loss. Although at first it was tough with our grief, she has filtered into our hearts, filling the ache of the most dreadful pain with the love of a sweet and charming, funny girl.

Her need was great too, pulling herself out of squaller, but she never considered her needs over the obvious heartbreak of the three of us. Her open heart and understanding when we were feeling sad made it possible to ease us and allow her to find a way into our healing. She is magic, she uses humor to love and humor to help, humor to smile and humor to lift all to a better life, taking with her the three of us that had known, loved and lost.

She is my little girl, right along side her Her Royal Highness, Queen Sophia and Sophia's noble, wise and brave brother Rocko.

Kody, Steve and I will always miss the love of our two lost friends, but with the one called Freckled Faced Little Redheaded Girl, we will be fine, and will return to her with pleasure, her magic, as she had shown us,,,,,, It is possible.

I Love You Girl! Thank you for sharing your days with us! We make a great family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~Sing it Girl~~~~~~~With all Your Heart~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas

2009-12-20T22:15:00.015-07:00

Tis the season.

Our friend and neighbor Sally has made our Christmas. She tries each and every year, but this year she has made a huge wish come true. She went all out to surprise us.......... and someone she doesn't even know. This year Sally wanted to give. Every year she wants to give to us, and we do enjoy her generous gift, but this year she surprised us, really surprised us!

Sally has a nurse come in every couple of days to check in on her, as Sally is eighty one. This year, this nurse, Angel, provided the cause to drive Sal to give to someone that truly needs help, in doing so her desires were fulfilled. Sally got the idea to ask Angel if Angel knew of a family that was not doing so well. A family with kids. Angel did. Another family that Angel visits, another elderly woman, with a daughter who has three children and are very poor. Angel thinks well of them and sees their dismal condition. So Sally volunteers to help with their Christmas. Sally asks Angel to go to the young mother and tell her of her desire. The mother responds graciously and provides a letter explaining that she did not think that her kids would have a very good Christmas this year. Included in the letter is a list of things that her kids would like to receive this Christmas Season, she did this at Sally's request, as Sally would not know what kids would like these days. The list was pretty simple and it gave her a mission to set out to achieve and she did so with gusto! Since Sally no longer drives her car, that task was asked of us. Sally made calls to find the things on the list, made arrangements to buy these things and off we went (mainly Steve since I have been so busy finishing school lately ). Toys, a donated kids bike, a garage sale fishing pole, all the stuff on the list. And Sally's big idea of a gift card from a shoe store, (Steve went in on half of that one and bought some of the toys too). Today we had a gift wrapping party with Sal's nurse, her partner Laura, me and Steve. It was a blast! We all had the time of our lives, picking what we thought each kid would like most and what was appropriate for whom. Steve and the girls did the wrapping, I did the bowing and labeling while Sally watched, glowing so happily.

I don't think I had a better Christmas since I was that young. Fulfilling the dreams of children..... I remember the total excitement I got just before Christmas. I babbled about all the toys I just had to have....my brother and friends spent all of our time on what would be the best that year. The excitement was overwhelming. The tree, the lights, the songs, family and the idea that Santa Claus was coming down our chimney to answer all my dreams. I made sure we had the right homemade chocolate chip cookies laid out for his arrival, two for him and one for all the reindeer, including Rudolph. For this was an ordeal I had learned from my mother. I think it was really important for her to give her kids an American Christmas that she, I'm sure, only dreamed of when she was a little girl of ten kids. My mother was able to make dreams come true for me as a boy.

Now, Thanks to Sally, I somehow feel I contributed to this Holiday too. It's times and deeds like this that make the heart feel so warm and loved. It carries on, lives, is forever remembered, as I see and I know, it will get passed down the line.

Sally gave me the most wonderful gift this year with her heart.
I must not forget, there was an Angel that helped too.

Merry Christmas!

I AM

2009-11-27T22:18:00.002-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, I believe and will state that we are not humans on a spiritual journey.......Just the opposite. We are spirit on a human journey. Man made god in his own image. In reality, you must get out of this conceited concept of God's children. See spirit/creation as the 'AM'. Physical existence is the ???????????????????????
D

Frusration

2009-09-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Why won't this damn thing remember me when signing in?

New post

2009-08-18T00:37:00.001-07:00

I should write something. Ok then, something. With that over with I feel better.

I haven't changed

2009-07-06T14:05:00.002-07:00

I took this test years ago and it came out the same.
Your results:
You are Iron Man

Iron Man		90%
Spider-Man		75%
Supergirl		70%
Hulk		70%
Green Lantern		70%
The Flash		65%
Wonder Woman		60%
Superman		55%
Batman		50%
Robin		45%
Catwoman		45%

Inventor. Businessman. Genius.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Rock Lobster

2009-06-25T00:03:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to see the B-52s. And boy was it something! It was the first of the UA Presents 2009-2010 season here in Tucson. We subscribe each season, so when Rusty called to order tickets and we needed to requests our seats the woman on the phone mentions that the front row center is available. Excitedly he jumps on it and there we are........in the front row! Rusty tells me that he had seen them five or so times, but I only saw the once before, with him, together with the Pretenders in Concord at the Pavilion. Tonight we danced, hopped and swung our arms all over the place, the whole audience was up on their feet and loving it! They played some of there new stuff and they still have what it takes to get people to buy their recordings and tickets, but when they played Rome, My Own Private Idaho and some of there older classics the crowd took off. Here they go! People went nuts! It is funny to watch as our generation gets up-there and grayer, us old farts rock out! After playing for awhile and everyone is getting tired, they introduce themselves and the other band members, take a long bow and leave the stage, but before they do, Fred Schneider, the remaining male member gives the woman just a few people down from me his drumstick that he uses to beat on a cow bell, she goes wild! The crowd stays standing and screaming for an encore and they do. Back on stage comes Planet Claire and everyone is rocking out, doing the swim and other wild gyrations. Then comes the one we have all been waiting for! ROCK LOBSTER!!! MAN THIS WAS SO COOL! Front row center in this small theater. They were so close to us I could feel their breath, well not really but it was close! After going crazy on Rock Lobster, Fred takes his replacement drumstick and walks over right in front of me, bends down and hands this one to me! The other guitar player comes over and throws out a hand full of his guitar picks and one falls right into my hand. A drumstick, a B-52 guitar pick and a blast! It was an exceptional evening!

Gay and Proud in Bisbee

2009-06-22T14:48:00.006-07:00

We just returned from Bisbee. It was the annual Gay Pride Weekend and it was fun, but much smaller this year. Again we stayed at the Sleepy Dog Guesthouse way up on the hill, I think it is third highest house in town. Kody went for his second year and this was Aleah's first, our forth year. They walked with us down the hill into town to see all the people and shop. We bought a very cool colored glass thingy to hang in the window from one of the vendors. Friday night we walked into town ( without the kids ) and got so drunk, we were a mess. So Saturday we were much more low keyed. Bisbee is such a cool little town full of artists, cowboys and cowgirls and just funky people. I love it! I believe it was once the third biggest city west of the Mississippi behind San Francisco and Virginia City. San Francisco was the Gold City, Virginia City was the Silver City and Bisbee was the Copper City with a huge open copper pit right next to town.

It has a old western fill full of tiny little houses clinging to the hillsides with steep narrow roads. People decorate in quite creative ways using any thing they could get their hands on, and it works if you like funky!
Each day we were greeted at this gate by a barking wiener dog. You can almost see him behind the gate in the dark shadows. He was real cute and Aleah barked back. Kody ignored him in his excitement to get to town and be admired by everyone.
There is a copper toilet float embedded in this wall among the colored bottles, broken pottery and mismatched tiles etc. It's pretty fun!

I'll never do that again!

2009-06-04T12:06:00.003-07:00

Well he made it. Kody's home. It turns out many months ago he was chomping on one of his tennis balls (as he does so often ), and managed to tear this one to pieces. Turns out that he swallowed a large piece. It must have been in his belly for months. Because I remember when he did that and took the pieces away so he wouldn't swallow any but he did anyways without me seeing. It was OK in his belly but once it lodged in the small intestine, is when the trouble started. Our Vet needed to remove it surgically and now he has staples in his abdomen for ten days. Which means no swimming until they are removed, and he's not happy about that! But thankfully he's back to his usual active self. Eating, drinking and picking on Aleah, but she sure missed him when he was gone. We all did!

Poor Little Kody

2009-05-27T13:48:00.003-07:00

My boy Kody is at the Vet's office today. Seams he swallowed something that has him clogged-up. It started last Thursday when he started throwing-up bile and refused to eat. He was drinking though and I called the vets office. Our vet was out of town and her assistant told us to limit his water and give him some cooked chicken with rice. Thinking he had a upset stomach. We did and he threw that up too. Later we decided to give him water because he hadn't drank, so we used a syringe and forced it down his throat. We then needed to give him baby food too because he wouldn't eat and the baby food would stay down and digest faster. Although his spirit remained high he still would not eat or drink. When Ann returned from her holiday we took him in to get examined and an exray. That revealled something stuck in his belly. So that is where we are now. He is at Anns office and they are going to try to remove it. They're going to try without surgery first but if they can't then they will need to open him up, he won't be happy with, he is such a worrier. My Poor boy!!!!!!! I love him so!!!!!

Some History of our New Little Girl

2009-05-17T10:05:00.007-07:00

The day that we adopted our new dog Aleah, they at the shelter, told us that they had no information about her only that she was confiscated. They told us that her name was Aleah and that she was a Dalmatian mix about two years old. Well we discovered that she is a German Short Hair Pointer, and that she is more like four or five years old. Our vet called the shelter, at our request, for any information they might give her to help in treating her if ever needed. Someone at the shelter said that she would copy the information that they had on her and send it to her office. When it arrived our vet's office send us a copy.

It told a story that is so sad and makes me feel so grateful for having the opportunity to adopted her.

She had been living on this piece of property out of town in the desert as a yard dog. The family that owned her had moved out and left her behind. A neighbor had noticed that the people living there were moving out and a few days later also noticed their dog (Aleah) was still there just laying on the porch, apparently waiting patiently for her owners to come home. But they wouldn't come home. She had been abandoned. How anyone could do that to their dog, I just don't know.

This neighbor felt sorry for her and took over some food and water, which she readily eat and drank up, but she would not let him catch her. She would not come to him for some reason.
He then called the shelter in town and they came out. They filed this report and they were able to catch her and brought her to their facility. Examined her to discover that she had been spade and had a micro chip. They called the number and the woman claimed that she did not know where the owners were.

After a few days they put her up for adoption. I had been in looking at the dogs, just looking, and noticed a young couple looking at her. I thought that they would adopt her so I went on looking at other dogs. I didn't pay much attention to her or them. When I was ready to adopt, I returned to the shelter and there she was. She was still there looking so cute.The fact that she was still there made me feel sorry for her. I asked the attendant if I could have a closer look at her in a more private setting then the main kennel. I did spend a few minutes with her and decided to get her. I paid the fee and asked if they could tell me anything they knew of her and that is when they said they had nothing on her.
Had they told the previous people her story and they decided not to get her? Why? I don't know, but now that I do know it makes me love her even more. She was a yard dog now she is a house dog with all the privileges of the best of all dogs. When we are outside and coming back into the house she stops at the door and looks up at me. I tell her to 'come on in' and her tail starts wagging so fast she is so happy. "I now live in the house! WHOOPIE! And I sleep on the bed! WHOOPPIE!" "I play bite face with Kody, the other dog, but I am not so sure of that swimming pool that they keep trying to get me in. Maybe some day."

LOST DOG

2009-04-01T12:36:00.006-07:00

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was funny if not disgusting.
-----------------Happy April Fools Day-----------------
He sent me this too, I love it 04:05:06 o7/08/09 Watch for this five minutes and six seconds after four am and four pm on the eighth day of July this year. Cool huh?

What's New You Ask....

2009-03-05T17:27:00.006-07:00

Last year we built this new front room, so now it is official. What was once the back of the house is now the front. We have a new formal entry, and a new garage, both of which I designed. The slanted upper lines are a theme that I picked up from the interior ceiling lines of the original Eichler style of the house. This slant is then used all over and I think works well. The garage was built two years ago and is the first building we have ever built. The front room is our second building and was much more difficult because of attaching to the existing house. The garage is a detached three car, 25' x 45' with lots of work and storage spaces. You can see on the right side of the first picture, flagstone that is to be used as the front walk-up and for a new patio off the living room.

Governor Idiot of Louisiana

2009-02-24T23:54:00.005-07:00

-------------------This is saying allot--------------

Aleah Coburn/McQueen

2009-02-22T10:01:00.003-07:00

________OUR NEWEST GIRL_______________
This beautiful woman is Aleah Coburn/McQueen. She is a German Short Hair Pointer we think. She is two years old they tell us, but I believe that she is older. Her spots are reddish/brown and are all over her body and face, but her ears have this solid color. I call her; the little freckled face red head girl with pig tails. We adopted her at the shelter here in Tucson. She is almost the same size as Kody but a little heavier. The two are getting along fine but the first day they had a fight to get to know each other. Last night they slept close by each other, with Aleah touching Kody. So she is trying. I think Kody would like to be a single dog but that is not going to happen. I love having two dogs and he is just going to have to get used to it.
________OUR NEWEST GIRL_______________

It is a few days later and everybody is getting along great. Aleah is quite a little cuddler and she loves to give kisses, but she is learning not on the lips.

In Loving Memory, Honor and Respect

2009-02-09T11:51:00.001-07:00

March 18, 1996 - February 9, 2009
Our two and dearest kids are now at rest. On this day my namesake Rocko the Wonder Dog and his sister Queen Sophia have been relieved of life's heavy constraints that develop in old age. For they were three weeks away from their thirteenth birthday. That equals ninety one in human years. They always give so much of themselves though out there lives. Love, Loyalty, and of course their friendship. They are the very best. I love them so much. I would always tell people that they were Rotten/Labs, pun intended, part Rottweiler part Labrador and part Upright Piano.
Rocko was the most intelligent dog that I'd ever known. In our puppy training classes (mainly designed to train me in the disciplines of dog ownership), we took together when he turned four months old, the instructor would always use Rocko to show the other puppies and their owners how to do the exercise because he would just seem to know how and what to do. He picked up every command so easily. He so wanted to please! Exercises that people would say dogs can not do. He'd prove them wrong. He could smile on command and he could even say his own name. Anyone could ask him, What's your name? and he'd respond Rarao. People would be amazed, laugh and keep asking him, what's your name and he'd do it again and again knowing that he was making them happy. He has a huge heart. Even how large he grew in size he remained a very sensitive and caring friend. For after my many surgeries he seem to have the knowledge that I'd been through a trauma, he'd carefully approach, smell the wound site, then would offer gentle licks of the stitches and lay his massive head on me in comfort. He knew nothing but compassion.
Sophia
Even though my two dogs were brother and sister from the same litter, identical in appearance but still quite different. Queen Sophia is equally intelligent, but carried herself in a different and regal way. She held her head so high and proud that she could bring energy and joy to everyone that she met. She had class and the ability to lead her world as she wanted it in a civil, but competitive way. For she knew the fair and sensible way to achieve the desires she cared for. Sophia was quite the athlete also. She shared a love for the swimming pool and Frisbees. During the heat of our Tucson summers she would bring me a Frisbee and encourage me to throw it into the pool where she would dive right in after it and come up with it in her mouth. She could do this for an hour, rest a bit and go again. She loved this and even after her stroke when her balance was so effected she'd spend all day swimming after that Frisbee for the pool gave her the freedom of movement that her legs, on land, had been troubling her.
They came into this world on the same day, and parted on the same day, but they didn't come into my world on the same day. We got Rocko when he was two months old. Sophia's first owner one day told me that he had to move and that he couldn't keep her. I asked him what he was going to do with her and he said that he was hoping that I'd take her. So at two years old Queen Sophia came to be with us and we all became one happy family!
Rocko and Sophia, you both have given to me and my Partner a lifetime of love, joy, and friendship. I hope that we have done the same for you. For you have been my life!
Farewell my friends, enjoy your journey, and THANK YOU for sharing your lives with us.

Kody Has A New Trick

2009-02-03T06:18:00.001-07:00

Kody Coburn/McQueen

2009-01-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

We have a newer family member that I have not talked about too much here. His name is Kody. We call him Kodako. He's a three year old Boxer / Greyhound mix. That is a funny mix because you can see both breeds in him. He has the head of a boxer and the body of a greyhound. He chomps his ball obsessively and when I can get it from him and through it for him to retrieve he runs like lightning. He is fast! Right after I first brought him home I was not so sure that I did the right thing. He was so nervous and timid. He was scared of almost everything, and gave you a look that he was waiting for something or someone to hit him. He'd run from me if I picked up a wooden spoon or my back scratcher. He would not come when called and showed signs of abuse. He even had what I now think are battle scares. Here is a picture that I took right after we he came to live with us. Notice the not so sure look on his face. I had to hold him to take this.
Happily now he has gotten over this fear but it took lots of work and reassuring. He is now a happy loved family member. Compared to our other dogs he's a little dog in a big dog house.

It started when I was at our vets office and saw this poster of this cute dog looking for a new home and Ann, our vet tells me that that dog is here in her office today. I take one look at him and he is so cute. She tells me that his previous owner had tried to commit suicide and that this man's brother and his wife take Kody away. They try to bring him into their home but that their dog won't accept him and a big fight breaks out with their dogs attacking little Kody. They tell this story to their vet, which is also my vet and ask her if she can help them find Kody a home. that's where I come in. He has turned out to be a wonderful new friend and we love him so much. Sophia thinks that he is a pesk and he , I think, wants her place in the pecking order. To be forth instead of fifth out of five.

New Years Eve

2009-01-10T00:35:00.001-07:00

Sally's birthday at Westward Look. Sally's birthday is New Years Eve and she says that everybody celebrates her birthday. So we try to make her feel special on her birthday. She got all dolled up, as she puts it, and out for a real nice dinner we went. She likes it when we wear western gear. So we dressed like cowboys. Bo lo ties, boots and cowboy hats, she wore her turquoise. We all looked great! Sally and Rusty

Me

I Need To Vent

2008-12-29T00:05:00.008-07:00

I wrote this in October 2006 and somehow, never published it. I guess I was still angry.

So how I am publishing it, Not so angry now.

I really pushed my shoulder in therapy and at home, and still do. When I talk to people that also have shoulder replacements, they don't seem to have as much range of motion as I do, and they have more pain. These surgeons don't do shoulder replacements like they do hips and knees (especially at my age, mid forties, I find they do them at much older ages), so they are not as good at it as they are with hips and knees. When I saw the x-rays of my new metal shoulder, I had to ask them, "you guys didn't have a shoulder laying around? so you put in a hip?" It is 'I think' too big, people say that it looks like I work out on my left side, and it IS NOT swollen any longer. Everyone said "don't be crazy", and to "trust the doctors", they know what they are doing. Recently, I am now seeing a really good shoulder specialist, and he says that I may need to have this big joint replaced if it doesn't work right. I also, had told my first doctors that something was going on in my shoulder, and they're responce was "just be happy you've survived the collition" and "move along." With the help of Rusty I did some research and discovered Heterotopic Occification. Which I have developed in this joint, it turns out this is very rare, it takes a head injury and a bone fracture conbined to develope. Pay attention to your own body and carefully push yourself physically and mentally, doctors and physical therapists must protect themselves legally, playing it safe. Only you, yourself will know how you feel. Trust your body. I have learned this with this ordeal.

I think I was about 20 when this picture was taken of my Aura. I don't know why I put it here. I still have many questions. What all was going through my mind in 2006 and will I ask the same question 2 years from now about now? The mind is a terrible thing to question ; - ).

"PRE-BEAR"

2008-12-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

San Francisco is the perfect city for young Gay Men. The atmosphere is calling for horny young men to relocate there, find themselves, have lots and lots of fun..........(sex), safely with other guys, then after two, three decades or so, flee the men frenzy; to begin life as say, not a boy, but a man/bear. These pictures are of me when I was a boy in San Francisco.

I had a great time and found the love of my life there.

How we live in the desert and somehow turned into bears.

Those San Francisco days are behind us now.

I wouldn't change a thing!

MILK

2008-12-18T12:58:00.004-07:00

A friend of ours took this picture and sent it to us. Makes me miss the Castro. Rusty and I are going to see the movie today at 3:50. Our friend said it is very well made. Here is what he wrote.

"The sun was shining yesterday, so I decided to take a picture of the good ol' Castro Theatre, just three blocks from my home. It's been really exciting having MILK playing there, right in the neighborhood where it all happened and where it was shot earlier this year. As I've told numerous people, I think it's just about as perfect a film as could have been made dealing with that subject matter."

BUMPER STICKERS

2008-11-06T11:13:00.008-07:00

MY HUSBAND IS ON HIS WAY HOME

2008-10-28T21:51:00.005-07:00

Rusty is flying home to Tucson tonight. He has been in, where else, Europe. Every year he and his friend Mark go to their favorite place, (coffee shop Nameless ) Amsterdam The Netherlands. It is a really great city and I enjoy it too, but this year our kids are just too frail to leave them in the care of our dog sitter George. Rocko and his sister Sophia are 12 1/2 years old and showing their age. When they came to live with us we were told that dogs this size would grow to be 8 to 10 years old. So Rusty and I are fortunate to have shared their lives with them to this age. They're not suffering but they are slowing down and they have been our bestest friends that I could not separate myself when I may not have much time left to be with them. To leave them right now would be too stressful on both them and me. Unlike me, Rusty loves to travel very much, so I told him to go along and have fun. Our friend Mark and him love Amsterdam, and they both talk about it all year, so Mark's husband Stan and I just step aside and they're off. I do wonder what silly gift I will get this time. Last year I got fuzzy slippers in the shape of wooden shoes, bright yellow no less!

ALTHOUGH I AM AN AMERICAN

2008-10-07T20:18:00.010-07:00

Although I am a huge American asshole, I'm still having struggle voting for that maverick John McPain. I watched the debate and saw the exchange between John and that one Barak. I am flat out not sure what to think, I need more TV commercial watchen. Possibly more Sarah Chihuahua nibblen on my ankles t'get it right. That usually does it for us white guys dat grown up wid no books, no adult parents n no cement ponds.

BRAD THE TRUCK

2008-10-06T22:18:00.008-07:00

My little truck suffered a fatal blow on January 9th 2005 at the hands of a drunk driver. I barely survived myself. I miss him. He was a good truck.
The guy almost missed me. If I had been a little further into the intersection and he had hit Brad's driver side door I would not have survived the 50mph impact.

It has taken me awhile to post these pictures. I had some trouble looking at them.
Rusty took these shots while I was in a comma.

I LOVE MY MAN!

2008-10-05T20:19:00.003-07:00

My husband and me in Amsterdam. We stayed in this houseboat on a canal along the Binnenkant near Nieuwmarkt in 2006, one year and two months after my accident. Look at the little arches behind us, low but long canal boats go through these.

We rented bikes and rode all around the city just as Amsterdamers do. Rusty was worried about me crashing on my bike (having one brand new, but artificial shoulder and all), but I loved the freedom, the movement and getting out, it was wonderful. I had no problem on the bike and I just loved following Rusty and our friend Mark all over the place. These two guys know very well their way around this old and marvelous city with all it's canals and alleys. Mark was staying not far from us at the Black Tulip (Gay Hotel) on the KrommeWaal. It's pretty cool with slings and porno all over the place. If I was the jealous type I'd be worried because Rusty is going to Amsterdam next week for two weeks and he is staying at the same hotel. The location is fantastic. I trust him and I really want him to have fun! He has shown me the world with it's beautiful places and people. He's a great guy, grown up, level headed and deserves to to do as he likes. We are very lucky. I will show more pictures of our travels in my posts. I know I have layed off for some time and want to get back to it.

My man on his bike. Mark took this shot.

I took this one in VondelPark, notice Rusty's Peace Sign! That is so him !

Me in the park (always a kid), although I was afraid to sit on this kiddy ride, for I'd surly break it ~:-O

SEE WHY THEY CALL US THE BURLYBOYS

A COUNTRY GONE MAD

2008-10-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

Well I am bored and frightened these days. The up coming elections are scarring me. I don't believe that the Republicans will give up without pulling their dirty tricks. I don't believe we will ever see another fair election. As I understand it the 2000 and the 2004 elections were rigged to make Bush president ( we all remember what happened in Florida,2000 and in Ohio,2004 Bush got more votes then they had voters in some counties, not to mention the minority vote challenging scheme),and there for Chaney running things, because Bush is too stupid to know what to do. I am sure Bush has no idea what Chaney is up to any given day, I wonder why Bush is letting Chaney destroy his legacy? For he must know that he is being written as the worst president ever while he is just following orders given to him by his handlers.
This case scenario is scary enough, but imagine if in fact Bush is running the show. Which just can't be, because we'd all be dead by now. Could anyone picture Bush sitting down and trying to look at the big picture? "What is the best course of action for the good of the people?" I know don't laugh. The scope is too great and he has not the capacity to understand complicated issues. I picture it more like this; "If we do this we make money for these people and they like me". "If we piss off these people they will hate and attack us and we can be making more money for war and huge profits". This is how the Bush Crime Family has been operating for generations, so what is to stop them ? It is in their blood.
.........................See my dilemma.

I THINK I LUST FOR THIS MAN

2008-09-27T12:02:00.008-07:00

NO MCCAIN NO L PAIN

2008-09-17T10:40:00.002-07:00

Peace Not Pieces

2008-09-11T16:09:00.004-07:00

I, in no way, am calling Sarah Palin, lipstick, referring to her being a woman. I, in no way, am calling John WcSame a pig, referring him to being a man. I am calling them both the latest speaking do-do of the very nasty real pigs, the Republican Party. 'Billionaires for the dumbification of the American masses'. i.e. no money for education and Christians Fundamentalists that need a father figure to say, "don't think, just have faith". With that, I am saying that they do smell, and smell bad!
Lets scoop em up, toss them in the toilet, and flush.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG

2008-09-10T22:37:00.019-07:00

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still JOHN WcCAIN we get, in his last desperate attempt to be president, we'll get; his bosses carl rove, george h.w. bush, darth chaney, pat robertson, oral roberts, and all the other hate driven white guys that sell their souls for profit, currenly hiding behind Sarah L'Pain.
for example

Don't be a

PICTURES

2008-09-09T15:39:00.011-07:00

I'd like to so off these pictures of my family

Me and the Boy in the pool

Our family when there were only three of us. Sorry we are all naked

Rocko, the big brother and Sophia the Queen, over his shoulder

Kody the new boy. He is so wonderful. Boxer/Greyhound Mix

Politics

2008-08-28T21:37:00.016-07:00

I just watched the acceptance speech of Barack Obama and it was fantastic. He more then answered all the questions about his plan and his approach for leadership. How anyone can say that they will vote for McCain over Obama is beyond me. But then I live in the United States of America, were the winner of the 2000 election was not named the President, and the winner of the 2004 election also was forced to stepped aside do to republican vote tampering. An Idiot was named President because his corrupt and evil father bought him the job for corporate and family profit. He has proven to be such a moron that he is letting his criminally corrupt Vice President run things and slaughter his name in the process. They will both go down as the worst thing that has ever happened to America and her citizens ever! Meanwhile these two and the corporate giants that they work for are raping this once great country for all it's worth.
When privately owned government is the rule, this is, by definition fascism.
Fascism will not leave power easily, it will fight to the end to retain power, as it fought bitterly over many years to come to power. This is the motivating ideas behind it. Greed, power and death. We are there! Hitler would be proud, for it looks like, in the end, that he won his struggle over the democratic way. Satan and his dopes, the Christians must be proud also because they certainly helped.
McCain has shown that he will do and say anything to attain his personal goal of becoming the President of the United States of America, even if it means going against his own political history as a so-called Maverick. For he to has fallen into the pocket of the Fascist corporate greed. To win he has no choice. When we were a Capitalistic country we were on the verge of Fascism. Capitalism is Fascism lite as Socialism is Communism lite. We need to find the middle of both of these two lighter plans, combining the best parts of both and steering clear of the negative aspects of the two. Balance between the two is the key and must not tilt too far one way or the other, or we will find ourselves here once again.
As of 2000, I have greatly felt the need to get out of this country, probably just as Jews did in the 1930's Nazi Germany. With last night's marvelous speech I do have a renewed sense that there may be hope for our government and the people that make it the greatest country. We can bring it back.

NEW ZEALAND

2008-08-28T12:40:00.003-07:00

I have always wanted to go to New Zealand and now it looks like I am going.
Recently I went to my thirty year high school reunion in Reno Nv. In looking into this reunion I found old friends that I have not seen in many years. Last spring I was visiting my mom in Reno and knowing it had been thirty years since I graduated I went to my old high school to see if there was any information about a reunion. The woman at the desk told me about classmates.com and said to look there. In doing so, my best friend from school Pat found me and we reconnected. I found that there was going to be a reunion and I signed up for it. The details were e-mailed to me and some others and in those e-mails I found the e-mail address for my high school girlfriend. Turns out that she lives in, guess where, New Zealand. So I have found her, Dori. Turns out that she had married a New Zealander some 15 years or so ago. She has two boys and is doing well. We have been in contact by e-mail and on the telephone and she has extended an invitation to me and Rusty. Since Rusty is going to Europe this October, I am going to go to New Zealand by my self. I think I'll go for about one month and rent a car, even though they drive on the other side of the road then we do. Last year in London I kept forgetting to look the other way when crossing the street. I had close calls a couple of times, so it will be a challenge. I want to check out the whole country and I don't want to be a burden to Dori so I will probably go it alone. Which I do enjoy.

Brugge, or Blankenberge?

2008-05-09T11:26:00.003-07:00

This is our waiter, I forgot his name though. He was from Eastern Europe and was so cute and friendly. I do remember our housekeeper, Her name was Heidi.

Blankenberge we decide. Brugge was once a world-class city that rivalled
Amsterdam and Antwerp but their access to the sea silted up and they
did not dredge it. So it just stopped , fell behind and stayed preserved
in time. So now it is a fantastic mid-evil jewel. Because it is as it
was historically it is a destination you must see. It is back on the
map. We spent time there years ago and loved it but don't want to take
the train there from the coast. So we stay in Blankenberge, shuttle into the city center and explore the shopping street. Of coarse we get chocolate, Belgium chocolate yum, it is wonderful. As we stroll down the street we come across a
staircase which we decide that we'll walk up, at the top we are surprized to look across a beach and see the sea. We're on the boardwalk, it looks like a Santa Cruz/Venice beach combination but it is cold (it is December)! I'm sure that it must be fun in the summer. We walk down the beach and then back into town, where we go into cool shops, buy stuff for mom, eat lunch, have a beer and just relax. It's a good last day in a port city. When we were in Antwerp years back we saw little
statues of pigs, all over the place. So we ask some one why the pigs and he says
"the Belgians are pigs". This Belgian guy said it, not me, and we didn't care for Antwerp very much so that stuck in my mind. Not this time though, I think the Belgians are delicious. We enjoyed Blankenberge and the Blankenbergers. Sorry I couldn't resist. This has been our cruise, and there is so much more I didn't mention, but that is all I'll share for now. We had a great time on this historic Maiden Voyage. Queen Victoria did not sink like the Titanic did on her maiden voyage, which was also Cunard. Oh, there is something else, many people on this voyage are "Cunarders", there are different levels of Cunarders all coded. We were Coded red, we discovered our bording pass had a red stripe on it which means something. We needed to show this pass getting on and off the ship for security reasons. What we didn't know was that every one was Cunard coded. Red is the color assigned to first time Cunard passengers. Silver is the next level, and after your first cruise you automaticly up-grade to silver to make you feel better. Rusty and I are now silver. Then your third voyage you go gold, and then platium, and finally diamond. You get a promotion with multible cruises, a marketing ploy that appearently works because people would ask each other what level they would be. Many were gold and higher. To our surprise it's a big thing. They now send us Cunarder magazine and promote all their up-comming cruises. It sure looks like we're moving up! `*):-)

Hamburg, What a surprise

2008-04-27T09:16:00.012-07:00

Hamburg is not on the coast but inland with a an inlet large enough for
ships. At the harbor they are building it up, redoing it. It'll be
nice.
Because of the tales of our adventures in the other stops, two guys we
befriended on the cruise want to come with us. Cool, lets go. We
disembark Queen Victoria and set out for our latest adventure. Hamburg
was heavily bombed in WWII. There is a church that had been bombed with
the tower still standing. This has been made into a memorial. You can take an elevator up to the top and look out over the city, they also have displays that show the
way the city looked before the war and after the bombing. WOW! not
pretty. Back on the ground there is a museum with more about the war.
It has an interesting perspective. Sure they were the bad side but they're
still people. They talk about the devastation they had to endure but
also the devastation they en flicked on the rest of Europe. Mainly the
Dutch and Rotterdam, which was also leveled in the war, by them. They
live with this truth. Will we have to live with this kind of bad kharma after the EVIL BUSH/CHANEY CRIME REGIME made all the money they desire and are brought down? Will the
west of the world come to our (the people's) rescue, as the world did
for the German people and the Japanese? Please hurry We need your help,
they have us in a strangle hold, our country and way of life is being
destroyed. Heavy, and very thought provoking. I need a drink so off we
set for the gay neighborhood that Rusty has, as usual, mapped out. Our friends
are not aware of Rusty's ability to get around an unknown city, but sure
enough he does. There are two gay areas, just like in San Francisco
with the Castro and the South of Market. The Castro-like neighborhood
is the one we set out for, and Rusty knows the way. So we walk and it
is not a bad city, some nice architecture, old and new. We get to the
bar, have a drink and are approached by a local who starts talking us
up. He offers to show us around so we go. He brings us to another bar
for another drink and hits-up one of our friends for money in the
bathroom. Now we're done with him and we head off to another place
where we are a big hit there. The owner of the bar turns out to have
worked on a cruise ship in his youth and is fascinated that we are on the Queen Victoria. He buys us shots of yeagermisters, not one but several. It would be rude to refuse them. We have a great time and tell him that we have to get back to the ship and he offers to drive us. Again we can't refuse. All five of us get in his car and he
asks if we went to the other neighborhood? We haven't, so he drives us over there just to have a look, then back to the ship in time to set sail. Our friends are pleased that they had joined us and we are too. We all had a great time and now they know Rusty's skill at researching and exploring a new city, He lives to travel. I just go along for the ride. On board we are to be at sea for a day as we head to Brugge Belgium, which we both had been to some years back. Days at sea are always the most formal evenings, which I think are so fun. I do dress-up well and with all our tuxedo excessories, our friends jokingly ask us if we packed a steamer trunk for the Cruise....... Well yes.

Oslo

2008-03-12T14:09:00.008-07:00

We wake-up the next morning and we are in Oslo Norway. Oslo is at the end of a long fjord that we cruise up to in the dark. This is a wonderful city way up north. The Norwegians have a very socialistic government and since they have oil off their coast, which they do drill, they seem to have money and there-for they share it by paying good wages to everyone. It truly is a high standard of living up there. The people are friendly, warm, educated and as it looks to me, very happy. This is my second time in Oslo and Rusty's third. When we were here last, just a few years ago, it was summer, the first day of summer in fact. The days are so long because of the high latitude the sun doesn't set for many hours in the evening and rise very early. It was great. They really do celebrate this day with parties, games, bonfires on the beach and drinking. We had good time, but this time it is winter and dark with ice in the harbor and cold. We bundle-up and set out for the Vigeland sculpture park.
Gustof Vigeland donated his entire life's works of art to this city and a park was
set-up to show it off, free to the public. He has done his sculptures
in both bronze and stone showing the various stages of life, in both men and
women, young and old, beautifully. You stroll through the incredible gates, also by him, and pass the bronze fountain of beefy men holding the huge bowl of
over-flowing water, over the bridge lined with stone figures to the
central feature of a stone column entwined with people and surrounded by many sculptures of people in various embraces. I really do recommend going there if ever in Oslo.
We then catch the tram to another museum that shows us about the people and how they used to live. There are recreated buildings, that show their way of life and how they came about, it was interesting. After the museum it is time to get back to the ship so we catch the bus and ask the driver to let us know when we are closest to the skip enough to walk.
Back on board we dress-up for dinner and share adventures with everyone at our table. We are to be at sea for two days in order to reach Hamburg Germany, where we have both never been before but are looking forward to it.