For those of you who like cowboys with yellow rainslickers

This is artwork on my wall by Gordon Snidow, my used-to-be brother-in-law. He is a great cowboy artist.

He was married to my husband's sister for more than 40 years.

You don't miss the water 'til the well runs dry!!

Breaking Down the Water Supply
Water is a common chemical substance, essential to all known forms of life. About 1,460,000,000,000,000 (1,460 trillion) tons of water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, but relatively little is suitable for consumption. In many parts of the world, suitable water is in very short supply.

Let’s scale the world’s water supply to a size easier to comprehend like 58 gallons, about the same as a really full bathtub.

55 gallons of that water is saltwater ocean.
About 10 pounds of ice is locked in polar ice caps and glaciers.
About one drop is in the atmosphere as vapor, clouds, and precipitation.
Another drop is in our soil, and part of life itself (our bodies are made up mostly of water, for instance).
Our water sources:
Almost one gallon of that water is below ground in aquifers.
About four tablespoons is in surface water such as rivers and lakes.
Three-fourths of this is polluted or otherwise unavailable to us.
We are left with less than a liter of this water to live on.

Here are a few good books on the subject of water: Water The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource by Marq De Villiers, Water A Natural History by Alice Outwater, Pillar of Sand by Sandra Postel, When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce, Ogallala Water for a Dry Land by John Opie, Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner, Water Follies by Robert Glennon, and Ogallala Blue by William Ashworth.

Someday soon the subject of water will be more important than oil.

Keystone Sunset

Captured on the way to eat with camera phone

History as it unfolds (Part I)

My mom and dad had my three brothers and me in 5 years. Four children in five years. We grew up pretty poor. I never felt that way though. My mother was very frugal and knew how to save money and stretch what she had and she also knew how to pray. She grew up during the depression years and World War II years and had went through times when food and gasoline were rationed. Her family was poor too, but better off than a lot of people. Her dad had a government job as a supervisor of the coal mines, so they had a car and a telephone when a lot of people did not. They also had very big gardens. She lived in southern Illinois and I guess you could say she was a coal miner's daughter. He got paid a pension for black lung later in life. He was a very strict man. Grandpa would doctor all nine of his children, gave them cod liver oil and swabbed their throats with iodine every winter whether they needed it or not. Mom's memories of this are not too happy, but she knew that he meant well. Grandpa ruled with an iron fist you might say, and she got some of that whether she needed it or not too. She says she got in trouble if the neighbor kids walked in his garden, she would get whipped. Life was pretty hard back then. Grandpa's mother's family was from Germany, the Kimmels. We are fifth cousins to Admiral Kimmel of Pearl Harbor fame. His great-great-grandpa and my (four) greats-grandpa were the same person.
I truly always thought my dad and mom had movie star good looks, like Paul Newman and Audrey Hepburn. My mom's name is Audrey. I thought my dad could do anything. I remember thinking that he could drive two cars at once, I think he gave me this idea. (he he) He spent several years in the army overseas in Germany during the Korean conflict and when he came home, he told my mom that he didn't want anyone bossing him around ever again.

Creation

How could anyone deny there is a creator God? Everything displays His splendour.

Guess who I saw at PF Chang's tonight?

As I said earlier in my last post, we were taking our kids to PF Chang's for dinner. As were we leaving, standing out front and saying our good-byes to them, guess who walks by? Ree and MM. I felt like saying "hi" but didn't since I don't really know her and that might be weird for her and him. Anyway, I was thinking "there's Pioneer Woman." She is tall and thin and very pretty with dimples and long hair. They make a lovely couple. We had such a good time with our kids and our daughter's boyfriends. The food and service was good too. Here's my lovely silk top that I wore. My son asked me if I was going as a clown! (He was joking). Say, don't you just love those pink walls? This was my daughter's bedroom that I have taken over now that she moved out. I am going to paint those walls an awesome shade of green someday.

Haiku Friday

P. F. Chang's tonight
Reservations for seven
Husband and children

Appetizers first
Sichuan from the sea shrimp
Moo Goo Gai Pan too

Brown rice and chopsticks
Choose favorite dipping sauce
New York style cheesecake

Eat, talk, and enjoy!
Laugh, smile, make your memories
Times with family

Blog Action Day-October 15

Blogger Buzz: Blogging for the Environment

October 15 is Blog Action Day, and the theme this year is the environment. If you have a blog and want to join in, all you have to do is use that day to post something related to the environment, in whatever way, shape, or form you prefer. You can pick an environmental issue that has meaning for you and let us know why it's important. Organize a beach or neighborhood cleanup and tell us about it. If you're into fiction writing, give us a story with an environmental theme. Have a podcast, videoblog, or photoblog? Join the fun! The idea here is to have a mass effect on public awareness by sharing as many ideas in as many ways as possible.

If you're game for participating, go register your blog with the 7,000+ other blogs (with 5 million readers!) that are already signed up. Also, see the Blogger Buzz: Blogging for the Environment for more on how bloggers can change the world.
— Graham

Twinings Tea

Twinings Tea in London. The Original Strand Shop.
This is the original site of the Twinings shop. In 1706, Twinings was one of the first companies to introduce tea drinking to the British when Thomas Twining began selling tea from his first premises on the Strand in London.
I took this picture when I visited London in 2000 with my daughter and mother.

Sunset while driving

Using my camera phone and a dirty windshield to boot!

Junebug

Does my meez look like me?

Wordless Wednesday "Talk to the Animals"

Check out more Wordless Wednesday

Hobbes

I am so happy I managed to post my cat Hobbes on Youtube. A very short tale but quite amusing to me!

Frou Frou - Let Go

Imogen Heap. This is a great song to drive down the road listening to...

45 rpm's, does anyone remember them?

I grew up in the 60's and early 70's in the days of vinyl. I listened to variety of music back in that day of the classic music. Everything from The Who, Simon & Garfunkel, Beatles, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, Janis Joplin, Mamas and the Poppas, Bee Gees, Beach Boys, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Pink Floyd, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Monkees, the Fortunes, and so many more....

I got a record player when I was eleven. I was so happy, but I didn't have many records. My dad bought me a stack of 50 records (45's) for $1. Remember this was the 60's. My husband says it was probably records from juke boxes that were discarded or replaced. Anyway, there was a wide variety of music there and I played every one of them over and over. I got a few groups that I liked and knew, but many that I didn't know. There was "Blueberry Hill" and "Annabelle". I bet no one ever heard of that. "Won't you come back to me, I'm so lonesome you see, lonesome for you Annabelle..."

The Great Outdoors

Hobbes: the great outdoors man

Another cow hiding in the pasture:

Cow lieing in pasture:

The neighbor's pond:

View through my kitchen window

View looking through my laundry room window
(please disregard cobwebs!)

Fun Monday

Outdoors cat: Marsipan

Outdoors cat: Minnie

For you Ree readers, "the house of Addy"

Our 27 year old oak tree. A beauty.

The gazing ball into my future: it's beautiful blue! Perhaps you can see my reflection.

Here lie the pink flamingos.


This is what The Dust Will Wait has to say for today's Fun Monday:
I want to see what you see on any given morning this week; from somewhere very near where you live. Front porch, back porch, down the street, around the corner. Just make sure it's your neighborhood. Post a photo that will send me to the travel agent to book a weekend at your local Bed & Breakfast. Write a little or write a lot. Have fun.

This is the view of the road to our house. A view of the sky from our yard. I had to go to the dentist this morning, so I will edit this post later if I get a chance. I'm back from the dentist with a new crown. Not the kind you wear on your head though, the awesome one that goes in your mouth!!

Invisible Children of Uganda

Please watch this...

Invisible Children: The Proof 2006

Please watch this and think about what you could do to help.

Horses, Caves, White Water, & Family

Who would have thought that the Arkansas River could be so lively? We rafted in May and the water was cold, about 50 degrees. We had wet suits on, but after beginning the trip, it all seemed fine. Our guide instructed us exactly what to do and when to do it and we obeyed!!! She told us we were good too. Ha ha. Just look at us! I had the time of my life. I never laughed so hard, all the way. I'm ready to go again. The water was up that day and we had all Class III's and two Class IV's that day.

This cave was beautiful. I was amazed at the variety of things to see and do in Colorado.

Horse-back riding in the mountains, yes, it was rocky but much fun. We rode for two hours which was a little hard on bottoms that aren't used to riding. I rode horses as a young girl, but only once since I've been married. That's a 32 year span of time.