Sadie Monster

I call her the Sadie Monster because she's a big loof that until recently couldn't calm down, no matter what. She's matured a lot in the past six months. I've been dog sitting her for a couple of years now, and I've put a lot of miles on my feet keeping her busy while her owners are away. Each summer they take a 14 day vacation so that means Sadie needs time out in the world, away from home. Otherwise she gets really, really lonely and bored. Like me!

Today the Sadie Monster's field trip was to the swimming pool, and she was relentless...

Jumping...



Fetching...



Swimming...



And shaking...



Then jumping some more...



Fetching some more...



Swimming some more...



And shaking some more...



She happily repeated this process for a couple of hours, until it was too hot to be running around outside.

Nap time!

I Worked A Little This Morning

The palm trees get these branches that sprout occasionally, I think they're seed pods. They weigh more than a regular old palm frawn (branch) and they're messy. The tree next to our swimming pool had sprouted about 7 of these darn branches and I didn't realize it till I looked in the pool and saw a HUGE mess.




So out came the Sawz All and ladder. I sawed away!

But I kept hearing a buzz, one a little different from the Sawz All. It was a swarm of bees that was perfectly happy with the sweet blooms on the seed pods. Each time I cut down a seed branch, I had to drop the Sawz All and run to the other side of the yard while the bees calmed down.







The smell was wonderful, it was sweet like candy. Too bad these suckers are so messy-I'd rather have that nice fragrance in the back yard!

A Political Opinion

This little blog isn't political, I try not to get going on all that stuff because frankly no one wants to log on and read a rant. Well, not all the time, anyway. You want to read about politics then you go to a political website.
I absorb a lot of political stuff every day. Sometimes it's the fuel that keeps me going. Sometimes it's just tiring.
I can recall about 100 times when I've been asked, "Did you watch Obama's speech today??" And every time I've had to say, "No," because political speeches don't interest me. Really. It's theater, acting, grand-standing, and usually empty promises. I like to watch a politician from a distance--see how they perform and what they accomplish. I have been in front of politicians--literally 2 feet away, and I don't listen. I'm happy to take photos, watch audience reaction, and just kind of enjoy the moment. But generally listening to the speech is rare for me. And that goes for Palin, McCain, Romney, Gingrich--all those people I've been in front of and I've barely heard a word they were saying.
But today I watched Obama's speech. I saw him on t.v. first thing this morning, and I figured this would be the moment where he said to the whole country that his administration had indeed filed litigation against Arizona for our SB1070 law.

Wrong. He grand-standed. He did a bunch of inspirational garbage. He basically said nothing. Except one very interesting thing. He said he believed the illegals who are here right now should be required to register, pay their taxes, learn English, pay fines for breaking the law, and get in line to earn their citizenship.

Say what?

That sounds like talk from a Republican. "Learn English." Wow. If I said something to that effect on national t.v. I'd be called a racist. "Register." Well that would require one to carry their papers--something the ACLU seems to think is an awful elitist statement. That's why they've warned people against traveling to Arizona, because immigrants are required to carry their "papers." Laughable.

For once, I have to say I agree with our President. Register, learn English, pay taxes, and of course own up to the fact that they've broken our laws. Don't like it? Go back to the country they hold so dear in their hearts--yeah, the same one that is overrun with drug cartels, starvation, corruption, and pollution. And that's just the tourist areas!!

Time To Dump The Tree

I know it's only June, but these fine folks I spotted near Prescott recently are getting rid of their Christmas tree. I would think August or September would be the more acceptable time for that....

A Mutual Love

I've never met anyone who loved old books as much as me. While Steve and I had some spare time in Phoenix (Mesa, actually...) we visited two used book stores and managed to come away very happy with a couple of bags of great books. It was a very nice afternoon together, doing something we both enjoyed a lot.

It's not set up like a swap meet or anything, it's a very large store that smells like an old library. The floors are wood and they creak as you walk around slowly, it is incredibly quiet, and there's books as far as you can see.



I found one book in particular that I couldn't put down. It's called "Manhunt," it's by James L. Swanson. The book was a very nicely researched chronicle of Abraham Lincoln's murder and the subsequent hunt for not only John Wilkes Booth but also the many people who aided him. I managed to finish the 400 pages in just a couple of days, I couldn't put it down!

Well now I'm completely fascinated with the events of that time period--so when there's a show about the Civil War on the History Channel I record it and study it. Oh great, now I'm one of THOSE people. Soon you'll see me dressed up and participating in a re-enactment somewhere.

But, back to the book store...



I found a small book shelf with tiny little books. There was two Almanacs from 1859, and 1850. I couldn't believe I was holding these books from over 150 years ago! In both of them, there were notes written in pencil. The handwriting was a beautiful, artful, curly-q type and sometimes it was so small I couldn't read the words. It was pre-Civil War (and I know this because I'm obsessed with the Civil War now....yayyyy....) and a few of the hand-written notes spoke of executions or birthdays. That's kind of fascinating, that those were the only readable words. Deaths or births. In 150 years from now, will there be someone reading my words?

Steve found several books, one was a huge cook book from some gals in Minnesota. Another was written about southern Arizona, where he grew up. He finished that book before we managed to drive home on Thursday!

My other book was not really one that's so factual; it's a handbook on palm reading. Just thought it would be a fun parlor-trick kind of thing to learn. It's not catching on with me yet.

Just In Case

I'm sure this store exists just in case the dog pound isn't open when you need one.

Coincidence? Or Was This Planned?

This was a couple of stores in the ghetto in Phoenix. I can say ghetto because it really was the ghetto.