Entertaining with lots of food and a nice swimming pool is definitely the American Way.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The American Way
Entertaining with lots of food and a nice swimming pool is definitely the American Way.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A Fire Miracle!
My mom and stepdad have a boat shop here in Havasu. I guess I should say HAD. It burned to the ground the other night--the fire investigators have determined that it was electrical and started in the shop's office.
My mom and Mike actually used to live there at the shop--they had living quarters built onto the back and a fenced area for their pets.
They've been building a house out in the mountains for several years now, and the majority of their belongings are there at the new house now. But some things remained--in a storage trailer there at the boat yard. I remember my mom telling me she wanted me to have the cedar chest that she'd received when she was 18 years old and getting married to my dad. It had her wedding dress in it, and some items from our childhood. It also had my wedding dress from 1993 in it. A very very old dress, probably 70 years old by now. But since there were too many things in the way, we never got the cedar chest out.
That was the first thing I thought of while I was surveying the burned property on Monday morning. Was that storage trailer burned?
Yep.
I decided to get up in there and look around anyway. It was still very hot to the touch, the fire had only been put out a few hours before. And the temperature out there was 115 degrees.
Here's the inside of the trailer. Do YOU see a cedar chest?
I see something back in there that looks like a black coffin...
What is in the black coffin?
Looks like a wedding dress.
Yep, it survived. And so did my mom's dress, and all the photos and memorabilia in the bottom of the chest. The wood inside was untouched--the wood on the outside was completely burned. In fact, as I was trying to move the chest around to see if there was still some stuff readable on the outside (something I'd done in red crayon to it when I was four years old) the whole darn thing just disintegrated.
I took all the stuff home and laid out the papers and pictures to dry. Everything was soaking wet, and smelled like a combination of horrible smoke and wet cedar. The dresses dried out pretty quickly (because by the time I got home with them it was nearly 120 degrees out. The dresses smell, and have a little bit of soot on them, but otherwise they're fine. I don't know how they'll hold up at the dry cleaners, we'll see.
As for the shop, it's a total loss. There were several customers' boats destroyed as well. My mom and Mike are planning to rebuild and get back in business.
My mom and Mike actually used to live there at the shop--they had living quarters built onto the back and a fenced area for their pets.
They've been building a house out in the mountains for several years now, and the majority of their belongings are there at the new house now. But some things remained--in a storage trailer there at the boat yard. I remember my mom telling me she wanted me to have the cedar chest that she'd received when she was 18 years old and getting married to my dad. It had her wedding dress in it, and some items from our childhood. It also had my wedding dress from 1993 in it. A very very old dress, probably 70 years old by now. But since there were too many things in the way, we never got the cedar chest out.
That was the first thing I thought of while I was surveying the burned property on Monday morning. Was that storage trailer burned?
Yep.
I decided to get up in there and look around anyway. It was still very hot to the touch, the fire had only been put out a few hours before. And the temperature out there was 115 degrees.
Here's the inside of the trailer. Do YOU see a cedar chest?
I see something back in there that looks like a black coffin...
What is in the black coffin?
Looks like a wedding dress.
Yep, it survived. And so did my mom's dress, and all the photos and memorabilia in the bottom of the chest. The wood inside was untouched--the wood on the outside was completely burned. In fact, as I was trying to move the chest around to see if there was still some stuff readable on the outside (something I'd done in red crayon to it when I was four years old) the whole darn thing just disintegrated.
I took all the stuff home and laid out the papers and pictures to dry. Everything was soaking wet, and smelled like a combination of horrible smoke and wet cedar. The dresses dried out pretty quickly (because by the time I got home with them it was nearly 120 degrees out. The dresses smell, and have a little bit of soot on them, but otherwise they're fine. I don't know how they'll hold up at the dry cleaners, we'll see.
As for the shop, it's a total loss. There were several customers' boats destroyed as well. My mom and Mike are planning to rebuild and get back in business.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Because Everyone Loves Arizona!!
So glad I had my camera. This was a small SUV pulling a boat on the highway here in Havasu. On the windows, it said, "Adios Cruise to Mexico, HOLA Arizona!"
And it also said, "Viva La SB 1070!" After photographing them I honked my horn and gave them a thumbs up.
Very cool.
Someday I'll Fight
I think it would be fun to get in a fight. Not just any fight--there'd have to be gear and stuff. And an octagon-shaped chain link cage all around.
When it's affordable, we head one hour north to Nevada to watch the M.M.A. fights. My trainer always has some of his students on the schedule (the "card" as they call it) and it's exciting to see the matches in person.
It's literally a date night for us. We get all fixed up and we talk all fast and excitedly as we anticipate the fights. Shay goes with us because he can't resist a few hours of "human cockfighting."
I know it seems redneck but I can't help it.
Out of the four fighters from my gym, three of them were victorious. That's tough to swallow because usually ALL of our fighters come home with a victory.
The female fighter from my gym couldn't be matched up in time for the fights (it's difficult to find another female fighter, I'm sure) so she didn't get put on the card. Perhaps I'll start training with her, and we'll put on a show!!
When it's affordable, we head one hour north to Nevada to watch the M.M.A. fights. My trainer always has some of his students on the schedule (the "card" as they call it) and it's exciting to see the matches in person.
It's literally a date night for us. We get all fixed up and we talk all fast and excitedly as we anticipate the fights. Shay goes with us because he can't resist a few hours of "human cockfighting."
I know it seems redneck but I can't help it.
Out of the four fighters from my gym, three of them were victorious. That's tough to swallow because usually ALL of our fighters come home with a victory.
The female fighter from my gym couldn't be matched up in time for the fights (it's difficult to find another female fighter, I'm sure) so she didn't get put on the card. Perhaps I'll start training with her, and we'll put on a show!!
When You Have a Black Car...
I don't care if I have to walk a mile to the front door of the grocery store. I'm going to park in the shade! Even if it's just a sliver of shade!
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