Grizzly Bear Alert!

The Colorado State Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters fishermen, and golfers to take extra precautions and be on the alert for bears while in the Dillon, Breckenridge, and Keystone areas.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert but not startle the bears unexpectedly. They also advise you to carry pepper spray in case of an encounter with a bear.

It is also a good idea to watch for signs of bear activity. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings:

Black bear droppings are smaller and contain mountain berries and possibly squirrel fur. Grizzly bear droppings have bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

Special Edition Manic Monday - Silence

LyricsArtist: Simon & Garfunkel

SOUNDS OF SILENCE
Hello darkness, my old friend

I've come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone

'Neath the halo of a street lamp

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night

And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more

People talking without speaking

People hearing without listening

People writing songs that voices never share

And no one dared

Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know

Silence like a cancer grows

Hear my words that I might teach you

But my words, like silent raindrops fell

And echoed

In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are
written on the subway walls

And tenement halls"

And whispered in the sounds of silence

Some people are showing respect to those who were murdered at Virginia Tech by chosing not to blog today; others are remembering the dead but chosing not to be silent. We all mourn in different ways ... but either way, their memory is honored here. In a world that is upside down and inside out, I do not feel silence is a good thing... We need to be listening to one another in a way as never before.

Photo Hunt - Rare

Kilauea Lighthouse is the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian Islands. Built in 1913, it had the largest lens of it's kind and guided ships heading to and from the Orient. In the 1970's its light was turned off and this landmark was replaced by a low-maintenance light beacon. The lighthouse is located on a narrow peninsula and remains one of Kauai's most popular attractions. Native vegetations and an informative visitor center attract thousands of tourists to this site to bird watch, view the sweeping cliff and ocean vistas, and revel in Kaua's past. Nearby is the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, home to a diverse population of nesting seabirds and the only such sanctuary in the islands. Residents include the red-footed boobies, the Laysan albatross, and the great frigate bird with its 8-foot wingspan.

Crater Hill, landward from the lighthouse, is part of an extince volcano that looms above the refuge and is open to hikers. From this hill are terrific views of the North Shore coast and the seabird nests. Moku'ae'ae Islet, pictured here, is just offshore from the peninsula. It is a bird sanctuary and often home to the Hawaiian monk seal who may be seen lazing in the sun near the shoreline.

I took the second and third photos. The third photo is the islet referred to above. It was teeming with birds!

For Empress Bee...

I found this site for Miss Bee...it's a hoot! for all of us who admire the towel

animals that Carnival Cruises furnishes their guests, here you go!!!

Friday Funny...Anchovies anyone???

Somehow, Mud Crap Pizza doesn't sound very appealing!!! These people need a better translator...

Friday Feast - #141

APPETIZER

How fast can you type?

The last typing test I took was online a couple of years ago - 81 WPM. I'd be doing well to type 60 WMP today!

SOUP

What is your favorite online game?

If I feel like shootin' stuff, I like Phlinx or Bricks of Atlantis. Otherwise I like word games or majong - I've got several different varieties.

SALAD

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), how intelligent do you think you are?
How about a minus 12? I know my IQ. I had a lot of potential in high school but I didn't live up to it. I took an IQ test not long ago - just about the same score, but the way I act sometimes is just proof that they're totally unreliable!

MAIN COURSE

Name three of your best teachers from your school years.

1. Mr. Alex Encheff - My choral director. I still have the record we made in 1965 at Capitol Records in Hollywood. He gave us the confidence to stand alone and sing our hearts out!

2. Mr. Robert Clough - My junior English teacher - “For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.” ---John Greenleaf Whittier. I learned more from him than any other English teacher I ever had! He was gay, we all knew it and no one cared (1964).

3. Mr. Bob Runze - My 5th grade teacher - he was an all-around good guy. He really cared about kids and wanted us to learn about our world.

DESSERT

What are your plans for this upcoming weekend?

Finish cleaning out closets, then attacking that big square thing we call a garage, although it's never housed a vehicle, and preparing for a "moving sale." Y'all wanta come? Lots of victorian furniture, dining room table, 8 chairs, hutch, piano, glassware and miscellaneous houseware!!! I'll make you a great deal!

Thursday Thirteen - Crazy Names!

I should have added to this that my grandmother was raised in Texas, home to the infamous Hogg family. Judge Hogg named his kids Ima, (substantiated) Hesa, and Yura. There have been a few more kooky names added to "Comments..."
I have an affinity for strange names. I worked for a county school office and had to process children's names and was horrified and the monikers some of these poor kids were saddled with!
I found a website with some humdingers on it, so even though it's going to be extremely difficult to limit this to thirteen, here are my favorites:

1. Twin boys - KASH AND KERRY

2. FLIPPER (boy)

3. KOTEX - pronounced KO-TAY (boy)

4. LAVORIS (girl)

5. FUZZBOT - pronounced FOO-BEAU (girl)

6. LOVEDEEP (boy)

7. FLUSHIA (girl)

8. Sisters, CRICKET and CLOUD

9. CONFESSION (male)

10. LEMONJELLO - pronounced LAY-MON-ZHELL-O (girl)

11. NOSMOKING - pronounced NAHS-MO-KING (boy)

12. MACARONI (boy)

13. KNIGHT SIR LANCELOT (boy)

This is just a small serving of the hysterical which borders on abuse! I purposefully stayed away from the ones with all of the apostrophes. No one can pronounce them anyway!

Wordless Wednesday...

Painting by Rob Gonsalves

Getting to Know You...

THE BATTLE AXE:
Getting to know you.......... I’ve been tagged by "Flip Flip Floozie" to answer
40 questions about myself. Be prepared to be bored!

1. What is your occupation? Retired/Disability; have been insurance
agent/secretary/Admin Ass't
2. What color are your socks right now? Blk/white
3. What are you listening to right now? Fox News
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Donut (I know, shame on me!)
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Absolutely! I can speed shift, too!
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Blue - the color of water
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Hubman
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? You bet!
9. How old are you today? 59 years, 10 months .Too close to the next milestone.
I'm gonna be old - sob....
10. Favorite drink? Diet Cherry Pepsi
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Oxymoron! Syncronized swimming? He, he, he...
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Played around with colors in high school but it's natural now.
13. Pets? Two dogs (Shih Tzu, Mini Schnauzer); Cockatiel and Nanday Conure (small parrot)
14. Favorite food? Mexican anything (or steak)
15. What was the last movie you watched? Must've been really good cuz I can't remember...
16. What was the last book you read? "Running with Scissors"
17. What do you do to vent anger? Hold it in then explode like a banshee!
18. What was your favourite toy as a child? Mr. Potato Head
19. What is your favourite, fall or spring? Spring
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs (kisses are reserved)
21. Cherries or blueberries? Cherries
22. Do you want your friends to leave you comments? Of course!
23. Who is the most likely to comment? The people who have blessed me with coming by regularly
24. Who is least likely to comment? The dreaded lurkers
25. Living arrangements? Married - 29 years in Dec.
26. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday...
27. What's on the floor of your closet? Ha! I have closet organizers but still have DVD's, CD's, books(overflow) along with shoes. I'm a slob.
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Judy R-B.
29. What did you do last night? Watched TV and slept off and on.
30. Favorite smells? Onions and bacon frying, coffee brewing, fresh rain and the ocean!!!
31. What inspires you? People who persevere!
32. What are you afraid of? Failure.
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Spicy w/cheese!
34. Favourite dog breed? German Shepherd but I love my little lap dogs (it wouldn't be fair to have a big dog now - space and energy wise!). I just love dogs, period. They make me smile.
35. Number of keys on your key ring? Five
36. Number of years at current job? Last job - 11; I've been home for two years.
37. Favourite day of the week? Friday - Hubman will be home for the weekend!

39. Favourite holidays? Christmas
40. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? Tried to drive a big motorcycle but hubman, who weighed over 220# was on the back - I couldn't steer the stupid thing! We were in sand and that didn't help!

More Strange Fun...

Here's the latest way to burn an hour or so! Take photos of your family and morph them into strange-looking cartoon figures or see how they might look if Modigliani had painted them! See what you might look like as a member of another ethnic group. This is really fun!!! Confuse your far-away relatives at Christmas when you stick one of these in your Christmas card after mentioning your facelift. This could really be a blast! Here's the link: (Courtesy of "The Buzz Queen")

OUCH!

"This book covers all the hard to control ants including ghost ants, whitefooted ants, argentine ants, crazy ants, fire ants, carpenter ants, pharoah ants and many others. A must have for the homeowner and the professional pest control technician's library."

I was sitting here in my typically middle class recliner, checking out some blogs and all of a sudden, OUCH!!! My hand starting burning. It was a stinkin' little black ant! I smooshed him and before I could clean up his little ant carcass, OUCH! There was one of his brothers avenging his death. I smooshed his little ant butt, too, but all of a sudden I looked down and there were more of the pesky little buggers crawling on my hands, taking chunks out of me with their nasty little pincers. Dang! Where did they come from???

I got up from my comfortable typically middle class recliner and did my "Argh! Ants All Over Me" dance, brushing them off before they could do any more damage. I have been bitten by red ants that stung but black ants? This was new to me...They burned just as bad as a red ant bite and already were leaving little welts.

I realized that Zoe, our Mini-Schnauzer had been up in the chair with me for a while and she'd been in and out, so she must be the ant coyote, smuggling them in across the door jam. I guessed I'd better haul her off to the laundry room and give her coat a good going over. Now I'm going to be doing the "Ant Dance" all night!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've heard of Carpenter ants, Argentine ants, Fire ants - but what the heck is a Ghost ant or a Crazy aunt? Oops, that's Crazy ant! I think we've got a couple of "Crazy Aunts" on the family tree...
***Over the last few years reports have escalated of a golden-brown to reddish-brown "crazy ant" infesting properties in and around West Palm Beach, Florida. Thick foraging trails with thousands of ants occur along sidewalks, around buildings, and on trees and shrubs. Pest control operators using liquid and/or granular broad-range insecticides appear unable to control this nuisance ant.

Friday Funnies

I'm not going to be able to post much today - I'll play catch up Friday p.m. Until then, please leave me some feed back about my banner! A very nice young lady is working on my blog for me. I hope to have three columns so I can straighten up and organize everything and figure out those darned drop-down boxes!!! I want you all to feel at home and stay awhile...

In the meantime, here's a couple of funnies I found the other day. Enjoy and happy FRIDAY!

Thursday Thirteen - Moving

Thirteen Reasons To Be Glad We're Moving!
1. I have a wonderful support system! My hubman, my daughter,
my cousin, my internet buddies...and you know who you are! And
all the kids are helping us with the physical move.
2. We will no longer have a mortgage payment! Yippeee!
3. Our yard will be big enough to play in the dirt but small
enough to handle ourselves so we can tell our gardener adios.
4. We will no longer have a garage which will force us to clean out our existing garage and shed a lot of "stuff" that has just been taking up space and is not necessary.
5. I will sell my piano, dining room table, chairs and hutch.
They're outdated anyway! If I want, somewhere down the road, I'll
consider getting a keyboard - they're lighter anyway...
6. The park community is going to force me to meet people. Uh, I'm trying to be grateful for this one. I've never been in to coffee klatches or gossip.
7. We will not have any neighbors behind us - just an open field.
It's open foothills so we could be meeting up with varmits (and snakes?).
8. There is a wonderful cinderblock wall on both sides of the property! So I can sit in the backyard in my grundgies if I so desire. (Ha, ha, you thought I was gonna say something else...)
9. Since we will not have cathedral ceilings and about 150 less
square feet, our utilities should be less - here's hoping!
10. The main shower is a lot smaller (bummer!) so maybe we won't stay in the shower as long and the water bill will be lower, too. Since the yard is a lot smaller, it should be a lot less!!!
11. The grounds are rolling hills and will be a great place for
walking and building up my knee so I can lose the weight around
my middle and reset my metabolism.
12. The stress will be a lot less on my beloved and that will make me happiest of all!
13. Hopefully, this will be a stop of two-three years and we will be able to move to
the mountains. Who knows, maybe we'll wind up loving it and won't want to move!

Flowers from my garden...

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Wordless Wednesday

Goofy Tuesday

Black Monday

My prayers are with the families of those who were impacted by the senseless murders yesterday at Virginia Tech, and with those who were injured.

Manic Monday - TAX

I wanted to use another form of the word for today, TAX, but being a red-blooded American, I had to take the opportunity to bash the system. I believe we should do away with the current tax code, institute a flat tax, excluding those of a certain level who shouldn't have to pay anything. Throw away those 700 lb. tax code books. The IRS is a satanic cult...

Broken Hearts...

I went to the cemetery Friday afternoon. It was cool - a perfect day for a visit to this place. I had a hard time finding the grave sites, as usual. I don't know why it is always so difficult for me to remember where they lay. I found my landmarks and started walking up the sloping hill, casting my eyes about for the granite headstone next to the older bronze one. I said a brief prayer asking the Lord to guide my footsteps and my eyes fell on two stunning bouquets of deep blue iris and bamboo stalks. I walked toward them and found them: the graves of my former husband and son-in-law.

I went in memory of the second anniversary of Doug's passing. I cannot believe it has now been two years. I still miss him and find it hard to believe that he is dead. I close my eyes and see his face the first time I met him. I had no idea of the impact he would have in my life nor the pain he would leave upon my heart.

He lays next to my first husband. They did not know each other in this life but they now lay side-by-side in death. It is so ironic because they were so much alike. They both loved life with an abundance and devil-may-care attitude. They drew people to them like magnets with personalities like shining stars, sure to rise high in the heavens. And rise they did. They were both stunningly successful in business at a young age, but they played as hard as they worked.

But there was so much more to them than what you saw on the surface. There was a depth of sorrow and pain in the depths of their souls. Scars and demons that plagued them in a manner that none of us who loved them could keep them from experiencing. Their addictions cost them their lives. We couldn't save them and that is what makes our grief so bitter.

I shed tears for both of them as I stood there Friday in the chill spring air. Tears for two lives cut so short; for love that wasn't finished; for the broken hearts.

Photo Hunt - Hobby

My Favorite Magazine

"Combining paper arts with rubber stamping and lettering-art techniques, this full-color bimonthly magazine is perfect for intermediate to advanced artists and crafters hungry for information, inspiration, and the latest innovations in papercrafts, art stamping, and calligraphy. Learn from fellow artists; it's a magical place of inspiration."
Altered Books are fun to make - start with a blank book, your favorite found items (ephemora), scraps of paper, copper foil, stamped images, fibers - the sky's the limit! Just let your imagination run wild!!! This book had the title and the bees on the front when I began but everything inside has been placed there by me.

Anyone Feelin' Spooky Today???

Is this how you felt this morning when you looked at the calendar? Or did you shrug your shoulders and go about your day as usual...

How does Friday the 13th affect you? Do you have any superstitions? Or do you gleefully step on cracks and walk under ladders...how do you think I'll spend the day??? Cowering in my corner with a blankie or tempting fate?

Thursday Thirteen - Games

My Thirteen this week is lame, I'll admit but it's a list of just some of the games I've downloaded. Before I found the "bloggosphere," I have to admit I was addicted to realArcade and GameHouse. I love to shoot stuff, make words, link stuff up and solve mysteries! I still sneak over there occasionally and play a game of Scrabble. Yes, it's true. I cheat on you, my blogging buddies. I'm a two-timing gaming "ho."

Slingo Quest

Xango Tango

Phlinx to Go

Mahjong Escape - Ancient China

Mystery Case Files - Prime Suspects

Aloha Solitaire

Scrabble

Word Mojo Gold

Big Kahuna Words

Wonderlines

Glyph

Luxor

Inca Quest

Here You Go, Thinkers!

I've been given the honor by Linda, of "This and That Diary," for the "Thinking Award." Now you all know this has been going around for quite a while and I've been worrying my head off, thinking that you all were thinking that I'm a big dummy. Well, today all doubts are gone!!! Now I'm given the responsibility to go and bestow this award on five more of you. I'm gonna try for five of you who may have been worrying about your brain power, too....
COME AND GET IT:

My first honoree is:
1. Katie, of Guilt in Black Panties, is one sharp cookie and if you haven't read any of her reviews, or seen her photo journalism, I cannot recommend her highly enough! She has a talent with words that I can only dream of...
2. Asara and her Mental Meanderings has been keeping me on mytoes with some very thoughtful posts about her family. She's a very bright, caring young lady!
3. Kai, The Buzz Queen, is the wife of a Royal Mounted Policeman and has a very unique blog! Her husband is taking questions and answering them abouthis job as an RMP. Very unique stuff! Kai is a mom with young children and a typical, busy life but she still finds time to write very interesting articles!
4. Callie Ann, from Scrappin' in Life, is the proud mom of two and even prouder (if possible) grandmom of Jack. This gal cares a lot about what's going on in the world around us and does her best to honor our men and women in uniform.
5. Crazy Working Mom. This is another blog written by a young mom who has a full plate - a young family and a full-time job. Over the weekend the family dog was run over and she faced the issue of telling her daughter about death. Nitty gritty real life here.

I could go on and on but we're to only chose five, so I'll leave it up to my five to go ahead and chose five more and keep this honor going!!! Cheers, ladies!!!

Wordless Wednesday

One Kind Act Wednesday

This past Saturday, we trekked along with our realtor to look at mobile homes. At one in particular the lady that lived in the home was a very petite, older woman, surrounded by mementos of a lifetime. There were many family photos scattered about but everything was in it's place. She sat quietly in a chair as my husband and I invaded her living space.

I wondered what she must be thinking - leaving her home, as I am leaving mine. Was she as sad as I am or was she headed somewhere she truly wanted to be? As we were leaving, I stopped to thank her for her time and asked her if she'd lived there very long. She answered, "Twenty six years." I wished I hadn't asked but she proceeded to tell me that her daughters live in Idaho and were very anxious for her to come and live with them and her grandchildren and great-grandchild. I felt so much better. I asked her if she was looking forward to moving and she replied, "Yes. My husband passed away three years ago and it's time for me to move to be with my children."

We stood and chatted for about five minutes and she shared a little bit of her life with me and I knew that she had been alone, really alone for the three years that she'd been widowed. It was a lovely spring day, yet every window was tightly closed up and the home had that "needed to be aired out" odor. It was clean but it just needed fresh air. I felt she was just like that - she needed someone just to chat with for a moment or two and give her soul some fresh air...