I will tell all, soon

We arrived home from our trip to Reno Nevada last night. Sorry I did not get any posts done while we were there, but we were so busy, that the only time we spent in our hotel room, was in the late evening to sleep.
I had to work today, unfortunately, my client was in one of "her difficult modes" and I am now so wrung out, I am going to bed very soon to get some rest. I promise I will have pictures of our fun time in Reno very soon.
MrC has a short list of events HERE

How to call the police when you're old

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, was going up to bed, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window.

George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked 'Is someone in your house?

He said 'No.' Then they said, 'All patrols were busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available.'

George said, 'Okay' He hung up the phone and counted to 30. Then he phoned the police again. "Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't
have to worry about them now because I just shot them." and he hung up.

Within five minutes, six Police Cars, a SWAT Team, a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence, and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George, "I thought you said that you'd shot them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available."

Don't mess with us old people!!

Children's Science Exam

If you need a good laugh, try reading through these children's science exam answers...

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour? (Brilliant, love this!)
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery. (The kid gets an A+ for this answer!)

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? ( e.g., abdomen)
A: The body is consisted into three parts -- the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels A, E, I, O, and U.

Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.

Q: What does 'varicose' mean? (I do love this one...)
A: Nearby.

Q: Give the meaning of the term 'Cesarean Section.'
A: The Cesarean Section is a district in Rome.

Q: What does the word 'benign' mean?'
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Southern Skinny Dippin'...

An elderly man in North Carolina had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back, fixed up really nice, along with some picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple and peach trees. The pond was properly shaped and fixed up for swimming when it was built.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. He grabbed a five gallon bucket to bring back some fruit.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. When he came closer, he realized it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end to shield themselves.

One of the women shouted to him, 'We're not coming out until you leave!'

The old man frowned and replied, 'I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked.' Holding the bucket up he said, 'I' m here to feed the alligator.'

Moral of the story: Old men may move slow but can still think fast.

We are leaving tomorrow morning, for our visit to Reno, but I will endeavor to fill you in on events, if I can, from there.

Our last big hurrah before winter sets in

In case you were wondering.... No I have not skipped the country, I have had a busy week and have had to put blogging on the back burner.
On Thursday morning MrC. and I are flying down to Reno for the annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous. This will be the third year for the rendezvous, and looks as though it will be the best one yet.
For us ladies who attend, there will be more to do than sitting around listening to the guys talk guns and shooting. There is to be an Italian street fair on Saturday in the streets surrounding Circus Circus where we are staying, plenty of casinos just ready to take all our hard earned cash, and of course shopping.
There are plans in the air, to maybe go and have dinner at one of the best Basque restaurants in the area, on Thursday evening. I sure am looking forward to this adventure, having never eaten Basque food before.
I must admit, that having been to Reno for three years in a row, I am tired of the casinos. The first couple of times it was quite exciting, but the excitement wore off as my money disappeared into the slot machines never to make the bells ring, and the lights flash, informing me of a huge win Sighhhhh! I will probably be a big spender, and try my luck with $20, then, win or lose, go find some other entertainment.
It is going to be a fun five days, greeting our old friends and making some new ones. So now I have to give some consideration to what I will pack in the way of clothes. Mix and match is the way to go as I plan on taking the least amount of luggage I can get away with.

Monkeys

Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.

The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He next announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each.'

The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys.

They never saw the man or his assistant again, only lots and lots of monkeys!

Now you have a better understanding of how the stock market works.

Mini Vacation

Thursday morning we were on the 9 am ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo, on the first leg of our journey to Albany Oregon. On Friday morning MrC and I were entered in a "supposedly" Steel Challenge match at a range in Albany. Suffice to say "it only takes one bad apple in the barrel, to spoil it for all the others, which is what happened to MrC. and of course I was angry at the person causing all the distress. Even though I shot rather well for my "first steel challenge??" match, the shine was taken off by the distress I was feeling by the way my honey was being unfairly treated, his day was totally ruined.
However, on Thursday evening, after we had parked our RV at the range, MrC was wandering around checking out the facility, when he came across some club members setting up for a bowling pin match that evening. We had a wonderful evening shooting with these fun folks.


Friday, after the steel match, we secured everything in the RV, and drove west to the coast and Lincoln City. I am always so excited to visit the ocean. Yes, we do live on an island, but it is in Puget sound so we do not get the rolling surf of the ocean.
I grew up in New Zealand and spent much of my childhood at Foxton beach, where my folks had a batch (beach house). In fact we lived in the batch when our new home was being built in Palmerston North, just about a half hours drive away. Then when I married, and had a family of my own, we used to take the children to the beach so they could enjoy playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. So you can understand when I say, that I almost have "withdrawl" if I don't get to walk on the sand and listen to the roar of the surf once in a while.
As soon as MrC found somewhere he could pull the RV off the road, and came to a stop, I had my camera in hand and scrambled down the bank onto the sand. I stood there drinking in the sights and sounds while breathing in the fresh salty air. There are no words to explain, all I was feeling.

In the opposite direction from the photo above, you could just make out the silhouette of the lighthouse through the salty mist.

After a short drive along the coast we arrived at Devil's Lake State park and pulled into site C9 for two nights stay. The first night, Friday, we were too tired to bother lighting the fire, but on Saturday night, after we had spent most of the day exploring the area, including an outlet mall, we lit the fire and had a delicious dinner cooked over hot coals. We do love to cook over an open fire.

This morning, I made a thermos of nice Strong coffee, some hot ham and egg sandwiches (much better than McD's) finished packing the RV and left the campground to enjoy our breakfast in a parking lot overlooking the beach. The river you see in the foreground, flowing into the ocean, is the smallest river in the world The "D" River is just 120 feet long.



After breakfast we drove north along the coast highway, drinking in all the sights. I should say, I was looking at all the sights, as my honey was keeping his eyes mostly on the road (one of the drawbacks on being the driver is, you miss so much of the scenery) Anyway, we drove north until we connected with I5 and continued towards home on the freeway.
As we came down the hill towards the ferry dock at Mukilteo, a large freighter was crossing between the dock and Whidbey Island. We paid our ferry fare and pulled forward into lane 4 to wait until the next ferry left.
As we waited, an officer from Washington State Patrol asked us if he could put a training bag, or whatever you call it, on our vehicle so his dog could find it. He placed a small cloth bag, about he size of a bean bag inside the grill on the front of our RV then went off to get his "dog in training" He walked up and down the rows of vehicles, making the sign for his dog, to check this vehicle and that, came up to ours and made the sign again, and that smart little dog went straight to the place the bag had been hidden in. Talk about an excited dog and trainer. You could see how pleased the officer was, and the sweet female dog was just so happy she had pleased her partner.
After making the ferry crossing, we decided to end our mini vacation on a high note, by stopping at Dairy queen for our favorite banana cream pie blizzard. Even better, the banana cream pie blizzard was the blizzard flavor of the month so it was reduced in price.
We have had our four days away from home, now we get back to everyday living until our trip to reno next month.

Camoflage

It struck me as odd, the way this little bee was sitting so still on the pumpkin blossom. When I bent down for a closer look, I could see that the bee had been captured by a little spider, the same shade of yellow as the blossom. It occurred to me that I have seen this same species of spider in shades of green, brown, and even an almost purple/blue shade depending on the color of the plant they were resting on. An interesting little creature indeed.

You will have to click on the picture if you want to see the little yellow spider.

Are you growing old or up?

Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.

I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed

the bills aren't paid

there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter

the flowers don't have enough water,

there is still only 1 check in my check book,

I can't find the remote,

I can't find my glasses,

and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.


I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC.

Thursday chuckle

Two 90-year-old women, Rose and Barb, had been friends all of their lives.
When it was clear that Rose was dying, Barb visited her every day.

One day Barb said, 'Rose, we both loved playing women's softball all our lives, and we played all through High School. Please do me one favour: when you get to Heaven, somehow you must let me know if there's women's soft-ball there.'

Rose looked up at Barb from her death bed and said, 'Barb, you've been my best friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favour for you.'

Shortly after that, Rose passed on.

At midnight the following Friday, Barb was awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to her, 'Barb, Barb.'

'Who is it?' asked Barb, sitting up suddenly. 'Who is it?'

'Barb -- it's me, Rose.'

'You're not Rose. Rose just died.'
'I'm telling you, it's me, Rose,' insisted the voice.

'Rose! Where are you?'

'In Heaven,' replied Rose. 'I have some really good news and a little bad news.'

'Tell me the good news first,' said Barb.

The good news,' Rose said, 'is that there's Softball in Heaven. Better yet, all of our old buddies who died before us are here, too. Better than that, we're all young again.

Better still, it's always springtime, and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play softball all we want, and we never get tired.'

'That's fantastic,' said Barb. 'It's beyond my wildest dreams! So what's the bad news'
'You're pitching Tuesday.'

Life is short...
So Remember to Live Well & Laugh Often!

A wonderful relaxing weekend

On Friday the ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend, was about 20 minutes late leaving, so we did not arrive at the Scenic Beach campground until around 2pm. We pulled nose in to site number 28 ( according to directions it was a back-in site) but our rig is small enough to do it the other way, and proceeded to set up camp.

As we meandered through the campground looking for our site, we noticed that practically every site had a reserved card on the site number post, leading us to think it would probably be a very busy/noisy weekend. Later that evening, my honey and I wandered around the campground and noticed, there were still many of the reserved sites unoccupied, which we could not understand, as the weather was unusually warm for this time of the year. Saturday morning, as we left the campground, to drive to the Fun Steel Match were were going to shoot in, they were still unoccupied. We thought,with any luck, when we return later that afternoon, it would still be nice and quiet. It was, so we enjoyed the peace and quiet for two whole days.

This young rabbit has some kind of neurological disease, as he is very unsteady on his feet, and keeps falling over. I have been hand feeding him peas from my vegetable garden. Yesterday he had propped himself up against the gate into the garden waiting for me to come outside and give him his treats. Poor wee guy, I feel so sorry for him as his appetite is healthy it is just his body which is failing, and I know he will not be able to outrun any predator. One day I know he will be gone, never to return for his handful of sweet juicy peas.

We are taking a much needed break

In my profession as a caregiver, it is common to experience 'burnout'
so a little R&R is needed once in a while. This weekend away from it all, should be just what I need to recharge my batteries.

Tomorrow at noon, my honey and I will be on a ferry taking us to Port Townsend. From there we are driving for about an hour to Scenic Beach State Park, pulling into space 28 and not moving from there until Saturday morning, when we drive to Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club to do a little shooting at their Fun Steel match.
( hitting a few, well I hope all, the steel targets should take care of any angst I am feeling.)

Saturday evening, back at the camp ground, we will enjoy the company of some friends while sitting around the fire roasting a few hot dogs, grilling a hamburger or two, then toasting some marshmallows, and of course eating and drinking, all the other goodies which make for a great evening BBQ meal. (A few glasses of wine with my dinner, should take care of any stress)
I should be in great shape, mentally that is, to get back to work on Monday.

Bounty from Keewee's Garden

I am going to miss being able to harvest and enjoy all the vegetables from my garden, come winter.

For tonight's dinner I fixed a salad with red leaf lettuce, fresh shelled peas, tomatoes and multi-colored carrots. The colors of the carrots were, a golden color, purple outside and orange inside, and the regular orange colored variety. All tasted just like sweet regular colored carrots.
There is something so satisfying and enjoyable about food which is so brightly colored.

Bubba, ya just don't get it

Each Friday night after work, Bubba would fire up his outdoor grill and cook a venison steak. But all of Bubba's neighbors were Catholic, and since it was Lent, they were forbidden from eating meat on Friday.

The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest. The Priest came to visit Bubba and suggested that he become a Catholic.

After several classes and much study, Bubba attended Mass. As the priest sprinkled holy water over him, he said, "You were born a Baptist, and raised a Baptist, but now you are a Catholic."

Bubba's neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived, and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison again filled the neighborhood. The Priest was called by the neighbors and as he rushed into Bubba's yard clutching a rosary preparing to scold him, he stopped and watched in amazement.

There stood Bubba, clutching a small bottle of holy water which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meat and chanting: "You wuz born a deer, you wuz raised a deer, but now you is a catfish."

HAVE A SAFE, FUN FILLED WEEKEND

Goodness, where have these last few days gone? Now that I have just two and a half days off work away from home, I have to be efficient in using the time I do have at home.
At this time of the year there is always gardening work to be accomplished, harvesting vegetables, trimming, and splitting perennials to be planted elsewhere, and dead heading in the flower garden.
Yesterday my honey and I drove up the island to Oak Harbor to do a little grocery shopping and enjoy lunch before driving home, with a stop at a friend's home, to get a big box and plastic sack full of bearded iris, to plant in my garden. Once the groceries had been put away, and iris had been planted, in a new garden spot I had to create, the day was pretty much over and I had run out of steam.
On my next day off, this Sunday, there is still laundry to do, a little housework calling my name, and in between these chores I want to get out into the flower garden to dig up some of the plants I have decided to move to a new spot in the garden, as they are not doing as well as they should where the are at the moment.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about all I have to do, just would like more hours in the day, and days in the week to get everything accomplished before running out of steam. I really must learn to quit before I become exhausted, but I hate to stop when a job is almost finished. I have to admit to myself, I am not as young as I think I am, and should listen to my body when it starts to protest.
You all have a wonderful labor day weekend, and watch out for all the crazy people out there on the roads.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF KEEWEE

There's a little nip in the air this morning, about 57 degrees according to the thermometer. As I wandered the vegetable garden this morning, large fat green tomatoes weighed down the vines and it crossed my mind that unless we get some nice hot days, those tomatoes are going to remain green. The kohlrabi are getting nice and plump, in fact there is one to harvest right now, which I will get to, after work tonight. There are beans and peas which also need to be picked, and a little fish fertilizer to water on some of the other vegetables. I am very pleased with my first efforts in raising vegetables the only downside is the late start in summer which may mean some of the vegetable will not mature. Next year MrC. is going to build me a greenhouse, I can hardly wait for it to be constructed so I can see what I can produce from a sheltered environment.
As I sit here at my PC I have my own little zoo right outside the window. There are blue jays, nuthatches, finches, sparrows, and chickadees at the bird feeder and four rabbits and Towhees underneath enjoying all the seed dropped from above. Nailed to the willow tree a few feet from the bird feeder, is a feeder for the squirrels I made from a gallon milk jug. I thought if I had a feeder just for these little guys, they would leave the bird feeders alone, and by golly, my plan has worked. Right now I can see just the tail of the smallest squirrel hanging out of the opening of the squirrel feeder, as he enjoys his breakfast from inside.
The sun has just reached the Camellia bush outside the den window, and the topsides of the leaves being kissed by the early morning sun, look as though they have been given a covering of gold leaf.
What a shame I have to work today, as I would rather spend my time outdoors playing in the garden. Soon it is going to be too cold for outdoor activities so I am spending all my free time getting the yard in shape. I spent three weekends cleaning out the carport as it was a 'catchall' for everything we were not using or brought home from yard sales etc. There was room just for our small Honda and I wanted both our cars to fit in there. I am sure there are some of you out there with the same problem, due to all my efforts we now have a clean junk free carport. Yesterday as I arrived home from Costco, with a car full of groceries etc. It was a pleasure to drive under the shelter of carport out of the rain to unload the car. Ahhhh! life is good.
Time has run out for blogging so I must get ready for my day of work, which is really a pleasure now I have a new job as a caregiver, There are many rewards, each and every day, as I visit my clients.

ALERT ALERT ALERT

The Center for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically.

This virus is called Weary Overload Recreational Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss, any of your colleagues or anyone else via any means whatsoever - DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely.

If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises. Take two good friends to the nearest grocery store and purchase one or both of the antidotes - Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) and Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

You should immediately forward this medical alert to five friends. If you do not have five friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life.

Information Please

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was 'Information Please' and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my Mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the Parlor and dragged it to the landing climbing up; I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.

'Information, please,' I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. 'Information.'

'I hurt my finger,' I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

'Isn't your mother home?' came the question.

'Nobody's home but me,' I blubbered.

'Are you bleeding?' the voice asked.

'No,' I replied. 'I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.'

'Can you open the icebox?' she asked.

I said I could.

'Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,' said the voice.

After that, I called 'Information Please' for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, Information Please,' and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, 'Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring Joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?'

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, ' Wayne, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.' Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, 'Information Please.'

'Information,' said in the now familiar voice.

'How do I spell fix?' I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest . When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much. 'Information Please' belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown Operator and said, 'Information Please.'

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. 'Information'

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please tell me how to spell fix?'

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, 'I guess your finger must have healed by now.'

I laughed, 'So it's really you,' I said. 'I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?'

I wonder,' she said, 'if you know how much your call m eant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.'

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

'Please do,' she said. 'Just ask for Sally.'

Three months later I was back in Seattle a different voice answered: Information.' I asked for Sally.

'Are you a friend?' she said.

'Yes, a very old friend,' I answered.

'I'm sorry to have to tell you this,' she said. 'Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.'

Before I could hang up she said, 'Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne ?

'Yes.' I answered.

'Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.' The note said, 'Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.'

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Whose life have you touched today?



Life is a journey ... NOT a guided tour. So don't miss the ride and have a great time going around. You don't get a second shot at it.

NEXT YEAR I WILL COMPETE

I was surprised to see the Pohutukawa trees which were growing along one side of the parking lot where we parked our rental vehicle at the Hilton, during our visit to Valencia CA.
Pohutukawa trees grow along coastal regions in New Zealand where I grew up, so the sight of these lovely trees with their striking blooms, made me think of my homeland.




The range where the 2008 Steel Challenge was held, is out near Lake Piru. As you can see from the photo, the area is very dry, and the dust covered everything, including shooters and everyone else.
Temperatures were very warm, and if you were not used to living with this kind of heat, then it was rather uncomfortable. I was happy to leave the range at the end of each days events, and get back to our air conditioned hotel room, for a nice long shower.



MrC was in squad 4, and I must say, they are the nicest bunch of people. There were 8 stages to shoot starting with "outer limits' which is not the most favorite of some of the shooters. The other stages were, Pendulum, Roundabout, Showdown, 5 To Go, Speed Option, Smoke & Hope, and Accelerator.

RO, (range officer) Gene, AKA "Gunny" timing Scott as he shoots "5 To Go"

Gunny runs a "tight ship" when it comes to how he wants the rules adhered to concerning this event he was running. He is a "no nonsense" kind of guy and by golly you had better listen and mind what he says. All this said, he has a great sense of humor, and under all that gruffness, there is marshmallow.


Matt knocking some paint off the steel plates.






Jeffrey, showin' smoke
as he shoots the "Smoke & Hope" stage.

Flora, the only woman in squad 4

Flora is taking her first step towards the second box, of the two, you have to shoot from in "outer limits". This stage takes some serious concentration as there are several things you have to be paying attention to, to have a successful run.

Don (below) and Dale (right) both starting out towards the second box in "outer limits" to finish the run. The setup is, 5 steel plates, one of which is a "stop plate"
so you shoot 2 plates from one box, move across to the other box, shoot two more steel plates ending with the stop plate. If you accidentally shoot the stop plate before the other four, then you are "toast" I have made this mistake before, and from then on paid a lot more attention to what I was doing.

Mike P shooting "outer Limits"

Bryan (right) making the plates ring.




David (left) deep in concentration.

My Honey MrC doing his thing.

MrC's gun, a High Standard with a 12 inch Volquartsen barrel, and his unusual grip, brought quite a few comments. One of the most common comments I hear when people first see his gun is, "what the h--l is that?"
I am so proud of my honey, he placed 24th out of 55 shooters in his class, and they were the best in world he was up against.

As we left the range after another long hot day, we noticed a number of cattle under the trees, enjoying the shade, except for "old Bossie" Guess she does not mind the heat.

A quick photo of Magic mountain as we drove by.

I am not a fan of roller coasters. Never been on one and don't want to.

We had a wonderful time in California at the World Steel Challenge and look forward to next year.

This, in a comment on Keewee's Corner, from Flora "Already looking forward to next year and please promise me you'll shoot! We ladies will have a blast"

Yes Flora I will be there. I do have many hours of practice ahead before then.

HOME SWEET HOME

We just arrived home a short time ago and we are bushed. Stay tuned for more on our visit to Valencia and Lake Piru CA. I may have something for you to read tomorrow afternoon/evening.