Adventure!

Last week I left the warm southwestern US for an unnamed northwestern state.

A sibling had major surgery with a long recovery period, so it is my turn to visit and be helpful.  The drive took 3 long days and was really nice, once north of major cities.

Needless to say, I've seen a lot of snow in the last 5 days.  Fortunately, the roads were dry and without ice when I went through the potentially nasty passes. Much more snow here than I expected. It's really beautiful, as long as you aren't shoveling or driving in it.

I'm gaining much more appreciation for the winter posts from Patrice Lewis and Enola Gay!

The areas near the Grand Canyon were spectacular, and I have a few pics of the rocks that I'll try to post. Unfortunately I also have several videos of the inside of my car with audio of me swearing while trying to take landscape photos (not videos!!!) with the new traveling device. New technology is getting the best of me right now.

LESSON LEARNED: When traveling thru Utah, plan your overnight stops and have reservations. On some roads, motels are few and far between.  Small towns usually have nice Mom and Pop operations but no national chains. The M&P spots are usually a nice change of pace and are well-kept and reasonably priced.

THANKS, CONNIE, FOR THE PICTURE TIP!!!  It works!!

Tablet Shmablet

We decided that rather than take my laptop when we travel, we should have a tablet.  I found a good price on a well-rated 10 inch tablet. We have access to wi-fi in the places we're most likely to use it, so no full-time Internet cell service subscription was needed.  That made a big difference in cost.

Well, the darn thing makes me crazy. If you don't have tiny pointed fingertips, you either don't trigger what you're trying to see or you accidentally select the thing next to it that you don't care about -- or at least that's what's happening to me. I check my web e-mail and keep ending up in the DRAFTS folder.  I may try the stylus route (not required for this model) but then it's one more complication -- the opposite direction of where we're heading.

My poor, Dear Husband (who is much techier than I am!) has rescued me more than a few times. Actually, he rescued the tablet from becoming an expensive Frisbee.  He's pretty good with it -- magic touch. He can make that sow's ear into a silk purse every time.  I hope to develop the magic touch soon, too. Otherwise this thing may become a paperweight, or more likely, the sole domain of DH!

Happy 2013!!

Happy 2013! Hope you all had a pleasant and peaceful day.  Also wishing you a good year ahead.  It may be a year for simple pleasures and savoring the abundance we already have in our lives.

Sorry about the lack of posting lately. We've been busy with family, which has helped me work out of a seasonal blues thingy. A few years ago I lost both parents during the holiday season, so it's likely related to remembering that. They were good people who lived long and good lives. 

It was an interesting Christmas this year. We had a wonderful, almost full house for Christmas eve with adult children, spouses, significant-others and grandbaby! The little one is about 16 months old, so was really fun to have around. Having the kids here was so nice, but the time went so quickly. I received more than I needed, but was especially pleased with some fresh oranges from Arizona and a sweet (nicely framed!) picture of the grandbaby.

I've no real insight today, but will be setting out on an adventure later this week. I will share more as it unfolds, especially if I find any meaningful insight to pass along.

Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

 

Let us not forget how our forefathers spent their Christmases to bequeath this freedom to us.*

 

Enjoy and remain aware.

 

Let us re-commit to preserve the blessings of liberty to our grandchildren.

 

* look here if you do not understand this image

Something you should read

If you want action to be taken in response to the events of a week ago.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/335739/facts-about-mass-shootings-john-fund#

My heart goes out to all who were affected by the senseless violence last Friday.  Mixing violent mentally ill people with children forced to spend 5 days a week concentrated in schools without meaningful defense is, and always will be, a bad idea. Defending our children is a good idea. Making it easier to assess and detain people with classic signs of developing mental illness, especially when responsible adults are fully aware of the issues, would also be a rational response. In at least 3 of the 4 most recent incidents this was the case.  Two of those shooters were dismissed from academic programs due to their mental status -- unleashed, angry and confused, on the general public.

Since 2010, there have been 9 similar incident reported from China, where children of young age have been attacked, wounded and killed.  The weapon was always a knife, but the damage was the same. Will we all soon be eating only with spoons?

Too bad the numerous positive US incidents, when mayhem is prevented by a rational, legal weapon owner, are not given the same press coverage.

WELCOME and Thanks!

WELCOME to Connie and thanks for following this blog.

Thanks also to my other blog followers. I treasure each of you!

Most of you are fellow bloggers and Connie is no exception.  I follow her as well and am a big fan.  I always learn something new and occasionally yearn to be at her dinner table -- especially after her recent post on all those onions!

What will we do if no one is in charge??

In my humble opinion, there's a difference between 'society' and 'community.' My experience with society has a lot of elected officials, regulations and people in charge of their domains. Government does stuff for you and you pay for it whether you use it, want it or not.

Community is different. It is somewhere between loose organization and chaos.  People do things because it's right to do them or they want to do them, not because it's required. Things come together, or they don't. 

My current experience in an unnamed place in an unnamed western state is a positive reflection on the goodness of community. A family has a genuine misfortune, there's a fund-raiser. 

People want music? It happens, right there.

BEFORE

AFTER!!

Folks need to communicate?
 Put it on the bulletin board.

Christmas coming up? Decorations materialize.

If someone is offended, they keep it to themselves.

Decorations will be taken down soon enough.

Neighbor too busy with work to decorate the fence?

No sweat, that's what neighbors do.

 

Got something you don't need?

Need something you don't have?
Check the free box outside the Mason's Lodge on Main Street. Today there are books, a hat, an inkjet cartridge and a clean egg carton for your hens' product.
Folks tend to only put nice stuff that still works there, not stuff that should go to the dump.

A few local folks, through a variety of circumstances, wouldn't eat regularly if not for the kindness of others. Cafe serves them, other regulars add a buck or two if they can when they pay their bills to cover the losses.

There are more examples every day, but just thought I'd offer a small glimpse of living communites that function with out someone "in charge."
 

Spice up your holidays

I'm a huge fan of Penzey's spices. They have high-quality, fresh spices at very reasonable prices.  If you save your old spice jars you can refill them with Penzey's spices in resealable ziplock bags, many of which are in bags as small as one ounce of product, for even greater savings. For example, based on the way I cook, I buy dill weed in one ounce bags, garlic in 4 ounce bags and cinnamon in 8 ounce bags.

They always have some special offers during the holidays. This year is no exception. First is their free shipping with an order of $30 or more, a minimum savings of $7.95.  The second is this year's holiday gft box. It is a great sampler of some of their spices, and also a wonderful gift for a friend who cooks. Their cinnamon (included in the box) is unbelievably good -- I occasionally sprinkle it on buttered toast to make cinnamon toast. No sugar needed! The gift box comes with a cute kitchen towel.  If you prefer pairs of towels, you can buy extras as well.  Several of my friends and family members will get these for Christmas (surprise!).