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Saturday's Child

I was born on a Saturday. Maybe that's why it's my favorite day of the week, no matter what's going on. Of course, today is Sunday...I love Sundays too, LOL!

We are having what I think is the mildest July ever since we've moved to the desert! I mean, seriously; it cools off enough in the evenings to sit outside without sweating and it's nice enough once the shade falls over part of the back lawn to be outside playing with the doggies! That's huge! Last night it was so beautiful outside, I really wished I had the aero bed blown up and set up on the patio; I coulda slept there all night. Although, it would probably have been more like the "Barka-lounger" with Madison Macadamia Nut running and barking at every little thing. I think if I'd gotten the fountain and chimnea I am planning on I probably would have taken the time to have done it! Maybe in another month.

I'm a little sad too; my little job at the celebrity dog website is on hold again; I just love doing it so much and I really like the girl I worked for. She's really a wonderful and fun person. I know it seems so silly and trivial, but it really is pretty fun. And it gives me something to do besides obsess over my dogs or exercise. As despondent as I am, I completely understand. So much competition with websites these days and times are tough. I love doing research though and if pets are involved, so much the better, LOL! Kind of a match made in heaven. If it involved cooking it would meld everything in a perfect tied-with-a-bow package, haha.

I am onto a new vice...sangrias! Oh gosh, I made the best pitcher yesterday! Love love love good wines, but during the intensely hot summer here, it's a little daunting to be drinking a heavy cab or much of anything other than something like a white zin! Yes, I uttered those words. After living in the desert, white zin doesn't seem so unseemly, LOL. In fact, does anyone drink that stuff anywhere else? Hard to imagine.

OK, so onto the rest of my weekend; play with dogs, keep myself from making them wear their newest wardrobe additions til I bathe them at least, figuring out what in the world to make for dinner and catching up on some reading. OH..and ignoring any ironing that needs to be done, LOL. Looking forward to the coming week!

Laaazzzzzy Dayyyyyy

"....Just right for blogging away"


Geeze, what a strange day for a weekend! I finally get back here and it's like the most boring day of the month. Gotta do somethin' about that!

It's hot outside, but not horrifically hot as it can be at this time of year in the desert. It's humid though; I think that's what's going on. It feels like some heavy weight sitting on you and it's overcast, so when you look outside, it seems like it would be cold. NOT! Nosiree....it's not cold here!

Just saw a cool sight though; two jets flying side by side over the house. I love stuff like that. We're sort of in the landing approach for Palm Springs airport, so I get to see interesting things every now and then. I love watching airplanes; I just don't like BEING on them.

I've been watching the Tour de France; what a great race it is! I am totally amazed by Lance Armstrong; say what you will about him, but that guy is beyond freakin' incredible! After being off for ..what? 3 years? And he decides to come back, starts training, crashes and breaks his shoulder, has surgery and pins placed and STILL will be on the podium tomorrow? Not in the maillot jaune, but still....not too shabby. I swear, he is other than mortal! Aww, you know me and my bikes....I keep thinking about my bike chain napkin rings....I need to go dig those out for dinner tonite, LOL!

Dogs are doing fine today. Poor little Max has had a few seizures lately; don't know what's going on, but I think part of it is stress related. Seems like they usually occur when he's really frightened of something. Madison Macadamia Nutboy of course is perfectly fine. My little airhead. I wish I were like him...well, YKWIM..I KNOW I lean toward airheaded-ness, but I'm pretty sure it's only b/c I have so many things going on in my head!

Ok...seriously: I think I'm going to do Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season ......make one every day (I'll start on Monday; you know I never start anything immediately....need to strategize and organize first ya know!) and photograph them. Why am I doing it? Oh, who knows? I'm BORED. And it's HOT! So. Something to look forward to. Yayyyy.....ok.....hope today is not the day the music dies. Hasta!

Never Can Say Goodbye

"Never can say goodbye
No no no no, I
Never can say goodbye

Even though the pain and heartache
Seems to follow me whereever I go
Though I try and try to hide my feelings
They always seem to show
Then you try to say you're leaving me
And I always have to say no...

Tell me why
Is it so,,,"


Another goodbye. This time with much ado. And despite a troubled life, I feel it's rightly so. So many huge huge fans of Michael Jackson. It's hard to lose your idols, no matter how flawed they may be. When you love or admire someone, you tend to gloss over the less than desirable traits and focus on their good ones. Which, in death, is how it should be.

Tomorrow will be interesting. I wanted to get something in writing before the big event; heaven only knows what exactly will take place there in LA. But one thing for sure; a lot of insanity! I teased my dh who is crowd-phobic but is in LA all week that if I was watching the news coverage of the memorial and I saw him there I'd be really po'd. AS IF, haha. He freaks out just having to go to the grocery store, so somehow I kind of doubt he'll be front and center in a world-wide funeral frenzy.

If you haven't noticed, most of my blog titles are names of songs. The weird thing is, when I chose this one, I really didn't realize it was done by the Jackson 5. So long ago! To me, even though I'm not a die-hard MJ fan, I did enjoy his music and his dancing. I enjoyed him actually but I did think he became a sort of weird recluse who was doomed to either intense scrutiny because of that, or intense invasion otherwise. What would you choose? And how does one defend themselves without revealing too much of their personal life, regardless whether it's saintly or not?

OK...I'm not going to wax poetic on something that's going to be (or has already been) covered ad nauseum. I suppose that's the only thing about being dead; you don't care anymore what people say about you. I do hope MJ rests in peace at last.

So, we had a fun 4th; nothing exciting but just nice. I cooked up a storm, but things were all organized and done by the time guests arrived and the grilling was done by my dh. Nice guy; it was around 110 deg outside, so I was pretty grateful. I usually do the grilling and I really wasn't looking forward to going in and out to check it constantly. We had a nice dinner, good conversation, watched some fun tv and just kicked back basically. Next year, I swear I'll be in N. CA for the 4th!

Boys have their swimming pool. I was so busy working today along with having to go do some banking later on in the day, I didn't have time to fill it up and get them into it for pictures. Tomorrow will be THE day I think! No gardeners, no other interruptions. It should be fun. No kids, so the dogs get spoiled. You should have seen the bird's abode before they left me, so I don't feel like I'm being too terribly indulgent (yet). I'm planning though, LOL. OH...that's their pool up top; BW (before water), and of course, I'll situate it in the back yard instead of the entry way.

Tonite.....relax. House is cleaned, laundry done, dishes done, animals tended to and plants watered.....oh, did I forget the ones on the patio? ...Later people. Nightingale out (literally).

Saturday, In the Park....

.....I think it was the Fourth of July...."

Well, this year, the Fourth of July really IS on a Saturday and I'm already looking forward to it! I'm not sure why, but the Fourth has always been one of my favorite holidays. Hmmm....but Christmas is my first favorite...and then my birthday, LOL. And there's Easter, and New Year's Eve, and Thanksgiving.....well, I DO love holidays!

I have my menu pretty well set. Not that anything is really going on here. It's going to be at LEAST 108 (you can just bet if they're forecasting it to be that hot, it's going to be several degrees over that) that day, so obviously we won't be picnicing.

My friend Mel will be here with us with Max's little sissiepie, PieLinda (we call her that after the "flying Wallendas" b/c she has a tendency to leap from one piece of furniture to the arm of another, the little munchkin!), so it will just be the 3 humans and 3 dogs. I have a huge menu planned of course, LOL.

So, now I'm trying to figure out something fun to do during the day. Board games are OUT. I'm thinking maybe a flick at the theater, early. And I think I'm going to get the dogs a little swimming pool and see how they like it. I saw a really cute kids pool that has a blowup palm tree that you attach the hose to and it drips water into the pool. If I were a dog, I'd love that!

I wish they'd get that poor Michael Jackson buried already. I hate to sound callous, but don't you think when you focus on all the sadness and details of his life that it makes things seem so bleak? And the world is bleak enough right now!

And it seems like there's a rash of deaths in Hwood this last week or so...some untimely and others past their due date. Karl Malden was the latest (that I know of). I LOVED him in Streets of San Francisco! But gosh, he was 97! It just doesn't seem possible that so much time has passed and he could be that age!

I'm getting excited; speaking of SF. We're going! Taking a little trip home and I can't wait (but dread the period leading up to it....getting the cat and birds squared away before I leave (meaning CLEANING the cat's room which of course, is a disaster and stocking up on food for her and those damned birds. I swear, they'll never die. I had a dove who was so decrepit and psychotic and it must have been at least 12 years old...at LEAST. I can understand a parrot living that long, but a dove? And of course, I need to get hold of a pet sitter. I have one actually, I just need to call and give her the dates. Or at least, I hope she's still in the desert!
Only a week away from the heat of the desert, but it will be good for me and the dogs and Mel is coming with us, and she's never met my mom or a few of my friends, so it should be fun.

Anyway, it's a lovely day here albeit, hot. Yesterday it actually sprinkled a bit. Mel and I met at the new produce stand (store)....oh hallelujah! REAL produce at a decent price! Beautiful, huge heads of locally grown lettuces and pineapple that smelled so sweet. And heads of garlic that weren't microscopic or all squishy or weird shapes. You know when you want to roast garlic just to spread? And you don't want some stupid looking or misshapen head to put on a platter? I'm sorry; I like my roasted garlic to be nice and round so it looks nice when you present it. I Know.....weird. Anyway....

After we picked up a few things and scoped the entire store out (I'll be going back tomorrow to get what we need for the Fourth) we ducked over to the Elephant Bar for their Happy Hour (just luck) and had a few appetizers and a glass of wine. Which sufficed for dinner. It was a nice afternoon.

Which makes me think; do you ever make plans but they aren't exactly concrete with a friend. And then you kind of get involved in your day and are just winding down, ready to do what you normally do every evening and they call with your original plan that got delayed? That's the situation yesterday. I had called and said I'd be ready by 3 pm but I didn't hear back from her (my fault, somehow I missed her voicemail saying we'd meet between 3 and 3:30), so I was sort of just ready to get reading my latest book and when she called, I thought "Oh darn, I don't feel like getting all cleaned up to go out", but I decided since I'd told her I would, I should. So I did.

And then you have the BEST time? It's unusual for me to go out in the evening except on the weekend with dh, so I need to remember that having fun and not feeling so uber-responsible all the time is a GOOD thing!
Nightingale out.

Oh, What A Long Strange Trip It's Been!

I feel exhausted today. After losing Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both in the same day, I had a violent headache and just didn't feel good. I don't know what the energy zap is when someone so BIG is suddenly gone, but it really knocked me for a loop this time!

As I logged into a pr agency site for photos for work, the first thing I see (it had to be like, 2 minutes after Farrah was pronounced...how do they do that???) is that she had passed away. It was not a good start to my day!

I am sad for Ryan and for Redmond (note to God: I hope this will scare him sober and he can make his mom proud of him)and for her friends.

She was just incandescent, yes she was! I am sad for the world to lose another wonderful, strong, REAL woman. And to share her agonizing last several months with us to help people who may potentially be or are going thru the same thing is beyond amazing. I don't want anyone around when I've got a headache for crying out loud! And I look at her younger photos and it takes me back to such a wonderful time in my life; when things were so much simpler and so much more glamorous. She was a real "STAR" in my eyes.


















On the other hand, I'm thankful that she isn't suffering or in pain any longer. And I know she wouldn't want her friends and family to have this horrible time dragged out for any longer.

Part of the reason she was so memorable to me aside from being the most beautiful woman in the world as far as I was concerned; was that she did something REALLY kind for me. Not so much for me, but for a couple of patients I had when I worked at Stanford Hospital in the ICU.

At that time, we were still in the old ICU; it was kind of a typical old hospital ward; long hallway with the patient rooms along one side which had windows overlooking some trees that lined the parking lot. Which looked out to some other medical buildings. Lovely view, haha.

The other side of the hall was just break room, storage rooms and nursing stations.

The patient room doors were made of dark wood and had just one small square window at about eye level, but that was it as far as any view went. Of course, most of the time, that made no difference, since we normally kept the door open (our patients were all heart surgery patients of one type or another and were usually in there for the least amount of time they needed to be: so basically, once they were awake enough to want some privacy they were transferred. Not quite that quickly, but you get the picture). Plus, we at the illustrious world-famous heart surgery institute known as Stanford, didn't have centralized monitoring. Dr. Shumway wanted a nurse in his patients rooms at all times. Which meant, we stayed in the room for the entire shift except when another nurse came to relieve us for our breaks.

I specialized with the heart transplant patients. At that time, Stanford was the only hospital in the entire world doing heart transplants and it was a HUGE BIG DEAL. It was so complicated and labor and time intensive getting the patients worked up and then they had to wait for a match; all the while getting weaker and weaker. By the time some of the patients got their heart, they were extremely ill.

Once they got their transplant, the patient was in what's called "reverse isolation", meaning, the door was shut at all times other than when people entered or exited; anyone who went in, had to be in a gown, cap, mask, gloves and booties. And the only people who could go in were the dr's, nurses who were working with the patient and immediate family.

The patient never saw what anyone looked like because all the gowning up was done outside the room before entering. So all these people behind masks with non-descript bodies were constantly hovering over them.

The television was marginal at best. They couldn't see out the door and there was not much of a view from the window.

Most of our transplant patients were teenagers or young adults! And they had to stay in this room until they were no longer in rejection; which sometimes would be MONTHS after surgery. So imagine being a teenaged boy and being stuck in a room (this was LONG before iPods, text messaging and iPhones existed) with nothing to do!

It was very boring and disheartening for them. A couple of them that I took care of; two teen boys; used to see each other in the hallway once they were well enough to take walks down the hall (but then, THEY had to be the ones gowned, masked, gloved etc) and they would talk a bit as they passed each other on their daily walks but it was sort of discouraged for them to really hang out together (only b/c they didn't want them to catch anything the other one might be carrying), so they'd talk on the phone between rooms.

One thing they found that they had in common was they both had crushes on Farrah Fawcett (bet you thought I'd forgotten what the point of this story was, huh?).
And they'd yak about her and watch Charlie's Angels and then yak about her some more (having to be in the room constantly made me privy to a lot of their personal information, LOL).

It was a good thing; it gave them something normal to think about other than meds (of which there were dozens a day for them to take) and procedures and lab work.

When my one guy went into rejection not long after this, his out of room walks were discontinued and he was back on the painful anti rejection injections, ATG. He was so down, and I felt so badly. I thought "what can I do to cheer him up so he'll get better?" and the only thing I could come up with that didn't involve food he couldn't eat or people he couldn't have in his room was maybe a picture of Farrah Fawcett signed by her.

Of course, I had NO clue how to get that, but I called the SF radio station KNBR and told them what I wanted to do but had no idea how to contact Farrah. They said they didn't know either, but they'd find out and get back to me.

Later that day, someone from the radio station called me with a phone number and told me it was Farrahs' publicist and I could at least try her and see where it went from there. I figured "it can't hurt". So I dialed.

A pleasant sounding woman anwered the call and I explained what the situation was; 18 yr old heart transplant in rejection, sad and dejected and in need of a happy surprise. She hesitated a second and said "I'm going to let you talk to Ms. Fawcett yourself"...and she handed the phone to Farrah herself! OMG!!! I was totally NOT expecting to speak to a movie star right then and there! I was almost speechless!

But Farrah was so patient while my words tumbled out of me and I felt so dumb, but she just listened and said "I'll tell you what I'm going to do"....and she said she'd send them both an autographed poster (yes, THE poster of the red swimsuit) signed to THEM, and she would call them the next day between 2 and 3 pm (which is when I was at work). She took their names and took down the phone number of the intensive care unit. And I thought...."oh, she'll probably get busy and forget all about it" so I wasn't going to say a word to the boys.

But sure enough.....she DID call them the next day and I don't think I've ever seen two boys ( I was SO glad she called them both b/c there would have been a lot of jealousy if only one got a call, LOL) so excited! And a week or so later, they got the posters and she also sent some other photos of her to them.

So, that's my Farrah story and that's why I think she was just the best of the best! And why I'll miss her so much. Her sparkling laughter and her sense of humor and joy.

I'm sure she's resting in peace. Don't all angels?

RIP, Farrah Fawcett

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me.....

Yes! I HAVE to post today! It's my favorite day of the year! And the longest day of the year, which is what's so great about being born on this day. You have more time to have fun and celebrate! But I'm too busy celebrating to post very much, LOL. I'm getting out in the sun before it's too hot! It's my birthday and I get to do whatever I want to do!

Blip.fm | What are you listening to?

Blip.fm | What are you listening to?

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Let's Get It Started....

yeah....AGAIN! What makes it so difficult for me to get in here and post sometimes? Like maybe once a week at least? SIGHHHHHHHHHHHH......maybe b/c I'm posting all the time at celebritydogwatcher? Maybe? As much as I love being "connected" in cyberspace, my dogs like me to be connected to THEM, LOL!

Well, I'm back. At least for now. So...what's been going on here in the desert?
Hmmmm.....well, I got my racing bike all fixed up. Have I ridden it? Noooooooooooo...nope, I sure haven't. But I will. Now my big plan is to get back into practice on my mountain bike, LOL. Yeah...that's the ticket! Ok, so some friends of mine and I went out for St. Pat's Day. Took a limo to Palm Springs and hit all the boring places, then to Palm Desert and home. Probably my last St. Pat's outing, LOL. Saw Frankie Valli~ dh loved the show, I didn't care for the music, but his backup singers were good. I picked the winner in the Kentucky Derby (go figure; it had "bird" in it's name)..yes, that's how I pick horses.....it's all in the name, right?
So, not much happening around here. It's heating up here though. The pups just got their summer cuts; they got scalped! They look so cute though.

I've been working a lot on celebritydogwatcher~ I love doing it. It keeps you in a good mood, looking at cute dogs all day long. The hard part is not saying anything snarky about the celebs sometimes, LOL.

My brother Scott had an esophagectomy for esophageal cancer; not a good thing. He's been having a tough time of it post operatively (like he needs anything else to make his life any worse than it already is!). After a second surgery to repair a fistula a month after his original surgery, he's still in the ICU on a ventilator. Sometimes you really wonder what it's all about here, doncha? Sometimes I guess there just aren't any answers. It is what it is. All I can say is of anyone I've ever known, he didn't deserve this.

Thinking about starting a book club at least for the summer here. There's nothing much else to do; I can tell it's going to be hotter than hell this year. Already it's been over 100 and will be all this week thru next week. I need something to keep my mind occupied.

I cannot find a job; that's the really bad news! I can't believe that NOBODY even calls me for an interview! Do they think I got stupid and inept just b/c I haven't been working for the last 10 years? I feel like all my resumes are going into some big circular file in cyberspace! But the search continues. Something will come along!

Well, I'm out of practice here; I'll have to work on my badditude, LOL. I'm wondering what lapse of sanity prompted me to order some candles thru the mail? I'm just hoping when I check the mailbox there's not a big puddle of wax dripping out of it, LOL!

Workin' My Way Back to You Babe...

This is my girlfriend's little Yorkie (and my Max's sister) who spent the night with us last night. Isn't this so cute? She's just staring at the door waiting for her mom to come back! My boys do the same thing when I'm gone; only they lie on the floor next to each other, staring at the front door. Which is sort of weird, because I rarely come and go thru the front door, LOL.

Anyway, I spent all last night covered in Yorkies! I couldn't move in bed without feeling something furry, no matter which way I turned. I had two under the covers near the bottom of the bed and one who has to sleep practically surgically attached to my body, haha. And HE snores! Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep yesterday. But then they say, sleep is overrated. I'm not so sure about that!

It's a beautiful day here today but a little cool for me. I think it's around 70 degrees, but it feels so cold! Not doing much anyway, just a little posting at CDW because it's so fun!

Going out for Mexican food later, which will be fun. Always nice to see the people who work there; maybe Melan'ee will join us if she's gotten some sleep.

The boys are napping on the bed, they really need a bath (the dogs, not the husband, but he could probably use one too, LOL), but I hate to get them all wet when it's so cold in the house. Maybe later ....or, as Scarlett was fond of saying "tomorrow is another day".

Where does the time go????

I just wanted to get something on here tonite! What a day! I'm not sure really why I have been so busy; but I suppose it was b/c I had a lot to do. Feed all the animals, clean the cat's box and room, clean bird cages, do laundry and then fold it and put it away, make Madison's rice and turkey. Slice up sourdough bread loaves and wrap in plastic wrap to put in the freezer. Only I ran out of the plastic wrap and still needed to wrap the dog's food to put in the freezer. UGH..I hate it when I run out of stuff.
Then get onto the job sites, which of course, there are NO jobs for me, but you never know when one will pop up! Of course the dogs have to have some sort of sustenance every two hours, so it was getting up to address that issue too. Get online to find pictures to post for CDW and then write up blurbs for them and get them posted online. It's not that difficult; I'm just new to actually posting and writing the blurbs, so it was a little slow going for me this morning.

Other than that, it's been a beautiful day; Melan'ee came over to drop Pie off while she ran a couple of errands (one of them being an angel and picking up plastic wrap for me) and then came back for dinner, while we watched AMC that I'd dvr'd. It's fun~ we have a nice dinner with good company, our little doggies and get mad at the characters on the soaps, LOL. Aren't girlfriends the BEST??? Well, I know she is, for sure!

I'm tired and the boys are knocked out, snoring even, LOL. So, it must be time to pick the little guys up and deposit them on the bed for a nice sleep for all of us! Tomorrow is another day, God willing! I am thankful for my friends~ close friends and my internet friends. You all keep me going and make me stronger than sometimes I feel that I am. Sometimes I just need to say that, because it matters to me! Nitey nite to you all~ sweet dreams!

These are my new favorite things~~~

I love it when I hear about products or services that other people love...and I end up loving them too, so I like to share with others~~~

If any of you know me, you know what a neat/clean freak I am. I'm a stickler about surfaces especially being clean and sparkling, and for a long time now, I've had granite counters and either granite or ceramic tiled floors. I can't stand dirty, much less, smeary, greasy-feeling surfaces, and years ago, I started using a diluted Simple Green solution on my floors and counters. I like the smell and it did a great job. But I've found something the other day that I like even BETTER!!! It's not just better; it's FABULOSO! I diluted it and spray it on all my counters and used it even on glass tables. I LOVE the smell of the Lavande scent; there's several different scents, but a friend told me this was the "original" one. It just smells so CLEAN and it does such a nice job! Everything is sparkling around here now and it smells GOOOD! OH...AND it's Cheep-cheep-cheep (as one of my dearest friends would say). I think you can sometimes find it at the dollar stores.















I will not even TOUCH this story about it however....





"Cleanser looks like a sports drink
Nearly 100 people have mistakenly ingested Fabuloso, thinking it was a beverage.
By Jeff Sturgeon

Cleaning products such as Fabuloso looks similar to sport drinks, such as the Gatorade products displayed here besides three examples of Fabuloso.


The health risk is low. The yuck factor is high.

A physicians group warned Wednesday that dozens of Texans mistakenly drank a mild cleaning product that happens to look like a sports drink.

Fabuloso is a buck a bottle at some Roanoke stores, deliciously colored and fits comfortably in the hand. Its purpose, however, is cleaning floors and toilets.

But researchers with the American College of Emergency documented 94 cases of accidental ingestion during the first four months of the year across Texas. Many were children under 6, the group said."



OK...I lied again. I can't help myself...it says "many" were under 6...okey dokey...I can accept that (maybe) some kids will ingest anything. And I agree that the smaller size DOES sort of look like a sports drink in a sports drink bottle. But WHERE are people storing this stuff?? In the fridge? I don't get it. And if not, do they not have cleaning supplies out of reach of little kids (who apparently weren't blessed with a sense of smell)? Again, I don't get it.
Now, as far as the rest of them who were over 6, I am just supposing that they've had their sinuses burned out by one method or another. Because all the scents I smelled are REALLY STRONG- smelling in their concentrated form. I'm just sayin'.......
And I'm not going to say anything about where the story originated. You can't MAKE me, LOL.




Another prouct that a friend on her blog mentioned is this:




It's Rimmel London's Lift and Renew foundation. I LOVE IT! It's been a long time since I've found any foundation that isn't mask-like and I hate that. This is light and dewy, so if you need a lot of coverage, it's probably not what you're looking for, but it's just what I've been wanting and it's only around $7 at Walmart.

I know there's more, but at the moment, my brain is being pulled like taffy in too many directions, so I'll post as time goes on.....

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Maxi
Happy Birthday to you!










Awww, today is my little boy's 4th birthday! The top photo is of Max when we first got him at 11 weeks old. One of his ears hadn't stood up yet and we thought it was so cute. We thought it might stay that way, but it didn't....a couple of weeks later, it went up all by itself and has stayed there ever since. The bottom photo is him now. He's grown into such a handsome guy we think.
It seems like just yesterday almost that we got him, and man, have we been through a lot with him. We've both learned a lot...what to freak out about, what to just chalk up to "it's a Yorkie thing", and how to love and share unconditionally. The bed is his, the best blankets are his, we sleep like mountain climbers most of the time, hanging off one side of the bed or other. He gets fed first in the morning...before the coffee gets made, before we use the restroom. If it's cold, he's swaddled in the softest blankeys that were made just for him and if it's too hot in the house, it doesn't matter if the A/C bill is $2000 a month; it's justifiable. He's our little doll-baby and even though we now have little Madison, Max will always be our Numero Uno, Number One, King of the Hill. Yep, dh's friends can't believe he's so gaga over a dog, but it's true. So, today is celebration day~ party to follow, LOL! It's also my best girlfriend's dog, Princess Little Pie's birthday since she's Max's sister, so there will definitely be a party later. I have doggie treats and a cake to get made!

So much to yak about today! The weekend was fun (kind of)~ I say "kind of" because it was also a lot of work and because we worked til late Saturday night and then went out afterward, and had to be up really early Sunday morning to get to Palm Springs. The fun part was seeing all the phenomenally gorgeous and exquisite classic cars. I don't think I even realized that quite a few of those cars even existed. So beautifully restored or maintained. I love the history behind all of them. It's interesting to me who built the cars and the story of how they came to be built. OK....I won't bore you with my fascination with every detail and I can't wait to show you my MOST FAVORITE car there~ this was not taken at this show, but at Pebble Beach last year where it won Best in Class. I was too hot and tired to take photos, which I'm now kicking myself for! There were some cars that I can't find online anywhere to show you (and I feel like EVERYBODY should be able to be exposed and enjoy such beauty, LOL)....OK..are you ready? Get ready to swoon!!!









This is a 1948 Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet built by Faget-Varnet. These photos really don't do it justice. There's not very many of these around anymore, in any condition. This particular car was supposedly built for one of the coachbuilder's (Varnet)daughter to use for her wedding. Can't you just see a young beautiful bride in her big white wedding gown and her veil and her groom in that car? It's a beautiful car and a romantic car, I think. I usually can't stand anything blue, and it just struck me that my two favorite entries were some shade of blue! How odd.
The other vehicle that just gave me a great feeling of nostalgia on multiple levels was one that looked sort of like this:




and it was hitched to the cutest little Eriba Puck camping trailer. I'm almost ready to sell the Jag and get the same setup, LOL. Oh, the YE's would LOVE it!!!I'm SERIOUS, really.

OK..only ONE more...this was a really insane vehicle....built from the ground up...a 1938 Packard (that's a PT boat engine people!) 1608 12 cylinder Towncar...yeah, right, LOL~




OK, I lied...ONE MORE...you HAVE to see the motor~




I'm done. I have a party to plan, hahaha...well, it IS my specialty, right?

Sentimental Journey

I'm not sure why, but the last few days, I've been feeling so sentimental about music I listened to when I was younger. Maybe because it reminds me of times that were so much more carefree and unencumbered. Maybe because I miss all the fun times with all my friends at the gym, but I was reminded of how MUCH I LOVED this movie; I love the music and I could watch this over and over and over just for the dancing (yes....remember when you were famous if you taught aerobics, LOL?). This wasn't my most favorite song in the movie, but the dance routine just slayed me~ hope you enjoy this as much as I do (somehow, I think the guys will at least!)~



Can you even IMAGINE having that body.....or being able to dance like that??? In my dreams, LOL.

So...onward and ...onward I guess. Weather here is ...funny. So windy in the evenings/nights. I lugged in my two giant Bird of Pardise plants that are in big pots on the patio and my favorite geranium. Geeze, all of them got blown over yesterday, so they spent the night inside. But it's been pretty darned warm for February.

My friend Melanee and I will be outside all day Sunday for the Concourse, so we're hoping it's going to be cooler than the predicted 84 deg. UGH....Saturday night we'll be at the Desert Air Museum though for the gala dinner party. I can't wait for that. I LOVE the air museum; it's filled with beautiful old (WWII)fighter planes that have been restored. So much history and you think of the men (and women) who must have flown in those planes. I love looking at the photographs that they have displayed from those times too; lots of Bob Hope photos. But looking at them, you realize how YOUNG those guys were. Such a different time, such a different world. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it. Yesterday was a wasted day though as far as doing any work for the event. We TRIED, but things just didn't come together before it was time for us to leave. Maybe today....I'm still waiting to hear what needs doing.

I've caught bits and pieces of some of the morning shows the last few days and it seems so odd to me that you see the same people on the talk shows...I mean, all in the same day. Yesterday or the day before it was Fran Drescher. I first saw her on either The Morning Show or Good Morning America, and then she was on The Doctors (which I thought must be shot somewhere close to me since one of the dr's is from here). And today it's Tom Selleck. I will always be in love with that man, LOL. He's aged, but he still looks so good! What a handsome man he is. My mom was CONVINCED that he was looking for me, hahaha. The sad thing was, so was I, LOL.


Oh well....the doggies are fine, little monsters, LOL. They need a bath SO BADLY...maybe this evening????

Fat Bottomed Girls

Yeah, some days that's just how ya feel, isn't it? But nice to know we've been deified by one of the greatest rock bands in history, LOL.




Ahhhh....gay or not, Freddy was hot hot HOT!

Spent all day yesterday cleaning out and organizing my office, something I've been meaning and wanting to do for MONTHS. Well, not really WANTING to do....rather, wishing the good cleaning fairy would do it and I'd just wake up one morning and it would magically be done, LOL. Yeah...dream on. So, now that I've got a television in here too, it's a tossup as to whether I can now REALLY go back to work or just never leave the office. Oh...I guess I'll have to make an occasional foray out to the kitchen for sustenance (and wine), but I seriously think that I've got just about everything else I could need in here. And if I hadn't taken the little fridge out and put it into the guest room, I'd have wine in here too, haha. Well, it seemed like a great idea at the time.....

I can't believe it's been since Valentine's Day since I posted! I am SO lame sometimes, but really, I've been busy!

Melanee is still staying here (I THINK she might be leaving today, but it's sort of dependent on her friend with a truck). Her poor friend is having a tough time of things though; she lost her job which was a really good one, then a few days later, let a friend drive her hot little Z car and he somehow lost control of it (in a parking lot no less) and managed to be driving half on and half off the median and hit two palm trees. Needless to say, the car is damaged. Luckily, neither of them were hurt. But just after that, she was carrying a piece of PVC pipe and it hit her truck window and broke THAT out! Gosh....can you imagine? Hopefully that will be the last bad thing to happen to her all year! Anyway, she was going to help Mel take some of her things from her storage unit to her new place, but hasn't felt up to it.

Mel and I are working on an event (we're volunteering and actually, I've only done one day's of work so far). She worked yesterday and is off today to help out getting things done. So much to do....this is the event:

http://www.desertconcours.com/

It's going to be a lot of fun! The cars that are entered are AMAZING and...check this out:

"100 mpg Fisker Karma makes its West Coast Premiere at the Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance in Palm Springs, California, March 1, 2009.

The world's first luxury plug-in hybrid car, the 2010 Fisker Karma, will make its West Coast debut at the Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, in Palm Springs, California. "




YUM,YUM..I'll take one of those! That's THE best looking hybrid I've seen! And who doesn't want a car named Karma, LOL?


And this is the new Aptera...so radical, but so cool! And gullwing doors to boot! It will be at one of the private events taking place during the concourse:




Saw the Bugatti (the founder of the event says a $4 million car!) at the art gallery the other day, pretty impressive. This should be a fun event and some of the proceeds are going to the Animal Samaritans yayyy!

Well, other than that, it's Tuesday again (Tuesday=maniacally barking little dogs x 3..actually, it's my two boys who are the instigators and primary barkers) so the gardeners are on their way. That must mean it's time for me to go grocery shopping...or something away from the house, LOL.

Innamorata

"....if our lips should meet,
Innamorata;
Kiss me, kiss me sweet
Innamorata~
Hold me close and say
You're mine;
With a love as warm
As wine...."


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

In honor of the most romantic day of the year, here's my latest favorite video:



It's a gorgeous day here in the desert after yesterday's storm blew right by us, not even dropping more than about 12 drops of rain. Mel and I are on our way to Art Under the Umbrellas in La Quinta and try to dodge all the bikes on the road from the Tour de Palm Springs...hey guys! Next year, I'll be out there with you ;).

Mercy Mercy Me

Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Where did all the blue sky go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north, east, south, and sea
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be


Wow, talk about a buzzkill first thing in the morning! I hadn't been up for long this morning, just getting the puppies fed, the cat squared away and the birds taken care of, got the coffee going and straightened up the kitchen~ Melanee was still in bed with her door shut, so I didn't know whether she was awake yet or not, but I was trying to be quiet while I got a few things done.

All of a sudden, both of my little guys raced toward the front of the house, barking like crazy. I thought they heard the cat meowing and were barking at her, but then I looked around the corner of the dining room wall and saw they were barking AT the front door. Geeze!

I knew nobody was at the door at that time of day, so I figured I'd open the door up so they could see for themselves and calm down.
But when I opened the door, they ran out to the driveway, barking. And then I heard why....

I heard someone SCREAMING. At first, I thought it was a lady down the street yelling at a dog to get back there (kind of like I was yelling at MY dogs to GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW)...but NO! The next thing I hear is some OTHER female voice screaming back...YIKES! I saw one lady across the street and all I wanted to do was get my dogs into the house before something worse happened. I don't know what all the screaming was about, but I've never heard any commotion around our development in the last 2+ years that we've been here. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

When I looked outside again, I saw a big burly man leaving the one house that I saw the first woman screaming in front of, headed toward the other house....and I thought to myself...."I don't think that's a GOOD thing", so I went back in and called 911.

I hate to get in the middle of other people's arguments or issues, but these days, you never know what might happen when people are so out of control; things just seem to escalate! And I was concerned for all of them; I can't even imagine what was going on, but you just hate to see stuff like that. And I didn't want anyone to get hurt or do something stupid that might ruin their lives over some probably stupid argument. I hope they don't hate me for calling the cops, but I just felt it had to be done.

People are so stressed these days, that petty issues seem to be magnified and insurmountable and people's coping skills are being tested and frayed. It makes me sad.

Anyway, there were a couple of police cars and several officers talking to a few people for awhile. So that was our excitment for the morning. I hope that's the extent of it; I'm not big on drama these days, LOL.

A little scream with your coffee??????

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

"Did you ever see a Robin weep,
When leaves begin to die?
That means he's lost the will to live
And I'm so lonesome I could cry."

Well, my little Lucky dove finally gave up the will to live and went to the Rainbow Bridge sometime after I covered the birds up for the night last night.

He was pretty old to begin with, and he's always been a little on the psychotic/neurotic side; has always picked his feathers and then started picking at his skin. It's actually amazing he lived so long, but.....every time I found him on the bottom of the aviary when we were in Napa, I'd nurse him back to health and even with his picking, he lived a pretty good long life.

Poor little guy; the last few days he really picked himself and was bleeding which wasn't really anything new, but I had a feeling this was going to be it.

I put a heat source on the cage so he wouldn't be cold and his little Parakeet friend TweetyBird kept him warm too. Tweety's been calling for Lucky all morning long; it's sad. He's not ready to make friends with my other dove, Cocoa, so for now he'll have to just look at him thru the cages' bars.

I suppose I should be relieved that Lucky's out of any misery he has been in, but he was born in the aviary I had in the back yard of my apartment and he was the only dove I brought to the desert with me. I gave all the others to a friend of a friend, but I knew nobody would care about Lucky because he was such a head case, and I had committed to caring for him, so I brought him along with the cockatoos to the desert.

He had a kind of a rough start to life I think....he somehow got caught by some rodent or something one night and I found him almost dead on the bottom of the cage. Of course, I NEVER find ANYTHING all the way dead; I find them ALMOST gasping their last breath and I'm compelled to bring them into the house and spend months nursing them back to health. But poor Lucky (is that an oxymoron, LOL?) had had his skin all ripped to shreds and had a gaping wound under one of his legs. It eventually healed over, but no feathers ever grew back on his abdomen at all, so he sort of looked like a plucked chicken over most of his body except for his head and wings....and then he started pulling his feathers out all over his body...in the photo, you can see he's missing a big area near his tail....but he always kept on keepin' on. I've lost track, but he was at least 12 years old. The little guy is at peace now, but I miss him, he was a sweet little bird.

Today is making plans for Valentine's Day. I refuse to go out to dinner b/c the restaurants all raise their prices and offer different things than they usually do, so you never know what you'll wind up with, plus the service is usually lousy too~ I finally figured it's just not worth it. So, Melanee and I will come up with a FABULOUS menu (we've already got the champagne and caviar on the list), and my very BFF just called and we're trying to coerce him into flying down here for a few days so it will be a REAL celebration. Nobody enjoys champagne and caviar like Roy and I do! Huh, Roy? Of course, nobody enjoys anything as much as Roy and I do, because we were elected at birth to be the ultimate enjoyers of everything LOL. And we take that responsibility VERY seriously!

So, we'll have to drink a special toast to Lucky Dove now that he's flying free, beautifully feathered and healthy and happy again~

OHHHHH, what a Beautiful Morning!

...oh what a beautiful day! This is what I woke up to this morning~ just outside my bedroom, the moon going down behind Mt. San Jacinto! Snow covered Mt. San Jacinto! So, yes, we had RAIN! And now we've got COLD, brrrrr! But it's sunny and beautiful, something to bask in, that's for sure!

I'm excited today because my friend Melanee will be back here again (with all her stuff, LOL). She's going nuts, and I can't say I blame her. I DETEST moving, and the last few times, I've had movers pack just about EVERYTHING (including a stick of butter that was wrapped separately and carefully placed in the china butter dish with the lid carefully placed on top, LOL)~ I don't think it makes a bit of difference, it's painful no matter what!

The little YE's are being the Yorkie Terrorists again; it's TUESDAY....garbage and gardeners day. They LOVE Tuesdays. I was hoping the gardeners would be here early while I was out running errands, but noooooooooooooooooooooooooo....that only happens once in a blue moon. I think the boys hear the gardener's truck when it gets to the cross street leading into our development and go FLYING off my lap or whatever they're perched on at the time, barking like a pack of wild dingoes; Max snaps at Madison b/c he wants to be the ONE who "gets" them and Madison is like a snarling, growling, barking beast! It's shocking. And they're MINE.....all MINE, LOL. Madison is extra happy today b/c it's so cold and he gets to wear his favorite pullover. Max had his on, but he already peed on it, so he's going au naturale for the rest of the day unless it gets colder and then I'll put something else on him which will please him no end. That's ok, b/c Little Pie will be here later on and that will take his little doggy mind off the indignity of being clothed.

I'm still waiting for that phone call from a prospective employer. Gosh, I sent 4 resumes out over the weekend. So humbling, LOL....I remember the good old days when interviewing was merely a formality; I always knew I'd get whatever job I applied for. Of course, if I were applying for a full time NIGHT shift job in ICU, it probably wouldn't be any question either. I've decided to preserve my sanity for as long as possible though, LOL and TRY to find something else. I just know there's something out there for me!

Well, I've gotten everything done that I really need to do other than some ironing (God, I just LOVE ironing...NOT...but you know how it is like when you stop hitting your head against a wall and it feels so good when you stop?? That's how I feel about ironing; it's so nice to have it DONE). So, I'm off to the ironing board and to wait for the onslaught of gardeners who'll whip my dogs into a complete squirrelnutzipper frenzy..yeeeehawwwww!

Out to dinner tonight for good food and LOTS of wine~ believe me, I think it's gonna be one of those days, haahahahaha.

And They Call it Puppy Love.....

I'm sorry.....I just HAVE to post these so cute photos of Max's sister~ I'm glad I've got my boys, but oh gosh, she's such a little doll baby! That's it for today, LOL....just cuteness! Oh...this is Princess Little Pie

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Ok...I'm not really ready for baseball yet, but I found these last week and I think they deserve at least a mention.
Let me just qualify this first, by telling you that I'm not a hot-dog person, so if they aren't as good as I think they are, just consider the source!
In fact, I pretty much refuse to eat hot-dogs unless I happenen to be at a ball game, which these days is pretty rare. Dh LOVES hot dogs though. So I buy them for him and he tells me always to get Ball Park Beef franks. So I do.
Except last week, when I was looking at all the different types, these caught my eye~ Ball Park Angus franks. They cost a little more (actually, they were just something like $3.25 at Walmart)but they're WONDERFUL! They have that sort of "crunch" when you bite into them and they have a really good flavor, not like a bunch of ground up parts of stuff. KWIM?

If you like hot-dogs, check these out. I've actually eaten TWO of them so far ;).

Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain....

Pitter patter.....we have RAIN!!! The patio is actually all wet! So, it's like, REAL rain, not just a sprinkle of it like usual; just enough to make a big mess of everything that was, up to that point, dusted with sand.

Yikes, where have I been and what have I been doing since Thanksgiving for heaven's sake?

A little busy, a little anxious, a teensy bit depressed (well, not clinically depressed but you know, when you just feel blah?).

Lots of stuff going on with our friend buying a restaurant and the launch for that.

The Bob Hope Golf Classic, big party at Tim's house on the fairway, Playboy golf girls and the Marines hanging out at his house. Oh gosh, the girls were so cute and so sweet (and SO YOUNG!!), and likewise the Marines....so handsome in their uniforms, but it breaks my heart to think of such kids fighting a war. They're just so young!
It was a great party though; Alice Cooper and Kurt Russell and a guy named Jeff Lind (one of the Travelling Wilburys...now, he's someone I could relate to, LOL).
Everyone was well-behaved, which is saying a lot. You know how some of the celebrity-pro tournaments can get, especially when it's one party after another along the golf course. But everyone maintained some semblance of sobriety (except for one little girl named Janelle....she just had a WEE bit too much to drink, and the Playboy people whisked her away before she got into any weird predicament.

Oh yeah...and a "girl" named Shelley Michelle...all dressed up in a little sailor outfit with LONG red gloves....involved with some show called the Hollywood Sizzle. Somehow I've missed that. Her claim to fame (other than the stunningly popular aforementioned tv show) is that she's a "body double", having worked with Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman....geeze, how LONG ago was that movie made??? All the PR photos are supposedly her body with Julia's head just stuck on. I guess that's b/c Julia has such a yucky body :S. Right......anyhow, quite the interesting group of people. It felt like being in a Fellini movie actually. Or like the King of Hearts movie. Sort of surreal.

So, then it was the Craig's List experience (a good one), sold one bike, took my other one in to be "tuned up"....hmmm...yes, it's VERY tuned up now....cost me almost $400...needed new shifters, new front derailleur...HOW does that happen when it's not even being ridden? Oh well...it will get ridden NOW....well, once the rain stops, haha. I'm excited about that anyway.

The YE's are doing just great, thanks! They just got a bath yesterday (after Mr. Max had to chase the stream of water that I was watering the gardenias with in the sand and got not only soaking wet, but covered in sand as well. Crazy dog! They both needed bathing anyway. Madison licks so much he smells pretty 'doggy' a few days after a bath, so it was time. They're loving the weather here lately. It's really been beautiful.

My brother Scott is having some problems in the hospital. Some bleeding, and after an endoscopy, they've found something pre-canerous that needs surgery in the next month. I wish he could just talk; at least we'd know how he felt about all this. 15 yrs is a long time to not be able to move or speak. I love my brother and he surely doesn't deserve this life. It reminds me that I need to make better use of my time and make better choices. Ugh, such a wonderful man and I hate to say it, but life just isn't fair, darn it. My poor Mom and stepdad too. They're really angels.

Almost had a GREAT job! It would have been PERFECT...but the Dr. gave it to someone with EXPERIENCE in the clinic, can you IMAGINE that, LOL? Oh well, he was very nice; said he interviewed 25 nurses and it had come down to this other guy and myself....darn! I really wanted (and needed) that job. Only 1 mile from home too! Oh well, I suppose everything happens for a reason and something better will come along. I just hope it comes along SOON! With so many people losing their jobs, I fear that dh's will disappear too. Anyway, my job search continues.....

My girlfriend Melanee is moving back to the desert....I think she literally had just finished unpacking the boxes in her condo when she decided she didn't like it there and wanted to be closer to her friends. So, she's all packed up again and will be here this coming Tuesday. I'm glad she'll be here, but I would never have encouraged her to move back b/c I know how much she really hates the weather here. I guess sometimes you just have to compromise. We figure we're all going to find our way together. Honestly....50 yr olds having to "find their way"......who woulda' thought we'd be in this position a few years ago? Crazy! The good thing is, all the doggies will be together again, LOL. Oh, her little Pie is so adorable! Max's little sissy and Madison's girlfriend!
And we're all starting a diet plan when she gets here. Only we'll have to hit Mario's just once before we do that, LOL.

Today I'm going to find a good book to read and curl up with the puppies~ tomorrow's another day and I want to be prepared for whatever might happen :). Need to find something interesting to do to pork chops for dinner too.....I'm off!