Robert Earl Keen

We're headed to Tucson today to go see one of our favorite singer/songwriters, Robert Earl Keen!

When I think about him, it takes me back to when Hubby & I were so easily, and excitedly, in love, sitting in the sun in our low-rider lawn chairs, listening to a day full of music with wine & food in hand.

I wanted to share these lyrics with you because it absolutely speaks to what I'm talking about. I wish you were all going with us!



Robert Earl Keen - Feelin’ Good Again lyrics

Standin' down on Main Street across from Mr. Blues
My faded leather jacket, my weathered broke-in shoes
A chill north wind was blowin', but the spring was comin' on
As I wondered to myself just how long I had been gone

So I strolled across ol' Main Street, walked down a flight of stairs
Stepped into the hall and saw all my friends were there
A neon sign was flashing "welcome come on in
"It feels so good, feelin' good again

My favorite band was playin' an Otis Redding song
And when they sang the chorus everybody sang along
Dan and Margarita were swayin' side by side
I heard they were divorcing, but I guess they let it slide

I wished I had some money with which to buy a round
I wished I cashed my paycheck before I came to town
But I reached into my pocket and found three twenties and a ten
It feels so good, feelin' good again

There was old man Perkins sittin' on his stool
Watchin' Butch and Jimmy John talkin' loud and playin' pool
The boys from Silver City were standin' by the fire
Singin' like they thought they were the Tabernacle choir

And I wanted you to see them all, I wished that you were there
I looked across the room and saw you standing on the stair
And when I caught your eye, I saw you break into a grin
It feels so good, feelin' good again

I wanted you to see them all I wished that you were there
I looked across the room and saw you standing on the stair
And when I caught your eye I saw you break into a grin
It feels so good, feelin' good againIt feels so good, feelin' good again

SOLD!

As part of the whole Mom Move, her car needed to be sold. Get this! A 1994 Chevy Corsica, with 21,000 miles on it! BUT, what we found out when Hubby's nephew came down to buy it, the front brakes were paper thin! Remember, it was owned by a little old lady who, evidently, rode the brakes! The car hasn't been driven in at least two years, sitting in a hot garage, but everything else was perfect on it. Well, the tires were 15 years old, still looked great, but they do age, and had to be replaced.

His nephew is ecstatic, and I am so happy for him to have it!

While it was at the mechanic's place today, we took a little drive over to Tombstone. We take everybody there. It is full of tourist shops, but if you know any of the history, and you can imagine what really took place there, it is quite interesting.

It's the home of the Earp brothers, Wyatt, Morgan, and a couple more. And the OK Corral. Remember the shoot out?

Big Nose Kate's Saloon is chalk full of memorobilia, music, and many real life characters!


The Crystal Palace is where Wyatt Earp used to deal Farro, a card game back in the day!
This fellow lost the draw!
After several fires, The Bird Cage Theater is the only original building left in Tombstone.
It was a gambling parlor, a bar, and a brothel. It still has original bullet holes and original fixtures. The actual bar itself was sent over from Europe on a ship and sits in the front of the building today.

If you ever think about visiting, I highly recommend the book, The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp, by Casey Tefertiller. It is an amazing story of the American west.

I have so enjoyed the visit of Hubby's wife & nephew! It's been years since I've seen them, and I am especially happy to get to know Cody as an adult. BTW, I am very impressed!!!

All God's Creatures Sunday

Well, I've tried all week to capture some pictures of just how many hummers we have in the evening, but they are so very territorial, that they run each other off the feeders.


They like to scope out the feeders from the very top of the pine tree,

the swoop down and chase everyone else off!

The last call for the evening!

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

The theme this week, "My favorite place to........", was suggested by Cindy at ...Just Alaska! What a great idea! Check her out, and to see some more really wonderful Shots, go here! So many favorites, so little time!

My favorite place to skywatch...my backyard!

My favorite place to breathe, is on a walk through the mountains!

But, my favorite place to refresh my soul...always the ocean!



Have a wonderful weekend!

You're the Best!

I've been thinking alot lately about what is so great about blogging (and I do think it's great)!

Let's face it, we get to see places we've never seen, or may never see. We meet people who are from all different walks of life, where age, experience, financial status, or backround, simply doesn't matter.

I started my blog on July 19th of 2008. Just a little over a year ago. This will be my 299th post. Amazing. But what I find truly incredible is how we seem to find one another; people who want to share the best of who they are, and perhaps help someone else.

I have been encouraged, taught, my spirits lifted, reminded daily about what is really important, laughed out loud, cried through others' pain, and have been shown real friendship by people that I have never met.

I am blessed. Thank you. :)

Oh Dear!

I do hope this wasn't "My Bunny" that got run over!!! Oh, the missed shots that I saw out my window this morning! There were probably 4 or 5 Turkey Vultures flying circles around this road kill, and would sweep towards my window whenever a car came by. I just wasn't fast enough to catch it!

If you've been reading for a while, you know how much I love the wildlife. I continue to try to remember the circle of life that is so very evident here in the desert. Remember, the Vultures don't kill their food, they are scavengers. They clean up what has been left behind. Withing an hour, most of these remains were gone.

5, FIVE Hummers

While eating dinner outside this evening, we had FIVE hummers at the feeder at the same time! A first for us. Four sat comfortably to eat, and then it all depended on how the fifth one approached, as to whether they would all get defensive.

Tomorrow night I'll take the long lens out to try to catch some pictures!

One thing leads to another...

One thing will always lead to another. That's the truth.
Was it only a month or so ago that we took my mom up to Phoenix to look at places to live? That just seems impossible to me.

Since then, we've packed up her house, moved her in to the new place, cleaned the house here in town, interviewed realtors, put the house on the market, and had a yard sale to sell a bit of the stuff that she didn't take with her and unload some of our junk. Such a simple little paragraph, isn't it? But the reality of each one of those things, separately, is quite an undertaking. So much involved with every one of them.

And then this...AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH !

Once we had started going through things, it became obvious that the garage was out of control. I've known that for quite a while, but it's so easy to just shut the door to the garage, right? Hubby's way of cleaning is to drag EVERYTHING out into the middle of the room, sort through it, then only put back what you really want to keep. I hate doing it that way because it's so overwhelming. But it is effective.

So we staked the dogs out in the front yard (they just want to see what's going on), and began an all day adventure. This type of sorting takes us back to pictures from 30, 40 years ago, sweet handmade cards from the kids, books we've known & loved, and some things that we can't imagine today what we ever thought was important about them.

Whew! The boxes on the right are waiting to go to the big honkin' shredder in Tucson, and the chair to the dump! And since one thing leads to another, the next project is that workbench...and then the shed...and then...

But that's another day. :)

All God's Creatures Sunday

I found this fellow in between my back door and the sliding screen for a few days in the evenings. Pretty smart I thought! Nobody could get him from either side.

In other news, we survived a yard sale yesterday. All day Friday was spent gathering all of those important things we thought we couldn't live without at the time of purchase, sorting, pricing, and pulling tables out of the house to lay them out on. (By the way, if you're going to have one, Staples has prepriced stickers!)

We had not even had a sign out, IT WAS STILL DARK, and people started showing up. Actually pulling into our driveway, and 5 or 6 people would emerge from their vehicles! These people are out before dawn, scanning neighborhoods. Early bird syndrome, I guess. Or bargain radar.

The whole experience was a little unnerving, and sometimes overwhelming. But we did well, sold almost everything, and made some good bucks!

After a trip to Goodwill with the stuff that didn't sell, it's time to rearrange the garage and the shed now. See how one thing leads to another?

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

This weeks theme is Domesticated Animals, chosen by Sandy, at flyingwg! Great subject for those of us that LOVE our animals!!!

These wonderful creatures bring me so very much joy. Yes, they can be frustrating, naughty, overly assertive, disorderly, and utterly hysterical, but I'm sure that God put them in our lives to, not only to be our friends, but be our teachers as well.







This horse was so curious about the mailman!










A face only a mother could love...this beauty belongs to Hubby's daughter. She is a wild and crazy girl! The dog, not his daughter! "Bella" brings laughter to her whole family.









Yes, they love me. Well, let me clarify that. The one on my shoulder loves me. The one on my head is making a statement about where he thinks he is on the food chain.








My mother's roommate, Rose. She is a wonderful companion for my mom. A little wicked at times, but they have come to understand each other over the years.

It's hard for me to imagine, but some people absolutely love these...









or these...

Okay, so maybe those don't really qualify as "domesticated." But people do have them as pets. I, however, am not a big fan of either one of those.

Here are my favorite domesticated animals in my town!

The Chef...







The Joker...









and the Queen...









For more FRIDAY SHOOTOUTS click here!

Wordless Wednesday

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Concert for George

Am I the very last person in the world to see this??? Am I the very last person to absolutely fall in LOVE with this DVD???

If I am not, and you have not...you must. Truly.

All God's Creatures Sunday

I've made a decision to take out all of the birds nests from around the house. There's one in the bird house in this picture, one in the roll-up shade,

on top of the light fixture on the front porch, and in so many of the open spaces on the ends of our tile roof.

I have loved watching the moms & dads feeding and raising their babies all summer for the last 5 years. This year was not a successful year for baby birds around my house, and what ended up happening was that the nests are all empty (early) and the House Finches seemed to have gone away. :(

Even last winter, some of the nests were being used at night by either the parent or the baby. But they're just gone now.

Some of the nests in the roof tile have never been too great because when the baby starts moving around, they'll fall out to the ground. I put rocks at the end of the space and that worked one year. But I'm just feeling like perhaps the nests need to be rebuilt from scratch and maybe be in better shape to hold them.

Anyway, that's what I'm doing this afternoon. Makes me a little sad, but maybe they'll be stronger next year.

FRIDAY SHOOTOUT

Pauline over at The Paddock chose this week's theme of "Old & Weathered." It was perfect timing for me!

While packing up my mother's house, I managed to finally get my hands on something that I have wanted my whole life! You'd think it would be something big & beautiful, and I guess to me it is.


This belonged to my mother's mother, who was a seamstress and milliner.

It sat in my mother's cedar chest my whole life. I have secretly, and not so secretly, coveted this can for as long as I can remember. I call dibs on it! Mine! Mine! Mine!


Why, you ask? It's just an old can. It is, and I would love it even if it didn't hold all of these old BUTTONS!!!!


I spent hours sifting through all of the old buttons in that can as a kid! Sorting by shape, by size, by color, and starting over again! I could spend just as much time doing that very thing today. Thanks, Mom!

To see more fantastic Friday Shooters, check this out!

Wordless Wednesday