Thanks sharon

A big thanks to Sharon, my soul sister and blogging buddy sweet repose. She stopped by on Saturday to clip the 4 monkey's toe nails. ( she's a groomer) It costs me 20.00 apiece to have the vet do it. We can't do it ourselves.
While she was here she took some pictures of our place. She also makes me feel good with all her kind words. She likes our place but, I'll admit it's not for everyone. It's a museum, it's not kid proof, so have your kids on a leash, or they go out in the dog pen. I'm not talking 4 legged kids either. People say, wow, how can you have such a cool place? How do you have time to do all things you do? how do you go to all the places you go? I DON"T HAVE KIDS. by choice. My favorite line is "Get away from me kid, ya bother me" by W. C. Fields. Just because you can have kids, doesn't mean you should.Thanks sharon, for the clips and for your friendship.

So long friend

All i can say is Leave him alone!! Well, that's really not all i can say! But, i do think that there are alot weirder people out there among us. He's just in the spot light and tabloid fodder. All you have to do is read the paper surf the net or just look around. There is weird ALL around. No one knows what his life was like. I never believed all the hoopla about child molestation. He was not found guilty people. All he was guilty of was being alittle different. Okay alot different. But, so what. He was a man with talent of colossal proportions. Don't you dare compare him with Elvis. He was sooo far beyond Elvis. Don't get me wrong , i liked Elvis (Young), but they are like apples and oranges. Prescription drug overdose is nothing new. All kinds of weirdness springs up when lots of money is in the picture. Then i read today. "Joe Jackson supports Katherine Jackson in her petition To take over his estate. " Jackson also used the news conference to plug a record company he said he's founding with a business partner. "How sad and pathetic is that!!!
I think Michael was a good and generous person that had alot of problems. Money doesn't solve everything, but instead creates more problems than you can imagine.

foxtail lilly

Wow! my foxtail lilies are beautiful this year. I'm experimenting with them, they are temperamental and expensive.. They've bloomed 2 years in a row. I might have to try some different colors. I guess it's a desert plant. It prefers hot and dry. I just got thru pitting cherries for another year. What a messy job. It's suppose to reach 99 degrees today. I believe it's hotter. We don't have any Air conditioning. It is just perfectly comfortable until it's like it is today. I spray the birds and dunk the dogs in the tub. Then plop them in front of the fan.

Here's to you dad!

What can i say about my dad! Plenty! Dad was born in 1901. He was 24 years older than my mother. When i was born he was 56, i also have 4 older brothers and a younger sister. So he was always old to me, but his mind was young. He graduated from the university of Iowa in Pharmacy. It was a 2 year program in 1928. He was a druggist as he called it. He made salves and poultices. Made all kinds of concoctions. We never went to the doctor. He had a cure for everything. He worked all the time. From 10 in the morning to 10 at night. I remember taking deliveries,mostly to nursing homes. I'm sure to give us some exposure to nursing homes and old people. They were nasty. The "homes" i mean, they weren't like they are now. Dirty and stinky, I remember being scared.

He tried so hard to give us a good life. I never appreciated it then but i do now. On the way home from school he'd tell us the name of trees and flowers. Take us to art galleries. Take us to funerals. ( He didn't want his funeral to be our 1st funeral). Show us what a dead person looked like. I had so many budding hobbies as a kid, it kept me out of trouble. All thanks to him.

He was always up with the news and everything around him. He collected oil paintings, stamps, and had an awesome coin collection, and was a big believer in traveling. He took my mom and me on the QE2 across the Atlantic, He loved the islands and even wanted to buy a house on Montserrat. (good thing he didn't) a volcano wiped out the island.he traveled to china and Europe. Taking people with him, paying their way. He sent other peoples kids to college ,when they couldn't afford to. He really loved to garden. Flowers, his flower beds were gorgeous. When i turned 13, he told me "as a druggist , i see lots of dumb bunnies coming into the store, "15 and pregnant. dropping out of school. I don't want any dumb bunnies living here. Then he went on to tell my sister and me about birth control pills. Showed us how to use them, and a "Don't do ANYTHING till you get on these. God bless him. We never did either. He was so ahead of the times. I could go on and on. But dad died when he was 88. He was a character, 1 of a kind. He helped lots of people in his many years.

"Like"

So, i need to know how many other people are bothered by this. Two girls are in line in front of bill and me. The conversation between the the two girls goes something like this. Oh, "like" how long will we "like have to wait. "Like" i don't have "like" all day. "Like" how long are you stayin, "Like" How long will it take to "Like " climb this mountain. "Like" i don't know if "Like" i can really "Like" do this.
Then the girl she was talking to ended every sentence she finished with an up talk. "Like" i sure hope i can climb this MOUNTAIN. Every sentence ended with the up talk. I tried to do it and it's hard. Where did she learn that. Do you realize how stupid you sound. The girls were American and an embarrassment.

top of Wahnno picchu, machu picchu

Climbing, climbing, we did alot of it. the squiggly line on 1 picture is the road to get there by bus. narrow steep stairs , no railings. I kept thinking of the domino effect while climbing Wahnno picchu. ( the big mountain behind bill in 1 picture)

peruvians on strike

a photo of the armed police in Aguas Calientes. then a picture of the Peruvians with spears. they were blocking the train tracks. That's me in the orange tee shirt. We were sitting at a cafe eating pizza. All the while this was going on.last pic is a typical street (they all go UP) in Aguas Calientes.

native peruvians

We stopped at a very small village. They were dying alpaca wool and spinning.

more pictures

When i wrote my first post on our trip, i was still in a daze from the horrible airplane experience.
When i rested a few days i really thought on how much fun we had. It definitely was an adventure. All our trips are crazy adventures. When we were there a strike was going on and the natives were being forced to pay for their water , it had been free to use as it always had for hundreds of years. Then there was another strike the day we left. 20 policeman were killed. They don't mention how many native Amazonian were killed. They are striking because the gas companies want to clear cut forest for oil. I think i know who's side I'm on.
They had crazy markets. Everything for sale, even Peruvian boner pills! It's everywhere you go!!!
We passed this booth, with a young couple eating something out of a bowl. They saw us looking and said "The soup is Delicious, try it". There were acouple of chairs and we sat. They were from Australia. The soup was chicken noodle. We ordered a bowl (they were BIG) She scoops up a big ladle into the bowl and then takes a big clever and chops off a big piece of chicken off a big chicken on the table and throws it in the bowls. Strange but very good indeed.
Meat is hanging everywhere, along with whole pig carcasses laying out on a table.
Your walking and walking and notice a smell. Smack right in front of me is a huge (as tall as me)
pile of garbage. right in the middle of all the food for sale. I took a picture of it and 2 ladies started screaming something at me and chased me down the street.
Cuzco is a beautiful city, it's the oldest still inhabited city in south America. Everything is as it was hundreds of years ago. The fabulous Churches and cobblestone streets, stone walls. The only familiar place was 1 McDonald's. and you couldn't even see it. You had to really look for it. It was the only place one could get a cold drink with ice. Everything was warm, beer, water,pop,forget a icy cold margarita.
Communication was tuff at times. We went to a biker bar we found, "Norton's rat Tavern" and ordered a couple of beers and got 4 pina colatas. I ordered a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce and got a big bowl of spaghetti covered in a bright green sauce. What the heck!!!

Thanks lori

Wow Lori, Thanks so much for the little recognition. Believe me i never thought I'd get anything like this. I'll display it proudly. Somebody really does read and likes my blog! COOL . As for my favorite blogs, I'll put it in the next post. I'm alittle sleepy and it requires some computer concentration. I had to say thanks, before i went to bed.

More goodies

I wanted to show you a few more treasures. On our trip we picked up 2 gourds that are carved out by the local people. They are very intricate and tell a story of their country. One is of the amazon jungle. It's full of animals and vegetation. The other one is of the people and everything that Peru offers. I always try to pick up the local art wherever i go.

The vase i picked up at the Iowa city art festival last weekend. I love the lizard. This fellow had some great pieces. His business name is "tin hill pottery" Kristin A. Hill of Davenport, Iowa.

New acquisitions

My birthday was on the 3rd. I'd have to say it was fabulous. An amazing trip, Some beautiful new acquisitions. I went to see my blogging buddy barb from "simply Iowa" and was blown away by all her Victorian shadow box creations. Bill helped me buy 2 of them. The large one is a wreath of hydrangeas and a center of roses, all made from paper. White on white and simply beautiful. The smaller one is a wreath made of wool yarn wrapped around thin wire. The colors are gorgeous. (I'll have to do alittle cleaning on that one.) The time it took to make one of these is mind boggling. Thanks barb, I'll be back next month for more. She is a special treat to meet. I've always loved reading her blog. All the crazy predicaments and wild adventures she gets herself into. Never a dull moment at her house.

Then my grand new "WHITE ELEPHANT" ! I saw this Castle or whatever it is. about 10 years ago or so, in an antique store i frequent. I fell in love with it. But it was about 500.00. Oh, to bad! I can't afford that. But, i still wanted it. Lou told me it was a display piece for jewelry dating back to the 30's. All handmade and it lights up. It's made so it creates a optical illusion (of depth). Then 1 day it was gone. I was sick. Then 10 years later it shows up again, in another shop i frequent. It's also alot cheaper. I can afford it now. It is now mine and SO BIG it fits nowhere but the table i have in the sun room. The sun room is a Mexican theme so i thought my frog collection will fit nicely inside. What do you think? It was meant to be mine.

click on images to enlarge

We are back!!!!!

We made it back in one piece. What an amazing trip! It was the most beautiful place I've seen to date. No picture or words can fully describe what we saw. The Andes were awesome. That's a BIG awesome. The people we met were mostly from Europe, a few Norwegians, very few Americans. Only people in public positions spoke any English. Kids were good with it. They learn it in the catholic schools. The food was good, pizza and typical American fare.

The people are very nice and accommodating. They are very poor. Machu picchu brings money to the surrounding villages. They are poor, poorer than our poor. But, they have all they need, shacks made of corrugated tin, and thatched roofs and dirt floor. But, it's all neat as a pin and everyone clean. Did i mention happy too. Hard working bunch they are.

The altitude didn't bother me but, i found out i wasn't in as good a shape as i thought. I came back hoarse from panting all the time. Bill was sick for the 1st three days. poor guy. He hasn't been sick for acouple of years, then some girl at work comes in sick. Of coarse, both of us get her cold. It could have really ruined our trip. But, it all worked out. We were to sick to do the 26 mile hike. We were so upset. But, i think it was divine intervention. There was a strike and the trains weren't running for 1 day. The group we we're with had to do the hike in 3 days instead of 4 and spent 1 and 1/2 hours on machu picchu. then back on the train with no sleep or shower. All so they could get back to the starting point before the strike. But, we spent the whole day on machu picchu and we left the group and winged the trip on our own. Enjoying the sites and we did climb Wahnno pichhiu, WOW OH WOW. i couldn't walk the next day. My legs hurt SOOOO bad. We salvaged the trip by leaving .We were with the group for 3 days. We have never done a organized trip. After this experience we never will again. We would have saved some money by doing it all on our own. I really want to go back. There is so much to see.

Travel is a wonderful thing. I'm so glad we are able to.

Talking with a kid from London. He said that kids from Britain save money to travel the world, after school ( High school) . It's the thing they all want to do. See the world. Thomas had been traveling since November.Had been to India, china, South America and had a stop in cuso, peru. Then go back and go to college or whatever. The kids in the USA could care less about traveling and learning alittle about other cultures. They are to glued to the computer and cell phones and ipods.

I am glad to sleep in my own bed. And have a cold glass of anything. No ice in peru.