It's been quite some time since I made a list. Well, at least a list on the blog. There are several lists lying around laying around lieing around on my desk, in my purse, in the car, and other places around here that are in need of being accomplished, but that's beside the point. (Does anyone know if my lists are lying around or laying around or lieing around ?)
This list has to do with television shows. It might appear that I watch a lot of television, but I don't. It's just that last week I suffered from the-do-nothings. In order to document what I didn't do, here's my list :
1. World Series: I didn't care who won, but I did want it to last more than just four games.
1a. Why do baseball players spit so much ? I addressed that question in a PREVIOUS POST.
2. College Football: Loved watching Oklahoma State Cowboys win. Oklahoma University, not so much.
2a. Speaking of Oklahoma University, have you seen AT&T's new "Hello" commercial ? Any OU fans out there ? You'll recognize some people in it.
3. Professional Football: Loved watching Denver Broncos win. Dallas Cowboys, not so much.
4. Professional Basketball: Maybe the Houston Rockets will become one of the teams I watch next year since the Oklahoma Thunder couldn't afford to keep James Harden.
5. Political Candidates: The commercials need "lie detector gauges" in the lower right hand corner. Better yet, maybe their noses should grow each time they lie. By the way, I have voted. Stop calling me ! Does anyone know how much money has been spent on political commercials and mailings this year ? Sheeeeesh !
5a. To the poor campaigning guy who rang our doorbell yesterday. It was difficult not to laugh when you almost jumped out of your pants as our three Boxers greeted you when I opened the door. Could you not read the "No Soliciting" sign ? How about the sign that says, "Our dogs can make it to the fence in 0.03 seconds. Can you ?"
6. American Idol: Stephen Tyler, I will miss you !
7. Real Housewives: There should be a show with Teresa Giudice (NJ), Ramona Singer (NYC), NeNe Leakes (Atlanta), Vicki Gunvalson (OC), Adriana DeMoura (Miami), and Kim & Kyle Richards (Beverly Hills). Put them in a padded room, lock the door, and see who survives. Wonder who it would be ? (P.S. No, I don't watch these shows regularly, but on occasion it's entertaining to watch grown women act like this. Are they for real?)
8. This Channel Is Moving: I've never figured out what this show is all about.
9. Pioneer Woman: Gain a couple of pounds every time I watch an episode, but I do do love me some Ree !
There are few things that are more fun than 'planning' an impromptu outing.
Planning and impromptu probably don't belong in the same sentence, do they ?
But, the other day when I had the opportunity to take a trip to Denver with my friend, Hope, I didn't waste any time jumping into the car with her.
Hope has been mentioned here before.
Just recently she transformed my granddaughter and her friend into these adorable characters.
Makayla chose to be a pink tiger/leopard, and Parker designed her own creation. (Her mom said she looked like the love child of an Avatar and a Care Bear. ) The girls were thrilled with their new looks.
Now, back to the road trip.
Hope has been booked solid this summer making beautiful brides even more beautiful all over the state of Colorado.
To learn more about Hope Carlton and Perfect Touch and to view some incredibly beautiful photos, click the link below:
Because there was so much going on during the weekend of The Grand Junction Air Show, and because there is so much information associated with this particular post, I wanted to spend ample time 'covering this story.'
It spans two generations of heroes. You will want to at least scroll to the last part of this post to make the connection between two of these heroes.
It all began at the banquet on Thursday night when theHansman, also known as "Big Gun" by some, met and invited a young man to our Cattle "Barren" parties on Friday and Saturday nights.
Well, they showed up.
These are just a few of the Sea Elks . . . more to come !
For those of you who want to know more about this group, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 (VMM-166), CLICK HERE.
Now, for just a moment, let's visit one of the many static displays at the air show.
One of probably the most dominating displays was the VMM-166’s V-22 Osprey Tilt Rotor Aircraft.
As you can see by the crowd, it was also one of the most popular displays.
Thanks to my cousin, John Coffman, for the seven photographs posted above.
Hans and I were lucky enough to be given a personal tour of this magnificent bird . . .
. . . by Captain Eileen "Edna" Donovan. (Remember her name !)
Once we left the Osprey, I snapped these two shots . . .
. . . which do not do the Osprey justice.
Unless you've stood beside this magnificent machine, there is no way to appreciate the enormity of it.
Now, back to the party . . .
The Sea Elks were everywhere and kind enough to pose no less than 50 times with other guests.
Now, back to Captain Donovan . . .
. . . she is a sharp-shooter . . .
. . . a two-stepper . . .
. . . and, she's pretty handy with a bull whip. Unfortunately, I didn't capture that one with my camera, but just believe me, she knew how to use it.
Anytime we host a party, it's always difficult to visit with everyone and hear their stories.
As in this case, Hans and I learned about this story several weeks after the party !
From left: Major Joseph P. "Pat" Donovan USMCR (Vet),
2nd Lt. Eileen C. Donovan, USMCR and Col. William A. "Grease Gun" Beebe,
USMC (Ret).
From left: Lt. Donovan's platoon sergeant, GySgt.
Holly Ellington, USMC, Joseph P. "Pat" Donovan, 2ndLt. Donovan and her mother, Beba Donovan.
Her mother is acknowledgingthe bars as those formerly owned by Col. Richard L.
"Rich" Bianchino, USMC (Ret).
Now, you may be wondering, what's the story ?
Or for those more astute readers, you have already made the connection.
It begins with this photo:
1st Lt. Joseph P. "Pat" Donovan
Jan. 24, 1969 Shoot Down of YK-22
From left: copilot Lt. Pat Donovan, right gunner Cpl.
M. S. Opalka, crew chief Cpl. Michael E. Velleux,
left gunner Sgt. Dolph Quijano and pilot Lt. Donald Robins.
Photo
was taken at a fire base several clicks north of Thong Duc on the western
end of Charlie Ridge known as LZ Pike. The hydraulic line being held
is the one that was shot out resulting in the loss of both the auxiliary
and #2 hydraulic boost systems. The crimp in the line was only the
size of a clipped finger nail, but at that amount of pressure the entire
aircraft and crew was covered with hydraulic fluid.
The following are three links to Major Donovan's career:
Yes, that young lady who graced us with her presence is carrying-on her father's tradition of serving our great country.
Who knew ?
We were certainly surrounded by many heroes at our parties and are always honored to have them at our house.
This is just ONE of those stories.
I leave you with the words of Colonel Charles J. "Chic" Schoener
USMC (Retired)
"Pat Donovan without doubt received more decorations
( in regard to precedence level), as a Purple Fox, than any other Marine
who served with HMM-364. Not only that, Pat is probably one
of (if not) the most decorated (precedence level) combat Marine pilot to
come from the Vietnam era. While few Marines (air/ground) were recognized
for their acts of individual heroism with the award of the CMH, the Navy
Cross, the Silver Star or the DFC, Pat's multiple awards for his numerous
act of heroism, taken in totality, is absolutely historic and should be
recognized as such."
Pat Donovan's Humble Answer to Colonel Schoener's
Remarks
I accept and hold in trust the praise of my Squadron
mates and those Marines whom we helped while under night attack in the
mountains north of the Nam O Bridge in Quang Nam (Feb 22), under attack
in an open rice paddy northwest of Liberty Bridge in Quang Nam (April 21),
engaged in combat with a large North Vietnamese Army force near the village
of My Hiep (3) (May 9), under mortar attack on the island near Hoi An (Mar
17), and the lone Lt. with red hair who led the attack off our ramp
into a fire fight, the same one we came back for, re-entered the zone and
grabbed out of the fire fight near An Hoa (April 28).
By my count on every mission we were a team of pilot,
copilot, crew chief, two gunners at each .50 cal, and the Navy Medic, or
in the case of Doc Linkous, a Navy Doctor on board, not to overlook the
maintenance crew that constantly went without rest to keep the aircraft
"up". We were and are a Marine Air-Ground team linked by oath and
blood to those on the ground we serve. We all achieved the missions
and we all respect the memory of our Squadron mates and Marines on board
who paid for the lives of their fellow Marines with their own.
And we all did this under the guidance and inspiration
of a gentleman named Gene, whom we roast in song and toast in admiration.
All the best to all Purple Foxes and those we serve.
Semper Fi,
Pat
The Ospreys entertained us with a couple of fly bys the day they flew out of Grand Junction.
The first one went right over the top of our house.
In both videos, objects are much closer than they appear.
The second Osprey headed directly over the house and goes out of sight above The Colorado National Monument.
For the past three mornings, I have found my bird feeders missing the little yellow bottom cap that holds all the seed inside.
When I found the first one, I just thought the cap might have fallen off. But, as I rounded the corner of the house, and discovered there was another feeder missing its little yellow cap, it occurred to me that gravity was probably not the culprit here.
Yesterday: Same song. Second verse.
Today: Same song. Third verse.
It does not matter how high the feeder is hanging, Mr. Squirrel removes the bottom cap and lets all the sunflower seeds and Niger thistle fall to the ground.
Squirrel Dumplings
~2 squirrels, cut up (Fur and shot removed) ~ 1 egg ~ 2 cups plain flour ~ 3/4 cup broth ~ 1 teaspoon salt ~ salt and pepper
Boil squirrels in four quarts of water until tender. Remove squirrels
from broth, let cool, then remove meat from bones. Set aside.
In large bowl, mix flour, egg and one teaspoon of salt with 3/4 cup of broth and roll into ball.
Strain the broth to remove any stray shot then resume boil. Return meat to boiling broth.
On a floured cutting board, use rolling pin to roll the dough ball to a
thickness of 1/16 inch. Cut into 1-inch wide strips and drop strips one
at a time into the boiling broth. Gently shake pot after last dumpling
is added to prevent sticking.
Cook approximately 10-15 minutes until dumplings are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and Enjoy!
Just kidding.
I would never harm my pesky little pilfering squirrel.
Things around here have been quite busy for several weeks.
No need to go into the details, but between preparing for and hosting two parties and losing count at 150 guests one night, to cleaning up the aftermath, dealing with wormy dogs and theHansMan . . . (nuff said), leaves no time for blogging.
Oh, don't get me wrong. There is still plenty to blog about.
I mean, theHansMan still provides so much blog-fodder, it would be a full-time job to document it here.
theHansMans is a collector. Everything from rocks, to hats, to cars . . . Our driveway looks more like a used car lot than a used car lot.
The one vehicle that I really liked, he sold yesterday. It was a cute little Toyota Camry. The only thing wrong with it was the leaky front tire.
Now I admit, I'm not one who likes to take cars in for maintenance, but I WILL do it. It's something that I learned from my dad. Preventative maintenance is much cheaper than fixing it.
Not so much with theHans Man. For instance. The 'Service Engine Soon' light has been glowing brightly on one of the vans for almost nine months. This has been mentioned on numerous occasions by me. I've even gone so far as to offer to take it in myself.
Nope. theHansMans has promised to take care of it himself.
The other day, he did.
Yup. That's duct tape.
Back to the Toyota and it's leaky tire.
When the guy, whose name is Guy, that he sold the Toyota to came to pick it up, I mentioned that he would have to add air to the leaky front tire.
To which he replied, "Oh, I'll just get the tire fixed."
To which I thought, "H-m-m-m-m. That's a novel idea. Fix the tire."
I shared this with theHansMan.
This is his e-mail back to me. Copied. Pasted. Verbatim:
How about this for a novel idea?
Problem: leaking tire is a pain in the butt.
Solution: Sell (trade) the car for one with four good tires.
Dear HansMan,
Here is a picture of your pickup tire:
By morning, it will be flatter than a pancake.
According to your e-mail, it's easier to sell/trade a vehicle with a flat and just get another one with four good tires.
