136. God, if You're Listening...

This canyon has brought us many adventures, but today has to be one of the biggest for me and I hope will be the ONLY one of it's kind.  I was in working on the computer and decided I needed an aspirin.  When I got to the kitchen, Maggie, who was in the dining room, started barking like mad.  On occasion, she will spot something that she had somehow previously missed like the plastic cactus that sits by the sideboard in the dining room and "alert the media".  

I reached down to pick the cactus up to show her it wasn't an item of danger,  spotted the real reason for her alert.  Under the sideboard was a long and I'm not exaggerating here, long, looking suspiciously like a rattle snake...brown snake.  It had to be two and a half feet long.  I held my breath while I waited for the tail to appear before I ran screaming from the house with Maggie.  I couldn't see rattles and believe me if it had been a rattler...I could have easily seen the rattles!  Confident it wasn't a danger, I put Maggie outside and kept one eye on the snake while I yelled for Bob, who was out painting on the plane, hence the rubber gloves.  He cautiously watched the snake and concurred that it was of no danger.  

A check with this web site gave us the identification as that  of common gopher snake, which is what we thought. We certainly welcome the gopher snake given our rodent population.  Just, please, oh please, not in the dining room.  Funny how, even if we aren't sure it really works, we all start praying.  I know I did.  "God, if you're listening, this is Sharon and it's about a snake in my dining room."
Snakes/CA Cental Coast

Bob saved the day for me, Maggie and the brown snake.  Left to my own devices, I'm afraid the snake might have had to do battle with a long handled broom.  I've always told Bob that if I saw a rattle snake on our porch the next thing he would hear is me packing.  For me, today was a very, very close call.  I'm still wondering how many boxes I could get into the P.T. Cruiser. 

FIRST ALERT:NEWS FLASH

135. Margarita Anyone?

Preston has been our house guest for the last three days and we just love having him.  We planned a

pool play day with Polly and Phil and their nine year old grandson, Trevor.  I have to admit that since they hadn't really met each other we all expected a little reticence on both their parts.  Well, it only lasted for a short time.  By the time they hit the water at the Elk's pool in San Luis Obispo, they were having a blast. 

Preston in front and then Trevor.

What a lovely pool and over all facility they have.  It wasn't crowded as it is a members only so that made it really fun for everyone.  The margaritas were fabulous and that made it fun for the old folks. The cheese burgers and french fries were equally good and it all made for a day of total luxury and relaxation.  Both boys were like tadpoles and spent the whole day in the water with the exception of lunch time.  Preston got more of a sunburn than I would have liked.  I used a thirty sunscreen on him but didn't replace it often enough.  Did I ever feel like a crummy Mema.  When we got home I kept slathering him with aloe-vera with lidocaine so that it would heal faster and also the lidocaine is a topical pain reliever.  I guess I had forgotten that the water rinses the lotion off.  At any rate, the day was a success.

I neglected to take a picture of Polly with her gift from the Lavender Festival, darn it.  The gift was a  "redneck wine glass."  It is a small lidded mason jar glued onto a wine glass stem.  It has "Wine Goddess" etched on the side, as well.  Funny, funny glass, just perfect for drinks on the go.  I will rectify that picture situation the next time we get together at their house because you really need to see it.

Well, I'm not at the pool, but it seems to me that it's the perfect time for a margarita...somewhere someone is having a pool party...margarita anyone??

I

134. A Camel Dairy, Really?

I couldn't stand it.  The suspense was killing me and again I'm so glad for the internet!  Camel dairy in the Google search box and here you have it!  The one and only camel dairy in the good ol' U. S. of A. We could say "Only in America!"  But I'm not sure that would be true.

I know in Cairo,Egypt they have a huge camel market once a week, but a dairy??  It turns out (if I had given it some real thought) we should have known that Bedouins survive only on camel milk during long camel drives across the desert.  We were fortunate enough to see a caravan on the last leg of it's journey to the market while we were on our way to Abu Simbel.  It was one of those incredible life experiences.

Camel milk can't be sold in America just yet, maybe next year, but camel milk soap is available.  They have two new babies at the dairy, both boys, one is white the other chocolate.  I'm a sucker for babies and these are just to precious not to share.

BENEFITS OF CAMELS MILK:

1. Camel's milk is the closest milk to human mother's milk.  Our bodies not only tolorate it well, our bodies thrive on it.
2. Camel's milk has triple the amount of vitamin C found in cows milk.
3. Camel's milk has TEN TIMES the amount of antibacterial and antiviral properties found in cow's milk.

 I've always been a fan of crate labels and while this is an advertisement for their Pomegranate Day event it is non-the-less a
fabulous design!  They are located in Ramona, CA which in out
of San Diego.

They have been featured on Mike Rowe's "Dirtiest Jobs" twice and
also on Huel Howser's "California Gold."  Maybe we can catch a
re-run.

www.cameldairy.com

133. It's Fair Time Again

Well, fair time has come around again.  Our Santa Barbara County Fair sounds a whole lot bigger than what it is.  You would think that since Santa Barbara is such an upscale city that it's county fair would be a much more lavish event than it is.  The county fair grounds is in Santa Maria and even though it is the same county, lavish it isn't.  That's not to say that a good time can't be had, it's just that it certainly isn't the L.A. County Fair.

We have taken the local newspaper from time to time, but it never gets read and I personally protest the keeping of birds in cages so it seems a waste of good paper for our house.  We depend on commercials on the local television channels to inform us of community events and when the commercial rolled for the free entertainment this year, Bob and I couldn't believe our eyes.  Clint Black was on the bill!  Clint Black for the price of admittance?  That's right, my friends, for the senior price of five dollars apiece we spent two hours being entertained by none other than Clint himself.  He was absolutely wonderful.

I have to admit that Santa Maria did him proud, too, though.  The area was filled to the brim with appreciative, well mannered fans and I do mean filled.  It got quite cold around nine o'clock and he made several comments about how cold it was, especially since he is from Texas.  He changed guitars after each song so that a stage hand could keep tuning them.

About the only other thing that struck our interest other than a few quilts (love looking at quilts) was the Turkey Stampede.  Now, we've watched pig races but never a Turkey Stampede.  It was fun to watch the turkeys  chase a remote controlled truck.  They were enticed to do so because the back of the truck was filled with turkey chow.  While this was a new twist to an old game, the really funny thing was the folks who own the Turkey Stampede also own a camel dairy...that's right...they milk camels.  They didn't explain why, but there must be a market.  I'm sure it isn't because they can.

Before we hit the fair we went to the Bent Axle Car Club's annual car show in Orcutt.  It seems to get bigger each year and this year was extra nice.  They even had live musical entertainment that added a nice ambiance, not loud and crazy, just right for us "old folks."It went on for several blocks and the weather was perfect, so we took the opportunity to stroll through the whole event.

I'm not keen on fair food so we headed for Costco to have a REAL

hot dog and then it was on to the fair grounds to spend the evening with Mr. Black.  How much better can a day get??  Kinda glad it's fair time again.  Hmmm, I wonder who is playing at the fair in Paso Robles???

132. Dining Adventure Any One?

Making a little money on the side is even more important now than ever, but that aside, we also have a great amount of fun along with it.  We are blessed with so many wonderful friends, some on the new side and some on the very old side (old in length of time known!)  Bruce and Dort Lacey count among some of the oldest known category.  They helped us land the jobs proctoring and we are so thankful for that in many ways, extra money, but mostly extra fun.  They graciously allow us to bunk up at their place while we work together.  The jobs don't pay enough to stay in a hotel, but the check sure comes in handy when it arrives a few weeks later.

The best part though is the continual excuse just to be together.  Nothing can compare with that!  We tend to be hermits, Bob and I, happy to just hang out together.  The proctoring jobs come around six times a year and they are nicely spaced out which makes it nice because we have to drive four hours down and back.  We always go out to eat, usually with other friends, too, and always, always laugh.  There isn't much to compare with someone who knows everything about your life.  The silly parts, the poor parts, the sad parts, every important occasion, good or bad, and everything in between, the Lacey's have always been there.  What can compare with that?  Friend wise, not much.

Phillipe's in Los Angeles was established in 1908.

One of the exams has an orientation in Los Angeles and it is held twice a year, six months apart...perfect, just perfect for little dining adventures in that diverse city!  We've eaten at: Pink's Hot Dog stand, Phillipe's the home of the best beef dip, Cole's, Phillipe's main contender in the beef dip battle, (we voted for Phillipe's for the dip but Cole's won the award for the most perfect ball of ice cream atop a perfect piece of pie), Farmer's Market on Fairfax, and most recently Barney's Beanery.  

Barney's Beanery was great fun.  Barney's has been at the West Hollywood location since 1920.  Times were hard for folks then and not everyone could afford a whole lot, but Barney's would give you a bowl of chili and beans or a pint of beer for free if you left your license plate as collateral, consequently the walls are adorned with many a license plate.  They will honor the same deal today.  Janice Joplin had her last drink there before her untimely demise.  Jim Morrison was asked to leave for peeing on the bar, of him I would expect nothing less, being a lot on the uncouth side of life.   It has a checkered past, Barney's, but what a great place for a little dining adventure.

              

Peggy and Jim Adkins joined our little band of adventure seekers when we met at Barney's.  They are dear friends from junior high and high school, as well.  The more the merrier we all say!

Our next destination in December will be the El Coyote where Marilyn Monroe had her last dinner and maybe a stop at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where so many stars are buried : Rudolph Valentino, Jayne Mansfield, Darren McGaven, Peter Lorre, Alfalfa (Carl Switzer), just to name a few. I thought Marilyn was buried there, as well, but it turns out she was buried in Westwood Memorial Park.  There are many adventures ahead for us. Lots of things to look forward to.  Please, take our advice and grab a good friend or two and head out for a little "dining adventure."  Who knows where you might end up...just make it fun!

131. Oh, Lavender, Oh, Lavender!

Saturday found me under the spell of Cabin Fever.  It comes on unexpectedly sometimes, but this time I just needed to get out and about and try to get beyond the sadness.  Sometimes just having the fresh air and maybe a little breeze blowing can work wonders for the spirit.  

Paso Robles is a small town about an hour and a half north of our door step and they were celebrating lavender in the little park in the center of town.  Lots of trees and only about 80 degrees with that little breeze and it was just the ticket.  Our friend, Polly, has a birthday in few days and we thought, who knows maybe something will fill the bill.  We found it!  Around the first corner we spied it.  It's perfect!  I'm obliged to keep it a secret...Shhhhh...just in case she is reading this.  I'll post a picture later.

Our friends, Will and Chris, you know, the olive oil people, have another new endeavor, "Bella Pops!"

Chris tells us that the Popsicle is going to be the next "Cupcake."   Chris even attended a big workshop in Florida where she learned the ins and outs of the Popsicle industry.  She had been making them for friends and family just for fun for years, so all she needed was the know how to kick it up a notch and go big.  Fancy freezers and wrappers, secrets and recipes, for Chris, all organic, of course.  Flavors like Ginger Lemon, and Very Berry are so tempting on a hot day.  Their energy level is to be admired  as if tending the olive oil business and having weddings all summer long weren't enough!  They were in attendance at the festival, not that we were surprised to see them, they seem to be everywhere.  Go, Bella Pops!

The drive home was pleasant and we finished a book we have been reading.  It was written by an old school chum, William Wallace (Bill to us) about his grade school years.  The Ghosts of Gordon Street.  It was a page turner!  We thoroughly enjoyed it and hope he gets the kudos he deserves.

I have to admit that I didn't buy a single thing that had to do with lavender, but our friend Lisa said that her dish of lavender ice cream was lovely until the last bite and it tasted like she had eaten one of her grandmother's lavender scented hankies.  I got quite a chuckle out of that analogy!  Lavender, oh, lavender, how we love thee, but a little goes a long ways, particularly in ice cream!

130. Make the Best of It.

Life is like a book.  Each unique publication, if you will, has a beginning, a middle and an end.  They also are filled with chapters, some of those chapters are better than others, some could even be called spectacular while others...well...not so much .  Never the less, all of these chapters make up the story of our lives. 

What we chose to make of this book, chapter by chapter, for the most part is up to us as individuals.  Certainly, there are outside forces that impact our decisions, many are beyond our control.  The trick though is to try to make the best of what ever happens.  I realize that that can sometimes be a tall order...making the best of things. When our daughter, Tracy, died, now that was a tall order to the tenth power.  About the only thing that could be the best of things was that our other daughter, Trisha, and her husband adopted Tracy's one year old son, Robby, as their own.  The other tall order?  Trisha and Christian lived in Switzerland.  Daughter and, at the time, our only grandchild gone in one tick of the clock.

Bernie Segal's book "Love, Medicine and Miracles" helped me through Tracy's illness.  We had the pleasure of she and Robby living with us during that time and  I read a chapter each day before I left work.  As you can guess, I read it more than once during the two years.  It gave me the courage to go home and face her and Robby with a smile and a laugh.  The last thing she needed was to see me coming home each day as a sad sack with a depressing face.  Consequently, we have many wonderful memories of that otherwise hideous chapter.

My Great Uncle Reese always said "If you want to have a good time, you have to take it with you."  Brother, is that the truth.  If you wait for someone else to make your good time for you, well, let's just say sometimes you would have to wait a long time.  That one little sentence has been an enduring truth for Bob and I, one that we have tried to use daily.  Wouldn't it be great if everyone felt that way?  If we all had a smile, that one thing in life that doesn't cost anyone a penny, not a red cent, how wonderful each day would be.

My daddy wrote his book his way.  It saddens me that the last chapter was long and in his words, "Just the same old thing."  No matter how hard my sister tried and she was steadfast in caring for him, he just gave up and forgot that he could still have a good time.  It was his book though and he had a right to write it his way.  I can't judge him, I just wish the last chapter had been more fun for him.  But, that is my problem and I have to make the best of it...for me. 

My daddy and my sister, Becky having fun.

                            Arthur Lloyd Scarborough  August 31, 1917 --- July 6th, 2011

129. Family, Friends, Fireworks and Hot Dogs

Remember today to be proud of our flag and what it stands for.  Our freedoms have been hard won by brave men and women, many of whom have given the supreme sacrifice so that we can celebrate today.

Let's keep in mind that we have a responsibility to be true to what the our Independence means and never turn aside and expect someone else to defend  it.  One of  our many  freedoms is  that of

 speech, but  remember to use it in a positive way.  The proud citizens of this great nation need to band together and work for the good of all.

Enjoy family, friends, fireworks and hot dogs, but
                                                                           never forget what we are really celebrating!

128. Who's New at the Zoo?

Saturday we packed up the car and headed for Santa Barbara and the zoo!  What a fun day we all had.  It is a lovely tree filled place with a very pleasant picnic area.  All of the enclosures look like giant rock formations which helps visually compensate for the fact that the animals are in cages.  All that aside, we checked out the map and the schedule for feeding times and plotted a course.  

I was too excited to let anyone chose the first animal and insisted we head for the giraffe enclosure to see Daniel the 5 month old baby.  He already weighs 300 pounds!  What a precious thing he is!  Like most babies, he prefers to tag along behind his momma.  

The zoo has a special performance right now to learn how to train your dinosaur.  Bob and I have a special love of puppets so this was a must see.  

Preston was quick to point out that you could see the puppeteer's legs, which was, of course, true.  It's like going to a play and marveling at the stage props

that transport your imagination.

Our picnic in the shade was lovely and the weather couldn't have been better with a nice breeze, not too hot and not too cool.  After a brief repast we headed for the penguin area to watch the 2:45 feeding.  They have a dozen penguins from Chile, but the one that stole the show was little Lucky.  He was born with a deformed flipper and couldn't walk.  The orthopedic veterinarians got their heads together and created a boot for him, 30 in fact, so he has a fresh one for each day of the month, which enables him to get around like everyone else.  What a "Lucky" little guy!

We only lost track of PJ for a few minutes and finally found him in the snake house.

Naturally, he got too close to the boa constrictor and it took a couple of zoo

keepers to rescue him.  You just have to watch them all the time!