On The Road Again

I am leaving Thursday to go see my best good friends Lyle & Jerin in Tennessee. I am so ready for a mini vacay!

Not the Usual Saturday night...

Well, last night Jip bolted out of the living room and soon after I heard the loud sounds of fighting, I ran out to see Jip fighting with a Racoon and I jumped in to save my Noonins! I grabbed the racoon off of Jip and flung him, but also in the process fell into the wooden walk way and tore up my legs from the knees down and damaged my toes, tearing a toe nail off. The racoon stood up on two legs and seemed confused but did not leave quickly. I picked up Jip and started yelling at the racoon. Mom heard my yelling and came to our rescue. It happened so fast, I know it's crazy to grab a racoon! Jip had no bites that we could find - amazing!
Jip has been "barky" ever since this incident. He kept me up all night barking and grrring at every little noise.

(*)

I miss my Mammaw.

I miss my Pappaw too. But, today I really miss her.
There are many days I have random thoughts of her. I remember when I poured hot tea from the stove into a green glass pitcher and as she entered the kitchen could not stop me from pouring and the heat cracked it in two. She didn't get upset or show anger about my mistake. I am sure the pitcher meant something to her though and that she was dissapointed.
I also think of her smells in her bedroom and her perfume and smell of her lotions. Making her bed and getting her mail.

When she hugged someone she really hugged them, she pulled them into her body, and when she hugged me the soft skin on her neck would be so comforting, like a pillow.
I think of the way I would put plastic curlers in her hair and watch TV with her, not talking really, just an occasional phrase from her every now and then.
Her romance novels, Bunko nights and secret money.

I think of the way she would say " I love you" inflecting her voice in the love part.

My Day with Lucas

Lucas and I spent the afternoon together and I took him to pick out a new toy. We saw lots of different toys but he picked this one off the shelf himself and knocked it to the floor. He had 2 choices and each time I presented them he chose the Winnie the Pooh phone. Next, we headed to Bayview Park and had a small lunch together in the shade thanks to Mom packing up us a picnic of PB&J and grapes, Turkey Sandwich for me. He then explored the playground and adapted to walking on sand pretty well. He loved steering the wheel and asked for high fives out of the blue! Not sure who has been teaching him that. He loved watching the other kids and made friends with another 1 yr old. After that we went to my house and opened his toy and he explored my house and found & kept the whole time a jar of yellow cupcake sprinkles (*you will notice he is holding them in most of these pics) He also played with the ball with Jip and we went on 3 walks around the neighborhood. It was a great day!

Help the Houma Nation

The Houma Reservation in Louisianna was hard hit by both Hurricane Gustaz and Ike. FEMA is ignoring this community! If you would like to help please click on the link below and donate.

www.unitedhoumanation.org




Reservations across the country - here are the facts:
75% of the population earn less than $7,000 per year
45% live below the poverty level
The average unemployment rate is 45%
Unemployment on some reservations is 90%.
Alcohol mortality is 627% greater for Indian people than all other races combined.
Tuberculosis is 533% greater than all other Americans.
Diabetes is 6.8 times greater than all other Americans.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is 33 times higher than for other Americans
One in six adolescents has attempted suicide - four times that of all other teenagers
Homicide is 63% greater than all other Americans
Navajo Nation 46% of the housing has no electricity
54% has no indoor plumbing and 82% is without a telephone

Barktober 2008

Uncle Larry & I took the dogs to Barktober Fest in Seville Park today. It was fun seeing all the different kinds of dogs and great costumes. We pointed and laughed!! Larry entered PePe in the Best Costume contest as a Lady Bug.

Pale Male & Lola

One of my favorite web sites is www.palemale.com

Pale Male and Lola are a pair of red tailed Hawks living on 5th Ave/Central Park in NYC. I have been enjoying the high-res telephoto pics that Lincoln posts almost daily chroniciling their lives. There is an amazing variety of wild life in Central Park.

Here is a clip from You Tube.

More Banksy

Here are some interesting Banksy videos.

Where stars are born

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope snapped a stellar family portrait showcasing the different generations found in star-forming region W5.

The site lies 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

The infrared image backs a star-formation theory in which radiation and winds from massive stars created two large cavities and compressed surrounding gasses to spawn new stars.

The oldest blue stars are seen in the cavity centers, while others become progressively younger with distance from that point

Lucas Video

Acts of Kindness

Every day like clockwork, firemen arrive at the Ellenville, N.Y., home of Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan. But this not just a social visit -- they're there to work.

Ryan was injured in Iraq in 2005 during his third tour of duty. As part of an elite sniper team known as Reaper 6, Ryan was stationed on a rooftop in Ramadi when there was a breakdown in communication. He took two bullets to the head -- the victim of friendly fire.

The bullet that entered above his right eyebrow ripped through his brain, leaving him in grave condition.

"When we first got there, we did not expect him to survive," said his father, Chris.

"My prayers were, let him hang on," said his mother, Angie.

"Hang on, and we'll get you home to the land that you fought for," his father remembered. "It's amazing the deals you work out with God, but he got through that."


To watch the Video copy the link below:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5629768



Beginning in March, a group of 13 firemen organized themselves to come to Ryan's home in shifts so that at least two fireman were at Ryan's home each day to help him with his physical therapy. Led by Joe Morstatt, a veteran New York City firefighter and friend of Angie Ryan, the firemen take turns rotating his arms and legs to help him stay moving and to increase his range of motion, strength and flexibility.


THE VA NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN AND REBUILT!!!!! HELP OUR VETERANS!!!

2008 Olympics

The 2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony was incredible! If you didn't see it you missed out. I watched about half of it and would love to see it again. I hope NBC will replay it.

Trip to Atlanta

I went to visit Dori last weekend in Atlanta, GA and we had a good time. It was nice just hanging out with her and seeing her neighborhood. Here are some of the pics! I plan to visit again in the fall.

Happy Birthday Anya

Anya turned 28 today!
Here is a happy birthday song for you...


and, this reminds me of one of our funniest memories....:)

Farewell Friend

I had to put Ms. Green Jeans down today. She is a parakeet I rescued while living in Nashville. She cracked her beak a while ago and kept making it worse by chewing on her sticks. I tried all kinds of things to help her but she would just ruin any healing that occured by continuing to chew. Finally her beak was in a condition I didn't feel she should live with and I didn't want her to be in pain.
Mom went with me to the Vet and I said my goodbyes. The Vet administered the injection and it was a peaceful passing. For being such a small bird, she had a huge spot in my heart. She loved Spike so much and lived with him for six years, laying eggs every spring in hopes he would fertilize them. It never happened, but she still loved him.
I hope she is somewhere flying now.

Lucas turns 1 !

Lucas turned one year old on Sunday and the family celebrated with a pool party at the Maguires house. It was a hot day but we had a ball watching the kids. Lucas was laid back as always and got a lot of presents and clothes, along with some cool shoes!
I am having some issues loading the pics, so I will have to try later on when I have a better connection. I can't believe how fast this year has flown by!!

Colorado Visit

Mom & Michael went to visit Beau, Jessica & Summer at their new place in Fairplay, Colorado for 6 days. Their house is high up on the mountain around 10,000 ft. elevation and sits outside of Pike National forest. Mom enjoyed all the pretty flowers and roads and was so happy to have taken the Diamox RX for altitude sickness! Here is a sample of the 300 photos they came home with. I hope to add more later on.

Lucas One Year old this month!

Lucas came over yesterday and played in the pool, we also enjoyed about an hour of peek a boo, he didn't seem to get tired of it - here are some new pics! Lucas turns one year on 7/27!!! He's such a big boy!

UPDATE: Lucas walked yesterday!!!! Lucas took his first steps on 7/10/08. He is just a few weeks away from his Birthday and already taking care of business! YEAH! Anya encouraged him to come to her and he walked on his own!!

Banksy

Some of you may of already heard of Banksy but for those who may of not, he is a graffiti artist from London. His artworks are often-satirical pieces of art that encompass topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique. Banksy's stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist and/or anti-establishment. Subjects include animals such as monkeys and rats, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly. Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti or mount exhibitions of screenprints in commercial galleries. He prefers to be anyomous and does not do interviews.











This type of art form is called "culture jamming" and has started a craze around the world and US. I find small stencils on power boxes , telephone polls and sidewalks all the time (even in Pcola!). Some of them are outstanding in their detail and message. I have always wanted to compile a collection of photos that would make a great coffe table book some day. I think this is awesome and get excited every time I find a new one - I wonder how often others notice these images? It would be great to come across a Banksy piece!