Homer'sWorld

At home for the second day from a cold compliments of a co-worker. Lots of things I need to do, but just don't feel like doing them.
























Puff is unhappy.

I am a terrible patient. No uncomplaining patience for me. I want someone to bring me the newspaper and a glass of juice. Someone to straighten the blankets and wash dishes. But none of the cats are helpful in that way. So I sit up for a while, then back to bed. I expect by tomorrow or Sunday I will be back to normal. Yeah me.

To celebrate Arizona becoming a racist, Nazi-esque state, I flew north to Las Vegas to visit friends. Actually, I had planned this long before the fuckwits in Phoenix passed a law destined to become unconstitutional, but hey, that lousy beast Jan Brewer (sorry Jan, your too old for the blonde hooker look) wants to get her dried-up self re-elected.

Anyhows, Erich picked me up at the airport and we drove to his house, which is decorated with many stuffed animal heads from animals that probably breathed last sometime in the early 20th century.
























Wolf?

The next m0rning Erich and I journeyed north to Charleston, way up in the mountains.
























Erich as Madonna in Vogue.

I got to see real snow. I made a snow angel. Or a snow devil. Impossible to tell them apart.
























My butt is getting soaked.

That night Erich, David, James, and George and I had supper at the Venetian.

























David, George, Erich, and James.

The scenery was interesting, lots of women dressed up as whores.
























Pretty moon.

We walked to the Bellagio so I could see the floral display, which had many tulips and hyacinths.
























And a giant bee.

It was a nice weekend, nice to see my friends, and nice to escape the news.

Poor Joey. She likes to sleep in unusual spots sometimes. On Tuesday afternoon I came home from work and I couldn't find her. Then I heard a muffled meowing. She had climbed into the middle dresser drawer and gone to sleep, and I had closed it on her. So she spent nine hours sitting inside the dresser.
























Joey!

It did not occur to me that nine hours was just a bit long for her tiny kitty bladder until yesterday, when I pulled my gym shorts out and discovered that she had peed in the drawer. Sigh. Everything in the washer and then repeated sponging with pure cheap vodka to neutralize the odor.

RANT!

- concealed weapons without permits which can basically be carried anywhere, including bars
- cops can stop any Mexican-looking person and arrest them if they can't immediately prove US citizenship.
- one percent sales tax vote to raise one billion dollars a year to fund schools and police.
- one billion dollar tax cut for rich folks
- 13 of 17 rest stops along Interstates closed
- hundreds of school teachers, librarians, counselors, etc. to be fired
- Presidential candidates have to prove US citizenship
- straight married couples get first pick of adoptable children.

These are a few of the stupid things Republicans legislators in this state are wasting time on. Some fucking asshole named Buzz Mills is running for governor and his main campaign promise is to cut spending more. If you are thinking of moving to Arizona, I would not recommend it.

As summer is just getting started my backyard is lush with wildflowers. I counted 24 different varieties of flowering plants on Friday night. My mother liked to go out and look for new ones every day.
























Penstemon and aloe.

Mummy left yesterday and is safely back in Michigan. I am guessing she is glad to be home to see my sisters and brother, her dogs, and cats.
























Brittlebush.

The house is quiet. I spent the morning sorting through a closet and selecting things to get rid of. The amount of dust and cat hair floating around my house is pretty gross right now- with the spring winds and cats shedding. So I am also doing spring cleaning. Who wants to help?

A history lesson. In 1850 and 1860, census takers recorded information on each enslaved person living in the United States. They completed special census forms for the slaves- listing them by age, sex, and colour. Because slaves were not considered real people, their names were not reported, unless they were over 100 years old.
























1860 slave schedule, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (click on image to enlarge and see details).

In 1860, the State of Mississippi had more slaves (416,178) than free inhabitants (349,943).

So sorry that the fucking Governor of Virginia doesn't understand why the concept of a month honoring the traitors who defended slavery and started a war that killed half a million people isn't such a cool thing to do.

I packed a gluten-free picnic lunch and Mummy and I got into the trusty 1999 Saturn and drove south, along Interstate 10 (paid for by your tax dollars!), turning south on AZ 83 (see above), then east on AZ 90 (and again), to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (also paid for with tax dollars).

While Mummy visited the loo, I took a self portrait.
























I am scruffy.

Lunch was whatever I had pulled together (dried cranberries, a yoghurt, corn chips and pepperjack cheese). Afterward, we walked over to sit and watch the birds feed.
























Lesser goldfinches.

I like this photograph because it catches some of the birds in mid-air. We also saw the black chinned hummingbirds. Mummy had a nice time.

We then drove east to Bisbee and wandered up the main drag, visiting a few antique stores and a book store. I bought a dinosaur puzzle for Baby Milo.
























Mummy in Bisbee.

On the way back we drove through the little town of St. David, which was busy having one of those delightful Tea Party protests. Ironically, the protesters stood alongside a road constructed with federal tax dollars. They held signs up with messages written on them, and of course tax payer dollars paid for their education. And so on. Here in Arizona we only pay somewhere between 2 and 2.5 percent for state taxes. It is pretty ridiculous to bitch about taxes here.

Mummy heads back to Michigan on Saturday, so I wanted her to have a special day. She told me she really appreciated the drive (lots of wildflowers and a deer), the birds, and Bisbee. Tomorrow night, I am making some of her favorite foods for supper.

Patrick made Jimbo and I supper tonight. Chinese food, very nice. For dessert he made Banana Foster.
























Flamer!

It was very delicious.



















Banana Foster.

A whirlwind of activity. Yesterday morning I got up and made a lemon meringue pie. It was mighty.

























Jimbo and the Rage Inducing Lemon Meringue.

And it was delicious. Mummy ate most of it. We then got in the trusty Saturn and went to the Presidio Park where Jimbo was gracious enough to volunteer for Living History.



















The bread is taking forever!



















Where are the soldiers?




















Nice el perro.

Mother did not do living history. I made her pose.
























Mummy and the Tombstone Rose.

After a long walk and lunch, Jim and I went to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area and watched as volunteers put tiny bands on the legs of tint Black-chinned Hummingbirds. You'll have to ask Jim to show you the pictures. We also saw some Lesser Goldfinches and Vermillion Flycatchers.

We then drove to Bisbee, had supper, wandered, and went to see Cobban in a play. We returned later on to Cobban and Ray's house for drinks. I awoke in the middle of the night perplexed as to where I was.



















Cobban, Jimbo, and Ray, after breakfast.

On the drive back to Tucson a handsome police man pulled me over to inform me that my cracked windshield must be replaced within five days. So helpful.




















Say no to crack.

I made Mummy potato salad for supper and Jimbo and I are off to Brady and Patrick's for our supper.

At the Sweetwater Wetlands we went the back way to avoid schoolchildren. We quickly spotted a number of large hawks, which are typical for the area near the sewer plant. I could hear red-winged blackbirds calling and then we spotted them in the cattails.
























Red-winged blackbird.

And a close up:






















Closeup!

We saw a male hummingbird flying in a swoopy U, trying to impress a female. The American Coots were fighting to show the females who was more drakely.
























Jimbo photographing.

I spotted a huge white egret in a tree and while we were standing there, a second one flew in to join it.
























Egrets, click on picture for closer image.

Not as many ducks as last time, they have largely flown north.

























A flowering mesquite tree.

I'm having a lazy afternoon while Jim is off hiking around Saguaro Park West.

Jim arrived five minutes early. The aeropuerto was not crowded. We immediately drove to my casa, past the montano. "Madre! Vamos Rosas!"



















James enjoyed the Henny Penny flautas.

























Mummy had the green corn tamales.

























I had the cheese enchiladas and refried beans.




















The enchiladas and refried beans.

Now we are ensconced at the casa, where I have completed my chores and Jim is unpacking and Mummy is reading her quilting magazines and the cats are everywhere.

Today the evil nature of many human beings weighed on my mind. In Mississippi parents conspired to set up a another prom to exclude a lesbian girl. That was awful enough, but they made sure two disabled kids were not invited either. What a great lesson to be learned. I looked at pictures of the kids at the other prom, all gleeful and happy, and wonder how much of those smiles were based on the pain they were causing other people.

Oh course, there were suicide bomb explosions, extremists shooting people, video of people being killed while American soldiers laughed. On and on. It really makes you wonder.

And now for something different.
























Mummy didn't care for it.

Well I was sitting at my desk working on a family history sketch and suddenly things started shaking. There were vague rattling noises and the pictures were wiggling. I called out to Mummy, "We are having an earthquake!" And she said, "Yes, I can feel it!" More stuff was moving around- the bicycle helmet hanging on my bike swaying back and forth.

Very interesting. Of course by the time I realized what had happened it was over. I felt slightly weird- excited and queasy. Of course I immediately put on Facebook, "We are having an earthquake!" The next door neighbor asked me if I had felt it. Mummy said, 'Well I don't think I would want to be in a bigger one" and I would have to agree with her.

Ten years ago today I woke up and heard little mewing sounds coming out of the bathroom. Calico had become a mama. She's been blind and deaf now for two years, but still finds her way around the house and likes a nice petting and scratching behind her ears.
























Mama Cat.

The vet says she is about 15.5 years old, I am happy to have provided her with a nice place to live.

The stray bunny comes into my backyard and I feed it carrots.
























BUNNY!

It seems rather tame, but I doubt I could catch it.

I made Mummy a gluten-free apple-rhubarb pie. She ate two pieces and will have high blood sugar.
























Secret ingredient, pecans!

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, which is about right. The desert is so green right now. Kyle took Mummy on a drive to see the wildflowers. She was real happy about that. Meanwhile I sat at work and felt out of sorts, the allergy meds bothering me a lot.

And now I am stuffed full of pie!

Back before there were refridgerators or ice boxes in Tucson, people would pour water into large ollas (jars) made by the O'odham, the local Native Americans.

Traditionally, women made the jars in the down time between agricultural work (planting and harvesting). The would mine clay, collect sands from washes or grind up old pottery sherds on metates to use as temper (helps keep the pots from breaking as there were fired). There was a source for red pigment in the Tucson Mountains and they sometimes used a black organic pigment for designs.

The women sat outside their homes and made storage jars and, later, tourist pottery. They heaped the pots up and built fires and fired them outside. Sometimes fire clouds are present on the exterior of the pot (you can see one in the picture below).

























Decorated olla, circa 1887-1901, it held about 3.5 gallons.

The women would load the pots into large carriers and peddle them on the streets of Tucson for 50 cents to a couple of dollars. People would pour water into them and the pots were slightly porous and the water would seep through, evaporating on the surface. This helped keep the water cool. Some people liked the taste of water in the jars.

After city water was installed, the number of water jars declined. They gradually stopped being used for water storage by most people in the 1920s.




Today's blog entry brought to you by the wonders of archaeology and historical research.

At the Non-denominational Egg Decorating and Backyard Egg Hunt, I served rice pasta salad, potato salad, deviled eggs, and two gluten-free desserts:
























Vanilla cake with whipped cream and strawberries.

This cake wasn't so good, the rice flour was grainy.




















Lemony cheesecake.

I used Trader Joe's gluten-free gingersnaps for the crust.

Mummy and I have been getting things for the prize baskets and I used the silvered fig tree to hang egg and acorn ornaments on
























Baskets and egg tree.

I had bought Mummy a knitting book with animal patterns and she made a duck.

























Duck.

She surprised me by giving the duck to baby Milo!!! I was somewhat disappointed.

The guests arrived and the five dozen or so boiled eggs were decorated.




















Phil and Ralph decorate.

I like the two-tone eggs the best.
























Decorated eggs.

The guests assembled out front and I explained the rules (large egg=1 pt, medium=2, small=3). Then One! Two! Three! GOOOOO.















Unlike the last two years, the sun shined. Open your eyes Sandy!

And people ran around like crazy grabbing for eggs.
























Jeffrey S. and Stacy in front of the guesthouse.

People were very thorough and I wonder whether I will find any they missed. Brian even found one from last year.
























Jim and Tara.

Afterward, we retired to the drawing room.



















And counted eggs.

I double checked the numbers so I would not make a mistake I had made once before, in which the 4th place person was actually the third place person. Luckily, my numbers added up. Brady missed getting third place by one point.



















The winners: Patrick (1st), Zane (2nd), and Stacy (3rd).

This is really my favorite party because it has 1). food, 2). crafts, 3). treasure hunt, and 4). prizes! And really easy to do and everyone has a good time.

So back in 1992 my father had a stroke. I came home and there was a message on the answering machine (remember those?) from my sister telling me to call home. I did so. My father was in the hospital.

My parents were dairy farmers, struggling to get by on their small farm with the help of my brother. In 1979, Reagan had cut the milk subsidies and the price of milk dropped dramatically, but even before then my parents could not afford health insurance for themselves or us kids. Luckily, the kids never got sick. Unfortunately, both of my parents had become diabetic by the late 1980s.

So neither my father or mother could afford to go to the doctor, get physicals, any of that sort of thing. And one day my father was driving the truck and when he got out his leg didn't seem to want to work and he went to bed and slept for almost 24 hours straight. He was a terrible insomniac and so that was weird. But neither he or my mother thought of going to the doctor to see what was up. Too expensive. Many people will have a warning stroke, and that was what this was, the brain trying to reset itself. A week later it happened again and the next-door neighbor, a nurse practioner, came over and told them to go to the hospital, that he was having a stroke.

Knowing my father, he probably insisted on driving. Once in the emergency room, nothing seemed to happen until my father dropped to the floor paralyzed. The next five years were a nightmare of limited mobility, my mother wiping his butt, blindness, depression. It was a relief when he died because he didn't have to suffer anymore and my mother was no longer burdened with taking care of him and Grandma at the same time.

I would guess most people I know are thankful for Obama for pushing through this health care legislation. Millions of people like my parents will now have access to affordable healthcare.

Except for this one person I know who has left a string of angry comments on Facebook that were all "me, me, and me." Good lord, sometimes you have to make small sacrifices for the betterment of your fellow human beings. I have often been disappointed in Obama, but today I am very pleased that he the president.

Spring is here and the wet winter means the wildflowers are blooming like crazy. Mummy wanted to go see some so we drove over Gates Pass and past the Desert Museum to Saguaro Park West. After a stop at the Visitor Center, which has an excellent book and gift shop, we drove west to the nearby paved nature trail, which is something Mummy can easily walk around on.
























Yellow flowers.

Unfortunately, none of my flower pictures turned out and most of the pretty ones we saw were on the sides of the road.
























Smile!

We slowly wandered along the trail, pausing to look at the tiny flowers and the many saguaro cacti.




















Tiny lizard.

Mummy especially lizards and I was glad to spot two different varieties, which were nice enough to hold still for pictures.
























Saguaro!

The saguaros are filled with water, their trunks and arms swollen. They look very happy.
























Zebra striped lizard.

The weather was gorgeous, but I had problems taking photos. The light always seemed to suck.
























I had to lean down to get this picture.

After I came home I made Kyle chocolate pudding for his birthday. Mummy is amazed that I made pudding from scratch- but it is so easy to do and so much better tasting.