Magic of the Season, once in a blue moon

The last 2 pictures are of the full moon setting early this morning. This is the second full moon in the month of December, therefore named a Blue Moon. The next time it will happen on New Years Eve is in 20 years.

Happy 2010!

Bunnies

Bunnies just want to say - hope you're having a happy holiday season!

Hawk

Can you see him? This picture was taken from my little office window, and the hawk - easily 2 feet tall, landed in a mesquite tree just outside. I love this about living in the southwest.

Tis the season

It's been a really really difficult few weeks.

Doctors. MRI's. Biopsy's. I'm pleased to report, that all tests are inconclusive. It seems to be the mystery disease, with some strange symptoms. Blood test results pending.

Work. Spent a week away for my day job. Then came home, and have been working 15-17 hours every day - between my day job, custom orders for Woolies, and Buster and boo being really busy. Thank you to all my customers! I pray that all the packages arrive safely, please!!

My son. I don't usually write about super-personal things on my blog. But today, I need some catharsis. My son and his girlfriend, who have been together for a year, seem to be splitting. It's a long long story, and very heart-wrenching. My heart is broken for them. And I've been crying for the better part of the last few days. This was not your typical high school romance. They are not your typical kids. And we never expected it to end; truly, not ever.

So I go outside to get some sunshine, and what do I find? This put such a quiet smile on my face.

Horses, napping in the sun.

Evening Sky

Tohono Chul Holiday Lights

What a great craft fair - that really isn't a craft fair.

Tohono Chul Park, in Tucson, Arizona, is a combination arboreteum, native american-sonoran desert, tea room, native plant store, that is not a store at all. For 4 nights in the beginning of the holiday season, the park is decorated in lights. There is live music and a celebration.

With just a few vendors, it's great fun! My friend Kathy brings a few goaties and an angora bunny.

Tonight is the last night for the event, leaving shortly!

Patient Kitty!

So......I have bronchitis, and am just lying around knitting. My oldest son wants to keep me company, but really he is just torturing me. Of course, his i-phone is constantly in his hand. And, of course, his cat is sleeping nearby. She is never far from him when he is home.

He put the phone down to do something (without thinking), and put it on his cat! A phone rest! Then he decided that was such a great idea, he'd put some other things on her.

Boo had to check out what was going on!

Poor kitty!

Don't worry, it was only a few moments of insanity.


Anyway, he made me laugh hysterically, which made me cough hysterically.

Saturday afternoon hysterics!

Coyotes

They're everywhere lately. Is it because the weather FINALLY got cooler? Is it breeding season for coyotes? They're very active, and all over the place. You have no idea how many times I've tried to get pictures of them.....they vanish into the brush before I turn on the camera. The picture above is borrowed from Google Images.

They are wary of me, lurking and watching them, but they almost always stop, turn and look at me.

Wild.

An Incredible Song

I was driving in the car today. A rare occurance - since I work (all my jobs) from home, I just don't get out enough.
I hardly ever play the radio at home, but always do in the car.

And I heard a song I had forgotten all about.

One of the greatest songs ever written.

It was written by Eric Bazilian, of The Hooters. The Hooters are a Philly band, and I'm from Philly. I used to see them play at JC Dobbs (awesome bar/club on South Street) a l o n g time ago. Eric Bazilian wrote all kinds of great songs that were performed/recorded by artists like Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, Cindi Lauper - to name a few. The guy is a genius.

Anyway, Joan Osborne (no relation to Ozzie Osbourne) was the first to record the song that grabbed me so much today.

It's titled, "One of Us", and it's all about - what if God was one of us?

I cranked it as loud as I could in the car, and am posting this link here for your listening enjoyment. I'll be interested to hear what you think!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CRkpBGQzU

Endless Sunshine

I live in the land of endless sun. I can understand how that would be appealing. The last year we lived in Philadelphia, it rained 18 weekends in a row. 18!

So we moved west, to be near family.

However, here in southern Arizona, it hasn't rained since July. It is November. It is always sunny.

Vomit.

I hate it.

I'm very crabby, and I think I have sunny diseffective disease. Self diagnose.

I want wind, and cold, and frost, and crunchy leaves underfoot - and the fall smell in the air. I do not want to wear sleeveless t-shirts anymore. Or sandals.

Did I mention that it was 89 degrees today - November 10th?

I hate this place.

See that little bunny? He likes it here.

Not me.

Politicians

Why our country is in trouble : (OK< this isn't really true, but it's really funny....)

A Washington DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of 'Why' our country is in trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
2. I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's (Moore) staffer (Howard Bauleke), who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts .'' Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Capetown is in Africa ''his response -- click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, 'don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!'' (OMG)
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife (Landra Reid) who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?''I said, ''No.''She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)
5. An aide for a cabinet member(Janet Napolitano) once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas . I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas .
When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)
6. An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky) called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker, (Jerrold Nadler) called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?' he replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!''After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno , Ca. is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage.
8. A Senator John Kerry aide (Lindsay Ross) called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii ?''
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman, Bobby Bright (D) from Ala who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?'' I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them." 10. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D)called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida . Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?''I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane. She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''
11. Mary Landrieu (D) La. Senator called and had a question about the documents she needed in order to fly to China . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.'' I double checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ''Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!''
12. A New Jersey Congressman (I john Adler) called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .'' I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'' 'Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the man. After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, sir, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere." ''The man retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!'' So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo , do you?'' The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''

Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in! YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED.

I don't know about you, but I've always wanted to take a train to Hawaii.

:0)

Winner!

Brownhairgirl7 - Congratulations - you're the winner of the Earring Giveaway!

Huge thanks to all who entered!

A Rant.

Why are people so incredibly rude? It feels like - my entire adult life - I've been surrounded by people that don't care about their neighbors.

Recently, we were woken up at 2am. That's AM. A dog was barking. He never took a breath - just barked endlessly, for about an hour and a half. We thought maybe somebody's dog had gotten loose. The next night - guess what - it happened again. Luckily, only for about 1/2 hour. The next night - guess again - more barking in the middle of the night. No idea where it was coming from. Then, the following evening, we were eating dinner. Barking. The same bark. We got up and took a walk to see where it was coming from. A neighbor down the road. They were not home. They left the dog outside, and it barked that evening for almost 3 hours. I left a note in their mailbox.

The following afternoon, they came to my house to accost me about the note. Furious. How DARE I. Declaring that it wasn't Their Dog. No apology. Just accusing me of being a terrible person for leaving a note.

This afternoon, I come home from an errand. I get out of the car. Blasting music. I know exactly where it is coming from, as I've heard it many times. I walked about the 1/4 mile to their house. The teenage girl, sitting outside, stereo by her side. Blasting it. She didn't hear me approach until I was right in front of her. I said, Do you have any idea how loud that is? She said, Oh it's not at all loud. I said, either you turn it down, or I'll go call the police. She turned it up louder, I kid you not.

What is with people? I have 4 dogs. I would never in a million years put them in a situation where they bark for more than 5 minutes. I would never plunk my stereo down outside and crank it as loud as I felt like.

If somebody arrived at my house to tell me about something I was doing that disturbed them, I would apologize! Nope, nobody apologizes. They think I'm the crazy person for being bothered by their outrageous noise. We're not talking about music in the far distance, or a dog making an occasional bark. We're talking about as loud as you can, for as long as you can, with absolutely no thought whatsoever for your neighbor.

My neighbor that built their house as close as they possibly could to ours, left their dog out every single morning FOR A YEAR at 6am, and the dog barked for 5-10 minutes. Right outside my bedroom window. When I FINALLY said something, she went ballistic. Told me to get off her property or she would have me arrested for trespassing. And then she told all the neighbors what a total bitch I am.

From now on, I'm just going to call the police.

Except, the police do not respond to barking dog complaints. And they only respond to blasting stero complaints at certain hours. So I have no recourse at all. I'm just supposed to sit inside my house with all the doors and windows shut, and turn up the TV or fans, to drown out their noise.

That just isn't right.

So, what is a neighbor to do?

Buster and boo Earring Giveaway!

In honor of the Fall season, I'm offering a pair of Harvest earrings for my latest giveaway!

Beautiful Soft Pink 7-8mm Fresh Water Cultured Pearls are paired with rich and sparkling swarovski amber crystals. Wirewrapped in sterling silver and hanging from sterling silver earwires. Glorious for the fall harvest! Value $18.00

To qualify for the giveaway:

1) Please visit my online boutique, http://busterandboo.etsy.com/. Come back here and leave a post with your favorite item from my shop.

2) Or --- you may also visit my other shop, http://woolies.etsy.com/. Again, come back here and leave a post with your favorite item from that shop.

3) If you visit both shops, you will be entered twice.

4) If you become a follower of my blog (button to the right), you'll be entered again!

5) If you blog about this giveaway, you'll be entered yet again!!

6) If you tweet about this giveaway - another entry!!

So - lots of chances to win! Giveaway will end one week from today - Thursday, 10-29-09, at midnight.

Thank you - and good luck!!

:0)

Walking Stick

My husband spotted this guy - just hanging out. So Cool!

If you didn't know, you would think it was just a twig.

See him?

Big, too. I petted him.

:0)

My son and his girl

So in love. At her homecoming dance. He's far away from home....

Road Runners

Did you watch cartoons when you were a kid? I loved Wilie E. Coyote, always trying to catch the roadrunner. Meep Meep!

I *love* when I see these cool birds. Yesterday, there was one that came up to the back door, and was just hanging out on the back patio. I snuck outside with my camera, and he (she?) heard me and ran away as fast as she could run.

I managed to grab just one quick picture, before she was gone.

See him running away?

:0)

Full Moon over the mountain

The sun is setting earlier, thank goodness. I love the time of year we are slowly coming to - cooler weather, shorter days. Even in the desert!

Last night, the full moon was coming up over Mt Lemmon. These are some views from our back 'yard', and the dirt road that we live on.

As I walked out our driveway to the road, all was quiet as the evening came on. I got out to the road, and was all alone - except for one lone coyote. He ran into the brush before I had a chance to snap a picture, rats!

The desert southwest is magnificent in it's beauty. However, lately, I am homesick for home. Changing leaves, and rain, and walks in the woods. My boys are too. I think - one day - we may head home again.

Craft Fair Season!

Summer has lasted for five (That's right - 5) long months here in the desert southwest of the USA. The heat is relentless. I c a n n o t s t a n d i t.

I would like to announce - it seems to be ending! I did a craft fair today, and although it wasn't super-duper busy, it wasn't bad. And I was in ecstasy just sitting there, in the semi-shade, with a breeze blowing, and I wasn't going to pass out from the heat.

Fall is here!!!!!!!!!!

Wild Horses!

Well, not really wild. Domesticated horses, acting WILD. They spend their days in their stalls, with lots of shade and water and hay. At night, we let them out into the arena - which isn't huge, but it's a whole lot bigger than their stalls. I dream of the day when we have real pasture - fields - lots of space for them to roam.

Once in a while, they go a little nuts. Tonight was one of those nights. The bigger horse is Dozer (the one with the blaze on his face). He's a quarter horse. The smaller horse is a mustang - we do not know her background. I believe that she was born in captivity. But she is a true mustang. Her coloring is called line-back dun. And she is brilliant.

Tonight, Dozer was so wild - he reared up - all the way. And as he was galloping, he kicked Belle. I hope she is ok.

Crazy pictures, because it was dusk, and they were kicking up tons of dust, and I had to use the flash!

Crazy!!

Waldorf Dolls

I was a tomboy, growing up. I didn't play with a lot of dolls, although I did have one. Her name is Pitiful Pearl. I still have her. Her hair is a little....unusual. I may have had something to do with that...

So now I have a thing for dolls. I DROOL over dolls. Here's a sampling of some of my favorites:

This is Josie. Josie was made for me! by Gopita. I adore Josie; she sleeps on my bed every night. And Yes, I am a grown woman.

:0)

Here's another adorable one:

You can find her at Ruprecht's shop on Etsy.

This georgeous doll is available at Dragonflyshollow.

This little guy would love to come live at your house:

You can find him at PolarbearCreations.

Oritdotandolls makes the most beautiful and engaging dolls.

Hope you enjoy!