For our friend, The Carson Park Ranger…

I will miss you.

 

See you on the outside (away from the Blogsphere)

Costco Trip #112009

It has three settings:  Low Heat… High Heat… and Vaporize!

A different kind of alien to clean your home.

No music, and no fancy lights, some Ferris Wheel.

Don Juan’s older cousin, Julio, was never the ladies man.  However, he had his own plans to get some girlie action!

This winter Costco has implemented a new water conservation project…

…they hope to save several hundred gallons by next spring.

Born with a name like that, he was destined to be in one kind of business.

OK, it is not blue, and it is not going on my pancakes.

Few people realize that your cholesterol can be controled like a switch.

Especially designed for your Non-Headache.

I feel sorry for the chap who thinks he is buying a laxative.

A Collection that is merely Peanuts…

I had a short phone conversation with my brother Esteban today.  In between hammering out my travel plans for the Holidays, and talk about music trivia, we got on the subject on my Peanuts/Snoopy collection.  It was a treat to finally remove the pieces from their cardboard box hybernation.

Snoopy and Woodstock playing hockey on the frozen bird bath

This collection has accumulated as a result of my efforts, and the efforts of friends and family.  Esteban always seems to find stuff that I would never find because of his own collecting interests.  So when I pay him and his wife a visit this December, I will be returning with even more items for what is simply called “the collection”.

Found this at a local flea market (I think)

Some of my pieces are ordinary merchandise that is sold seasonally.  Other pieces are trues collectors’ items.  I have not been aggressive in seeking new items for over three years.  However, my collection grows with lots of help from the likes of Esteban, Mr. Pat, and others.

Esteban found the glass coin bank

Well, I could have collected bottle caps!

In case you were wondering…

I have been busy with other stuff. I will get back to this blog…whenever…

The Creamsicles did the trick!

So it’s come to this for the fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hoping that Creamsicle and a less-than-masculine looking winking pirate can bring you luck in ending one of the longest losing streaks in the franchise’s sordid history.- JC De La Torre for The Bleacher Report

The Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played a game yesterday that featured the first appearance of the “Throwback” unforms from a time that was plagued with losing. Add to that the opponents were the Green Bay Packers. Back in the 1980’s this was an old NFC Central rivalry simply called the “Bay of Pigs” for its lackluster participants. Well, since then, each team has won a Super Bowl, and the yearly match-ups are a thing of the past.

However, on Sunday November 8th, these two teams took to the field with Tampa Bay looking to win their first game of the season. To honor the Thirty Year Anniversary of the very first Buc team to make a post season appearance, the team wore the Creamsicle uniforms that were all but banned in 1997 by the owners.

Well, the Buccaneers won 38-28! I was in heaven watching the game on TV. In addition to be an exciting game that featured a Bucs comeback, the fans at the game were mostly clad in the old Creamsicle colors. How outstanding is that? I hope the owners see this and realize that there is a demand for the often hideous day-glow orange. There is just something about it. I have my jersey, as do many other fans I am sure!

Hideous but Beautiful

Yahoo Sports Source

JS Online source

Bleacher Report Source

It was nice to get away.

It was not a well kept secret that my lady friend and I went away this weekend for a rest.  This was the first time I can remember being away from home on my birthday.  What I got was a much needed retreat from the real world.

Our cozy Rustic Retreat

Did I mention we had a Hot Tub?

Creature Comforts

...yes, it was quite comfy!

Another door to the Hot Tub!

We were above the river.

We had access to the garden. We did not take advantage.

Garden Delights

More Garden Delights

A view of the cabin from the side of the river.

The foot bridge over the river. We could have parked our car on the other side, and walked.

Below the new foot bridge was the old foot bridge. It was something out of Indiana Jones, ans I was looking for crocodiles beneath the expanse.

Plus we made a friend.

Happy Halloween!!!

I wonder if this ever happened at the So you wanna fight event

I came across this, and I admit I can’t stop laughing.  I wonder if the average Joes up at Cher-Ae Heights Casino could ever pull this one off.

Pops: Proud fan of the Washington Redskins

It is not easy being a 'Skins fan!

How do you get away with watching your favorite NFL team at a local bar knowing that your team will lose?  I mean lose badly.  Our beloved Pops has found a way.

I knew he was going to get teased because his team was embarrased on national television.  The Redskins have made headlines this year for all the wrong reasons, but not as bad as the Raiders (sorry Raider Nation)

Yeah, keeping a low profile.

We salute you Pops, even though we have no idea where the hell you found the walker.

(for the record, he does not really need one)

Scorpios…and proud of it!

I don’t know if you give any credence to the Zodiac, or any meaning behind your Astrological Sign.  Some days I do, and others I don’t.  The truth is  I love that I am a Scorpio.  It is a built in excuse to be secretive, moody, and unpleasant at a moment’s notice.  I also like to trumpet the fact that I am fiercely loyal to my friends, and extremely wary of those I am not friendly with.  I like that I am passionate about what is important to me, and that people are generally enamored with me (when I choose to be sociable) .

I am very proud to be a Scorpio with two of my bestest friends on the West Coast.  JJ and Italiano are also proud Scorpios, and we often toast the virtues, and curses of being born under this intense sign of the Zodiac.

Of course as we have gotten older (I have known both these men for over a decade now), time has brought with it new responsibilities.  JJ and I met when we worked at the same office.  I miss laughing with JJ at some of the silliest things.  Like the time he almost peed himself laughing because he discovered that a former co-worker of ours has a last name that is pronounced the same as that famous Oscar Myer lunch meat.  Or going to lunch at Smug’s, or the burrito place where JJ played mind games with the teenagers that worked there.

I have known Italiano for nearly two decades.  I enjoy the conversations we have, and I find that he and I share the same struggles to express ourselves in a world that often overwhelms us.  I have become more like Italiano as  I move towards a more private personal life with my need for ample solitude.  Italiano has expanded his music interests since he has known me.  What about those Fountains of Wayne???

Anyway, I just want to pay tribute to my two friends who share my passion for being a Scorpio.  My life is so much better for knowing them.  As we leave the coveted 18-34 year old demographic, I want to say that I still enjoy the wisdom I have gained in these years I have been alive.  I can only hope my friends feel the same way.