Paul Smith

No, you probably have never heard of him but he is a man of inspiration.

Born with cerebral palsy did not deter him from painting....................................

How????

Using his typewriter!!!

Why is it some people sit down and say "I can't" and others find a way to get it done?

http://www.paulsmithfoundation.org/index.html

I'm Back

I often ask myself why I do these trips and of course I know the answers:

1. I love meeting new people
2. I love learning new things
3. I believe that change produces growth
When I get home I try to remember this little list because with trips and travel comes people you don't like, things that aren't what you thought they would be and changes you may not have anticipated......such is the nature of travel.
This was my third trip with the Elderhostel program and it was titled "Heroic Hounds"
Our base was the DoubleTree Inn in Rohnert, Ca.

The facility was VERY nice and the food, although all buffet for our group, was good.

Our focus was to learn about those gentle giants that help people have full lives in spite of the obstacles they face.

The training that goes into these dogs is not only very time consuming and intense but also very expensive and for the most part, accomplished, on donations. The breed of choice is mostly yellow labs due to their strength, health, intellect and........................................

gentle, calm spirit. She calmly sits with her paws crossed while our group of 26, ask questions and take pictures.
We also had a demonstration of two of the of the California K9 dogs that sniff out drugs, bombs and help catch the bad guys. You would not believe how this dog changed when fellow officer acted as if he was going to attack the woman police officer he was trained with.........good thing he had a very padded arm shield.

Also on the agenda was a trip to the Charles Schulz Museum (Creator of Peanuts) and although I am not a comic fan, many of the displays were quite amazing...................

This was a floor to ceiling display made up of his different cartoons and using the dark colored cartoons to make this scene of Peanuts and Lucy.

I am very blessed to be able to travel with and without my husband and for the most part I find it very rewarding. This does not mean that it is smooth sailing and an easy task. When traveling alone, just being responsible to get yourself to the airport, remember where you parked, find the baggage claim, lift your own bag (hopefully you didn't over pack), find the shuttle and be sure you are on the right one, have the right change because they don't accept credit cards and on a group tour after you find your room, it's time to meet 25 new people that are couples as well as a few singles and somehow all blend together. You often do not get to choose your meals so you need to be flexible about that and the days can become quite long when you are traveling to and from places on a bus. This trip was different than the others that I have previously taken because it was subject focused where the others were area focused. I found this one specially taxing due to the four women who would not take directions and constantly detained the group asking endless questions. In any group you always have those that have to be first in line, first of the bus, hog the petting time and monopolize the conversations and express their political/religious views as if there were no others, but these four were just exasperating to me............................

Note to self: be sure to listen and don't ask too many questions

Keep a watchful eye

Just a little helpful reminder...................

I am off on a jaunt.....see you when I get back:)

An educated guess

LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TWO HOUSES AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH BELONGS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.

HOUSE # 1:

A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern "snow belt," either. It's in the South.

HOUSE # 2:

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the are! a blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville,Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.

HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it is the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
This is totally true folks.......................Another example of leaving your brain on the doorstep.

Golf Ball

Why do golf balls have dimples?



It's not so that they will look cute.......................................
The dimples maximize the distance golf balls travel......they travel four times farther than smooth-surfaced golf balls.
The science of aerodynamics helps explain the dimples phenomenon. The dimples reduce the drag on a golf ball by redirecting more air pressure behind the golf ball rather than in front of it. The higher levels of pressure behind the golf balls force them to go farther distances.
Now, how could you not live without that tidbit today...................Do you golf?

Boredom and excess results

You are driving down the highway near Yarnell, Az. and you see a white thing in the distance.......
Can't imagine what this could be.......can you???

Just your average painted rock skull.
This massive rock was painted by Santa Fe Railroad workers around 1900. Supposedly the crew was in charge of painting the mileposts and other signs along the track and had left over paint and too much time on their hands:)
This article appeared recently in out AAA magazine..................................................

9-11

Baker Company Marines in formation in remembrance of 9-11

You could have heard a pin drop

When in Switzerland at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop George Carey if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return". You could have heard a pin drop..............................................................

Then, there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room sharing "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?" A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly;"Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallon of fresh water from sea water each day and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?" You could have heard a pin drop....................................................................................................

A US Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the US, English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. AT a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.' You could have heard a pin drop....................................................................

A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur'? the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. 'Then you should know enough to have you passport ready.' The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it." 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!' The American senor have the Frenchman a long hard look and then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find and Frenchmen to show it to.' You could have heard a pin drop..........................................................

What is a Veteran? whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- it is someone who at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.'

How easily we forget.............................................................................

Just the two of us

A successful concoction:

One avocado cut in half with pit and skin removed

Several grape tomatoes cut in quarters filling the center and spilling over

Salt and pepper............genius!

The Democratic Donkey and Republican Elephant

Ever wondered what the story was behind these two famous party animals? According to this web site, The now-famous Democratic donkey

was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.

Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican elephant.

In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party.
Democrats today say the donkey is smart and brave, while Republicans say the elephant is strong and dignified.

I don't know if there are symbols for politicians in Canada and other countries but these are sure well recognized here in the USA.

Here's my advice.............Pay attention and listen....then VOTE your choice, and then.........shut up and be the best grateful American you can........millions of people around the world would love to have this privilege, don't forget it.