Winter Range

This past week was the 20th Winter Range competition of which my hubby always participates. It is the most popular gun sport and is growing in leaps and bounds. There were over 700 competitors this year with about 500 men and 200 women. If  I hadn't already participated in a gun sport for over 35 years I could be tempted to give it a try. This organization has been very smart...they do not promote  "A" winner but rather promote many winners. They have different categories of competition which encompasses age, types of weapons and even costume. Some people spend thousands of dollars to be sure that they are dressed authentically. Here one little winner from the past...

yes kids get to play too.

Some even bring their chuck wagon

One posse of shooters

The shooting competition is a series of stages in which there are normally around 24 shots from three different weapons, pistols, shot gun and rifle in each stage. Each stage is designed different with backdrops

 as well as targets and if you do not shoot the stage in the assigned order you are penalized, you are penalized for each missed shot as well.  If you would like to see an example of a stage you can go here

I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a million words so here is a video of a world champion   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8bJ3TLEbZw&feature=feedlik 

The range is also filled with vendors of all kinds with their wares set up in tents

Some find it a little confining:)

There are many food vendors with Funnel cakes and kettle corn among the favorites

There was also a cowboy fast draw competition happening  and  my hubby competes in that too but this year couldn't do both.

Last but not least is the mounted shooting event. Now that is something I love to watch.  One of the past top women riders is Annie Bianco Ellett

You can watch a video of her showing and explaining mounted shooting  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iihCQlPFIMk  My Hubby takes care of  all her gunwork as well as for many, many other competitors.

I have to do a little bragging here because my hubby shot a clean competition this week and what does that mean.....He shot 290 shots with all the different weapons over four days and NEVER missed a shot!!! and trust me...he doesn't shoot slow. Now here is the bad news...because the competition is so close and tough he still will only place around 15th in his category and not even in the top ten over-all. There were 98 shooters that shot clean, if you watched that video you will be like me

.....amazed.

The day the music died

For some of you that title will mean nothing but for others it will bring back a sad memory of 1959 when three rock and roll musician where killed in a plane crash. It is a sad statistic that there have been many musicians killed in plane crashes for many different reasons but the need to get from one gig to another quickly is the bottom line.

In the case of this particular crash it was that fact, bad weather and lack of proper planning that  initiated the decision to hire Roger Peterson, a 21-year-old local pilot in Mason City, Iowa. A fee of $36.00 per passenger was charged and the plane could seat a total of three passengers plus the pilot.
Buddy Holly was the one who arranged the flight so he had already secured his seat but J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson got Waylon Jennings to give him his seat because he had a case of the flu and Ritchie Valens had never flown in a small plane before and asked Tommy Allsup for his seat on the plane......they tossed a coin for it and Valens won the toss.

The plane took off around 12:55 A.M.on Feb. 3, 1959 from Clear Lake, Iowa en route to Moorhead, Minnesota the next tour stop. The pilot had told traffic control he would file a flight plan by radio after their departure and when he did not call and did not respond to calls from them for several hours they reported the aircraft missing. The wreckage was found less than 6 miles from the airport. All had been killed instantly.

Buddy Holly had only been married to Maria Santiogo for 6 months and she was 2 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash,

she lost the baby to a miscarriage as well.

Investigators concluded that the crash was due to a combination of poor weather and pilot error.

This is a signpost near the crash site.

This statue of Holly is found in Lubbock, Texas One of his top hit's was....... That'll be the day

Richie Valens, only 17 years old was the youngest on the flight and became famous with his hit  La Bamba 

J.P. Richardson better know as "The Big Bopper" had many hits but who could ever forget Chantilly Lace

Richardson was survived by his pregnant wife and four year-old daughter. His son, Jay Perry Richardson, was born two months later.

This day of sorrow became "The Day the Music Died" due to the annotated song "American Pie" written and sung by Don McLean 12 years later in 1971. The entire song is a tribute to Buddy Holly and a commentary on how rock and roll changed in the years since his death. McLean seems to be lamenting the lack of "danceable" music in rock and roll and (in part) attributing that lack to the absence of Buddy Holly. A detailed examination of the meaning behind the song can be found here.



Sidewalk BBQ

Last night we headed to I and J's for dinner and to sing karaoke. This business is tucked in the middle of apartments and in fact the entrance to the restaurant is also where the residents go to get their mail so it is a little unusual but I was set back as we drove in the and there was a group of people with their BBQ set up on the sidewalk cooking away and the kids riding their bikes in the parking lot...

but the more I thought about it....

maybe they were doing the best they could with what they had. Would you do this?

Outing

Ever since I had this monkey experience in Mexico I have longed to recapture it. I had recently read that our local Phoenix Zoo had a monkey jungle that you could walk through and since it had been 38 years since we had been to this zoo I thought it would make a perfect outing.

Indeed it did...the weather was gorgeous and the zoo is an oasis in the desert.

Our first stop was at an animal show that was for the kids but hey we are just big kids. They asked for a brave volunteer to come up on stage and help and this little Mexican boy raised his hand. They had him hold his arms out straight and checked to be sure he was strong:) His little brothers gasped and started rattling in Spanish when they saw them bring the snake in behind him and how I wished I would have caught a picture of his face when he turned and saw that snake but I did catch this one....

Isn't he just the cutest thing.......

This was another featured animal....now that's a rabbit!

This little guy was trained to take the dollar

and stick it in the box!

We took the little train around the zoo first and truthfully you didn't get much closer to the animals walking. They did have the monkey jungle but they were not friendly and in fact they had people stationed around with water bottles in case they got to close to us....pity since they were so darn cute.

There was a lot of walking (I kind of forgot about that) so had to stop and rest several times but one of the times payed big rewards when this slow moving elephant climbed up on the rock and got a bite of hay.

Back in May 2010 I posted about making a reservation at the newly opened Talking Stick casino and how they called us the day before and told us they did not get their fire inspection. They made reservations at another resort and paid for it AND sent us a gift certificate for a free nights stay with them at a later date.....so spent the night there.It is a very pretty facility with some great views.

Was hoping for another visit

The date was suppose to be March 5th for the up-coming auction of many of Buckskin Bessie items  http://www.premierok.com/101ranch/index.html  (famous wild west performer that I wrote the book about...see the sidebar) and I had hoped to read some of the letters that are to be auctioned but they changed the date to the 12th and I already have a commitment on that day. I was truly disappointed because along with the auction we had planned on going back to Bartlesville, Okla. and stay at the Inn at Price Tower.

This is the only hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

You really do experience a different relaxation in these rooms.

They are small and everything is angled (which I love) and most of one whole wall is glass that overlooks the city.

This is their Copper Restaurant and yes, that bar is all copper. The food was great and the view awesome. The trip was to also include going to Bessie's grave and re-visiting the Woloroc museum which has a  large display of 101 Ranch memorabilia, including many old photographs and a huge gun collection.

Well, the pictures were a nice remembrance but not as good as getting to go. If you are in the Ponca City Okla. area and have not visited these places I encourage you to go.

The history of Valentine's Day —  and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery.

According to one legend, Saint Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Isn't it interesting that most of the symbols of Valentines

romance

chocolates

Roses and wine

are all things that women love......what does valentines mean for a man???????

You name the place and time........................I'm ready

There are many reasons why Valentines Day is popular. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year and of course it is a well known fact that it is a florist dream or nightmare but most of all....its a time to remember to say those three little words....I love you

.

for those whose love life lacks this may represent your particular feelings. I try to remember that just like Christmas and other family holidays it may not be a good time for some, so no matter your circumstance, just wanted you to know...........I wish you

everyday:)

Collections cont.

Did I ever tell you that I like old cars?

No I don't have one of these tucked away in the garage LOL



but I do have little ones in lots of places like this one

that sits on the glass shelf in the half bath and across the way are these

This one sits on top of the freezer...oppps should have dusted before picture:)

and then there is this

The brown part is leather and the car is metal. Hangs in our entry way from the garage......
I am not sure you can call my things collections because they are small in number but they are still a group of things soooooo
 lets see...I have guns, dolls, clocks and cars. What do you suppose might be next?

Note: I have added links to the old posts showing these other collections.

Oysters

Most people know that a pearl is formed from having an irritant inside of the oyster. It secrets layers of mother-of-pearl to protect its body from the irritant, thus creating a pearl. It takes two to three years to produce a good size pearl.

Pearls were discovered by the Chinese about 4,000 years ago. Historically, pearl divers dove up to 80 feet with equipment no more sophisticated than nose clips. They would scoop up the shells with their hands and bring them up to waiting tubs.

Good quality pearls can be VERY expensive and like diamonds, color, size, clarity and etc. determine the valueOysters grow on oyster reefs and one of the best area's is the Chesapeake Bay.

An oyster matures in 1 year and at that time will release sperm into the water..mature females release eggs into the water and more oysters are created.......Up to 100 million from one male and one female and no hanky panky!

Of course not all oysters have a irritant in it but the Japanese have discovered that you can surgically insert one and it will produce a perfect pearl.

Millions of oysters become an appetizer at the local restaurant and crabs are one of the oysters predators which is even better for those of us who won't eat these, but love crab.

They provide entertainment on the beach as people stroll and gather them and some go home to
become a scoop for our bath salt

others may end up as a pretty sever for another appetizer

What an amazing little creature the oyster is and how I wish the irritants in my life created a pearl instead of an outburst!