WHAT WAS I THINKING?????

As I said yesterday, we went to Georgia and Pete's last night to celebrate Calleen's birthday, her 64th! Here she is with her cake and cupcakes, grinning through her wine-induced stupor. Boy, did we have a good time!!!

This is Pete trying to get the wrapper off his cupcake. For dinner Georgia made a scrumptious guacamole and turkey with green chili "burrchiladas" as we were calling them. She had a cream sauce over the top with more cheese and green chilis. It was sooooooo good!!!!!

Doesn't Coley look like a deer caught in the headlights. By this time, we had already consumed several drinks, and we were all devouring the cupcakes.

And, finally, here's Georgia trying to lick the frosting off her chin. Wish my camera picked up the little things like the blue frosting on her upper lip, but you can see the frosting still on her fingertips. After we ate, we got up and started dancing. I think we danced for about 3-4 hours, and this morning Coley, Calleen and I are feeling are age and then some. Calleen and I could hardly sleep last night for the muscle cramps taking place in our feet and legs. Boy, did we have fun!!!!

Today I'm treating Coley and I to manicures and a little time of relaxation. See you in the funny papers!!!!

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT!!!

If you've never been to the southwest, you have never seen the beautiful colors of the sky as the sun goes down.

As I sat in my truck waiting on my twin to finish her shopping, I looked out to see one of the most beautiful skies I've seen in a long time. This picture really does express the blues, yellows, and pinks of the moment.

Today is Calleen's and Alpha's birthday. So if you're reading this, please offer up a blessing for both of them. Whether or not you know them, your prayer/blessing/love sends a vibration out into our world and joins with all the other prayers/blessings/love being offered by millions of souls around the globe.

Today I'm taking the opportunity to stay in my pajamas. I had a wonderful prayer session with my dear friend, Cathy, and got to feel the power of love joined with tears.

Later this evening we will be going over to another friend of Coley's, Georgia. She's invited us to dinner to celebrate Calleen's birthday. I've heard through the grapevine we're having turkey and green chili enchiladas. Hmmmmmm good!!!!!

Heard they had snow in Memphis yesterday. What a surprise for that area. We very seldom get snow this early in the season. Today the streets are clear there, but they still have snow on the ground.

Our weather here is in the low 60's, with clear blue skies. Hope all of you are experiencing beautiful days and relaxing nights. Peace be with each of you!!!!

ANOTHER ADVENTURE!!!

We left our hotel on Sunday morning headed for the Royal Gorge in Colorado. Of course, one of the reasons we stayed in Colorado Springs was so we'd have a much easier day on Sunday. NOT!!!!

Here's Coley with the Royal Gorge bridge in the background. The gorge is 1178 feet deep and 1000 feet across. At the very bottom of the gorge the Arkansas River flows through.

With the entry fee, we were able to ride the tram across the gorge which was really thrilling. Shelia, I could hear you in my mind going "OK, Corky, you're going to have to help me through this, look how far down it is!!!!!" The guy running the tram said someone had recently jumped off the bridge. It takes about 8 seconds to hit bottom---- what a longggggggg 8 seconds that would be, something like bull riding where it takes 8 seconds in order to have a qualifying ride, a very longggggg 8 seconds.

This picture gives you a little idea of the depth of the gorge. The river is pictured, but just to the left of the river is the train track. They have a train that takes you through the gorge and can be accessed at Canyon City. The train is $12.00 and access to the Royal Gorge is $25.00 per person in the high season, and in the off season, buy one and get the other ticket half off. Coley and I were also able to get the "senior" discount. Feels funny still to ask for the senior discount, on dinners, movies, attractions, etc., but I'm getting better at it.

I will say, however, there are times when I ask for a senior price and the clerk looks at me in wonder and says "Really?" No brag, just fact.

After we left the gorge, we headed for Albuquerque on the 285 highway. It was a much more beautiful ride coming through the mountains, but it took us much longer than if we had returned to I-25. But here's a picture of "Camel Rock" Coley took with my "fisheye" feature. I thought it turned out so cool looking.

Calleen, Coley's friend who lives in Paradise Hills (our old neighborhood we grew up in) was making dinner for us and had invited Kitty and Chuck, also friends of Coley's. Dinner was scheduled for 6pm and Coley and I pulled up, right behind Chuck and Kitty, at exactly 6pm. Great timing, but Coley and I thought we would be there long before we actually arrived.

We had a terrific meal of beef and chicken enchiladas, with Spanish rice and chili rellenos. Kitty made homemade quacamole with chips. Exactly the kind of meal I was hungry for. We had a delightful evening socializing and Calleen's home is so beautiful. I'll try to put pictures up of her home on the next post.

Hasta luego!!!!

MOVIN' ON DOWN THE ROAD!!!

Bright and early, well, maybe not so early (7am) we pulled away from my Mom's house. If you look very close you can see my mother standing in her door watching us leave. A bittersweet moment.

I wanted to add a picture of this pine tree. This was the tree Mom planted in honor of our baby sister, Lisa, who passed away in 2000. So the tree is now 11 years old and is quite a beautiful tree.

Our family had a wonderful gathering over the holiday. By this morning we were all headed in different directions. Mike and Hollie to Washington; Jeff and Jacque to Alaska; Jenny and Larry to Ohio; Sandy and Tom to Delaware; Sherri and Steve to Iowa; and Coley and I to New Mexico.

Our last day together, we had Richard connect the Wii so we could bowl. We spent several hours bowling, 4 at a time. I was in competition with my brother, Mike, and my brother-in-law, Tom. Had a really fun time challenging them to beat me. Mike did, Tom did not, but there's always the next time. Sherri and I played two different games of 3-hole golf. So very different on the Wii game than it is walking an actual course. Later that evening, seven of us sat down to play Oh, Hell. It's a card game that lasted about two hours, but we all love playing cards and being together, so we had a good time. Sandy was the big winner in that game.

I decided before I left Wyoming to stop in Colorado to spend the night. The drive from my mother's to Albuquerque is about 850 miles. That's about a 13 hour drive give or take an hour or so. Not much of a challenge for me, but since Coley and I managed to do about 1600 miles in two days, I just wasn't up for that long a drive.

Here's Coley with the mustang in front of the visitor center in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The drive was fairly easy, not too much ice on the highway and the day turned out to be clear, blue skies all the way. We did hit high winds once we got into Colorado, but it wasn't any problem.

Yes, that's me. Also at the visitor center, all bundled up for the cooler temperatures. We arrived in Colorado Springs about 2:30 pm and checked into a Super 8 Motel. After dropping off our bags, we headed to the local Applebees for dinner and later drove to the theatre to see the new release, Hugo.

This is a really good film by Martin Scorsese (sp?) about a little boy who becomes an orphan while helping his uncle tend to the clocks in the train station.

I was surprised to see that part of the story is about the real life story of how movies began when the Lumere (sp?) brothers made the first picture of a moving train and the people in the theatre really thought they were going to be hit when the train began moving towards them. The film is in 3d and is really worth seeing. Sir Ben Kingsley has the primary role along with the young boy who plays the orphan. Coley had not seen any of the 3d pictures that have come out in the last year and a half, since she's in Costa Rica.

In the morning we head for Albuq. I'll be there for several days.

Hope all of you survived your encounter with the turkey. Judy, I think you are in Memphis helping your mother through her surgery. I send you both well-wishes, you, too, Lynn. Love to all!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Today I celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with all of my brothers, sisters, and my Mom and step-father. For my brothers and sisters, this is the first Thanksgiving we've been together as one since 1966. So for me, this is an especially blessed day.

Coley and I left New Orleans on Friday, Nov. 18th and arrived in O'Fallon, Mo. about 6pm that evening. My friends, Jim and Elizabeth, had taco salad prepared for us for dinner and the next morning, Jim got up at 5am to make breakfast before we left.

As we got further into northern Iowa, we started to see some snow on the ground and this picture shows the beauty and the bleakness of the season.

We continued on to Kadoka, South Dakota where we met up with my sister, Jenny and her husband, Larry, as they drove in from Ohio. Kadoka sits in the Badlands,which we didn't get

drive through due to the road conditions.

We did, however, make it to Mt. Rushmore, seen on the left. This picture was taken from the opposite side of the monument where you can see a really great profile of George Washington. See how brilliantly blue the sky was and the snow still on the ground. You'll be happy to know my truck did very well. I was so happy I had the four-season tires put on before I left Memphis.

This was my first time to be in South Dakota. It's a rugged, wide-open spaces State. The roads spread out in front of you for miles, and I was so thankful there was very little traffic around us. Even though the road crews had been out, there was still some icy patches on the highway. At one point I told Coley, "I'm going in", referring to moving across from lane to the next in order to pass a car, and then "I'm moving out" to get back into the right hand lane. I felt like a commando and Coley said "were you holding your breath?". Believe me, I was. Pretty scary traveling through

areas I'm unfamiliar with. But we did just fine.

Here is a picture of Devils Tower in Wyoming. This was taken with my Toycam feature. Turned out to be a really pretty picture.

We finally made it to Mom's house in Sheridan, Wyoming. My brother, Jeff, seen here in the foreground, with his fiance', Jackie. She's going to fit in with this family just fine. She's got a great sense of humor, likes playing games, and is easy on the eyes. We are all very happy for Jeff. His first wife, Jane, passed away several years ago and he's been alone since then. So welcome to the family, Jackie!!!

So, that's all the news that is news here in Wyoming. Hope all of you out there are celebrating your blessings with those you love!!!!

OH HIGH HOLY CRAP!!!!

2 of Fire, POSSIBILITIES and,

II, INNER VOICE and,

HIGH and HOLY weekend.

All messages Shelia and I received for our 11-11-11 weekend.

Each message guided us to remember each of those vibrations - everything possible when we remember to listen to our inner voice and reach for the Highest and Holiest thought/feeling/emotion.

The picture on the left was taken in our living room with (again what's my fav Fx feature?!!!!) symmetricam. Isn't it interesting there appears to be something like a sword in the middle of two hearts. HMMMMM!!!! Love the magic and miracles occurring when I get out of my own way!!!

Our last morning, I got up a little before Shelia, made coffee, took some to her as I woke her for our final day, and, I headed out to the dock to see the sun as it peeked through the clouds. Coley, I was transported back to Costa Rica and us spending every morning on our porch, drinking coffee and usually ending with a game of some sort. Are you still not going to play FARKLE with me?!

At this moment, I am sitting at my Little Buddy's (Beverly) table in New Orleans. Just got here in time to make Taco Salad for our dinner while she gets her nails done. I'll be here for a few days!!!

Thanks for the well-wishes to have a joyful, safe, sweet and easy trip. I certainly did!!!!

11-11-11 CEREMONY DAY!!!

My friend, Shelia, and I drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas to celebrate, with ceremony, this auspicious day. We started out by becoming so engrossed in what we were doing in the truck (talking, drawing an Osho Zen Tarot card, etc) we completely missed Forest City (our pit-stop). We literally time shifted ourselves practically to Little Rock in no time at all.

Just east of the I-30 Junction, we saw a sign "Toltec Archaeological Mounds" and we decided to go. Neither of us had been and what a good place to do ceremony. It turned out we set our intention at exactly 11:11am in my truck by lighting a candle. We did pass this sign and both of us thought "really, Toltec Baptist". Something just doesn't ring right with that?????

We finally made it to the condos. Here we are standing on our deck with the water in the background. Too cool!!!!!

We got checked in , dropped off our stuff and headed to Lake Ouachita State Park for our official ceremony. We had all the accoutrement, candles, crystals, lottery ticket, affirmations, etc. We had the most beautiful day, the weather was perfect and the place we found had no other people there, so we could chant and sing and offer up prayers undisturbed.

As we got up to leave,Shelia and I both got tickled. We started to laugh and for Shelia, she laughed so hard tears ran down her leg. We got back to my truck and we had to do a little "rearranging" of her clothes in order for her to sit on my front seat. "Unh, unh, girlfriend, none of that on my new truck seat!!!

Here's a picture of the lake area with the sun going down in the west. It was so much more beautiful than this pictures shows, but I hope you get a little idea.

One other thing, Shelia and I wrote down many of the "messages" we got today and two drop-ins were Inca, Shelia's dog who passed recently and my Mom, Effie. I've never seen the word "Effie" ever on any highway signs until today. So thanks, Mom, for checking into my day. Loved having you here with me!!!

HAPPY 11-11-11 DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!!

GOIN' TO THE DOGS!!!

Spent this past week with my friend, Joan and her two companions Bella (in the front) and Taz (behind Bella). These two are really sweet dogs in need of a good haircut. They are the same dogs you see on the Cesar dog food packaging. This is the West Highland White Terrier.

I think Bella really took to me. Every time I got up from the couch to go somewhere in the house, she was right behind me checking out everything I was doing. She loves to watch the water flush down the toilet. Elva, do these look like Henry Higgins?

Joan and I had a great time relaxing, eating and watching television. Joan has Tivo which means she can record programs and when we played them back we could delete the commercials. Ain't technology grand!!! God how I love not having to watch commercials!!!!

Today, just about an hour ago, I arrived at one of my pet-sitting houses. I'll only be here for a couple of days but these two are my favorite clients.

The one in the front is Ceiligh (pronounced KayLee) and Rufus is in the back. They are Cairn Terriers. I've been sitting with them for quite a few years and I've watched them both go up and down in weight. Ceiligh is really small right now, she's had some health issues lately.

I finally got my camper put up for the winter and I'll be moving from place to place over the next couple of months. So for now, stay warm and stay well!!! I send each of you love!!!