Ramirez’ latest excellent cartoon . . .
A Yellow Iris
I have been waiting several days for this iris to open. It was finally open this morning. I waited for the clouds to clear off a bit before getting this sunlit image.
This is my first yellow iris and it sure is beautiful. There are several more getting ready to open.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Shopping Homes
For several months, we have been talking about ways to relocate to Arizona as soon as possible. Up to this point, it has been all talk. Over the weekend we decided to take some action by heading to Arizona (very soon) to shop for a home there.
I went on line to see currently available homes in the area where we are most likely to settle. I am pleasantly surprised to see how affordable homes are over there. I worked out the numbers and I do believe we can be in a position to shop, make an offer and get into a home this year – maybe this summer.
Our California house is quite large – four bedrooms, three baths, large family room, two stories – space we used to need when we were raising a family. Now, in retirement, it’s just overkill. We figure to get into a single story, two or three bedroom with a two car garage and space to store the RV.
The one in the picture above came from one of the real estate websites. It’s an example of the class of home and Santa Fe styling we both like a lot.
Heirloom Tomato
I just picked this nice heirloom tomato from our garden today. I took this photo of it while is was still on the vine. Click on the image to enlarge.
This will probably wind up in a tomato on rye sandwich later this week. 🙂
Apollo-13 — 41 Years Later
The Apollo-13 astronauts safely returned to Earth on April 17, 1970. Today commemorates the 41st anniversary of the dramatic conclusion to what must have been the most tedious and frightening events in space exploration history.
NASA launched Apollo-13 to be the third manned landing on the Moon. Two days into the mission, an oxygen tank on board the command module exploded, causing the end of the planned mission and initiated a dramatic space rescue effort, both back on Earth and on board the spacecraft.
The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell, with John L. “Jack” Swigert command module pilot, and Fred W. Haise lunar module pilot. The three astronauts and the Apollo-13 ground crew pieced together a rescue plan. Despite limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water, and the critical need to jury-rig the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17, and the mission was termed a “successful failure”.
During the early 1990’s (I don’t remember the exact date), the Management Club at the company where I worked, invited Fred Haise to speak at one of our dinner meetings. He brought along a slide show and much anecdotal history of the Apollo-13 events. Haise recounted his time as an adviser to Bill Paxton, who played the role of Haise in the Apollo-13 film. Needless to say, the movie strayed from the business-like conduct of the astronauts in favor of dramatics, but the story line went more-or-less like the actual events, according to Haise.
After the presentation, I stepped to the podium (along with most everyone else there) and shook the hand of a real space hero.
Tea Parties and the Media
Damsel wondered out loud why the media and liberals are AFRAID of the tea party movement. She answered her own question – they are AFRAID of the truth being told about them.
The Patriot Post offered the following cartoon as well as an interesting photo-shop of the “Democratic Health Care Surprise.” Check it out.
California Poppies
For several weeks now, these bright California Poppies have been growing in our garden. This is the state flower of California. They and grow in gardens, planters and in the wild. Click on the image below to see the large version.
