Mother Earth

The Queen Mother of England is an organic gardner.  Garlic powder in water is the main insect repellant used to combat pests.  My own grandfather was an organic farmer and I learned some helpful hints from him.  Organic gardening is a way of life and a way to be a good keeper of the Earth.  Queen Elizabeth is most proud of the honey from her garden and gives it as gifts to heads of states.  We are proud of our honey and enjoy giving jars of Skip's organic honey to our neighbors and friends. From the orchid discovered in her garden for the first time in 100 years, to  the 12 natural orchids of the mile high woods of the Rockies, from England to Colorado, from the palace to the neighborhood, we are all one, organic gardeners unite!

On The Cover Of the Rolling Stone

Growing up in Chicago we were exposed to a wide variety of music genre's.  You could go to a club and listen to the Blues, to Jazz, Dixie, Gospel and Rock - n- Roll.  We had music venues from the local spots to the Quiet Knight and the Earl of Old Town. Styx played at our prom, we saw Muddy Waters, John Prine, and  Chicago played in our backyard in a garage. Chicago was great for concerts indoors and outdoors, still is. WXRT  was the radio station and Terry Hemmert the first woman DJ that we as girls, learned that we could  grow up to be anything we wanted.  This is just a short tribute to grown up with music  in a great city and by  no means covers the City of Chicago & it's music history.  And the whole purpose of this blog is in the end to say - get that vile, loud mouth, mo jo nixon off of the radio and kick his ass to the curb.

Five O'Clock Somehwere

A co-worker works on a different time schedule from one that is punctual and conducive to getting things done in a timely fashion.  It got me to thinking about time and the possibility of living on island time.  No hurries, no worries, simple days and peaceful nights.  This time next year, I will  work on island time for the first time in my life.  Having had a job since 6th grade, my paper route, I have worked for almost 5 decades. I have raised a family, taught teenagers for 3 decades and survived the stress of time schedules and demands of a working professional.  A life without an alarm clock, like a Jimmy Buffet tune, what a way to spend the rest of my days.

Cradle of Conservation

One of my heroes is the forward thinking 26th president,  Teddy Roosevelt.  During his administration, he at times fought for the wilderness, setting aside over 230 million acres  for wildlife and the future. "There can be noting in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons and our people should see to it that they are preserved for the children and their children;s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred."  Theodore Roosevelt.  As a visionary and much opposed by commercial interests, he established bird reservations, 18 national monuments, game preserves and 150 national parks.

Weekend Warrior

Living in the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains a bike ride is not a leisure ride down the road.  The minute I leave my house, it is an upward climb for the next 40 minutes.  I love going down the road and the challenge of another hard ride. But, there is this one damn hill.  With the invention of the Copenhagen wheel, I am thinking that my next birthday gift will have this invention at the top of my wish list.  It is attached to the rear wheel and using your smart phone app, a rider can kick in the battery-powered motor to level out that hill. When you peddle harder, on those long climbs, the wheel pushes with increasing power.  The battery stores power that you generate from the energy you provide for the ride.  And of course, with the ap and sensors, it tracks and creates a data base for temperatures, effort, humidity navigates and records road conditions for future rides. Sign me up for a hybrid bike!

Cloudy with a Chance of Sun

"Now is the winter of our discontent...And all the clouds that low'r'd upon our house" and that is the beginning of 2015.  It's predicted that we will have a long cold winter just like 2014.  Our average temperatures are colder in the winter and will continue to stay cold this winter.  I personally don't enjoy these cold days.  One thing to look forward to is using my new telescope and these cold winter nights are perfect for night sky watching.  Many of the planets are visible in January, Mercury, Venus,  Saturn, Mars and Neptune. this month is known as the Wolf Moon, wolves run together,  on the 4th!