MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (WHAT MISSION?)

This post is way long overdue. One month late to be exact! Originally this post was dated February 29th because I felt that I would not be able to proudly claim "Mission Accomplished" if I did not publish all 29 posts during the month of February in the year of 2012. I promise that this would be the last time I set this silly goal posting each day during the month of February.

At first the goal of posting everyday was fun and helpful, keeping me motivated when I don't feel like blogging or have no interesting story to share. But then it became such a chore and the goal was meaningless. I cheated by creating a new post everyday but then trying to catch up a few days or even a week later. Who am I kidding?

Then I could not move on to more posting in March. It was as if I was stuck in 2nd gear. (Well, playing Scrabble was part of the reason.) I read somewhere about how social media has created a kind of "zombie" state of mind in modern society. Words are instantly transmitted and people write, blog or text without thinking, whatever happens to be on their mind and often without any consideration for others. My Dad often reminded me to be careful because once the words were spoken, you could not ask the other person to forget what was said. "Communicate only 1/3 of what is on your mind.", he wrote in the Guest Book when he visited us in 1996. How I wish I was able to follow Dad's advise each time I open my big mouth!

You probably want to know why these photos from Flaming Gorge Dam and Reservoir in Utah. No particularly reason. Just because I was so impressed with the structure, especially the sort-of rainbow/archway bridge, just like the time when I could not stop talking/writing about the Hoover Dam. If you are in the neighborhood, be sure to visit "George".

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS - "EIEIO"

I have seen the above plate around town before and I finally was able to safely take a photo of it when I saw it at a parking lot. I don't try to take photo while driving unless I am the passenger or I am stuck behind the vehicle when we have to stop at a traffic light. We don't need one more distraction while driving (music, cell phone, eating, putting on make-up are just a few things people do while they are supposed to focus on driving). "EIEIO" is perfect for this "Ramblings" post since I have no particular thing to write about (even though I have a lot to share but due to circumstances, I will have to wait for the right time to tell you, my faithful readers, about my recent "stormy" journey!). I plan to ask the owner of this vanity plate whether he/she has a farm and if his/her last name was McDonald!

Here is an update on my husband Winter Project (what winter?). You could see the progress when all the pieces were put together (above photo), then pieces of red glasses around the eagle (below photo). CP already picked out a nice frame for it. However, the eagle project is currently on hold as he is working on fixing (straightening) the retaining wall in front of the house. After that, my handy-man will be installing a sprinkler system. (That is right, he is doing it all by himself.) Next month, our neighbor who has a landscaping business, will be putting new sodding on our front lawn. We did not want to be known as the "poor" house with brown grass!

I will be back with an update after the eagle is framed and also the before-and-after of our front lawn.

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS - CHELSEA, IOWA LIBRARY

I did not understand why it was so important to Qaptain Qwerty and why it made him happy when he found free WiFi at a coffee shop or at a library wherever he happens to be while travelling. Now I do. Since we have wireless internet connection at home, there would be no need to sign up for data service for "Bo" except when we are on our road trips. All of the library branches in St. Louis have free WiFi and most of the restaurants/coffee shop, even supermarkets now offer this service. I think it is a smart business decision. Last week when I met a friend for lunch at a restaurant that has free WiFi, I brought along the iPad and we were able to do research on the topics we discussed. I like taking pictures of library or post office when driving thru small towns. The town of Chelsea, Iowa has only one building to house both its City Hall and Library. I am sure the good people of Chelsea are proud of their town because any town that has a library, no matter how small the collection is, would get my respect.

When I mentioned to my husband that I got a few really good books from the library, he said, "I never knew you ever gotten a book that you did not like or think it was a good book." Reading has always been one of my favorite activities besides watching hockey/football. One of the books I recently read was about I.M. Pei, the world renown architect, and I found so many interesting things about his life. I always thought Mr. Pei only designs museum like the Louvre Pyramid in Paris and the Guggenheim in New York. I learned that he works included John Fitzgerald Kenney Library in Boston, MA; Four Seasons Hotel in NYC; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio; Mile High Center in Denver, Colorado and so many others. If you did not already know a lot about I.M. Pei, please accept my humble suggestion to read about this giant of modern architecture. From his acceptance speech for one of the many awards he earned, I.M. Pei "Let us all be attentive to new ideas, to advancing means, to dawning needs, to impetuses of change so that we may achieve, beyond architectural originality, a harmony of spirit in the service of man." Would you like to share something interesting you read recently?

TUESDAY TWO - "BO" aka iPad2

I have mentioned many times that I am "a day late and a dollar short" and that has been the story of my life. By now the whole world already knew about "the new iPad" or iPadHD or iPad3. Just last month, I finally purchased the iPad2 Wi-Fi + 3G 32GB White. We have been talking about it for a few years (we were impressed when QQ let us use his iPad when we were in NYC 2010 Thanksgiving) and thought we would get the iPad at Christmas time but never did. More than a year later, February 2012, we were at the Apple store and after the nice young man named "Bo" showed us all the wonderful stuff that we could do, I asked my husband for his wallet, took out CP credit card and say to Bo, "Sold - one iPad for my 51st birthday"!

Thus, it is only fitting that I name the iPad "Bo" after the young man who patiently answered all the questions us geezers asked. (It would have been much nicer if he would also mentioned that we should wait a few more months and get the latest model, the iPad3 instead.) It is also fitting that I write about the iPad2 for this week Tuesday Two post, just in time for the announcement of the new iPad. Of course, there are accessories to go along with the iPad. So far, I have purchased the cover with built-in wireless Bluetooth keyboard, a stylus pen so smudges from our fingers won't be all over the screen and just to be on the safe side, the handy microfiber screen cleaning cloths. I still need a camera connection kit so I could easily see my photos taken during our roadtrips and would not have to wait until after we got home to start orgazining the 10,000+ photos.

When we first brought Bo home, he had a hard time connecting to the wireless network. Bo would be connected then disconnected the next time we used it. After consulting with QQ and search the web to find out what the problems were, we decided that it was time for a new router. And everything worked fine after we installed the new router. We have been enjoying Bo since (QQ thought we returned Bo because we did not say much after calling him for help with the wireless connection.) We already downloaded a few apps, (how about my beloved Red Wings logo as screensaver, pretty cool eh?) especially those that would be helpful to our upcoming roadtrips. The only problem is I have become an addict to playing Scrabble almost everyday. I have gotten pretty good at the game. My highest score is 475 and I enjoy the challenge of not only not leaving any letters on the rack but also getting higher score. Thank you, Steve, for the wonderful things and the joy the iPad has brought to us.

TO QAPTAIN QWERTY - FROM JOLIET WITH LOVE

Happy March everyone! How are your New Year resolutions? I hope you are not "stuck in the toilet in Joliet" like Qaptain Qwerty - haa haa

These photos were taken in June 2010 when we drove from St. Louis to The Begin of Route 66 in Chicago, Illinois. Travelling Eastbound, we followed Hwy 53 north from Wilimington, thru Elwood, and past I-80 into Joliet. We heard about a very nice Route 66 Welcome Center and Gift Shop inside the Joliet Museum at 214 N. Ottawa but we never went inside because the building closed both times when we were passing thru! Hey Qap, I have a suggestion - the next time you happen to be either in Chicago or St. Louis, let's plan on driving on Route 66, then we could stop by Joliet for a potty break!

TUESDAY TWO - EVERY "2ND" COUNTS

When I saw the above plate, I thought of an "oldies but goodies" childhood memory. Qaptain Qwerty was about six years old and that particularly day he was under the weather. As we were eating dinner, Mother warned QQ not to eat a full meal. But who could refuse all the delicious cha gio, bun men nuong and che ba mau? When QQ started to throw up, Mother asked sarcastically, "An nua thoi?", do you wish to eat some more? QQ promptly responded, "An nua, nhung an mot chut thoi", Yes, but only a little more! (I don't remember what prompted the subject, but Mother was telling that story last week during my weekly phone call.)

I explained to the owner of the above vehicle that I simply enjoy finding interesting personalized plates. He was flattered and did not mind that I took a photo. He was kind enough to share that he is an owner of two dental laboratories, thus "2TH-LAB". He promised to give me a discount. I just hope I don't need that dentures anytime soon!

There was no one around for me to ask about the above plate. If I have to take an educated guess, I would say the owner could be (a) a determologist; (b) a taxidermist; and (c) someone who is in the leather business. What do you think "2ND SKN" mean?

CRACKING THE COCONUT CODE

I thought the photos of the stainless steel coconut trees from the Home & Garden Show would go nicely with the book, "Cracking the Coconut Code" by Mary Jo McCabe. I saw on the cover that this book provides "7 Insights to Transform Your Life" and the author was "a respected and sought-after-intuitive interpreter. She developed a unique ability to communicate with individual souls, both living and deceased." (Is it sort-of like psychic, palm readers or fortune teller?) Well, I am not really interested in communicate with dead people and after the reading the book, I did not really learn anything that would transform my life. Perhaps it is my limited ability to understand; therefore, you could read the book and decide for yourself.

Below are a few interesting questions and interpretations based on which answer you give, "Which tool do you reach for, a hammer, a saw, a wrench or a screwdrive, to reach goals in your life or to fix problems you are experiencing?" You have to read the book for the interpretations.

Visualize a tree filled with apples. Where do you see yourself in relation to the tree, hugging the trunk of the tree, sitting on one of the branches reaching for an apple or sitting at top of the tree enjoying an apple? Again, you could borrow the book from your local library and find out the insights that might provide understanding of yourself based on which action you choose.

On your mental screen, visualize a backyard and pick what you would rather do, play in the sandbox, sitting on the swing set, or riding the biycle around the block? (I wish there was a question like, which would you choose, going to a Stanley Cup Finals game and meeting your favorite player or a Superbowl game sitting in the first row at the 50-yard seats?).

Please note that I do not receive any commission nor promote this particular book or the field of psychic medium, I am simply sharing with you an interesting book I found at the library. (PS: I am not saying that I read everything in the book either!) Any interesting book you have read lately?

HOME IMPROVEMENT

The 2012 Home & Garden Show took place this weekend. It has been a few years since we last went to the show. We decided to go this year since we are planning to remodel our main bathroom and replace the cement slab in the patio with decorative concrete. Last year my husand being a handy man built the new roof for the patio and he plans to weather proof it this year. Did I tell you about the brick walls he built for the front of the house and in our backyard by the fence?

It has been my dream (and it will forever be just a dream) to live in a log cabin in Montana. I would love to have the furniture (above photo) for my bedroom, with a large window so I could wake up every morning looking at the beautiful view of the mountain. Do you have any remodeling projects? What would be your dream home and where would it be?

The show was at the America's Center & Edward Jones Dome (home of the St. Louis Rams). Most services offered at the show were home remodeling, maintenance and repairs, building materials, custom products, lawn and garden, a large display of gardens of the world (above is part of a Japanese garden), home and outdoor furnitures, decorations and plenty of services to make your home comfortable. We avoided all the giveaways. I know that some businesses held eligitimate contests but most of them are as bad as telemarketing. I thought of writing down a fetitious name and our disconnected land line!

GESUNDHEIT !!!

When walking from the parking lot to the store, I almost did not bother getting out my camera to take photo of the above plate "E-COLI". I was glad I did because when I came out of the store after about 30 minutes of shopping, I spotted the plate "TESTA" below. Individually these plates would be too plain, not much to decipher but they seemed to fit together as a statement, "Testing for ecoli".

I am not a supertitious person and I don't believe in someone being a jinx or a person could cause bad luck by saying or doing something either to himself or to somebody. (Well, there are a few exceptions when it comes to hockey players/games!). Perhaps it was simply a coincidence but the week before my husband commented that for 23+ years we have been married, I never had a bad cold. Well, earlier this week I got up with a sore throat, running nose and feeling iffy. It was not a bad cold and did not last long. Although I am feeling much better today, I still said that my husband jinxed me with his comment.

Would you like to decipher what the above plate "UDACHA" stand for? When I first saw it, I thought it was either "ACHU" or "ATCHOO" or "ACHEW". Perhaps it is the owner's last name. I hope it is not a bad word because I don't want the FCC to shut down my blog for violating decency standards!

FRIDAY SKY - EDEN, WYOMING

There is no particular reason for posting these photos, I just thought they would go nicely for this week Friday Sky post during Lenten Season. Last September, as we were on our way to Rock Springs, Wyoming, we passed by the little church as we approached the town of Eden, Wyoming. I could not resist capturing the image of the rustic look of the building against the sunset. My husband was again very accomodating to my request to turn around so I could take a few photos.

I am sure there is a lot of interesting history about this Saint Christopher's Catholic Church. My personal reason was because Christopher is my baptismal name. (Yes, I know that Christopher is traditionally baptism name for boys. It is an acient tradition that babies at their baptism are given the name of a saint whom later they should come to know, to love and to venerate. As an adult who coverted to Catholicism, since there are no doctrines against selecting baptismal names according to genders, I got to choose my own baptismal name and that is Saint Christopher.)

Above sculpture of Saint Christopher in front of the church as he is usual depicted as a giant of a man with a Christ child on his shoulder and a staff in one hand. For people of Christian faith, we believe that Saint Christopher is patronage saint of travelers. Medallions with his image and prayers are kept in vehicles as we request protection when traveling. Do you have Saint Christopher's Church in your town?

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS - OH SAY CAN YOU SEE

I don't what it is with me and glasses. This is the 2nd pair of glasses that I broke. It happened at the moment when I needed it the most, at a business seminar. Everything was going well, I found a good spot (front row, right corner seat where you could see the Powerpoint presentation and the presenter will see you when you raise your hand with a question, one of those rambling questions not really seeking for answers but to show off how smart you are!)

When the lense fell off, I thought "No problem" I would just snap it right back in the frame. Then I saw the separation. I again thought "No problem", the handout was just a courtesy copy of what would be covered in the presentation, so I didn't really need to look at the handout. But I needed the glasses for reading and filling out the evaluation form. I went to the front desk and asked for a piece of scotch tape. The tape held together the lense and the frame in place, just long enough for me to complete the evaluation. If Webster's ever need an image of a geeky geezer, my chubby face with a piece of scotch tape holding up a pair of broken reading glasses would be it!

LENTEN SEASON (2012)

"You are dust and to dust you shall return."
February 22nd was Ash Wednesday. Receiving ashes on the first day of Lent is a practice that dates back to the 5th century and by the 11th century was a universal Christian practice. In ancient times, many people used ashes for religious, magical and medical purposes. In the Old Testament, ashes were sprinkled on the head or over the whole body as a sign of mourning and penance. During the Reformation, most Protestant Churches eliminated the use of ashes. In recent years, however, many of these Churches have resumed the practice. Pope Urban II (c.1035-1099) is credited with recommending that Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday.

As Catholics, the imposition of blessed ashes on our forehead on Ash Wednesday signifies the purification of our minds and hearts, which is the fruit of our Lenten observance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I pretty much was at church the whole day starting with 8:00 a.m. Mass, went back in the afternoon to help get the Lenten Supper ready to be served at 2:45 p.m. This was our first year providing Fasting Supper that included 4 kinds of homemade soups (Disclaimer: I had nothing to do with making the soups. I just helped serving the food), grilled cheese sandwich, salad and drink (lemonade and water). We requested donation only. Ash Wednesday (and Good Friday) are days of fasting and abstinence from meat. My husband stopped by after work and we had supper. I selected the clam chowder and CP had his favorite brocolli cheese. I continued to help until 6:45 p.m., just in time to join my husband for 7:00 p.m. Mass.

BURNING OF THE PALMS

I am skipping the regular "Tuesday Two" post this week and instead write about the Burning of the Palms. It was my first experience with how the burning was done. The day started out cloudy, in the upper 40s but the wind made it kind of chilly. Later in the afternoon the sun came out and it got up to the 50s. The school kids were gathered around in the parking lot in front of the church. Father explained the ritual of burning of the palms (parishioners brought back to church the palms they received from last year Palm Sunday), blessed and then burned the palms to create the ashes to be used at Ash Wednesday Masses.

The kids were all excited as they gathered around in a circle. The teachers had to tell them to quiet down to hear what Father was saying. When the burning got going with the smoke blowing around, the kids started coughing and they did not like the smoke flowing toward them. I loved watching the kids walked back to school in a very orderly manner because it reminded me of the school I went to in Viet Nam. We had to wear uniforms (white shirt, black/blue skirt for the girls, just high above the ankles, pants for the boys, white socks and black shoes). Both boys and girls wore ties. I had wonderful memory from those carefree years prior to the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

LINCOLN ON LINCOLN

The good people of Nevada, Iowa really took pride in their town being part of Lincoln Highway. So proud that they would erect this welcome sign that includes the "L" marker and a portrait of president Lincoln.

(above) Lincoln in Lincoln, Illinois (how appropriate)! We saw many more statutes during our Lincoln Highway adventure in July and September 2011, but we could not safely make a stop or even slow down to capture all the images.

Lincoln at Jefferson Square, in front of City Hall in Jefferson, Iowa. (I am so confused!)

I always like the creative way people preserve and create wonderful artwork out of tree stump or part of the tree trunk when the tree could not be saved and had to be cut down. I don't remember exactly where I saw the above sculpture, I only know that it was somewhere after the town of Nevada and before the town of Scranton in Iowa.

Does your town have any sculpture/mural of president Lincoln on display in public square or in front of City Hall?

LIFE IS VERY GOOD - TOTA IS VERY HAPPY

Have you heard? My beloved Detroit Red Wings set the new NHL record with 23 straight win at home (Joe Louis Arena in Detroit). The Wings broke the record of 22nd straight win by the Boston Bruins in 1929-30 season. To make it even better is the victory 3-2 against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks eliminated the Wings from 2nd round in the last two playoffs, so to get the winning record in a game against the Sharks would be "extra icing" on the cake!

How about the beautiful goal by Datsyuk with only 5 seconds left in regulation in the game against the Predators on Tuesday night? You got to love that kid with his dazzling move, carrying the puck like as if it was on a string and shooting into the net where no one thought would be possible.

Let's not forget Franzen "the Mule", hard at work as ever. Next game is Tuesday, Feb. 21st in Chicago against the Blackhawks then back to Joe Louis Arena on Thursday, Feb. 23rd against the Canucks. This is almost as exciting as the playoffs because this kind of winning record only happens every 8 decades. Anyone says otherwise would be "unsportmanship"!

TOTA - A GEEZER WITH TWO BEER-STAINED SHOES

Here we go again! Last Saturday I volunteered at a fundraising event for a women shelter. It was Trivia Night with silence auction. One of the donated items was a bucket full of "spirit drinks" such as Crown Royal, whiskey, and variety of vodka. I again helped served soda/water and another volunteer took care of the beer. Participants brought their own snacks and any other drinks they prefer. We had about 10 tables and I heard we generated over $3,000 for the shelter.

I should have known that it would be Murphy Law when it comes to me wearing new shoes and being next to a keg of beer. I wrote about an incident at a former workplace when every six months I would get beer on my shoes because someone would pick up his nametag at the registration table where I was standing and the person would manage to knock a bottle of beer over. My vehicle would smell beer the following morning from the shoes, no matter how hard I tried to clean them. This time at the Trivia Night, the other volunteer "accidentally" spilled the beer when he filled up a pitcher. When he turned around to get the paper towel, his elbow pressed again the pump. The beer was dispended on the floor and on my new shoes! Participants started to arrive so I could not spend too much time in the restroom trying to clean up. This time I drove very slow on the way home, so I wouldn't be pulled over and had to explain why I smelled like a drunk. The next day I rolled all the windows in my car down for a few hours to get rid of the "biergarten" smell - not sure I have to do with my shoes, do you have any suggestions?

FRIDAY SKY - UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE PRESIDENTS

These photos sure come in handy for this Friday Sky post and for President Lincoln's birthday on Sunday, February 12th, President Washington's birthday on February 22nd and for President's Day on Monday, February 20th. (Yes, I admit that I am way late, again, writing about these holidays.) This is all I have write for this post. I was about to ask the question, "Who do you think is the best president who has done great things for America?" but I am afraid I might get in trouble asking such loaded question. On the other hand, it might help this boring blog getting more comments and lot of followers. Come to think of it, I prefer to keep this blog of mine boring and remain unknown in blogsphere. So consider it is a rhetorical question, no need to send your comments.