We Went To The Races

Spent Saturday evening at Tucson International Raceway. It was loud and fun. My Brother gave us extra tickets he had and we met him there. The noise was incredible and the dirt track made for a ton of dust in the air, but nobody cared. The roar of the engines and the speed they go at really gets your heart pumping.
It had been years since Husband and I had gone to see races and I'm glad we did. Nothing like spending time with the family.

Inside it's an add fest with all the sponsors names on the back of the stands. 

They had giveaways going for free tickets to the next races and a bmx bike.The grill smelled great and next time we'll have to bring money for food.

Even my stick had fun! It kept falling over from the vibrations and my nephew kept getting it for me.

He's excited!

These are going faster than they look. It sounded like rush hour on steroids. I think they do something to the muffler so it doesn't muffle.

Em's favorite car. It was driven by a teenage girl. I was impressed that she didn't crash.

Every time the pink car would come out my niece Em would scream go, go, go and bounce around. I had to get in on the fun so I shouted with her and we both bounced around. The adults with us just ignored us. 

Before I knew it Em and I were picking cars and screaming for all the heats. We were a sight and strangers laughed at our unbridled shrieking. Sometimes we were louder than the cars.

My favorite was the green and black car.

It's like crazy rush hour with sliding involved!

Go cars, Go!

I liked it when they slid and so did my nephews.

The cars threw up so much dirt and mud we soon found out why no one sits in the closer seats. It was a very dirty affair.

I liked the midget cars. A lot of them look like antiques, but their new. A lot of them broke down really fast and in the end only 4 were left to race.

Here they are starting out.

It was a tone of fun and we stayed until the intermission. No one had gotten hurt by the time we left and that's a good thing. The kids were tired and it was past bed time. There's nothing like screaming till you drop.

I Went For a Walk

Today I got up before the sun and because I still haven't found my bike lights I went for a walk. It was a bit chilly, but it felt good to stretch my legs. My knee hardly bothers me at all since I started riding and I was able to walk further than before.
I saw a lot of beautiful "weeds" growing that I had missed while riding and my stick was happy to get out of the house. I'll have to walk more to see what I've been missing. It was peaceful and very few people were out yet so I had the streets to myself.
I wonder how many people looked out there front windows and wondered about the woman taking pictures of the sidewalk. I probably stopped every ten or so steps. Here's my favorites from today's ramble.

The sun overslept.

Pretty yellow flowers right by the sidewalk.

The puff balls are very soft and it smells kind of like rain.

Taking a break at the bench. I'm glad the city put it in, it's a great place to pause.

I was tempted to dig this poppy up and take it home, but left it where I found it.

Someones daisies have escaped the yard!

The Zombie Walk was Great!

Z and I went to the zombie walk on Saturday and it was great! We went for the walk and stayed for the downtown Saturday night thing. There were tons of venders and lots of great music. I met a very talented man who makes jewelry out of recycled bicycle spokes and he even has an etsy shop! rickshawjewelry.com You should check it out! I really loved his bracelets that he had.
There were zombies everywhere! There were even a few zombie fighters floating around in the mix.
The belly dancers on the stage by the library were so shiny, I wish I could move like that! If I tried to balance a sword on my head it would cut my head off.
Even the Buddhists had a food cart going. I really wanted to eat there, but the line was huge! We ended up eating at Stolen Recipe Barbecue's truck and it was pretty good.
I had an interesting moment when I made the mistake of talking to the only fortuneteller there. I was curious about what kind of reading she did. I didn't want a reading and that probably got me on her bad side to start with. I said I liked the mat that she used and she was a bit rude and said "All magic must be done in a white circle". The mat was laminated black paper with a big white circle and the letters for the directions in the corners. It was really quite nice if a bit small for me.
 I of course had to respond and said ""Not in every tradition." I should have just walked away but I'm nosy.
She said how she's been doing it that way since she was taught 52 years ago.  My thoughts were "Good for you, I'm glad it works for you". At least I didn't say it.
At that point I was leaving when she said something that made me laugh. (Yes I know it was very rude of me but it just came out, and I covered with a cough.)
She said with full conviction of an evangelist "It's been done that way for 50,000 years!"
Right then all I felt toward her was sadness. All of my animosity dropped away at how she had to be RIGHT. How do you live that long and believe that strongly with out doing at least a tiny bit of research? I hope she did very well that night and wish her the best.
 It was a big reminder of why I don't usually play with other Pagans. I don't understand them and they don't understand me. Yes I know I shouldn't have laughed.

Fallen Angels

Snow White

Cow and Bunny in front

Happy Clown

ZomBee!

Now here's some zombie pictures!

Went to Nightfall!

Went to Nightfall at Old Tucson to celebrate our 8th anniversary and to kick off my new life as a full time writer! It was a blast! There were a lot of scary creatures wandering around and I think I was the loudest screamer there. My favorite was the demented carnival show with its big explosions and fake blood spraying almost into the crowd. I loved the flips they did I'm the death scenes.
In one of the haunted houses I backed right into a stranger woman and we both screamed so loud poor Z must have went deaf. Even my stick got in on the action! It was a great night!

A good walk for thinking.

Today I spent my walk thinking about all the decisions I have to make. It was productive and I feel better. I also met a dog that wasn't as friendly as he seemed and saw some beautiful flowers. All in all a good walk. What happens happens and the worst that can happen is I ruin my credit a bit. No big loss in the grand scheme of things.

It's a beautiful cloudy day

I have a client in at 8 this morning so stick and I went walking in my work neighborhood. It's so nice out that I didn't want to come back. The clouds are big gray piles in the sky and I really hope it rains today.
All the dogs I saw were on leashes and I even got to pet one named Sophie. I forgot to get her owners name. Oops! She was such a sweet dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback. She is huge but so gentle. She has a lump to be removed tomorrow and they were out enjoying a walk before she's out of commission for a week. I gave the owner my card and hope she'll call and let me know how it goes.
There were a lot of other walkers out and they all waved and smiled. I wish my home neighborhood was this friendly. I'm going to have to schedule early clients more often.
The roads here are hillier than I'm used to and stick came in handy there. I really like its longer length. There's no more hunching to go down hill and I get to enjoy the scenery more. I saw a neat eucalyptus tree that looks like it's been through a few storms and is ready for more. All in all it was a great way to start my day.
I hope yours goes great too!

A good walk this morn.

I had a good walk this morning down to a little park then home. The stick moves better in the real world than in the store. We will be happy together.

I got my stick!

I swear I start trying to make money in other ways and my shop just explodes. I had enough people today I covered rent for the week and was able to get my stick!
I'm still going to put things on etsy after dinner but without further ado
isn't it beautiful!

I had the best dream!

Last night I had the greatest dream ever. In it I had the stick I'm saving up for and we went everywhere. I was walking through forests thick with giant trees and fording a stream. Then I was hiking up a rocky desert trail while little lizards ran across in front of me. Next I was in a big city crossing a street filled with people. Then I was in an orchard knocking apples down so I could eat them and the grass was waiving in the field behind me and I could hear the bees. I could walk forever. It made me feel so good. I can't wait to go to sleep again!
 So far I've got $11 saved up. Soon he will be mine and we can go on real adventures together! With the husband sometimes too. ;)

Sad About my Magic Stick.

On Sunday my husband and I took a quick trip to Summit Hut to look at the hiking sticks.
A little background. For my birthday I got myself a beautiful yet flawed walking stick because I have a knee and an ankle that bother me occasionally. I only paid $7 for it so the fact that it was quite C-shaped didn't bother me. i figured I could steam it straight. After several attempts to steam it; including catching it on fire; I went to an expert. He looked at my beautiful stick and told me that he could get it straight but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't break or that it would stay straight. It was an old stick and wood goes how wood wants. The nice man told me how to do it myself and so I traipsed home and did it.
    I soaked it  in hot water for 8 hours, adding more every 30 minutes or so. Then I padded it with a towel and clamped it flat between 2 boards. I left it that way for 3 days in the backroom. When I opened it up my beautiful stick was nice and straight.  I was so happy with it I used it everyday.
   It's been about a month and slowly my stick is going back to the way it was. It's already about halfway back to the original shape, so now I'm looking for a new stick.

It's melting!

I will be the first to admit I'm picky and I didn't think I would find anything, after all it had been a bad week and I wasn't buying anyway. This was for therapy only. 

   So of course I found the perfect stick at an insane price. It's the Brazos Safari with ebony stripes. A solid shaft of strong hickory accented with exotic wood stripes. I want it!

It is $80. It's so worth it, but it's going to be a while before I can even hope to get it. The top feels weighted, and it swung with my stride in such a way as to make me stand up straighter. It had a great swing. It felt so perfect in my hand that I spent so long playing with it the clerk probably thought I was going to steal it. Sadly, I have morals so all I took with me is the memory of it's perfection in my hand. 

   I will definitely be scrimping all the pennies I can spare to get it. Until then I can go visit it.