Mr. Jackson update

Below are a few recent pictures of our little Mr. Jackson.  Everyone who has met him loves him and with a face like this, how could you not?



Jackson is a little remiss in the "release for next toss" concept.
But, tug-of-war is just as fun as frisbee retrieval.

 














  

If you look close near the center of the image, towards
the left you'll see Toby who is starting to make his
move for the frisbee Jonathan has tossed. 




Jackson and Toby - notice that they're the same size and actually only differ in weight by about 1 pound.

  

"What, you were serious about me not eating cat poop?
Lets be reasonable here."











 

Northern Exposure - Idaho style

Friday afternoon (9/17/10) we departed Phx, made a short stop in SLC, then boarded a 44 minute flight to Boise. It turns out that the much debated Boise airport does indeed, as Jonathan argued, have multiple concourses (A,B, and C) however, they're all housed within the same building, so you could still call it a single terminal airport which was my argument. Anywho, my parents picked us up and obliged us with a little Boise touring which included The Modern Hotel as mentioned in Sunset magazine. I was admittedly a little disappointed by its so-called modernism. They got some things right, like the semi retro looking sign, the bar looked pretty swanky and the block wall is a nice retro touch, but their use of steel bars around the hallways is a bit closer to a prison look than retro. Good effort, but its no Prescott Motor Lodge.

After a few blocks of touring we stopped for dinner at Pie Hole Pizza, a NY style pizza by the slice kind of place. I'd never have thought I'd say it, but it was hands down the best NY style pizza I've had in quite some time. They had a variety of slices available which all tasted great! Among us we had, Hawaiian (best I've ever had), chicken + jalapeno + basil (delicious), roasted tomato + spinach (tasty), roasted tomato + basil, and the most unique slice of the night goes to potato+bacon, and yes, it was damn good.

Saturday morning, bright, but not so early we enjoyed clear blue skies, tall pines, rolling mountains and fresh mountain air as we wandered about my parents property. We started by checking out the new, enclosed-porch addition, complete with an eventual indoor koi pond, then made our way to explore the semi-recently purchased property which is a story in itself. The property was purchased about a year and a half ago and thanks to its kooky previous owner came with gorgeous valley views as well as multiple tractors (some useable, some not), junk cars and a plethora of building materials, some salvageable, some wasted and rotten. After a leisurely morning we started helping with some tasks about the house. Jonathan and I manned the log splitter doing exactly that, splitting logs. Its a pretty impressive device, load a log, press down on the hydraulic handle and split a log. Heck of a lot better than swinging an axe all day long. After we loaded the truck to capacity we split up to take on additional house tasks. Jonathan was recruited for some chain saw action, and I joined my mom in applying sealant to a few recently added areas of log siding. Overall a pleasant day of enjoying the great outdoors with the fam.

Sunday started off a bit cooler than Saturday but no less gorgeous. We began our day with a short hike and discovered both elk and two sets of bear paw prints as well as a beautiful panoramic valley view. Rumor has it there is a young bear in the area, but according to the larger print, momma must be near by as well. When we returned home we prepared for a much anticipated Jeep adventure. Talk about wild ride. Twisty dirt and gravel roads, steep drop offs plus a topless-doorless jeep and one rowdy driver equals quality time had by all. A tad bit dustier than when we left we arrived in Idaho City for some quality touristing. We walked the main avenue, took all kinds of photos and even came across Bill Clinton in a jail cell accompanied by a less than attractive blue dress and cigar. You'll notice my apathy for Bill as I have a tender spot in my heart for the Clintons. Finishing off our trip to the small town we ate a tasty lunch at Trudy's and headed home on the highway, an equally beautiful ride without quite as many bumps and skids.

Upon a fork in the road, right being home and left being the off-road route to Boise, in true adventure style we headed left. We stopped to enjoy the view in a few places, looked into a cave that appeared much deeper from the road than its reality and then... it happened. We were coming around a turn and with the help of a little extra gravel and a little lack of traction we ended up skidding into the side of a mountain. Not head on mind you, kind of with the jeep trying to veer right, but just not cutting it, causing the left front tire hit first, kind of at a diagonal angle (thank you working seatbelts!). It was strangely surreal watching the mountain get closer as we continued to approach until we hit. Post bump there was a momentary shocked silence regarding the fact that we just hit a mountain, then, the jeep spoke up. "hisssssssss". We continued to sit in silence, each trying to figure out whether it was the tire, the radiator, or something else entirely. No smoke, no steam, must be the tire. Gently we backed from the face of the mountain and turned into the road to get a better look at our protesting tire. Indeed the random bolder sticking ever so slightly out of the mountain had managed to bend the rim into the tire, causing the leaking air. Keep in mind, this is all taking place in an area without any cell phone coverage quite a few miles from home. And did I mention, it was closing in on evening? No worries, Sassy Shelley our wild and crazy Jeep guide managed to get the jeep the remainder of the trip home without any other, shall we say, incidents. A trip to remember for sure.

But wait, Sunday wasn't quite over yet, we still had some daylight and I was determined to use it! In true Idaho and Arizona resident fashion we took to some shooting practice. I myself had never fired a gun and thought this a better time than ever. We were surrounded by mountains and forest and any nearby locals wouldn't bat an eye at the sound of gun fire. Jonathan and I tried both a 357 and a 20 gage carbine. I was surprised by the force of the hand gun's kick, but honestly preferred the 357 to the riffle. I have no intention of becoming a hunter, nor am I running to the nearest gun club to sign up for a yearly membership, but I could see some Annette Benning, American Beauty style target practice in my future.

We headed back home on Monday afternoon, just in the nick of time for my circulatorty system. The 67 degree temp in Boise was turning my oh so delicate hands into little ice blocks as my blood did its best to keep my central organs functioning. Perhaps I was truely meant for the desert. Thanks mom and dad for the visit, we had a terrific time in Boise, and just as soon as it warms up, we'll be back : )

Who needs updated official forms?

According to several state licensing applications, Janet Napolitano is still the Governor of AZ.  Take that Brewer!

Operation Mosquito

Perhaps I am naive, but I think its pretty bad that the Health Department in Phoenix has an entire department dedicated to mosquitoes.   Recently our bug problem has been so bad that I can't stand still in our backyard without becoming a feeding trough.  After confirming with another neighbor how bad the mosquitoes are I decided it was time to make the call. The very next day we had someone come out to our house to hang a mosquito trap, which would be used to determine whether or not they would fog the area.  I appreciated the fast response, and the effort, but I could get more mosquitoes standing next to the trap for a minute then the trap captured within 24 hours.  4 measly bugs was all it caught, not accurate in the least.

 

The saving grace of operation no-squito was that they found a potential breeding ground.  Some fool on our street apparently didn't notice that their half empty pool had become a virtual hot spot for those little vampires.  We were told by the health department that the pool has been treated which should reduce their itchy spit, blood sucking, pesky numbers.  I'm not one to sue on a dime, but these people should have to pay the neighborhood for our shared pain and suffering.

Yes, I will take another

Another 15 minutes that is : )

A few months back I wrote to Hammer Gel about a tire issue that was resolved using part of their product.  Mind you they make nutritional products and the issue was a slice in a bike tire.  (see entire story in the Flagstaff post back in July). 

Just today I received an email for "Endurance News", Issue #71, the Hammer monthly magazine that includes information on their nutritional products, stories about recent competitions and their sponsored athletes, etc.   If you flip to page 66, or click on the link below, you can find Jonathan and I looking cycle-tastic for about 1/3 of the page, and we are even in color!  Love it!

http://www.hammernutrition.com/downloads/ENews/EN71/?page=66

Color swap

Jonathan, being the good husband he is, let me explore my colorful side when it came to painting the living room.  Hence the purple wall.  I really loved the purple for its eggplant loveliness, however, I'll admit, it just didn't work.  A bit too dark for the space, kind of wonky as a backdrop for our blue couch and quite difficult to work with in terms of decorating accents. 

A few applications of paint and some sassy DIY decorations plus and awesome clock and voila, a way better looking back wall!


The eyesore of an air conditioning unit will be removed soon, but considering its not going to be an easy job, and will require replacement glass its not first on the list.

The new wall color has greatly brightened the room and we're really happy with how the room is coming together.  All we need now is a rug, because as Walter would point out, it would really tie the room together, would it not?

Birthday adventures

This past Friday Jonathan whisked me out of town for a birthday getaway weekend as fast as Tim (1991 Ford Ranger) could haul. We dropped Jackson off with his cousins and drove up to Prescott for a two night stay at the Prescott Motor Lodge. The Motor Lodge started out as summer cabins way back when (1910), which later transitioned to a motor lodge decorated with foofy doilies and teddy bears. Thankfully, Brian and Joe purchased the Motor Lodge back in early 2000’s (I think) and brought the cabins back to vintage glory with sassy paint colors and vintage interiors with modern comforts. Its hands down the best place to stay in Prescott. Upon our arrival we were greeted with wine and beer and at check out were given a bag of fresh baked cookies, now that's my kind of lodge!

Saturday morning we started with breakfast at a cafe down the road from our room where we were served by one of the nicest people I've ever met. He was so nice that Jonathan commented he was "uncomfortably nice". I thought it was a sad yet apt statement on what kind of society we live in when someone can be uncomfortably nice, but I’ll admit, "serial killer" ran through my head when he smiled pleasantly after offering a coffee refill. From a delicious breakfast we made our way down town to check out the plethora of antique and local tchotchke stores. Most of the items we found and liked were a bit over priced, but it was nice way to work off a little breakfast.

Back at the motor lodge we loaded up the beach cruisers that we'd hauled from Phoenix and drove to Thumb Butte National Park, otherwise known by our GPS narrator as, Thumb Butty park. Once we arrived we unloaded our cruisers with pride; however after about 10 pedals uphill with no gears and waning confidence we opted to find another path. We hiked our bikes up a sandy/rocky trail in the hopes that just over the hill we'd hit the pebbled walkway as the map suggested. Not so much. Ok, so maybe we wouldn't be cruising in the National Park. Being a nervous nelly I walked my bike down most of the path; however, Jonathan opted for some bad ass beach cruisin down the steep rocky terrain. Since biking was a bust and we couldn't really leave our bikes unlocked in the car we opted for the 4 mile off road drive up to the scenic overlook. Quite an impressive view. The expanse of lush greenery continues to surprise me in this desert state.

Before returning to our room we stopped at a cafe that Arizona Highways Magazine declared as one of the top 25 restaurants in the state. It was 3:00 when we arrived and the shop closed at 4:00, plenty of time right? Apparently not. When I walked toward the counter the lady at the register informed me that their sandwich maker was about to leave and they would not be serving any more. Hungry and with low blood sugar, I felt inclined to let my annoyance show. She then had the nerve to tell me I could look at the menu, admire the fare, and decide what I wanted to order for tomorrow. The intentional glare I gave must not have indicated that she was crossing the line because at that point she pulled a menu out of its holder and half-ass slid it towards me on the countertop still suggesting I prep my lunch order for the following day. She was lucky Jonathan was still in the shop because had I been alone I surely would have had some choice words for her snide display. Needing something with sugar I asked if I could at least buy a cookie, which is likely the last item I’ll ever buy from this place.

With operation “sandwich” resulting in failure we enjoyed some Chicago style hotdogs then returned to the Motor Lodge where we made friends with the lodge feline who looked quite similar to Ms. Sydney. A few adult beverages later we were off to dinner at the Raven Cafe. The cafe boasts an overwhelming assortment of barley sodas, organic veggies and grass fed meats. Jonathan's Elk burger was simply delectable. During and after dinner we enjoyed a live performance by the Tucson blue grass band, Dusty Buskers. I can't say I'm as big a fan of Bluegrass as Jonathan, but they were a great band and you really can't beat free live entertainment.

Sunday, following a waffle breakfast at the local hot spot, the Waffle Iron (Mine was topped with bananas while Jonathan enjoyed a waffle with bacon cooked in the waffle itself, admitidly it was delicious!) we made our way North to Sedona to pick up a piece of furniture and played tourist in Jerome on the way. I didn't know what to expect of Jerome, but I can honestly say I didn't expect the town to be in the side of a hill. What used to be a mining town has now become a unique little artists village. We toured a variety of shops, tasted wines from Caduceus Cellars and Merkin vineyard owned by Maynard Keenan (previous lead singer of Tool), and bought some local art.

After arriving in Sedona we stopped at the Oak Creek brewery for some delicious locally brewed beer and hands down the best hot dog Jonathan and I have ever tasted. With a little time before we were scheduled to pick up our new furniture piece we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Churches are not our usual hangout but perched in the side of a mesa, between jutting red rock, this chapel is quite impressive. The build is such that there are no air-conditioner units, and yet even in 90+ degree temps it manages to remain comfortable. When we eventually picked up the cabinet we were delighted to discover that it was an even snazzier piece than we’d expected. Exceeded expectations is always a nice way to finish up a trip!

Despite missing Mr. Jackson and the kitties, this weekend’s getaway was both a wonderful break from the Phoenix heat and routine, and a terrific reminder of how lucky we are to have so many great places to visit just a short drive from home. Till next time...