Maxima

Being unemployed, I am always looking for ways to add to the budget.  I got emailed an offer to drive the 2006 Grand Vitara for a $50 Shell gas card.  Well, that is ‘almost’ a tank of gas, so I signed up for it.

On my way to have marguaritas with my girlfriends, I stopped and test drove one.  I wanted a red one but this kinda beige one was it.  They have made some really nice changes since my 2000 Grand Vitara.  But I am going to keep mine….and the $50.00  wooo hoooo.              Bad picture he took, but by then he knew I was not buying it, so maybe he did not care. 

Here we are having drinks and 1/2 price happy hour nachos.  It was over 90F.  We had planned it weeks ago and wanted to sit on the patio.  Notice we are the ONLY ones there, three stubborn friends.  Me, E and KW.  But we decided to think positive and it was very nice and we stayed for 3.5 hours.  One drink and three glasses of ice water each!  I got home about 7pm and noticed a lump in my pocket.  I reached in and found the keys to the 2006 Grand Vitara.  I stole them…..oops.  I called him up and said it was too hot to return them tonite, I would bring them back the next morning.  Anyway…..he is lucky I did not put them in my robe pocket… they could be missing a week!  hehehehehehehe

Here is my co-worker Mona on break.  She does not like water, so when it starts to rain, she looks for protection.   Often times, she gets caught outside when it starts to rain,  she hides under the pine trees in the back of the yard, looking out from under the branches.  She has a look on her face…..’are you kidding me, I can’t run to the back door of the house, I will get wet’!!!  It started to rain the other day and I put the patio chairs under the gazebo.  It stays pretty dry under there.  Later I saw, Mona also thought this was a really good idea.  She sat like this in the chair for about an hour, then curled up like a cat on the chair(laying down).  Yes, the picture is crooked, I was in a hurry because it WAS raining!

In the close up, her ears are back because she did not want her picture taken.  Last night we got 1/2 inch of rain in 15 minutes.  That is a ‘gully washer’.  A gully is a southern way of refering to a ditch, the “empty canal” along side a road or highway.  This is to collect rain and snow so the road does not flood.  A gully washer is when it rains so hard that the gully(ditch) overflows (washes over) the banks….a gully washer.  It is like a regular rain times 10.

Yes, I was so sure blips had donated it once again to the homeless food shelf. BUT, this time it was me. It was discovered on Saturday when I put on my bathrobe. It was in the pocket of my bathrobe. Blips was so sure that when I found it that I would hide it in his things so he would look guilty. No, I was honest. So, now when something is missing …..the first place we look is in the pocket of my bathrobe.
And here is blips in the backyard by the creek with his wireless connection.

A blonde woman was speeding down the road in her little red sports car and was pulled over by a woman police officer who was also a blonde.
The blonde cop asked to see the blonde’s driver’s license. She dug through her purse and was getting progressively more agitated. “What does it look like?” she finally asked.

The policewoman replied, “It’s square and it has your picture on it.” The driver finally found a square mirror in her purse, looked at it and handed it to the policewoman. “Here it is,” she said.

The blonde officer looked at the mirror, then handed it back
saying, “Okay, you can go. I didn’t realize you were a cop.”

Our camera is missing.  I think blips put it somewhere and of course, he thinks I put it somewhere.  What do you guys think….and any suggestions on where to look?

FYI, I checked in all my socks  

On the 4th of July, first of all we celebrate a Dutch birthday

But then all of America celebrates freedom.  There is no overall tradition that everyone does but the most common in the midwest is: food, family and fireworks.  So, you go on a picnic with your family and then go to the fireworks that night.  Blips and I did several varations on that.

July 3 we went to Taste of Minnesota. There are rows and rows of booths of Minnesota food.  I did not get in the picture the pork chop on a stick and other State Fair food, sorry!  We did have Sweet Martha’s cookies, rootbeer float, and carmel corn.  The food you buy at inflated prices but entrance is free with a huge gathering of ‘over the hill’ bands that are now cheaper to get.  This year there was Alice Cooper  ….remember School’s Out for Summer and Welcome to My Nightmare?!!!, the Beach Boys, Davy Jones from the Monkeys, David Cassidy and hmmmm can’t remember the rest.  We went on the 3rd because it was not as hot as the other days.  Only 85F.  The other days it was over 90F and that is crabby territory for me

And here is a picture of my fellow Americans.  I don’t know who they are.  The ladies name is Jenny.  They are sitting on stars and stripes chairs and are all dressed in patriotic colors just sitting around enjoying and celebrating freedom.  Many people dress in patriotic colors, especially the children.  From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee!

Oh yes, and here is the bucket of Sweet Martha’s cookies.  Chocolate chip of course.  Martha was a school teacher who decided to sell a few cookies at the State Fair.  Now she is a millionaire.  Well, I suppose she is not a teacher anymore. 

And from blips, you know we went to Stillwater and Woodbury for more food, music and fireworks.  He forgot to tell you we had mini-donuts at the Woodbury concert and fireworks.  Our diet is not going very well   But we are happy.

I really really miss all your Napoleon Dynamite quotes!

This is for you…..enjoy and have a great weekend.

http://tinyurl.com/hr7br

Lekker slapen from Grammy

http://tinyurl.com/r676w

Last week I went out for coffee with my girlfriend E.  We sat at our favorite Caribou again.  We had a guy take our picture but it is mostly of a trash can(did he not look through the view finder???) so I did not include it here.  We are going for coffee before the end of the month (we have a 1/2 price coupon, remember!!!)and I will try to get a good pic of Caribou(that is for you Sam) 

E and I then met another friend L and her daughter Vica(pronounced vee caa, or short for Veronica) for lunch on a patio at The Wild Onion.  They are famous for their onion rings.  L did order them and yup, they looked delicious.

Vica takes about 20 minutes to “judge” you as she is rather cautious about strangers.  That is a good trait to have so we just let her size us up.  I don’t know what her criteria is but E and I passed it.  I think the bubbles that E blew from the bottle helped alot.  No E was not blowing bubbles from her beer…….she brought the soap bubbles in her purse   Pic on the left is before and on the right is after we passed the test.

 We stayed for quite awhile and Vica just made herself at home and spent some time exploring the patio.  It was a really good day with old friends.  Some people you just stay friends with even though you no longer work with them.  It was so much food that E and I decided that next time we will split an order since we like the same foods. 

This is blips talking to daughter #1 on her birthday. 

 As you can see, he is a very happy man when he gets to talk to his daughters.  30 years ? how does it slip by so fast.  He can remember the day she was born.  Happy Birthday, Martine.  May your next year be the happiest one yet!