Well, the Rodeo - Chediski fires are 95% contained in good old Arizona. We have friends who had a cabin (they may not now) in Heber. We stayed there once over New Years - a nice quiet spot in the pines. The white mountains was one of our favorite camping spots, although we usually went to Greer and camped at the campsite. First the fire on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, now the White Mountains. It's been a dry ol' year. But then again, we haven't had a decent rain in a long time, 2 years of drought! So there were no fireworks in Tucson (actually all of Pima County) for July 4th. Casa Grande held theirs, we're in Pinal County. We could see them from the back yard, but didn't hear them. Sigh....
Sef - loved the poetry contest joke. Wow, a redneck joke that's FOR the redneck.
Debelli - thanks for the sympathy note on the dog who should be named Lonedog. Yes, I'm sure Bandit is calling me every kind of name there is (he has an extensive vocabulary of eyebrow positions, ear positions, and sighs that we could interpret as a blue streak). He's been coping with the b*#$! (well she is one ) for a month now. I feel like we did give her a chance to adjust and make friends. He is such a gentle dog, and is never the instigator. He has been taking a lot of abuse from her. She is also fast, and has no compunction about biting. He does tell her (barks and growls) when she's gone too far, and there have been some skirmishes, but they both end up getting hurt.
First I felt guilty that Bandit doesn't get the attention he used to. Hhe used to go to the park everyday and play with all the other dogs. Then we moved, and then moved again. No more doggie park, and with a 3hr commute daily, very little playtime with us. That led to the great idea about getting him a playmate. Now, I feel guilty about jailing him (in the back yard) up with Moe - the inmate with an attitude. I just hope she's adoptable. We're waiting to hear from a cattle dog rescue place called New Hope.
ChrisB - I think the hardest part about beer, is when there are microbreweries close by. There's a place on campus called Gentle Bens that makes a great Oatmeal Stout. I haven't had one of their beers in 8 months. See, I'm looking on the bright side! Anyway, I tend to go off-plan when I go out and socialize. Noted for future reference. Where's that wagon?!
See ya all later!