$1.99

And how much is fuel in your neighborhood? I never thought I'd see the day that it'd drop below $2.00 but here we are and woo-hoo! I'm going to Jackson tomorrow and I should fuel before I leave town. Do you realize this is the first time (in a long time) I'll do this w/ a smile on my face while I do so? Smile, nothing -- I'm flat gonna do the Happy Dance!

On the down side, I think I've developed an allergy to my beloved Furballs. I kid you not, every time one of them comes near me I sneeze my fool head off. This in no way means they'll be finding new homes, it just means I'll be taking lots more Sudafed! It's the only med that doesn't make me sleepy. Oh dear ... Speak of the devil! Scary Cat just jumped up in my lap to feel the heat coming off my laptop. What a dufus -- it's 80° outside! Sigh. He's lovable when he wants to be, God bless his little heart.

The Detroit Tigers won their division and my STL Cardinals are in the lead in the race for the National League Pennant 3-2. The winner plays the Tigers on Saturday night. Thus far the score is 1-0, Mets in the 4th. I'm not worried.

In the news today under the Asinine Category, Heather Mills-McCartney has new, exciting allegations about her soon to be ex, among them:
Heather claims that, among many other allegations, Paul choked her, poured wine on her, cut her with a broken wine glass and forbid her to breastfeed their child. Paul has slammed the accusations in a statement made to the press through his lawyers. His lawyers’ statement read, “Our client would very much like to respond in public and in detail to the allegations made recently against him by his wife and published in the press but he recognizes, on advice, that the only correct forum for his response to the allegations made against him is in the current divorce proceedings."


Oh, that's a little risque', is it not? Anyway, read it here:
ASININE ALLEGATIONS

Condi Rice tells Japan, "We will defend you" among growing fears of North Korea's apparent nuclear weaponry.
NO PROBLEM
Tell you what, I'd be sorta nervous if I lived next door to Kim Jong-il or any other nutcase. I saw on CNN that he was born in Siberia, he considers himself quite the ladies man, he perms his hair which I notice is getting pretty thin, stands 5'2" tall, drinks Hennessey cognac, and owns a collection of 20,000 movies which includes the complete James Bond series. Now, it is said that he'd stop being such a tiny tyrant (even I'm taller than he is) if he could play James Bond in the next movie. I just found a photo of him in my Deck of Weasels:
Need I say more?

Barbaro continues his slow but steady progress:
“Barbaro is wearing his new cast comfortably and his vital signs and appetite remain excellent,” said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery at Penn’s George D. Widener Hospital.
BARBARO
"Big B" is pictured w/ Dr. Richardson at University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center, Barbaro's home since 20 May, 2006.

I have a wonderful horse, a gentle giant of a Palomino whom I love more than words can say. I don't believe any amount of money could buy him from me -- I was once given a $10,000 opening offer from some show people. My Big Man is more special than I have room for words to describe him. There is nothing like seeing him gallop to the pasture fenceline when he sees me, and hearing him nicker at me! I actually find comfort and solace feeling his warm breath on my cheek. Second to him, Barbaro is my hero. For more information on Barbaro's condition see:
TIM WOOLLERY

Wesley, Wesley, Wesley, what were you thinking?? He's been charged w/ tax fraud in an indictment alleging he illegally obtained nearly $12 million in refunds. Refunds? Now he's on the run, avoiding the Blade of the IRS. Sucks to be you, Wesley.
When are people gonna learn? Oh forget it -- I just remembered someone else who is ... less than diligent w/ his taxes. He's not anywhere near a living wage tax bracket, never has been, but he's careless. Sad. Some people just don't learn ...

Here's some trivia I bet you weren't aware of:
The Vatican employs 16 Retainers of Church Secret. These retainers receive a salary of 160,000 euros a year, but are not permitted to leave Vatican City.
160,000.00 EUR = 200,668.18 USD

Today is was 85° and sunny w/ a breeze. Tomorrow it we'll have thunderstorms w/ a high of 62° -- in other words, it'll be winter again! Of course, on the day I have errands to run, appointments to meet and dinner @ Outback to attend. On the other hand, you can't have the brilliant, fiery fall colors w/out rain and apparently somewhere around here are gorgeous leaves on trees.


As I've said previously, pine trees I'm surrounded by usually stay the same year round, as do the cedar trees. Sigh! Probably I'll see some pretty sights on the freeway tomorrow. But for now, I'm outta here -- Precious wants to go outside one last time before bed.

Where My Down Coat?

It got soooo cold last night when I woke up this morning it looked like snow on the grass! Snow? In TN? In October? Never! But it did get freaky cold last night, and now it's returning to more normal temps. Yesterday the high was 53°, the low 33°and normally it's 75°and 50°. Today it'll be around 67°, tomorrow 73° w/ the sun shining brightly! This is normal weather in the south. It sucks. I'm stuck in the No Snow Zone. Life is so not fair, but I don't know what my horses would do if it snowed more than an inch down here and lasted only 30 minutes. I can tell you for a fact, my wolf hybrid doesn't know from snow at all -- she's only 2! I doubt she'll ever learn what it is down here, but I could be surprised. It wouldn't be the first time I fell over in shock ... as a result of various monentous events.

Speaking of which, check out this photo from MI w/ the caption:

"The many colors of fall...reds, golds, and white from snow."

Just check this out, a photo taken yesterday in Chippewa Falls, WI:

I ask you, how lucky is this guy? I loved living in Wisconsin, being right there at the lake front! Yup, we had plenty of lake-effect snow which was awesome -- until I had my first experience w/ thunder-snow. That scared the stuffin' outta me! Otherwise, I loved it, loved every minute I lived there as I recall. I guess because my entire childhood was spent in areas where we had real seasons, where the change in season was highly defined, I miss it all the more. I remember the snow coming down in big, fat flakes, how warm it was when it snowed and the quiet. It's so quiet when it snows! Except of course if you're near O'Hare International Airport where you can hear the birds but not see them. Eerie.

But it's not all bad in the south. So what if my daddy outgrew his tremendous allergies and passed them on to his only child? We had frost last night so the grass will no longer grow -- that goes for the new Bermuda sod in the pasture, by the way -- so that's the end of part of my sneezy problem. However, I'm surrounded by 97 acres of pine and cedar trees which never stop growing. *achoo* But, I do miss the autumn colors -- very little on the ranch, however I do get to enjoy them when I travel. I have a Chris Cagle concert coming up as well as Montgomery Gentry, and I have a few reservations in Tunica -- all comped of course. That would be a Good Thing.

Now this is a gorgeous photo, taken five days ago in Lincoln, NH:

Now it's apple season -- yummy, crunch, tart, sweet, crispy, tasty apples! Is your mouth watering? Remember, an apple a day keeps the doctor away! I don't know what the significance of that is but every time my mama goes to the market she brings me fruit including lots of apples and she often says that to me. I don't know what apples have to do w/ seeing a physician but there you go.

I make an apple crisp (the afore-mentioned recipe Samantha's Famous Apple Crisp which I got out of a cookbook but tweaked) that's to die for! Seriously, I've had people bring me apples just to make them this hot, buttery, cinnamon-y dessert! Mmmm ... this would be another Good Thing.

And back to the snow! Here's an image I'm familiar with:


Oh ... I sorta feel sorry for this guy:


Sucks to be in New York, dude -- they got two feet of snow! Woo-hoo!

And what would this be w/out photos of cats -- Cats Who Look Like Hitler, to be exact!
Disgruntled Hitler:


Where My Eyeballs Hitler:


Stop Exploiting Me Hitler:


And last but not least, Upon My Throne Hitler:


Anyone who is owned by a Furball is familiar w/ that pose! Oh, I love my Furballs ... Even more since we have the automatic litterbox! It rocks! Totally worth the money, no question!

Gotta run -- going to the market, etc.

It Turned to Winter!

I should probably mention it turned to winter overnight, TN version. It's cloudy, breezy and 48° then tomorrow it'll be 72° which is normal. Evidently rain is expected but I've not seen hide nor hair of it yet, although it wouldn't exactly break my heart. The pasture could really use it! I really hate the thought of frost tonight on those tender upshoots of grass but hopefully it'll survive. I mean, it's grass! It's almost a weed, surely a little (possible) frost won't hurt it. I hope. I have to go to the market -- I have forty-eleven items on my list -- no later than tomorrow morning, particularly because I'm making a Gooey Butter Cake for a church event and it's sooo much better a day or two after it's baked. Oh yummy! But trust me, a tiny piece of this is all you can handle. It was a toss-up between Samantha's Famous Gooey Butter Cake and Samantha's Famous Apple Crisp -- I should have committed to the Apple Crisp, because it's that time of year but ... I'll be honest: I decided on the cake because a teensy piece will do me and I have absolutely no intention of regaining the weight I lost! No way.

I've been digging through some images -- photos, other photos I'd taken, scanned and burned to disk plus one or two I have no idea where they originated -- and thought I'd share a few. Let me see what I can find now.

This is on my desktop!

Balloon Glow in Forest Park.





When you fly to O'ahu, this is what greets you after that extremely long flight at Honolulu International Airport -- and it's just a taste of things to come! Trust me when I say nothing can prepare you for your very first trip to Hawai'i. Obviously, it's a different culture but it's very nearly also an entirely different country unto itself.



This is inside the International Marketplace, an absolutely fascinating shopper's paradise.

And I believe this is the Ala Moana Center.


This is Crazy Shirts at Ala Moana, where all my Kliban Hawai'i shirts came from -- the only place you can get them. I didn't take the photo ... I just wanted to show you the store.

Ala Moana is four levels of shopping/entertainment, guaranteed to delight every person who enters it. It's not just a mall ... it's an experience. The International Marketplace is as well but it's a whole different experience.

And this is Pali, but I don't believe I took this photo.
The most hysterically funny thing happened when we went to Pali! We climbed up a hill ... Nevermind. You really had to be there but it still makes me dissolve in laughter everytime I think about sliding down the hill and worrying about crashing onto a car in the parking lot below!

Oh me ... I just got an email reminder:

Palomino Girl, this is a reminder for

Duckling Wedding

Sat Oct 14 2pm - 4pm (2 hrs)

(Central Time)
Some church

As though I could forget! The Duck's daughter is getting married on Saturday and even though I've never laid an eyeball on her, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Gotta run for now, I have a bunch of irons in the fire and I need to tend to them!