NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

~ Norman's Steps- Circa 1987 ~

Beautiful horses.

Well, her name was Maria, she came from Bajia,

she had a passion for diamonds and gold.
She done broke every heart, in Puerto Vallarta,
by the time she was eighteen years old.

"Falling In Love For The Night"

The Charlie Daniels Band

What do you even do with these? I try my darndest

to use them and they just keep multiplying. They

should just do away with pennies I'm thinkin'.

~ Reason Number 129 Why Moms Are So Special ~

Annual Christmas Rice Chex Mix.

~ Merry Christmas - 2015 ~

Here is a cake that we broke out on Christmas Eve. This

thing was packed with fruit and chocolate and cream and was

SO good. This picture cannot capture it's velvety

fruity chocolaty creamy goodness.

 

I'm not sure if this feather configuration at the Indian

Store is for some sort of ceremony or just a decoration

or what, but it is something to behold.

This is from my 2012 visit to the Gene Autry Western

Heritage Museum in Griffith Park, California. This section

of the museum had a simulated soundstage made up like

a street from a western movie. In each of the windows were

displays related to movies. Props, stunt work, costumes.

And although many of these items are still on display
at the museum, I'm sad to say that this "set" no longer
exists. It was 86'd during a remodel several years back.

Christmas is beginning to show

up around the Ranch.

On Christmas Eve/Day this neat floating candle
will be surrounded by something more appropriate.
This was a test. This was only a test.

We have had some rain. It has been nice, except for

one thing... Many times after it rains, very strong winds

come about. Very strong winds kind of freak me out.

 

"Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" on Blu-ray. I liked the

last one a hair better, but what can I say? Great stunts, fun story,

a superb villain and best of all, Tom Cruise. I had to have it.

I bought "Pacific Rim" on DVD for $3.99. I wasn't ever

going to buy this, but for that price I will give it a go.

You know what? This movie kept me engaged pretty

much the entire 131 minutes. Yeah, I know... stuff was

predictable and all, but truth be told, and hush hush on

this, I think I actually enjoyed Pacific Rim more than

2014's "Godzilla". Totally worth a watch at this price.

Lot's of great kaiju action.

 

This is a Christmas card that I received from a friend.

She always sends me beautiful Disney cards.

Eight Maids a-Milking.

Moooooooo!

This house burned a few months ago.

That's all I know right now.

Teacup Ride at mini golf.

The teapot is a nice added touch.

Here is a framed poster I bought at Blockbuster (the movie

rental store) a few years ago. Not the best repro in the world

but it was only about $9.99. It is telling me to get ready for

the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" on Friday.

In reality, as much as I am looking forward to TFA, I won't

be seeing it for some time to come. I am not going until the

crowds are down to about nothing. So, a few weeks or so

after the opening, I will be there.

When "Star Wars: A New Hope" was released in 1977 I had won

tickets from an L.A. radio station to see it's opening up in Westwood

or on Wilshire or something. Shortly after that I went with a friend to

see it in a theater on the 20th Century lot. That was a near perfect

showing. I had also won Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life

album. I still have the album.

Anyway, I hope that The Force Awakens is a great adventure.

I bought this owl Christmas ornament for my mom.

He is soft like mink and so cute that I had to bring

him home. I put him on the fireplace mantel and I am

going to wait for her to notice him. This could take

weeks. She never even noticed the rat I put up there
for the Halloween season. The rat sat there for two
months because even I forgot he was there.

I will dust Mr. Owl in the dark of night when everybody
sleeps so I will not call attention to his presence.

A fancy light fixture. I much prefer kerosene lanterns.

This guy I just call the "Devil Guy". He is from my

son's monthly Loot Crate and I have no idea who

the "Devil Guy" really is. And he is totally

probably not a "devil guy".

I have said for years and years and years that Garth Brooks has
done a lot to help destroy traditional country music. But just
between you and I, there are one or two songs *cough cough
Low Places cough cough* that I enjoy. All I have to do is get past
the achy breaky boot scoot your boogie aspect of it all. So I bought
this "The Hits" CD. Let's keep this purchase on the down low.

The best part of  today's transaction was finding "Appaloosa" on

 Blu-ray. I have been looking for this for a decent price for months.

 Today at FYE it was "Buy One Used Get One Used for $1.99".

Appaloosa. $1.99. SCORE. Appaloosa is a great movie that not

many folks appreciate. Nice interaction between two business

associates/friends, great shooting sequences, great hardware,

leather and scenery.

We will just kind of leave the Renée Zellweger thing alone.

You have to give some folks a lot of credit...

...for letting everybody know where they stand.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie.

There was a time when Angelina and I were not the

best of friends. But then I saw her in a movie or two

and I ended up pretty much liking her. And Brad? I

like him. He has purdy eyes. Anyway, I just kind of

hope that this "The End" stuff is not true.

And that's the lesson for today.

What is better than a brand

new pair of Levi jeans?

I will tell you what is better. A brand new pair of

Levi jeans and a brand new hat is what.

Yep. I went over to Boot Barn armed with my coupons

and bought a new Milano brand hat.

Larry Mahan Hat Collection, made in Texas, U.S. of A.

I have never had a Milano brand hat. Larry Mahan

(of the "collection" part) is a "former" rodeo champion.

10X straw goodness.

Great hatband. One might even say it is cute,

if one were to use words like cute for a hatband.

This shape is different than any of my other hats. It is just a hair

too big so I will be putting some lining in the band to tighten it

up a bit on my noggin. Best part about today is that I used my

thirty dollars in rewards taking some of the sting out of the price.

This hat is relatively expensive.

I have another five dollar coupon. I see turquoise earrings in my future.

 Before I got a job that totally interferes with my personal

life, I used to plan Academy Award parties for my family.

I would print out the ballots, we would keep tallies during

the ceremony and at the show's end the person with the most

correct choices would win a prize.

The above shows a photo of the envelope containing that year's

winnings. When the show was over we would have our own

ceremony with an official reading of the contest rules and to

announce the winner and rejoice and whine about losing and

generally have great guffaws. I believe that this year's envelope

held a $20 bill and some other little things.

One contest that I never got to do was to have everybody guess

who they thought would win, and then when it was all over, spring

upon them that the most guesses WRONG would win. I might still

do that someday.

Anyway... It used to be a lot of fun.

I wish I could say that about me. But I can't.

But I try. I try hard most times. But so far, it ain't me

too much. I will keep trying.

From the Boot Barn holiday catalog.

Meet me at The Hideout.

The password is "Oklahoma".

Seems about the right time of year for a picture of a

basket of pine cones that we have out back here someplace.

Did you ever have one of those days where everything

seemed to go just right. I took this picture of a Sam's

Diet Cola that was on the top shelf and just too far back

for me to reach. It seems that this is not one of those days.

But wait!

On the shelf... just below the diet sodas... a cane! A tool!

A reacher! What are the odds?! It IS one of those days!
I was to have my diet soda after all. Ahhh, sweet life.