- September 11, 2001 -

We will not forget.

The itinerary has been printed out. Coupons are

at the ready. We are all set for our Annual

Halloween Crawl for the year 2026.

Spooktober! Bring it on!

P.S. Wo! These are some hot days.

107 degrees out at 6:16 P.M.
And it's been 80 degrees all night long.
I like it better than freezing cold.

TRANSMISSION #136

He is upset that he is covered in so much dust.
I'm really sorry, buddy. We live in a rural area where
dust is frequently kicked up. I just can't get
around to you every day. *sigh*

Peanut butter M&M's will be my downfall.

Halloween is back at Walmart!
And at The Ranch we are excited to be getting ready for our
2026 Annual Halloween Crawl. I am in the process of creating
the itinerary and soon we will hit the road. By the way, that
is fog at the bottom of this picture. It's not my finger
or anything like that. *blush*

Look who I found! He is very cute. Yep, you are leaving
with me. My first Halloween 2026 souvenir.



Buckle up!
We are on our way.

Welcome home, buddy!

You look great!

 Two things that I love are paper towels...

...and baggies. The paper towels are Bounty. They are

expensive, but I can make them go a long way and they

are worth it. And the resealable baggies? Worth their

weight in gold, by crackee. I use them for storing and

itemizing. The sandwich size freezer bags are really

strong. I even use them to store my knives with notes

in them for my son to find someday.

There was a period of time in my life where I could
not afford these things. I don't take them for granted.

I was looking in the very back of a shelf in my curio cabinet

and I spotted this little Colt Single Action Army .45 pewter

tie tack. I don't remember where I got it (yes, probably a gun

show) and I don't remember putting it into my cabinet.

I didn't even know it had the name and caliber of the pistol

along the barrel until I looked at the enlarged picture.
I like it.

I was once admitted to the hospital because I drank a

cup of gasoline. I suppose that was pretty fuelish.

More happiness.
The cactus I planted in December of last year bloomed
three days ago. Next to it is the one I planted in October, which
bloomed two days ago. Unfortunately, these beautiful flowers
only last for about twenty-four hours it seems.

Tim Curry

1946 - 2026

Happy National Knife Day 2026!

And for this year's Knife Day I am featuring a knife that my

mom bought for me probably forty years ago. This is not a real

souvenir of the World[sic] Fair Chicago 1933. These knives were

apparently produced in the early 1970s and would fall under the
counterfeit category. Nowadays (and to my surprise) they seem to
be selling for $30 to $300 depending on their condition.

The knives were made in the USA, but in this case
I don't think that means much. Anyway, I treasure
this knife because my mom gave it to me!

Have a great National Knife Day!

I love chickens. I used to have chickens.

I bought This Schleich farm animal figurine
rooster at a Michaels store in 2006.

Hey, look! It's Ned and Maude
Flanders' kid, Todd!
(From 2005!)

Another decal I bought during our cross-country travels
when I was pretty dang young. This decal is from Bryce
Canyon, Utah. The Queen's Court formation.
Bryce Canyon is unbelievably beautiful.

Reggie Bannister

1945 - 2026

~ Rest in Peace ~

I love me some late night nachos!

Yeah I don't care.

How did you ever get to join
the Big Four anyway?

The other day I went to a supermarket that I don't usually

shop at. They had Habanero peppers. I bought two for my

son and I to try. We've never had them fresh and we both love

hot stuff, a lot. I cut off the portion you see in the picture
and we we split it. We are starting out in safe mode.

Holy cow! I hate to admit it, but this pepper was too much

for us. When it hit, we were thankful we started out with such

a small portion. Oh man. Anyway, we are down, but not out.

P.S. After I ate my portion, I did not drink anything for about
fifteen minutes. So I did get a semi-full experience.

For twenty-one dollars and ninety-seven cents...

...I wonder who thought this was a good idea.
I'd pay two dollars for it... max.

(Bendy Frankenstein's Monster at Walmart)

TRANSMISSION #132

Some folks don't know what to make of it

when they see you wearing one of these.

Adventure Mouse!

Yes, let us strike each other with fake swords.
Savvy?

This picture I took at a Mexican food restaurant is making
me hungry. I can just imagine the taco chips and HOT sauce
sitting there on the table, daring me to eat them all before
anybody else can get their paws on them. I posted another
photo of this place before, a long time ago. This is from
a visit on February 17th, 2009.

I bought this resin horse head Christmas ornament last year

and, well, you know me. Some decorations are made to be

displayed all year long. I finally hung it up on my wall today.

That's it.

That's the tribute.

I found this fun picture of the Death Star at a thrift store
for about $3.00. I think it's called a "lenticular" picture.
When you move your hand toward the center of the
Superlaser Focus Lens, it looks like it
sinks right into it.

Impressive. Most impressive.

Happy National Hot Dog Day, 2026!

(I love me some hot dogs and
that's the way I like 'em!)

And we could probably cook our hot dogs

out on the patio today. And I mean right ON
the patio! 105 degrees at 4:59 PM.
Wo doggies! It's a HOT one.

This is the back of the old Panasonic 7.1 surround sound Blu-ray

player at Borden Cinema. This thing sounded F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C

and it was beyond fun hearing things all around you. Scary movies

were next level, but it was kind of a pain in the butt. All the wires, and

when one part of the system went south, it was all over.

I do miss it but a GOOD soundbar is much less complicated and when

and if it goes down (please no), only the one component needs replacing
as opposed to the whole system.

I love going to Borden Cinema.

If you've been using COVERGIRL CG Smoothers
Hydrating Makeup as your foundation and, like me, can
no longer find it in stores, or can only find it online at
outrageous prices, you may be looking for an alternative.

This.

COVERGIRL Clean Invisible Foundation. I know
Walmart has it and Target my have it as well.
There ya go.

How cool. My semi-newly planted cactus
(Saturday, January 3, 2026) looks like he
is happy in his new (for now) home!

He gave us a flower.

Beautiful.

!!! BONUS PHOTO !!!
⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇

I wanted the movie Novocaine when it was first

released but I didn't want to pay what they were
asking for it. Today I found it in the $5.00 bin at
Walmart and tonight it will be playing
at Borden Cinema!

Take a drink whenever I type the word "it".
Have fun!

There are birds around here that build their
nests in the same spots every year. Last night
something annihilated two of those nests. I don't
know if it is too late for them to start again,
but it is possible. I am hoping they do.

TRANSMISSION #130

Happy 250th Birthday, America!
1776 - 2026

Welcome back to Cactus Central.

I spotted this cactus along the road. We don't have any
like this on The Ranch. I need to fix that.

I can't believe America's 250th

birthday is just one week away.

WOO HOO!

I found SCREAM 7 on 4K Ultra and Blu-ray today and I will be

watching this one tooooNIGHT. I don't know how, but I have managed

to stay away from every possible spoiler out there. Either I was very

lucky, or absolutely nothing noteworthy happens in SCREAM 7. I hope

it is the former. Anyway, my popcorn is waiting and will find out soon!

Okay, I found just one more cactus pup that I am
going to put into dirt. I am posting this because
I want to be able to look back and see how
much he has grown.

And here he is in his new home, hopefully to be very
happy. He was watered really well and now I won't
touch him for a few weeks. Take in the sun, my friend.

Take in the sun.

Here is another something else
I bought a LONG time ago.

Opera-Singer Homer and a Leprechaun. I bought

these at Toys "R" Us when I am sure that there was

nothing else I wanted and money was burning a hole

in my pocket. There were times that I just didn't want

to come home empty-handed. Yeah, not good.

But you gotta get 'em all. (I didn't.)
I do love The Simpsons though.