Rolling in the Hills and the Dough

Recently, we were told that our town is one of the riches towns in the United States.  Hubby and I roared with laughter and Evil Twin peed her pants.   She had just returned from ringing doorbells trying to sell the knock-off Girl Scout cookies I made.  Anything to make a buck.  Sheesh.

Yeah. We are rolling in the cookie dough.

Let me explain.  I'm sure you've heard the phrase "raised on the wrong side of the tracks"?  If not, it basically means you're not rich.  Our town has imaginary tracks.  A different way to look at it is "old" vs. "new".    The "old" part of the town is primarily a bunch of farms, smaller established neighborhoods, and open space with a few rolling hills.

Within the last 20 or so years, a hotel and a business complex popped up and somebody got the vision disease, dreaming about a charter school* is this here country town.   The school became a reality.  Developments with large homes, large gates, and a golf course joined in the fun, filling out the "new" part of our town.  More business appeared but we don't have our own grocery store!

Meanwhile, back on the other side of the tracks, our little neighborhood decided that rather than be annexed to another less-inviting neighboring city, we needed to be a part of this quaint little town with the vision.   We were annexed in the 1990's.

The "new" part of the town is where you might possibly find the Jonas Brothers, professional athletes, neurosurgeons, and the rest of the rocket scientists. 

Evil Twin reminded me that she is a rocket scientist.

I think this must be because of her experience with the aliens. 

We have people drive through our neighborhood quite often looking for homes and lots for sale.  Last year, a lady stopped me while I was working in the yard, badgering me with questions.  She was rude.  It's like she was getting mad at me because I couldn't tell her what she wanted to hear. Evil Twin finally gave her the stink eye and she quickly wrapped up her inquiries.  Ahem. 

We like our little neighborhood, with our retirees and their RV's, and a few playful little tykes to keep us young at heart.

We think you might be from the wrong side of the tracks, Rude Lady.

*In Texas: A charter school is a type of public school usually developed by a local community. Charter schools provide education through a "charter," which is a type of contract granted by a chartering entity such as the State Board of Education or the board of trustees of an independent school district.  The purposes of charter schools are to: (1) improve student learning; (2) increase the choice of learning opportunities within the public school system; (3) create professional opportunities that will attract new teachers to the public school system; (4) establish a new form of accountability for public schools; and (5) encourage different and innovative learning methods.   Our local school teaches an International Baccalaureate program.

Older, Not Much Bolder, And It's Getting Colder

You know you're old when......

You are shopping at a department store looking at clothes on clearance and you're "fighting" for rack time with Blue-Hair and Moth-Ball Lady.

Your cute new top for yoga class comes in the mail and you have to put on your glasses to figure out how to get the thing on, wrestle with it a bit, and then you can't reach the bow in the back without taking it off.

Sheesh.

Don't you hate it when...

Retailers post signs with sale pricing that starts next week asking you to reserve your items now?

Huh?  It wasn't exactly lay-away but a way to get you back in the store next week.  OK.  That's just plain wrong, folks.  As I get older, my tolerance for goofy marketing techniques is fading fast.

**Waves wand**  Riddikulus!

Recently, Hubby and I sat in a car for nine hours and drove to New Mexico to see the mountains.  They all had dandruff so we made our way to a local day resort for a little skiing.  I love this view from the top:

 Albuquerque down below

While I was snapping the photo, Evil Twin was checking the stability of the fence.

Never a dull moment.

Hubby's great-aunt passed away recently.  She was older than dirt with a poor quality of life.  Although it's sad to know she is no long with us, she has been "gone" awhile.  On the humorous side, what I remember about her is Hubby's story about how she used to cut the Nieman's labels out of her children/grandchildren's clothes and sewing them into clothes she bought at Target or Sears for her nieces and nephews.  

Snort.

We are expecting a cold snap down here, just when I'm getting used to 60 degree days without the need to wear six layers to keep warm.    I've searched my closets for the warmest item I can find and here it is:

Warm?  Yes, but that color is a bit hard on the eyes.  Maybe it's time to do some culling.

Speaking of culling, I've been doing some heavy cleaning in my catch-all room.  I now know where Evil Twin has been some hiding things. I did manage to uncover my Pachinko.  Here's a list of the items I cannot locate, though:

Fluffy handcuffs
Samurai sword
Collection of fingernail clippings
Filet knife
Box with alien artifacts

Kidding.  Kidding.  I found them.

Sigh.  I'm so relieved.

All photos snapped by Reffie.  The pachinko remained silent.  I have no balls.  Hee Hee.

See, Honesty Pays.....Just Not Very Well

Joan over at Anything Fits a Naked Man presented an award to me on her blog:

Hee Hee.  We know what that means, right?

She actually LIKES me? 

Um, no, it's the other way.  Bloggers pass along awards to bloggers they don't like.  

Kidding.  Kidding.  Joan would never do that. 

Evil Twin would but I'll try to keep her in line.

Now I'm supposed to be all honest and share five scraps of information about myself: 

1.

ZZZZzzzzzz.

Oh, sorry.  Let me try again.

1. I'm not blonde. (Oh, you already knew that.  Oh well.)
2. My mother thinks I'm short at 5'5".  She's 5'9".
3. My mother, Hubby, and my one friend tell me Evil Twin doesn't exist.
4. I'm not into organized religion although I do believe in a higher power. 
5. Evil Twin believes she is the higher power.

Sigh.  You are welcome to this award if you want it.  I caught it just in time.  Evil Twin was about to change it to say The Green Hornet's Horse Crapped Award with a pile of dung in the middle.  

Sheesh.

The Bloggerhood of the Traveling Book Spotaneously Combusts...

No, not really.  Hang on.  There will be more about that in a moment.

I hope you have recovered from your New Year's celebrations and have completed your list of SMART goals and have already given up on at least one of them.

Kidding.  Kidding.

I do believe that the Hot Place has frozen over.  That's right.  This geek has finally finished the traveling book.  Remember the traveling book?

 The Girl Who Played With Fire

by Stieg Larsson

Graphic by 00dozo

Yeah, that one.   It's the second in the series and follows The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

This great idea started with Unfinished.  Ironically, he finished the book and shipped it to Quirky.  One of her zombies tried to snack on it but she managed to read it before there was too much damage. Then it went to Boom-Boom who did not drop it in the lake or leave it on a camping trip.  She delivered it to Dufus.  Then it went for a swim and ended up on an island with 00dozo.  All of these folks finished the book in practically one sitting and have even posted a book review. 

I got a bit behind over Christmas but kicked it into high gear last week and whizzed right through it!  YEEHAW!

Overall, I liked it.  The book got off to a slow start but it picked up in the second half.  I was a bit disappointed that it didn't totally finish the story, though. Now I must go out and get the next book.

Oh, I get it.   That's an EXCELLENT marketing technique.

Evil Twin has fallen in love with Lisbeth Salander and wants to learn some of her methods of dealing with immoral jerks.  She was particularly interested in that "hanging" escapade.  YIKES! That Salander Girl/Woman/Batgirl is seriously volatile.  I love the way she operates effectively in a controlled simmer.

I think the author did a good job balancing good and evil.  It's engaging and I was able to relate to the characters as they seem to fit the balance of people we encounter in our daily lives.  Wait.  Let's hope we don't ever encounter as much evil as what's presented in the book.  Once the story picked up, it was hard to put down.  In the beginning, there were a few too many details of Lisbeth re-establishing herself in Sweden.

Once they finally revealed "All That Evil", I was a bit disappointed.  Yeah, the character was truly evil but after knowing what they were talking about, it seemed a bit lame.

Ok.  That's enough.  I hope I didn't give too much away for those of you that have not read the book.

It's time to send the book to the next blogger.  If you're interested let me know in the comment section.

Also, Hubby and I will be taking a little mini-vacation in a cold place.  I hope to check in while we are away, possibly from a hot tub....