Tikki's Test Post - Take a look at this but don't delete it, just unpublish!!

Window Seat and Test Table

So, while Linda and Jim are living it up in San Carlos, some of us still have to work to make a living!

Oh, wait a minute, I'm not actually working, just re-doing our house. So today I'm working on what I hope is the last, last bit of the job - the wallpaper. Denise has picked out a nice grasscloth, which I've found out is NOT like regular wallpaper. It's a bear to deal with, but looks great when it's up. As you can see I've got a wall completed between the kitchen and the Dining Room. Oops, that looks like the window seat I built, with a surrogate table made from a door, as a stand in for the real table which needs to be manufactured by someone.

One Wall of Grasscloth

So here's the picture of the grasscloth wall  - this photo is inserted with "small" as the size, and positioned on the left. When you click on the photo you should see a much larger photo. Give it a try and see. Note the crown molding on the cabinets. They got it wrong three times in a row, so we had plenty of extra which I used as a border for the tile backsplash below!

The stove and the new tile backsplash 

Glass tile with wooden accent strip

So over there on the right is a medium picture of the stove area. Note the new backsplash with glass and stone tiles, with a small wooden border that's made out of leftover crown molding. Click on this picture to get some detail.

Finally, above on the left is a closeup of the tile and that little wooden border.

Retirement Tour 2013: Santa Fe, NM

There is just no place quite like Santa Fe!  The light, the art, the food, the people, the different cultures-it always does our hearts good to be in the "Enchantment" which is Santa Fe.  We only had a day and a night here but it was still a nice stop on the way home for a little shopping, a little gallery gazing and some good New Mexican food.

The Shed, one of our favorites, was closed, so
we lunched at La Casa Sena, which has great
food and lots of good shopping
and, yes, it's dog friendly.

One of the funniest places we ever stayed-The Silver Saddle Motel.
It did have something going for it because it was right next to
Jackalope, a great shopping mecca.

We stayed in the Willie Nelson room….

complete with our theme song on the wall!

Beautiful, though fragrant, chamisa along the road to Taos

Retirement Tour 2013: Lafayette, LA and the Very Long Trip through Texas

We stayed at the La Quinta in Lafayette, LA for the night and hung out by the pool with Boo until dinner time.  It was such a nice feeling to just chill for a few hours and get a little exercise.  We were thrilled to find The Blue Dog Cafe right down the street.  The Blue Dog was inspired by the art of local artist, George Rodrique, who is known for painting local cajun culture. The famous Blue Dog evolved from a Cajun legend and his likeness adorns the walls of this fun little restaurant.

The Blues Brothers with Blue Dog

Blue Dog

On the patio-Boo pretending to be Blue Dog

Palo Duro Canyon-can you believe it is second largest to the Grand
Canyon!  We stopped here outside of Amarillo for a little nature fix!

Boo and I at Cadillac Ranch-the only other place of interest
to us in Amarillo!  This just made us laugh!  It is right off
the highway and has endured since the early 70s.  Several
artists actually came up with the idea of burying Cadillacs,
especially those with fins, nose first as a public art project.
Fresh graffiti has been added constantly since then, creating
an ever-evolving art piece.

The ground is littered with used spray paint cans,  I snatched
one to add to the "beauty" of this infamous art project.

Linda, doing her part for posterity

We (and particularly, Jim) have had many great memories in Texas, but this trip wasn't one of them.  We were like horses heading to the barn, but decided to make just two more stops for a little taste of
some of our favorite country, Santa Fe and Taos, NM.

Retirement Tour 2013: Taos, NM - the End of the Road, for now

We can never decide which we like better - Santa Fe or Taos.  Both are equally wonderful but very different.  We like the restaurants and the galleries of Santa Fe and the funkier feeling of Taos.  We have been to them both many times over the years, so we feel like we've seen and experienced almost everything.  But, it never ceases to help us relax, enjoy good art and good food, and just mellow out a touch.  A perfect ending to a wonderful trip - Taos, NM!  Some of the highlights this time:

Navajo rugs at the Millicent Rogers Museum

Loved these colors and memories of traveling the High Road

These, too

And I always enjoy the different depictions
of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  I don't know
why she speaks to me so, but she does.

Coyote is such a bad boy!  Loved this one.

Note the no dog rule at the hotel.

Note dog taking a nap by the pool.

The daughter of one of the pueblo dancers showing off for Boo and Jim

It was special treat to experience the dancers from
Taos Pueblo.  Boo and I even did a round dance
with them.  Everyone joins hands and dances in
a circle around the fire.

Good night, Taos!  Good night, moon!  Home tomorrow…..

Retirement Tour 2013: Biloxi, MS and New Orleans, LA

We were hoping to catch our "very special youngest child one family removed", Chandler Thorpe, who was going to be in Little Rock, as we were nearing there.  It turned out he was out of town with his girlfriend, so we decided to see New Orleans, as I had never been there, Jim had only been there as a child and we were once again craving some fresh seafood.  So, we headed on down through Biloxi, and followed the Gulf Coast to New Orleans.

We went to the Tuskegee Airmen Site, but guess what
greeted us?  We paid our respects anyway.

The Gulf Coast itself is looking pretty good after the 2005
devastation of Katrina.  But, we saw nary a soul at the beach.

You see miles and miles of driveways leading nowhere, as
the flooding wiped out almost everything in its path, as far as
12 miles inland.  This is right by the ocean, so there is hardly
anything left standing.  For sale signs are everywhere.

This was an absolutely wonderful find-Shaggy's on the
water, outside of Biloxi.  Dog Friendly !!!

Jim had oysters and I had a wonderful concoction of stacked
crab cakes and fried green tomatoes.  Mandatory margaritas!
Again, we were the only ones here.

Arrival in New Orleans!  We walked the lovely
new Riverwalk where there are art exhibits and
riverboats, restaurants and great people watching,
leading to the French Market, the French Quarter
and some great coffee and beignets.

This about says it for New Orleans.

Bourbon Street lived up to its reputation.  Lots of hungover
or loud, drunk people still drinking grenades or hurricanes.

10 am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful road-side jazz

We had a yummy lunch of gumbo and beignets at this great
place, commemorating all the jazz greats of the area.

And, our first hurricane-not bad!  The Charte St. Bar-our
favorite-dog friendly!

My favorite painting at the Contemporary Arts Center.
We spent a morning and afternoon at various wonderful
galleries during our tour of the Art District.  Wish I had
more pictures-I'm learning.

National WWII Museum-not dog friendly, so this is all we saw.

A quick drive through the 9th Ward, devastated by Katrina.
There is alot of wonderful rebuilding going on, but there is
still so much to be done here.

For our last night we decided to go to the famous and wonderful Bon Ton Cafe, which had been recommended to us by friends.  We ordered a couple of cocktails, crab imperial and crab au gratin, our mouths watering, when we got a phone call from the dog friendly hotel.  Apparently, Boo heard we were having too good a time and eating some great New Orleans food and wanted to join us.  We
were determined to enjoy our meal (which we did!-afterall, that's why we came here!) but, reluctantly, headed back to comfort our lonely pup.  He is growing so accustomed to going everywhere with us.  I don't think that's going to change any time soon.

Retirement Tour 2013: Ft. Benning, GA

Our daughter, Athena, and her husband, Josh, just moved from Savannah, GA to Ft. Benning which is outside Columbus, GA and quite a change from the southern charm, beautiful beaches and dreaminess of Savannah.  Ft. Benning is an army "city", with over 120,000 military personnel and their families.  It is the home of the infantry and the 75th Ranger Regiment, to which Josh is assigned.  Thankfully, he just completed his 7th deployment to Afghanistan and was home to show us around.  He is our hero!  He's also Athena's and the dogs' hero.  The cats'-not so much.

Athena and Josh's on-post neighborhood where senior non-coms live

Their house

The Maneuver Center of Excellence Headquarters

The Ranger Memorial to canine warriors of WWII

The names of all the dogs killed in action in WWII

Memorial to the Rangers of WWII

This is where the Rangers practice jumping out of planes.

Athena loving her Leo and vice versa.

Athena and Hunter fall asleep watching "Homeland".

They love our little guy, too!

Sofia made a rare appearance.  Her brother, Lucca,
heard about the camera and was not to be seen again
that day.

The Hubbard household is so far away and we miss them all so much, but we know they are happy and  spending some much needed time together.  Athena is getting her PhD in Psychology and working hard at that.  She goes to Santa Barbara, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta several times a year, but otherwise, can be found at home studying.  Josh is amazing.  He seems to adjust well to all the comings and goings of his unit,manages to be fit and ready for action at a moment's notice and remain sane in the process.  It was just so wonderful to be with them and really get a taste of what their life here is like.