Siestas Are Necessary In Arizona

 I'm no Unpublished Posts ahead right now so I thought I better get busy!  I took a Nap after we got Home from The Man's Appointment and the Errands we ran afterwards, the Heat had made me feel Worn Out.  It was 110 by Ten in the Morning, so, I'm not just being a wimp, it's gonna be damned Record Breaking Hot by the Heat of the Day, which is around 3:00 in the Afternoon.  So, I am taking to the Bed to have my Siestas around that time these days this Summer.  Siestas are necessary in Arizona. *Smiles*

I read at least one Caregiver Blog regularly and it makes me Thankful I've got it easier than they do, Bless them.   Of coarse, she probably reads mine and thinks the same thing, isn't that the way it works?  *LOL*  I always see other Caregiver's situations and think to myself, Lord have Mercy, I couldn't do THAT!!!   But of coarse if that's your Hand Dealt, you just have to do that.  But, it brings some comfort  and gratefulness to realize some folks do have a more seemingly challenging Hand to Play in Life.  I've had it worse, so I know when it's somewhat easier than it was.

Since his near Death experience and Heart Surgery The Man has been on his very best behavior, so it's been easier.   By the time he has his 2nd Heart Surgery, he might be acting like a Saint, I dunno?  *Bwahahahaha*  He did promise Dr. Kline, and his Cardiologist Dr. Singh, that he's gonna do better, and he sounded convincing, so, we'll see?  *Winks*  He has to see Dr. Kline again in a Month and he didn't even Bitch about another appointment so soon, which, is unusual for him... he usually prefers Appointments to be YEARS apart.  *LOL*  Of coarse he'll see Dr. Singh in Surgery when they get it scheduled.  Above is one of the Granddaughters in Mexico with her Mexican Hairless Chihuahua, both Adorable, but, I'm highly Biased of coarse.

I got Gifted Three Gay Pride T-Shirts from my Dear Blog Friend Mistress Maddie, that he Designed, for the "No Kings Rally", and for me to Gift to The Grandsons.  And I guess the 3rd one was for Yours Truly coz I am rather Queen-ish myself, got the Tiaras, Crowns, Kingdom and everything.  *Winks*  Above was Maddie Hot Modeling it and when he was having the Contest to Win some, I thought something to the effect of Forget about the T-Shirt, how much for the Model?!    Bad, Bad, Gramma Dawn, I know, I'm incorrigible.  Or so The Family tell me, but, I've kept my Clothes on for Swimming on Mondays now, so as not to run off another Young Pool Boy.  Brad, the Hot 30-Something Pool Guy Owner of the Company appreciates that I'm sure, he had to Clean my Pool instead coz the Younger 20-Something Pool Boys wouldn't come anymore.   Keeping one's Clothes on is such a drag... *Winks and Bwahahaha* 

I really have not gotten into any Mischief lately, I swear!!!   Really it's too Hot to, it's been 110 this Day by 10:00 in the Morning and so by the Heat of the Day by 3:00 in the Afternoon it's likely to be ridiculous.   More of the Arizona Desert and Arizona's Wild Lovebird Pixs, which I can't take Credit for either Photo, they were Shared Pixs on Social Media Local sites and just too Lovely not to Share here too.   I can see why they call them "Love" Birds, look how affectionate they are to one another, Adorbs.   This Pair is Nesting in a Date Palm, they like the Palms of Arizona.  I bought more Lovebird Friendly Wild Bird Seeds for our Bird Feeding Station due to the ones I've seen in our Mini Farm Community lately.  Our Neighbors have Date Palms and we have other type of Palms on our Property too, the taller slender Trunk Mexican Fan Palms.  They're the towering Giants of the Palm World and I just Love that we have a couple on this Property that are over 40 Years Old and can reach 100 Feet Tall.

 Below is how my Pressy arrived from Maddie, so stinkin' Cute!!!   The Young Prince is Jazzed.  He said there's so many MAGA in Clovis that it's not even Safe to be Gay there, so he Hates it and misses all the Gay Pride Events he attended here.  He's like to Visit Amsterdam as the Idyllic Dream Vacay, it's No. One on his Bucket List and he was telling me of a Restaurant there called "The Alchemist" in Copenhagen, that takes Fine Dining to a new level and doesn't waste anything, so they have a Subsidiary Restaurant that then feeds the Homeless!   He told me to look it up Online and of coarse I did after our Call, and Cribbed some Images and I can see Why our Grandson would be infatuated with a place like that and the Artistic Alchemy of their Dishes!

Now, the next Five Pixs Below were Cribbed from that Danish Restaurant and tho' I have no Clue what I'd be eating, and it looks Crazy and Expensive, it would be an Experience, I'll give ya that!!!  *LOL*  I've eaten some Fear Factor Foods in my Day, but I think mostly these are made to just Look Fear Factor and are probably tasty and an exciting Flavor Profile concocted by Master Chefs of the highest Caliber?   I mean if you can make Food look like a real Eyeball, I bow down to your Culinary Genius and Artistic Talent, Okay!!!  So long as you're not feeding me Real Eyeballs, I'd try it, Yes, I would.   Anyway, The Young Prince has really investigated everything about going to Denmark one day, so I'm sure he'll eventually find a way there.  Culinary Art has always Intrigued him coz he's not only an Artist, but he Loves to prepare Food and has a very Refined Palate.  I have had Friends who are Master Chefs and Own Restaurants tell me he had a Mature and Refined Palate since he was a Child!

You can develop a Refined Palate, but I think he was just Born with one.  He was that Child that always noticed the subtle nuances of Flavor Profiles of any Food or Drink.   He perceived them and appreciated them since he was really Young.   Tastes, Textures and Aromas are something he always commented on when enjoying his Food or Drinks, even as a very Young Child.   And he literally Lives and Breathes Art.   Now, I'm no Culinary Jedi, so my Chili Tonight looks like the Food Below... ha ha ha... and, it usually turns out pretty good.  This one had Peppercorn Ground Beef and a Pork Sausage as the Protein, Four kinds of Beans, Seasoned Canned Zucchini with Tomato, Roasted Corn, a Mild Tomato Chili Starter from "Sprouts", a Bone Broth Base and Chili Spices.

Below was my Minestrone Soup from "Olive Garden" and I also had a Bowl of the Zuppa Toscana.   I always try a different Soup for my 2nd Bowl on the Endless Soup, Salad and Breadsticks we get.  The Man had the Chicken Gnocchi and then the Pasta e Fagioli.   He doesn't eat Salad so I got all of that to myself, also Pictured further Below since I'm absolutely desperate for Fresh Blog Fodder, as you can clearly tell.  *Smiles*   But, their Food is quite Editorial, and why I don't like most Fast Food Joints, their Food never looks appetizing like the Pictures of it do.  My Brother, the Professional Hollywood Photographer, told me it's coz most of the Fast Food Commercials don't use Real Food, it's all Faked or Overly-Styled Food so that it looks Perfect.  

He's been on Sets where they're doing it and told me some of the things they utilize to Fake the Look of the Real Food.  Quite Interesting and now I can't look at a Fast Food Commercial and not think about what it really is and not what it's portraying, Secrets only Food Photographers know.  *LOL*  The shocking Tricks Advertisers use to make Fake Food.   Now, some Fast Food Joints do make their Food Ordered look like their Pictures of what they offer, like "In-N-Out Burger", their Burgers always look Perfect, taste Perfect, and are some of the least expensive on the Fast Food Circuit still.   I think that's why any time of the day or night you go, it's crowded.  You can go to a Phoenix "In-N-Out" at 1:00 in the Morning and there's lines in the Drive-Thru and inside at the Registers.  *LOL*

And we all know this and can do a comparison of Ad Photo versus In Real Life what you get instead at the vast majority of Fast Food Joints.   Like the Above Example.   And often the Top of the Bun don't even look that good, appealing or appetizing, looks like someone sat on every McDonald's Burger I've ever seen and why I'd never order or eat one.  Often the Food looks mauled at some I never give my Business to for that very reason.   So, let's do some more for shits and grins, and to put popular Fast Food Chains on Blast, shall we?  *LOL and Snort*

 

Well, you get the gist, and why The Man and I are very Selective about where we Eat Out, coz if we're paying and being all Extra to Eat Out, I have higher expectations of how our Money is spent on Luxuries like Dining Out.   And as you know I Photograph my Food A LOT and so my Regular Haunts know this and make an Extra effort to go out of their way to make our Presentation look like a Commercial they're Filming, or as if they're Serving a Food Critic whose an Influencer.   The Young Prince finds it hilarious, coz often when we'd be Dining, if he was with me, The Chef and the Owner or Manager would even come out and talk to us!!!  *LOL*   I've not Photographed my Food with that expectation of being Treated Extra, but, I do promote every Business that does a good Job and give them Free Advertisement on my Social Media sites to Support Local Businesses I enjoy on The Regular.

 

At "The Olive Garden" we had the most Adorable and Attentive Young Male Waiter and he gave The Man a ridiculous amount of those After Dinner Chocolate Mints they hand out, like it was Halloween!   *Bwahahahhaa*  He could see all the Bruises up The Man's Arms and we saw him looking and said he'd just gotten out of Hospital and then had Lab Follow-Up at the VA down the Street, and is a Hard Stick.   The Young Man was about the Age of our Adult Grandsons and looked genuinely concerned, then brought all those Mints over, it was so Sweet and yet so Amusing too.   The Man is indeed a Hard Stick and so Bless Him, he always comes out of any Lab or Hospital looking like an Intravenous Drug User and Bruised all to Hell!!!  It does look pathetic and like he had more suffering than he had to.

  

And speaking of an Old Suffering Veteran, The Daughter thought she'd Cheer her Dad up with some Sic Visual unexpected Gallow's Humor.   So when she was at Roy's cleaning out his Storage for him, he gave her this Hunting Ensemble, and she has Zero Inhibitions, so she'd actually wear it anywhere.  So, she put it on and told her Dad she was ready now for any Recon he needed to do!!!   *Bwahahahaha*   And they posed for this Pix together, coz it was hilarious, I don't Care who you are, I didn't expect it and we Laughed so hard... she's a Riot like that, totally uninhibited, and will do anything Crazy for a good Laugh and to Cheer anyone up.   He's been rather Down and Needed it.   I didn't even know why Roy had this Ensemble, we didn't Ask... Bwahahahaha... coz Roy is an Old Hippie who looks like Tommy Chong, whose in his 70's now, and I don't Need to know how or especially Why he had this Outfit in his Storage!!?!!!!  But that shit was Funny!!!  *LMAOROTF*

But, Roy also gave her this Commercial/Industrial Food Cart too for me, which, I really appreciated being Gifted with.  She does Work for Roy and he pays her with Cash and whatever she wants that he has and is getting rid of.  And, Roy is a bit of a Hoarder of Cool Shit, so, it's been a blast to get some of his Stash/Cache of Cool Shit he's passing along and Letting Go of now he's clearing out his Property.   It had some Weathering and Rust on it but The Daughter cleaned it up for me and I'm diggin' it.  Too bad I don't have Room in the Main House Kitchen Area for it or I could utilize it for more Pantry items Storage.   Instead I'll probably use the Two Top Tiers for Books and the Bottom Tier to Display something in The RV Garage Mahal Space.

 

I was talking to The Young Prince and he's just not sure he can Hang there in Clovis long enuf to utilize their GED/College Grant Offer.  Things still aren't good and he feels he could be more help to us being here and cause less worries, which, is True.   I was especially concerned that he does not feel Clovis is a Safe Space for anyone of the LGBTQ+ Community becoz Homophobic people tend to dehumanize other Human Beings based on Sexuality, much like Racist people tend to dehumanize other Human Beings based on Race, and Anti-Semitics tend to dehumanize other Human Beings based on Religion, and Misogynists tend to dehumanize Women based on Gender... it's all Hatred based and potentially very dangerous becoz of the violence these people who dehumanize other people tends to promote and act upon.  I've never met any Extremist that doesn't cause me grave concerns about how they just are at their very core of their Fanaticism and Deep Biases.

Some of the Events and Shops that were Closed for Summer have decided to Open earlier and now have re-opened for August.  Yay!  And of coarse in early September the Halloween Themed Events kick off and those are my Favorite Shows/Events of all.   I Channel my inner Morticia Addams all Year long so that's my Season and when it kicks off early, I don't Mind at all.  *Winks*   I also see some Christmas making an early appearance at a lot of Shops, I don't Mind.   We need some Cheer with all the Political Heaviness and Economic Strains a Tanking Economy is causing a lot of Families.  So much is uncertain and in peril right now that it's a Breath of Fresh Air to have anything Uplifting and Celebratory that we can have a temporary Escape with.  At least that's how I Feel about it, since, everything else going on is so fucking Negative, deeply Concerning about America's Future and our Democracy holding, and a LOT to unpack and to process daily now.

I'm usually a Guarded Optimist, but, I do find it increasingly more difficult to be Optimistic, even Guardedly so.  I don't want to spiral into Pessimist tho', I want to remain Hopeful and Positive regardless of whatever else is going to shit around the Nation... and even Globally for that matter.   I don't know our Country will ever again have a Fair and Free Election with the Voice of the Voter being responsible for who Leads this Country forward?  It seems Politicians are now wanting to choose their Voter rather than the other way around and pretend like that's Politics as Usual and a Political War of sorts they're all willing to now wage.  I'm an Independent Moderate becoz I don't Trust either Major Party anymore, especially since 2016 I know I'd never Vote Republican or for anyone running on that Ticket again... and the Democrats have only gotten my Vote becoz of Donnie Two Dolls since 2016.  

In fact, in 2016, and often before that, I didn't even Vote Democrat, I Voted anyone who wasn't Partisan affiliated, thus throwing that Vote away.  I loathed having to Vote Blue No Matter Who.   And in Arizona they didn't allow Independents to even Vote in Primaries until quite recently and we make up about 60% of all Voters!   We've never had a viable Candidate of whom we could Vote for whose not Partisan, in History the Independent Candidates have been so few and never been in Power or taken Seriously enuf to Win.  I think Independent Non-Partisan Voters aren't appreciated by either Major Party, they just assume we HAVE to Vote for One of them and I think it's why a lot of Americans thus don't bother to Vote at all?   I know The Son said he Hates both Political Parties so he refuses to Vote and never has, he'd prefer they all be replaced and Partisan Politics just be eliminated altogether.  I can't say I disagree, given the mess we've ended up with.  It's made so many, especially the Young, feel Hopeless about a Future to look forward to for the Average Citizen.

Anyway, Politics now monopolizes the News and if it's not bad Political News it's horrific catastrophic Weather being covered, or some new mass Shooting.   The whole Gun Control Issue being as controversial as the Abortion Issue, Politics or Religion.   To pretend we haven't become a Gun Obsessed Nation is naive, I've traveled the World and nobody is Gun Obsessed like America is.  The Man is very Pro-Gun IF the Gun Owner is Responsible, Trained to use Weapons, and he's against Weapons of War being in the Hands of ordinary Civilians becoz if they're not at War, those Weapons were only Designed for Combat and to kill as many of the Enemy as possible.  They're not for Self-Defense or Hunting, so, there's really no logical reason to own one or Buy one.  If you're not in the Military and Issued one, Trained to use it, and defending your Country as Active Duty Personnel of one of the Armed Services Branches, it's probably not Safe for ordinary Citizens to even have such a Weapon, ever.   I just don't like Guns and have never owned one myself.

It's not even illegal Sales of Weapons that is always the problem, most of the time the Crimes that are most horrific are now being committed by Mental Whackos and Extremists for various Causes that obtained their Weapons Legally.  I'm Retired from one of the largest DA's Offices in the Nation, Gun Crimes kept rising exponentially since even before I Retired many Moons ago, and now, it's so common I think it's almost become routine to hear about the Mass Shootings, School Shootings, some American Citizen going on a rampage and committing Domestic Terrorism against other Citizens.   I don't think our biggest worry anymore is Foreign Terrorists, it's the Enemy within and Home Grown Killers of the Innocent.   And I'm weary of going down that Rabbit Hole as a Blog Topic to have to be addressed about things we shouldn't even be having to tolerate at all... not in our Politics and not in our everyday Lives being so Unsafe from other Citizens projecting their Anger or Hatred against one another or against a perceived "Enemy" of their own choosing.

I'm even starting to have Visions and Bad Dreams about things that haven't happened yet, but I'm sure are vivid enuf they could be Premonitions I wanna be Wrong about!!!   My Premonitions have rarely been inaccurate so it is unsettling to me.   I tell The Man about them sometimes becoz he knows how upset I get and asks Why?   But refrain more often from giving Life to any of it, and Oxygen to Evil, by speaking it out loud or Writing about the worst of it.   I don't particularly Care to document it and then say, "Well, told you so...", if there's nothing I can personally do to alter the course of any of it happening.  Usually a Premonition that can be altered if Warning is given and taken Seriously involves a limited number of people, often even just mebbe One you can Warn... a whole Nation... well, that's daunting, isn't it?   So, it all seems inevitable and like Watching a Train Wreck BEFORE it actually happens, but WILL happen, and you know it without a Shadow of a Doubt.  This is Why I guess I've always been somewhat of a Fatalist by Nature, I know some things are predetermined to happen, and they just do. 

I'd be difficult to be around if I spoke about it too often, becoz it's difficult enuf for me to have a Knowing of, without spreading that Knowing for other people to be Emotionally and Mentally burdened with.  I never Liked having accurate Premonitions, but, I have to say it's Saved my Life and the Life of some I could Forewarn, so, it hasn't all been Bad to have either.   My Mom had it and almost all of her immediate Family had it, so we just accepted it as our 'Normal' even tho' it mostly Scares other people and they think it's some kind of Witchcraft to have Gifts of Prophesy, some are Skeptics, others, when you Predict something will happen before it does, become Believers and then they're really rattled by you.  It's commonly misunderstood by those who don't have it, those who do Secretly have it, or Openly have it, know how it is, so they can relate and have a Point of Reference.   I don't know why everyone doesn't have it actually, it would probably be more Helpful, but, not always I guess for the things predetermined to play out as they just will anyway.

I have Insomnia again Tonight becoz I keep having recurrent Visions that just won't go away, and mostly come in my Sleep.  And, I just don't wanna be bothered by them again, but can't always Block them.  None of it is Good and I strongly feel is predetermined and will just happen, and so I don't even wanna Blog about it or Talk about it.  It's difficult enuf to wrap my own Head around and go on daily as if nothing will be Wrong, when, clearly it will be on an Epic Scale I've never seen in my own Lifetime.   I've seen a lot of Bad Things over almost Seven Decades of Trips around the Sun, but not at this level ever before.  It does Scare me and I don't Scare easily.   So, I try to Block it just so I don't have to Think about it or have it ruin every Day that I could try to be enjoying and have a semblance of Normalcy about them for now.   I get that sense of Urgency and almost a Panic looming ever closer tho', shaking it off won't be all that Helpful really.   America is in Serious Trouble tho' and far too many seem oblivious of that Fact.

Moving On in Topics, coz, I just HAVE to, don't I?   In order to stay Sane. *Le Sigh*   My Nanna and my Mom used to just tell me that to be Forewarned is to be Forearmed, so don't resent being Guided by your Visions given to you.  Those that don't Know have more likelihood of perishing.   That's not exactly comforting, but it is sadly True.  Anyway, back to the Fluff of Life to Balance things and remain Centered.  My Chili turned out so damned good this time there was one Serving as a Leftover.  *LOL*   I got a Can of something from "Sprouts" called Chili Starter, they had Mild and they had Medium, the Can is quite large, I bought one of each and used the Mild this time.  I shall be Buying it again now, it's $4.99 a Can but OMG it made a startling difference to a Chili Flavor Profile.  I think it will regardless of what other ingredients you wanna use in your Chili.  

 

 Everyone liked the combo of the Proteins I used this time too.  The Pork Sausage used was the second Mystery Meat nobody could identify, tho' they could tell what the Ground Peppered Beef was, but liked.  *Bwahahahaha*   Anyway, success of another good Chili creation everyone gave a hearty Thumbs Up to.   We always Rate 'em, and Honestly, I seem to make a different one each time becoz my Memory just isn't great enuf to replicate anything twice that I Create.  *Smiles*  I am not consistent with replicating any Art Form and never have been, so when it's really Good, well, it is likely to be a One Off so don't think you might ever get a replication of it.  *LOL*   When I used to Create Fabric Art for Clients that was my Pet Peeve, they'd see something I'd already Created once and want something exactly like it and that was never happening, not even with intention or for any amount of Money offered.

And even IF I could have done it, I doubt I'd of wanted to.  Coz replicating things isn't my Jam and would bore me to Tears.  To where I wouldn't wanna be churning out replications of the same damned thing over and over again, no matter how good it might have been.   I loathe mass produced items, even tho' I know it's necessary in some cases and for some things in order to make it available to everyone that wants or needs one.   It's practical for many things, like Cars, for example, otherwise, how could anyone fix or maintain one if every one was different?   But with any Art Form... consistency is also key, especially in Cuisine, so, I could never do it Professionally, is all I'm saying.  *Winks*  You'd come for that Chili you just LOVED and never get it again in this Kitchen.  *Bwahahahhaa*  It's what The Family have just come to expect when Yours Truly is making something to eat.

And I guess Dear Readers have come to expect in my Blog too, all you can really expect with consistency, is that I'll go Long.  *Bwahahaha*  And the rest, of the actual Content, or the Imagery, is a total crap shoot and Organically tied to my Stream of Consciousness at the time.  And that's a Rabbit Hole that when you fall down it, can be quite a Trip, or, so I'm told... *Smiles*   Let us just say that The Man has always said he could never reside or even Survive inside of MY Head Space... becoz it would make Alice's Wonderland seem not so Strange or Uncommon at all... *Winks*   And when he saw I was wearing my Alice In Wonderland Liquid Blue Shirt with Alice peeking over a Mushroom at a Hookah Smoking Caterpillar sitting on it, in a Field of Daffodils, he says, "That's how your World just LOOKS on any given Day to you, doesn't it?"   And... he's not Wrong...

*******

You learn to live in whatever World you're given and just learn to navigate it on this Journey that is Life... Dawn... The Bohemian