friendly bird

No, this is not the friendly bird, this is the 20lb cooked bird we did for Thanksgiving and my friend, Alicia, who so graciously made us the best gravy ever:)....and i dont know why it is underlying my words in blue????
So, forgive me if they are one in the same but this little guy was too cute to not take a dozen pictures and i think i took more than that. I am pretty sure it is an Anna's and i thought there were some great shots...kinda one in the same:)

Presott days....

Hola, sorry it has taken me forever to post another blog:( I have a few other pictures that i will get up here before we head back down to Mexico for New Year's!! Do you guys have plans, we realized that we have not spent a new year's eve by ourselves since we rang in 2007 at a B&B in Sandpoint, ID-you have been a part of our newyear's celebration for the last 2 years:(
So, here goes....

I have never seen a cat play with it's tail but this is Player's new thing, chasing his tail, catching it and then cleaning it incessently...i have no explanation except that he is bored with Tymba.
brrr, it was cold in Prescott! Shyam kept reminding me to make sure i brought enough layers and then he ended up getting sick after:(

Cannot see Kohl's baby bump but it is there:) they are talkin Bryson James Tidwell-Shepard for a boy...i am trying to convince Shyama not to allow his nephew to be named after felatio!

This was taken the first day we got to Prescott. After spending the afternoon visiting, exchanging gifts and going out for a late lunch we decided to check out Willow Lake..lost track of time but got this great shot! shyama and i woke up earlier the next morning to check it out again:)..i wanted to see all the birds and there were a ton of waterfowl!!

still trying to figure out what kinda cactus this is?

i spy a canyon wren, what a puffin!

just us being artistic with the camera...

Who'da thunk it? I love this little town so quaint and all the sw stone jewelry and antiques with such a homey feeling.

This was our hike that we planned on the way home from Prescott, unfortunately there wasnt much to it, it was really just a walk and it led us to a wash. It was cool to see some water in the desert but there was really nothing around, no wildlife and not much scenery:(

Guess who lives in these holes..i say a gila woodpecker...anyone else?

This was me trying to be artistic with the prickly pear..eh-not so much:)

shyama spotted this tiny cactus under some brush, guess i didnt give it anything to compare its size to....so you really cannot tell it is tiny:(

Thinking of you and thank you thank you again for the awesome bamboo steamer! We are so excited to put it to good use! I learned how to make jelly...if i get ambitious i will send you some:) take care

Pics of the House...Finally :)

Horray! There she is! Decked out in all its Christmas cheer. I've got neighbors to my right and left, with a small yard in the back and a patch of grass in the front. She is unassuming, but so far I like the layout.


It is one of the weirdest combination of furniture that just does not work, but none-the-less I call it home. The table the tv is on is actually an old-fashioned stereo with hidden speaker and a turntable in it. The record player does not work, but might be fixable, but then again I don't think I want it.

There is a tiny dining room that is interesting but not really my style. On the other side of the wall with the picture on it, is the kitchen. I'd like to just take out the dining room stuff and open that wall up to the kitchen. That way the room will open up in a more modern floor plan.

My favorite room in the house, the bright white kitchen. It is a little small but I am not complaining. This kitchen can crank out some great food. Right now, the fridge has got some big steaks in it, marinating, just waiting to be cooked. I usually eat on the counter top, with the bar stools, eventually I will get a kitchen table.




This is where the kitchen table will go. It is a nice space that ends with an attached patio. The carpeting in the patio area had to come up so that is why you might be able to see it's patchy looking.







This room is a small guest room that has a single bed in it. Ideally, I would like to make this room a study or office. Maybe put a desk under the window...






Right now, this spare room is storage for a lot of my Grandmothers things. In the future, it will have a queen-sized bed in it for guests. There is a bathroom in the hallway that I might consider trying to link to the guest room.




This is the master bedroom in all its grandeur. There is a bathroom off to the right however it is really small. My first big project is going to be to add some floor space to the bathroom by chopping the closet in half.



Well, take care everyone!! I hope you all have a good Christmas and New Years!
Steve

Just another morning at work....

I have to admit i love collecting a paycheck for this every morning;) Cannot wait to take you guys out sometime!!


These 2 were taken the day after a full moon. I missed out on taking pictures of the full moon but will get on it next month! It was an amazing sight! It was like the moon was a giant right in front of us and we just watched it disappear out of sight...next time!

































This is the view from West Craters Observation Point, it is the best during good sunrises because it is the most open compared to other OP's.




Saguaro cacti are protected but nothing can protect you from bullets...it is pretty obvious that pilots have purposely taken this cactus out:(

Our new neighbor!

Our new neighbor is this juvenile hummingbird and she is the best new neighbor anyone could ask for:) SHe has completely taken over the backyard and chases away other hummers:) I am still working on identification... i think it is an Anna's or a Costa's....here are some photos of her favorite perches





























And then to top off the morning she scared this Gila Woodpecker from the feeder, crazy lil booger!

I take this man to be my house husband..forever:)

OK, so now i was able to finish this blog:)
All i wanted after Thanksgiving was turkey noodle soup and boy did he come through:)

Mmmm, a more delicious picture of Shyam's carne asada
I begged him to make this catfish gumbo and he was pleasantly surprised..it was amazing!

And last night, he put any carne asada i have ever made to shame, yes-i am willing to admit it:( and he topped it off with a papaya, mango, jalapeno salsa...fucking delish

Thanksgiving Weekend

Saturday after Thanksgiving was finally a nice day outside and I was able to get some yard work done. After 10 bags of leaves and debris, the small backyard was finally looking good. My Dad helped and we were able to clean the gutters and the roof. The weather has been ridiculous, raining constantly and knocking the power out. Every time I work outside, it ends up pouring down rain and muddying the place up.

No laughing at this picture. :-o) My Dad took me flying on Sunday around Norfolk and Virginia Beach. I think at this picture we were between 1500 feet and 2000 ft. up. It was a perfect day for flying.

The headphones are necessary, because you are basically sitting right behind a large engine. It is loud as hell. The sunglasses are just because I felt cool up there. It was so bright up there that this was the best shot of the instrument panel I could get. And as you could imagine, I was not aloud to touch anything, not that I would want to start hitting switches.
We got clearance to fly over Norfolk Naval Station and got to see a bunch of ships. I tried to get my Dad to land on an aircraft carrier, but apparently that is no bueno. If you look closely you can see a bunch of cars and trucks on the deck. If you look real close they will take your camera and send ya to Gitmo. Just kidding.






The sun was shining right into the camera, so the picture is not of very good quality, but we had a good view of Virginia Beach. I have yet to set foot on it, weather has sucked. Since it is winter time, maybe I should consider going to the beach. Who am I kidding, I'll get burned no matter when I go.

Take care everyone,
Steve

shyama's new ride

can i get a hell yeah? what do ya think steve? its an '81 honda 750 supersport. i know, its pretty old, but its in really good condition and only has 13,000 miles on it. rides like a dream too... the honda logos are missing from the gas tank, but i'm not concerned about those. i'm a little worried about having such an old bike, but the previous owner took really good care of it, and its in great condition considering its only 2 years younger than me. i know i'll have to beef up my mechanical skills to take good care of it, but i think its worth it. this is the kind of bike i've always wanted, and its practically a collector's item at this point. so what can i say, i'm stoked!

thats our house there in the background. note the sunshine and blue skies :) ah yes, the american dream. i still haven't seen a gila monster yet... oh well, i'll probably hit one eventually on my bike... as long as i don't end up wrapped around a 20 foot saguaro i'll be happy. okay, thats it. just wanted to show off the bike. hope this finds you happy and healthy, i won't bother addressing taj cuz i'm pretty sure he hasn't checked out the blog yet. i've been enjoying all your posts though steve, keep it up. -shyam