Firestick

Firestick, or Euphorbia Tirucalli, is a plant you don't see every day. I do - this one is just outside the front door. I have seen them red on top, and assumed that was why they were called 'firestick,' but now that I have seen the yellow on top it becomes much clearer!

A Bad Day Fishing...

is said to be better than a good day in the office.

A good day fishing, well there's not much better than that!

We've been fishing, but haven't had much luck. We've either been at the wrong spots or using the wrong bait or just plain didn't luck out. Today didn't seem to be any better until we decided to try casting and reeling in the worm instead of using a bobber. Caught this nice bass on the second cast.

Hibiscus Flower

It has been about a year since I posted about my new hibiscus plant I put in a pot outside the front door. I had promised a picture when it flowered; and it already had buds, so I didn't expect it to take this long. Those buds fell off - too much water, typically. I have been ignoring it much more since and now it has rewarded me with this nice bloom

Not sure which picture will turn out better for viewing, so I'll post both! Click on either (or both) for a larger view.

Is IT in the Cards?

The Arizona Cardinals advance to the SUPER BOWL!! Now how about that?! What's next? The Cubs making the World Series?

Always the underdogs, not many believe the Cardinals have much of a chance to beat the Steelers. I don't get it - haven't they seen the Cardianls play these last few weeks? They aren't my team - that will always be the Packers, but they are Karen's team. And, it appears they are a LOT better than they've been given credit for being. There are just under two weeks before the BIG GAME and you can bet we will be watching. The question until then remains...

Is it in the CARDS to win?

Chess

Erik got the Lego chess set for Christmas and he is busy in this shot just putting the people together. There are several more bags for the whole set (mostly what goes around the checkerboard). The set is ultra-cool, and that's fine, but the most important thing is that both boys are now into playing chess. I'll post a shot of the whole thing once it is all together.

Up On the Roof!

While taking down the lights the other day, the boys decided it would be super cool to go up the ladder. After several warnings that the roof was not a play place, they were very good about standing up on the roof. It was near dark and they didn't want to get down! Once I took the ladder away a moment, they changed their minds!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A little late, but the sentiment doesn't go away after the First. We had our power unit go out on the computer. Several days later we finally found a solution: a nearby Bookman's had one for $6 (took two trips to get the right one, but they had one). It was bigger than the original, so it sits outside the computer, but that should just make it easier to get back there and clean/vacuum, right?

We took the Metro from its terminal in Mesa about 4.5 miles from our house to the Arizona Science Center downtown. Unfortunately, it was one of the free days for the public and the ride was a long one - standing both ways. The Metro is our light rail connecting the valley to Phoenix downtown. It is nice, quiet and even has bike racks. It was sold to the voters as the answer for our overcrowding commutes, but I seriously doubted it then and continue to doubt it now. Maybe if gas goes (and stays) up around $4 a gallon again it will seem like the smartest thing the Valley has ever done. If the rail were to run until midnight as opposed to its current 11 p.m. ending, I would probably bike/ride/bike to work & back. There is a stop about a mile and a half from the park.

After the Science Center, we walked over to the Arizona Center for some Uno's. Then we walked back to the Metro stop to head back. It took 55 minutes to ride into downtown; getting back took 90 minutes!

Anyhow, now that the free test-run is complete the Metro appears to run fairly empty. I don't see it all day, so don't know if the commuters are trying to make it work out for them. We did speak to a couple of people who lived in east Mesa and drove to the west Mesa terminal to use the Metro for commuting and they were impressed with the mileage savings (not so impressed with the timing).