Ruby Tuesday

Here in Montana there seems to be a fascination with Mexican Food. There are more Mexican restaurants than in Arizona. I counted ten in the phone book. This little mural was on the building where I had the bad breakfast. I didn't know when I went in that was their specialty. Since I work in a Mexican restaurant I really would eat something different on my day off. That is why I ordered the breakfast. Maybe I should have stuck to the Mexican food.





More Ruby Tuesday here

Sunday Outing

The man of the house had to work today. So I decided to do a little exploring on my own. I set out without a destination. Just headed down the highway to see what I could see. I stayed on a paved road, no off road adventures today. Read about my off road adventure here. Main stree became a highway and stores disappeared as wheat fields stretched out to the horizon. The mountains in the distance glowed a hazy blue. I came to a crossroads. Four directions, which would be the best? For no paticular reason I turned left. This highway was narrow and had more traffic. I figured something good must be down this road. My stomach began to growl and I decided to look for a restaurant.

A few miles later a sign This looked like an interesting place. I pulled in and took a few pictures then walked in to enjoy a gourmet meal.

I settled on the country breakfast. A few people were playing horseshoes in the yard. The patio was nice, a little breezy but I am trying to soak up as much sun as I can before the brutal winter sets in.

Starving, I was happy to see my breakfast arrive. It looked good and big. I began to chow down, ugh the hash browns were cold. Oh well, I poured on ketchup and moved on. I bit into the bacon, it was as tough as jerky. By appearance it had spent the morning under the heat lamp, which had sucked every bit of grease out of it. Good for the heart but not the taste buds. The scrambled eggs were very unusual. They looked like fettuccine, long egg strands. Which brings me to the item that had inspired my decision, the biscuit and sausage gravy. This is a childhood favorite that I only eat out; once in awhile; because it is difficult to make for one and it is not good for me. The "fluffy" biscuit could have been used for a hockey puck.

I ate what I could and set off for the rest of my adventure. A little ways down the road I ran across a yard sale. The only item I bought was bottle opener. The rest of the day was just as uneventful. But at least I got out of the restaurant and the house for a while.

School Starts

We live in a college town and the students are starting to come back. The area near the university is congested with cars. The hundreds of for rent signs have dwindled to a few. The local buzz revolves around the coming football season. Students on bikes, backpacks bulging are crowding the bike lanes and making driving a precarious endeavor.

All this activity takes me back to my first days of college. I can see myself as if were yesterday. There I was wearing stripped bell bottoms and a leotard. I was a Drama Major and leotards were standard attire. Standing in the hot Arizona, August sun I clutched my schedule book with its carefully marked chosen classes.

Today enrolling in classes is done by punching a few computer keys and plugging in daddy's credit card. In a matter of minutes your schedule is complete and paid for. Then you can hang out with friends in the student lounge or at a local pub. Back then you had to stand in line to sign up for each class. If it were a popular class they might run out of space before you got to the front. Then you had to stand in line for your second choice. Enrolling was an all day affair.

My first semester of college cost me about $100.00. You read that right, not $1000.00 but one hundred smackoroos! I had a grant from the Arizona Board of Regents. They were trying to encourage enrollment by locals. Every student that graduated from an Arizona high school in the top third of the class was given enough money to pay for tuition and extra for books. What a gonga!

Now I am living much like I did in those early college days. I work in a restaurant to make a living. My apartment is in a large complex catering to college students.
There motto is where the cats rest their paws. I am still a cat, not a Wild Cat but a Bob cat. The apartment is furnished with castoffs. Read here about furnishing my new home.

That young fresh faced girl stood in line excited about her future, pleased with her choice to be a teacher. She had no idea what twist and turns her life would take, but she was looking forward to the ride. She still is.

These are random shots taken crossing Bearthooth Pass on our way to Montana in eary June.

More Nature Notes Thursday here.

Ruby Tuesday

Camping in a tent is a little hard on old bones. You also get a bit grungy after a few days of spit baths. So on our camping trip every few days we would splurge for a hotel. Counting our pennies we picked local simple joints. We also like the charm of cabins and and the idea of supporting a small business. We picked just such a place in Riverton, Wyoming. It was an old motel the type that had been prevalent before the interstate and chains dominated the scene.

A series of rooms built to resemble cabins formed a square around a court yard. The motel welcomed pets an important component in our decisions these days. Meet Boss here

The courtyard also held a grill for use by the guest. I knew the steak and the sausages in my cooler needed to be used before they became money down the drain so this was an added bonus.

Boss and I sat out on the porch and had several visitors. The motel housed several people that called this little cabin home. Their canine friends came to check out the new arrivals. A lot of friendly sniffing went on. No barking or roughhousing took place, all were well behaved as if a guest had been invited to stay.

Boss and I took a walk around the block. As we came around a large bush I jumped back with a stuffed scream. There were three homeless people huddled under the bush drinking questionable beverages out of a paper sack. Boss is a friendly character and wanted to visit but I hustled him along. We went back to the motel by a different route.

I cooked our dinner as Boss cruised the fenced play yard. We ate later in our room, watched TV, and called it a night. The next morning was a Tuesday and I spotted these three red vehicle. I had to take a picture for Ruby Tuesday. HRT



More Ruby Tuesday

Street Party

Yesterday we partied all day. The corona was icy cold, the tacos were delicious and the chorizo burgers spicy. The Restaurant Slave Driver throws a street party once a month during the summer. It was a fun filled day at work.

We dragged all the tables and chairs out onto the street which is closed to traffic just for the party. The tubs are filled with beer and the grill produces fragrant smoke that drifts down the street attracting customers. The crew in sombreros and corona t-shirts have as much fun as the party guest.


The children get a chance to break a pinata. Face painting is also a favorite.

Two bands played through the day. As the evening came on more dancers filled the street. This one was really rocking.

A long but happy day.

Red Cars On Main

HRT

Old Cars

When I was a teenager a favorite past time was cruising Speedway. We would load up in someones car and drive from one end of town to the other. Many time we would park at Johnnies drive in and watch the parade go by. For the price of a burger and coke; less than $1; you could spend a few hours with your friends and maybe meet Mr. Right.

This weekend brought back those memories. A car show with several models I had owned was on Main Street.

The man of the house owned a car similar to the blue car pictured. The old car was worth a photo.

After our tour down memory lane we stopped at a restaurant. We enjoyed a burger and coke. The price was well over a dollar.

Natural is Better

I have seen a commercial lately with young women "who says you have to have twelve period a year", etc. It is an ad for a new pill where you only have four periods a year. Hallelujah, I would sing also if I had to worry about that sort of thing. But what are the long term effects of this miracle drug? I know, I know, they did studies and it is safe. So many thing seem safe and test safe in the beginning and turn out very bad. How about agent orange, did we know the repercussion's that would have?

Diet cola, diet pudding, diet cookies with all the diet products why are we more obese than ever? Just look around a lot of people are fat.

Mom sent me an e-mail about the danger of margarine. The story goes it was created to make turkeys fatter but they died and the inventors didn't want to lose their money. So yellow food coloring was added and voila we had margarine. I don't know if this is true, no research on my part, because I don't eat margarine. I became aware of the problem with trans fats many years ago.

So what does all this rambling have to do with anything. It's in the title. Nature the supreme being whatever you want to believe, created us to have twelve periods a year. Cows give milk and you make butter a natural substance that has been around for thousand of years. Honey is created naturally and that is how I prefer to sweeten my food. As for chemicals in general I try to stay as natural as possible. A little elbow grease goes along way and maybe I will work off some of that weight.

Ruby Tuesday

The crown prince greets customers at 18 Miles To The Border.




With a little imagination you can pretend your in Mexico




More Ruby Tuesday Here

Bounty in Montana

As a new resident Pottery Barn sent me a catalogue welcoming me to the community. I arrived in Montana with camping gear. Two sleeping bags, a tent and camping chairs. I now have a couch, TV, microwave, two tables and a mattress. Did I go shopping at Pottery Barn? No! All of these things were free That's right one mans trash became my treasure. Mom and I were driving down the street when she spotted a table with a sign free on it, into the back of my truck it went. The man of the house volunteers at a thrift store. He agreed to do this to meet new friends and give back to society. The benefits are great. Many of the donations do not meet the criteria to sell and end up in my apartment. These are nice things, not new, but still a lot of good wear in them. One of my new hobbies is dumpster diving. Yesterday the dumpster yielded a bathroom rug, two wine glassed an a 5' spiral Christmas tree. As an added bonus I can say I am really green. This is the ultimate in recycling. With this bounty who needs Pottery Barn.

All About Boss

Sunning on the patio is fun. We will see how he likes it when snow covered.

Boss has a new couch

Boss likes to wrestle with Gracie.

Boss has new friends. But misses his old friends
Meet Boss here
More Bossand here

Happy Birthday Annice

18 Miles To The Border

The Resaurant slave driver and his fairy princess love Mexico and the beach. They live in Montana where it is cold... So they brought Mexico to Montana.


Come on in the Margerties are fine and the beer is cold. The food is the best north of the border. A family fun place to work and eat.

Red in Red Lodge

Red Lodge Montana is a charming little town. We had just finished a harrowing crossing of Beartooth Pass and my nerves were a little shot from negotiating the hairpin turns, narrow roadways and sheer drop off cliff sides. The descent had been more difficult than the climb up. That is how I always feel. It seem much easier going up than coming down. A woodland creature welcomed us just outside of town.
We wanted to spend the night but the town was overrun with bikers, the motorcycle kind, not bicycles. We decided to eat some lunch and head on down the road.
The Red Box Car offered up delicious burgers and fries, always a favorite of the man of the house. Exploration led to this old building. The date on the plaque read 1910 it was first a brewery that was shut down during prohibition and then became a pea canning factory. Today it stands empty. It was getting late and we roared out of town leaving behind the choppers and mayhem for the serenity of a night camping in the forest. HRT For more ruby Tuesday click here.