Obsessed much?

I've been thinking about this. For a long time. 

I think you will have no trouble concluding that, yes, I am obsessed.

When I first rolled through this intersection (below), it occurred to me that the sign that pointed to Quartzsite, Parker, and Yuma had most of the hard-to-find letters in the classic roadtrip game, Alphabet - the one where you look for letters of the alphabet on signs or other vehicles.

The next time we drove through that intersection, I snapped a picture of the Quartrzsite, Parker, Yuma sign. In the background there was another sign, this one for Carl's Jr. Charbroiled Burgers and Drive Thru.  In that one snapshot, I had all but three of the letters to complete the Alphabet game. (I posted a that picture here.) I was missing F, W, and X. 

That got me to thinking: Does a place exist where one can find all 26 letters of the alphabet in one, outdoor location?  

Luckily, we were due to go through that intersection again in a couple weeks. I just knew they all had to be there on that corner. We were in PhoeniX after all, traveling on I-10 West.

Here's a video as we exit the freeway, heading west on I-10:

It's a little fuzzy but on the right side of the intersection is the Quartzite, Parker, Yuma sign I posted before with the Carl's Jr. sign in the background. Then, I swing left, where you can see the sign for I-10 East, I-10 West, and AZ 95 North.

That gave me the W.

If you look closely at the video, you will note the truck that turns in front of us is hauling for HeartLand Express.

That gave me the X.

Then, right at the end of the video, I zoom in. In the background are a couple of billboards. The yellow one on the right is for some king of car protection. At the bottom in a read area it reads, "RV and Off Road" giving me the F.

There you go. All 26 letters.

But I still wasn't satisfied because if the truck hadn't rolled through I would still be one letter short.

So I took another video. (If we haven't already arrived at "obsessed," I think I can say we have arrived now.)

In this video, we are approaching the intersection from the north and the first sign you see points the way to Phoenix and Los Angeles. There you go! I have the X!

From there, you will see the I-10 West sign, the Quartzite, Parker, Yuma and Carl's Jr. signs, finally followed by the Off Road sign.

Ta dah! All 26 letters! 

But not from one vantage point. The search continues.

Retired for another year.

 

Ah, yes. Another Christmas is over and I get to relax. Being grumpy is a lot of hard work so I deserve to take it easy for a while. At least until next year.

Now, it's time to wash the suit and hang it to dry. Besides, Hubby turned the heat on in the house. The green suit is too warm for my comfort unless it's rather chilly which is usually the case in December. Besides, the suit doesn't have pockets. Where am I to carry lumps of coal?

The days are slowly getting longer. Hopes are getting brighter. These are not ideal conditions for a Grinch. No, I like long, dark, cold nights. 

Maybe I should see about getting a Cupid onesie. Or a Easter Bunny one. No, by April it's way too warm to wear a onesie. And I don't think Cupid wore very much at all. Might be too chilly in February.

Harumph. I guess I'll have to muddle through somehow. At least for the next eleven months.

10 miles

Average walking speed: 13 minutes, 55 seconds per mile. Fastest mile: 13 minutes, 14 seconds.

Blazing!
 

Just a little 9-mile stroll.*

 

This is what a 9-mile walk around my neighborhood looks like. You can see there is a lot of back and forth in some places as I try to maximize the number of miles I can cover just within my community. (I'm working up to 13 miles. Maybe more. Who knows?)

I told my granddaughter that I was going to walk 9 miles this morning. She said, "I ran a mile today and I was panting but you know what? When anyone tells me that I'm short, I tell them, 'Yeah, well my grandmother can outrun your grandmother. So there.'"

I love her.

*By stroll, I mean power walking at an average speed of 14:04 today.

Alphabet Game

If you look closely at this photograph you may notice, as I did, that all of the letters of the alphabet can be found. 

Almost . . . .

All you would need is this truck to roll through the scene and then you would have them all.

Oh, yes. This is the kind of thing that makes me happy.

I wonder if there are places where you can find all 26 letters of the alphabet in one place.

What do you think?

Cards for the Funny People in Your Life

 

Maple Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

This is available at Jensen's in Palm Desert at this price until November 26. We just had a couple last night and they were outstanding! The butcher suggested cooking them at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. I did it in my microwave/convection oven at 350 (convection) for 20 minutes, turning them after 10.  I then left the door closed and let them rest while I finished setting the table and preparing the sides. 

They were perfectly juicy and tender! I served them with mashed sweet potatoes flavored with a little ground nutmeg, and sautéed green beans (fresh from L&G Desert Store).

I highly recommend that you drive over to Palm Desert and get some! (... if we get a break in the weather, that is.)

The Black Magnet

If it's black, my hair is on it. Don't worry about yellow. Or red, or white, or pink. Even blue somehow escapes it. But, black? Black is a hair magnet.

If you have thinning hair, consider wearing something other than black.

Also, stay out of the bathroom. Bathrooms collect more hair than any other room. 

You're welcome.

La Hermosa Mujer

We came across a woman who was wearing a face mask. Nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like she was a worker at our neighborhood restaurant. She was leaving as we were arriving.

Hubby said he thought she looked happy. He gestured at his face, trying to indicate a smile. As if she might be smiling under her mask.

She didn't understand and removed her mask. She was embarrassed. She said, "Soy muy fea." I am very ugly.

"No, " I said. "Él dice que tú parece feliz." He says you seem happy.

She said, "Mi cara marca." My face marks. She pointed to the skin on her face which had some discoloration. I imagine she did her best to cover it with makeup (in addition to the mask) but they weren't ugly. Not even close. 

"No!" I said. "Tú eres bonita!" You are pretty!

There were moments of silence as she gazed at me with beautiful blue eyes, almost on the brink of tears. "Thank you," she said.

As we parted, I made the sign for beautiful saying "hermosa." Beautiful. 

She said, "Tú también." You as well.

We came across a beautiful woman.