Murphy's Other Laws

1. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film. 
2. He who laughs last, thinks slowest. 
3. A day without sunshine is like, well, night. 
4. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. 
5. Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse? 
6. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory. 
7. When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty. 
8. Seen it all, done it all. Can't remember most of it. 
9. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't. 
10. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe. 
11. He's not dead. He's electroencephalographically challenged. 
12. She's always late. In fact, her ancestors arrived on the "Juneflower." 
13. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you.

14. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.
15. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
16. Pardon my driving. I'm reloading.
17. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how it remains so popular?
18. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
19. It is hard to understand how a cemetery can raise its burial costs and blame it on the higher cost of living.
20. Just remember: if the world did not suck, we'd fall off.
21. The 50-50-90 rule:  any time you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there is a 90% chance you will get it wrong.
22. It is said that if you line up all of the cars in the world end to end, someone will be stupid enough to try to pass them.
23. You can't have everything.  Where would you put it?
24. Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world population.
25. If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.
26. The things that come to those who wait may be the things left by those who got there first.
27. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking.
28.  Flashlight:  A case for holding dead batteries.
29. The shin bone is a device for finding furniture.
30. A fin is a tax for doing wrong.  A tax is a fine for doing well.
31. It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
32. Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens.
33. I wished the buck stopped here.  I could use a few.
34. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
35.  When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who were not smart enough to get out of jury duty.
36. Light travels faster than sound.  That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Changing how and what we eat

Debbie and I started changing how and what we eat with a little encouragement (perhaps more than a little) from Megan, our middle-daughter who recently graduated from OU with graduate degrees in nutrition and dietetics.  Yeah, I wrote OU.  No "S".  All of us are OSU graduates but Megan had to attend OU to get her graduate degrees.  It's funny because she wore orange whenever possible. 

Anyway, Debbie and I are eating less fried food, less red meat and a lot more veggies, fruit, chicken and fish.  Debbie has found some good recipes.  Megan has shared a few.  Roasted cauliflower with buffalo hot sauce is a surprisingly good thing to pop into the mouth.  Debbie has roasted Brussels sprouts with a garlic sauce and with a balsamic and honey glaze.  Those were good, too.  We have eaten salmon, mahi mahi, and tilapia to the extent that Debbie wonders if we will grow gills.  Debbie has made several dishes with cous cous and quinoa.  It turns out those are pretty good, too.  I ate a fish taco for the first time at Megan's a few weeks ago.  Debbie made some again on Sunday.  It seems wrong to eat a taco without grilled pork or ground beef, but fish tacos are tasty.

Debbie and I made a road trip on Saturday.  During the trip, we both ate a hamburger.  The burger did not sit so well in the stomach after eating veggies, fruits, baked fish and chicken.  I felt like I ate a brick for several hours after lunch. 

We have been doing this for a couple of months.  So far, neither of us can tell a difference in our weight.  Oh, yeah.  We have added exercise to the regimen.  I can see a difference in Debbie's physique but she refuses to admit noticing it.  The changes are subtle.  One thing we both notice is that we can climb stairs and walk farther without getting winded.  We will continue working on making changes. 

Have a great day.

Talimena Scenic Drive and Heavener Runestone Park

It has been a long time since I posted anything on here.  Debbie and I spent all day last Saturday traveling from Oklahoma City to SE Oklahoma to travel the Talimena Scenic Drive between Talihina, OK and Mena, AR.  The two lane road, Oklahoma Highway 1 and Arkansas Highway 88, is listed as an American Byway.  Talimena Scenic Drive.  Our goal was to see the fall foliage.  As it turns out, we were a few days early in Oklahoma because not too many leaves had changed yet and too late in Arkansas, where most of the leaves had already fallen. But, we saw some great vistas.

 

 

 

We saw a flock of pelicans flying south, perhaps for Florida.

Once in a while, the sun would shine just enough to see a bit of color.

We stopped at the Queen Wilhelmina State Park for a break.  The park is a few miles east of the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line.  The park has a nice lodge and restaurant plus several nice camping spots with parking for RVs.  It looked like a nice place to spend a weekend.  If you visit, ride the train and watch out for bears.

The trees were mostly barren of leaves in Arkansas.  There were a few patches of color.

It took us about 4 hours to make the trip from Talihina to Mena.  Not sure why exactly because the entire route is only about 50 miles.  Guess it takes that long to enjoy the scenery.

We drove for three hours from OKC to Talihina.  The sun was shining until we were a few miles from Talihina.  The clouds did not clear out until we left Mena and headed toward Heavener, Oklahoma.  The SE part of Oklahoma is beautiful whether the sun shines or not, but the changing tree leaves really do not pop out of the landscape without the sun.

We ate lunch at the Chopping Block Steakhouse in Mena, AR. A nice log cabin building that was filled with a lot of bikers and families.  The owner was milling around talking to customers and instructing workers to clean tables for those of us waiting to have our meal.

We wanted to find a Sonic and get some tea.  Debbie searched the www on her phone and found a Sonic in Mena.  When she mapped the location this is what was displayed on her phone:

For some reason, her phone thought we were in Tennessee!

After the meal, we went to Heavener and visited the Heavener Runestone State Park.  Heavener Runestone State Park.  There is a huge piece of shale with Viking runes carved into it.  The runes are estimated to be at least 1,300 years old.  The "state" park is no longer funded by the State of Oklahoma.  The park is managed by a non-profit organization.  The walking trails are a bit shabby as is the building housing the runestone.  We made a donation while we were there, but I doubt it will help as much as needed.

The runestone is down in a valley.  Looking up from the runestone, you can see shale outcroppings and a small waterfall.  Someone, perhaps the WPA, built a dam at the base of the waterfall.  The dam does not appear capable of holding water, but it is pretty cool.

The runestone is inside a building, which is in various states of disrepair.  Hopefully the non-profit organization can somehow get funding to make the repairs and protect the stone.



If you get a chance to drive either the Talimena Scenic Drive or visit the Heavener Runestone State Park, do so.  Debbie and I traveled for 13 hours and 508 miles.  We saw some great Oklahoma and Arkansas country.  It was a long day but fun, too.