Tony Brewer

I was recently invited to an uncle’s 70th birthday party.  It is coming up in two weeks.  I was racking my brain, trying to figure out what in the world to get this smart-aleck guy who loves to needle everyone until they snap.  Well, I was thinking about his house, and how he had decorated two of his rooms with a pink flamingo theme as a joke.  One is a bedroom; the other is the adjoining bathroom. 

Well, I had to laugh when I found a pink flamingo rubber ducky on a website that sells retro baby clothing. They sell a wide variety of retro baby rompers, onesies, dresses, diaper covers, and baby accessories.  I was browsing that site because Teri had left it on the computer and when I sat down I saw the rubber duckies page.  What a laugh they gave me, a variety of character rubber duckies that would bring a grin to just about any adult I know!  Who says rubber duckies are for babies?

Later I asked Teri why she had that website up on the computer and she explained that one of her co-workers is pregnant (expecting a girl!)  and they are holding a baby shower for her soon.  She said that she wanted to buy her something “retro” for a baby gift and fell in love with the baby romper that is called “Lotus Love” – it looks very “tie-dye.”   I have to admit that would look really cute on a baby girl!

Teri has been naggingasking me for a long time now to buy and install an electric garage door opener.  I don’t know why our place didn’t come with one in the first place, but it didn’t.  Teri keeps telling me that it would make our lives so much easier, especially when we need to haul groceries inside from the car.  I’ve been putting it off because I really didn’t think it was that big a deal; the garage is basically a storage space and not really used to store any cars, so it really isn’t necessary to put in an electric garage door opener.  Teri also says it would be good on those occasions when we got out and expect to come home before dark but end up coming home after dark we would have to fumble around with flashlights and keys, we could just press the remote control button and the garage door would automatically open and turn on the garage light, which would enable us to find our way back into the house.

Well, as I said, I’ve been putting it off for as long as I can.  Last week it was pouring rain – really hard when we came home from grocery shopping and we got drenched trying to haul the groceries in.  So I think I’ll start to consider getting a garage door opener after all.  I think Teri maybe has a valid point after all!

I’ve noticed that we use a lot of paper.  Not just here at home, or in the office, but as a complete society.  We LOVE paper!  When Teri and I go to the arts & crafts stores, Teri likes to go into the scrapbooking aisle and see what new and exciting papers they have there for her to buy and add to her stash of scrapbooking paper.  I have to admit that there are a lot of very pretty papers available for scrapbooking!

I like to use a variety of papers in my printer, depending on what kind of “effect” I want to have on the person receiving the paper (assuming it is a letter or professional proposal.)  I like to use recycled paper whenever possible; it makes me feel like I’m making a difference in the efforts to keep the world from self-destruction!

I recently found out from the paper-papers.com website that I can buy paper made from cotton!  I was looking at that website and was impressed with the wide selection of papers that they sell.  I wonder if that is more eco-friendly than recycled paper?  I’ll have to ask my nephew Jon, who seems to know all about that kind of thing!  He’s been studying Environmental Engineering at Princeton and it seems that every time I see him he’s telling me things about the newest efforts to keep the world’s pollution problems at a minimum.

We got a gift card for Christmas last year that we never used.  There’s nothing wrong with the card, it’s just that so far every time we’ve gone to that store we could not find anything we liked that was completely covered by the gift card, and we didn’t like anything well enough to actually pay extra money towards!  We just can’t justify spending more money on top of the value of the gift card to buy something we really don’t care for very much!  Add to that the fact that the closest branch of that store is an hour’s drive away, and it really is rather an aggravation even having the card!  Maybe we should go online and see if we can find something on their online store that we can use it for!  I’ll suggest that to Teri the next time I see her!

A lot of people think that when they are out riding one way to get around wearing a good pair of Motorcycle Boots (although this isn’t my opinion) is to wear a good pair of leather high top steel toed sneakers. That really does not provide the protection that your ankle and leg needs when riding a motorcycle.  I know that a lot of people like to “dress for the ride” and like to wear as little as possible while riding their bike, but I think a good motto is to “dress for the fall.”  I’ve seen a few friends make contact with the pavement and what it has done to their bodies is not pretty.  Nor fun.  I think people need to pay closer attention to the important details of wearing helmets and a good pair of leather chaps, and a leather jacket.  These items are not just for show, they are for protection against road rash.

If you are looking for a website where you can buy motorcycle boot made by Chippewa Boots, Dr. Martens, Gear Box Boots, or Rocky, you should check out the copshoes.com website. They have a variety of styles from ankle to knee, and sell boots for both men and women. Prices for their boots start as low as $79.95. Their telephone customer service is available Monday -Friday 8:30 – 5:00 CST.