Saving the best for last

Here's the last of the amusing ads from the April, 1964 GH magazine.



Did I tell you all that I've taken up quilting too? Yes, yes I have. So all of my female friends can expect ga-roovy patchwork aprons like those seen below, for holiday and birthday gifts. How lucky are you? I'm especially fond of the long one. Nothing else says good cookin' like a riotous patchwork of color. I think this ad was for carpet, but what cracked me up was the incredibly chaste scene it portrays. Obviously the man and young woman went to dinner with the woman's parents, seen over by the stairs. Everyone's all dressed up, mom and dad looking on in delight from the staircase to see that nice young man proposing to their virginal daughter in the living room, while at the same time trying to give the couple some privacy. Yeah, just wait mom and pops. This was 1964....in 3 years these two younguns will have long hair, wearing beads, doing acid and be living in San Francisco. We can only hope, anyway.

"Spring Cleaning is an awful job!" the Stepford Wife says exasperatedly. Well, um, maybe if she wasn't wearing a dress and shoes it wouldn't be so bad! Did women really dress up to clean their houses in the 60's? Did all mothers look like June Cleaver? ("Ward, you were a little hard on the beaver last night" snicker snicker). Hm. That reminds me. I have to move the tires out of my bathroom later today. Page 2 of this ad showed a happy and perfectly coifed Stepford Wife, now that AJAX had stepped in to help with the spring cleaning. Now she can go make hubby a martini and fetch his slippers and paper like a good little 60's wife, because if she does......

....maybe he'll come home tomorrow with A Deserving Treat For Kitchen Queens!!! Oh bliss! Oh joy! He's brought me home the Lustroware Elegante Kitchenkeeper set I saw at the S&H Green Stamp store last week! He remembered!!!! The ad goes on to read, "You were meant for each other....because Lustroware Elegante Kitchenkeepers are your 'golden' opportunity to realize dreams of elegance without extravagence." WOW! I believe that 'golden' is in quotes in the ad to point out the fabulously faux gold knobs on the tops of the containers. "You were meant for each other" ? Who, the woman and her set of kitchen canisters? Yes that's it; that's it exactly. We women always have a special relationship with the canisters. Her fixed smile and vacant stare really, really scare me.

Oh now here we go, the ultimate pinnacle of 60's efficiency and space age technology! I bring you the Westinghouse Laundry Center!! You can fit them both under a counter! "Think of all that extra counter space!" Oh that's right, she needs that counter space for her new set of Lustroware Elegante Kitchenkeepers. But check out mom....she is sitting at the built in ironing board, all dressed up and in pumps, dutifully ironing hubby's hankies, but she has her purse on her arm, ala Queen Elizabeth (no disrespect intended). This lady is ready to go, to spring into action, at a moment's notice! And there is sweet and obedient little Sally, playing quietly, waiting for mom to finish.

These next two ads surprised me because I did not know that weight loss was such an issue in the 60's. I thought that this was something relatively knew, since the 80's. There was Tab soda and Fresca, but I had no idea that weight loss products were advertised. This one is for something called "Metrecal dietary", but I can't quite figure out what it is. Is it sweetener? Does it have meals like Jenny Craig? Is it liquid like Slim Fast? Did anyone die after ingesting it?

This was the one that was incredibly offensive, so much so that I couldn't stop laughing when I read it the first time. It's for Sego Liquid Diet Food. "Your Slender Figure was Part of Your Charm.....Would he think so today?" Oh the humanity!! Then it says, "Wouldn't you like to win back the tender admiring glance?" Can you believe this? Oh yes, because I'm sure he's stayed the hunk of burning love he was when she cast tender admiring glances his way!!

"Baked with a Man in Mind". Because it was, after all, all about the men, back in the day. Yeah, um, no. Stepford Wives of the 60's! Stand up! Take your lives back! Throw out your Sego liquid diet food and tuck in to this chocolate cake instead.

1964, Volume 3

"I think my boyfriend is ever so dreamy". Actually it's not that this ad is amusing, but it's amazing to think that calling long distance was something new in 1964, and now we can hold conversations with each other, from all over the world in real time. Like the other day, Julie called me at work from Oregon, and while on the phone w/ her, I was IM'ing Val in London.


I have nothing against this ad or the outdated furniture, but it's the wallpaper that I want to point out. That's a whole lotta paisley. I would not want to be looking at this wall while under the influence of psychedelics. Apparently the people in this ad say that their house came alive after purchasing this piece of furniture. As one who has seen "The Shining" many times, I really do not want my house to EVER come alive.

You mean to tell me that all these years we've been pumping Ritalin into our kids, that attractive glasswear is the secret to obedient and compliant children? Well smack my ass and call me Judy!!!

Also, who slugged this little girl in the face and gave her the black eye? Is that supposed to be cute?

These early ads for "feminine products" are just a SCREAM. "Internal sanitary protection". Could it be more clinical?! Compare this to the "have a happy period" ads that run on TV during dinner and the evening news. "You never have to worry about odor. Or chafing. Or telltale bulges....You feel clean. With no belts, pins, pads to bother you." Criminy. Who knew menstruation used to be so difficult? How did women through the centuries survive? Ok, I guess that's easy for me to say because stick-on pads were available when my childhood was robbed at age 11. But that's another story.

Oh geez, "Kotex Miss Deb - made especially for her" pads for girls......"A soft pink covering on her Miss Deb napkin makes her feel feminine and dainty-just the way a young lady wants to feel at this time." OK, get real people. When I was in 6th grade and got my period, the absolute LAST thing I wanted to do was advertise that fact to every kid in my class, especially to the boys, by carrying a bright pink covered pad to the bathroom. It's not very discreet. You might as well put a flashing arrow over your head that says, "SHE HAS HER PERIOD!" And I gotta tell ya, I've never felt "dainty" in my entire life, much less "at this time."

1964, Volume 2

Volume 2 of Wretched Ads from Good Housekeeping, April 1964.



There are three words that should never, ever be put together, and that's "Crusty Tuna Surprise." No matter how you mix-n-match those words "crusty tuna", "crusty surprise", "tuna surprise", it's all just wrong.



Oh boy! Dinty Moore Beef Stew served over white bread! Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!


Mmmm, yummy, Kraft cheese pizza in a box. Not a frozen pizza, but with all the fixens, including the easy one-step crust. I've seen some gross looking pizzas in my day, but man, that one is grim.

A "meaty new idea, all smoked, sauced and cooked": Ribs In a Can. 'Nuff said.

More food from a box!!! Chef Boy-Ar-Dee spaghetti meal in a box! I would hope to god that spaghetti does not really look like this in Italy.

1964

One of our clients dropped off a Good Housekeeping magazine from April, 1964, so that my boss could read the article about how Jackie-O was coping with life 5 months after Jack was killed. However, what is causing great mirth in my office, are the ads. I'm really not sure which is scarier - that this client actually still has a magazine from 1964, leading me to wonder what her house must look like (think "the Collier Brothers"), or the way life was 5 months before I was born. I think if you click on the ads, they will get bigger.

And so I bring you Volume I of ads from 1964:

Dream puff panties. There's something kind of sick about how this ad reads, "Sweet as sugar candy, that's new candy-stripe Dream Puff Panties." I mean are they edible or what? And again with the kiddie porn drawing. Oh, then check out the ad below it for Empire Baby Pants! These are the styles they come in: Bloomer, Snap-On and Rhumba. Rhumba. What the fuck is that? Baby pants for a dancing baby? Did my mother make me wear rhumba style baby pants? I'm not at all comfortable with the level of kiddie porn in this next one. I can't quite tell but it looks like the woman is a bride? Or a lady wearing a frilly nightie? Imagine her husband's shock when she strips down to reveal this stunning and attractive girdle. I'm not sure he'll be able to get it up ever again. Oh and dig the tag line, "Perma-life knows what it means to be a woman."

Do they now?! Apparently they have "a patented Magic Oval Panty that keeps a Perma-life panty from riding up, from binding, from yanking down....from doing all the things you wish a panty wouldn't.' Those naughty, naughty panties. I can't tell you how many times I day my panties suddenly, out of nowhere, just yank down. It's really quite annoying. Eat your heart out, Victoria's Secret....oh honey, peel me a grape. Come hither my little pomegranate and allow me to serenade you.

"What you feel in a Warner's isn't the girdle". Eegads. That's just wrong.

Here's the description. "Decorative and dangerous. The double derriere panel and unique Warners construction supply that makes any woman feel dangerous."

I'm keeping my bouffant stiff and erect AND destroying the ozone layer at the same time! How efficient am I?! "And it never leaves that stiff and sticky look." Too....many....jokes.....

Can you imagine having to sit under one of these every morning in order to dry your hair before work? And look, she's on the telephone as well. WOW! It's even got a quiet, lightweight, portable motor that you can strap to your waist. And let's not forget the smart, white case for storage and travel! Could you imagine taking one of these portable hair dryers in your checked luggage on a plane in 2007? The Dept. of Homeland Security would probably keep the flight from leaving and evacuate the plane, then they'd have one of those robotic bomb thingies maneuver up to it and blow it up on the tarmac. And I can't tell, does the giant clock radio come with it too?

"Just what has gelatine to do with beauty?" I'll bite, what does gelatin have to do with beauty? Apparently unflavored gelatin is not only good for cooking, but fingernails, hair and dieting. You drink one envelope mixed with water an hour before a meal and voila! No more hunger! Gag. Oh wait, I have to go make some jello parfaits, soak my fingernails in the leftovers then pour it on my head to achieve the groovy "That Girl!" look in the picture.

"My hair's gone grey and now I like it that way!" AS IF! Looks blue to me.

Blessed Midsummer

The summer solstice is upon us today, the longest day of the year. I have seen pictures of the celebration at Stonehenge and it looks like that would be a lot of fun to attend! I wasn't going to do a post for summer solstice, since I am not a summer person, but on the other hand, it now means that it's going to start getting darker as we head into fall and winter, so that makes me very happy. Summer Solstice Artwork by April White, of Turtle Island, in Kelowna, British Columbia. Her artwork and shop feature Northwest Native designs, including the Haida and Coast Salish.

"Solstice, from the Latin for sun stands still, in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°).
At the solstices the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of summer solstice, about June 22, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

In the Northern Hemisphere the longest day and shortest night of the year occur on this date, marking the beginning of summer. At winter solstice, about December 22, the sun is overhead at noon at the Tropic of Capricorn; this marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. For several days before and after each solstice the sun appears to stand still in the sky, i.e., its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day." infoplease.com

Here are some sunrise and sunset times:

Reykjavik, Iceland: 2:55 a.m. 12:04 a.m.
Yellowknife, NW Territories, Canada: 3:30 a.m. 11:40 p.m.
Anchorage, Alaska: 4:20 a.m. 11:43 p.m.
London, England: 4:43 a.m. 9:21 p.m.
Vancouver, British Columbia: 5:07 a.m. 9:21 p.m.
Boston, Massachusetts: 5:08 a.m. 8:25 p.m.
Tacoma, Washington: 5:14 a.m. 9:10 p.m.
Salem, Oregon: 5:26 a.m. 9:02 p.m.
San Francisco, California: 5:48 a.m. 8:35 p.m.
Madrid, Spain: 6:45 a.m. 9:48 p.m.
Pretoria, South Africa (their winter solstice) 6:53 a.m. 5:25 p.m.

Update per Val's request:
New York City: 5:24 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

What I find interesting is that the sunrise in Boston & Vancouver BC is a minute apart, but sunset in Boston is nearly an hour earlier than in Vancouver. The sunrise in London is earlier than Vancouver BC by 24 minutes, but the sun sets at the same time. And what's up with Madrid? The sun rises later than most, but then sets later than most!

And Axe, in South Africa, is in winter solstice, being in the Southern Hemisphere.

At least it's cool and cloudy here today. Back in California, we'd already see 90 degree temperatures for days on end, with unrelenting sun for months and months. I'm happiest when it's dark and cold. I know, I'm weird.

Sagan

Here' s our big 80 lb. love puppy, Sagan, in some recent photos. Here he is, snacking, one of his many favourite things to do. He will eat anything. One of his many nicknames is "Snacky". I wish this was more in focus but I had to snap quickly before he moved. What a handsome, happy boy!! Sagan sez, "Chicks dig me."

I absolutely cannot resist those eyes and that sweet face. He's so affectionate and he can't get enough pets and snuggles.

We just put this loveseat upstairs in the livingroom in May. It was originally in our vacation place on the Olympic Peninsula, but we sold the land last year and the loveseat's been in the garage since last summer so we finally decided to put it upstairs. We no sooner had it in place when Sagan leapt onto it and claimed it as his couch.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

"Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind, Do This Don't Do That, can't you read the signs..." Five Man Electrical Band

Hey, I was surfing around my usual blogs and found a fun sign-maker site on Weir Freaks. So I made a few for your amusement. Sorry Madi, I couldn't get it to spell out "drummer" b/c the line wasn't long enough!!

Brian and I have always referred to Bob's Big Boy restaurants by the name I put on the sign. Don't ask me why, all I remember is Brian saying it in the restaurant and me shooting pop out of my nose as I burst out laughing.
Had to put one in here for Brian since I have myself starring in a movie with Vincent.

Because he deserves one!!! That disgusting skank Britney Spears has one but Vincent doesn't??? How unfair is that?

http://www.redkid.net/generator/bart/

That's the link. Have fun!!!

Thanks again to Irenie at Weir Freaks for posting this link.

Good Luck Julie!!

Let's all wish Julie the best of luck on her final exam today!!! She's been working like crazy for the past month in preparation for today's exam.

"Julie hasn't had any time for me lately!" "But now she's almost done with school for the year!"

"Go Julie! Go Julie!"

"Now you can pay more attention to my sweat pants stretched tightly across my bulbous crotch region."

"See how I jest with you?"

"I can't wait for Julie to be done with school! Sigh."

"I'm comin' baby! Yo, Gregory, will ya look the other way and give us some privacy?"

"...and then we went like this...."

"...and then she went like this....."

Thanks again to Eliza and Val for their vast collection of caps.

BREAKING NEWS!! ATTENTION!!

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" stars get no raises•
Show moving to first run on USA Network•
Three principals have until 5 p.m. to accept

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" producers' intent to bring back the cast of the series with no raises next season is not sitting well with the show's stars, sources said.

It is understood that Wolf Films and NBC Universal TV Studio have set a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday for stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Chris Noth and Kathryn Erbe to accept the offer.
Series cast members normally receive a 5 percent salary bump every year, with higher figures sometimes on offer for stars on established shows. Studios have been pushing to tie such standard raises to the show's license fee increase, which generally is lower than 5 percent.
In the case of "CI," producers face the economic realities of producing a high-production-value drama with marquee stars on a cable budget. The series has been moved from NBC -- where it aired for six seasons -- to USA Network, with a second window on NBC. (The repeats on NBC should alleviate some of the financial strain.)

Representatives for Wolf Films and NBC Universal TV declined comment on any actor negotiations.

When life hands you lemons.....

....you leave work early, go to the bead shop, then take a mental health day and spend the day in a quiet house doing beadwork. At least that's what I do when life hands me lemons.

Crankypants

I had a rough day on Monday, and decided that it was not only in my best interest that I take the day off, but that it would be in mankind's best interest to take the day off. Several months ago I did a post about trying to wean off the antidepressants. It's taken a very long time, but I finally did it. Unfortunately, nearly everything is making me cry or choke up, including commercials, songs, TV shows.....you name it and I'm on the verge of tears. Throw in my normal road rage, and the contempt and disdain for our clients, and it's The Perfect Storm.

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

Although we have clients that I do like a lot, the majority of them are big time whiners. Especially the men. The men give us the most trouble, calling and weeping about their divorce, crying poor mouth and "she's gonna bleed me dry". I have absolutely no sympathy for them. We have this one client (who I know is somewhat scared of me because I have no time for his excuses and I refuse to mollycoddle him), who pays everything with his debit card. He has tons of money to go out to eat and spend on his "lady friends", but pay his lawyer's bill? Oh, and his wife has access to his statements and I shit you not, his debit card statement reads like this: "Hooters, Fred Meyer Jewelry, The Lusty Lady, Lover's Package, Super 8 Motel." All located on the notorious "SeaTac Strip" where Green River Killer Gary Ridgway used to hunt. Hmmmm.......it doesn't take Detective Goren to figure out what he's doing with his time and money. (Lover's Package is one of the many sex toy shoppes we have out here). And he wonders why his wife is going for the jugular in this divorce.

I have another male client who calls and cries his eyes out, how he doesn't want this divorce, why did she leave him, etc etc etc. He's so freakin clingy that I don't blame his wife one bit for leaving him. Then you know what he says to me? "I found out her grandmother did the same thing when she hit menopause too." I nearly blew a head gasket. How I managed to keep from telling him that clearly he's a sexist bastard and I'm glad that his wife is moving on with her life and if he EVER says something like that to me again, he will be VERY sorry.

Then I get a call from a woman who talked to my boss in March about his taking over her case, then we hear absolutely nothing from her. The trial is July 11. Her other lawyer withdrew on May 31 so I called him and he sent his file over. I called her to ask what was going on, and she kept telling me that Steve told her that "we have plenty of time, there's no rush." This time, I blew said head gasket. I said, "Yeah, we had time in MARCH! IT'S NEARLY A MONTH TO TRIAL AND NOW YOU WANT US TO REPRESENT YOU? I can tell ya one thing, the trial in July just ain't happenin'. We're going to have to move for a continuance, because Steve can't possibly prepare this case in such a short period of time," and she gives me shit about how her trial's already been moved twice! I tersely told her that she should have hired us in March.

It was at that point I decided I'd better take a mental health day because although I will vent about these people around the office, I never actually get like that with them on the phone.

And my coworker has had a really bad nagging cough for about a year. Yes, you read that right, a year. The constant coughing is driving me fucking BATSHIT. All goddamn day long, cougha- cougha-cougha-cough. Here's an idea, get some medication! Move to the desert Southwest! But STOP COUGHING!!! I swear to god, it's nonstop as I write this and I'm gonna start taking hostages.......

No Shit Sherlock

I had a dr. appt. on Monday about my ongoing and terrible foot/shin/ankle pain, and low back pain. She tells me I have plantar faciitis, which is what I figured. Then she hints around that maybe I should look into losing some weight. Well HELLO! Excuse me Miss Genetically Blessed Uber Nordic Tall And Thin Doctor, if my friggin feet and legs didn't hurt so bad, MAYBE I COULD GET SOME EXERCISE!!! She tells me to cut down on my portion sizes. Jesus Christ. If she could see my portion sizes, and the food I eat, she would know damn well that I do not overeat. Why do people assume that overweight people eat like pigs and have no control? Has it ever occurred to them that maybe we are trying and have constantly struggled with it our whole lives but our genetics are working against us?

I hate Technology

A few months ago we had Comcast come out and give us a DVR cable box. Unfortunately they hooked it up and somehow made it so we can't tape off the VCR too. Since then, I've recorded a bunch of stuff that I haven't watched yet, plus all the Bobby episodes of LOCI. For some reason, when you look at the guide, when you press "info" to see what a show is about, the box will switch itself off, then take about 5 minutes to come back on and reset. Annoying, yes. Brian called Comcast and told them and they were gonna come out today to replace the box. I called Brian back and asked, "what about the stuff that's recorded? I do not want to lose all of it!" So he calls Comcast then calls me back to say, "Yep, we'll lose all of it so I canceled the appointment." See, this is why I like videotaping. It's something tangible. I can record the tape, rewind it, take it out, label it. Watch it whenever I want. Replace the VCR if it breaks. But not with a DVR. Now we have to figure out how to transfer from DVR to tape, which is sort of stupid because if I'm gonna have tapes anyway, then why did we get a DVR in the first damn place?

Although I like my digicam, I am somewhat distressed at not having tangible negatives. I keep all my negatives in plastic preserver sheets, in 3 ring binders. I can lay my hand on any negative for any photograph for the past 30 years in a matter of minutes. All I get with a digital camera is a disc that I have to futz around with on the computer. I hate to futz.

I HATE PEOPLE From "Scrooge" (Leslie Bricusse)

Scavengers and sycophants and flatterers and fools
Pharisees and parasites and hypocrites and ghouls
Calculating swindlers, prevaricating frauds
Perpetrating evil as they roam the earth in hordes
Feeding on their fellow men
Reaping rich rewards
Contaminating everything they see
Corrupting honest me like me
Humbug! Poppycock! Balderdash! Bah! I hate people!
I hate people! People are despicable creatures
Loathesome inexplicable creatures
Good-for-nothing kickable creatures I hate people!
I abhor them!
When I see the indolent classes
Sitting on their indolent asses
Gulping ale from indolent glasses I hate people!
I detest them! I deplore them!
I hate people! I loathe people!
I despise and abominate people!
Life is full of cretinous wretches
Earning what their sweatiness fetches
Empty minds whose pettiness stretches
Further than I can see
Little wonder I hate people
And I don't care if they hate me!

Thar She Blows

Me mum thinks she's so funny, sending me this cartoon, changing the name and changing "he" to "she"....then adding "hee hee har har" to the top.

Unfortunately, anyone who has had the "pleasure" of hearing me blow my nose will totally understand, and laugh heartily at, this cartoon. It's so loud that sometimes when my boss gives me a dictation tape to transcribe, I can hear myself in the background of the tape, honking away. And of course because we transcribe on a slower speed, I get to hear myself in a long, drawn out, "WHAAAAAAANK". Now I make it a point to get as far away from him as possible when he's dictating, then blow my nose. People can hear it through the telephone and will ask Steve, or Brian, "what was that?" Or I'll blow my nose and Brian will call out, right on cue, "Barge Comin' Thru!"

S'okay, I never claimed to be dainty or ladylike.

When I was a kid, and even throughout college, I would never blow my nose. I'd sniff. Incessantly. My parents, grandmother, cousins and friends would BEG me to blow my nose and quit sniffing. I wouldn't blow my nose b/c I was grossed out at the thought of all that snot on my upper lip. Finally, I caved into Brian's begging me to please blow my nose. Everyone is very, very sorry that I started now. hahahaha "Be careful what you wish for"!

"X" Marks the Spot

As if I needed another hobby, since my spare time barely allows me to pursue my regular hobbies, I've started geocaching. Fans of LOCI will recall that there was one episode where the victim was a geocacher. I didn't give it much notice at the time, I didn't even think it was a real thing.

Then a few weeks ago I was reading my boss' "National Geographic Travel" magazine during lunch and happened upon the "fun family things to do on vacation" section. Since I don't have kids, I normally skip these articles, but this time I browsed and found an article about geocaching. After reading about it, I went to www.geocaching.com and it's a very popular hobby!!

To geocache, you need a GPS receiver. Most caches are put in either metal ammo boxes or tupperware, and there are websites that sell caching gear so you can buy a plastic camo box with secure locking lid. Some of the hints and info on the geocaching sites will specify what they have hidden in the boxes, and the object of the game is to find the cache, write the date you found it in the log book provided, then take one "treasure" out of the box and leave one that you've brought. Some of the caches have "bugs" which are metal coins that can be moved and tracked as they move from cache to cache. Most of the boxes just have little toys in them, some have pins, collectible cache coins or keychains. Then when you get home, you get back on the website and log in your visit so that the cache owner can track dates & visitors.

The other thing I thought was really cool, is that the people that hide the caches refer to the general public as "muggles", meaning that there will be a hint as to where the cache is (done in code, which code-key is on the website), then they will say, "be discreet, high muggle area".

So I went up to our local sporting goods store, G.I. Joe's, and asked the clerk to help me find a good GPS for geocaching. The clerk showed me several "Magellan"model GPS devices, and I chose one that was the easiest to use, the Explorist 100, and cost about $115 with tax.

What you first do when you set up the GPS, is go outside and turn it on, then watch the screen as various satelites passing over in space locate you. Once all of the satelites have locked you in, you get your coordinates. I am currently typing this at N 47 degrees 10.641 and W 122 degrees 08.843, and am at 517 feet above sea level.

I looked up my area on the geocaching website by zip code and was shocked to see pages and pages of caches in the Bonney Lake/Sumner area!!! I chose 3 that I thought would be the easiest for my first attempt. I first went to the one at Lake Bonney but unfortunately, there were a whole bunch of muggles out fishing. I left there and went to the Bonney Lake Park & Ride. I wasn't sure how the GPS would work, but I just started walking and watching the screen till I was at the exact waypoint location given on the website. The hint was that it was pretty out of the way and in an island. So I started lifting up the small bushes in the island, hoping I didn't get stung by the bees, and lo and behold, there was a camoflage box. I eagerly opened it, took out a dinosaur pencil as my prize and left an egg of silly putty, then wrote my date & visit into the log book. I could have danced for joy! It actually worked!! I was practically skipping back to the car.

Next I went to the 3rd stop on my list. It seemed fairly easy, except as I drove around, I found that I had to enter the Home Depot parking lot. Very perplexed, I watched the screen as I drove and I ended up driving to the back of the store. I got out and walked around till I was at the exact coordinates, but I couldn't see anything at all. The area is sparsely landscaped, so I checked behind the low metal guardrail-fence to see if it was stuck behind it, and nothing. There were 2 small trees, and the ground itself didn't look disturbed....the property backs up to a chain link fence, and beyond it, the land drops off abruptly, and what's below is private property. I came back home and looked up what other people had to say and apparently it's so well hidden that most people find it on their 2nd or 3rd try, if at all. I realize now that I didn't look up into the trees that are planted so maybe that's where it is!!

Just for grins, I have looked up the geocaches in the Victoria, BC area, since I'll be up there next month and have found several in very easily accessible places in the downtown area. One of them specifies that it's a keychain cache. I found one in Chemainus with a really interesting clue that says, "if the cougar on top of the tree could do a long back flip, he would abridge the cache". My curiosity is piqued! I also checked out where I work and they are hidden all over Fircrest and University Place as well!!! So I know what I'll be doing at lunchtime.

Anyway, I will go out and try to find some more caches around here. Some people really go out of the way to make it quite a scavenger hunt, that involve hiking, some climbing, with cryptic instructions and clues, but I'll stick to the easy ones for now. I've always wanted to find a treasure map and be lead to booty, and it's so cool to think that there's a new high tech way to treasure hunt.