Football or Soccer your Choice

Today's game was enjoyable to watch. They lost but I enjoyed watching my little now young man play soccer. I don't know how long Richie will be playing soccer..... you never know when they will hang up the cleats. Lynne Grandma and Grandpa G watched the kids play under the hot New Mexico sun. Thunder clouds were off in the distance and occasionally covered the intense sunshine. Wind from the thunderheads came rushing down and disappeared as fast as they arrived. Here are a few images of Richie doing his thing.

A little give and go play developing with Richie and Jake.

Can you say through ball....

After a foul Jake and Richie discuss strategy. It turns out that they decided to have Richie take a shot. The ball was hit hard but over the top of the bar.

Blocking the ball with his chest Richie turns with the ball and heads up field.

It was very hot and at the half they lowered the nearest fresh water reservoir


Number 20 (in red) was in the way of a perfect slide tackle shot.

Richie played in the midfield and one of his jobs is to serve the ball up to the strikers. In high school he plays striker and on his club team he plays middle.

Richie had two great shots but they just did not get into the back of the net. You did an excellent job Richie. Keep it up.

65 MPH Window Shots

Richie wanted to start off driving so we obliged him and off we went. This made it possible to bring you this somewhat unusual post.

Richie, don't forget the two and ten hand position. Safety first...

Check out Grandpa's cool sunglasses. I think he bought them in Las Vegas. Grandpa is making a funny face like grandma but you cannot see it through is space age filtration system. This accessory helps keep the air clean so his lungs stay healthy.

We took off from Colorado this morning after eating a small breakfast. We decided to challenge ourselves by sharing our trip from the inside of our little Nissan. Yes all the images are taken from the inside of the car through a window going at least 65 mph. Check out our trip from the passenger side of our little four cylinder car. Oh another challenging aspect of this challenge is.... you may not crop any of the images taken. Are you impressed yet... I didn't think so.

Cruising behind us, grandpa puts the petal to the metal and cruses down the road. Grandma enjoyed not having to navigate for grandpa. They followed us and we followed Gabby, (the electronic lady in the GPS.) She is doing a great job.

One of the first things we saw was Ferdinand's sweetheart a few miles outside of Cortez Colorado.

One of my favorite animals to observe in it's natural habitat are grizzly bears. This was an especially ferocious specimen running from the house.


Believe it or not we ate lunch in Cuba. Yes that's right Cuba. The image is proof. We had subs at the most incompetent subway restaurant. Won't be stopping in Cuba any time soon.

Good old black gold still runs in these here deserts. Most of the wells we saw were not working. This one was actively pumping the good stuff.

We saw many geologic features that have been undergoing the force of nature for many years.

I wanted to stop at a few of these establishments but we were anxious to arrive in Albuquerque. Maybe on the way back home.

Lots of farms along the way.

We passed through a few Indian Reservations.

Nice outcrop... you can see a few of the many bikers we saw along the way. You have to look way in the distance to see them.
I don't know about "Land of Enchantment" but I know one thing I really like chili peppers.

This formation was in a class all by itself. One of my New Mexican favorites.

I call this image "Lonely in New Mexico"

I guess you can gamble on the reservations. I guess you do not know how hard it was to get the highway sign in the image. I only had one chance. Ha!
Ferdinand's little brother....
We noticed some very interesting Churches along the way. Are they advertising religion and old trucks or what?


Ok who ever tagged this sign is cold hearted

Well this is a little of what we saw along the way. Thanks for joining us on what random things you can find between Cortex Colorado and Albuquerque New Mexico.

Good night all!

Western Regionals Here We Come

Well today we took off for Albuquerque New Mexico for the Western Regional soccer tournament. Last fall Richie's soccer team took second place in State and this winter they received an invite to the tournament. Its nice to have Grandma and Grandpa G with us. Besides supporting Richie we hope to visit Old Town and see some interesting sites.

Richie drove all the way to Moab and did very well. It was a little nerve racking just because it is Richie behind the wheel..... not because of the way he drove. I took over in Moab and we drove to Montecello Utah and were going to stay the night but sorry to say, the town did not impress us. So we drove on to Cortez Colorado. Once in Colorado we saw some nice farms and greener surroundings. On the way back we might stop back here and visit Mesa Verde National Park depending on how Richie feels after all the soccer games.

I did bring my insect stuff and will go collecting once we reach the New Mexico desert. Grandpa brought his generator and we have the light trap if we get adventurous. Can you image running a light trap on the Rio Grand. Cool..... a coleopterist's dream come true.

Wish us luck and pray for an injury-free tournament.

Good night all!

Big Buddha Belly..... BE GONE

Most of you might have noticed my recent (last 20 years) struggle with a few extra pounds. I have officially went to war against my abdominal excess. Actually I am packing extra pounds in the entire thoracic region.

Here is my game face. I mean business this time. A change in my priorities....and willingness to ask for help. A few of my fellow school teachers and I are having a little caloric competition in hopes of a better quality of life. Besides eating better I plan on walking and moving my body more. Richie has kept me busy around the yard with new projects and gardening. Lynne is going on walks with me. Grandma and the rest of the crew is helping me count calories and prepare food. Counting calories has really helped me realize the energy density of some foods. Needless to say the whole family is helping me.

I will post my results from time to time just in case some of you are interested. Week one I lost..... 15 pounds. Yes its the truth... I could not believe it.

Wish me luck! Rich

Monday June 7
Breakfast
1 cup 1% milk, 110
2 shredded wheat biscuits, 160

Snack
1/4 cup of cottage cheese, 50
1 cup carrots, 60

Lunch
1 Slice Bread, 100
1 egg, 70
1 sting cheese, 80

Snack
Yogurt, 80

Dinner
Tin foil dinner, 400

Treat
smoothy 110

Total Calories 1220

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Tues. June 8th
Breakfast
1 cup skim milk, 80
2 shredded wheat biscuits, 160

Lunch
Open face ham, cheese, lettuce, 290
1/2 cup grapes, 31
Yogurt, 80

Snack
Corn nuts, 100

Snack
Cottage cheese, 180

Dinner
Chicken Enchilada,450
Salad, 100

Snack
Popcorn, 100

Total Calories 1571

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Wednesday June 9th

Breakfast

2 cup skim milk, 160
2 shredded wheat biscuits, 160

Snack
1 banana, 105

Lunch
1 apple, 100
1/4 cup of cottage cheese, 50
4 oz of catfish, 175

Snack
Can of beans, 75
1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 100

Snack
1/2 cup cottage cheese, 80

Dinner
Omelet with grits, 500

Snack
Popcorn,100

Total 1605

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Thursday June 10th

Breakfast
1 cup skim milk, 80
2 shredded wheat biscuits, 160

Snack
cottage cheese, 100

Lunch
open face sandwich with chicken and onion, 300
and salad

Snack
apple, 100

Dinner
Lemon Herb Chicken with Rosemary and Pasta, 375

Snack
Popcorn, 100
Smoothy 150

Total, 1365

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Friday June 11

Breakfast
1 cup skim milk, 80
2 shredded wheat biscuits, 160


Lunch
Open faced sandwich ham etc., 375

Snack
1 slice Wheat bread, 120
little dab of smart balance, 35

Dinner
Catfish, 250
Stir Fried Vegetables, 125

Snack
Cantalope 200

Total 1345

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Sat. June 12

Breakfast
1 1/2 cup skim milk, 140
2 shredded wheat biscuits, 160
blue berries, 35

Snack

None

Lunch

Two open faced sandwiches with tuna
and a salad, 520


Snack
little cookies, 100

Dinner
Green Tuna Salad 260
rice 210

Snack
Popcorn 100
jello 20
Total 1545


Wish me luck! Rich

Garden Update

Much time and love has gone into preserving our garden during an extreme spring. Utah weather can be just brutal.

If you have followed our blog you remember the tomatoes under the cold frame / plastic. The tallest of the tomatoes in the image were recipients of that tender loving care. They are doing great even though they have been subjected to freezing temperatures and 4 inches of heavy snow. The snow fell when the plants were not covered.

We are having lots of blossoms and if you look carefully you will see some tomatoes. Yummy.

Now can you see me (the tomato that is).

Here is a better shot of me. I am growing very big and look forward to the day I can be sliced, salted and peppered. Becoming a delicious part of the Glassford family diet is my only goal in life....... wait a minute am I talking like a tomato?????? I need to take a break from the garden.

Our peppers were also snowed on. We have 8 different varieties of peppers this year. In the past we have only grown a few plants.

Check out our largest pepper. You will never guess its name.....Holy Mole', this is an awarding winning pepper that turns chocolate brown in color. I look forward to some awesome salsa with a warm chili flavor.

Since our soil is heavy clay I find potatoes grow best in containers. I decided to use one of my old bee boxes to house the scrumptious tubers. We used some of the potatoes we bought from the store as our seed potatoes. They were big russets from Idaho.

Our onions and beats are doing great. The soil is very shallow in this location because of the rock wall. The plants along the edge need extra water and and fertilizer.

We are having pumpkin growing contest this year and Jimmy and Richie are inspecting their mounds of giant squash..... also known as jack-o-lanterns. Here are the teams

Richard II and Richard III
Richard I (grandpa)
Jimmy and Rachel
David and Conner

We will keep you posted on strategy and success. Stay tuned.

Richie wanted to grow some watermelon and cantaloupe so we took Grandma H's water troth and filled it with a proprietary blend of unique soil substances. A little extra fertilizer was mixed with the soil and a cover was applied for the first few nights of cool temps. We have never successfully grown these scrumptious fruits here in Utah. We were successful in San Diego but not here along the Wasatch Front.

Up in the orchard Richie and I decided to try growing some winter squash among the trees. They get some full sun.....but deserve much more. There are a few more hills that you cannot see. These poor plants are attacked nightly by soft slimy mollusk (slugs). In this image Richie is applying a natural slug bait that will hopefully put an end to the squash buffet.


Well we hope you are all doing a little gardening, if not you still have time. You can adopt some herbs than eat them as they grow..... Ha!

Happy gardening !

Graduation Dinner - A Late Post

I am so far behind in my posts... We really had a good time at the dinner so I wanted to post a few words and images. After the Heather's commencement ceremony we all met at Los Hermanos for dinner.

Grandma and Grandpa G. share some time with the new graduate.

The only people at the dinner that you cannot see in this image is Jessica, Jacob, Derek and myself. Los Hermanos is one of our favorite places to take the family.

Heather opens one of her little graduation gifts. I am sure she had this book read before she went to bed that evening. Heather is the biggest book worm in the family.

She also likes jewelery and accessories. We plan on getting some more significant gifts at a later time.Waiting for chips and their world famous Los Hermanos salsa was almost pain staking. Grandpa is whispering sweet nothings into Grandma's ear.

Once the chips and salsa arrived Jacob went to work. I did appreciate the fact that Jacob let me have some of his salsa.

It is usually one dip and down the hatch. Gotta love those chips. Little bites chew and chew little man.

Little Derek had a great time with his daddy.

After a long day of work, Dan enjoyed a few moments with his youngest son.

Say awaaaaaa.....Derek is learning very fast and has a good time mimicking the faces of others.

Hey Dad, make that funny face again.

After we arrived home Heather wanted to play with the hummers. They fly so close you can feel the wind generated by those fast little wings.

Good thing these are not vampire hummers.

Heather we all enjoyed sharing this, once in a life time, experience with you. It is now time to take the next step in life. No not marriage... I would not currently support you in this endeavor. What I speak of is more school. Yea !! I think you will make a great teacher so do not doubt, have confidence and look out world here comes my youngest daughter.

One Big Catfish Got Away

Grandma and Grandpa and I wet a hook in Utah Lake this week. Everyone else was busy (soccer practice, doctors appointments, school etc.). We picked up some worms and off we went. As soon as we threw in our lines the fish started biting. Grandma and Grandpa both caught a nice channel cat and I caught a bull head catfish and a large carp. One of the fish Grandma hooked into was very large. It took off up and down the shore line on multiple runs.

Grandma and Grandpa sit waiting for the big bite.

One of the fish Grandma hooked into was very large. It took off up and down the shore line on multiple runs. Once it got close to the edge it lodged itself into the rocks. I reached my hand under the rocks to pull up the slimy vertebrate and it shook free from the line. I was very disappointed with the smooth catfish get away.

I hope Grandma and Grandpa found the experience relaxing. I know I had fun. Nice catch you guys. Don't forget I still have worms in the fridge just in case you want to tomorrow.

The trophy catfish is still in the lake but in Grandma's hands are a few good fillets for lunch. It is nice to see they both still have the passion of fishing.