The New Seven Wonders of the World are all amazing places. I didn't go online to vote on the finalists --- shame on me! --- all are spectacular and deserve a visit by everyone living on our beautiful earth.

I'm sure they're listed in the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book. Since my husband and I enjoy traveling, we may yet make it to a few more before leaving this world. However, the Great Pyramids of Giza, surviving from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is still on our list to see one day and none of us are getting any younger.

The New Seven Wonders:

1. The Great Wall of China.

2. Rome's Colosseum - My husband has been to this remarkable structure during his travels in the Navy.

3. India's Taj Mahal.

4. Jordan's Petra.

5. Brazil's Statue of Christ the Redeemer - My husband has seen this huge statue during a church work mission.

6. Peru's Machu Picchu.

7. Mexico's Chichen Itza - My husband and I visited these Mayan ruins in 2002. He climbed the steep steps on the outside of El Castillo de Kukulcan, the largest temple, on a very hot afternoon. Later we both climbed the slippery steps in the inner temple of El Castillo to see the jaguar throne. I thought I'd die right there and it makes me remember part of the quote about measuring life: "....... by the places and moments that take our breath away."

Give us a good night kiss, my Beloved.

EEEEEK! What's that black spot on your ear?

Oh, my gawd, it looks like a tick! Let me get it off quick......... uh-oh, it's embedded into your earlobe!

I tried ripping that little blood-sucker off, but it would not come to my tugging. Up we get and over to the lights and mirrors to get a better look at this newly attached, but unfashionable, ear piece. A small tick dangled from its barbed mouth.

What to do?? Neither of us could remember --- smother it with Vaseline? Splash it in alcohol? Burn its tiny butt with a match? So my husband yanked the wee vampire out by its gory barbs!

Then I cleaned the red dot with peroxide and rubbed in some Neosporin.

Good night again, my Love! Sweet dreams........

ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

1. Yesterday was President Bush's 61th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mr. President! There's something scary about someone my same age being ruler of the free world. People, I'm here to tell you that we never get our acts together --- that's just the human way --- we are always striving to attain perfection.

2. My husband's and my song "Unchained Melody" performed by The Righteous Brothers was written by Hy Zaret. At the ripe age of 99, Mr. Zaret recently died in Westport, Connecticut. This is a late "thank you" to Mr. Z for such a perfect love song!

3. Some of my very first buddies, classmates from elementary school, and I got together again over that perfect last weekend in Ocean View. It's always great fun seeing everyone. And, yes, we're still trying to decide what we want to be when we grow up!

4. Today is July 7, 2007 and today's Lucky Weddings are happening around the world! The 07-07-07 is supposed to give couples an extra measure of good luck according to gamblers, certain cultural groups, and is also considered very positive in some religions; the perfect number. Best wishes for happiness to all you lovers!

5. This is the perfect Independence Day photograph of enjoying life and cooling it:

While dining out at a favorite Mongolian BBQ restaurant, I was at the end of a slow line selecting meat to go into my stir-fry. This type of dining experience can be tasty because the diner gets to decide what mixture of sauces, vegetables and meat will compose their dinner, but I'm not very good in piling the food into my small bowl.

There was a young boy in front of me, and because we had to wait a couple of times, I chatted "to" him, not with him. All I ever got in return was a puzzled look. Perhaps I reminded him of those strangers his mother had warned him about avoiding! Anyway, I was telling him about how I had a hard time putting the curls of frozen meat on top of my bowl of raw vegetables --- the chicken or beef always fall off onto the floor!

Glancing back at a few diners behind me, a blond woman was stacking the raw beef high into an envious mountain of soon-to-be steaming stir-fry. Wow, I said to the young man, now that lady really knows how to get a lot of food into her bowl! I could never do that good a job, I laughed. Yep, some people really have the knack of heaping it on, I continued yakking to the mute youth. Obviously, I was enjoying our "conversation" much more than he was.

He soon got his cooked bowl of food and left. I followed a minute later. And was so engrossed in dinner with my husband that I missed the blond woman as she walked pass me and joined that very same young man I had been talking to for the last ten minutes!

It was his mother!!!

Ooops.......... we never know who is connected, so I renew my promise not to point out bad examples of people I do not know, Streamers. ~~~ Hugs, Rita B