Doggie sweaters

BUCKHORN COE PARK 

Jefferson, TX 75657

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WEATHER:
Morning temp: 43° and overcast

SIGHTS (Little Rock, AR):
Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, AR Admission $7.00
Our rating 4 out of 5
This is a huge 3 story building, with a lot to take in. No matter how you feel politically, this is a very interesting display.
There is a 12 minute film of the life of Pres. Clinton. I wasn't going to bother with it, but Scott said we might as well go in because there's not much else to see....3 hours later, he was proven WRONG! The film was interesting though. It not only highlighted Pres. Clinton, but also the Civil Rights Movement and other memorable times.
There were so many displays, videos, info to read, you really can't take it all in. Besides the obvious history of his accomplishments and failures (yes, the Monica Lewinsky situation is included), there are displays of a couple of outfits Hillary wore, a dining table set up, a replica of the Cabinet, and the Oval Office. It is oval, not round.
There are volumes and volumes of his actual daily schedule. No way would I want my life scheduled almost every minute of the day. It's scheduled even to the time it takes to walk from one meeting to another, etc. No 8 hour days for the President.
We happen to be there while they had a temporary display of Foreign Head of State Gifts. Some of the useless crap given is amazing. What do they expect them to do with this? I really hate acts of ceremony, a formal act or series of acts prescribed by ritual, protocol, or convention.
PET PEEVE ALERT!:  I hate acts of ceremony...things done just for show, or because that is tradition. I've said before, my husband & I don't exchange gifts or cards on "special occasions". If we want to do that "just because", that's fine, but to be PRESSURED into HAVING to buy that gift or you look bad, is ridiculous. I KNOW my husband loves me and he shows it through his actions every day. I don't need him to pressured into running out to figure out what to buy for me. I hate the kneeling & standing in Catholic churches. I hate the pressure to get together with family on Holidays. Hellooooo! Most of you work full time! How ridiculous to be pressured into traveling, cooking, gift giving and buying for that one day. It would be so much nicer to spend the day at home enjoying your own immediate family's company. Have a extended family get together when it's convenient for all and just call it your Thanksgiving or Christmas get together.
Back to the Clinton Presidental Library...we were there at least 3 hours and still didn't take it all in. A very interesting day.

River Market (Little Rock, AR):
Our rating 3 out of 5
In the same general area as the Clinton Library is the River Market. I was expecting more of a Farm market like we experienced in Santa Fe, just smaller. It's really just a less fancy food court. If you're hungry & in the area, go for it. There are BBQ, Creole, Southern, Chinese, Thai, Indian, American foods. Most are not grocery items, but lunch/dinner menus with communal tables in the center. It gives you that "being cool in the city" type of feel without having to actually be in a city.
We opted for Thai food. Very good with nice size servings. We considered the Philly Cheese steak for a nanosecond, but gotta stick with the NJ/Philly area for that. Besides, look at this description of their Philly Cheese Steak sandwich!

No cheese? on a Philly CHEESE steak?

From Geno's website in Philly, here are the ingredients for an authentic Philly cheese steak.
The ingredients are simple, exacting and never greasy thinly sliced rib-eye steak, melted cheese, oven-fresh baked bread and delicately grilled onions.
Over all, I suppose we found the River Market nothing special because we were here in the winter and on a weekday. Maybe there are more things happening in prime season.

Clinton Museum Store (Little Rock, AR):

How about a "Buddy" purse. Who is Buddy? He's the Chocolate Lab of Clinton's that was run over by a car and died. 

What a waste of space. Lots of doo dads, most have nothing to do with Pres. Clinton. Don't bring your kids in here. They will be bugging you to buy this or that "cool" item. Cool for a kid, but not for an adult.
This is the equivalent of a tourist novelty store, but instead of saying "Disney World" on everything, it says "Pres. Clinton".

Shoes? Oh yea, that has a lot to do with Clinton. Maybe he wore these type during his speeches and we didn't know?
I actually did buy something here. A green & black beaded eye glass holder. Oh yea, that'll remind me of visiting the Clinton Library.

The only good thing is there is a free shuttle from the "museum" to the Library. But really, it's a pleasant walk on a nice day.

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PRODUCT REVIEW:
Bounty vs. Viva paper towels
I am not a name brand snob. If a generic product is good, I will certainly use it. But some brands I am loyal to. I have used Bounty paper towels for 20 yrs. I've tried others and always come back to Bounty. I did find that Wegman's brand paper towels were close enough, that if I'm at a Wegman's (rarely), I'd pick up that brand which is much cheaper.
Being on the road limits how many supplies I can store. I used to buy the 12 pack on sale, but that is a thing of the past now that we are have the limited space in the RV. So when we need paper towels, we really NEED paper towels, whether on sale or not and whatever brand is available. During some of our travels, Bounty was no where to be found when needed, so I opted on a whim to try Viva paper towel. I am so glad I did.
They are both available in "select-a-size", which I love, but is not deal breaker. I am now a Viva fan and hope to be in a monogamous relationship with Viva till death do us part.
My reasons for abandoning Bounty is more because of the texture. Bounty is absorbent and durable, but so is Viva. I like a paper towels, that I can wipe down the counters, rinse towel, squeeze dry and use to finish wiping the garbage can or something. Both do a great job, but Viva feels more like a cloth. I REALLY like that smooth, denser feeling. Bounty feels like a typical "quilted" paper towel. Also, because of the texture of Viva towels, the roll kind of clings together, making for a more compact roll and also keeps the roll from unwinding when hung on a paper towel holder.
I did a quick search on Bounty vs. Viva and found this pretty thorough paper towel comparison test and the results.
So, my personal preference is for Viva towels because of the cloth like texture. But I think BOTH Bounty and Viva work comparatively.
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CRAFTS:
Still working on Great American Aran Afghan Square. I had about 20 rows complete following the chart. Wasn't sure if I was following correctly, so frogged (ripit) it and started over using the written instructions. I'll keep you posted on progress.

My Little Rock friend, Stephanie fosters a LOT of dogs. Lately, she's had a couple of small dogs that are going to States with cold winters. She asked me to crochet a couple of sweaters. Great! I still have Lion Brand Home Spun I need to use up! Below are the results.