Precious metals

My blogshoot hostess gift of "ammo" from Newbius:

Chanel Peridot (aka My Precioussssss)


Just look at the duochromey goodness, look!!

How I wore it:


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My knife...

let me show you it.

My daily pocket protector- a Benchmade, given to me by one of my beloved, yet anonymous, readers. I really like that attractive little bevel on the top edge and the satisfying "snick" sound it makes when I open it.

I also just realized I probably shouldn't have put it on my desk at the library, right out in the open, to take the photo. Back in the pocket!

More meme: Weer'd World. And JayG. And Og. And North. And, uh...everyone else.

never forget

‘One of the lessons of 9-11 is that evil is real, and so is courage’
- George W. Bush

(to see the entire interview, begin here)

Drilling (& why to try)

Newbius had brought a beautiful old long gun to Northcoast II and everyone who shot it was ooh'ing over the recoil. I hung back, watching.

Mike said, "You want to try it?" He was grinning.

I demurred. No, no. Too much for little ol' me. Alan nodded. "Do it." Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

Fine. I'll shoot anything once, or at least try - I had promised myself that long ago.

*language warning*


Uh..okay. I guess I'll try again.



And yes, I liked it so much, I DID shoot it again. 
(3rd video and excellent NCII AAR at New Jovian Thunderbolt's blog. Go see!)

Airborne Angels

One inspiring woman, and thousands of brave Americans overseas, need your help.

Folks I'm lucky to know.

One of my biggest joys of the past weekend at the NRA Convention was being able to put my arm around this gentleman and announce to Alan Gura*, "See this guy, right here? HE's the man."

And, you know what? Anyone who has ever met him would say the same.

*yes, that Alan Gura 

a funny thing happened

While in the (warm, sunny, beautiful, snowfree) southwest last week, Mom and I had a chance to meet some fellow gunblogians* for a Mexican dinner and a margarita as big as my head.

Since I didn't inherit my mother's sense of direction, I navigated by iPhone and we arrived just when we promised we would. Inside we found that David, Mrs. David, and Hank had already gotten a table for our little gathering - so we settled in to wait on Kevin Baker, king of the gunblogs.

After my mouth had achieved a satisfactory burning sensation from the chips and green chile, I thought I should probably check my email (iPhone again), in case Kevin had sent me a message saying he'd been delayed. Nothing. Where was he?

Just then I got a text message from Alan of Snarkybytes. It read: "Did you just try to contact me? I just got a call from Arizona."

Hmm, I hadn't, but what an odd coincidence.

I checked my email again. There was a Twitter message from Mr. Boomershoot Joe Huffman. "Kevin Baker is trying to contact you. Please call him immediately." Joe helpfully supplied Kevin's phone number.

I called Kevin right away, asking where he was.

"I'm in the restaurant, waiting for you!" he said.

I was puzzled. "Los Dos Molinos? In Mesa?"

"Yes. Where are you?"

"Sitting at the table, waiting for you."

As Kevin made his way over to us, I got another text message, this time from Chance of SayUncle. "Kevin just called," it read. "I gave him your number."

I laughed. Friends from Arizona, Texas, Idaho, and Tennessee had been relaying messages in an attempt to locate the gunchick from Ohio...and I'd been on the opposite side of the same restaurant the entire time.

Isn't the internet amazing? You meet the nicest people here.

__________

*gun·blog·i·an [guhn-blɒɡ-ee-uhn]

–noun, plural: -i·ans.

1.
a person who contributes through writing, reading or commenting, to an online community that focuses on firearms and Second Amendment rights.

2. a term invented just today.

it's not me, it's you

Okay, well, not you specifically (probably) because, as a general rule, the people who inhabit my blogoverse are decent, kind (& intelligent! & supportive! & witty!) people who tend to be far better to me than I probably deserve for simply sitting around in my pajamas posting stuff about my cats on the internet.

Speaking of...



Anyway. Let's get something straight right now. I'm not quitting blogging and I am not depressed. And despite suggestions to the contrary, I tend to think that most of the rest of the world needs counseling, not me.

See, I've had a rough year physically, emotionally and financially and it's recently been topped off by the death of one of the most beloved and important men in my life. Add in the fact that I deal with serve a sometimes rude, frequently obtuse public for less per hour than I'd make doing, oh...probably anything else I'm qualified for and you have the perfect equation to make my tolerance for other people's shit and getting shit on by other people fairly low. Imagine that. (Shocker, I know.) The year (almost year and a half, actually) I've had, there'd probably be something seriously wrong with me if I felt anything else. But believe me when I say I am using the term "you" in a very general "people in general" sort of way. Not you. Never.

So, I am okay, okay? You can stop worrying now. (yes, YOU.)

going dark

This afternoon, our family lost our hero...and though it happened the way these things usually do, I don't think any of us were really prepared for a world without him in it.

I'm going to need time and silence (and the Arizona desert) to say goodbye.

Wow!

Thanks everyone for your generous donations to BB&Guns!

We've got enough now to keep us in Skype minutes for a long time, so here's to a brand new year of fun new shows and lots of call-ins from our friends in the gunblogger community!

The new country

My father arrived in New York City on November 23, 1955 in search of a brighter future.

It was the day before Thanksgiving. I will be forever grateful.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The NRA has created a beautiful new (flash-free!) website for their National Firearms Museum. Each gallery is full of super zoom-able photos for your viewing pleasure.

I was lucky enough to have been sent some exclusive photos (thanks, Lars!) of a gorgeous side-by-side Ferraglio 12-gauge engraved by Bregoli. They call it "the Picasso shotgun." I was absolutely delighted, since Pablo is probably one of my favorite artists.

The images are quite large, but I thought I'd leave them that way so that you can click to see more detail. (I'm particularly enamored with the faceted cubist-inspired accents.) Enjoy.

it's not everyday...

...that a person gets their millionth anything.

Thank you all so very much.

instalanche!

Well, Glenn Reynolds linked to my little blog today and I've gotta tell you - it's both a blessing and a curse.

Your first thought is all, "Whoohoo! I've hit the blogosphere jackpot! My hit counter is a blur! More readers! Yay me!"

"Oh, no. People are reading me," usually follows shortly thereafter.

As an extra fun bonus though, you start getting comments from people who are completely unfamiliar with your blog. A guy who calls himself Android, for instance, not only went completely off topic but also seems to lack a sense of humor :

"This really cant be a basis for policy preference. B/c he looks like a dork or a father screwing around on his kids bike really cant be a substantive basis to favor or not favor a president. Carter was a dork but people now seem him as an effective president."

Ah, the internets...where any weirdo with a keyboard can say any stupid crap they want. Even me.

So thanks for reading, folks. I'm honored.

tune in!

I don't think I could possibly be happier with the debut of B B & Guns. I'm quite lucky to have Bonnie as a co-host; she's terrific and just a joy on the air. It was a great first show - the hour flew by, we had a lot of callers, and it seemed everyone (including your hosts) had fun. So thank you everyone who listened live and joined us in the chat room - by the end of the show we had 53 people participating and enjoying themselves.

If you missed the show last night, don't worry. You can always go to the BTR page for B B & Guns and listen to the latest show by clicking the embedded player. I also set up an iTunes account for the show and hopefully it'll show up later today. I'll be sure to post links in the sidebar.

6.5.74

For my birthday today, I'd like to give you a little something that is sure to make you smile.



Thank you all for being part of my life. I'm so lucky.

(now I might go have a turtle teaparty of my own!)

Gun Nuts - A Good Run

Gun Nuts is a very different show now than when I first made my debut on air and, feeling that it has gone (and is going) places that I can no longer follow, I have decided to end my time as weekly co-host. I hope to occasionally guest host but feel the majority of my efforts would be better spent on other projects. I wish Caleb the best of luck with his plans for the show.

I will always be grateful for what Gun Nuts has given me - I've met and talked to some extraordinary people, was part of a growing alternative media focused on fighting for our Second Amendment rights and was blessed with listeners that tuned in every week, joined the chat and called in to share their personal stories. It has been an honor.

thanks, Mom

Besides a legendary pan of brownies - and general chocolate fetish - that my mother had while pregnant with me, there is a story about her sitting down one morning and eating an entire pound of bacon by herself.

Turns out that not only was she satisfying her cravings (which I've noticed have yet to subside, even 35 years later) but it seems she was doing the little Breda brain a favor.

give thanks...

...for chicks with guns - beautiful, deadly and free.

Enjoy your day, everyone!

Had a ball (part 3 - "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up." )

Ambulance Driver and I get better acquainted.

I'll be sharing little details and posting photos (once I get them all downloaded and edited) but if you want all the various and sundry details of what was, undoubtedly, one of the best weeks of my life, you'll have to read elsewhere.

The Atomic Nerds give a hilarious account of events (parts 1, 2, & 3)

Christina_LMT wrote up an excellent range report (but I'm sure she didn't list every gun that was there)

OldNFO shares his favorite memories and AepilotJim has the post-Blogorado blues.

Snarky is summarizing day-by-day.

Gay Cynic open carries for the first time. (as a little aside here - On Friday, before we went to visit the horses, the whole motley bunch of us were standing on the sidewalk, admiring the saddles. I stepped back, a bit bemused at the scene. Ah, Blogorado - where you can have a gay man, a librarian and a Texan in a kilt all enjoying each other's company, the warm sunny day, and the freedom of open carry. It was a thing of beauty.)

The gorgeous Phlegmfatale (I'm not kidding, folks. It was like a movie star made an appearance at the range. I'm still dazzled.) gushes over gravy. And no wonder, the food was excellent - best chicken fried steak I've ever had. Okay, it was the ONLY chicken fried steak I've ever had, but I have it on good authority that it was one of the best EVER. (& Farmmom is going to be blogging the recipes!)

I really cannot say enough about Farmgirl, her parents, and her Mamaw - fine, generous people who worked so hard to host a bunch of strangers. They fed us, took us in, and treated us like family. A simple "thank you" seems insufficient but there it is - from the depths of my heart.