Birdcage

I couldn't wait to plant in this birdcage!  Love the way it looks!  My girlfriend, Andee, is the proud owner of it.  She earned it for being my car rental agency when all my vehicles are broken down!  Thanks friend!

Happy 15th Birthday to Grace

We have been searching and searching for a surf board for Grace for her birthday.  We have checked surf shops in Pacifica and scoured craigslist with no success.  Yesterday I called a couple board shops in Santa Cruz and got a lead on one that sounded promising.

So today we went over the hill and started hitting all the board shops and a couple Goodwill shops.  Our 7th stop was the shop that had the board that I had heard about yesterday.  We walked it, asked about it and took a really close look.  It is a great board that needs a quick, easy repair and will be good to go.  The stuff to do the repair costs $5 and Jim and Grace will be able to do it with ease.

We got the board, a bag, a leash, 3 things of wax and a fin key for $489!  The other boards we have been looking at were $500 to $600 without all the extra stuff we got.  We are thrilled!

A guy walked into the store right after we started looking at the board and he sat around waiting for us to make a decision because if we didn't buy it, he was going to!  We got lucky we showed up when we did....we almost missed it!

Happy birthday Grace (next week)! 

Licorice Update

I got a report on how Licorice is doing in training.  Everything looks good except that her prey drive is noted as "high" just like her puppy trainer feared.

I am sure they are trying to train it out of her but it is such a natural instinct that it will be difficult.  And a service dog that is distracted by prey (squirrles, cats, birds) is certainly a problem.

Stay tuned.

Succulent Gift

I have been on a succulent binge.  I got a bunch of containers at our Free is Good Fair and set about to planting.  This is one that I made for my boss for his birthday.

More to come.

Moose

This is Jim's cousin, Eric, from Alaska.  He once told me, "I think of moose everyday."  He meant he thinks of them everyday to determine the best way to hunt them.   I still refer to this quote as one of the strangest thing anyone has ever told me.   One from the standpoint of me being a vegetarian and having no concept of the love of hunting.  And two, there are so many other things to spend everyday thinking about!

Regardless, all that thinking must have worked because that is a 1200 lb moose!

Golden Girl Season Two

We are starting to gear up for season two of crabbing for the Golden Girl.  And my Uncle Dave kicked it off by sending us these hooks that he found at a flea market!  They are so cool - I want to do something super cool to display them!

I am also starting to work on new sweatshirts and t-shirts.  We are doing some changes to the artwork and will likely do black ink on grey shirts.    Sweatshirts will be zip up and we are considering long sleeve t-shirts.  Let me know if you are interested in ordering any.

Poker Anyone?

This is William in a bib that my mom got for him.  He looks like he is a dealer in Las Vegas....with a little sweet potato on his chin!

Bromance

 Jim and Mr C went to a 49er game today.  Jim was so excited about it - he was like a little kid - ready to go at 8 am and the game didn't start until 5 pm!

Check out the creeper lady in the back!

Fantasy Football

I was asked to join a Fantasy Football league at work called "The League of Champions"!  Someone mistakenly thinks I know what I am doing....they are wrong. 

But since they offered this jersey and a cash prize to the winner I had to participate.

The other players totally intimidate me - they talk about stuff I have never heard about.  But I was thrilled when I won my game the first week.  I was not so lucky the second week.

I wore the jersey to work on Friday and everyone was really impressed.  And I have to say it made me feel a bit bad ass!

A gift

One of my coworkers loved my most recent "succulent casserole" and since she was the one who gave me the casserole dish I decided I needed to make her a pot for her desk.  She gave me a white ceramic bowl and I put this together.

Pacifica Boondoggle

Grace, me and my dad had a great boondoggle today in Pacifica!

We started the day surfing.  It was a beautiful blue sky day.  But the waves were small.  That didn't bother Grace.  She stayed out there for about an hour until the water was over come white jelly fish - they freaked her out!

Next up was a trip to a local surf shop.  We are shopping for a used board for her.  We didn't find any but she got a fin key that she has been needing to get.

Then we went to a local cafe and had some lunch.  Since we had never been there we did not know the size of the entrees and ordered way too much!  We ate until full and then headed to our next stop -- another surf shop.

No boards there either - darn.

After the last surf shop, we headed to G's soccer game.  The pic above is our view while watching the game - and YES - that is the ocean in the background.  Grace ended our boondoggle day by making 2 goals and her team won her game!

Overall it was a great day of father/daughter, mother/daughter and grandfather/granddaughter bonding!

Family Sayings - Bacon Bacon Parkway

I listened to a bit on the radio today about funny sayings you have in families or workplaces and it made me think of the funny sayings we have in our family.  Probably one of the most bizarre is the use of the phrase "bacon bacon parkway" to describe hot weather.

This is the way it came about:

We were in Kentucky visiting relatives in July when it is hotter than hell.  One of our relatives told us to drive on Blanken Baker Parkway - but with his Kentucky accent we kept thinking he was telling us to take Bacon Bacon Parkway.  And for some reason since it was so hot in Kentucky the term "bacon bacon parkway" came to stand for "it's hotter than hell outside".

This is a typical use:

I come home from work and while driving home I see the thermometer on my car to be 100 degrees.  I get home, walk thru the front door and declare, "dang, its bacon bacon parkway out there!"  Everyone agrees and we discuss how hot it was where everyone was that day.

Succulant Casserole

I used a casserole dish for some of my new succulents and loved the way it turned out!  This one is for my desk at work.

6 months!

Happy half- birthday to William!

Breakdown

Jim went and picked up the mini last nite at the shop at 10 pm.  I left for work at 6 am.  I got down the street and noticed the flat tire light was on.  I turned around and had Jim check the tires.  Since it had just gotten new tires and brakes and the tires looked fine, it was likely a sensor.  We decided I should head into work and he would call Paul and let him know.

I went about 7 miles and while in line in stop and go traffic on an on ramp, smoke started billowing out from the hood!!!!  I quickly pulled over to a spot right by the yellow crash bins filled with sand and leaped out of my car!  I seriously bailed out because if it was on fire the engine compartment is only about 3 inches from my knees!  The car is soooo small.

It turned out to be steam, not smoke.  I drove the car about 1/4 mile off the freeway so I was safe and called AAA.  This is a pic of it getting loaded for a ride to Paul!

The bad part of this story is the Tahoe is already at the shop getting the transmission we just had replaced checked out because it is still acting a little wonky.  So we have 3 out of our 4 vehicle NOT working!

I am really resisting getting a new rig but this is getting hard!

Gigi

This week the world lost a really, really good dog -- Gigi has gone to heaven to be with Sophie, Kasey Bear, Kiely, Jeeter and Charlie.  My brother and his family were so lucky to adopt Gigi in her retirement years after spending her earlier life having pups.  She had to be the sweetest dog I had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Rest in peace sweet girlie -- I will always remember the week we got to spend at Cherry Lake together.  You were the epitome of a "good dog".

Succulent Gardens

Yesterday Grace had a soccer game in Watsonville.  After I dropped her off for warm ups, I shot down the coast to Succulent Gardens to check out all their plants.  I had heard great things about them from a friend of a friend and it did not disappoint.

I got the basket below and chose all the plants to go in it and got a bunch of other random plants too.  Check out the cool guy to the right!

I planted this morning but still have some more to plant.  I think I will make a pot for my desk at work.

Lots of planters and different types of cacti and succulents.

Delicata Squash

I got 2 small delicata squash at Trader Joes today and cooked them up for a snack.  I cut them in half, removed the seeds and sliced them in quarter inch pieces.  Then I tossed them with rosemary flavored olive oil and salt and pepper.  Cooked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  They were AMAZING!!!

They would be such a delicious and easy side dish for Thanksgiving.  Plus they look so pretty because the skin is yellow with green stripes.

Sept 5, 2014

Happy 11th Birthday Daisy Mae!

A message from college

Drew received his first care package and was fired up!  My favorite thing was the giant lizard that they decided to use to scare the girls.

These are some pics that I have received recently indicating he is studying.  Note the glasses and books as proof!

Free is Good

Every 6 months or so we have a "free is good fair" at work.  People bring in things they don't want anymore and we put it all out like a giant garage sale.  But instead of paying for the stuff, its FREE.  I have helped with it the last few years and just helped make the signs for the next one.  Folks were doing all these signs with just words....and then I found these dinosaur stickers!!!!

Hetch Hetchy Boondoggle

Clean up continues

Jim, G and I are at the cabin this weekend and since that water levels are too low to get a boat in a lake that is close, we decided to go on a boondoggle. 

We loaded up drinks, a picnic lunch, towels and the dogs and headed out towards Hetch Hetchy.

We had plans to do some geochaching along the way.  It was interesting because the night before when we were looking at the geocaches and downloading them there was a whole bunch that had not been found since May/June/July 2013 and then a couple that had been found in June and August of this year.  Well....once we got there it because quite apparent why they had not been found in over a year -- they had burned up in the Rim Fire.  All the caches that had not been found in over a year were located in areas that were completely devastated in the fire!

The fire did not reach Hetch Hetchy proper but was all over the area driving into Hetch Hetchy.

Hetch Hetchy

The Dam

We hiked around Hetch Hetchy a bit.  Me on the side that allows dogs and Jim and Grace on the dam and the side that does not allow dogs.  There is not a lot to do out there.  I would recommend it for backpackers and day hikers who want to do a long hike.  But that is about it - no boating or swimming.  You can fish but the reports are terrible.

Hetch Hetchy Valley - right before the lake - shows the devastation

After checking out the lake, we headed back and stopped at a creek to let the dogs play.  It was an area that had been burned and the depth of the ash was amazing.  Daisy sunk ankle deep.  It was great....wet dog coated with ash!  It's why I can't get a new rig.

Then we had a picnic at a nice picnic spot.  Nectarines, salami, cheese, crackers and milano cookies.  Yum!

Headed out, stopped at every camp ground to check it out.  I found some nice ones for my coworker who has a home made tear drop trailer.  I think she should try out Dimond O.  It is quiet and a nice location to play in a creek, go to Evergreen Lodge and check out Hetch Hetchy.

Then we stopped at Rainbow Pools.  It was crazy busy - looked like Disneyland in nature - there were people everywhere!!!  We didn't stop.  Just drove thru and observed the crazy.

Then we headed to a new bakery that shares a building with the river rafter companies.  We were hoping to get a pie but apparently they only make pies to order.  So we had to make do with some smaller items - a little cherry turnover for Jim and rice krispy treats for me and G.  Yum.  While there we were checking out pictures of recent river rafting.  Back in late July we had some local thunder storms which cause the Toulomne River to fill with mud and silt and it looked like chocolate milk while they were rafting it.  The pictures are amazing!

Last stop for our boondoggle was a stop to let Grace practicing her driving.  She is doing great.  A little over 6 months until she gets her permit.

All in all --- a great day!

Look who is sitting up!

Such a big boy!

AZ Monsoon

I got a call from Drew yesterday afternoon so I could hear the rain, thunder and lightening as he was standing ankle deep in water!  This is the time of year that they have monsoon rains and this was his first experience.  This is a pic of the streets in Tucson.

Puppy Class

Last nite Jim and I went to a Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) puppy training class to meet the puppy raiser for Licorice, the dog we are hoping gets released.  The puppy raiser wanted to meet us because she is the person they contact first if Licorice gets released and then she can tell them she has a family lined up for her.

When we were walking up to the building we saw a lady with a young pup in training and I asked her where to go.  She pointed me in the right direction and we headed in.  Along the way she asked me if I wanted to raise a puppy and I responded, "no, we are hoping to get a released dog."  And she said, "Licorice?  I am her puppy raiser!".  So if you believe in signs then this was a good one!

We chatted with her for about 10 minutes in the parking lot and by the end she was asking if we would adopt her too!  She loved what we do with our dogs - backpacking, boating, hiking, swimming, camping, walks everyday!

When we were chatting we got to meet her new pup - 3 month old Lois!  What a kook!  She had that crazy, wild eyed lab look.

After chatting for awhile we went into the training class just in time to see "play time".  That is where they bring all the dogs outside, take off their vests and let them loose in a free for all doggie chaos.  And then they call them back, make them lay down and be calm.  It was a hoot to watch!  Jim got some video that I will try to upload.

After that they came in for some training.  They worked on stairs (you can see a stage in the back of the picture that they walked up the stairs and then down the stairs on the other side), walked by a toy, and walked by a pile of kibble.  Towards the end, they all down stayed their dogs right by the kibble and right by other dogs.  That was funny too because all of a sudden someone would decide to get up and lay on someone else.

The last thing they did was show the puppy raisers how to teach the dog shake, roll over and visit (put its head in your lap).

Licorice has 3 more months of training and could be released at anytime.  Her raiser thought that if she did get released it would be because of her prey drive.  She said that of the 15 puppies she has raised (yes - that is right - 15 puppies!) that Licorice had the strongest prey drive of any of them.  She said that when they went for hikes she would constantly be on the look out for prey - which is not what they want a service dog doing.

So - keep your fingers crossed.  My thinking is that this is a win win situation.  If she gets released we get a great dog.  If she does not get released someone who needs her gets a great dog!

A Manny and his Charges

Love this pic of Muncle Marty and his babies in Arizona!  No one ever had a better "Manny".  These are lucky, lucky kids!

Mount Lemmon

Cactus last ditch effort to grow at high elevations

On our last day in AZ we took a trip to Mount Lemmon.  Leslie and her kids went with us.

We really enjoyed the day - hiking around and checking out the ski slopes.  The ski resort is tiny! 

 

The cookie cabin - had lunch and a giant cookie

Ski run

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