My musings

It's been a long, long time

2009-09-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember that old song? So I came over to my blog today to change my photo. I figured it was time and I see it's been almost a year since last posting. I'm involved in Christmas Joy again this year!

So, where have I been? Well, I'm still reading some of your blogs but I do almost everything on Facebook now. Yes, that's right - I've crossed over to the dark side LOL. I do enjoy it though and have found it to be a great way to keep up with my friends and events that I like to attend. I've also found that uploading photos there into albums has been much easier than this blog. So, if you are on Facebook and would like to be friends with me just do a search for Irene Kautto in Lakewood, CA and "friend" me. If you want, write me a little note and let me know you are from my blog.

See you around.

CHRISTMAS JOY 2008

2008-11-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

A CHANGE OF HEART

I am again in my church's production of Christmas Joy this year. We are taking a departure from the Victorian era and the play is set in 1957. The first part of the play we wear clothes that reflect the 1950's. Half way through we change in to our Victorian costumes. The play is about a congregation wanting to put on a big Christmas Eve show and invite people from all over to come to it. The pastor is expecting so many to come that we practice outside and the production will be outside. Also we wear Victorian costumes to give it a different look. By setting the play this way we can wear two types of costumes and it explains to our audience why we are performing "outside".

The performance is just two weeks away on December 6 and 7 and December 13 and 14. Two performances each day for a total of 8. It has been a lot of hard work. This year I tried out for a drama role and got one. So besides playing hand bells for the prelude and a number in the play itself I also sing and "dance" and do drama.

Today at our rehearsal everyone was to wear their 1957 outfit. They wanted to make sure we had the right "look". Here are some photos I took today along with some of me posing in front of the "record shop" in my scene one dress. Enjoy.

THE BIG 60

2008-11-08T17:45:00.000-08:00

Yes ... today I turned 60. 60???!!! Where did that number come from? It's hard to believe as time just seems to go by so fast.

Today my daughter Jennifer (the baker) threw me a Mad Hatter Tea Party. We invited some friends I've had for years and some new friends. Not everyone could come but we had a nice, intimate group. My friend Ellen graciously opened her house to this event. Jennifer did a wonderful job planning, purchasing and preparing everything. She's been cooking or baking all week!

Below is a slide show of some of the best photos that Carolyn (Ellen's daughter) took. Enjoy.

A Day at Disneyland September 8, 2008

2008-09-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a slide show of our trip to Disneyland today

KITTENS ARE NOW CATS - ONE YEAR OLD

2008-08-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Our babies are all grown up! On August 6 Jade, Tom, Huck and Peachy turned one. They each have their own distinct personality.

Jade is the only girl. She is the smallest and very slim. She is feisty and doesn't scare easily. She will watch a dog walk by and not run away. When our street was repaved recently she slept right through it (the boys hid in the garage).

Tom is a big, lovable boy. He is sweet tempered and does not incite trouble.

Peachy aka Junior is going to be huge like his father. He weights close to 12 pounds already. He is the trouble maker and butter wouldn't melt in his month.

Huck is afraid of everyone and everything. He takes after his feral mother. He will have nothing to do with me. He only comes in the house reluctantly. Because of this we no not have a "take" on his personality.

Jade, Tom and Peachy come in the house at dusk, spend the night in the house and then are let out at dawn. All cats can come and go as they please. They are a lot of work but so much fun.

Following is a slide show I put together of our babies growing up. Hope you enjoy.

ORANGE COUNTY FAIR 2008

2008-07-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday July 23 I went to the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, California. The weather this past week has not been that hot so I thought it would be a good time to go. The theme this year is:

which applies to cheese products and photography (get it?) I came in through the entrance that is over by the animals and went and saw them first.

This tent is a display area for the children and they had this cool truck and a cheese sculpture.

And what would the fair be without food?!

What? Do you think I ate this?!!! (Yes, I did. I know - bad girl)

More theming

Interesting stilt walkers were around

Just a few interesting fair shots

Wow!

On to the garden area

Anyone like bonsai?

Inside the show building with flower and wood displays

It was not very crowded during the day but the crowds picked up during the evening hours

Inside this Arts and Crafts building was this handmade display of the show at Disneyland (in the Golden Horseshow) called Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. It is one of our favorite shows to see when we go to the park. This was amazing and won first place in its division and not only that it won Best in Show!

An evening shot just before leaving

The End

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISNEYLAND

2008-07-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome."
Walter Elias Disney - July 17, 1955

MEMORIAL DAY AT DISNEYLAND

2008-05-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jennifer and I went to Disneyland for the afternoon and evening. Last year Memorial Day was not that crowded but it was somewhat crowded this year.

Anyway, I did a couple of "trip reports" with photos on a Disney community board which you may view as a guest.

The first one is about our quest for Indiana Jones. Click on this link to read and see photos and some videos

Looking for Indiana Jones

The second one is about our day in general with photos of things around the park, the parade and the Flag Ceremony on Main Street.

Memorial Day at Disneyland

LET THEM EAT CAKE

2008-05-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

My daughter has just finished her final course, Professional Cake Decorating, to earn her certificate from the Culinary Department at Long Beach City College for her Baking Certificate.

I thought I would share with you some of the cakes she has made during this semester and the last couple of years. I am having trouble getting the photos in the proper sequence so they are out of order date wise.

Her cakes not only look good but they are yummy as well as everything is made from scratch using the best of ingredients.

This carrot cake was for friend's birthday June 27, 2006

This cake was made as part of her Introduction to Chocolate class April 27, 2006

A birthday cake she made for me to take to school on April 5, 2006

The filling was real whipped cream with cherries

One of the girls in her baking class asked her to make this cake for a party she was having on April 21, 2006

This cake was made on April 25, 2006 to thank a couple who had been helping with the college group at her church and they were going into a different ministry.

This is a closeup of how she makes roses. She took two semester's of Work Service classes for credit at Rossmoore Pastries which is a very well known local bakery in the area and that is where she learned to do them.

More of the roses

This is one of the first cakes she made this semester in the professional cake decorating class and they needed to learn these techniques. January 30, 2008

On February 27, 2008 they learned the basket weave

April 3, 2008 they worked with fondant

The final exam was to make a wedding cake. The inside of this cake was dense chocolate with chocolate chips, whipped cream filling with sliced fresh strawberries. The frosting on the outside is French butter cream made with lots of real butter and sprinkled with eatable gold which does not show up well in the photo.

She also hand dipped large fresh strawberries (purchased at a stand not the grocery store) in dark chocolate and then drizzled the white chocolate over them.

The staff at my school was the recipient of most of the cakes she made in class. They were complimentary of them all but especially this last one. One teacher said it was the best cake she had ever had.

I am very proud of her. This is the only photo I have of her in a chef's outfit as she does not like having her picture taken. This was from when she worked at a summer camp a few years ago and she is the one on the right.

REVLON RUN WALK 2008

2008-05-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Gasp! An update ...

This last Saturday, May 10, was the 15th Annual Run/Walk For Women's Cancers. For 5 years Curves Lakewood has participated with a team. I have done this for 4 years, 2 of them as team captain.

Here's our sign as we head away from the coliseum toward the starting line

And a lot of other people were right behind us

I thought this companies T-shirt was pretty cool

Getting close to the official starting line

Even dogs get to be a part of the walk

On the other side of the starting line two fire engines display the American flag

Lynn and her son from my school walk in support of ... me! (I've blocked out my last name as I don't believe in putting full names out there in cyber space).

Out of the thousands of people there we ran into two teams of people I know! This is part of the team from my school who were walking in support of a mom who is battling breast cancer for the fourth time.

We've made it to Mile 2

KABC Channel 7 is always there and one of the weathermen, Karth Kemp is also there. He is the nicest most down to earth man you'd ever want to meet.

I thought this photo of Lynn and her son was so sweet.

Disney had a team participating too :)

We are approaching the end and this is looking back at the crowd ...

... looking forward.

As you approach the tunnel entrance this group bangs away on the drums. It makes it very exciting.

Made it to the end, Mile 3!

Approaching the tunnel entrance

Coming out of the tunnel we approach the finish line.

After we got our medal and as a survivor, a rose, we went and got our snack bag.

The entertainment this year was The Go-Go Girls. They were very good.

A huge crowd fills the coliseum

I like the fact that they always light the flame for this event.

This year we had 23 people on our team. So far we have raised over $1,000 most of which was taken in by a raffle at Curves that I organized. I am very proud of everyone who came out to support this most important cause.

Update: As of 5/23 the amount we have taken in is $1,745.00!

KITTENS - THEY JUST KEEP ON COMING

2008-03-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

The mother feral cat who lives in our backyard (and that we have not been able to trap) had another litter of kittens one week ago today. They missed being born on Saint Patrick's Day by 24 hours. This time she had 6!

She left the property this morning and we were able to get a picture of them while she was gone:

From left to right is a mottled dark cat like its mother (but it is partially hidden). Next is a dark cat but it does not appear to be pure black. Third is a yellow cat like its big brother Peachy and its Dad next door Peaches. Then we have a white one! Where that came from, we have no idea. Is there a white male in the neighborhood? I haven't seen one. Is this a genetic throw back? Who knows. Fifth one is another yellow one same father as the other one (Peaches is the only non-neutered yellow male in the neighborhood). Finally a tabby like its big brothers Tom and Huck. No, we are not going to keep these. We can't. We can't afford to have 6 cats spayed and neutered nor can we afford to feed all these cats. We kept the four from the August litter and have cared for them and love them. We must find homes for these new cats or some kind of organization that can help us find homes. I am just hoping mother leaves them on property. She has moved them once from the place where they were born and so far is trusting us more. We also must catch her and have her spayed. We have a trap and are trying to catch the males that are swarming this neighborhood.

Update written one week later on above: We no longer have the feral mother cat or the kittens. We talked about it and decided it was not possible to try and care for all these cats and upon closer inspection we could see an eye infection in the mother cat and all the kittens had one or both of their eyes crusted over with the same infection. Paul was able to use the kittens to trap mother and then took them all to animal control this morning. It is a sad time for us but we are happy to have our four "babies" from the August litter that give us great pleasure!

And just to update you on the August batch (7 months old on March 14) here are some current photos of them sleeping. They sleep a lot in the daytime, but boy in the evening and early morning hours they come to life. The following three like to be in the house and spend the night in the house. Huck will come in to eat and sometimes play but he prefers to sleep in the garage. We tried keeping him in the other night but he woke us at 3 AM crying to be let out. We have also never seen him use the litter box which makes it dangerous. These three do use the litter box. So well in fact that they will sometimes be playing outside, stop and then come inside to use the box rather than outside dirt :)

Peachy just loves to stretch out either on the sofa or our bed.

Tom also loves to stretch out mostly on the couch. Sometimes he has a companion like Jade.

Jade doesn't usually stretch out. She prefers to sleep curled up in a ball so this position was rather unusual for her. She prefers the rocking chair or a cushion we have but this day she stretched out on the sofa.

So that is it from "catsville". Never a dull moment around here when it comes to animals.

PIXAR PLAY PARADE AT DCA

2008-03-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 3/27: Pixar Play Parade is showing back up on the daily schedule. I also heard that yesterday it did perform without incident. But as of 3/26 the Bugs Life float was not in the parade. Also the acrobatic performers on the Toy Story float were absent. Instead they have blue plastic monkeys hanging there. And lastly the rats on the Ratouille Float were not bungee jumping. Instead the cords look like spaghetti tossed in a pot and the rats are just waving from the float. To see the latest pictures and read more about what is happening with the parade go here MiceChat PhotoMatt Pics and MiceAge Dateline Disneyland.

UPDATE: Beginning March 20 the following parade has been temporarily suspended. The Bug's Life float malfunctioned. One of the swings in the middle of float broke. The performer on the swing noticed something was wrong and stopped the swing and jumped off just before it broke. The swing or arm or something fell straight down onto the float and then it rolled off onto the parade route. No one was injured. All performances were canceled through the weekend, and there is no official word on when the parade will return. I'll let you know when it is back up and running. It is shame this happened now because this is one of their peak times of year and also it was very hot this past weekend and the water would have felt good, I'm sure.

On March 13, 2008 there was a "soft" opening and preview of the newest parade at DCA, Disney's California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. This parade replaces a previous parade called Block Party Bash which has been transplanted to Orlando.

This parade celebrates all the Disney/Pixar movies. There is a float of some kind for every movie and it is very colorful, fun and ... wet! Just about every float has water squirting out at the spectators randomly. This will be fine when it is hot in the summer but I really didn't appreciate it in March. I was also trying to keep my camera dry.

Here are some of my better shots. Enjoy.

LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY IN LOS ANGELES

2008-02-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

Live With Regis & Kelly is broadcasting from Los Angeles this week and I was able to get tickets for the Monday morning show. They broadcast live at 6 AM which meant I had to get up at 3 AM, leave my house at 4 AM to be there before 5 AM. As it was there were 81 people there before me. I also was able to stay for the taping of a show that was shown today, Tuesday.

I had a really good time. I have been watching Regis ever since he had his local show here in Los Angeles and then when it became syndicated from New York with Kathy Lee. I was not able to get a photo with him or Kelly but he did sign my ticket.

The is one of the signs on the side of the wall:

The studio before the show began and preparations being made:

Host chat. I was not allowed to take flash photos while the show was in progress but I had a ledge in front of me where I sat my camera and was able to take some photos without the flash.

Here Kelly and Regis are watching a taped piece about Regis at the Oscars on a monitor:

Regis came up to my area and here he is signing my ticket:

This photo is of Kelly at the second show taping (she has a different dress on than in the above photos):

The empty audience area after the second show finished taping:

I also did a more detailed report with more photos here:

MiceChat TV

EPSON PHOTO CENTER IS CLOSING

2008-01-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

I received an email today that this service is being discontinued. Many of my older posts have links to my photo albums on Epson. After April they will no longer be available. I used to link to Epson when I did not know how to upload photos in my blog or I had so many photos it was easier to link to the album for viewing. I now use Photo Bucket as my primary album location but these older photos will not be transfered there. All my photos are stored on my computer and backed up so this closure does not affect me that much. I did like Epson's layout.

This post is to advise anyone that happens to stumble across my blog try to view photos at Epson on older posts that they will be gone. I really doubt that will happen, but you never know!

KITTIES AGAIN

2007-12-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

It would appear that what keeps me posting to the blog now days is the cats!

Here are a few photos I took on December 20th. Three of the kittens are now in the house in the evenings. Jade is able to spend the night indoors without incident. We tried letting Tom and Peachy stay in also and for two nights it was fine but then the third night either Tom or Peachy (we suspect Peachy) had multiple accidents on the carpet (messy ones not solid if you get my drift). We do have a liter box but I don't think it is the right kind of liter. Jen bought some pellet things from Trader Joes. I think it needs to be the more standard, sandy kind of liter which I am going to buy today and put in there. So before I go to bed I put Tom and Peachy out. I hate to do it because of the cold but they do have a warm place in the garage to go and lots of fur, but I still hate to do it. I am not mentioning Huck because he is still afraid and only comes in the house briefly in the day time to check out the food situation. I wish he wasn't so skittish.

Sometimes they eat in the kitchen. Jade is in the middle not sure who Tom or Huck is in this photo.

Tom and Peachy on our bed

Tom and Peachy enjoying the warmth of the bed

This is standard procedure in the morning before I go to work and at night while I am on the computer. As a matter of fact this is exactly how things look right now as I write this!

KNOTTS MERRY FARM 2007

2007-12-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

Knotts Berry Farm is no longer Mr. Knott's Farm. Cedar Fair has taken over and slowly the things that made it Knotts are disappearing. The park is catering to young adults with fast thrill rides and I no longer meet that demographic!

Today I did decide to pay them a visit because I had heard there were two plays being given at the Bird Cage Theater. I used to love the Bird Cage and the melodramas that were produced there. But they have not put on plays there since 1997 except during the holidays. These past three weekends if you brought a new toy worth $10 or more for Toys For Tots, you were given a ticket for free admission to Knotts.

So this morning I took myself off with a new toy primarily to see the plays at the Bird Cage. Traffic and parking were really bad and Knotts was crowded to the hilt. But I did get to walk in to the Bird Cage Theater and once again sit and see a play.

The first one was A Christmas Carol. Only six actors (four men and two women) did the play with a minimum of props and scenery and it was very well done. They managed to convey the message of A Christmas Carol in 30 minutes. The gentleman who played Scrooge did a marvelous job; all the actors did. After that ended I went outside and got back in line to see The Gift of the Magi. It was the same set of actors except the man who played Scrooge. This play was shorter but also well done.

After the plays I walked around Knotts and took a few photos and ate lunch at the counter of Johnny Rockets. Below are some of the photos I took today.

The first sight to greet me as I entered the "back" entrance on the West side of the park was construction. They have taken out the large bird cage that was here and the Ranger station which was really an old school house that had been made over into a nature center and run by a very nice woman. I later found the Ranger Station around the corner. Much to my relief it had been relocated and refurbished and the same woman is in charge. She told me that a new ride is going in, something called run a way stage coach (or something like that). I was just happy they kept this place so kids and can see insects up close and personal.

Next I made my way over to the Bird Cage theater. I had plenty of time to wander around the area until the first showing of A Christmas Carol at Noon.

This is the stage

The play took place mostly in Scrooge's office. The window was also used for the inside of the Cratchit's home with a curtain covering the words Scrooge and Marley.

This board in the corner lists the names of the characters and the actors who play the parts.

The next play
The set for this play
After the play the actors came out for photos. This is how they were dressed for Gift of the Magi. The actor who played Scrooge in the first play was not part of this group.

Some shots from around the park. I tried to take pictures of what I consider to be Knotts.

I took this shot to show that this is all that is left of Reflection Lake.

This Panda Express is going in across from the log ride. This area used to be a shooting gallery.

Can't visit Knotts without going into the old schoolhouse.

An interesting day. Sad to see the Knotts that I remember slowly disappearing but glad that I got to see two plays in the old Bird Cage Theater.

Now, just for fun, I have uploaded a video (never done this before) of the steam train that goes around the park.

KITTENS ARE GROWING UP

2007-12-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

The kittens are no longer little and cute. Now they are bigger, but still cute! Here are some photos I took today.

Snuggled down in the grass. They do have a warm place to sleep in the garage.
Jade in the back, Tom the tabby, older brother, and Peachy

What do you want asks Peachy

I'm trying to sleep here

Did you want something asks Huck

While Tom sleeps in the water box

Big brother takes good care of them

Now Jade wonders what is going on

I do have a nice profile, don't I?

Also, yesterday I went to Disneyland for the afternoon and evening. Wanted to see the Christmas decorations, the new overlay on the castle, the parade and the fireworks. I took some photos and did a trip report on MiceChat which can be accessed here.

Here are a couple of photos

FRIDAY OCTOBER 5 LEE NATIONAL DENIM DAY

2007-10-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

This Friday in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, wear your jeans. This event has occurred the first Friday in October for the past several years. This year EIF (Entertainment Industry Foundation) is backing and doing publicity for the event. They also do the Revlon Run Walk during the month of May in Los Angeles and New York.

For more information you can visit their web site here: http://www.denimday.com/index.html

I was contacted by them due to the fact I was team captain for the Curves that I work out at for the Revlon Run Walk. I have signed up as the team coordinator for Curves again and we are doing Denim Week at the club and collecting $5 from each member which will then be sent to EIF. All the money will be going directly to breast cancer research.

To donate to my team directly on line you can go here:

https://register.denimday.com/TeamWebPage.cfm?pID=24521

Why do I do this? Because I am a 6 year survivor and also because I have lost several friends to this disease lately. The most recent was just this past Saturday. I wonderful woman aged 55 who fought bravely for seven years. She was one of Paul's cousins. In 2003 she wrote a letter to a woman who had just been diagnosed with cancer. She published this letter as an article entitled Tales of a Reluctant Sailor. At the time she wrote this there was no sign of cancer left in her body. The cancer did come back, though. It is well worth the time to read and you will see what a special lady she was.

http://www.phoons.com/o/ReluctantSailor.html

Janice Irene Geist
January 6, 1952 - September 29, 2007

So, this Friday don't forget to wear those jeans!

I wished my bottom looked this good in a pair of jeans :)

KITTEN UPDATE

2007-09-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

The kittens are growing fast! They are coming up on eight weeks this coming Tuesday. Friday morning they were not to be found anywhere. We have opened our garage to them as the nights are getting cooler and they were not in there. They also come out when they hear Paul serving breakfast. I was very much afraid that mother cat had led them to the backyard of our neighbor across the alley behind our house and I was right. This was not a good place for them to be as he is a died in the wool cat hater. To make a long story short I found them there and managed to retrieve three out of the four kittens. Got bitten and scratched for my trouble by one of them but I treated the wounds real well and so far nothing bad has happened. The fourth kitten showed up later in the day and now we have blocked the back gate so they can't get out. Here are some adorable pictures taken today and a couple of days ago.

This is Peachy meeting his father Peaches for the first time. Peaches likes to sleep on our side lawn. Peaches has no clue what is going on. Son? What son?

I thought I would try to get a cute shot of a kitten with a flower behind it or something. As you can see, it didn't work.

Yum. Dinner was pretty good.

Now it's time to wash up.

Peachy fell asleep in our garage in the warm sun. This is the first time I have seen him fully stretched out like this. They usually sleep all curled up.

A close up of his cute little face.

Coming up later this week, a post about Friday, October 5 - Lee National Denim Day in support of breast cancer research.

KITTENS !!!

2007-09-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is correct ... we have kittens. Four of them. One female and three males. Here's the story.

Back last summer we had a cat show up with two kittens in our backyard. One was rather sick and puny. They were in our back yard off and on for a few weeks and then disappeared. She came back with only one kitten about a month later. Later she disappeared leaving him behind. We did not feed them but we did open the garage so he would have someplace warm to sleep. Finally around February or March Paul felt sorry for him and started to feed him wet food, later adding dry food. We were trying to make him friendly so we could catch him to be neutered (actually we thought he was a she, but we were wrong). Well, lo and behold Mother comes back with two kittens. Unfortunately they were both sick. One had its eyes totally mucked up and closed and the other had one eye mucked up. We called animal control and had them picked up. Now mother stuck around and readopted her first kitten. So now we were feeding two cats but the arrival of mother set us back on our quest to make friends with Kitten. We do call him Kitten for lack of a better name but he is no longer a kitten. We found out there was a three month wait for a trap from animal control and were deciding what to do when it became obvious that mother was pregnant again. Sigh. So coming up on seven weeks ago she gave birth in our backyard. Because we had been providing fresh water and food these kittens were healthy. She kept moving them around to hide them from us which made it difficult to pick them up and play with them and love them so they won't be feral. Between the 4th and 5th week she took them off property which dismayed us because we had no idea where they were. She would come back here to eat and then disappear. She did bring them back in their 5th week and we discovered their eyes were not good. So we have been picking them up and cleaning out their eyes several times a day, especially the orange one and the black and white one. After reading up on line about kittens and eye problems we bought some antibiotic from a pet store and now their eyes are cleared up and bright and shinny.

So let me introduce:

JADE

This is the only female in the group. She had the worst eye problem and so because we had to handle her the most she is also the sweetest. She is very patient as we work on her. Much calmer than the others and loves to be scratched behind her ears. She has the cutest little side hop when she is playing with her brothers and her old brother. By the way, older brother (Kitten) is very good with his younger half siblings.

Next we havePEACHY

How did we come up with this name? Well, we know who the father is - Peaches the un-neutered male pet cat who lives next door. His owner keeps promising me that she will get him taken care of but she never does. Anyway, Peachy stands out like a beacon from his siblings. He had the second worst eye problem and has calmed down a lot due to handling. He is very playful and his favorite sibling to play with is Jade.

Next comes the "twins". We have a hard time telling these two apart. One is Tom and the other Huck. By the way, Jennifer came up with all these names.

HUCK (I think)

Huck has darker coloring on his head. He is the healthiest one of the bunch and never had the eye problem. He is harder to pick up as he always runs and hides from us. We have not had to handle him as much though we do try to love and pet him when it is possible. He and Tom are very playful.

And finally

TOM

He only had a problem in one eye and it was never very bad. He is the big baby of the group and just cries and cries when we work on his eye. He is also very playful and enjoys his big half brother a lot.

They will be seven weeks old this Tuesday and have been eating the wet and dry food now for two weeks though they still nurse on Mother. Mother is very protective and hisses at us if we try to come near her. Kitten no longer runs from us like he use to but he will not let us touch him.

So, what are our plans? Good question. We will probably have to trap Mother and turn her into animal control. We know someone at church who will let us borrow her trap when we are ready. She will never be anything but feral. We will wait until the kittens are more than 8 weeks old, though. Kitten we think can be tamed. We will try to trap him and have him neutered. We really love Jade and Peachy so we will see about keeping them and of course spaying and neutering them. Tom and Huck need a good home. If we knew someone that would really love Jade and Peachy, we would probably be willing to give them up though Jennifer is really attached to Jade. So we'll see. Watching them play is so much fun. Here are some more random photos.

One of these days I'll post about school, Disneyland and Christmas Joy (which I am involved in again this year).

OF CATS AND ROSES

2007-04-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

It has been way too long since I have made a post. So much is going on but I thought I would stop and take the time to smell a rose and pet a cat.

I cut back my roses and fed them in January. Now that hard work is paying off. One red rose bush is blooming up a storm. All the others have buds or are just starting to bloom. I think the cooler, overcast weather is dampening their spirit. I suspect if we had warm, sunny days they would also be blooming.

And who is the cat you might ask? Good question. He just showed up in the neighborhood a few weeks ago. The folks across the street feed their two cats on their front porch and this guy decided to mooch. They have tried everything to get rid of him but he is very persistent and also very friendly. I do not think he is a feral cat. Much too friendly for that. He is either lost or someone dumped him. The two cats next door, who were also friendly stays in the neighborhood until they were taken in, do not like him. We also have a stray feral female in our back yard that we can not get close to. She is all black. I suspect she will end up pregnant. Just what we need. But as Paul has pointed out, it is keeping the rodent population down.

Here are some photos I took this morning. We have named (always a bad sign) the friendly stray Marmalade for obvious reasons.

This is the first bush to bloom. It has always been the most productive and the first to bloom.

This photo is along the front of the house showing all the bushes are just ready to burst.

Here is Marmalade. It is hard to get him to sit still long enough to get a picture.

He thinks he should be allowed in the house, but ...

the answer is always no. (I know, how can you resist a face like that!)

I have the next week off of work for which I am thankful. Things start to get hectic this time of year. When we go back we go right into two weeks of SAT testing. Then there is a field trip, then Open House and before you know it summer vacation will be upon us. I have been working for a new teacher this year and we have hit our stride working together. I took her to dinner the other night and to see Miss Potter, based on the life of the author of Peter Rabbit, etc., at the Bay Theater in Seal Beach. I had seen this movie in January or February when it was out for only a short period of time. I knew Janet would love it and was so pleased when I discovered this old neighborhood theater was showing it. She loved it just as much as I did. I highly recommend this movie when it comes out on DVD. Trying to find it playing anywhere is difficult if not impossible.

Another good movie out right now that is wonderful is Meet The Robinsons. Go see it!!!

Something else I am heavily involved in is Revlon Run Walk for Women. This year I volunteered (what was I thinking??!!) to be team captain for the team from Curves in Lakewood. As of this morning we have 20 registered with a goal of 25 by April 20. This is because we have a parking spot for a bus reserved for us. But we have to have 25 registered by April 20 to keep the spot. With some word of mouth and another Curves advertising for us, I think we are going to make it. I have also gone out to local businesses to procure items for a raffle we will be holding in club to raise money for our donation to Revlon Run Walk. I am now 5 1/2 years cancer free, so this event is near and dear to me. Here is a link to our team page which I personalized.

Revlon Run Walk Curves Team 708

This is the Saturday before Easter. I want to wish you all a happy Easter with these words:

HE is risen! He is risen INDEED!

MICE CHAT SECOND ANNIVERSARY MEET

2007-02-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday a group of posters on MiceChat http://www.micechat.com/forums/index.php
a group of people who like to talk about all things Disney, met at Disneyland for the second anniversary of these boards. Here are some pictures that some of the mice chatters took that day. A very good time meeting new friends and going on rides together.

This photograph was taken in front of the castle which is currently being repainted and the "bling" from the 50th anniversary removed.

I am standing off to the left in the red sweat shirt behind Crazy Legs and Purple Dove.

The Disneyland staff and photo people had two cameras and several cast members to hold people off to the sides while the pictures were being taken. The man on the left in the white shirt goes by the screen name of DarkBeer and takes really good pictures.

Here is Al who writes columns for MiceAge. With him is CrazyLegs.

Here I am talking to PurpleDove. Behind me is my brother Bruce who goes by the screen name Lost Boy speaking with Disneyphile who recently purchased a professional video camera and is starting her own business taking videos of weddings, etc.

My brother Bruce aka Lost Boy went early and met with the group to have breakfast. That's him in the purple shirt and funny hat. I came later after Church.

At 11 AM the group took a ride on the Mark Twain. Bruce and I are on the far right.

After the Noon meet at the Hub where we had our picture taken some of us went to the Plaza for lunch. Here Bruce is talking with a MiceChatter.

Here I am in a photo FishBulb took. My screen name on MiceChat is Wendygirl. Bruce and I have a Peter Pan theme going on :)

Here is a nice photo of Bruce and I with Purple Dove.

After lunch we all headed over to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. It was a very funny show and because there were so many of us whooping it up the show was full of energy. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. In the afternoon Bruce and I went to see the Jedi Training Academy and then over to DCA where we watched Block Party Bash and then Turtle Talk with Crush. We ate a hot dog for dinner and then headed back to Disneyland...

where we met up with the group and went in to the Opera House to see the displays and watch the 50th anniversary movie starring Steve Martin. Afterwards we took some pictures in the area where you exit the movie. The young lady in front in blue is a MiceChatter but is also a cast member and works this attraction.

From there we all head to Pirates and our group took up four boats. This is part of the group walking up the ramp to the attraction.

And then we headed over to Haunted Mansion where we all as a group recited the entire dialog in the "stretching" room . It was the most fun I've ever had in that ride.

The group split up at that time and most went to ride Space Mountain but Bruce and I and a few others decided to watch Fantasmic instead.

All in all a wonderful day at the happiest place on earth with good friends. Thank you to all the MiceChatters who took these photos.

DOWNEY ROSE FLOAT 2007 ...update

2006-12-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2007. I did not make it back to take more pictures but seeing the float on TV, it was more beautiful than I imagined it would be. AND, it won a trophy, I think Founders. Congratulations Downey Rose Float Association!

Today I went to Downey and worked on their Rose Parade Float for 2007. The theme of their float this year is Springtime Treasures and above is the concept painting.

This is a view of the front of the float (I think it's the front). It is in an old warehouse to protect it from the elements. Some of the birds, flowers and butterflies are off the float to be decorated.

Next to the warehouse in a large tent the flowers are kept. A few people were working on cutting up certain flowers to be used as cover material.

Here are some flowers being kept in water that will be placed on the float tomorrow. That will be the big flower placing day.

Still more flowers. The colors were so vibrant.

The roses were still wrapped up. There were a couple of hundred bouquets in many colors in one section of the tent.

Outside were some large pretend flowers that had been covered with rice, cut up yellow straw flowers and some seed that was orange. They were outside to dry and to be out of the way. It can be very crowded in the warehouse.

These girls were from a Girl Scout Troop from Whittier/La Habra. I was helping them for awhile placing the black seed on the wings of the butterfly.

This butterfly had the black seed on. I later helped with white ground up rice for the white part, yellow cut up straw flower for the yellow part and some orange seeds for the orange part. I left before the blue cut up flower was applied so I am not sure what kind of flower they were using there.

This bird was being painted so people would know where to place the flowers and seeds later. He was in half so parts of him could be reached better. I am not sure what they use to keep him together.

This was interesting. I had seen people outside cutting up pineapple and letting the outside skin dry in the sun. Later I saw they were using it for the bottom of this flower (I think they are supposed to look like something called Thistle). There will be three of these on one end and two or three on the other. The men putting these on said the spikey part of the pineapple didn't bother them but the glue they were using was very messy and hard to work with. Think of drippy Caro syrup and you would have an idea of what it looked like.

Sometimes parts of the float are hard to reach. These young people had put seeds on the top of this flower and now they have to get underneath and put seed there too.

I will not be able to go back tomorrow but I may go back Sunday afternoon. Most of the work will be done then and I can get pictures of the finished float. It is scheduled to leave the warehouse in Downey and be moved to Pasadena sometime between 5 and 7 PM that day. If it leaves at 7 PM it will be too dark to take pictures, I think.

I do not have photos from Christmas Joy to post yet, but when I get them I will.

CHRISTMAS JOY - THE GIFT

2006-12-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

My church, Bethany Church, in Long Beach is putting on a big Christmas production called Christmas Joy - The Gift. This is the 32nd year it has been presented. Every year it is called Christmas Joy but the story line is different. Also every year the play takes place in the late 1800' in a village.

Because I play in the hand bell choir there, I am automatically in Christmas Joy. We play for the prelude and also we play one piece for the last scene. We walk in from the back aisle playing and continue up on stage. The number is Ding Dong Merrily on High. Let me tell you, it has not been easy getting this in my head but I have done it!

I also decided to be an extra. I have no speaking part, nor do I sing. I appear in the general store shopping. I walk across the stage into the dress shop. I stand out front of the dress shop and listen to "carolers", I walk across the stage again, I sit on a bench like I am in church, etc.

The set was begun in November and the two side buildings rotate. It is all very well done.

The drama cast and singers have been practicing since August. Us extra's were brought in to practice the middle of November. Last night was the final, big rehearsal where we all were in full costume, hair and makeup. Paul came to take pictures but the batteries on the camera were low so he didn't get many. I am very made up, makeup wise, in these pictures because stage lights will wipe you out and the makeup needs to be heavy. So I look somewhat overdone in these pictures with a regular flash on me.

Our first performance is tomorrow and it's free. We have two performances tomorrow and Sunday and then the same the following weekend. Doors open at 3 PM and 6:30 PM for the prelude.

In a couple of weeks I hope to update this blog on how it went.

My cape is reversable. When I am playing hand bells for the prelude and then the final act I will wear the plaid side out as in the above photo. For the play, as an extra, I will wear the solid color out.
I am wearing a hoop skirt under all that fabric. My purse is the plaid fabric. A wonderful woman at the church made my costume and a costume for a new choir member. I made my hat and purchased the curls hanging down.

This is a scene during the "church service" part of the play. We extras are sitting on benches and standing. That's me in the front turning and looking at another extra like we are commenting on what is happening in the play. We are supposed to be animated. This picture was very dark and red in color. I took it into Microsoft Office Picture Manager and was able to lighten it up and also get the colors to come out. I'm very proud of myself :)

Added 12/3: Our first two performances on Saturday the 2nd went very well. A few miscues here and there but nothing the audience would notice. The handbells were a little shaky for the afternoon performance but we were much better in the evening. I think as we continue we will get stronger. I am having loads of fun. I love to play dress up!

IT'S BEEN TOO LONG

2006-11-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that I have not updated since August. Where has the time gone?!

What have I been up to since then? Well, mostly work. School began in September and this year there are 22 students in our class. Quite a leap from the 14 we had last year. I am working for a "new to our school" teacher. She has been teaching for over 30 years but mostly up in Northern California. We are also using a new curriculum for our reading, phonics, spelling, etc. It has been quite the adjustment for us. My teacher was using this curriculum at her former school which has been a good thing. But the parents are not used to it, yet, and it is very paper intensive. Lot and lots of papers to grade and send home.

We now have DSL!!! Just got it hooked up so maybe I'll be posting more. It won't take so long to download photos.

Jennifer has a job. It is part time and she works for a place called Creative Cakery in Long Beach. Her first use of her first paycheck was getting a Disneyland Annual Pass. Now that she can afford her own, I will also be getting one. And today she is purchasing a used car. It belonged to a woman from her church and is two years old and in excellent condition, a Toyota Matrix which is just what she wanted.

Speaking of church, Paul and I are now going to a church closer to our home. Jennifer has decided to stay with the "old" church as she is very involved there and all her friends are there. Paul and I are now going to Bethany Church in Long Beach. I have begun playing in their hand bell choir which is much more intensive than my other church. Playing in this group means I am automatically in the big Christmas production called Christmas Joy. Besides playing for the prelude and the closing song I have also signed on to be an "extra". The dress for this is costumes from the late 1800's and so a woman from the church has made my costume for me with fabric which I purchased. I have also purchased a hoop skirt and a hair piece of curls. When I get it all together and put it in for our first rehearsal in costume, I will take a picture and post it. Setting the stage and decorating the church has already begun. Paul, because he is not afraid of heights, has been asked to put up the lights on the stage buildings (when said buildings are completed). This will be the biggest play I have ever been in. I have done much smaller things for smaller churches and I love to act.

So, that brings us up to date ... but I guess the most important news is that at my six month check up on Friday, I was again cancer free. So it has now been over 5 years! I am a survivor! I now only have to see the doctor once a year and I will stop taking Arimidex in January.

LOS ANGELES LIBRARY AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

2006-08-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to cram some last minute summer vacation outings in these last few weeks. I am on Jury Duty call in this week and so can't plan any trips now. Last week I visited Universal Studios, the Los Angeles Library for a tour and The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Photographs were not allow at the Fashion Institute due to copy rights. They have a display right now of costumes from TV shows. It was a really good display. Here is a link to their site

http://www.fidm.edu/resources/museum+galleries/now-showing.html

This display runs until September 9th.

After seeing this display I took the DASH bus up to the library. They have daily docent tours and even though I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have been to this library many times I thought I could learn some things from a tour.

This library was built in 1927. Over the years some of the old art deco designs were lost behind paneling and fluorescent lights. In 1987 someone deliberately set two fires. The library was closed for several years while it underwent serious repairs and an addition was put on the East side of the library. During this time it was decided to bring the library back to its former 1927 glory and many ceilings and paintings were restored. Also original lights such as the globe below were put back. Many lighting fixtures were reproduced. I have used the descriptions from the library web site on some of the photos I took.

The chandelier was designed by Goodhue Associates, modeled by Lee Lawrie and manufactured by the Thomas Day Company of Los Angeles. In the 1980s, Historical Arts and Casting of Salt Lake City restored the Globe Chandelier. Composed of cast bronze, it weights one ton and is 9 feet in diameter. Its' original cost was $40,000.

The Chandelier is part of a model of the solar system. A translucent blue-glass globe with hand-painted continents hangs in the middle. Planets and a crescent moon can be found in the chains that suspend the globe and the sunburst on the ceiling directly above the globe mirrors the sunburst on the pyramid top of the Library outside. Signs of the zodiac ring the globe along with 48 lights around the rim, which represent the 48 United States in 1926 when the building opened.

This is one of the rooms in the "old" part of the library. The lighting and the paintings on the wall are very beautiful.

The new part of the library is on four levels. Two above ground and two below. This shot was taken from the bottom level looking up. This new wing is called The Bradley Wing named after a former major of Los Angeles.

In 1987, when workmen began restoration of the tiled pyramid atop the Library, they discovered the original finial - a golden hand, entwined by the Serpent of Knowledge, holding the Torch of Learning - was weakened with age. So a exact copy is now on top of the building. Sculpted by Lee Lawrie of terra cotta. It is an illustration of Bertram Goodhue's theme of Central Library - “The Light of Learning.”

This was taken outside looking up at the top of the library and the stone figures on the side of the building.

A close up of the top shows the copy of the hand of knowledge as noted above.

Now, on to Universal Studios. This trip happened earlier in the week. I went on several rides and also the Studio Tour. There were a number of TV shows in production.

This is a shot of the famous Psycho House from Alfred Hitchcock's movie of the same name.

They have the set of War Of The Worlds up and it is very elaborate. A plane has crashed in the middle of a neighborhood and broken in half.

Normally the tram would turn left here and travel up and around to view a cabin and a wide area that can be flooded to form a lake. A television show was filming at the cabin and so we could not go this way.

This is a view of one of the streets with some kleig lights off to the side.

And finally a view of the courthouse used in a current TV show (sorry, can't remember the name, think it is Crossing Jordan). But what this area is really famous for Is Back To The Future. Just think of a clock tower and the broken clock.

So now I sit and wait to see if I report for Jury Duty and also start to get ready for school to being in September.

THE BLACK PEARL

2006-08-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Carribean movies is docked in San Pedro. It has been there since the middle of July and I understand it will be leaving the end of next week (though that is not a firm fact). The area where it is docked is under very high security. You can not get anywhere near it. You can see the masts from the boat area nearby. But one can go to Cabrillo Beach and see it across the bay. That is what my brother and I did today. We drove to San Pedro and parked in the Ports 'O Call parking lot and took the Red Line Trolley down to the Marina 22nd Street stop. From there a shuttle bus is provided to Cabrillo Beach. We walked on to the beach and I shot some movies and still pictures. The lighting was not good and some of my close ups blurred. But it was still fun to see. From there we went to have lunch at a little beach type lunch/bar place and then walked around Ports 'O Call. That is really run down and not how we remembered it from years ago. After we left there we went over to a Fire Department Museum. It was really interesting. We had a good time and it was nice and cool down there.

PIRATES ROSES AND BUTTERFLIES

2006-08-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday a group of us went into Hollywood to the El Capitan theatre to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. What fun. I went down about an hour earlier than the rest of the group and met my brother at the theatre and purchased the tickets. That way we were assured of getting them in case it sold out. And it did, sell out that is. So Bruce and I went and got a bite to eat at McDonalds and then came back and started the line. When Jennifer and her friends arrived we had the tickets and a place in line for them.

Above left is the marquee all decorated for Pirates. Below is the organist. They have a pipe organ that is played for twenty minutes before the start of the show. This guy is awesome and for this engagement is dressed in pirate clothing. He plays all Disney music. For the last number he and the organ go down into the stage. It is really something.
Afterward you can walk around the lobby area and see props used in the movie. They also have props and costumes in the lower level. In the lobby they have a Captain Jack Sparrow look-a-like and of course Jennifer had to have her picture taken with him. I also took a picture of all the girls with him but unfortunately it blurred.

Outside while waiting in line they have some pirate performers come by to keep you amused while you wait. This lady was on slits. Her ship is made from balloons as are the swords. Here she is with Bruce.

My next adventure was this past Tuesday. I went into Los Angeles on the Blue Line Metro Rail and then caught a shuttle bus (call DASH) over to Exposition Park where the Museum of Natural History is located. The first Tuesday of every month the admission is free. They had an exhibit on the Bog People that I wanted to see. Without going into a long explanation, here is a link to what this is all about:

http://www.nhm.org/bogpeople/

After viewing this and walking around the museum a little bit I went over to the Science Center and looked around and then over to The Rose Garden. This garden has been there since the early 1900's. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle of the garden.

This is a view looking toward the West from the middle of the garden toward the old section of the Natural History Museum. This part was built in 1910, the same year my parents were born. As a matter of fact, Exposition Park was where my parents hung out as teenagers and played baseball. My Mom and Dad met in this park.

This is my artistic shot from under the arches of the old part of the building.

Also going on is a butterfly exhibit. For a couple of dollars you could go into this outdoor mesh building and watch the butterflies fly all over. It is very neat to just stand or sit and watch them flutter all over. Sometimes they will land on you.

So there you have it. An update, finally. My next adventure will be to go to San Pedro where the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean is docked while undergoing changes for more filming for part 3 of the movie. They say you can see it very clearly from a nearby beach. I will, of course, take pictures.

NEW LOOK

2006-08-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

I decided after seeing other peoples templates for their blogs that I would switch to this one. The only problem is that my colored text did not show up. I have attempted to change the color to black on the ones on the front page. In doing this I accidentily lost most of post under the Revlon Run Walk blog. From now on I will just post in black or as it turns out automatically, white.

I keep forgetting to take my camera to events I have been to. I did go to Exposition Park in Los Angeles yesterday and took some pictures which I will try to post about. I have to do that on my other computer, though, as that is where the pictures are (long boring story, so I won't bore you :)

Also I am hoping to go see The Black Pearl sometime soon and take pictures. It is the sailing ship belong to Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Carribbean movies. It is docked in San Pedro and clearly visible from Cabrillo Beach. They are doing work on it before more filming is done for the third installment of the movie.

Speaking of Pirates I did go see this movie last Saturday with my brother, my daughter and five of her friends. We went into Hollywood to the El Capitan theater. They did a wonderful job of dressing the set and there was even an actor there dressed as Captain Jack. I have a good picture of Jennifer with him. She will probably kill me when I post it, but tough cookies :)

GOOD-BYE CATHERINE

2006-06-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of school and it was also Catherines last day of teaching at our school and here in the United States. She and her husband have accepted a position teaching international business people's children in an American school in China! They leave for an orientation in New York this week for two weeks and then leave for China the end of July with a start date of August 18.

Yesterday was very hard for everyone saying goodbye. The students and their parents were wonderful and Catherine got some very practical gift cards. The last day of school went so smoothly and it was good for the final time.

Today was a luncheon in her honor which was very nice. There was no crying today, just a good time of sharing and laughing.

Here are some photos I took of the event. In the top picture, Catherine is the one in the middle. I am on the left and the other First Grade Aide and my partner Kathy is on the right.

This is Joyce and Sue. They helped with putting all the food together, setting the tables and clearing up and washing the dishes.

This is Catherine with "Grandpa" Dick. He is the main maintance man at the school and everyone just loves him.
This is another teacher, Lisa, and her daughter Stephanie who had Catherine as her teacher when she was in elementary school
Here is a mother/daughter teaching team. Sandy on the left teaches one of the kindergarten classes and Tracy on the right teaches one of the fourth grade classes.
The gentleman on the left is Tom our music teacher. He writes his own music and wrote a special song which he performed just for Catherine. The woman in the back is a very active parent at our school and she helps in the athletic department. The young woman on the right is our band director.
Here Catherine is pointing out to Stephanie where she will be living in China.
This is our administrator Pat with his wife
One of our Third Grade teachers, Karen with her son Jonathan who also had Catherine as a teacher when he was at our school.
Roy is the one who planned this whole event and Catherine was given flowers.

It was a lovely event and a good chance to say good-bye in a relaxed, casual manner.

I will miss Catherine so much!

(I had two more pictures, one of the cake and one of Catherine with her husband, but I am not able to get them on the blog. It tells me they have successfully published but they do not show up. Sorry about that)

REVLON RUN-WALK FOR WOMEN'S CANCERS L.A. 05/13/06

2006-05-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 16th annual Revlon Run-Walk for Women's Cancer in Los Angeles. This was my second year participating. The pictures that I have posted for this blog are from last year's event. I didn't feel like carrying my camera with me and frankly everything is just the same. In looking at the above picture just imagine that I am wearing a purple shirt instead and that the survivors hat is red. Wearing red and purple made me feel like I was part of the Red Hat Society!!! Revlon gives everyone a T-Shirt but this year Curves Corp. also made available to the Curves clubs in the Los Angeles Basin a free T-Shirt. They were dark purple and across the front in white it said Curves Cares for Women Revlon Run Walk L.A. May 13, 2006. What was nice about this is that there were lots of other Curves Clubs there and we could see each other on the course and talk to each other. I thought it was a great idea and I applaud Curves for doing this. We had a small group from our Curves. Unfortunately our new owner just was not on the ball with the event this year. I may take over organizing it next year so we can have a full team. We would also do a fund raiser in the club with donations and sell raffle tickets. I have big plans for next year! Something else I and a few others did differently this year was to take public transportation. I got up at 4:45 AM (yawn) and met the others in front of Curves at 5:30. Then we drove to the Del Amo Blue Line Station to catch the 6:09 AM train (which was on time!). We got off at the Pico Station and walked one block over to Staples Center and caught the free%2

Well, I lost the rest of this post while editing the color of the print. Seeing as how few people read this blog I am not going to try and recreate it. I will just soldier on with the new posts.

GIRL'S NIGHT OUT

2006-05-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended this event at a church Paul and I have been checking out. I signed up to decorate a table because I enjoy doing that kind of thing.

It was a lot of fun. Here are some photos and comments to enjoy.

This is the gym. They strung a cord the length of the gym and hung the small white lights from side to side and up over the cord in the center making the canopy effect. Then they hung paper lanterns from the lights. The big gym lights you see up high were turned off when the event started making for a very nice effect. Paul helped set up Friday night.

The following are some of the decorated tables. If we were a decorater, we were to bring the disposable plates, cups, napkins and plastic wear. Then we made some kind of centerpiece.

This is my table. I purchased the vase, rocks, and plants in the middle. Everything else was stuff I had around the house.

I gave each person at my table their chop sticks (very inexpensive but pretty). I also made origami swans. I went to the library and got a book on how to do it and made the easiest design called Simple Swan.

This is a view of the platform where the podium was and where people made announcements, gave away door prizes (I did not get one) and the speaker presented from.

This is Mona. She was one of the event coordinators and the moderator for the evenings. She is very good at this kind of thing and very personable.

Our food was catered by Panda Express. There was lots of it and it was really good.

So I really enjoyed my night "in the Orient". It was fun and I got to meet people and make new friends.

MICKEY MOUSE GRAND MARSHALL FOR CITY OF CERRITOS PARADE

2006-04-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today the city of Cerritos (the city just to the East of my city, Lakewood) celebrated its 50th birthday with a parade and other festivities. One of the four Grand Marshalls was Mickey Mouse (probably because Disneyland is celebrating its 50th birthday. I took my DVD movie camera and then captured some stills of Mickey to share with you here. The parade was very nice. Almost two hours long with floats, bands, horses and all the other stuff you would expect with a parade.
In some of the pictures you will notice an inflated cow in the background. Cerritos used to be Diary Valley and up into the 70's the area was mainly diaries. I can remember the smell driving from Los Angeles to Knotts Berry Farm in the 50's, 60's and early 70's when we drove through this area. So the theme of the festival and parade was "Party 'Till The Cows Come Home".

I have not resized these pictures. If you have high speed, then no problem. If you have dial-up, well ... they will take awhile; sorry about that.

JENNIFER'S CAKES

2006-04-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

As most of you know Jennifer is taking Culinary classes at Long Beach City. Her goal is to get the certificate for completing the program for Baker/Pastry Chef. She has not yet taken the Professional Cake Decorating Class (which is only offered once in a blue moon) but what she has learned about decorating has been at Rossmoore Pastries where she did her service hours. She has now made two cakes. One was for me to take to school for the April birthdays. I signed up for the April cake last Fall figuring by then she would be able to do something nice. I paid her for the ingredients. Here is a picture of that cake. It was chocolate with a layer of whipped cream in the middle and real sliced strawberries. It looked and tasted good. She got a lot of compliments on it.

The second cake was for a fellow student at school. Her birthday is today and she asked Jennifer if she would do an elegant cake for her. Jennifer is only charging her $10 mostly for the ingredients and she made a couple of mistakes with it. She is a novice and doesn't feel she can charge more at this time. It is also a chocolate cake with a whipped cream filling and dark cherries. She learned to do the roses at Rossmoore.

ROSES IN BLOOM

2006-04-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

It has now been 10 days since my last blog and the pictures of my first roses. Now the roses are blooming and look pretty good. There are not as many as last year when we had our record rainfull here in the LA basin, but for me and my not so green thumb they are looking AOK. Here's some pictures.

FIRST ROSES OF SPRING

2006-04-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

In mid January I cut back, pruned, weeded and fed my meager rose garden in front of my house.

Now all that hard work is paying off. All five of my rose bushes have buds all over them and a couple have bloomed. In January and part of February we had beautiful warm weather. Starting in mid February and through much of March we have had nothing but rain. When the sun does come out (like today) it is nice and warm. My roses are loving it! So enjoy some pictures of a couple of roses blooming.

I just realized it has been almost a month since I last posted ... me bad. In an another week Jennifer and I will be on Easter (I refuse to call it Spring) break. We plan to go several places and I will attempt to remember to take pictures and also post.

DISNEYLAND AND CLUB 33

2006-03-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

On Friday, March 10, Jennifer and I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland and dine at Club 33. This was thanks to the parents of one of the boys in my class this year. I took a number of pictures and so invite you to view them in my Epson Album:

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4233026&a=32115233&f=

This has turned out to be the coldest weekend of the year but it was the only day available for us to go. We bundled up and had a good time. The crowds were down because of brief rain and the chill. The fireworks were canceled but Fantasmic was still up and running.

A RAINBOW THIS MORNING

2006-02-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

A little after 7 a.m. this morning the sun was shining brightly in the East. Toward the West heavy rain and dark clouds were approaching. But this produced a huge double rainbow. The above picture is the left side of the rainbow. The right side was really intense in color and the double part could be seen better. Enjoy!

If you look carefully at the last picture, you will see a plane that had just taken off from the Long Beach Airport flying through the rainbow. Pretty cool, huh?

MYSTERY DINNER

2006-02-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

OK, OK ... I admit it, I didn't keep my New Year's resolution to keep up with my blog. So, I will try again.

For this post I am going back a few weeks to January 14 when the parents association at the school where I work put on their annual Winter Social for the parents in the association and the staff. They hired an outside group to come in and put on a Mystery Dinner. Set in the early 1940's we were asked to figure out who shot the two German couriers in Rick's American Cafe. We had five suspects to choose from and there was an agent who conducted the investigation. I, of course, guessed incorrectly. I had asked before the event if we could dress up and my friend, a retired teacher from the school, and I turned out to be the only ones who did. That is me above posing by the piano in the American Cafe dressed in mourning, after all someone had been killed! The fox stole around my neck belongs to my neighbor who graciously let me borrow it. It was a very fun evening.

Since then it has mostly been work and puttering around the house. Jennifer is back taking her culinary classes and doing work experience at a bakery. I am looking forward to some of the things she may be bringing home this semester!

She and I got a free one year pass to Universal Studios and have been twice. Maybe sometime I will post on that with some pictures. Universal is no Disneyland, but it was free! We take the Metro Rail to get there which helps to avoid gas consummation and frayed nerves.

Speaking of Disneyland, she and I will be going in March. One of my students Dad works for a company that has done business with Disneyland from the beginning. They have the passes to get into Club 33 and so he got me two. I can hardly wait. There will be photos and a post, I promise!

I took a very funny picture on the Metro Rail Thursday afternoon on the way to Universal. Jennifer spotted the sign but she wants to use it on her blog. If she doesn't, I will post it on mine!

ROSE PARADE FLOAT CONTINUED

2005-12-31T21:25:00.000-08:00

Went again to Downey to work on the Rose Parade Float. When I left the house around 11:30 it was only lightly misting but after I got there it shortly started to really rain. Fortunately the float and all the polar bears were in the shed and the flowers waiting to be put on were all under the tent. Aren't the roses above a beautiful shade of pink?

I thought it would be nice to get a picture of me with some of the roses to prove I was there. You can see the wet ground behind me.

After taking some pictures I came back to help these ladies. Long stem roses were being stripped of their leaves, about an inch or so cut off the bottom, then placed in a special solution for about three seconds to help them "keep", and then placed in a container of warm water.

These roses had been stripped of their leaves before I arrived.

These are some roses placed in vials. Some of the roses will be kept as long stems and placed as floral arrangements and others will be placed in vials and stuck into the foam on the float. The placement of most of the flowers on the float will not happen until early tomorrow morning. I will not be available to go back and help with that.

More pampas grass was obtained at the Getty Center with their permission. It all had to be stripped and sorted. This is what I did yesterday.

This is the large polar bear I showed you yesterday that had not been painted. Sometime after I left it had a cub added to its back, been painted and placed on the top front of the float. It will have to be covered with pampas grass by workers up on the float. The other two large bears are being worked on off the float and then they will be lifted into place.

Here is one of the baby bears on the float. One of the guys used pampas grass to give it a mohawk hairdo and a goatee. He did this because he has a mohawk and one of the other guys has a goatee. This will eventually be covered; you won't see this on TV.

Here is an unfinished cub on the back of the float, non camera side.

Later the body had been added and parts attached and he had been hammered into the float with spikes through his back. Then this young woman painted over the non white parts. Notice the purple stripes down the block the cub is on? This was something else I worked on with another woman. There were several blocks around the float like this and we put glue on the purple stripes and then covered them with a purple ground up flower. It is supposed to look like icy water coming down. This effect is also seen on the larger middle section of the float but we did not fill in those stripes.

This young man was working on something inside the float which created sparks. The camera really didn't capture the effect of the sparks, only the light. You can also see the finished purple effect of the stripes on this block.

And finally this is how the bear I showed you yesterday was looking when I left this afternoon. As you can see, this method of applying the pampas grass one little clump at a time and using pins is very time consuming. Some people were working on the other bear on the other side of the shed and still had a long ways to go and the bear on the top of the float had not even been started yet. Some discussion was being held has to what to do with the cubs. The censuses when I left was that they would also be covered with the grass. They are really going to look sodden in the rain that is predicted.

So, I had a good time. I wish I could actually put flowers on the float, but the timing isn't right. The float is to be towed with a motorcycle escort tomorrow around 5 PM to Pasadena. We are going to a party that starts at 5 so I will not be able to see that. Maybe next year.

ROSE PARADE FLOAT

2005-12-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

Tuesday of this week and today I went over to the city of Downey and helped decorate their float entry for the Rose Parade. Jennifer and I had done this once before in 1996 and I just have never been able to get back since. This week I have had the time and am in good health, so I'm helping. It's a lot of fun. Tuesday I did nothing but fill vials with water. Today I was there from 11:30 AM to 4 PM. The theme of this year's float is Polar Wonderland. It represents polar bears escaping from a broken snow globe. Outside the shed where the float is being kept is an area where they are building and painting the polar bears.

The polar bear in the middle is still being styled and then it will be painted white like the other two.

There will also be baby polar bears and here are their heads.

Inside the shed you see the back of the float. At first I thought this was the front, but it isn't. The trees are really poles with bark glued on them, the branches consist of foam covered with moss (they were putting the moss on on Tuesday) and then over that they put on the pine branches.

Here is a young woman putting on some of the pines branches. This ladder is actually quite high.

A close up shows the roses and other flowers have already been put on top of the pine. They are all in vials of water. I was somewhat surprised to see them on the tree already. I am assuming they will be fully opened by Monday.

This woman is painstakingly cutting apart silver dollar plants.

Next to the shed is a tent area where more work goes on. This girl scout troop worked with flowers and then helped break apart pampas grass clumps.

Here are some of the flowers that will go on the float, probably Saturday.

And still more varieties of flowers.

They then brought in the two white painted polar bears. This one they lifted up on to the back of the float. They didn't even know at this point if the bears would fit on the float.

They had to put a wedge under his foot to keep the leg from cracking off.

After they saw what he looked like (and that he fit) they took him down so he could be worked on at ground level.

Someone as a joke put one of the "I worked on the float" pins on top of his nose.

I ended running into an old friend of mine, Dorothy. We have known each other since the mid 60's and she comes to work on this float every year. She and I worked on the front of the bear layering pampas grass.

She and I and a bunch of others were asked to put the pampas grass on the bear. No one really knew how to do this and we had very little supervision. The guy who asked me to do this was kind of vague about the whole thing ... he had never worked with pampas grass before, he didn't know how it should go on, just put it on. So that was what we did. Later he and some other guys came by and one of them was not smiling, he was not a happy camper. He did not like the "look", they looked like wooly mammoths not polar bears. So we were told to stop while they consulted. After about 15 minutes they brought a girl over who is apparently artistic and knows what she is doing and he asked her to try making the pampas grass look more like polar bear hair. Not so long and shaggy. So she cut sections about 3 inches long, sprayed the area with adhesive and then applied the sections of "hair" and used T-pins to secure them.

This was the effect she achieved (forget the front of the foot, that was from before and had not been taken off yet). The man liked this and so we all set to work doing it this way. After awhile though, because I was on the floor, my back could not take it so I moved on to other things. I was now covered in pampas grass, my hair was sticky and my hands were a mess.

I went over into the tent area and lo and behold the roses had arrived!

Groups of people were working with the roses and getting them ready to put into vials of water.

What they did was cut the rose the same length as the vial, remove the two or three "bad" outer petals, put the rose into the vial, and then put the vial into a hole that had been punched into a cardboard box top.

I joined a crew where I pulled off the bad petals. I got to sit down for this and it was much better on my back. When I went back to the polar bear to say good-bye to Dorothy they had not made as much progress as I expected. I plan to return tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what has happened to the polar bears and if they continue on that path. They don't look white but that doesn't seem to bother them.

More tomorrow.

SURF AND SAND

2005-12-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jennifer and I went down to Seal Beach to see the "giant" waves. Don't think so. The waves were better than normal for surfers but not "giant". Now last week, Wednesday to be specific, the waves were anywhere from 12 to 20 feet. They even closed the pier so no one could be out on it and get swept into the ocean. The news keeps talking about the big surf so we decided to see for ourselves. Last Wednesday was the last day of school or we would have gone then. One of the moms in my class is a surfer chick. She surfs every day and when she came to our party late morning she had already been down to Seal Beach and surfed. She was really jazzed at how big they were and what a thrill it was to ride them. She was the only female in the water.

We walked out to the end of the pier and ate at Rubys (split a Ruby Burger, Frings (french fries and onion rings) and a Winter Mint Shake). I had a coupon from their internet club for the free shake and I have a Jitterbug card with them (55 and older) which gives me 10% off. So, not a bad deal. Walking back I took the following pictures. It was an overcast day, hence the weird yellowish color to the photos. One of our local news stations was there too in case the waves got big or the tide came in and flooded the homes along the shore (they didn't, it didn't).

R.I.P. CHRISTMAS TREE

2005-12-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today at 3 AM Pacific Standard Time this beautiful tree that was in the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel at the Disney Resort in Anaheim caught fire and the top half was burned to a crisp. Some workers were replacing bulbs and when the lights were relit they caught fire. The sprinkler system kicked in and when the fire department arrived the fire was well under control. Alarms and the sprinkler system in the lobby went off and the hotel guests were evacuated for several hours. The tree is gone and the lobby is in the process of being cleaned up, lots of smoke and water damage. Such a beautiful lobby. The above picture was taken December 4, 2005 when my girlfriends and I went to the Sunday Brunch at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. We walked around the area and went into the lobby to see the tree. My post about that day is somewhere below or in archives.

"Oh, Christmas tree; Oh, Christmas tree; How lovely were your branches"

THE DAY AFTER

2005-12-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

So, did everyone get what they wanted for Christmas? I got more than I expected but first the above photo. It was taken Christmas Eve in our Church Library and it is the hand bell choir. That's me in the back row with the red scarf around my deck. We played three numbers. We began the evening by walking in from the sides and playing the first 6 measures of O Come, O Come Emmanuel which we then continued to play when we reached our places. Then we played Pat-A-Pan. I got so lost in the middle of that number but afterwards my family told me they could not tell. That's good. I am learning to not show facial expression when I make a mistake. Then mid way through the evenings program we played Christmas Medley which consisted of three Christmas songs of which I only remember one, The Carol of the Bells. That number went much better for me. Everyone said the bell choir performance was excellent. We have now been playing occasionally for two years and have gotten so much better. Thanks to Dorinda, our director pictured above seated on the far right, for this picture which her husband took. Me, I forgot my camera ... rats. I was going to have Paul use the movie record function on my camera to record the number we did but in the rush to leave the house, I forgot.

And no pictures of us here at home for Christmas. What is wrong with me??!! I keep forgetting to take pictures. Maybe I can get some today before Bruce leaves. Bruce, my brother, came in Saturday morning and will be leaving mid afternoon today. We have had a good time. Went to the above mentioned Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at church (which, besides the bell choir, was very good). After we got back home and had dinner Bruce and I watch Muppet Christmas Carol on DVD. The best Muppet movie ever made as far as I'm concerned.

Christmas morning after breakfast we all went to church and then back home for lunch. After lunch I prepared the turkey breast (I don't roast a whole big turkey for just the four of us) and put it in the oven to slow roast. Bruce and I played a DVD game called Disney Scene It which a student at school gave me. It was kind of complicated until we got the hang of it. Then it was time to watch the DisneyWorld Very Merry Christmas Parade on TV. After it was over Paul and I worked on dinner and we sat down to turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, olives and rolls for dinner. Should have taken a picture of the table and my plate of food!

After dinner clean up we finally got around to opening our gifts. We gave Bruce money to get his senior bus pass for January, a set of Corning Ware which he mentioned at Thanksgiving he doesn't have, two books, and a New York City World of Disney Store lithograph I got when I was there last Spring. Paul got a jean jacket which was all that he wanted. He also wanted a special kind of leather key chain to replace the one he has, but they no longer make that style. We also got a Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul from our three kitties in heaven who don't want us to forget them. Jennifer got a new Virgin Mobile Cell Phone (hers is two years old and you can't even read the numbers on the key pad anymore), a scarf and gloves with Jack Skeleton on them from Nightmare Before Christmas (one of her favorite movies), an apron and oven glove from her friends, extra rechargable batteries for her camera and a camera case, a Bad Cat Page A Day Calendar from Bruce, and her BIG present ... a Kitchen Aide Classic Mix Master. If she is going to be a chef, she needs something like this.

I got a Cat Page A Day Calendar from Bruce, a cute Christmas cup and bracelet from my friend Peggy, a throw and pillow from my friends Bob and Ellen, a port thing for the computer that has to do with the camera (not sure yet what exactly that does, but I'll find out), and my BIG and totally unexpected gift from Paul was a new digital movie camera. That was a surprise! I have been taking movies with my regular digital camera but I can only take up to 11 minutes and the quality is not that good. Paul has seen my frustration with it so bought me a real movie camera. I had been thinking of buying one for myself and was looking at ads, but it was more of a dream than a reality. But now my dream has come true. Yippee.

After gift opening Bruce, Paul and I sat down to watch March of the Penguins (a truly remarkable movie) and had cherry pie with cool whip for dessert.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and that your dreams came true too.

Now, on to the New Year in which I resolve to remember to take pictures for this blog!

AND STILL MORE CHRISTMAS PARTIES

2005-12-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

The last two Christmas parties. I never thought I'd say I've had enough sweets and cakes ... but I have! Too much sugar is too much sugar!

So here are some pictures of the class party on the last day of school Wednesday, Dec. 21.

First of all, the above picture shows why I have trouble losing weight. This is a very common sight in the teacher's lounge. Food, food and more food all the time. I gathered what was there on Wednesday morning for this picture. On the left are several different kinds of pieces of cheesecake all placed on one plate. The thing on the far right was a huge chocolate chip, frosted cookie that a parent gave to the school. When I first saw it I thought that no one would eat it what with all the food available, the parties coming up and our staff luncheon after school ... but I was wrong. When I came back to take this picture 2/3rds of it had been consumed.

Yes, that's me on the right. Every year on the last day of school I wear my antlers with a Santa hat in the middle. A couple of years ago I tied two little Christmas ball ornaments on the antlers which swing around when I walk. The kids get a big kick out of it. I am also wearing my Disneyland Christmas shirt with Goofy dressed as Santa Claus. Plus I'm wearing several pins. Do I get into the Christmas spirit? You be the judge. The woman on the left came in to play the piano so the kids could sing Christmas carols (words NOT changed to be politically correct, thank you very much) and the woman next to me is the head room mom for my class and she read a story to the students and led the singing.

These treats for the class are little angels made out of white oreo cookies and lifesavers. The cookies are cut to form the bodies and the wings (how this is done so the cookie doesn't crack all to pieces, I don't know). Two lifesavers are "glued" together with frosting for the head and a yellow lifesaver is put on at an angle using frosting to look like a slipped halo. Then white frosting is piped on to the bodies. Very cute and a lot of work.

And more food! Each student, the teacher and myself were given a plate like this. Carrots with ranch dressing for dip, one of the angels, little smokies and a cheese open faced sandwich cut into a star. The kids (and me too) went nuts for the little smokies. Surprised the mom who heated them up and brought them as they were all gone by the time the party ended. Usually kids in First Grade don't like that kind of thing. But not this group.

Now it's time to move on to our annual staff Christmas luncheon held for the third year in a row at the Shenandoah at the Arbor restaurant.

The gentleman in the red sweater waving at you is our principal, Pat. We had five long put together tables in the outdoor seating area.

Sitting to my left sort of across from me is my teacher Catherine on the left and the other First Grade teacher Diana on the right. You can see heat pole lamps in the background. These are for when the weather turns cool, which it certainly wasn't yesterday nor will to be for some days. Tomorrow, Saturday, the forecast is calling for 84.

Here are some more of our happy staff getting reading to eat and looking forward to our ornament gift exchange.

And these are the gifts. We each purchase a $5 ornament and wrap it. Then we pick numbers and go and pick out a gift. Person #2 on can steal. In other words they can steal someone's ornament or pick a fresh one. If they steal, then the person who had their gift stolen from them has to pick a new one or steal from someone else and on it goes. At the very end person #1 can steal or keep what they have and the "game" is over. Also a gift can only be stolen three times. On the third time, that person who has it gets to keep it. It can no longer be stolen. I ended up with a gift which I stole and it was the third time so I got to keep it. It's a very pretty painted from the inside ornament with snowmen on it. Have I mentioned I have a snowman collection?

Of course, I must end with the food. I had the hand carved roasted turkey sandwich with fresh fruit. The other choice (sorry, no photo) was grandma's southern fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Everyone got the cheesecake for dessert. It was very light with a small side of whipped cream.

So endth the parties. Now for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tomorrow my brother is coming and will stay the weekend. Tomorrow evening our church will have a candle light Christmas Eve service. The handbell choir, of which I am a member, will be playing at this.

I will try to remember to take pictures this weekend. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the plates of goodies I made for the neighbors.

CHRISTMAS TEAS AND PARTIES

2005-12-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to .... party. Last week I went to two teas and one party. I love this time of year! Here are some pictures of the events.

The first tea was at Sue's home last Friday. She is another aide at my school and she invited the part-time staff over for lunch/tea. She doesn't work on Fridays and so spent the morning preparing goodies for us. We had three kinds of sandwiches, two quiches, two kinds of salads, hot artichoke dip, scones with lemon crude, jam, and Devonshire cream And then! .... there was dessert, too.

Here we are waiting to load up on the food.

And this is how she had her table set for us. There were 8 of us. Two could not make it.

Here is a closeup of the table setting.

The next tea was Saturday at the Noble House in Fullerton. This was their indoor Winter Tea and again Peggy and Ellen joined me. Our server took the following picture.

Here are some other ladies enjoying their tea by the fireplace. Everything was decorated for Christmas. The theme was Winter White Christmas Tea.

These two young people are always servers at these events.

Now for the final party of the past week. This was my former Sunday School classes annual party. It was held at a home that is stunning and was a pot luck Christmas dinner. We had everything one would have at a Christmas dinner. Below is a picture of my plate of food.

Those that wanted to, participated in a gift exchange, mostly $10 gift cards. I got a gift card to Starbucks and put it in a bright red coffee cup and wrapped it up real pretty. I won for prettiest wrapped gift. We took numbers and picked a gift from the pile or stole from someone else. I kept getting my cards stolen. I finally picked a See's candy certificate (good for a one pound box, thank you very much). The third time a gift is stolen it's yours and this was the third time so I got to keep it!!!

And finally there was, of course, dessert. I have just about reached my limit on abundance of food, candy, and sweets. No wonder I have trouble losing weight!!!

So what's coming up this week? More food of course. Tuesday I go with Carol to a Senior lunch, a health talk and then watching the movie Polar Express all of which is sponsored by and held at a hospital. Wednesday is our class Christmas Party and then the teacher/staff Christmas luncheon. Finally on Thursday we start our two week vacation. Very weird schedule this year. We get our two weeks off but it starts the middle of a week and ends the middle of a week, back to work on Thursday, Jan. 5.

So I will have more pictures of this coming week including what I baked to give away to neighbors.

HOUSE OF BLUES

2005-12-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, December 4, my long time girlfriends and I went to The House of Blues in Downtown Disney (next to Disneyland) for their afternoon show called Gospel Brunch. We did this last year and enjoyed it so much we decided to go again. The doors open at 1 PM and you are escorted to your seats. Then you can go through the buffet line and pick up all kinds of good brunch type foods. You can also go to the omelet bar where a chef will cook an omelet on the spot with filling and topping of your choice. Around 2 PM the show begins. This year the performers were the Clara Ward Singers. They have been around for years, though I suspect very few of the women are original members. I took a lot of photos but most of them blurred. This is one of the best. All but one of the women wore purple, the other woman wore all white. And they had huge fancy hats and high heels with pointed toes.

They performed for almost an hour. Lots of energy and they were really good. We had a very nice time.

Here are the four of us long time friends. There are five of us, but one could not make it this time. We have known and kept in touch with each other since elementary school. We have been in each others weddings and seen the children come and grow, get married and start their own families. Three out of the five are now grandmothers!!!

This past week, on December 8, I attended a wonderful Christmas concert put on by the Brethren Christian Jr. Sr. High school music department. My friend's daughter Amber (see my post about her wedding below or in archives) is now the choral director for the Jr. Highers and she made her public directorial debut. She looked real good and did a great job. Her little choral group of girls were very good.

On Friday, December 9, Jennifer and I went to see Chronicles of Narnia. I really loved this movie. It is very faithful to the book and the acting (especially Lucy) and effects were first rate. I can highly recommend this movie and give it top marks.

This week I have two teas and two Christmas parties to attend. Hopefully I will get some good pictures to share.

ACSI CONVENTION

2005-11-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

For the last two days I have been working a booth in the exhibit hall of the Anaheim Convention Center. This was for the ACSI Convention. ACSI stands for Association of Christian Schools International. Every year the teachers and full time staff from my school attend the convention. Those of us who are part time have never been offered the opportunity to attend because there really isn't very much of interest to us there. It is geared more toward the teachers and administrators.

This year Al called our school (he is good friends with our principal) and asked if someone from our school could help him out in his booth. Our secretary, Cindy, thought of me and asked if I wanted the job. Sure. Why not? So I have been selling Christian rock and contemporary music CD's and Al's material. It was fun because I love talking to people. I also learned a lot about Christian Rock and a lot of the music played as samples was really good. The draw back was standing all day on a concrete floor. Also the drive to and from in rush hour traffic made me appreciate the fact that I live close to my real job. Below are some pictures of the exhibit area.

Here is a picture of Al in front of his booth. He has a ministry which aides parents and educators in helping their children understand the dangers of modern music (the nasty hard rock and rap stuff that is out there). He is a very popular speaker and people love his workshops. He is very personable and outgoing.

This is Al's secretary, Judy. Her husband Ron also helped in the booth but is not pictured. She is very nice and used to be a special education teacher.

Here Judy is helping a customer select a CD. This picture shows how the CD's and Al's materials were laid out on two tables. We were on a corner which made for more room to spread out.

This shows a small portion of the exhibit area. The green area in the middle had chairs and fake trees for a nice little rest area.

Disney had a real nice display for Narnia. They were giving away all kinds of promotional material including large posters and a box of material for teaching about the C.S. Lewis novel in the classroom. I, of course, got everything I could lay my hands on!

THANKSGIVING PARTY

2005-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the last day of school for a week. On the last day before Thanksgiving vacation we have half day and a party that the room parents put on. The above picture is what the children and us two teachers got. Isn't that napkin pretty? The pilgrim hat was made by a parent. It is a chocolate dipped marshmallow on top of a chocolate coated cookie wafer. Then she piped darker chocolate around it and some yellow chocolate for the brim. Talk about a lot of work! And it was good too!

Here is a close up of the hat. The kids were very excited, as you can imagine, all day. But they did manage to get some work done in the morning.

One of the moms from the other First Grade class dressed in her Native American (aka Indian) dress and read a cute story about animals celebrating Thanksgiving to both First Grade classes. She was very good and seems to enjoy entertaining just like I do.

Here is the last picture of some of our class having their food. I wasn't able to get a good picture of the whole class. The little girl with the brown hair looking directly at me is a really nice girl. The blonde next to her is very outgoing and talkative, which sometimes gets her into trouble :) The boy in the yellow shirt on the left is one of our two learning problem students, but he is making progress. The boy on the right in the very back is probably our top student in the classroom. He is reading at third grade level and he has been selected to represent our class at the ACSI Spelling Bee in January. The other boy, the blonde, in the back row is the nicest kid you would ever want to meet. So polite and his work is always neat. His mom is expecting her fourth child the end of December. The family is all boys and the expected one is too. This family does not watch TV or movies. The parents spend lots of time with the boys and they do a lot of reading and crafts and playing games. It has paid off big time because all the boys are just the nicest, most well behaved kids you would ever want to meet. And ... these parents are HUGE fans of Disney and Disneyland. They both worked there when they were teenagers. She and I always have a lot to talk about :) !!!

So, that's the update for now. This next week I have a two day job at the ACSI Convention in Anaheim. ACSI stands for Association of Christian Schools International. Every year they have a two day convention with workshops and a selling floor for teachers and administrators. An organization that is selling stuff at this convention called our school looking for someone to help work their booth. They needed three people and only had two. The man who runs this organization is good friends with our principal so that is why he called us. Cindy, our secretary, asked me and because it pays $75 a day plus he will reimburse me the $12 parking fee both days, I said yes. Jennifer has school on Monday and Tuesday and I really didn't have anything to do plus it gives me extra mad money!

This Thursday my brother, Bruce, is coming to spend a couple of days at our house. We will have Thanksgiving here and then Friday Jennifer is making candy for the college group to sell and Bruce and I will go out and spend some time at a mall or something.

So, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who happens to read this.

BIBLE DRESS UP DAY AT SCHOOL

2005-10-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

Once again it is that time of year ... October 31st ... All Hallow's Eve ... and the children at our Christian school are allowed to dress up as something from the Bible (no scary costumes, please). As you can see the adults get into the act also. Above is my teacher, Catherine and myself. She and I are wearing dresses that one of our Moms got for us from Lebanon. Catherine is wearing a head covering I purchased two years ago at the gift shop in the Holy Land Museum which is located in Los Angeles.

Below on the left is our principal, Pat, and next to him is Roy our much loved former teacher now teacher mentor and general does lots of things person. He is the oldest man in the Bible, Methuselah.

Below are a bunch of pictures of First and Second Graders. Aren't they just the cutest? I love the angel girls. And the Egyptian Princess. They are all adorable.

A TASTE OF FALL AFTERNOON TEA

2005-10-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the free Fall Tea put on by the Locke and Noble Tea Company in the backyard of the Noble Home in Fullerton. Above is a picture L - R of Peggy, myself and Ellen. They had asked us to dress up for this event as they are doing a recipe book and would be taking pictures to put in the book. Only, no one was taking pictures. It was still fun to dress up and see how others dressed. Peggy wore a very old fox stole, Ellen wore a dress that she purchased some time ago from a thrift store and I went turn-of-the-century in a long black skirt, white lace blouse with a black cameo pin at the neck and a hat I decorated with netting and black roses.

These ladies are from the Santa Ana Historical Society. They regularly come to the teas and always dress up. As you can see this tea was held in the back yard under the trees. After a week of cool, damp, gloomy weather the day was warm and sunny. Just perfect.

This picture was taken inside the house of the kitchen. That is Mrs. Noble in white with her back to me and one of the young servers. They have lots of three tier servers on which they put the food and then it is carried out to us at our tables. This is a beautiful kitchen with marble countertops and to the left is an old stove but on the right is a large modern stove.

This shot was also taken in the kitchen. That is Mr. Noble in his chefs whites and a young lady server returning one of the serving tiers. Mr. Noble is a school teacher but his real passion is tea. Someday he would like to have his own tea emporium.

This is how the table is set when you arrive. I wish I had taken a picture of the food. Next time at the Christmas tea I will do that. The menu this time was Pumpkin Sage Soup (a small cup), Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Biscotti (one piece), Decadent White Chocolate Chip Scone (one medium size) with Clotted Cream and Jam (on the table as a help yourself item), Chocolate Orange Fudge Cake (one medium piece), Maple Porfiteroles (like a cream puff with maple flavored whipped cream inside) and Carmel Apple Shortbread (small piece). This is all free. All they ask is that you tip your server.

Left to right this is Carolyn, Ellen's youngest daughter, their friend Rachel and Jennifer. Jennifer is wearing her grandmother's dress (Paul's mother). This is the dress she was married in in 1929. Jennifer is also wearing a hat that belong to her, probably from the 40's.

Here is a photo of Ellen taken inside the house. She is holding a parasol that they had for sale. That is one way for them to make money at these events. They have lots of tea related and period related items for sale and they showcase them around the first floor of the home.

Here is a picture of Carolyn. She had on a lovely dress and had put her long, thick hair in a snood. I asked her to pose looking down and turned slightly to get the full effect of the dress and the hair. Aren't mother and daughter lovely?

Here is a great picture of Peggy with her fox stole on. Gives you a good view of the head of the fox. This stole belonged to her son-in-law's grandmother. She was going to throw it away put Emily, Peggy's daughter, rescued it.

This was taken out in front of the house and gives you a good full length view of their outfits.

And we have to have a picture of the three divas in our lovely frocks.

Finally a shot of me taken creatively by Carolyn.

HOLLYWOOD WAX MUSEUM; GOING AWAY FOREVER AND A PLAY

2005-10-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

I had heard on the news that the Hollywood Wax Museum located in Buena Park near Knotts was closing it doors on Monday 10/31 and admission was $5 a person. So on Thursday afternoon Jennifer and I went to see it one last time. I have only been there once, back in the 70's and Jennifer has never been. I was basically impressed with how good it was. Some figures look nothing like the person they represent but others were dead on. Many of the settings for the figures were very elaborate and very well done. Below is a link to my album with some of the pictures I took. Click on Hollywood Wax Museum to see them.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4233026

The other thing I did was last night my friend Carol and I went to see a play at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. It was "As It Is In Heaven" and was set in the mid 1800's. The premise was that of 9 women/girls living together in a Shaker community. The play is based on events that really happened and were recorded in journals by the Shakers. It was very well done. The actors were outstanding. The play was both humorous and sad. The set was very minimal and there were benches that were used and moved to form scenes in a very effective way. We had a really good time and afterwards there was a question and answer time between the audience and the actors/costume designer/and others. The price is only $10, $8 for seniors 55 and older. Can't beat that. We are going to two more of their plays this season.

Today is a "tea" in Fullerton. More on that later.

A SURPRISE, MYSTERY TRIP

2005-10-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

On October 4 Paul and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We went to Black Angus for a nice dinner and that was that.

Last Sunday, October 16, Paul says to me, "how would you like to take a little trip with me?" What?? How could I take a trip, I have a job. Well, to make a long story short Paul has been planning this little vacation for some time. We would have done the trip around our anniversary, but I was going to the Ladies Retreat so he planned it for this last week. He had made arrangements with the school where I work and the other aide, Kathy, would fill in for me. He had made reservations along the way and had everything planned out. I had no idea where we were going, but we were off and on our way around 3:30 pm.

We drove through the "grapevine" and down into Buttonwillow around 6 PM. Spent the night there and had dinner and breakfast at Denny's. Left Buttonwillow Monday morning and did not take Interstate 5 North but instead drove West out of Buttonwillow over to Highway 33. It is always more fun to take the road less traveled. You see so much more that way. It always amazes me that once you leave the Southern California basin how much of California is wide open and is farmland. Driving up Hwy. 33 we saw oil fields, cotton, pistachio trees, a low flying crop plane, vineyards, cows, horses, etc. Hwy. 33 takes you to the small town of Coalinga and then you could either take a narrow, windy mountain road West or get on Interstate 5. We choose Interstate 5 because Paul had contacted his cousin Doris and asked her and her son to have dinner with us that night. So traveled on 5 to Hwy 152 and then up Interstate 101 to San Jose. We met Doris and John for dinner at Home Town Buffet at 7 PM. After dinner we went back to Doris' house for a very nice visit.

Tuesday morning we went to the Winchester Mystery House. This is a very strange place. If you want more information go to this link

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

I felt very sorry for this poor woman and why she was building and building this house. You can read about her and you'll see what I mean.

After leaving the house we went to Subway for lunch and then continued into Santa Cruz. We took a little side trip to a place called Mt. Herman Christian Conference Center. Back in the mid 70's Paul and I both attended a conference here and it is where we first began to "notice" each other. I was walking back to my dorm room and he was on the path outside waiting for his mother and their friend because they were going to take a walk. I joked with him about watching out for falling acorns when one fell and hit him on the head. We both laughed and then he asked if I was doing anything and would I also like to go on a hike with them. Yes. And so we talked and got to know each and the rest, as they say, is history.

We left the Santa Cruz area and continued down to Paso Robles for our next stop of the night. In the morning we left and drove west over the coastal mountains. Paul had hoped we could tour Hearst Castle but in checking the 800 number that morning he found they were totally booked until late afternoon. So we went West along Hwy.1 admiring the scenery. We stopped various places and then reached Morro Bay and drove out and parked at Morro Rock. Morro Bay is where my Great Aunt Bessie lived and when I was a child we visited there many times. We walked around the rock as far as they will let you. Then we drove over to the parking lot on the North side and I fed the squirrels some nuts I had with me. Very cute.

We left Morro Bay and drove East on Interstate 101 and then got off at Hwy. 1 and drove South to Hwy. 246 and into Solvang. This is another place I have been, but I was disappointed in how commercial it has become. We only spent about 45 minutes there and then continued on 246 to 154 past Lake Cuchuma and down into Santa Barbara. We continued through Santa Barbara and into Carpinteria for our last night.

For dinner we drove back to Summerland and ate at The Big Yellow House. This used to be family style dining but they have changed owners and it looks the same but the menu is way different. The food was very good, though.

Thursday morning we had a great breakfast at IHOP and then drove home stopping at the outlet stores in Camarillo. I really don't see the saving there, but it was interesting. We saw the Blue Angeles practicing their formation flying out of Pt. Magu. That was cool.

All in all a very nice trip. A good time to be away and enjoy each other. Jennifer got a taste of being on her own. All was fine except that while we were gone Southern California experienced a real storm. Torrents of rain, thunder and lightning. Sunday night during the storm she was wishing we still had our cat to cuddle with.

I took a lot of pictures and have posted 61 in my Epson Album. I didn't feel like selecting only a few and dragging and dropping them here. Epson is easier. So enjoy. Click on No. Calif. Trip.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4233026

LADIES RETREAT

2005-10-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend was our church's women's retreat at Verdugo Pines Bible Camp. This camp is near Wrightwood and behind Jackson Lake.

We had such a good time. The weather was crisp, cool and clear. There were tons of beautiful pine cones all over. The food at this camp is the best. And the fellowship was terrific.

Here are a few pictures and comments. First of all the theme this year was Approaching God With The Heart Of A Child. So we had a pajama party Friday night, played silly games and some fixed their hair in little pigtails.

Here is a picture of Marcy and Bev. Bev is our pastor's wife. They have their hair done in pig tails and Bev is wearing the theamed T-shirt for the retreat and they are both wearing the theamed fleece jackets. There was lots of pink this weekend!

Here is a picture of my friend Jan (Hi, Jan) after getting her hair done up in little pig tails and her fingernails painted.

This is the camp Jennifer worked at this past summer so she wanted to help them this weekend. Here she is setting the table for dinner but also threatening me with a fork for taking her picture :)

Here is a picture Jan took of me starting to sort out pieces of a picture puzzle on Friday night. I spent some time on this Saturday afternoon and had made some progress, but it never was finished.

One of the projects you can do is make cards of encouragement for your friends who are up there. These boxes contain cards and envelopes and rubber stamps with all kinds of cute designs on them.

This is one of the silly games you could play. The goal was to pick up five pecans with your right foot and put them in the right plate and pick up five with you left foot and put them in the left plate. Whoever accomplished this first, won. I did not do well. My toes kept cramping. Jennifer played and got all her pecans on the proper plates in no time!

Here some of the ladies are relaxing on Saturday afternoon. This area overlooks the volleyball court and pool (closed for the season). The building in the background is the dining hall, and rec room.

The cabins up there are two sided and sleep 8 to a room (bunk beds). There is also a bathroom with a shower and sinks in each room. We were in the room on the left in this picture.

I will finish with a picture of the ice cream sundae I made for myself on Saturday night.

Yum, yum!!!

I hope all these pictures and text line up OK. This drag and drop which Blogger has is a real pain. Takes forever, but on the other hand I am thankful they allow us to do these pictures for free!

THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES

2005-10-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon my friend Carol called me and asked if I would like to go see this musical at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Yes!!! So she called and got tickets for us for last nights performance. I'm sorry I forgot my camera as I wanted to take pictures of the center. It is beautiful. Here are two links. One about the musical and one about the center.

http://www.cerritoscenter.com/event_calendar/events_detail.cfm?id_event=20225587

http://www.cerritoscenter.com/general.cfm

We had the "nosebleed" section seats but they were good. The theater is small and so it is not like you are too far away. The costumes were beautiful. We had a really good time.

The story takes you through the life of Will Rogers as if it was presented by Ziegfield. Lots of pretty, scantily dressed girls! Great dancing and singing. Even a dog act show!

They have some other pretty cool events coming up there in the future that we might go to. We are also thinking of attending a couple of plays at a college out in Orange County.

HAWAIIAN DRESS UP DAY AND OWLS

2005-09-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the first dress up day of the school year ... Hawaiian day. The kids loved my hat. I took some pictures of the kids which are below. We also did a craft today, owls. They are so cute because each students owl looks just a little bit different. So I am also posting a couple of pictures of them. I love the one owl who is slightly tilted and he is looking up. Lots of fun.

THE WEDDING

2005-09-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Amber and Nathan were married. It was a beautiful ceremony. They have known each other for 7 years. After Amber graduated from college in May, Nathan proposed to her. Our family had a wonderful time. We saw lots of old friends. Jennifer was the guest book attendant and looked fabulous. Below are some shots that both Jennifer and I took on our digital cameras.

Here is Amber and Nathan with her parents Ellen and Bob. I have known Bob since we were kids and went to the same church in Los Angeles. I have known Ellen since Bob started dating her. Ellen was a bridesmaid in my wedding 25 years ago this coming October 4.

Here is Jennifer with Carolyn, the brides youngest sister. This shot shows the pretty bottom part of Jennifer's dress which had sparkily things going up and down.

Stacy, the middle sister, Amber and Carolyn

I am having problems getting the rest of the pictures to upload. So I am going to post them over on Epson and direct you there for the rest of the pictures. Sigh.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4233026

SCHOOL PICTURE DAY

2005-09-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today we had our pictures taken for the school yearbook. This year staff had to be at school at 7:30 AM sharp. After our group photo we could have our individual pictures taken. Later in the morning our class had their picture taken. The above photo is a picture I took of the picture taker taking my picture :) Below is the staff listening to instructions and then Catherine, my teacher; Diana, the other First Grade teacher; Kathy, the other First Grade Aide. The last picture is our school secretary Cindy talking with Catherine. Through the doorway in the background is our classroom. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera when our class went to get their picture taken. Rats.

LONG BEACH AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC

2005-09-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Paul and I went to this aquarium. We were able to get in for free as senior citizens! I have uploaded some of my better pictures. I have just let them fall into place wherever they choose. Enjoy.

APPLES, APPLES AND MORE APPLES

2005-09-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Decided to post in red today in honor of red apples. Though as we found out in our lesson today, apples can also come in yellow or green. So, why all the talk about apples? For the last several years during the second week of school, Catherine takes the students one at a time into the other room and does an assessment test of them. This helps us place them in reading groups and she gets to see "where they're at". They can be reading anywhere from really well to not at all. She also gives them a couple of simple words to spell and just talks to them (like what's your favorite game, TV show, movie, etc). While she is doing this I get to teach the class! That is where apples comes in.

We get a children's newpaper kind of like Weekly Reader called Scholastic News. Usually one of the first papers is all about apples. So I wear a T-shirt with apples on it and lots of apple pins including my Disney Store Johnny Appleseed pin. We go over the paper and this year I brought in four different apples, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Gala. I then cut one in half to show them the inside and we also had a paper they could work on with a diagram of the inside of an apple. Tomorrow we will do a cut and paste (and color) of how an apple grows. On Thursday we will do the September calendar and I will read them the story of Johnny Appleseed. Because she is taking her time with the assessments we have to come up with something for me to do with them on Friday. I am thinking I would like to try and find a parent who has the Disney Johnny Appleseed DVD and I can show that to the class.

Basically the class is good. There are a couple of boys who push the boundaries (the same two I mentioned in the other post). Catherine, the teacher, had a conference with G's parents yesterday afternoon. They are concerned and willing to do what it takes to find out what is wrong. The other boy, S, is doing good in a structured setting with consequences for his behavior ... that is all he really needed.

Tomorrow Paul and I are going to take advantage of a senior offer at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. Seniors (50+) will get into the aquarium for free from 9 to 2. We can stay as long as we want, the price just ends at 2. So I will try and get home as soon as possible from work and we will park the car at the Blue Line Del Amo Station and take the Blue Line Metro Rail into Long Beach and walk over. Paul has never been, but Jennifer and I met Bruce there once a couple of years ago. Bruce can't go as he is working a couple of times a week at a comic book store in the valley. He is now officially retired as of September 1.

I will plan to take my camera and get pictures and post about it here.

I think I'll go eat an apple now.

TGIF

2005-09-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here it is the second full day of school and already the week is over and it's Friday. How time flies.

Today I took pictures of each child in the class and then here at home I put them on the computer and transferred them to a CD. I will give the CD to Catherine on Monday and then her husband will print the pictures out. Toward the end of the year we will take the same pose and use the bear as a growth chart. Below is a picture of me by the bear. I cover part of the letters and part of the bear. The children, of course, do not. I hope I do not see any "growth". LOL

Some of the kids in the class are sharp. One boy knew that animals who sleep at night are nocturnal. I was impressed. Most First Graders don't know things like that. The one learning challenged child, I will call him S, is doing well. He is really pretty intelligent. He just has trouble controlling himself and I think he acts up with mom because he knows he can get away with it. He can not get away with it with Catherine. The other boy, whom I will call G, is getting worse. Found out today he was not tested for ADHD over the summer because his doctor thinks he is too young. There is something seriously wrong with him. Catherine will be having a conference with mom and dad soon. The other two boys who are challenging authority had to write sentences about their behavior and have their parents sign the paper. First full day of school and they were pushing the limits. But Catherine is nipping this in the bud, so to speak. Today they were both much better. I don't think the parents were thrilled at this turn of events and they probably got a good talking to at home.

Every Friday is Snack Day and staff brings in something. It is all planned out in advance as to when we bring in snacks. Today Cindy brought in everybody's favorite ... a brick of cream cheese with salsa poured over it and chips. Vicky brought in homemade lemon bread and banana nut bread. If I'm not careful, I will be covering up that bear in no time!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2005-09-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Ah, the first day of school. Joy, joy, joy!!! Above is our class this year ... 15 children. This is low enrollment for us. Our cap number is 26 (though I have recently been told it has been charged to 20). In the 14 years I have been doing this, this is the lowest number I have seen.

This class is going to be a challenge, though. Most of the class is "young" i.e., immature for their age. Of the 15 students only 6 have legible printing. There are two boys that are already testing the limits of authority. (Back in my day I would never disobey the teacher) There are also two boys who are "learning challenged". The one boy I thought was going to be a terror turns out not to be that bad, but the other one ... The teacher I work for has a background in working with learning challenged kids, but that was on a one on one situation. When you have a classroom full of children it is difficult to give the challenged child the help they need without the rest of the class suffering. For instance, today I observed her constantly having to get the one boys attention over and over again while the others just sat there waiting for the next step in the project. It is a difficult situation.

Nothing says "first day of school" better than new shoes!!!

So, I have been busy but not overwhelmed. How could I be with only 15 students? I also have one parent who is a huge help. Her oldest son was in our class four years ago and now her youngest is in our class. She comes in and helps me whenever I need it. She helped me yesterday with readying the new folders and getting them loaded up with all the first day papers that parents have to fill out.

I am glad to be back at work. I enjoy the other staff people and all the excitement that goes on. I am hoping that in spite of the difficult children we have we will see lots of growth in these kids this year. I'll be keeping you posted!

Here we are headed out to the front of the building to get our first day of school pictures taken. Notice our nice straight line? LOL

Here's Catherine getting her picture taken on the left and this is me taking a picture of the person taking my picture (!!!) on the right.

2005-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the Civil War Reenactment held in Huntington Beach. It is sponsored by the Huntington Beach Historical Society. Jennifer only attended Sunday morning and early afternoon and I also went. She somehow hurt her shoulder on Thursday and it was bothering her a lot so she decided not to do the whole event.

Edited to add this later. Here are two links to photos taken there. The first one is my photos that I took on Sunday. There are two albums both of which say civil war. The second is one someone sent me of photos taken by someone who is really good!

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4233026
http://danrich.smugmug.com/gallery/782434/1

Jennifer working on her knitting

"Abraham Lincoln" and "Mary Todd Lincoln"

Speaking of Jennifer, she is now "working" at Rossmoore Pastries in Signal Hill. This is part of her work experience program at school. The students had to go out and find a job either for pay or volunteer for credit. If they get paid then they must work 75 hours this semester but if they volunteer then they work 60 hours for the semester. Jennifer had read an article in our local newspaper about this shop and seeing as how pastry and baking is her main focus she decided to try there. She had to wait to get the school liability form and then was able to start last week. So far she is enjoying the culinary class and the pastry store.

I have started sort of back to work this past week. All staff was required to go in Thursday morning to attend CPR training. After this training we had a lovely catered lunch. Prior to this I went in on Monday and helped Catherine, my teacher, set the room up. We also worked a little bit after the lunch on Thursday and then we went in Friday morning and continued working. At lunchtime Catherine and I, the other First Grade teacher Diana, her aide Kathy and the former First Grade teacher Carol went to lunch at Mimi's and had a really good time. After lunch we went back to preparing the room and lessons. I left around three and Catherine was still there working on her lesson plans.

This Tuesday the staff is required to attend an OSHA meeting with some other church sponsored schools in the area. After that some of us are having lunch (again at Mimi's) on our own. Then Wednesday is the big day, when we greet our new students for the year! We currently have 15 enrolled in our class and 14 in the other class. This is the lowest enrollment I can ever remember us having. We have a capacity of 26 in our rooms so this will seem strange.

2005-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was my church's 30th anniversary celebration. Saturday evening was a lovely banquet catered by Marie Callender's. The mushroom/artichoke chicken was yummy! The program was lovely but our family has attended this church for 10 years and most of the celebration went back to the beginning. I did not know a lot of the people who returned for this event or some that were mentioned. An excellent DVD was produced using a lot of old photos but again I really didn't recognize the people in the pictures. But the banquet and entertainment were great.

Then on Sunday we had our annual picnic which was also part of the celebration. The founding pastor was the speaker for the morning and he was really good. The picnic was excellent, as usual, and the weather was warm but not too bad. I remembered to take my camera to the picnic so here are some pictures from that event. Sorry, I forgot my camera for the banquet.

This area was used to serve drinks, shaved ice,
desserts and signing up children for Sunday School.

Amy and Julie man the registration table

Charles Leckie our pastor on the left and Donald Shoff the former pastor on the right

Lots of good food and fellowship

The children got to make a craft or ...

play games like toss the water balloon

Yum, the dessert table

Yes, a good time was had by all!

2005-08-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Leona Vincent Rath
1915 - 2005

Yesterday was the memorial service for Ellen's mother, Leona. I took the above picture at her 90th Birthday party in March.

Here are a few things I learned about Leona yesterday:

Her mother had a difficult labor and Leona was born by cesarean section. This was 1915!!! Her mother was so grateful to the doctors and the hospital, St. Vincents, for saving her life and that of her daughter that she choose the middle name of Vincent in thankfulness to them.

Leona was named after her father, Leonard who died when she was two.

At one time she lived in the country because her mother was a cook for ranch hands and she had a life long love of cowboys from living on this ranch.

Leona and her husband never planned on having children but after 15 years of marriage at the age of 40 they were blessed with Ellen.

Leona and her husband divorced when she was 50 so she went back to work as a saleswoman at Robinsons in Los Angeles to help support her and her daughter. She worked there for 20 years.

Now here are some things I knew about Leona:

She was always sweet and kind and never had a bad word to say about anyone.

She always had a smile on her face.

She always asked after the rest of the family when you visited her.

Her wedding gift to us was a brown tea pot (which I still have). In her card she stated that the best tea is brewed is a brown pot.

Finally here are some things I know about Ellen and her family:

They are an example to us in caring for our parents and the elderly in this day and age. Leona lived with them for eight years. It wasn't always the easiest thing but it was the best thing. Ellen has wonderful memories of her mother. The granddaughters have wonderful memories of their grandmother. Grandmother was there for all their school and church events and watched them grow up close and personal. Ellen is a wonderful testimony in this day and age of people who think only of themselves in that she took such wonderful care of her mother.

Leona will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

2005-08-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am posting today to let you know about a new series of books I have stumbled across. Tuesday evening I decided to attend our fair city's monthly city council meeting. I thought the meeting started at 7 but it really began at 7:30 so I went next door to our lovely library. I discovered a book there by author Laura Childs entitled The Jasmine Moon Murder. This book is one of a series called "A Tea Shop Mystery". If you like mysteries, if you like tea, if you like the setting of South Carolina and if you like Civil War references then I can recommend these books. Here is a link to the author's web site

http://www.laurachilds.com/

Also in this book are references to all kinds of teas, great ideas for tea party themes and recipes are printed in the back.

I intend to visit the library and order from them the other titles in the series. Our library only has the one title. I love it when I discover a new series of books. I wish I had stumbled across this at the beginning of summer because I love nothing better than to sit back with a good book and read and read.

Regarding Jennifer's class. Because the company who supplies the chefs clothing had lost her order, they shipped the clothing to her and waved the $10 shipping fee. So we did not have to drive into Los Angeles to pick up the clothing and it was delivered by UPS to our door on Wednesday afternoon. Finally, something worked out well! Even though the class has hardly met, their first test was Thursday. "On what?", I asked. Jennifer tells me the class is pretty much self taught and that they, the students, are responsible for reading the chapter(s) and being ready for testing on said subject. They are allowed to write names down (there are a lot of French words for cooking terms) and take the cards with them for the test. She said there was 44 questions on the test and knows she missed two. Other than that she feels she did very well on the rest of the test. Monday they are to come to class dressed out. Also Monday she should be getting her liability form and so can take that to the pastry shop and hopefully get her volunteer job squared away there for her 60 hours of service. That is really the only thing left hanging at this point.

Today we will be attending a Memorial Service for my friend Ellen's mother. I will post about that tomorrow.

Update: Several people I know with Blogger accounts are having problems with spam type comments. In order to prevent this happening to me I have turned on word verification for any comments posted. Now when you leave a comment you must post the letters you see. This prevents machines from leaving spam comments.

2005-08-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

In order to understand this post you have to read the post below. We did not get Jennifer's chef clothing today. When she called they had no record of her order!!! It wasn't in the computer. The girl had to go look on people's desks to see if she could find it and would call Jennifer back. So I called the bank to see if the debit card had cleared and it hadn't. The girl called back. She had found the order and would see it was processed immediately. Jennifer is to call back after 3 PM tomorrow and it may be ready. But we are not driving over there in rush hour traffic. We will go in the afternoon on Wednesday (if it is ready, that is). Jennifer doesn't need these articles of clothing until next week, thank goodness. This stuff drives me crazy!

2005-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

I promised I would write about Jennifer's experiences and now is as good a time as any.

Her work at camp was supposed to end on Saturday, Aug. 13 but instead we got a phone call from her on the 10th saying she was sick and could we come pick her up. I think when she came home for the one night on the 6th she may have caught what I had. Who knows. So her employment ended early. The nurse had put her on bed rest on Monday and she ever got better. School was starting on the 15th so the best thing was for her to come home and get well. She did recover and was fine by the 15th and so started classes (such as they've been).

The culinary class is 11.5 units. Nothing was said in the catalog about also having the work experience class which meets one day a week and is 2 units. So when the class ended on Monday most of the class trooped over to registration and signed up for it. Fortunately it wasn't full (after all, how could it be when they didn't know they needed it?). So on Mondays her culinary class will start at 7 AM and go until 2 PM and the work experience class will go from 2 PM until 3 PM. Then on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the culinary class starts at 7 AM and goes until 1 PM. As part of work experience the student needs to get a job in the industry. If you do it on a voluntary basis, you need 60 hours for the semester. If you get paid, then you need 75 hours. So, Jennifer remembered hearing about a bakery nearby. Turns out her teacher/chef knows the owner, gave her his card and told her to call the owner right away. She did that and the owner asked her to come in, said it sounded good to him and for her to fax him the hours she can work and he would get back to her. Also, because she is volunteer she needs a liability form from the school. So the next day she asked about the liability form. That she can only get from the work experience class which only meets on Mondays. Guess what. No class today, it's not meeting again until next Monday. So she faxed the owner her hours and told him she won't have the form until Monday the 29th. She hasn't heard back from him. If this all works out, I will name the bakery and post a link to their web site.

So besides the job, she needed an updated TB skin test. When you work food services you need this once a year. Health services at the college was back logged so she went to Kaiser on Tuesday, got the test, back to Kaiser on Thursday and got a clear read. Then she needed to order her chefs clothing. Two tops, two pairs of pants, and other stuff which came to $100. Her name is embroidered on the tops along with the school logo. When she goes to her job she must wear these chef whites. Rather than have the clothing shipped (another $10) she will pick them up. We are going together today to get them because the area is not that great. Then she also needed to order knives and other things which comes to $110 and she will get those in class tomorrow. All this plus her books and class fees makes this class cost close to $700!!!

Turns out the class let out really early on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It didn't even meet on Thursday or today. There is some big thing going on in Los Angeles and her teacher/chef is a judge. That is also the reason why the work experience class isn't meeting, because that teacher is the wife of culinary teacher/chef and she is involved too. What a way to get an education.

Then this weekend, Friday night to Sunday night, Jennifer went to Ft. Tejon to a Civil War Reenactment. It was very hot there but a good time was had by all. If she took pictures, and if I can get them on this computer I will post some here.

What have I been up to? Putting up with all the drama associated with all of the above for one thing. Also I have been looking for a nice dress to wear to the wedding in September. This is not the season for dresses. Very, very hard to find a nice normal dress in So. California. Everything is separates and this peasant look that is the rage right now. Look, a 56 year old woman wants a nice normal dress ... she doesn't want to look like a peasant! Finally found something yesterday after church at Burlington Coat Factory. This place sells everything, not just coats and the prices are reasonable. I found a two piece outfit that looks like a dress and a nice pair of shoes. I suspect it will be hot on September 24th and this is lightweight yet dressy. I am pleased. I will take pictures at the wedding and post when the time comes.

So, I think I'm caught up with my posting. School is gearing up. I have gone into the classroom a few times and am getting stuff ready. The class lists are to be posted Wednesday and I think I will go down then and check things out. Our first meeting will be Thursday, September 1 when we all get to do CPR training. Every two years this has to be done. Then we are having a nice lunch prepared by the church staff. On Tuesday, September 6 we have an OSHA meeting with a bunch of other schools in the morning. This is all required by the State of California. Then in the afternoon will be a staff meeting. Somewhere in all of this Catherine and I need to get the room ready because Wednesday, September 7 the little angels start school. Yipee!!

2005-08-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I did Disneyland yesterday from opening to closing, 8 to Midnight. Not as tired as I thought I'd be because I sat in theaters throughout the day to rest my feet.

I had wanted to leave at 7 but didn't get away until 7:20. On Wednesday nights we park our cars around back in the parking lot behind our house because of street sweeping in the early morning hours. Turns out someone tried to syphon off the gas from our Olds. It does not have a locking gas cap whereas the Toyota does. Paul is going to see if he can find one for the Olds. With gas prices the way they are now I guess people are desperate. Anyway I noticed a gas cap on the ground by the car, a short red hose and when I carefully opened the cover to the gas tank (I wanted to preserve possible fingerprints) the gas cap was off so it was our gas cap on the ground. Also there was moisture (gasoline) on the ground around that area. They didn't get much and we surmise that whoever it was got scared off and dropped everything. So all of this, and getting Paul to come out, and checking to make sure we hadn't lost all of our gas delayed my start time. Jennifer needed to go to Kaiser to get her TB skin test read so she and Paul needed a working car so I couldn't leave until we determined that. So I hear from Jennifer that Paul called the police and they came out and looked and took a report and statement. They did not take fingerprints and it is considered petty theft. So now that we are getting up before 7 AM on Thursday we will just move the cars in the morning and as I said Paul will try and get a locking gas cap for the Olds.

So I made fairly decent time over to the park. The traffic was only heavy in a couple of brief areas. Much to my surprise in entering the parking structure they did not have us park in the structure. Instead we were routed outside and I ended up in the outdoor side parking area clear at the back. So I had to walk all the way to the front to get to the tram.

So got to the entrance and breezed through security as I do not carry a bag. I had my money and driver's license in my money belt which I wear under my clothing. I did have my jacket as the morning was cool and we had the overcast clouds until around 10:30. Later I got a locker and put my jacket and car keys in it. I also got my cup of coffee at the Markethouse corner place which meant I could get more coffee for free during the day. I did get another cup in the evening. So I was in line to get in at 8 and they had just opened.

I first headed to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. That line is always so long so I thought I'd get it out of the way. The line was already long but not clear out in the walkway area. After that I thought I'd do all the Fantasyland rides because that is something I hardly ever do so after Peter Pan I rode the carousel (I could of gotten the gold horse but it was stopped too high up, I couldn't even get my foot up that high into the stirrup), then Snow White, Pinnoccio, Dumbo (I did get gold Dumbo), Casey Jr., Mr. Toad, and Teacups (I didn't spin). I decided to skip Storybook as I'd seen the things from Casey Jr., and that line is always long. I also wanted to do Alice but by now that line was long. I noticed the line for the Matterhorn was short so I did that. Because I was a single rider I got pulled out of line and put on quickly. I skipped Toon Town and Small World this time around.

So after leaving the Matterhorn I headed to Tomorrowland to get a Fast Pass for Space Mtn. I could smell the good food at the food court there and thought about breakfast (even tho I'd had cereal here at home) but the lines were long and I convinced myself I didn't need it. The line was long for Space Mtn. so got the FastPass. Now it's around 10:15 and the return time was 12:35 to 1:35. So I went to Main Street and got the locker and coffee and headed over to Splash Mtn. I stopped and got a Churro near Haunted Mansion and sat near the train and ate that and drank my coffee. Then I headed to Splash Mtn. I asked the Fast Pass guy if that ride still had a single rider line, yes through the exit. So I did that. I was the only one doing it and I had to wait maybe two minutes. People in one group did not want to sit in the front of the log so the line guy told me, "you're in number 1". I know now why people don't want to sit there. I got soaked but it was so much fun. The water comes right into the boat and you end up sitting in the water! So after getting off and clearing my glasses I decided to go on Winnie The Pooh just to see what all the talk is about. The first part is blustery day and it felt good and helped dry me. The ride is cute but it still disgusts me they took out Country Bears. Left there and slowly walked in the sun toward Hungry Bear and noticed the line for the canoes. They had three canoes lined up and ready to go so I did that. I ended up in the third one and we had to wait for the Columbia as they were bringing it out and around for the day. So paddling in the sun again helped me dry off. It was only my bottom that was still wet but it slowly dried during the morning. After that I went on Haunted Mansion. The line was somewhat long but it just kept moving. I have discovered that if there are two lines, for some reason the right line moves faster. I was in the right line and moved right on past the people on the left and into the mansion. Down below the line was backed up into the hallway and did not move. I think the ride was stopped for awhile but once it got running again we moved along pretty well.

After Mansion I had planned to go on Pirates Of The Caraibean but now the line was long and slow so I skipped it and went to Indie Jones. They did not have the Fast Pass on for this one (and I wouldn't have been able to use it anyway). The wait was listed at 30 minutes and that was pretty much right on. At the point where you go up the stairs I choose the right side and it moved faster. The vehicle was the normal bumpy moving around setting. After that I went on Jungle Cruise and the skipper was OK. By now it was 12:45 so I made my way over to Space Mountain and decided to get a Fast Pass for the new Buzz ride. The wait time on Space Mtn. was now 80 minutes but with Fast Pass it was only like 10 minutes. I love that ride! After getting off it was still not time for Buzz so I went into Honey I Shrunk The Kids. It was nice to just sit for awhile and take my shoes off. The only bad part was my seat area didn't work. I didn't feel the mice, I didn't have air in my face and I didn't get water on me when the dog sneezed. After that it was time for Buzz. That was OK. I got level 3 out of 7. It took me awhile to figure out the ray gun and where my red light was shining. My picture did not come out so I was not able to send it via email to myself. From Buzz I went over to Star Tours because the line was short. I was directed to the left line and sure enough the right line was constantly moving and was much faster than the left line.

Now it is after 2 so I headed over to DCA where I went to Soarin and used the single rider pass. This time I did not have to wait too long and there was only 2 other people ahead of me. Unfortunately I was in the last row but I still like being in there. From there I went to TOT and there was a long line. So I looked over at the return time for Fast Pass and it was 30 minutes so I got one and went over to Turtle Talk. That is so amazing. Someone had a birthday so he led us in singing Happy Birthday turtle style. When that ended I made my way back to Tower Of Terror and got right in. In talking to a woman while waiting to get on she said she had never been before to which I smiled and said this is really scary. Getting off at the end she looked and me and said "you were right!" So now it is almost 4:15 so I ran over to get into Aladdin. I was in the Mezzanine second row on the right end. Took off my shoes and enjoyed the show. The "good" genie was on. The carpet was flying and comes real close to that corner area where I was. On my way out of DCA they were just starting the Block Party Parade so I hung around to watch. Gosh, those dancer kids really work out. They were just drenched by the time they finished. They have a character for Boo from Monsters, Inc. that is just adorable. You can see Boo's face in her little monster costume. Everyone oohs and ahs over her when she comes by.

Now it is after 5 and I'm really hungry. My plan had been to eat mid day but that didn't work out. So I left DCA and hiked over to McD's. Now this was the only real bad experience of the day. Here is a McD's at dinner hour and right across the street from Disneyland and they only had two girls handling the front. And not only did they have to take orders, get money, etc., but they also had to get the food. The guy in front in my line had a huge order and it was all "special" ... no mayo on this, no mustard on that, etc. And the order was wrong so she kept having to go back and get things. I thought she was going to break into tears at some point! It took me 15 minutes before I got waited on and then I had to wait for my food. I was really disappointed, not in the food but the service.

So now it is around 6:30 and I head back to Disneyland, use the rest room and go get my jacket and keys from the locker. I got a "free" cup of coffee because my plan is to find a seat and wait it out for the fireworks. I have been on all the rides I want to go on so I am willing to sit for over two hours. Well, at 6:45 all the benches are taken, and most of the curb. People have laid out blankets and towels for their friends and family. I found one small spot on the curb right directly in front of the castle and I folded my jacket and sat on it. The family next to me got take out dinners from that mexican restaurant that looked really good. I talked to them for awhile. Around 8 there was no one behind me so I took my jacket, made a pillow and laid down for awhile. It was a long wait but worth it. I had the best seat and everyone sat down so no one was in my way!

After that I followed the herd (moo) over to where Fantasmic is. I got the good spot down from where the tech crew is and no one stood up to film in that sit down area so I had front and center there also. Talked to the couple next to me and they are my age, maybe a little younger. They are from Iowa and they came out to spend a few days at the resort and then Saturday they are leaving on the Disney Magic as it takes its cruise back to Florida. 14 days. They were on a waiting list and a cabin came up so they took it. Then when they get to Florida they are going to rent a car and drive to Disneyworld and spend a few days there! Must be nice!!!! We had a good time talking and passing the time.

I waited for the crowd to thin out and noticed people were just walking on POTC so I did that. Sat in the middle of the front row all by myself. Then Indie said 30 minute wait but it was maybe 10 minutes at the most. This time the car was really racheted up. It was really cool. Then I went on Jungle Cruise at night. Let me tell you, at that time of night those skippers are really loony. I had one of the best guys in a long time. He was older and he went way off script. He was really funny. Then I left the park. It was now a loooong walk back to the car and my car was the only one left in that area. The drive home was a breeze. Only 15 minutes from the parking lot to the Lakewood off ramp.

All in all a really good day. Got to do everything I wanted plus some things I hadn't planned. The weather was perfect and the crowds weren't all that bad. If you know how to work the system, ie Fastpass and Single rider, you can do lots of things.

I did not take my camera with me as in June Jennifer took lots of pictures. Maybe later I will find one from that trip to plug in at the top.

Jennifer is home from camp and school has started but that is a whole different post. Maybe some other time. I have a feeling my posts are going to get fewer and farther between.

2005-08-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Amber's bridal shower. Amber is the oldest daughter of my very good friend Ellen. I have known Ellen's husband Bob since we were both kids and attended the same church in Los Angeles. So I have known Ellen since Bob started dating her and for a time she and I even worked together in the same office (I was her manager, and we are still friends!). My daughter Jennifer was born in between Amber and the next oldest daughter Stacy and because Jennifer is an only child these girls (and there is a third, Carolyn) are like her sisters.

So, Amber is getting married in September to a wonderful young man she has been dating since high school. Amber just graduated from Cal State Fullerton and he graduated from Biola two years ago. So now it is time for them to make the big plunge!

The shower was lovely. Amber is a lovely girl and will make a beautiful bride. We all had such a good time and she got lots of great gifts, things she had registered for. We played three games one of which was "how well do you know Amber" and I got the most answers right!

One of her gifts was a set of four tea cups and saucers that had belonged to her grandmother. They were old and lovely. Also a nice book on teas with recipes for giving teas and a tea kettle. This gift was from Amber's grandmother but put together by her mother. Her grandmother has lived with them for many years but recently her health turned, she's 90, and she is now in an assisted living facility. So I took the cups and saucers and the book and set them up next to a picture of Amber's grandmother when she was a young woman.

And the big surprise of the day was that Jennifer was able to come down from camp. She found out on Saturday morning that the couple who are the staff overseers and live in Westminster were coming down with a couple of the guys for the night. Jennifer asked if she could come too and they said sure. She was dropped off at the house where the bridal shower was. She didn't quite make it in time for the shower but she got to visit with the girls and see the gifts.

We came home and had dinner and she did a laundry and got on her computer and talked with her on-line friends. She was so happy to sleep in her own bed if only for one night. This morning we all went to church and then while I was at handbell practice after church Paul took her over to the house where the couple live (not far from our church) and she left with them to go back up to camp for one more week. Then next Saturday we will go and pick her up and her job will be over.

I have a nasty little summer cold. Mostly in my chest and doing a lot of coughing. I either caught it because of a woman on the trolley in San Diego who coughed and coughed and coughed or the air conditioning in our motel room which we left on all night. Sigh.

I should also mention that last Thursday I met the teacher I work for, Catherine, at our school and we cleaned out the cabinets in our room. It was a job that really needed doing and we felt so good afterwards. We threw away a lot of stuff, gave some things to a preschool and other stuff to a thrift store. We have lots of shelf space now. She had her mother with her who is a really great lady and full of spunk for 84 years of age and they took me to lunch at Mimi's. It was good to see them and get caught up on things.

So, what does this week hold? Well, the weatherman says it will be cooler. One can only hope. I still have one more free ticket to Disneyland from my CHOC walk last year. So maybe this is the week to do that. And I want to buy Amber's wedding present while the pickings are still good.

2005-08-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

We had a nice two days in San Diego. Through out this post I will scatter a few photos. I took lots and lots of photos and selected a few for my Epson on line album. You can view them by using this link:

My Epson Album

I have resized them in PhotoShop so they should load quickly.

We left for San Diego on Monday morning. We had a few errands to run like getting gas for the car and getting Jennifer's books for the Fall Semester. We made good time down, it's about a two hour trip, and traffic was light to medium heavy.

First thing we did was go to Chula Vista where we had made reservations at Motel 6 and we checked in and paid for our room. The room was not available yet but we expected that. It was now around 11:30 and so we went to McDonalds which was located right in front of Motel 6 and had a little lunch and then headed across the street to The Trolley station. The Trolley is San Diego's light rail service. It travels all around the area and down as far as the border. It reminds me a lot of our Metro Rail here in the Los Angeles area. After purchasing our tickets a trolley came by about 5 minutes later. We stayed on the trolley all the way to the Santa Fe Depot which was the nearest stop to the pier area. Just like our Metro rail we traveled through not so good areas and very nice areas. It took about 20 minutes and we didn't have to worry about driving back into San Diego or parking. Over all it cost less for both of us to travel this way (Paul, as a senior, only paid $1) then for us to pay parking.

We walked the three blocks to The Midway and got our first glimpse.

Not ever having been on or near an aircraft carrier it was pretty impressive to me. When Paul was in the Navy in the mid 1950's he was on a carrier called the Essex which was smaller than The Midway. I would say Paul was like a kid in a candy store.

After purchasing our tickets we went aboard and began our self guided tour on the hanger deck. There we found some photos of aircraft that have flown off of carriers over the years and Paul found a photo of the plane (well, not the exact one) he flew.

They also had a trainer aircraft just like Paul trained on.

After walking around the hanger deck we climbed up several levels to the flight deck. Here they had many aircraft on display. We wandered around looking at them and then went over to the control area of the carrier called The Island. Here a group of 16 of us climbed small narrow ladders and got a guided tour by a docent of this part of the ship.

After the tour we wandered out to the bow of the flight deck. It was such a beautiful day. The breeze was blowing and looking back to the East thunderheads made a beautiful backdrop.

From this area we climbed back down to the hanger deck and then down some more levels to the engine room. This was a part of the ship Paul really wanted to see and he was happy it was open to the public. From there we climbed back to the flight deck and then down again to sick bay, the galley, the post office, and the machine shop. Then back to the hangar deck and forward to the berthing spaces, the Junior Officer's quarters, and the Forecastle. Here they have laid out the anchors which have just been refurbished.

One of the areas Paul really wanted to see was The Ready Room. It was here where Paul and the other pilots hung out during the day and received their orders. So Paul found a docent who told us that part of the ship was not open to the Public yet. They were working on it. When Paul mentioned his interest and why, the docent took us up. So we climbed up two flights of narrow stairs. Boy, because it isn't open to the public yet, it was hot up there! But Paul was so happy because the one room looked just like the one on the Essex. And some of the squadron emblems where painted on the floor including his squadrons.

So over all it was a real good visit. We left the area (my feet were killing me and I didn't feel like walking around the pier area) around 4:30 and made our way back to the Trolley station. We got back to Chula Vista and got our room and rested. Around 7 we decided to go eat. There was a Denny's right across the street but neither of us is overly fond of Denny's so we looked up places in the phone book. We found they had a Home Town Buffet south of us and so went there. We aren't much for trying new food and so stuck with what we knew. We headed back to our room and watched the news and I watched the end of the movie The Sixth Sense.

The next morning we took our time. No sense in rushing around, we are on vacation! We went to breakfast around 10 across the street at a place that specializes in pancakes. The food and service were really good and we had a nice big breakfast. We walked back to our room and packed and checked out and headed to the San Diego Zoo.

We have not been to the zoo since Jennifer was little. It is such a nice zoo. Of course, it is world famous. A month or so prior to this we got a coupon book in the mail and in it was an $8 off the special value ticket so that is what we got. This gave us the opportunity to ride the tour bus around the zoo, use the in zoo shuttle bus and ride the skyway as many times as we wanted. We decided to walk the inner part of the zoo first and then take the bus around the outside part and not walk in those areas.

The zoo is very lush in its plantings and where you walk, you feel like you're in the jungle or a rain forest. The animals are in more natural habitats rather than cages.

After walking around we went to see the sea lion show and then took the skyway over to the west part of the zoo and saw the polar bears and then walked to where the pandas are. The female panda was off exhibit as she was expecting her baby any time and sure enough on this mornings news we heard she gave birth last night.

We walked along the Sun Bear Forest path to the front of the zoo and took the bus tour. Our guild was a young lady who was very enthusiastic which made for a nice trip. After the tour we headed back to a couple of things we wanted to see closer. It was getting to be late afternoon and we decided we wanted to ride the skyway again. In heading in that direction a show was going on called Living Garden. Now in the brochure there is no explanation given as to what this is and if we hadn't been walking by we would not have gone out of our way to see it. It was mesmerizing. A young woman is on a stage dressed like a fountain. Water comes out of her "fingertips" and her head. She moves slowly to music which is a recorded voice like Sarah Brightman singing Italian love songs. We watched this for awhile and then headed to the skyway and took that over and then got back on and came back. We were going to get our monies worth.

When we got back another showing of Living Garden was in progress and so we watched more. It would appear that the same girl does all the shows. They begin at 3:30, last 20 minutes and are every half hour until the last show at 7:30. I would imagine that is not easy to perform let alone carrying all the weight of that costume. I was really impressed.

Now it was going on 6 so after a short walk through the gift shop we headed out and home. The drive was very nice and low clouds had come in making for a cool drive. We wanted to eat somewhere but could not find a place in Oceanside on the street we got off on. Mostly fast food. So we ended up at Sizzlers in San Juan Capistrano. We got home around 9 to a stuffy house but after opening doors and windows it freshened up pretty fast,

We had a pile of mail both snail and e to check and took our showers and went to bed tired. We had a really nice time. Lots of walking and my feet are still recuperating today. San Diego is a really nice vacation destination. We have gone a number of times in the past for Sea World and Balboa Park and its museums and look forward to returning some time in the future.