The Ancient of Days....

Here he is, in all his glory....The Ancient of Days, the Centurion of West Point.  Actually, his birthday isn't until the end of the month, but we decided to have his celebration in conjunction with the family reunion.  We held the celebration at the church- there were a grundle of people too... unbelievable!  And I thought all his friends were dead  :)  but I think they must have been a lot of his friends children- which he is outliving.  I think he had a grand old time, though.  He was a bit worn out but I think it did recharge the pace-maker battery.

Here's to you Pops... Happy Birthday!and rock on!  Now, you can start looking forward to 101.

It's funny: there is a lady in town that is 99 right now- just 6 months younger than Dad.  I thinks she can't wait to knock him off his perch and take his place.... how rude.... little vulture!

Spring 2014

Well, I've finally seen a 

...and heard the melodious sound of the 

 
...I guess it must be

"Man, I Feel Like A Man"

I changed a word in the lyrics, but, Thanks Shania Twain.

This past weekend, I really felt like a man.  Let me tell you why.  No, not because it was Valentine's Day weekend- that's a given.  Got her flowers?  Of course I got her flowers!  (Whew!)  No,  it's because I took care of a few items that needed to be done.

1. The washing machine had been on the blink for a couple of months (I wonder if that's why people don't want to sit by me... "Stench?  Of what speakest thou?  The air is sweet and fragrant..." Sir Ditimus, Labyrinth).  I had been washing the clothes at my dad's).  Anyway, I finally got the part ordered and got it installed- BAM!  No dFL error code is gonna keep me down!  One- done.

2.  Sydney had called earlier that week and said she needed help changing some lights in her car.  So, after I had finished the washing machine, she and I checked out the car and figured out which lights needed to be replaced.  I told her to pick those up after she and her mom attended a party they had been invited to.  Me?  I went on to the next project.

3.  I went over to my Dad's and did the the laundry and cleaning like I usually do on Saturday... that doesn't really make me a man (although more men should more cleaning), but I'm taking this one... BAM!  Two- done.

4.  Sydney and her mom came back and I took those lights and replaced the faulty ones in her car.  I told her to check those lights to make sure they worked- they lit up like the lights on Charley Brown's Christmas tree (not as many as on a regular one).  BAM!  Three- done.

Sydney was so thankful for the help- Dads are the best, aren't they?  They can help their little princesses in distress (sometimes).  I told the ladies how manly I was feeling that day, then Brenda reminded me that I had also run five miles that morning.  Again, running does not make one a man, but again, I'm gonna take this one, too. BAM!  Four- done.

So, there you go, a few of the reasons for my feeling extra manly last weekend.  I would say that I feel like a man's man, but it's a shame you can't use that phrase anymore- well, I guess you could, but it just doesn't seem the same these days.  So, I'll say I feel like a lady's man... there, now that does sounds better.

Circus Vargggggggaaaaaasssssss!

OK, it really wasn't Circus Vargas, but every time I see one of these fly-by-night circuses, that's what it reminds me of (Circus Vargas was a circus we took the kids to when we lived in Washington state, many moons ago).  But, we thought it would be fun to take our grand daughters to the circus.  You know, to see the wild animals up close, ride an elephant, eat some real expensive candy, and especially, see the scary CLOWNS!  Luckily for those who are squeamish around them, I didn't post any pix of them.... you're welcome.

There was a period before the show started that people could ride the elephants, camels, and ponies.  We got them on the elephant as you can see below.  The show finally started at about 7:30, a half hour later than it should have (the carnies were raking in too much money to stop that action early).  There were some cute and fun things, but the girls were getting restless, fussing, couldn't hold still, hungry, crying, etc.  So, at half time, about 8:30, we bugged out.  The carnies were bringing out all the rides and stuff again, so I imagine after that and 2nd half, we wouldn't have gotten out of there until 10:00! The girls wouldn't have lasted that long for sure.

As we carried Isla out, tears streaming, Emery was saying, "But Grandma, we haven't ridden the camel yet!  We haven't gotten a toy yet." etc, etc.  Any Isla was trying to grab at all the stuff on the way out- toys, cotton candy... it was fun though.

We said good bye to Taylor (he came with us... must have missed Circus Vargas), Emery, and her little friend Brogan.  We still had some time to kill with Isla as her parents wouldn't get out of the temple for a while.  So, we took her to McDonald's- why wouldn't we?  So, one Happy Meal later- all was right with the world again.

"I had a dream that I made a magic potion.  After I mixed it up, I drank the potion down...." What a Bad Dream by Mercer Mayer

We Seek Thy Wisdom, Oh Wise One!

About a month ago, we took Carson to get his wisdom teeth out.  Now he is as dumb as we are  :)

Here is a look at the patient at the time.

Good luck on your new quest for wisdom, Son.

Holiday in CA

As I mentioned in the last post, the day after Christmas, B, one of her brothers and his wife, went on holiday.  I was hoping for a little warmer climate, but I wasn't the one that was choosing the site- although, I didn't want to spend 5 grand to go get a sunburn either.  The spot: northern California, in a little place called Irish Beach (around the Mendocino area).

It was beautiful, very relaxing (so relaxing I almost slipped into a coma). I will paste a few shots here.

This a panoramic shot from the deck of the home in which we were staying.  There was quite a steep hill down below, but there was a road not far away that we walked/drove down to the beach.  The waves relentlessly battered the shore day and night- what an awesome sound.  Although, I'm glad we were sleeping on the other side of the house else they would have kept we awake all night.

We arrived late at night, the day we arrived at our coastal getaway.  When I got up the next morning, I spied a couple of very rare visitors at the house across the road.... the illusive dearbird.

The next two shots are views as going down the road to the beach.

 There were ginormous mounds of kelp that would wash up on the shore which scattered the beach in all directions.  We were secretly hoping to find a body tangled up inside, a victim of some spy vs. spy action... sick!

 B's bro and his blushing bride.

 Awe!

 A lot of these shots are so Goonie-esk.  I've got to go watch that now...

 As the waves retreated, they would make some of the most spectacular designs.

 Man against the sea...  let me tell you, I was just a few feet from falling into the sea.  It was a one foot wide cliff.  It gave me the heebee geebees, but dang, what a shot!  This is the spot where we saw sea lions and whales spouting- cool!  It was such an amazing coast line.  So many different rock formations, cliffs, and wildlife.

 We were surprised that there were hummingbirds still hanging around here.  Well, the flowers are still growing, so why wouldn't they?  They are so fun to watch- quick little boogers and so dang cute!

"When the ebbing tide retreats along the rocky shoreline.  It leaves a trail of tidal pools in a short-lived galaxy.  Each microcosmic planet a complete society.  A simple kind mirror to reflect upon our own.  All the busy little creatures chasing out their destinies.  Living in their pools they soon forget about the sea..." Natural Science cpt

 Just had to put her feet in the water... because it was there.  How do you get a brain-freeze when you wade in cold water?   Hmmmmm...

This was a shot of old mill we saw on our drive through the Napa Valley.  We were amazed at the endless miles and miles of grape fields that stretched out through this beautiful country.  There were so many wineries, it was unbelievable.  And they all had taste-testing available- I doubt they had any "unleaded" varieties.

 

This little flyer caught my eye as I walked back from the beach one day.  It just so happened that we were going to be in town for the big crab fest- sweet!  It was quite pricey, but it was all about the experience, right?  This place we were in, really didn't seem like California, more like Oregon... with Oregonites.  We went to this feed and it was in some little town hall (a grange- Google it- interesting). So we go in to pay and we ask if they take credit cards.  They looked at us like we were growing two heads.  We went to the local grocery store and bought a few things and got cash back.

It was an all-you-can-eat affair... I like that!  All the crab, shrimp scampi, fish chowda and salad that you could stuff down your gullet. I of course skipped right over the rabbit food and went straight for the sea fare.  I pounded down so many crab, I almost walked out sideways!  So good.

As with all good things, they must come to an end- sad.  You know, I don't ever think I could get tired of watching as the "wheel in the sky" sinks slowly into the never-ending barrage of waves of the beautiful Pacific.  The sound is amazing- I don't want to go home to my  high-teens, low-20 deg environment... oh well. Oh, I forgot to mention that several nights, we hopped into the hot tub and soaked in the starlight and drank deeply from the ever-sweet Milky Way.  I enjoyed watching Orion track the ever-evasive Taurus across the expanse of space.  

When I gaze upon Space- that final frontier, I always get pensive... at least, it makes me think a lot  :)  How does God do it?  I don't know, but I want to find out so I can put a few worlds together myself.  I don't know, but it will be hard to rival the beauty that He's made for us.  Sometimes, it's the simple things in life...

Christmas 2013

Didn't get a lot of good pix this year for Christmas.  Needless to say we were like a vessel full of mariners, adrift on the endless paper-wrapping sea...

Everybody was here- Rory came from his Army assignment to spend a few weeks which was nice.  We even had Gma Little with us, as she is alone now.  I think all had a good time.  We did presents, played games, ate, then everybody went home.  Then the day after Christmas, Brenda and I went on holiday with one of her brothers and his wife.... which will be the next blog which I'll get to one of these days.

Whoa!  Was that for Mrs. Claus?  Shanaenea!