santa cruz wharf

31 December 2007

manic monday with mo ~ key

The Manic Monday with Mo word is “key

Is the key to keep your mouth shut…or is the key to just put it out there and own it? To paraphrase ILTV...what is the value of something destroyed by honesty?

“wading thru my stream of consciousness…” is (one of) my guilty little secrets. “Hello my name is katherine…and I am a blogger” **rolling my eyes**

Last night on the New Year’s Adam edition of the
award winning blogtalk radio show Turnbaby Talks…I pondered the age old question…”at what point do you let ‘him’ read your blog?”

Until now…just about no one (let alone The Teamster) from my brick and mortar life reads my weblog. Why? I dunno. My little weblog periodically serves as a destination point for the rants that swirl around in my head. It is my virtual scrapbook. My blog captures stories I tell over and over…and stories I’ve never ever told. I am selfish. I certainly don’t want to defend or debate what I throw up here.

I’ll admit I conducted a bit of a test.
A test for The Teamster in two parts.

Part one:

“How’s his sense of humor?”
(aka Will he be offended by mine?)
While listening to the latest MattMan offering “Free Rice” I figured the entire YouTube offering of Bagwine Man would be the perfect way to judge. If he thinks Mateo is funny….and doesn’t freak out over the content…he’ll pass.

Part two:

“Let’s just see how clever The Teamster really is”
After all he DID inadvertently send me not only his rafting pictures…but access to a whole bunch of OTHER pictures he surely did not intend for me to see. And when asked…he blurted out the name of his Mother’s blog…which of course resulted in my reading vignettes I’m fairly certain were for family consumption only.

So I sent The Teamster to
Bagwine Man on YouTube to listen to Free Rice. I mentioned he might enjoy some of Mateo’s other songs. I didn’t mention anyone’s blog. And I waited to see how it would all play out. Sure enough…he noted I’m one of Bagwine’s subscribers…then he found Matt’s blog…and then he found mine. In no time at all…he showed up on my weblog site meter. (and he thinks Mateo is a funny boy)

Apparently I have a new lurker on my weblog…

everyone say hello to The Teamster.

perhaps honesty is key.

29 December 2007

my greatest blessing

The first time you looked at me…
twenty six years ago today…
you changed my life forever.

I thank God for you everyday of my life.

I love you SugarCookie
Happy Birthday

28 December 2007

lil bro....

28 December 1962
I actually remember the day you were born
William Charles
we miss you Billy

27 December 2007

Thursday Thirteen ~ just dwelling

Over the hills and through the woods to daughter’s house we did go. Thirteen random thoughts on a whole new Christmas Experience.

1. For all my concerns, anxiety and complaining…we are very blessed indeed. I do not want to lose track of the fact that our lives have so much more than many others on this planet. I never want to forget to be grateful for all we have…especially for each other.

2. Sweetest moment: When asked what he wanted for Christmas dinner the boyfriend said he wanted a Cherry Pie. So on Christmas eve my Mama taught my daughter how to make a Cherry Pie. After Christmas dinner everyone was raving how delicious it was….when the boy realized she wasn’t eating…and asked if she wanted some of his. He didn’t know until then my daughter doesn’t even like Cherry Pie.


3. In an effort to accommodate everyone who came for Christmas the following choices were available for adding to your coffee: half and half, whole milk, lowfat 2%milk, lactaid non-fat milk, lactose free 2% milk, original coffee mate powder, eggnog, bourbon and brandy.

4. My daughter really is a great cook. She used recipes from her Mama….her Gammer Kay…and a couple of her Great Grammas…and added some of her own.


5. The Wii games are really kinda fun….as long as you are playing up against someone of equal experience. Playing with the 17 year old can be rather depressing.


6. My sister and I managed to get along…tippytoetippytoe…not an eggshell was broken…

7. My daughter started saying… “do it my SELF Mommy…do it my SELF” at two. She’s still saying it.
(picture me…my Mama…and the boy’s mother hovering just outside the kitchen…asking…”anything I can do?” “do you want me to do something” “need any help with [fillintheblank]” It is SO hard to relinquish control.)

8. The “kissy face” and “hey baby” slobbering is really cute the first day…and totally nauseating by the third.

9. The amount of orange stuff my daughter has in her kitchen is rather unbelievable.


10. I just realized I didn’t get ANY new paperweights…I’m not sure that has happened in the past twenty years…

11. To see various items...pictures, books, trinkets, et cetera that I have given to my daughter over the past twenty-six years arranged in a home of her own is alarmingly emotional.

12. I can get along with just about anyone if I actually want to. (I’m just so rarely motivated to do so) And I was a tad worried about meeting the boyfriend’s mom…turns out for no good reason. The morning after Christmas we were the only two awake….sitting there on the sofa…drinking coffee….giving syrup laden compliments to each other about the respective offspring. And then she mentions what she had said to her son about me …”I don’t know what you were talking about…she is so normal” (wtf???)

13. The bestest gift…was from my daughter and her beau. A little piece of paper in a great big box. She is taking me to see the cirque du soleil show “Love” with all the Beatles Music AND to the Star Trek Museum. Way cool…but the very Very VERY bestest part is two whole days just the two of us! (it made me cry…just a little…) I have no doubt you will be subjected to a post or two about it all.

26 December 2007

one year!

A year ago today…I made my first post. With her wild child wisdom my daughter suggested I start a blog to tell stories on…and to give me a place to put my rants in written form. Mostly so that she…and others who hang with me…don’t have to hear the same stories over and over again…

Who knew there would be people writing weblogs who would make me laugh, who would bring tears to my eyes…and even those who would tick me the hell off? I’ve yet to meet any of you…(with the exception of Rekabek who was once upon a time a work colleague) however I consider many of you my friends. I quote what you say….I laugh with you…sigh with you…and pray for you. I read about some of the most intimate details of your personal lives...and I don't really even know you.

In the last year there have been 230-some posts and 5800-some visits…even though I spent a couple months away last spring. I’ve written about things I rarely speak of. I've found the written word way more comfortable than I ever realized.

I am still new to the weblog world…just a rookie.
My life is so very different now than it was a year ago...
...and the next year holds many more changes.

Thank you for being a presence in my life.
Thank you for engaging me in laughter and debate.
Thank you for giving me things to think about.
Thank you for enriching my daily existence.
Thank you for...


wading through my stream of consciousness…

25 December 2007

Merry Christmas...everyone!


Wishing you and yours a joyous Christmas...


and all the blessings of the season.

22 December 2007

sunrise or sunset photo tag....

I stole this tag from maremagnum...it originated with MegaMom...and I was looking for a good excuse to post my photographs of last night's sunset

Show me your sunsets! Or your sunrise, whichever the case may be. It has to be a photo you took. Include a brief description of where it was, and how it made you feel watching that sunset/sunrise. Anyone reading this tag may also join. I am hoping that most of you will have something to share. If not, take out that camera and take photos. At least you will be forced to enjoy the fleeting view, even if only for a few moments.

These were taken at my beach in my neighborhood. It was crisp, and clear, and cold. Everytime I sit at the ocean and see the sun set I consider it my own personal gift from God. While it may seem as if I am the only one...in reality there are a couple dozen people....and their dogs...on the sand or surfing.


I tag Turnbaby ~ Linda ~ DesertSongbird ~ Mel ~ David



20 December 2007

Thursday Thirteen~The Twelve Days DaVinci Code

Thirteen Things you may not have known about the Twelve Days of Christmas

1. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith. The Twelve Days of Christmas was sorta a secret code song for children studying the catholic catechism

2. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

3. Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments.

4. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

5. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

6. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

7. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

8. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit-Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

9.The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

10. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit…Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

11. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

12. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

13. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed.

On the flip side…a completely adult version of The Twelve Days by the incomparable Matt-Man can be found at here on YouTube. (this one is NOT for the kids)

19 December 2007

drummer boys and girls

Little Drummer Boy was one of my childhood favorites…this clip is from my church’s Christmas Concert "A Night Of Wonder" over the past weekend. I don’t go to a normal church. We don’t mess around. It is kinda long…but what you see at the beginning is not what you see at the end....

makin' a joyful noise unto the Lord - Santa Cruz style


Wordless Wednesday ~ Indiana Blue


18 December 2007

Manic Monday with Mo ~ Tuesday Heads or Tails

This is one of those incredibly uncreative combination posts…a late Manic Monday with Mo (it’s a blog eat blog world)…and an early Heads or Tails with Barb (skittles place). I’m gonna convince myself I can combine Carol and a Memorable Gift in a moderately successful manner. I spent the entire past three days making Christmas cookies. We played (and sang) Christmas Carols…watched Christmas movies and football….baked a gazillion cookies. It was truly a gift to have my family around…for one of our most arduous and delicious Christmas traditions.

How about a little Christmas Carol Jam Session?


Go Tell It On A Mountain (of butter)


Rolling….Rolling….Rolling On the Counter
(okay…not really a carol)


Hark The Herald Angels Sing


secret family recipes passed on to younger generations are truly a gift.


It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Frosty The Snowman

Here Comes Santa Claus…Here Comes Santa Claus

(the artist’s pallet has many colors…)



Let It Snow…Let It Snow…Let It Snow…




Oh Tannenbaum


Deck The Halls With Boughs of Holly


These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
we WATCH Sound of Music at Christmas…
(shh...don't tell Jeff)



gifts waiting to be wrapped


ummm…okay…which ones are mine…


I hope to catch up with all of you soon...
there are hundreds of unread posts in my Reader...

14 December 2007

...continued random thoughts

This one is only 48 seconds long…



(picture Selig walking into his press conference)
I am shocked!
Shocked to find that there is drug use going on in here!

I am not mocking the true blue fans who have followed their favorite players with loyal admiration only to find out their blood is tainted. I’m talking about the sports reporters who in the same breath are relaying instances of what they witnessed first hand…and acting all innocent with their outrage and surprise.

I wonder if anyone will go after musicians…and boycott in outrage all songs which were written, recorded or performed while under the influence of “performance enhancing substances” such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine…et cetera. Let’s have a Congressional hearing for THAT group of celebrities. Authors…filmmakers…television writers…actors…fill in the [blank]. Is it cheating when they win an Oscar or Grammy if they wrote or performed while influenced? Maybe someone else would have won if all were clean and sober? (I don’t condone drug or alcohol abuse or addiction….this is just where my mind wanders…)

A couple other points in no significant order or sequence….I was gonna say these are my final thoughts on the matter…but I didn’t want to be indicted for lying to the Grand Blog-jury.

I do not want to hear some lawyer claim “He never failed the drug test” when he never even took the e-phn test.

There can’t be any real changes to the testing procedure without the acquiescence of the players (via the Players’ Union) due to the fact that their “agreement” does not expire until 2011.

My heroes will be the players who voluntarily opt to take the full battery of tests and make the results public….those who don’t will be suspect.

You can NOT by law prosecute or punish someone for doing something illegal (or against the rules) if when they did it…that law or rule did not exist.

Prior to 2005…there was no punishment in MLB for the first time failure of the test.

I am hesitant to call for across the board mandatory blood testing. There are some serious violations of personal privacy I am very uncomfortable with. (especially for high school students…side note: the test costs $150…and there are 735,000 high school athletes in California alone)

If you think the record books should have little black stars….and Cooperstown should have a hall of shame…you are gonna have to take into account things like the differences between wood and metal bats…the physical therapy and conditioning present day players are provided….et cetera.

I am growing increasingly annoyed that we haven’t heard from the coaches yet. Coach. That is a special relationship and title. There are several out there I would like to hear from. They got some ‘splainin’ to do.

Mitchell’s recommendation to draw the line and only make changes going forward has a great deal of validity. If Baseball spends a ton of time and money investigating and punishing for the past…they will not be able to rebuild the sport. It will become gossip and innuendo and a media frenzy to muck around in the gutter. No person or organization is going to be able to “unravel” who knew and who didn’t. If owners or managers or coaches provided (or insisted on the use of) “performance enhancing substances” they will have to be punished as well. And who are we gonna get to do that…Bud Selig? Puleezzzzz he should be the first to go. Congress? Get Real. The Players’ Union will have any investigation hogtied before it even begins.

Personally…knowing what I knew before…and knowing what I know now…and suspecting what I will know in the future…I do NOT enjoy the game any less. I had my come to Jesus moment a long time ago. I accepted the notion that one of my favorite players partook of the juice. So…I don’t regret a single moment at Giant stadium. I loved the afternoons and evenings I spent with my family and friends cheering my team…the camaraderie with those strangers around me. Jumping in the stands….yelling at the top of my lungs when Barry hit 700. I was chartreuse with envy when SugarCookie and her J-boy went to the AllStar game. He took close up pictures for me of Willie McCovey with Barry Bonds which brought a tear to my eye.
Take me out to the Ballgame. You won’t keep me away.

I came across an excellent post by
The Curmudgeon over at Second Effort I highly recommend.

13 December 2007

George Mitchell hit a homerun

The team who compiled the Mitchell Report deserves a place in Cooperstown.

Not only did they fairly and concisely define the problem… they provided workable, viable solutions, and a well-defined road map for the future.

The bottom line is EVERYONE in baseball knew. The owners, coaches, managers, players, agents, batboys and the fans. Not everyone is using…or condoned using…but everyone knew and allowed it to continue. For Selig to act like “okay…NOW I’m gonna do something”…makes me want to smack him. I give him credit for hiring George Mitchell two years ago and spending the millions of dollars. But then c’mon Bud…take the advice. The management and coaching staff are eerily quiet. The Players Union (don’t get me started on their collective bargaining bs) should bear significant responsibility for this mess…and should be the entity picking up the torch to lead the restoration. And any fans who act all shocked and shaken… are quite frankly doing their best impression of an Ostrich.

For the record – no way, no how is Baseball the only sport with “performance enhancing substance” issues, use, and abuse. Current media coverage includes cycling, wrestling and track…but since Lyle Alzado, I can’t recall the last time American Football was in the crosshairs. (remember Lyle died FIFTEEN years ago at the age of 43 from conditions related to his steroid abuse of human growth hormones.) There is no way a significant percentage of those guys in the NFL are innocent of it all.

The “wink-wink nudge-nudge” and “don’t ask don’t tell” mentality toward “performance enhancing substances” is PERVASIVE in both high school and college sports. I know all the lectures about what parents should and should not do. Get real. There are parents who want nothing more than their child to become a famous athlete….and are willing to bet that a few years of “performance enhancing substance” side effects are worth the risk….not only because so many of the multimillion dollar players have used…but because in MOST situations this is the only way to beat out the other kids. If you have a hard time believing this…go stand on the sideline or in the bleachers of any truly competitive highschool sporting event and listen to the parents of the most talented players.

Even for parents like me…who would mostly likely strangle anyone offering my kids this shit…the reality is most kids turn 18 while they are still in highschool…and learn rather quickly they can do all kinds of stuff without a permission slip from Mommy. A kid getting good grades and working to excel in sports…they are not often thought of as a problem.

College level athletes frequently live in a town…or state…different than their parents. And typically grow, mature, and develop significantly in the first few years of school without taking anything. Not to mention by the time they graduate and have the chance to go on to professional sports they are several years into adulthood….and even the most involved parent has only the slightest ability to influence. (nor should we)

I have heard a whole slew of second, third and fourth hand stories. I only know of two situations first hand. One is in baseball at the high school level. And the second is in football at the college level.

In the first….the opportunity to go on to a specific university with a full ride baseball scholarship was dependent on the willingness to take “performance enhancing substances” to make them a better player. This player also had the opportunity to attend a military academy…and did. They are currently serving active duty protecting baseball, apple pie and the American way of life.

In the second case…at a D2 school…two players…both All American making national coverage. One was the defensive captain, one was the offensive captain. Both recruited by the NFL. The kid who took the “performance enhancing substance” went to the NFL following graduation (and is currently playing) …the kid who did not went to work as a software engineer. (I say kids…they were actually young men in their early/mid twenties….with alarmingly attractive uniformed butts.)

Today’s press conferences were all about professional Baseball. Vincent has gotten the brunt of my opinions on this subject in the past few months….but he still lets me sit on Bonds big leather couch…most of the time. I am a San Francisco Giants Fan. (as my father before me) I am a Barry Bonds fan (and his father before him). I’m not gonna sit here and tell you he did not benefit from “performance enhancing substances.” But I am going to be adamant in telling you that everyone he was competing with for homerun records is doing the same. And I suspect…read the report…just about every one of the award winning pitchers Barry was up against was also benefiting from “performance enhancing substances.” This may indeed qualify as cheating. However this also qualifies as a level playing field.

It is important to note Mr. Bonds (Barry not Vinny) has been tested consistently for the past few years. He wasn’t on the juice then. In addition, there were many years PRIOR to the alleged use when his abilities made him truly one of the most outstanding players in the game.

Lots of people do not like Barry Bonds.
Makes no difference to me.
Bonds is an arrogant SOB (strike one)
Bonds is in San Francisco (strike two)
Bonds was sure to break the record (and he's out)

The Federal Grand Jury has reason to believe dozens (if not hundreds) of other players were involved with “performance enhancing substances.” Why were they not forced to testify? How were those actually subpoenaed selected?

Fine. If they can prove Barry Bonds lied to the Grand Jury, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. But also give the same punishment to everyone who lied to the Grand Jury. Treat them all with equal retribution.....prosecute Marion Jones to the same extent of the law. Bring everyone else named in the Mitchell report to speak under oath. Don’t pick out a handful. Go after them all.

If you want to put little black star next to the Barry Bonds name in the Homerun Record books...fine. But you damn well put the same little black star next to EVERYONE who has benefited from a “performance enhancing substance” and set a record. ALL of them.

Just wait until February…Football is next.

I love George

I love George. This man is brilliant. I would love to work for any organization he heads up.

Actually…I want him to be President. Just skip the time, effort and billions of dollars it’ll take to get us through the caucuses and primaries and put this man at the helm.

Read the report and findings.

Watch the coverage.

Selig to hold press confrence at 1:30pm (4:30 eastern)

more to follow…
(by the way...I didn't take this picture...I stole it from MLB.com...but I am gonna print it out and carry it in my wallet....with a big puffy pink heart!)

Thursday Thirteen ~ Christmas Cookie Prep

Thirteen Things I gotta do to prepare for our annual three day CHRISTMAS cookie baking extravaganza…

1. Dig around for the festive cookie tins (or did I give them all away?)

2. Check food coloring. (why can you ONLY buy the four pack when you only ever run out of two of the colors?)

3. Call the step dad to make sure he has plenty of firewood and Jack. (for both our benefits)

4. Pack up cookie sheets and cooling racks (take a picture so at the end I can prove how many are mine.)

5. Select two books (for down time between mixing, baking, decorating to maintain my personal sanity)

6. Select five movies everyone will enjoy…(the 17 year old and the 76 year old like the same….the 19 year old, 26 year old, and 70 year old like the same….the 42 year old will disapprove of whatever I bring)

7. Inventory the sprinkles, jimmies, colored balls, and other decorations at Mama’s. (confirm there is plenty of red, green, and orange)

8. Find out what the kids’ work schedules are (no one gets to just show up and take cookies if they didn’t help mix, knead, chop, cut and decorate.)

9. Buy green and red plastic wrap (I’m fairly certain this is poisonous…but it looks so pretty)

10. Review list of things to do Friday (make dough for overnight refrigeration, chop nuts, sift flour, slice candied fruit)

11. Stop by Peets for Sumatra or be stuck with folgers. (Blech..light brown water you can read thru)

12. Overcome the tremendous urge to pack up my laptop and take it with me. (it’s not like I’ll have withdrawals or anything….I am coming home at night afterall….I just don’t like sharing the computer with five other people…not to mention its one of those desktops the Smithsonian is asking for…)

13. Bring my better angel…just in case…

10 December 2007

manic monday with mo ~ ornament


Surf over to "It's a Blog Eat Blog World" for all of Mo's Manic Monday Minions!

appreciation

I thank you for the warm thoughts, hugs, prayers, laughter, and encouragement.

Bring my better Angel !!!
(I so need to remember this…maybe I outta have it tattooed on the back of my hand…would I hafta pay royalties???)

I've known for a few days but I didn't tell my daughter until yesterday cause she had events in her life I didn't want to impact. My sister and I are not yet in tandem about the whole situation and once again at odds over the various Christmas events and celebrations.

I tend to write on paper intense thoughts...good and not so good...but rarely post them. Just about 98% of what I wrote was straight from our conversation. Yesterday was more intense…even for me….I needed to dissipate my emotion before I went to my folks to decorate their tree....and besides…I would have felt a bit of guilt...as if I had not been honest with you all.

Yes…this path is familiar…at each step I need to make the choice how I handle it. I’d just really like to end up in the same place….smile.

09 December 2007

words to the wild child.

We have always been like Lorelei and Rory…freakishly linked. How many times have I called from the road to say, “hey I’m almost there…wake up...we need to talk” like some sort of early maternal warning system?

You’re a couple now. I can’t just descend upon you before the everlovin’ crack of dawn with twelve minutes notice, bagels and donuts.

I stare at the phone in my hand. I’m an e-phn coward for crying out loud. Crying…not so loud. Dialing…deep breathing…throat clearing…“hey sugarcookie” small talk…et cetera…. Then I pause…"hey sweetie…I’m gonna wreck your day”

I wait for your transition… I hear your soft “okay”…

And...I...just...tell you…cause she’s your Gammer-Kay. There are no easy words. She wants you to know. She wants to talk with you herself…about what it is…about what it means. But…she doesn’t want to actually tell you. You are her “sweet pea.” She is the one you take after…you are two peas in a pod. I just tell you….and you cry….and I cry….and I am thankful you have someone there with you who loves you.

You ask about the kids. And no…I can’t tell the kids yet. They don’t react well when I cry. They feel anxious but they display anger. I can’t tell them…“My Mama now has what your Mama died from” I can’t tell them yet.

damn. Damn. DAMN.
I thought we had won already. I thought we had this beat. “We”… ha…that’s a joke. It wasn’t me…I didn’t do anything.

You remind me to be careful. You know the first time when I passed out cause I hadn’t slept in the better part of a week and running up the staircase made me dizzy. You know the second time when on the way back I chose scraping and sparking along the center divider rather than playing tag with the big rig at 60 miles an hour. ( I never told my Mama about either…cause I didn’t want her to worry about ME. I didn’t want her using her energy on ME. I don’t want anyone thinking I am not handling it well…I want everyone to think I’m battling)

Battle

the war-cry of an archangel
Although I am not the one under attack…again.
I am willing to enter into battle…again.

It is not my fight…
but it is our battle

There is nothing I can do to stop it.
However... I will battle.

Weapons of choice:
knowledge and information....data and details
(dear God I love the internet)
laughter and aromasin...cabernet and chocolate
All laced with prayer…a whole lotta prayer….

I am not ready….NOT READY…to face this battle…
god DAMN it…I thought we had won already.

08 December 2007

Photo Hunting ~ long

It is a L-O-N-G walk to the end of Capitola Wharf....

06 December 2007

Thursday Thirteen ~ the Christmas Lights Train

1. The SCBG which typically runs between the Redwoods and the Beach Boardwalk has a limited special “Holiday” Lights Train this time of year.


2. Each year our church reserves the train one night for the Christmas Lights Train…I took my folks and my sister for a bit of festive family time.

3. Passenger ages seem to run from birth to twelve… and from twenty-something to very senior citizen. Apparently my teenagers are not the only ones in their age group who consider the Christmas Lights Train with distain.

4. There were three enclosed railcars…which have really soft velvet seats and way cool decorations.


5. The six open air railcars have bench seating…lots of fun lights…and you can hang out and wave.

6. Part of the route is right through town…people are walking and driving…and some come out of their homes as we go by. About 77% of the people you pass wave back. Some even flash their lights and honk.


7. It is really fun to cause cars to stop on city streets. I have been in one of those stopped cars…I always wave back.

8. Santa was on board…besieged by his true believers.

9. I soooo need to read the book on how to use my camera in the dark. Or start saving up for a better camera. It wasn’t raining…or snowing....just a bit of the coastal marine layer (aka fog.)


10. The train passes slowly thru the Mission Hills Tunnel which is 927 feet long and built in the 1880’s. It runs beneath the Holy Cross elementary school. (the English translation of Santa Cruz is Holy Cross). The wooden sides of the tunnel are within reach from the train. My Mama actually told me to be careful and not lean out so far. I’m forty-eight years old…apparently still a tad immature….cause my response was to lean out farther…..smile

11. We had roving musicians singing Christmas Carols. I love singing with crowds cause no one can hear that I can’t actually sing.

12. Afterwards we went to one of our favorite restaurants for a night cap. We also shared onion rings, crème brulee, and berry cobbler with ice cream.

13. I think I’m going to make this a new Christmas tradition for the willing adults in the family…

04 December 2007

Heads or Tails - three

Miz Barb of Skittles Place hosts the weekly Heads or Tails…this week the theme is Three.

The Three Wise Men brought the three gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. The Wise Guy of them all gave me the three gifts of SugarCookie, LittleMissy and The BearCub. These are the most recent pictures I have of each of them.



SugarCookie stirring the gravy on Thanksgiving…reviewing G-Ma’s list making sure we had everything…the shadow in the left corner may one day be the father to some of my grandchildren…

Little Missy coming off the soccer field…smiling…whew…it’s nasty when she ain’t happy after a game.

BearCub….walking out to the parking lot with us after breakfast on Saturday. Apparently he thought we were all talking and laughing too loudly....so he pulled out some little remote and was hitting the “mute” button. Funny kid.