Hooterville Holler

View from my window

2011-10-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

View from my living room this morning at sunrise in the Mojave. Gorgeous.

Snakes beware!!

2011-10-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a snake season this year. Must have been the winter rainfall last year that provided plenty of rodents and critters for food. Unfortunately, some of these rattlesnakes don't know that they aren't inside pets.

So, I decided it was time for me to buy myself a smaller handgun for when Paul isn't home to take care of things. I don't like shooting them, but if they don't stay on the 30 1/2 acres they have here--they aren't welcome on my porch or outside my back door.

Nick is my hero! (Warning--loud)

2011-07-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

We rescued Nick on Christmas Eve. Paul wanted a pit mix female, but as things often happen, Nick came into our life instead. He is Paul's dog, but he is also my guardian. If Paul isn't home, he won't leave my side. Bathroom trips included.

Tonight, I was watching tv and Nick suddenly started barking wildly and when I got up to see what he was barking at, I saw his head looking right outside the sliding door and had a feeling it was a snake. It was. It wasn't leaving so Paul took it out with a big stick. Nick got a cookie as a reward and Bo got one too for being the backup barker.

Dear Daddy

2011-06-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

So many memories came to me today. The Father’s Day card aisle is so bittersweet. I have so many memories. I remember as a young girl standing on the dock waiting for your ship to come home from a long cruise when you were in the Navy. I remember riding on the back of your motorcycle and the time we wrecked on El Monte when the dog ran out in front of us, and you laid the bike down and broke my fall to the pavement with your leg.

I remember you pulling us in the snow in Aurora on sleds you hooked up with chains behind the station wagon and how you laughed when you swung us off into snow banks.

I remember in high school getting called into the principal’s office and you were sitting there. I learned then never to write your name on absence notes because they knew immediately that I had skipped school--because all the other notes came from Mom. You took me home that day and taught me parallel parking so I could take my driver’s test.

I remember when I wrecked your old blue work car and parked it so the damaged door was not facing the house. (Yes, I also remember I had it fixed and they even matched the paint!) Then there was the time when I was going to beauty school, and you sat me down in the kitchen and asked me to tell you what I’d done. I didn’t confess until you put the bottle of vodka on the table. That’s when I found out you marked the bottles. I thought you’d be proud that I learned how to make a flask out of a hair spray can. I think you secretly were.

You helped me find my party trailer and hauled it to your house. You put a level on it and started making a list of everything I’d need to outfit it. It was our project and we had so much fun at the river in that thing and the inner tubes you gave me for float trips.

I remember the July 4th parade in ’92, when Gypsy took off in a dead run, spooked by the fire engines, and I flew by you--off into the desert—and when I asked you why you didn’t come running and you said you thought I was trick riding! I guess you missed the part where I lost my stirrup and went airborne and landed in the dirt, covered in stickers.

I remember what a wonderful dancer you were; that little step only you did. I cherish it all. I miss you Daddy.

Tesla's shooting her first movie scenes today!

2010-10-21T07:38:00.001-07:00

Tesla & Papa

Tesla landed a part in the upcoming movie "BFF & Baby" where she will be playing the part of JJJ, one of baby's BFFs. It was her first audition! Good luck, Tesla!!

Victory! Hosking defeats Lemkau!

2010-06-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

It started with a tragedy and a community rose up and decided to fight back! We knew it would be an uphill battle. Who defeats a sitting judge in the largest county in the continental United States?

Someone like James Hosking, who at great personal cost, stepped up to do what was right. With intregity and courage, James waged a campaign for the dignity the office deserved and was sorely lacking.

For those who criticize and say "it was only one case" "one bad decision" I ask: What value would you place on your 9 month old son or grandchild?

Lemkau took every opportunity to make excuses for himself, even blaming Katie and other law enforcement, never accepting his responsiblity for not protecting baby Wyatt.

The children of San Bernardino County are safer tonight. Thank you voters of San Bernardino County. Thank you to all the members of our community and FB community for all you did to remove this judge.

Thank you soon-to-be Judge James J. Hosking. Last, but certainly not least, thank you Katie for your courage and strength and love for Wyatt.

Happy Mother's Day (to me) ...

2010-05-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was time. My old girl ('89 300E) is getting up there in years and miles. I found this sweet 2000 E320 this weekend and what a sweet ride!

Where did April go?

2010-05-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

The girls and I went to Hollywood Park's Kentucky Derby Day and had a great time. I even wore my big hat! Bet on Calvin and he brought it home; what a great jockey!

I've been so busy, I don't know where time has gone. Work has been keeping me busy, busy (which I love) and I have a new granddaughter who is growing every day. She's a sweet baby.

We're all looking forward to next month's trip to Branson for my nephew's wedding and being with family.

Tesla Maye

2010-03-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Tesla Maye held out until almost 10pm Tuesday, March 23rd, before making her grand entrance into the world! She weighed in at 8lbs, 11oz and is 21 7/8" long. Blue eyes and light hair and looks just like her big sister Adeline as a baby.

New granddaughter coming tomorrow!

2010-03-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned!

An Inconvenient Murder

2010-03-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

That's how Judge Robert Lemkau describes the timing of baby Wyatt Garcia's murder by his father, Stephen Garcia, in his first interview with the AP, when he said, "It occurred at the worst possible time for my candidacy."

Lemkau defended his ruling, allowing Garcia to continue with unsupervised visitation, which led to Wyatt's murder 10 days after the hearing:

The evidence Tagle showed him consisted of two long e-mails titled "Necessary Evil" written by a "John Hancock" that was a fictionalized account of a father killing himself and his 9-month-old son after his ex-girlfriend refuses to come back.

The ex-boyfriend in a sworn statement and again in front of the judge, denied writing the e-mails even though Tagle insisted that Garcia had posted a similar story to his personal Web site.

Lemkau said that, since he had no way of determining on Jan. 21 who was lying and that Garcia produced photographs showing Tagle drinking while holding the baby, he was not going to cut off custody to the father. He noted that two other judges previously found Garcia wasn't a threat when they denied similar requests last year.

That's not quite the whole story. According to Katie's mother, a San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputy (officer Cook) that saw the evidence immediately stopped the visitation and got Joshua Tree Judge Mazurek to sign a temporary restraining order the day after he had originally denied one. Lemkau's ruling dismissed it.

Lemkau claims he was "crushed" when he heard about Wyatt's murder. He didn't sleep for "a week". Did he reach out to Katie Tagle and offer even his condolences? No. Katie had to go before him and then he read a statement in court surrounded by extra security ... for him.

Judge Lemkau's term is up. He is up for election on June 8, 2010. He was appointed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger. Somehow this race has been used by some to further the discussion by Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and others, as a reason to stop elections by the people of our judges. My opinion is that this is exactly why the people must have an opportunity to rid our justice system of the Lemkau's in the court.

James Hosking is running against Robert Lemkau. Your vote is needed on June 8th, for all the Baby Wyatt's in this county.

When Judges Kill

2010-03-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

Family court judges literally hold lives in their hands. The case of 9 month old Wyatt Garcia is a prime example of what can go wrong when a judge automatically assumes a parent is lying just to get back at the other parent.

Judge Robert Lemkau could have ordered supervised visitation to ensure Wyatt Garcia's safety.

He could have given temporary custody of Wyatt to Katie Tagle's sister while he investigated her evidence of death threats against her son.

He did neither.

Not only did he not protect Wyatt, he didn't seem to be bothered by her frantic pleas to keep her son safe after his father, Stephen Garcia told her he was going to kill the baby and himself.

How many more children will die before something is done to protect innocent lives?

How many more baby Wyatts have to die before our judicial system wakes up and realizes they have to take these threats seriously?

Join our community tomorrow at the Victorville Courthouse at 7:45am to
support Katie Tagle and tell Judge Lemkau he must resign!

Bo graduated!

2010-02-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

Bo graduated from puppy class tonight! He did a great job and enjoyed himself every week. We'll miss our Saturdays at PetSmart with Charlene. Taking some time off before we take the intermediate class.

Organizing a protest ...

2010-02-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

Saturday I'm meeting other activists to organize a protest against this judge (see my previous blog post) and hopefully we'll let the voters know he needs to retire. Now!

More later about this!

Judge Robert Lemkau needs to go!

2010-02-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

In early January, Heather went to night court for a traffic violation. Her court date was earlier, but she was in Cedars-Sinai and couldn't attend. After calling the court clerk's office to see if Dave could attend in her place, she was told to bring her hospital records and ask the judge to reopen the case. They do it all the time.

Long story short, she went to court and not only did the judge not allow her to have her case re-opened, (she was there for hours and not allowed to use the restroom or put her legs up as her doctor ordered) and when she tried to explain her side of things, the judge had her bodily thrown out of court. She was 30 weeks pregnant.

So, who was this judge? Robert Lemkau. The same judge that called Katie Tagle a liar and allowed Stephen Garcia to take their 9 month old baby, Wyatt on visitation. Stephen Garcia shot and killed Wyatt and himself 10 days later as he had threatened. The judge did not believe Katie.

“My supposition, ma’am, is that you’re lying.” Those were Judge Robert Lemkau’s words to Katie Tagle of Yucca Valley as she appeared in his Victorville courtroom Jan. 21, seeking a restraining order that would prevent her ex-boyfriend, Stephen Garcia, from having unsupervised, Thursday-to-Sunday visits with their son, 9-month-old Wyatt Garcia. The judge turned down Tagle’s petition for an ex parte restraining order — a kind of emergency order made without a full hearing.

Ten days later, in the early-morning hours of Jan. 31, Stephen Garcia allegedly shot his son before turning his pistol on himself on a road in the snowy mountains of Twin Peaks.

Transcripts are here. Please read them, then support James Hosking and remove Judge Lemkau from the bench!

Who Dat!

2010-02-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

It's that week-end again. Doesn't seem like a year since the last Superbowl! Where did 2009 go?

I'll be rooting for the Saints big time. If they bring the same game to the Colts that they brought to the playoff game, whoa...what a Superbowl game this will be!

GEAUX SAINTS!

What.A.Day!

2010-01-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

I'm having a new roof put on the house and the roofers got here this morning about 8am-ish. I also had a conference call with clients scheduled for 9am.

Got up early to get Bo fed and give him his meds (he got neutered Tuesday and is supposed to be "quiet" for 7 days~that's another story!), and started to check my emails. Laptop Outlook Express was not resonding. Damn! So, I went to the HP pc and the same thing happened with Outlook on that desktop. WTH??

Rebooted both and the PC was stalled: Windows is shutting down. Five minutes later it still hadn't shut down so I did a hard shutdown. Turned it back on and got the blue screen. Wouldn't boot up. Wouldn't allow me to boot in safe-mode either. Crap!

So I called my tech, Tommy and his wife just had a baby yesterday but, bless his heart, he came over just as I was ending my conference call. Ever had a conference call with five guys tearing off your roof and your pug going nutz barking? Well, I have.

Tommy ended up taking out my hard drive and putting it in a USB HD reader and we hooked it up to my laptop and crossed our fingers! Everything was there, so he thinks it might be a motherboard issue.

Oh, and Renee was here cleaning the house so we had the vacuum going in addition to the roofers and woofers. I don't think I can remember having such a crazy, stressful morning in quite awhile.

~Happy New Year~

2009-12-31T18:26:00.000-08:00

Don't know where the year went; it zoomed by. I hope 2010 is a great year for everyone healthwise, wealthwise and happinesswise (if that's a word!).

As the puppy grows...

2009-12-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

From six weeks (bottom) to six months (top) and a a couple in between! He's getting to be a big boy. He can jump up on the couch now with no help. He loves playing fetch with anyone who will keep tossing the toy, and he loves being with his peeps.

Life in the fast lane ...

2009-10-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Brother Chuck called last night wondering if I was okay as I hadn't blogged in awhile. Yikes--I haven't blogged since September I see.

I have been quite busy. Took a cruise in early October to Mexico on the Radiance of the Seas. First time on that ship (beautiful!), first cruise out of San Diego (loved the Amtrak down and back) and first time to Cabo!

Bo is doing great; work is busier than ever and everyone is healthy.

Last night I talked to Paul about retiring out of California. We both want to be on the water. He'll settle for a year-round-stream. I want to live on a lake. I just don't want to be tending a wood stove all winter when I'm in my 70's, ya know? This place is wonderful if you're younger like I was 16 years ago when I moved here. Now I want something easier.

Memories of Jack

2009-09-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

Jack was in love with the 60's. From his restored cars to his candy-apple-red booth complete with juke box--just like the one we used to play at the local drug store after school--he loved the era.

Jack and Sandi were Army brats. Sandi was the first person to introduce herself to me when I started school in a brand new, small town in SW Missouri. We moved there my when dad retired from the Navy. My parents bought a 55 acre farm just outside of town (population about 5,000 I believe). We were city kids. California city kids. An oddity in this small Missouri town. Jack was in Sharon's class, Sandi in mine.

We all ended up moving away again (us back to California). Sandi and Jack moved before we did. Their dad was still active-duty Army and they were transferred to Puerto Rico. Before they moved away, we hosted a going-away barn party for them in our loft.

We didn't have any hay left so we "borrowed" some from neighboring farms so we'd have seating. The stereo was cranking our 78's up in the loft where Dad had run speakers out to the barn from the stereo in the house. The console stereo had switches so you could shut off the speakers in the house and only hear music in the barn. (I used to have fun slipping a rock and roll record on the turntable in the middle of the stack dad would set up in the morning before we all went out to milk the cows before schoo). Fun times.

Anyway, Jack's parents were in the house with my parents, and his mom took turns with my mom bringing out sandwiches and snacks to the party---while we hid Jack from our parents. You see, Jack and his buddies had gone to their own party earlier--at the river. Beer party. Big no no! How we managed to keep them apart is still a mystery to me, but maybe they knew all along.

We've kept in touch over the years and today Sandi called to say that Jack passed away. I will miss you bro. We shared some wonderful times together and lots of laughs.

Bo is growing!

2009-09-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Top to bottom: Bo 11 weeks, 10 weeks, 9 weeks, 8 weeks. He's getting bigger every day. He uses his litterbox nearly 100% of the time now too!!

Bo Video

2009-08-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

Planes, trains and ... rickshaws??

2009-08-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I flew to NYC to attend Loretta's play, "The Smoking Diary" and host a luncheon for the networks on Friday at Rosie O'Grady's Restaurant in Manhattan.

The trip to NY went well! Wednesday night, Heather took me to Ontario and we had dinner at Benihana's and I stayed at the Hilton near the airport. My flight left on time and I was lucky to arrive and leave from the same terminal in Denver, a first for me!

The luncheon at ROG's was great! We had 40 people from all the networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and TheCW. It was great seeing so many people I have worked with all these years again. After lunch, Loretta and I cabbed it to my dub house, USA Studios and got the grand tour. Then drinks at a little Cuban bar/restaurant and a dash to the bank in the rain for an errand.

Leaving for the hotel, it really started pouring rain, so I grabbed a $4.00 umbrella (that broke in about 4 minutes, if that). Loretta tried hailing us a cab, but they zoomed by, all occupied, and we kept walking. Then one of the NYC bicycle rickshaws asked us if we wanted a ride. $20 and he'd take us to the hotel. What did we have to lose? What followed was one of the most hysterically funny rides I have ever had.

Loretta shot a video, but she hasn't uploaded it yet or I would share it with you. You had to be there to experience it. I could have reached out and touched the cabs as we zoomed around them in bumper to bumper gridlock. It amazed me that we didn't crash or get run over. I highly recommend trying it if you get the chance. Lots of fun!

My trip home was like the movie "Terminal". We got the shuttle to the airport from the hotel at 11:35am Sunday, plenty of time for our afternoon flights. We arrived at LGA and I did the curb baggage check in and they told me my 3pm flight was delayed an hour. Still I had plenty of time for my connecting flight at DFW. No worries.

A few minutes later Loretta got a message on her cell phone from American Airlines that her flight to Cleveland was cancelled! We tore into the terminal to check the monitors and sure enough, the flight to Cleveland was cancelled and mine was delayed from 4pm to 5pm. We were told to get in line and handed a piece of paper with an 800# to see if other arrangements could be made. Unfortunately, no other flights were leaving DFW that night to ONT and they suggested staying overnight in NYC and take a flight out the next day. Nope! I would rather fly from DFW and be closer to home than spend another whole day traveling, so I finally took off at 7:25pm for Dallas. Loretta stayed in NYC another night and flew home Monday.

I was updating my Facebook the entire time, and had no idea that Ronni (Ronni's Rants) decided to drive up from RR/Austin to meet me at DFW! What a great surprise! I got to ride in the famous Miata! Wheeeeeeee!! We ended up staying up until about 4:30am and had a great time! I caught my flight the next morning and Heather picked me up and it was good to be back home and out of airports.

Flying is no fun anymore. If you forget to bring food, you only have the option of buying (no cash-CC only) what they call snacks, and they sell you a set of earphones for $2 that came apart the minute I used them and I feared I'd have to have surgery to remove them if I dared to use them again.

Other than the travel part, I really enjoyed my trip to NYC, but I'm ready for a cruise!

Meet BO!

2009-07-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bo at 5 weeks
Bo snoozing

Bo was born June 15, 2009 to proud parents "Belle" and "Licorice" of Kern River Pugs in Bakersfield, California. He has two sisters (1 black, 1 fawn) and 4 brothers (black).

Bo will be welcomed into our home and hearts in mid-August and we can't wait to have him in our life. Our home has been so empty without a pug.

I have one nerve left and he just got on it!

2009-07-07T21:08:00.001-07:00

This is our resident gopher snake that lives here at the ranch. He likes to come up on the porch and pop his head up and look in the house through our sliding glass door.

The first few times he did this it scared me until I realized he wasn't a rattlesnake. Gopher snakes are good to have around. They help keep the mice population under control, although when you live on 30 acres, the mice have the advantage.

Tonight after Paul went to bed I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was the gopher snake at the slider. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because it looked like his body was inside the house. IT WAS! He was on my shag rug in front of the slider looking OUT instead of IN.

Instead of screaming like a girl and jumping on the couch I went over and opened the door for him so he would leave. Now I have to figure out how he got in. I have to wonder how long he's been inside. No sleep for me tonight.

A boy and his dog

2009-06-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

Ride home after a long day at the beach. Luke and Sparkle take a nap.

It's been a sad, sad week here...

2009-06-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

As the 2nd anniversary of losing Jade approached, I had no idea I would be losing my Chyna girl too. It's too painful to post the whole story, but last Sunday she just wasn't herself. I took her to the ER vet and had every test run (blood, urine, x-rays) and all the tests came back normal except for possible hip dysplasia.

By the next day she was still lethargic and Paul took her x-rays to her regular vet and he thought possibly a disc problem causing pain. We made an appointment with a neurologist in Los Angeles for the next day.

Tuesday Paul woke me up at 6:30am and Chyna was in obvious distress so we rushed her back to the ER vet and they stablilized her until my vet arrived at his hospital. He consulted with the neuro down the hill and we rushed her there. She went into cardiac arrest before they could sedate her for an MRI and other tests.

Wednesday morning I had to make the difficult decision to let her go. She wasn't coming out of it and I couldn't let her suffer.

RIP Chyna Jade 4/8/2007-6/24/2009
I miss you so much.

Grandyon Canyon

2009-05-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Adie called it the "Grandyon Canyon"! The kids were a little scared when they first approached the rim on our tour. On the first stop, it started pouring rain and the wind was blowing hard. We all ran back to the bus soaked to the skin. Even with the rain, it was a beautiful day and the canyon was breathtaking. Pictures don't do it justice.

It was alot to cover in one day. The train ride was about 2 hours each way. There are parts of the track that don't allow speeds of more than 10-15 mph. The scenery was beautiful. I would have liked to have had more time at the park before boarding the train to return to the hotel.

But the kids had fun and that was the whole point of the trip!

Grand Canyon Railway

2009-05-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the kids and grandkids to the Grand Canyon over Memorial Day weekend for the Grand Canyon Railway trip. We're all excited! I've always wanted to take that train and I love the GC. The kids have never been there so they are really in for a treat!

There's an App for that!

2009-05-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm listening to Alabama on my new iPhone! Unfortunately I don't get cell service here at home, but I didn't with Verizon either, so no biggie. I can get wi-fi through my wireless router so I can download apps and send/receive email but no texting or calls at home.

It will really free me up workwise to be able to get email if I need to run to town, etc. YeeHaw!

Kentucky Derby Saturday May 2nd

2009-04-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

I always watch the Kentucky Derby on television and wish that someday I could actually go in person. In fact, I'd love to see all three Triple Crown races in person someday.

So this year I decided that the next best thing was to see it at Hollywood Park. I'm going to take Heather with me and we're going to have lunch at the Gold Cup Room in the Turf Club at Hollywood Park. We'll be able to wager on the Kentucky Derby and the live races that day. I haven't been to horse races for years--I used to love to go to Santa Anita and picnic in the infield.

I love Del Mar too. It's cool and relaxing by the ocean and I'm going to try and get down there soon too. Maybe make a week-end of it and stay at the beach. It'll be much cooler there in July than here in the desert.

So, share your Kentucky Derby winning picks with me! I'm leaning towards "I Want Revenge", the 3-1 favorite.

The 3-year-old son of Stephen Got Even could give IEAH Stables its second consecutive victory in America’s greatest race, following a dominant performance in last year’s Derby by the then-unbeaten Big Brown. A victory by I Want Revenge would provide California-based trainer Jeff Mullins with his first Kentucky Derby victory in five tries, and give 19-year-old jockey Joe Talamo a victory in the famed “Run for the Roses” in his first attempt. The Louisiana native would be the youngest jockey to win the Derby since Kentucky-born racing legend Steve Cauthen, then 18, won the 1978 Derby and swept the Triple Crown with Affirmed in 1978.

This should be fun! Especially if Heather wins a bit of $$. I would love that!

Blogging with my feet up!

2009-04-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had been sitting on the couch in the afternoon when something caught my eye at the bottom of my sliding glass door. Upon second glance I got chills up my spine when I realized what was peeking in my door was a snake. I got up and approached the door and it was a pretty good sized gopher snake. Marking and coloring resemble rattlesnakes but the shape of the head and the round eyes/pupils were non-poisonous.

I've been watching for snakes for a couple of weeks but this was the first one I've seen. Living in the desert you have to make a conscious effort to watch for them. That means when you open the door to go outside until you come back inside, you have to keep watch.

I didn't want my cat Sonny to kill it (gopher snakes are good to have around) but he was out and about. Meanwhile the snake was moving towards the steps, going around a small statue on the porch and a few minutes later Sonny arrived. I opened the slider and he was approaching the snake cautiously. The snake started to hiss at him and Sonny backed away and let it be. Smart cat. I called Paul to warn him so he wouldn't get surprised when he came back to the house.

But---I'm not even safe in the house---because last night Sonny caught a mouse and brought it in the living room. I tried to get him to take it outside and went towards the door to open it and he dropped it. You know, I can still move pretty darn fast for an old woman! I made it to the couch and pulled my feet up under me. Sonny found it again behind the television and, well, I won't go into the rest.

It's all part of living in Hooterville surrounded by desert and critters. Especially in the Spring.

Earth Hour March 28th 8:30pm Local Time

2009-03-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Be part of this historic event March 28, 2009, 8:30pm local time.

Earth Hour

World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.

Please join me tomorrow night at 8:30pm.

And that, your honor...

2009-03-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

So tonight as I was sitting down with my dinner, such as it was, I heard cursing from the kitchen. Against my better judgment, I went out to see what happened. Unfortunately, I was bare footed and I soon found out that Paul had coffee grounds all over the kitchen floor (and the counter and in the sink). He was making coffee for morning and as he was putting the basket into the coffee maker, he hit the basket on the top of the coffee pot and spilled grounds everywhere.

So I grabbed the dustpan and broom to clean up the floor and he put the whole coffee maker in the sink to flush out the grounds. He flushed them alright. All over the place. And as he was doing that, he was tracking coffee grounds as I was trying to sweep them up. Grrrrrrrrrrr!

Ok, I got the counter pretty well cleaned up, and the floor and he was filling the water container to pour into the coffee pot. As I was cleaning the pot, water started pouring out of the back of the coffee maker. What??? Yes, there is a small hole on the back of the coffee maker. What is it for you ask? It's for if you overfill the water reservoir of the coffee maker. Yep! He had overfilled it. And it was peeing all over me and the counter.

And that, your honor, is when I killed him. (Not really, but the night isn't over yet......)

Meet the "Beast"

2009-03-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

Not Paul! LOL! His early birthday present! He's always wanted a tractor and we found this battered old Ford tractor here in Hooterville, so I bought it for him for his birthday (a few weeks early).

It runs like a champ! Started right up today and he drove it to town to our mechanic so he can steam clean the engine, change the plugs, filters and fluids. Now he can drag our roads and use it in the corrals.

Obama in Los Angeles on Santa Monica Boulevard

2009-03-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Sandra for passing these on to me today of our President in Los Angeles.

Obama in LA

2009-03-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

Air Force One landing in Los Angeles

Air Force One behind palm trees

Air Force One landed in Los Angeles

That was the week that was...

2009-03-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

I took my daughters to Laughlin (or as Sean called it Loft Land) March 6th-8th for our girls' weekend. Gamble (didn't win), eating (oh yeah!) and shopping at the outlet mall. We had a great time. Got home Sunday evening and immediately noticed that Tonka, my paint, wasn't feeling well. Everyone else was eating and he was lying down. By Monday morning I knew he had colic so I called the vet immediately.

She had two emergencies before me so she didn't get here until about 2 o'clock. By then, we moved him to a 24x24 corral so he was away from feed and his buddy, Ranger.

Long story short, we almost lost him. My vet treated him but thought he had a stone and needed surgery ($5-$10K) at a hospital down the hill (not her hospital, she doesn't have one). Not having that kind of money lying around, we took our chances with treatment here at home. Paul gave him his shots and meds and I watched him 24/7. My good friend came over Tuesday and we got some watered-down bran mash down him using my turkey baster. Enough to keep his energy up. He finally let loose about an hour later and we were on the upswing.

He's doing great now, thank God! I had lots of support and prayers from my pug forum friends and my RL friends as well. Thank you all.

Finally iMac

2009-03-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

After a few snags (iMac didn't like my Officejet printer) and deciding Entourage S-U-C-K-E-D and Apple Mail isn't much better, we finally got the iMac all set up. I still have work to transfer over from the pc that I've been doing during the transition.

I'm still not a "fanboy" but then I haven't been working on it full time either. Once I am full time on the mac, the pc will be going downstairs to the spare room for the grandkids (with parental controls) and they can play their games on it.

iMac & HP not talking to each other!

2009-03-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

We've hit a snag in the data transfer from my HP pc to my Apple iMac. Part way through the transfer they stopped talking. We're waiting for the software tech to help us over this rough spot.

It started around 11pm last night when evidently a disagreement happened over the Outlook/Outlook.pst file disrupted the dialog. My pc may have overheard me compliment my new iMac on its beauty. HP may not want to be banished to the downstairs spare room to be used and abused by grandsons playing their online games, or perhaps is revolting against my intentions of putting parental controls on IE7.

Or, perhaps my gorgeous white iMac is refusing to cooperate with a lesser
operating system. To be continued...

I Love Schools

2009-03-02T11:20:00.001-08:00

I Love Schools is a great website to help teachers with materials and supplies, especially now with the economy and budget cuts. Teachers register and fill out a "wish list". Anyone wanting to donate an article can search the wish lists, or just search by school and help out.

It's a great way to help your children's (or grandchildren's) schools.

Please pass it along!

iMac is coming

2009-02-27T01:08:00.000-08:00

I'm switching from pc to mac this weekend. Heaven help me! I figure it this way: my pc is over 3 years old and that's about how long they last the way I beat them up, so if I have to learn something new (like Vista) I might as well learn the mac.

I haven't had the best luck with computers lately after the major email problems I had when Outlook Express took a dump, so I am hopeful this will go easier. I have a mac specialist coming out this weekend to move all my data and get me all set up. I hope there is time for tutorial as well, but if not I'll have to learn it on my own---just like the pc.

When I moved out here in June '92 I had my memory typewriter. Yep. I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the pc. Seriously. When the old company shipped my new Dell it sat in boxes for a week or so. I finally unpacked it and set it up. Easy. Turned it on and turned it back off. Finally I had a quick lesson in Word and voila! From that day forward I put the typewriter in the closet. So I guess I can manage to learn the iMac. How hard could it be?

We'll find out!

I am soooo behind! Where did January go?

2009-02-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

Let's see. In January grandson Sean turned 11; granddaughter Adeline turned 3. Oldest daughter Shannon had a birthday and so did brother Don.

Chyna has had health issues and may have IBS or IBD. She's on prescription food and meds and acidophiles. It seems to be helping. Xrays, blood tests, etc were negative. I won't be putting her through a biopsy unless things take a drastic turn. So far, so good.

Had the downstairs "go to hell" room turned back into a guest room. It turned out great and I got a flat panel tv/dvd combo for the room and the grand kids love it.

My fax machine is still down there. It makes me have to get up from my pc and go up and down the stairs several times a day. Good exercise too. I'm switching to the iMac the end of the month. I've had it in a box for awhile but didn't want to be switching and on a learning curve during the Disney Superbowl campaign. Work has finally slowed a bit so now is a good time to switch. I figure since my HP is three years old and that's how long my last pc lasted before it fried, if I was going to learn something new (ie Vista) it might as well be iMac.

Brother Chuck is coming next weekend! Haven't seen him since I went back to spend a week with family on the lake last year. He's coming out on business for a week. I really want to go see his new digs in Alabama one of these days and go out on his new boat. Maybe take a road trip and see some of the south that I haven't seen.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

To my husband, children, grandchildren, brothers, family and friends: Here's wishing you a fantastic 2009!

Wood Stove Woes

2008-12-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

So after having the chimney and wood stove cleaned on December 10th and having them back a week later when the stove was smoking us out of the house, when they put in a new ceramic fabric blanket in the top of the stove.

Two days later we're smoked out again. Now we're being told it could be the pecan tree next to the house. The same tree that was here when the stove and new chimney was installed in October 2006.

Wood burners, please give your opinions!

The Pond

2008-12-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the pond

Let It Snow!

2008-12-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

Chyna playing in the snow!

The butte behind the house

Another shot of the butte behind the house

Woke up this morning to another snow storm. This is twice in one week! Poor Paul had to drive to work in near white out conditions because they didn't cancel school in his district. Our schools here are closed. It's still coming down and we already have about 5" on the ground.

Chyna Jade 20 Months

2008-12-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

My girl at age 20 months.

My Vegan Coyote

2008-12-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

We have a coyote that comes every day to eat the juju fruit off the tree in front of the house. I keep an eye on him because last week he came up on the front porch. Big no-no! I had to go outside and chase him away. I saw him coming up yesterday by the house in the snow and got a picture of him as he was heading up the butte behind the house.

It's Snowing in Hooterville!

2008-12-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Quail enjoying the snow...
My car...
Horses

I've lost my satellite tv and internet and snow is still coming down pretty good. We're having a white Christmas a couple of weeks early!

Why Bill Gates Needs A Bodyguard

2008-12-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

Or, can I claim the Geek Squad on my taxes as a dependent?

I have been in email HELL since right before Thanksgiving. I use Outlook Express for my email program for my business. I like it. It's simple and easy and I don't want or need all the bells and whistles of Outlook. But somehow, OE got corrupted and I was having issues in sending attachments. They were actually sending, but not leaving my outbox. How does that happen? I guess only Microsoft knows the answer to that one. In fact, even though they didn't leave my outbox, they were sending multiple times. That led to emails from people thinking I was drinking on the job. Actually, it has crossed my mind these past few weeks.

So, I called in the Geek Squad. Three visits later and an online chat with Microsoft ended up with my having to purchase Outlook 2007 since Microsoft no longer supports Outlook Express and the amount of email I get seems to be an issue. OE and Outlook 2000 only hold 2G of files while Outlook 2007 says it will hold 20G.

So I order O07 and the GS came back yesterday to install and move my messages and folders over. After three hours when he checked the folders they were empty! None of my work emails were in my folders. So now I have Outlook 2007 with empty folders and still am unable to use my email on my desktop.

Meanwhile in order to work I have been using my laptop email (OE) but working on my desktop. I am able to access my pc files via my wireless network, but unable to modify them--just view, print and email them. If I receive an email on my laptop that has an attachment I need to save on my pc I have to forward it to my Hotmail email so I can open and save it on my pc.

Let me say I have been getting my exercise these past few weeks. I run downstairs to fax, make a swing by my laptop to check email, go to my pc to do any work I need, then back to the laptop to email or back downstairs to fax.

Today the Geek Squad is sending in the BIG GUN to see what the problems are and hopefully I'll have email once again on my pc. In the meantime, Bill Gates is not welcome here and once this PC goes I will be buying an iMac. Then I can start hating Steve Jobs. Hopefully not!

Humor Time

2008-11-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

see Sarah Palin pictures

YES WE DID!

2008-11-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

YES WE DID!

Drive for Change Nevada October 17-19 2008

2008-10-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

I was among hundreds of Californians who showed up this weekend for the Obama/Biden campaign's Drive for Change in Las Vegas.

Here I am before I left with my team member to canvass and let everyone know about Nevada's early voting that started Saturday.

Ode to Sean Hannity

2008-10-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

Aping urbanity
Oozing with vanity
Plump as a manatee
Faking humanity
Journalistic calamity
Intellectual inanity
Fox Noise insanity
You’re a profanity
Hannity

by John Cleese

American Promise

2008-10-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

Vote on November 4th!

McCain Defies Laws of Nature!

2008-09-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

Not only is John McCain now going to tonight's first presidential debate, he's already WON!! (h/t Daily Dish)

McCain suspends campaign; wants to delay debate

2008-09-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

In the second week of a disasterous economic crisis, John McCain just announced he will suspend campaigning and wants to postpone the first presidential debate that is scheduled for 48 hours from now, to come to Washington and work on the bailout.

Last week, McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Later, he explained that he was talking about the American workforce. He was all over the map last week, seemingly flailing and lashing out at SEC chairman Chris Cox and wanting to fire the head of the "FEC". (Oops)

What he didn't do was rush to Washington and suspend his campaign. Last night's ABC/WP poll showing he was diving among likely voters may be a factor in his sudden decision today.

If he wants to be POTUS, how does this reflect on McCain's handling the serious issues of the office?

Will the world only hand him one crisis at a time?

Countdown

2008-09-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

I've been registering voters in California the past two weekends. Sarah Palin's GOP convention speech didn't just "energize their base", it energized me.

California's deadline to register for the November 4th election: October 20th. If you haven't registered or have moved or changed your name since you registered, you need to register now.

Countdown to the first presidential debate: 11 days
Countdown to the vice presidential debate: 19 days
Countdown to the second presidential debate 22 days
Countdown to the third presidential debate: 30 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 50 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 127 days

The Sully Awakening

2008-09-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

I’ve read Andrew Sullivan off and on since 2004 and watched his appearances on Bill Maher’s HBO show (BTW, he’s on again Friday, September 19th).

Since he’s taken on the blatent dishonesty of the McCain/Palin ticket, his blog has been de-linked by most of the right-wing blogosphere.

If you haven’t read his blog, The Daily Dish, please check it out and tune into HBO Friday night to see him on Bill Maher. You be the judge.

A Blast From The Past

2008-08-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Were you only in this for me?

2008-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last night, Hillary Clinton asked her supporters a pointed question. It cut straight to the chase and left no doubt who she was addressing.

"Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"

Tablerock Lake

2008-07-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful time at the lake with my brothers and family. Here's the view from the deck of the house. As you can see, there was no shortage of water toys! The water was very high. Last year, this house sat up at least 15-20 feet above the water level on rock cliffs. We were able to pull the pontoon into a small space between rocks on the shore.

Aside from coming home with a summer cold and my suitcase not arriving with my flight (United had to deliver it on Sunday)--it was a great trip. I even got to drive my boat!

Faux painting

2008-06-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

I finally decided what to do with the only wall in the living room that isn't paneled. I had a faux paint professional come yesterday and do the wall. I'm going to have him do the hallway to match when I get back from the lake.

Hooterville Hitchhiker

2008-06-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Paul and I jumped in the golf cart yesterday to take the trash to the dumpster, and as I was reaching for the key he yelled at me to "Get out!" I didn't question him, just jumped out and as I did I looked over at the open glove box area to see why.

Thanks Hillary

2008-06-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

You had a chance to end your campaign with dignity and class last night as the first woman candidate for president, but you chose to act like a spoiled child that refuses to go to bed when it's bedtime.

Now you are holding your delegates and supporters hostage to bargain for what? You want to be VP? Heh. As one of the pundits said this morning, if Barack falls for that, he'd better hire a food taster.

You took this momentous opportunity and made it all about you.

Busy, Busy

2008-05-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

I just realized I haven't posted once in May! It's been a busy month.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day brunch at the clubhouse dining room in Heather's community. Both daughters and all four grandkids were there. What a treat for me!

Lukas turned 6 on the 14th and his birthday party on the 18th was great! Sean & Amanda were here too, so we had all four of the grandkids together again.

Papa and I got Wii's for each family and the kids were very excited. I got a workout just trying to bowl on the thing.

I used my gift certificate Paul got me for Christmas to the spa last Saturday for a wonderful massage. Heather and I stayed overnight and hit the outlet mall on the way home Sunday. Shannon couldn't join us as Sean was picked to play in a baseball tournament over Memorial Day weekend and so she was there instead.

Brother Chuck has accepted a job in Japan with his employer and will be leaving in mid July. I am very happy for him but sad for me as I will miss having him come up on weekends even if it isn't that often. It is a great opportunity for him. I look forward to pictures with his new camera.

Here Come Da Boyz

2008-04-11T23:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Next Sunday is my annual BROTHERS BBQ. Each year before brother Don goes home to SW Missouri I have a day with my brothers.

Brother Chuck will be coming, hopefully for the whole week-end, and on Sunday we'll all be together. We toss steaks on the grill, have a few brewskis, and laugh and just enjoy being together.

Last year we flew back and spent a week together at Tablerock lake and it was so much fun. We all shared a house and the two boats and other water toys out there, and each night we took turns cooking dinner for everyone. We will definitely do that again.

I Haven't Forgotten

2008-04-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged about it in quite awhile. After the hung jury in August 2006 (shaking my head here) there hasn't been too much to say. Court dates come and go and it seems the second trial for Cameron Brown will never arrive. I am still holding out for justice.

I had a visit here from Polo Ralph Lauren after a Google search for "Lauren candles". Obviously looking for their product or illegal sales, or whatever. What they found was this. I wonder what they thought when they saw her angelic face. I wonder if they will wish, as I do, for comfort for Sarah, Lauren's mother. I wonder.

I wait. But I have never forgotten.

Happy First Birthday Chyna Jade

2008-04-08T10:03:00.001-07:00

Today is Chyna's first birthday! Her staples are out but she is still pretty much confined to her ex-pen in the living room until May 1st---eight weeks after her LP surgery.

Today, I put up a baby gate and let her come in the kitchen with me for a little bit. I hate leaving her in the living room but we've come this far and can't risk injury to her knee. She did start to run around a little and I had to calm her down.

Poor baby doesn't understand why she can't tear around the house like she used to do.

Chyna hurt her leg...

2008-03-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

Chyna's new confines...
Not a happy face!

Sunday night, February 17th, Chyna was on the couch with me and she jumped down and immediately started limping on her left hind leg. I grabbed her and rushed her to the ER vet about 20 miles away. She was diagnosed with a partially torn ligament.

I took her to my vet a few days later and after he xrayed her it showed she had luxating patella (her knee was out of place) and had to have surgery. My vet was leaving the next day for a visit with his family, so we decided to have the surgery done when he returned in case there were any complications.

She had surgery last Thursday. She started putting a little weight on her leg by Sunday. So far, no swelling or complications. She is on pain meds, antibiotics and Rimadyl. Tomorrow we go back in to have it checked and maybe take the bandages off. They are slipping down and I can see a few of the staples. No redness though, and she has been really good about not chewing on the bandage....so far.

They will always walk together...

2008-02-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

Lakota & Wash-Tay

My friends in Montana, Sue & Bernie, lost both of their beloved furbabies last week. They crossed Rainbow Bridge and are together and pain-free, playing with my baby Jade, with Cheyenne and Nacoma watching over them.

Voice Recognition Automated Hell, or Give Me A RLHB

2008-01-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

Called DirecTv today to check on my installation appointment which was from 12 to 4pm and since it is almost 3:30 and I live in BFE, and it may get dark on my roof installing a new HD satellite dish, I thought I would see if there was a problem. First problem is that you never get a chance to speak to a living, breathing, human being anymore. You get this upbeat female voice who tells you your wait may be longer than you wish, and you might want to go to their website instead. Now, if their website could tell me WTF my installer was, I would probably have gone there and not called their number.

Then, you have to listen to all their options, none of which is checking on my installation. Then of course it tells me that all I have to do is say a simple phrase and they can help me. So, stupidly I say ‘installation’ and---we’re off and running! For some reason, the Voice Recognition Automated Customer Service Voice (VRACSV) immediately knows that I must have the blue screen of death and tells me to unplug my DirecTv box, check my cables and plug it back in. Hey, this would be great if I had anything actually wrong with my DirecTv box.

Then, (I suppose she thinks I have actually done this) she says, “OK!, Now, you need to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” while I am repeating the word OPERATOR over and over and over. Finally I hit the O on my phone and blessedly I am told to hold while I am transferred to an operator. Victory!!

Well, not quite. Now I am regaled with a NASCAR pitch while I am held captive in this automated hell. I am afraid to push another button on my phone because who the hell knows if it won’t purchase a year’s worth of NASCAR programming, a pay-per-view, sign me up for a pit crew contest in South Carolina or whatever…so I am frozen to my phone, hoping to speak with a real live human being (RLHB). Anyone! Just let me talk to a person. I don’t care if they are in India (AAMOF, I am getting quite good at understanding the accent thank you very much) and that’s because my ISP is also HughesNet, which is part of …. You guessed it…. DirecTv.

I was finally connected to a RLHB and she checked on my appointment. She did have to put me on hold twice but she was able to confirm that I do have an installer coming today. And, right after we hung up I got a call from him. He is running late but he’ll be here. Now, that’s what I call service!

My New Toy!

2008-01-25T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well I did it! I have finally joined the HiDefinition Generation and it's about time! With Superbowl XLII coming up next weekend I thought that would be a good time to go HD for the game. More and more of my clients are producing their commercials in HD and I need to be able to view them on the air.

I bought the LG 42" Plasma 1080p. Business wise, I have to be up on all the HD formats (720P, 1080I) and each tape format as well. Then there is letterbox, pillar-box, center-cut protection. Sheesh! We've come a long way since I started in television and went from the old 2" quad machines to 1". But then, I started back when we weren't even broadcasting everything in color. God, I'm OLD!

Chyna & Paul

2008-01-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

Brother Chuck brought his new Olympus digital camera this weekend and shot some phots around the place. Here he captured Paul taking Chyna outside for her bathroom break. The only problem is that when Uncle Chuck is around all Chyna wants to do is play with him! (Notice her staring at him!)

This morning when Chyna got up she looked all over for Chuck. She sniffed the couch where he sat and watched the playoff games yesterday. Both his teams lost. Sorry Chuck! Anyway, she misses him. He's her favorite when he's here. I come in third. Chuck first. Then Paul. Then me. Sniff!!!

Chyna Jade

2008-01-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

Chyna Jade turned 9 months old on January 8th, and we are finally making headway on the potty training!

Pugs are notoriously hard to potty train, so I knew that going in. For the past two days when I catch her starting to do circles on the rug next to the sliding glass door and I get her attention and ask her if she needs to go potty outside, she will sit down, stare at me, then run to me and put her paws on the couch, push off, and run back to the door!

This is real progress, but at the same time, it makes me sad because that is the exact same thing my sweet Jade would do when she needed to go potty.

On another note, I have been really enjoying another "pet" blog, but it's unlike any other. Enjoy!

She's Two!

2008-01-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

Adie at Disneyland

My little diva, Adeline turned two on Saturday. Heather has yearly passes to Disneyland so they spent the day there.

Papa said Adie hit the "terrible twos" when she was about 4 months old. LOL! Here she is showing her inner Princess.

Ageism & Sexism

2007-12-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well, there it is. Front page of (who else?) Drudge. Hillary showing (gasp!) wrinkles! Linked below is Limbaugh asking if America wants to stare at an aging woman and a story asking "Are we ready to see Hillary age?"

Of course, aging, balding men are ok.

We all know that's what is important in being chosen as president.

Not that I'm voting for Hillary. I haven't decided yet--but my decision won't be based on counting wrinkles or a good head of hair.

Shallow, anyone?

Winter Warm!

2007-12-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

Close-up of firebox

Top-down fire

I have really been perfecting my wood stove fire building technique, thanks to Hearth dot com. This is a top-down fire and I use it to start my morning fire if last night's fire is completely out.

It's so darn easy compared to how I was buiding fires in the past.

Our new stove has a smaller fire box than Old Smokey, and it's an EPA stove with secondary burn, so I had to learn from scratch when we bought the new stove.

A top-down fire is exactly what it sounds like: you build it upside down from the normal procedure. Big logs on the bottom, then kindling, then fire starters (I use fatwood), then newspaper. It's fast and easy.

Adeline's First Dance Recital

2007-12-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Tiny dancer...

Chyna & Mommy

2007-12-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

Think They Brought Enough Stuff?

2007-11-28T17:32:00.000-08:00

One can never have too many video games nowadays!

Gettin' Some Grandma Time

2007-11-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

I had three of my four grandkids last weekend. Amanda and I made brownies. She created some leather crafts with Papa. We had some wild "dumpster" runs in the golf cart, and the oldest two got to drive it.

Sean driving the golf cart...

Luke, Amanda & Sean having a pillow fight.....

Sean & Chyna

There was a beautiful full moon Saturday night, and we saw fireworks over the dry lake across the valley. They use our dry lake to practice new displays, and we have a front row seat. Life is good.

Wildland Firefirefighter Foundation

2007-10-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

As we approach the 1 year anniversary of the Engine 57 tragedy, I again made my donation to the WFF's 52 Club. That amounts to one dollar a week to a foundation that supports the families of our injured or fallen heroes.

Here's the LINK to the WFF.

Inferno in California

2007-10-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

The strong Santa Ana winds have caused a massive disaster in Southern California.

Malibu (Canyon Fire) is burning and the media is covering that fire like Britney's custody battle. Santa Clarita/Canyon Country (Buckweed Fire) homes are burning.

San Diego (Harris Ranch Fire) is a disaster area and had loss of life. And Orange County (Santiago Canyon Fire) has one as well.

Near Hooterville, our BDF is fighting 2 fires in the San Bernardino forest: The Grass Valley and the Slide fires. Homes are burning to the ground and resources are so stretched that many will lose their homes. The Cajon Pass fire has closed I-15.

The Governator has called in out-of-state resources but I haven't heard about calling in the National Guard. Yet.

Please keep our firefighters in your prayers.

Looking Back to the 70's

2007-10-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ah, the 70’s. I was a single mom at the time, living in Joplin, and had two roommates that shared a house with us. We were all bartenders, but I also worked days at the television station and nights at the Sheraton tending bar. After the bars closed, we’d have a pot of coffee ready and discuss the night’s stories. Full moons were especially entertaining.

Being busy women, we had decided we wanted a housekeeper. After searching awhile, one of our guy friends found out and he offered to come and clean the house as long as we never mentioned it to any of the other guys. Sounded good to us. He did a great job.

One night after he cleaned, I stumbled into my room to go to bed and there was water all over my hardwood floors. Did I mention I had a waterbed? Well, not the whole thing. I didn’t have a frame. I had a waterbed mattress on the floor. After all, this was the 70’s. We’re talking hippie here. Big posters, candles, black light, beads. Waterbed mattress. Leaking waterbed mattress.

Seems our housekeeper’s dingo boot buckle caught the seam and put a tiny rip into it that day when he was cleaning my room. The tiny rip becamse bigger and the bed was flooding my room.

Who do you call at 2:30 in the morning when your waterbed is leaking? My roommates and I grabbed all our towels and tried sopping up the water and I called the water company. Hey! They have pumps. Right? Of course they just laughed at me so I called the Joplin police. They sent an officer over who kindly offered to shoot it and put it out of my misery. I finally called Roto Rooter and he hung up on me. After all, it was the middle of the night, and it was a call about a leaky waterbed. But the guy was curious, so he came over. While the Joplin police officer watched, the Roto Rooter man put his hose through my bedroom window and emptied the waterbed in about 2 minutes flat!

I called the tv station and left a message that I would be late. Little did I know that our news department at the station picked up the police call on their scanner. I guess a few of Joplin’s finest had a good laugh at my expense and they were all talking about it. Of course, we knew most of the local cops, being bartenders in town, and they made their sweeps through the clubs on the weekends. So the station wrote up the story and put it out on the AP wire as one of those funny, weird stories they use on the news. Believe it or not, my sister saw the story on the news and called me. She lived near Alameda, California at the time.

So that was my fifteen seconds of fame!

Our Cruise-Monarch of the Seas

2007-10-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Monarch of the Seas--our Junior Suite
Monarch of the Seas at Catalina Island on Wednesday

We had originally booked the Vision of the Seas 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise for 10/8, but due to some huge expenses in June and July, I cancelled and rebooked the Monarch's 4 night instead.

Sunday we had the Doubletree's park & cruise package booked, so we drove to San Pedro Sunday afternoon and had a restful night at the hotel before the cruise the next day. The P&C package allows you to leave your car at the Doubletree and they shuttle you to and from the World Cruise Center. Since parking at the WCC is $12/day it really made a great deal. The package comes with a wonderful breakfast buffet and they sent a bottle of champaign to our room that night.

Monday we boarded with priority boarding and sat up on the pool deck until our stateroom was ready (about 1pm). Our luggage arrived almost immediately so I unpacked and got everything put away before we had to go to muster.

We had early seating so dinner was at 5:30pm and we were at a table for 8. We enjoyed the company of our tablemates and enjoyed the dining room each night except Tuesday.

Tuesday morning we awoke pulling into port in San Diego. I had purchased online the Old Town Trolley passes so we checked in at their kiosk near the port and boarded the trolley about a half hour later. We enjoyed the tour of San Diego's gaslight district, the Seaport Village and Coronado Island before getting off at the San Diego Zoo.

We were a bit disappointed in the Zoo as they were undergoing construction and we didn't get to see much on the double-decker bus tour. The Zoo used to be world-class but it looked very tired the day we were there. Hopefully when they are finished it will be the same Zoo I always loved.

We got back on the trolley and went to Old Town. I love Old Town! Lots of wonderful shops and the historical park is interesting. We walked through the old original school house and then stopped at a great restaurant for a Margurita and fabulous Mexican food. We didn't go to dinner that night because we were still stuffed from our lunch--but later that night I had room service.

Wednesday was Catalina Island and it's a port where you have to get on a smaller boat (called a tender) and they take you to the island. We walked around the main street and did some window shopping and enjoyed the view of the harbor. We tendered back to the ship in the afternoon and went up on the pool deck to watch the men's bellyflop contest and relax in the sun.

Thursday was Ensenada. We had fun looking in all the shops and stopped at Mango Mango for chips and salsa and Marguritas (me) and beer (Paul). We met a young couple from Barstow and enjoyed visiting with them before heading back to the ship.

Thursday night I had to pack our bags to get ready to leave the next morning. Sad. I could have stayed longer.

Speaking of Chyna

2007-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist this moment that captured Sean, Amanda and Chyna watching television when we were spending the weekend with them over Labor Day.

Adie's First Dance Class Is Today

2007-09-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

She's all decked out in her new dance outfit! Can't wait to hear all about her first class and see the pictures. She's taking tap and ballet.

I am not even packed and we're leaving Sunday for our cruise. I am more than ready to sip a Margi on the balcony and enjoy the ocean. Chyna will be camping out with HD and the kids and going to the dog park like a big girl!

17,000 Acres & Growing!

2007-09-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

View today going into town...

Closer to town....

CDF staging at the park ready to defend us!

When I went to bed last night, the fire was 400-500 acres. When I got up this morning it was at 4,000. Now they are reporting it is 17,000 acres. Fawnskin and Green Valley Lake are being evacuated. We have voluntary evacuations here along the foothills.

They are using Tanker 910 (the DC10) to drop fire retardant on the line but from the pictures I've seen, they are using it on the mountain side...not the desert side where we are...yet.

Here We Go Again!

2007-09-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, I was outside with Chyna and happened to look South over toward the mountains and holy crap! Another fire up near Big Bear---and it's moving North!

Sanctity of Marriage ... For Who?

2007-08-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

I just don't get why the sanctity of marriage isn't extended to everyone.

Why should gays be exempt from having the same rights to make a legal commitment to someone they love?

How does that threaten heterosexual marriage?

Please!

Will our lawmakers outlaw the quickie Vegas marriage because it somehow doesn't fit their idea of the sanctity of marriage?

What happened to less government interference in our private lives?

Government needs to get back to doing what it was intended to do: provide for the basic safety (IE, fix those damn bridges and levees -- consider making health care available for a reasonable cost -- fix our dilapidated school buildings) and stop telling people who they can love!

Water Flowing in Hooterville

2007-08-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

The water hauling situation here is almost back to normal. After the fiasco caused by the state Department of Health, when not one bureaucrat thought about the families left without water, the county stepped up to the plate. The county had never been notified that this action was going down, BTW.

At last count, over $50,000 was spent bringing in water trucks and drinking water when the county declared a state of emergency. Our unpaid and unemployed water haulers rode shotgun with the county trucks showing them where their customers lived so that everyone would get their much needed water.

The CHP returned the confiscated water trucks and the county moved to put the haulers in touch with the small business loan agency to assist them in the event their trucks needed additional upgrades. Everyone that filed for their permit and submitted their fees was granted temporary permission to continue hauling water to the community.

Of course, this could have all been accomplished before the raid by the state and it would have avoided leaving people without water during one of the hottest months in the desert.

Lessons learned (I hope!): Enforce the law, but not at the expense of the health and welfare of the consituents.

Yes, I'm A Bleeding Heart Liberal!

2007-08-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

We had a tough week-end here, but not near as tough as many are facing that rely on having water hauled to their homes. Imagine being faced with no drinking water for yourself or your pets. No water for showers, washing dishes, clothes, flushing your toilet. God forbid there is a fire. Well, that's what hundreds of residents here have been facing since Friday when the State of California swooped in and took our local water haulers off the street, impounding trucks and closing down the only way hundreds of people here get water to their homes.

These water customers are not affluent. Many are elderly and on fixed incomes. They either can't afford their own private wells, or the ground water in their area is not good, or both. Their property isn't on a community well or private water company or they are far from the grid.

The story is our water haulers didn't have a carrier license. Did the state come in and give them a citation and time to comply? No. Did they have any concerns about the people here who, without water, cannot cool their homes in 100+ degree weather? No. Did they do any basic investigation to find out that out-of-town water haulers either won't come out here or, if they would, charge double for the same truckload of water that our local water haulers charge? I seriously doubt it.

Friday night, we had issues with our well. We had no water and couldn't get it fixed that night so I called for a load of water to hold us over. That's when I first got wind of this story. We are fortunate that our friends brought water over Saturday morning for our horses and we were able to put water in our swamp cooler to cool down the house. But Friday night it was 90 degrees in the house with the windows open and fans. I had 2 gallons of bottled water for emergencies and had to keep putting cold compresses on my pug Chyna to make sure she didn't die of heat exhaustion. Pugs are in danger of that when the temperature reaches 80 degrees.

We are okay. But what about the others who are not? I understand about laws and that ignorance of the law is no excuse. But what about the ingorance of following the letter of the law to the endangerment of human beings? What about our elderly and children? Did anyone think about them? Did one person at the state who was involved in this decision think about the possible consequences of even one elderly person possibly having a heat stroke or worse? Did they bring water to their homes when they took their only water delivery away? No. Has the State Department of Health sent anyone here to check on their wellbeing? No!

Yesterday, I faxed the article in the local paper to our governor's offices and emailed KCBS/KCAL. Sunday, I emailed our county supervisor and his staff, state assemblyman and state senator.

Today at 5pm there is a meeting at the Community Center and it might have to be held at the park next door if as many people come as I think.

This isn't about compliance with the law. This is about the people left without water. This is about government decisions that have no regard for the health and welfare of their constituents. The ironic thing is that it was the Department of Health that put them in peril.

SHAME on the State of California! If caring about those people makes me a bleeding heart liberal I am happy to say I am.

Says It All For Me!

2007-07-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Some Things You Just Can't Put Into Words

2007-07-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Jade 11/13/05-06/28/07

God Bless Our Troops~~Bring Them Home!

2007-05-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

Only in Hollywood!

2007-05-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

In a scene reminiscent of the slow-mo Bronco chase years ago, news choppers followed overhead as LA's celebrity gator, Reggie, was brought to the LA Zoo after finally being caught this afternoon after being spotted by Machado lake, where he has eluded capture until today, by park rangers.

The county spent in excess of $180K in the past trying to capture Reggie.

He has a fan club, his own blog here, and of course, there was a press conference to discuss how he will be taken in for observation to make sure he wasn't injured in his capture.

Dreamin'

2007-05-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Vision of the Seas

We'll be on the middle top aft cabin balcony in a little over 4 months! It will be my first aft balcony (they are larger than the side cabin balconies), my first cruise on the Vision, and Paul's very first cruise (civilian, that is).

Vision is larger than the Monarch of the Seas that I've sailed in the past and will sail again in February on our annual Girl's Gone Wild (J/K) Cruise. I can't wait to "Get out there!"