Christmas Morning

Our day on Friday was a peaceful one.

The stockings were stuffed and ready to be opened first thing in the morning. Even Rosebud had plenty of treats waiting for her in her stocking.

I think the biggest treat she's had is having both of us around the house all day for so many days in a row. That's very unusual.

We took advantage of another beautiful day with a noon-time hike in the hills.

Christmas Eve Day

Today was a beautiful day, so we decided to take a morning walk at the nearby duck pond. Actually, we started out at a duck pond that we knew of near the house but hadn't been to. It was smaller than we thought it would be so we moved on to the larger duck pond we go to frequently.

There were not many people there but the geese were making quite a ruckus when Rosebud would walk by. When they are all squawking it can get pretty loud.

We are enjoying our time off. Aimee has 16 days away from work and she's happy to be around the house.

Of course, this means fewer naps during the day for Rosebud.

Squirrel Update

The one thing Rosebud seems to be crazy about is squirrels. She goes nuts when they are running around on the tree right outside the front door.

When we let her out there she tries jumping up as high as she can as if she's going to climb up into the tree to get those squirrels. It's very funny to see.

When we are at the park to play frisbee, the only thing that can distract her from the frisbee is if she spots a squirrel somewhere in the park. She is obsessed with them.

In our backyard, as she lies by the pool, they go past her on the power lines and taunt her from a safe distance. You can tell she is thinking about them all the time. When she sleeps, she twitches and chirps sometimes and we figure she's chasing squirrels in her dreams.

I've always told Aimee that, as fast as Rosebud is, she'll never actually catch a squirrel and that even if she did, she wouldn't know what to do with it. It would probably just get away.

Well, today she finally caught one. Right in the backyard. And she didn't let it get away.

R.I.P. poor squirrel.

I happened to be home and had all the windows open and heard her make a little noise out there. I came out to find her "playing" with the squirrel the same way she "plays" with her stuffed squirrel. Only this one didn't make the same squeaking noises her toy does.

The little guy still had a little bit of life left in him, but not much.
I brought Rosebud inside and she was able to watch me dispose of her catch into the black bin with a shovel. Fortunately, the trash pickup is today and they should be here anytime.

Now Rosebud is searching and sniffing all over the backyard, either looking for that same squirrel, or trying to track down a new one.

Chilly

It's been a bit chilly here the last few days.
Some rain we received brought snow to the local mountains.

We are expecting more rain this week and more snow in the hills.
But if the softball field is dry enough, the games go on, no matter how cold it is.

Rosebud is no fan of cold, wet weather. She spends most of her time curled up next to her personal heater by her bed.

Winners

The other night Aimee's softball team had a bye week so they got together at a local bar that sponsors the team.
Apparently it was Bingo night at this bar so we all had some cards placed in front of us.

Of the first four games played, I won twice and Aimee won once. This is with the entire bar of about 25-30 people participating. Not sure why we had such good luck.

The only bad part was that there were no extraordinary prizes for the winners. We each collected a Jose Cuervo t-shirt and a shot of tequila.

The third time we won we let somebody else at our table go up and collect.

Slide gone

This weekend we dismantled the slide for the pool.

We never used it and it seemed like it was just taking up a lot of space.

Sure enough, after we took it down, it made the backyard seem a lot bigger.
We trimmed back the lemon tree in that corner too and now we like the
way it looks there.

Now we're shopping around to replace the filter, pump and heater. The
original equipment has been in use since 1981.

Falling Back

On Halloween night we had our usual low turnout of trick-or-treaters.

Only four groups showed up during the night.

That was fine. We were busy eating dinner and changing the channel

on the t.v.

We watched ND get an easy win over WSU, and USC get clobbered by Oregon.

We were also switching over to the World Series to see the Yankees beat the Phillies.

Our clocks were already set back and Aimee went to bed after the 8th inning.

Our final trick-or-treaters came in the 7th inning.

I stayed up to see the end of the game and was in bed by 9 o'clock (or 8 PST).

The time change doesn't seem to faze Rosebud at all. She has no trouble falling

asleep at any time of the day or night.

Irish Pumpkins

Halloween

We don't have any big plans for this weekend.

We have both had a very busy month and we'll be looking forward to sitting at home

watching the baseball and football on t.v.

Typically, we get very few visitors at the door on Halloween.

Maybe only three or four groups.

The Zoo

Aimee has been extremely busy at work lately. She has been bringing work home with her to do at night and on weekends, as well as getting up early to get into the office early.

Today, she took the day off to get a little rest.

But it was such a nice day that we went to the L.A. Zoo to spend a few hours there. The creature pictured here is a 350 pound tortoise. We got lucky because there were not a lot of people at the zoo today and the animals were a little livlier than we've seen them on previous visits. Even the tortoises were moving around on this hot and sunny day.

After we left the zoo, we had some food and a beer at a sports bar near our house and watched the last few innings of the Dodgers/Phillies game #2. (This bar is called Soup's Grill. It is owned by major league pitcher Jeff Suppan [pronounced soup-on] who grew up in the area).

After that we came home to watch the Yankees-Angels game #1. The game was over by 8:25 and Aimee was in bed by 8:30.

Saturday we will be home to watch the USC/ND game.

Gamewatch

Last Saturday, Aimee and I went to a Gamewatch.

The Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles sponsors two Gamewatch gatherings for every ND football game.

We saw the ND-Purdue game with about 50 or so Irish fans at a bar in Hollywood. It was a lot of fun, especially when ND pulled out the win at the end of the game. People in the place were so excited it was almost like being at the game.

This weekend, we'll probably watch the Washington game at home so Rosebud can join in.
Besides, I thought that place was way over-priced. Maybe next time we'll go to the other Gamewatch location near the beach.

Irish Loss

We watched the ND-Michigan game on Saturday and enjoyed an entertaining game until the end.
It seemed that ND was outcoached and the Irish gave away the game to a team they should have beaten.
Afterward, Charlie Weis blamed the refs for the loss even though he seemed to be doing all he could to make sure Michigan would win.

His players:
took unsportsmanlike conduct penalties
didn't know to let the last kickoff roll into the end zone
didn't know to kill the clock or call timeout on the last play of the game

That's all coaching.

Charlie:
failed to run out the clock with running plays toward the end
allowed Michigan to save their timeouts for the winning drive
gave them the ball with plenty of time on the clock
allowed the officials to take a second off the clock after the last kickoff
finished the game with an unused timeout

At halftime we thought the Irish were in control of the game.
The second half belonged completely to Michigan. Obviously,
the coaching adjustments made by Michigan were far better
than those made by the Irish.

It's too bad a great game was ruined by horrendous ND coaching.

Huge Fires

The last week here has been extremely hot and dry.

Unfortunately, several large fires have been burning in the local hills and mountains.

Usually when this happens it is very windy and the fires and smoke spread rapidly.
This time it hasn't been windy but it has been quite hot.

The fires have been burning out of control for about a week and probably won't be contained until the middle of September.

Hollywood Bowl

Saturday night we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see the Tchaikovsky fireworks spectacular.

One of Aimee's co-workers had box seats and invited us to come along.

For the finale, the USC Trojan marching band came out to join in.

It was pretty fun.

Stuck Pipe

For a few months we had been getting the occasional slow drain from the sinks and showers. We suspected the problem was with the main sewer line from the house but couldn't be sure.

Since I'd had the entire line replaced about seven years ago (and gotten a lifetime warranty on the new pipe), I called the same company to come out and run a camera to try and figure out what the problem was.

It seems that the pipe was making a sharp turn to the left just a few feet after leaving the house. This sharp turn would sometimes back up and we'd have them out to clear it. The most recent time it occured (last week), we had them dig where the problem was so they could fix it once and for all.

When the hole was opened I was able to see what you can see in the pictures here. A large tree root was pushing against the pipe and causing it to bend at a sharp angle. The problem was only going to get worse over time if it wasn't fixed.

They dug out the offending root (which is huge and heavy, it'll probably burn for 2-3 hours in our fireplace this winter) and placed a 45 degree joint on the pipe to help it make a stable turn.

Hopefully that is the end of that story but the lifetime warranty papers will continue to be kept in a secure place just in case.

Camping

We came home from Florida on a Tuesday and by Thursday morning we were on the road to Bass Lake for a four-day camping trip.

Here are Aimee and Rosebud sacked out for a nap by the lake. Aimee likes to use this hammock because you can screen yourself inside and away from any bugs that might bite.
Rosebud relocated to the shade underneath the hammock a few minutes after this picture.
Aimee almost stepped on her when she got out of the hammock.

It was pretty quiet at the lake this year with lower water level and fewer boats. We liked it.
Unfortunately, our friends had to leave a couple of days early due to illness, but we enjoyed ourselves very much.

Back Home

Our ride home from Florida was not uneventful. The flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta was short but pretty bumpy. Fortunately, Delta had air sickness bags in the seat back pocket and Aimee put one or two of them to good use.

She felt much better after that and the flight to Los Angeles was fairly smooth. Despite her itchy feet, she dozed for much of the flight. I did too.

Many of the people onboard were watching live coverage of the Michael Jackson tribute at Staples on one of the t.v. channels that were available. It was ending right about the time we landed.

Vacation Time

We're looking forward to heading to Florida on Tuesday.

Aimee let everyone at her work know that they are on their own until she gets back on July 14.

After we get back from Florida, we're going camping at Bass Lake in California.

Happy Father's Day

Here is Rosebud taking her traditional Father's Day shower.

The Decline of G.M.

The Decline of G.M.

Pismo Beach

We spent a few days last weekend in Pismo Beach, CA, staying at the Pismo Beach Hotel right near the beach. We went there last year as well and had a good time.

A softball friend of hers has been going wine-tasting in the Paso Robles wine country area for several years with a small group of people and we joined them the last couple of times.

Aimee took Thursday (our anniversary) off from work and we spent Friday playing horse shoes and relaxing on the beach.

Saturday, the group piled into a limo and made stops at five different wineries and enjoyed a picnic lunch at one of them.

Aimee rode in the front with the driver. Last year she didn't fare too well riding in the back and this year we took no chances.

Rosebud at the Beach

We took Rosebud to the beach for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

We wanted to see how she would take to the water. At home, she has little interest in going in the pool. The only time she does go in is when we take her into the pool and then she looks forward to getting out.

Not surprisingly, she wasn't crazy about going in the ocean water either.

The Mom Song

Happy Mother's Day.

Mike Menza

On Saturday we will be attending a memorial service for our friend Mike Menza.

He is the guy on the left in the picture above. He is standing next to his lifelong friend Pat. They grew up together in Chicago. This picture was taken at our wedding four years ago.

These two guys have been playing softball together for many, many years and their apartment was filled with dozens and dozens of trophys. They've always had a roster spot open for Aimee and I've been able to play on a few teams with them as well.

Unfortunately, Mike has lost a long battle with cancer that started in his lungs. His death last week was a sad surprise for us and for a lot of people who were unaware how severely his cancer had returned in the last couple of months. We knew that he had been in remission in the last year or so and thought that he was on his way to becoming his old self.

Mike was a very nice person who was generous and friendly to anyone who knew him. His employer, the L.A. Weekly wrote of his passing. His longtime girlfriend is also one of the regular softball players. We will see her on Saturday at Forest Lawn.

We'll still see Pat every Thursday night for softball.

Bye to Pontiac

Sorry to see the demise of Pontiac.

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We spent quite a bit of time looking at Pontiac vehicles over the last year and they had several models that we liked very much.

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Aimee ended up picking out a white Vibe and she loves it so far.

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We also liked the G6 and the Solstice and the Torrent.

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Too bad we won't have a chance to get a Pontiac the next time around because we very well might have.

Tomato Planting

This weekend we planted a bunch of tomato plants in the garden.
They are in for a very hot first few days so we are making sure to keep them well-watered.

Last year, we had a good crop of cherry tomatoes to snack on throughout the summer.
But our extended vacation in the middle of the summer took a toll on some of the plants with the larger tomatoes. It was quite hot for a couple of weeks while we were gone and a couple of the plants had trouble coping without regular watering.

Also, we think Rosebud took a liking to tomatoes and may have been sneaking a few pieces of the fruit for herself when nobody was around.

We'll keep a closer eye on that this year.

Aimee's Day

Today Aimee and I celebrated her birthday by having lunch together near her work in Santa Monica. It was breezy and sunny and a little cool.

Aimee's been putting in long hours for the last few weeks and now softball is starting to take up time on her schedule as well.

I can tell when Aimee has come home because Rosebud wakes up and starts wagging her tail like it's on fire.

End of March

We've had a fairly busy and uneventful month of March.

This week Aimee had to make a daytrip to San Diego for work. She's been putting in some very long days at her office the last few weeks. Fortunately, they're no longer laying off employees.
In fact, they've hired a few recently.

I've been taking Rosebud hiking in the hills as much as possible. It's nice to go in the middle of a weekday when not too many other people are around. Also, this time of year it's not too hot.

We made some travel plans for this summer, including a few days in Ponte Vedra Beach at the beginning of July. The weekend after we get back, we're going camping at Bass Lake here in California (a place we've been a couple of times before).

Clipper Game

Last night, Aimee and I went to a Clipper game at Staples Center.

One of her product reps invited some of his customers and potential customers to the game to show appreciation for their business.

He went all out and hosted the group in one of the private lower-level suites.

Fortunately, I got to invite myself along and we had a good time. I was lucky because Aimee was the only guest who got to bring a guest.

There was plenty of food and the Clippers lost to the Spurs by 28.

Movie Night

Aimee and I were at a friend's house to watch the Oscar ceremony.

They have a few people over each year. We probably wouldn't watch the show if we weren't over there eating their food.

As usual, we hadn't seen any of the nominated movies. The only film we saw last year was The Dark Knight (in CT with Mims and Elaine).

We like to watch movies, it just takes a while before we get around to seeing the ones that everyone else already saw a long time ago. Kristen gave us an AMC gift card for Christmas. One of these times we will be getting out to use that.

Court Duty

This week I was summoned to go to court for jury duty.
No jurors were needed for Monday so I didn't have to go in. But Tuesday, I was there first thing in the morning with about 100 other potential jurors.
The court we went to is used for civil cases and that day there were two that were scheduled to begin.
The one I was selected for got settled right before we were called into the court. The other one was continued until a later day.
All of the jurors were dismissed and cleared of duty for at least another year.
We were home by lunchtime.

Moving Rooms

Our re-modeling work is done for now. We have a brand new bathroom that Aimee designed and it turned out quite nicely. Now we are busy moving into the bedroom adjacent to that bathroom and re-situating the other two rooms as well.
Fortunately, the shelves are up in the garage and we have a place to put things now (including parking both cars in the garage).

This week brought another round of lay-offs at Aimee's firm. Work has slowed down a bit there and they couldn't afford to keep everybody on board. Aimee is in good shape but the company would really like to see business pick up.

Cleaning the garage

Part of our new bathroom project involved moving into a different bedroom - the one next to the new bedroom.
It also involved finding a new home for the stuff that was in that room. Either getting rid of it or re-organizing things to a new storage spot. That's where the garage comes in.
A few months ago when Linens 'n Things was going out of business and having a liquidation sale, Aimee and I went to a store near us and bought some of their display shelves. (They were selling absolutely everything in the store.)
The shelves are two feet deep and we can line an entire wall in the garage from floor to ceiling with them. This will allow us to park both cars in the garage and have a place for everything.
That project should come together in the next week or so.

Bathroom Update

We're getting closer to the end of our bathroom remodel work. This week the toilet, sink and faucets are due to be installed and then it will just be finishing touches after that.

All of the heavy lifting is behind us and the painting and tiling is done as well.

We're looking forward to using the new bathroom, moving into a larger bedroom and parking both cars in the garage.

The Ranger

Back on Thanksgiving night while we were sleeping, somebody came around the corner WAY too fast and crashed into the back of Aimee's truck pretty hard. The bumper was slammed downward and the frame was bent (among other damage).
Fortunately, the driver had insurance.
Coincidentally, we had already begun looking for a new car for Aimee and were close to making a purchase when this happened.
Last week, we finally settled with the insurance company, who declared the truck a total loss.
They came to get the Ranger and send it off to auction. We got a check for more than we could have sold the car for before it was damaged. In a way the whole thing was a bit of good luck for us even though we were sad to Aimee's truck of 12 years get hauled away.
Just a few days before the wreck she had turned 100,000 miles on the odometer.

Rosebud meets her match

Rosebud wouldn't stand a chance if trouble started with one of these big birds.

Happy New Year

We took a ride in Aimee's new car on New Year's Day over to the duck pond.

Rosebud always enjoys going for a walk around the lake and seeing all of the ducks and geese and whatever else they have there.

Some of the birds are pretty big and loud. I'm not sure they are always happy to see her.