Poor Performance

Several years ago Aimee got a bunch of swag  for Christmas from Paul and this ND magnet was included. Unfortunately, Rosebud (who was just a pup at the time) got ahold of it one night while we were out and chewed it up pretty good. We still have it on the fridge. (We still have Rosebud, too. Thankfully her chewing on things days are long behind her.)

I thought of this magnet while we watched the MSU-ND game last week. Despite the comeback it was a terrible game and I think there may be a few more like that still to come. Oh well, at least they should be able to handle USC this year.

Fire Watch

Friday night Aimee had her softball teammates from her Monday night championship team come over to the house to celebrate their big win. It was a warm night and everyone had a good time on the deck.

We also had a view of a wildfire that erupted earlier that day in the Santa Clarita Valley.

This first picture shows our first glimpse of the smoke late Friday afternoon.

Later that evening is when we first started seeing flames on the ridge of those mountains.

Here is a shot from the same angle taken around midnight Friday night.

Here is a shot of the smoke-filled sky on Saturday afternoon that Aimee took while I was at work.

This was my view of the sky on Saturday from West L.A.

Sunday afternoon and the wind has shifted to give us some blue sky but the fire is still going strong.

More flames on the ridge visible Sunday evening.

Late Sunday night and here is the same ridge.

 This fire is 15-20 miles away and poses no danger to us other than unhealthful air. Unfortunately, some did lose their homes and we know some people who had to evacuate. It's been dry as a bone around here for years and hopefully we don't get anything like this coming too close to us. Last month's Calabasas fire was much smaller but only a mile or two away.

Aimee's Trip

Here is a picture of Aimee's Monday night softball team taken right after they won the league championship. It was a great achievement because they are a co-ed team that got moved into a mens league and they managed to beat the guys and win the title!

Aimee wanted to make sure she didn't miss out on the two playoff games before her trip to Minnesota. The next morning after this win she took off for a week to visit the rest of the Propes family. I wasn't able to make it this time.

She just returned from her trip a few days ago and she had a great time getting to spend time with everybody. One little guy who already misses having Aunt Aimee around is Liam. Here he is leaving the airport after dropping off Aimee and learning that she was leaving to go back home.

Hopefully it won't be long before we are both able to visit again.

On the Move

Aimee is busy celebrating the holiday this week with her own personal Independence Day.

Tuesday was her last day with AECOM. She started that job nearly six years ago (with URS) as a way to gain some experience with construction management. That turned out to be a very valuable and fulfilling learning experience and allowed her to work on some diverse and challenging projects.

Now she's ready to move back over to the architectural side of things. An opportunity came up to work with some former colleagues at a firm down the street from her current office and she has accepted a position there.

Naturally her employers were very sad to be losing her but this was a move she'd been considering for a while.

The new place is excited to bring Aimee aboard but it won't be right away. She pushed her start date there to August 1st so she can have a few weeks off to enjoy her summer and get a few things done that she didn't have time for before. A trip is planned to Minnesota to visit family. The last time we were in Minnesota was 2011 for Lars' wedding. This will be the first meeting with new nephew Liam.

Part of Aimee's training with her new job will include a couple of trips to the home office - in Minneapolis! This should mean more opportunities to check in on the family and get out on Lars' and Nils' new fishing boat.

Of course, we are very proud of Aimee and happy for her as she starts the next chapter in her career.

Saturday Night at the Bowl

Last weekend we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see Steely Dan in concert.

The show was a lot of fun and the place was absolutely packed for the opening night of the season.
The night culminated with a spectacular fireworks display coordinated with the music.

It was a great night to be out - very warm with a nice breeze. The next couple of days the heat became pretty brutal. Of course, the triple-digit temperatures did not keep Aimee from her usual softball games on Sunday and Monday.

Weekend Fire

Saturday was a hot day and a fire broke out a couple of miles from the house. Fortunately it wasn't particularly windy so the fire didn't get too far out of control or become a direct threat to our immediate neighborhood.

There was quite a bit of smoke and we could see the flames from our street but the worst for us was getting dusted by the ashes and everything smelling smoky as we sat out on the deck Saturday night.

On Sunday the water drops continued throughout the day as the fire was mostly contained. It wasn't a very large fire as these things go but it was a little closer to home than we'd like to see.

Warm Days

Here's Rosebud very patiently wrapping up her traditional Valentine's Day bath. She didn't seem to mind that it came a week late this year. The post-bath hair dryer treatment is probably her favorite part of the process.

It also helps that we've had summer-like weather so she could bolt from the bathroom and go warm herself while lounging on the balcony.

Aimee and I have also been enjoying the warm days. We attended a Super Bowl party at a friend's house in Santa Barbara county wine country. It was a beautiful day and a great setting to spend the day and watch the game. Here is a view from the patio at the party.