The Finish Line

This is what the conditions looked like in Santa Monica on Sunday at the marathon's finish line.

Rainy Sunday

This weekend was a good one to stay inside. On Sunday, while thousands of L.A. Marathoners were getting drenched by record rainfall, we spent the day indoors.

We didn't have much choice. It started raining first thing in the morning and poured all day long. The streets were flooded and the wind was bringing down trees all over the place.

This is definitely not Rosebud's favorite weather. She barely gets out of bed all day. I took her to the front door at one point, opened it and told her we're going for a walk. She looked outside, looked at me, looked outside again, looked at me again......and then ran back to her bed.

Pebble Beach

This weekend I drove up to Pebble Beach and got to spend a great weekend at Pete and Michele's house. All the Williams guys were there when I arrived on Friday around 12:30.

Mims and Jim were just showing up as well when I pulled into the driveway.

The house sits right on the 18th tee of the Spyglass Hill Golf Course which is one of the courses used for the AT&T Pro-Am tournament. The backyard is a perfect vantage point for watching both the pros and the amateurs teeing off. Many players and caddies stop to interact with the very small gallery and say hi to Bill's dog.

The first golfer we saw upon walking into the backyard was Phil Mickelson. There were several other top players and also many celebrities among the amateurs playing. Nearly all of them were very friendly.

This was a good way to spend the afternoon. It was a beautiful day weather-wise and plenty of ice-cold beverages were enjoyed by all.

On Saturday, Mims and Jim and I went over to the Pebble Beach course to watch the golf action there. It was another perfect day and we spent the afternoon taking in the scenery of the holes closest to the water.

We quickly found out that cameras are not allowed on the course and picture-taking is a good way to get your camera confiscated. Fortunately, we were able to get off with a few warnings and we managed to snap off a few shots without ending up in too much trouble.

You can see some of the pictures here.

Sunday morning we took off. Mims and Jim left for SFO before 8 a.m. and I was on the road before 8:30. I got home about 1:15 and caught some of the final round on TV.

Pete and Michele were very gracious hosts and it was great to see Bill, Dave and Uncle Bill. It was a quick weekend (especially for Mims and Jim) but a very worthwhile one with unbeatable weather and excellent company.

Aimee's Vibe

Here is a picture of the right rear of Aimee's car. A few months ago, another driver smashed into the back of Aimee's car while she was on her way to work.

We knew the bumper was banged up but didn't know the extent of the damage until we got it into the body shop. That finally happened last week. The reason for the delay was the insurance company that was paying for it could not get ahold of their client.

Either they finally did hear from him/her or they gave up trying and decided to move forward.
The police report from the incident made it clear that the other driver was 100% at fault.

The damage was not too bad. It took them about 3-4 days to fix, paint and polish the car. In the meantime, Aimee cruised around in a white Beetle from the Enterprise across the street from the shop. The repair and rental cost the insurance company about $2500.

She is happy to finally have her car back and looking whole once again.

Cheesehead Win

We enjoyed an entertaining Super Bowl yesterday. Aimee was especially happy to see her Packers get the win.

Aimee is a native Cheesehead - having been born in Milwaukee.

Now she has bragging rights with the Steeler fans in her office. To make it even better, Aimee won the 'squares' pool based on the final score of the game.

Grapefruit Tree

We planted three fruit trees about five or six years ago. A grapefruit tree, a plum tree and an apricot tree.

The first to produce was the plum tree which had a very brief season each of the last two summers. Also, the apricot tree gave us some fruit in 2008. Both of those trees have grown quite a bit since being planted.

But the grapefruit tree has been a little bit slower in its growth and never produced any fruit until just a couple of months ago. There are about a dozen or so fruit on the tree and they are slowly growing and ripening.

I think maybe another week or two until they have enough weight and are soft enough to be picked and enjoyed. We have no idea what they'll taste like but we'll find out soon.

Staying Busy

We have been very busy here lately.

Both of us have been working a lot and Aimee has been playing softball several nights a week.

We did have time to put up some Christmas lights on the house for the first time. We put them on a timer and they come on each day at dusk and look pretty nice.

We also have a small Christmas tree in the living room that smells very nice. It has lights and ornaments and there are other lights above the fireplace mantel.

Aimee has fit right in at her new job and they like her very much. They also keep her quite busy. It's a good thing Aimee often has a softball game to go to after work, otherwise they'll keep finding some reason to keep her there at night.

Cleaning the Pool

The other day we had the pool drained and cleaned. Apparently, the pool is supposed to be drained once every several years or so and have new water put in. If not, there is an accumulation of Total Dissolved Solids that makes keeping the pool clean very difficult.
I've lived here for over nine years and never had this done before. I have no idea how long it had been before that.

Once the water is out of the pool, the plaster is given an 'acid wash.' It involves pouring a cleansing agent on the sides and bottom of the pool and then scrubbing.

It took about 6 hours to drain the pool and twice that long to fill it back up. Now we've got a much cleaner looking pool and the water should be easier on the new pool equipment we installed earlier.

ND's Slow Start

SI.com looks at Brian Kelly's awful start as head coach.

Arriving at the Game

Aimee's Car

Aimee celebrated her new job this week by getting crashed into on her second day.

She was heading to the office on the 101 Fwy. when traffic up ahead was stopped. Apparently the lady behind her, in a small red car, didn't notice that traffic was stopped and slammed into the back of Aimee's car.

Maybe if the lady hadn't been reading while driving this wouldn't have happened.

Fortunately, Aimee anticipated the impact and did what little she could to angle out of the way. She is not hurt and the car survived with the body damage you can see in the picture. We'll find out if there is any more damage than this when we get it to a body shop. For now, she continues to use the car while we wait to work things out with insurance.

There just happened to be a CHP officer at the scene when it happened, so he took a full report and told Aimee just to stay in her car and wait until he was done.

Aimee's Job

Thursday is Aimee's last day at her firm.

After six and a half years at WWCOT the time has come to move on to a new challenge. Beginning October 4th Aimee will start working for URS Corp.

This company has contracted with the Los Angeles Community College District to build new facilities on many of the LACCD campuses. They have been Aimee's clients on some of the projects she's been working on the last few years.

They have gotten to know Aimee well and have high regard for her professionalism, organizational skills and pleasant personality. She will be joining their group as a Design Manager who is responsible for helping guide these projects through the approval process. Therefore, she will still be in close contact with some of her colleagues at her old firm.

Her new employers have indicated they want Aimee to get her Architectural license. This involves a series of 8 or 9 exams taken over a period of months. Aimee is going to be busy studying for those (her first one is in a couple of weeks) while she starts her new job. Also, softball season has just begun and Aimee is involved with several teams. She will have a full plate for a while.

Obviously we are very proud of Aimee and excited about her new opportunity.

Dodger Game

We went to a Dodger game recently. They were playing the Braves. Don't remember who won.

We were part of a group that got tickets through the sports program of the Down Syndrome Assoc. of L.A.

We might try to go to a game next week. The Dodgers have been out of it for a long time and they're playing S.D. and Colorado on the final homestand. Tickets should be pretty cheap.

Joe Torre probably can't wait to get out of there.

Saturday's Action

We were both battling the sniffles over the weekend while watching the football on TV.

The ND-Michigan game was pretty exciting. It was tough to concentrate on the finish of that game while the fifth set of Federer-Djokovic was wrapping up on CBS.

Both were nail-biters and fun to watch and the best part is we're both at full strength now.

Tennis Night

Recently we went to a charity tennis match at UCLA that featured John McEnroe vs. Andre Agassi. It was an exhibition to promote the ATP tournament that was being held that week and proceeds went to Agassi's school in Las Vegas.

It was fun to see the legends play a match in person and the crowd mostly enjoyed it, but McEnroe was not having a good time. He played very poorly and was not in a joking mood even though it was a simple exhibition match.

Several times during the match, McEnroe would curse and break his racquet after making a bad play. I think the crowd thought he was playing it up for their entertainment but he was clearly not in a good mood.

After the match, which he lost, he left the court immediately without a word to the courtside interviewer and supposedly busted up the locker room at the stadium.

Too bad. It was a fun night otherwise, with a celebrity doubles match to start the night that included Jim Courier and Michael Chang.

Another Visit from Nils

Recently, Aimee's brother Nils was in our area for some work and he was able to stop by the house on his way back to the airport.

He was only out here for about a day and a half but fortunately had just enough time to come over on his way back home.

It was a good visit with Aimee, Nils and Nils' boss who was traveling with him. They had dinner at a place nearby and then spent some time at the house.

It seems that Nils and Rosebud became very good friends in the short time he was here.

Camping at Bass Lake

Here is our campsite at Bass Lake. We have stayed at this campground five times and at this same exact site twice. We like it because there is plenty of room and plenty of shade.

We were there for three nights. Bass Lake is about a four and a half hour drive north of our house and just a little ways from Yosemite Park. One of these times we'll make our way to Yosemite.

Rosebud very much enjoys her relaxing time at the lake.

Sedona

After leaving Monument Valley we drove about four hours south to Sedona, Arizona. This is a beautiful area known for its stunning Red Rock vistas. Our first night we had barbeque food on an outdoor patio with a great view of Snoopy Rock across the street. You can see Snoopy lying on top of his doghouse on the right side of the image above.

The next morning we took Rosebud for a hike to Bell Rock which was just a couple of blocks from the hotel where we were staying. Because we were on vacation we didn't get a very early start. By the time we got going, after 10 a.m., it was already quite warm. Too warm for the dog it turned out. We made our way back to the hotel for some swimming and napping.

Later, we made it out for another attempt at hiking to Bell Rock and then climbing up as high as we could. Even at 6 p.m. it was still pretty warm so Rosebud had to wait for us back at the room.

Here is a shot of Aimee surveying the scene after making a courageous climb halfway up Bell Rock. I went a little bit further and we both got to enjoy some great views.

Sedona was a fantastic place to visit and we both look forward to visiting again sometime.

Monument Valley

Monday morning, after the wedding weekend, we headed West on I-70 into Utah and then South toward Monument Valley.

We arrived in the area at the same time as a pretty big windstorm. That was kind of unfortunate for us because the view on that highway is spectacular and much of it was obscured from us by all the sand blowing through the air. It was quite a surreal scene but not the one we were hoping for.

We checked into kind of an unusual accommodation. The campground contained RV sites, tent sites and this 'casita' that you see pictured here. We enjoyed it quite a bit. It was like a little house. Inside was a bedroom with a King, a full bathroom, a washer/dryer, a fully-equipped kitchen with dining area, a living room with couches and flat-panel TV and air conditioning. The outside, where we ate dinner both nights, had a deck with a partial view of the Valley floor.

We were there for two nights. During the day we took a trip into Monument Valley which straddles the Utah/Arizona border. The scenery was fantastic.

The bulk of the day was spent on a 17 mile drive into the heart of the park on an unpaved road that featured a dozen or so spots where you could park and walk around and take pictures and peruse local Navajo jewelry stands.

It was pretty warm but not too hot. Later that day we took Rosebud there for an early evening hike before dinner. They had a great 3 mile trail that goes completely around one of the large buttes.

Nap Time

Here's Aimee and Rosebud getting set to take a late afternoon nap in the new swing by the pool.

The seat folds down into a flat bed so there's plenty of room for stretching out.

Apparently, Rosebud got kicked out of the bed for moving around too much and disrupting the sleeping process.

Meanwhile, the tomato plants have been producing tomatoes as fast as we can eat them.

They are some of the tastiest tomatoes we've ever had.

Patio Update

Here are some photos I took the other day of the backyard. As you can see, the patio has come a long way since the pictures I put up a month or so ago.

The new pool equipment is now housed inside this custom-built enclosure which has three large doors for easy access. There are two doors on the front and one on the side.

There is also a bench/storage area that has lids that open up to keep things inside.

You may have noticed the house has a different color. We've been painting over the gray with a yellowish color that we like better. The job is not yet complete (we're planning to do the entire house and these things take time) but it will be in a few months.

In the back, against the wall, is a cabinet that Aimee built out of some wood that was left over from another project.

We are also thinking of a tabletop that Aimee can make to fit on top of the palm tree stump.

Raffle Time

Five dollars is all it takes to purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win a brand new Apple iPad and help out a very good cause.

Our good friend Erik has started a youth sports program for kids with Down Syndrome. The program offers soccer, kickball, basketball and baseball. So far, the response from the kids and the parents has been very positive and the first year of the program has been a success.

Funding has been tough to come by so a fundraising Poker Tournament is being held this month. At the event, a drawing will be held to award an iPad. The raffle winner need not be present to collect the prize.

$5 tickets can be easily purchased here by clicking on "raffle tickets."

The Marble Man

New Patio

The other part of our project involves the back patio and replacing the tin cover over it. It has been there for some time and while it is O.K., we have a new plan that we think will be a huge improvement.

The first part of the job was to get rid of the palm tree next to the patio. When I first moved in almost nine years ago, the tree was a lot shorter and provided a lot of good shade. Now it has grown so tall that it gives us almost no shade and just makes a big mess in the yard and pool below. It has become a nuisance.

So we had it chopped down, leaving only a stump.

Next, I got on a ladder with a hammer and a screwdriver and dismantled the patio cover.

It was a lot of work but went quickly once I got rolling.

Now it's time to repair the roof joints, replace the facia and build the new patio cover.

Pool Equipment Area

Part of the new pool equipment project involves tearing down the shade structure that is over the area. Those white posts are now gone and the tin shading material that was on top has been recycled.

The peach tree on the right has been dug up and cut into firewood for next winter.

In this area a new wooden enclosure is being built and the house exterior painted a new color.