Crop Report II

I should mention that we have been enjoying quite a bounty of cherry tomatoes this Spring. They are very tasty - tangy and sweet. Every time we need a few tomatoes we can grab a few off of the four above-ground plants on the back patio.

The plants are in the same spot where we used to plant in-ground but Aimee constructed some pot-holders out of some old wood we had to raise the plants a couple of feet off the ground. They seem to do very well like that. Last year, the first year of the new planters, we had hundreds of tomatoes to enjoy all Summer.

Aimee also planted two kinds of basil, some parsley and a chocolate mint plant. All are good for adding to whatever we're having for dinner.

Crop Report

These are our plums. The plum tree we planted the same time as the grapefruit tree (more than six years ago) is now giving us fruit for the third year in a row.

The season for this tree is brief and what you see is what you get - one big juicy batch of small and sweet plums. They are very tasty.

We also planted an apricot tree at that time. That tree gave us fruit this year as well but it was gone before we could enjoy them. The tree is planted out front near the sidewalk and it got picked clean by people walking by when they saw the fruit. Unfortunately, the apricots were still a week or two away from being ripe so we never got to find out how they were.

The grapefruit tree turned out to be a winner. It gave us fruit well into April and I finally picked the last one sometime in May. They were very good too. The tree is about six feet tall and the fruit were about baseball-sized.

Maggie's Visit

We enjoyed a brief visit last weekend with Maggie, Elizabeth and two of their friends.

They drove down and arrived late on Saturday afternoon. They kept busy on Saturday night and Sunday getting to a couple of restaurants and checking out some colleges in the area.

Sunday night the adults had a bite to eat and a bottle of wine at the house while the two spring-breakers hung out on the patio.

First thing Monday morning the group was out the door and headed for Phoenix. The idea was to be on the road at 7am. They made it because when I got back from walking Rosebud at 6:58 they were gone.

Aimee's Glove

Here is a picture of Aimee's softball mitt about to be baked in the oven. First though, it needs to be coated with Hot Glove Heat Treatment. That is a lotion that gets rubbed into the leather to help soften the material.

After it cooks for awhile, the remaining lotion gets wiped off and the mitt needs to be broken in and flexed for awhile to help soften it. We did about 3-4 treatments to get the glove really soft.

This is a new glove that Aimee has had for at least a couple of years but wasn't using because she couldn't give up her old glove that was about 30 years old. That thing was paper thin and falling apart but Aimee just didn't want to use any other gloves. Finally it just got to the point that it was no longer feasible to use that old thing in a game anymore.

She heard about this product that helps loosen up new gloves to make them feel like older, worn-in gloves. So far it seems to work very well and the new glove is very soft now and serving her well during games.

Bonus - Hot Glove is endorsed by Bobby Cox.

Summer Trip

This summer we will be heading to Minnesota to attend Aimee's little brother's wedding.

Lars and Molly are getting married at a resort on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota and we are looking forward to making the trip.

Aimee is part of the wedding party and she has ordered her dress and it looks fantastic.

Obviously, we are very happy for Lars and can't wait to see him walking down the aisle on the big day. It will also be our first time meeting Molly and that is something we are really looking forward to.

We are planning on flying out a few days early to give them a hand with anything they might need and also to get to a Twins game or two at their new ballpark.

Last time we were in Minnesota we saw the Twins play the Mariners at the Metrodome. That game had a triple play.

The Face of Shame

This investigator breaks down his suspect.

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.