Local Winery

                                    

 

Recently we visited a winery that is not too far from the house.  It is about a 15-20 minute drive toward the beach in Malibu Canyon.

 

 

We had a good time enjoying a wine tasting and eating a picnic lunch that we had brought.  Rosebud would have had a good time too but they don't allow dogs or kids.  Probably a good thing.  It was a very relaxing atmosphere and not at all crowded.

 

     As usual, Aimee gets a little carried away.

 

We went back a couple of weeks later and plan on making it over there whenever we have time.  The weather is great and the setting in the middle of the canyon makes it seem like you are far from home.

 

Fall Bath

Rosebud had a full day today.  She got to go to Aimee's softball game and then play some Frisbee on the field after the game.  Then it was back home for her traditional beginning of Fall bath.

We are watching some football today and enjoying the Fall weather.  Good thing the Giants game was not on TV here.

Softball season resumed recently and Aimee is quite busy as ususal.  I get to play in the occasional game also. 

Crop Update

We've had mixed success in the garden this year.

Above is one of our basil plants.  This plant and some of the lettuce plants have done very well so far.
But the tomato plants have been a disaster.  I think the problem was putting the plants in a slightly different location this time around.

The new spot, while only about 2-3 feet away from last year's position, gets less direct sunshine each day.  Apparently it's not enough sun for the tomatoes.

We'll have to make an adjustment and see if anything can be salvaged from this season.  In the meantime the herbs and lettuces are doing great and smell fantastic.

Make Your Own Ice Cream

Maybe you already know about this but I only recently learned how to easily make 'ice cream' at home using just one simple ingredient.

All you need is a banana.  Freeze it.  Blend it.  There you go.

You can also add some other frozen fruit.  I like to toss in some pecan pieces at the end.

I've had a few bowls of this 'ice cream' lately and it was very good.

Wine Tasting

We celebrated our anniversary by going on a brief wine tasting trip.

As usual, we headed with a group of friends to the Central Coast wine country area of Paso Robles to sample the wares.  We have some favorite spots we like to visit and also a couple of new ones to check out also.

The weather was perfect and the hospitality at the wineries was excellent.  Because it was their Wine Festival weekend there were many special events and we had some tastings right out of the barrel!

Springs Fire

There is a big fire burning nearby.  It is called the Springs Fire and it has been going strong since Thursday morning.

Fortunately for us it is far enough away to not pose any danger other than the air being very smoky.

It is burning from an area near Thousand Oaks and headed toward the ocean.

Change in Weather

We enjoyed our brief visit from Aimee's parents and Nils.  They were here for four days and the weather was perfect during their visit - 70's and sunny.

They left here on an early morning flight to visit Lars and Molly in Minnesota and this is what they got the first day there.  This is a picture of Lars' backyard.

That was in mid-April.  I was reminded of this when I read that some parts of Minnesota got 15" of new snow just a couple of days ago.

Our Visitors

 

 

We knew this would happen. 

 

We knew we'd get to the end of the four days that Aimee's Mom, Dad and Nils were here and it would have gone by too fast.

 

They got here on Saturday morning and were due to get on a plane to Minnesota on Wednesday morning.  Aimee's plan is to drop them off at the airport on her way to work in the morning.

 

We had a good visit and got to celebrate Aimee's birthday on Monday with chocolate cake.  There was enough left over to have more cake on Tuesday night.

 

I think Rosebud is going to have a tough time adjusting back to the normal routine.  The last few days she has been the recipient of a lot of attention, not to mention a generous helping of treats.  She also got to go on plenty of walks and play more Frisbee than usual.

 

The Visit

Here's Rosebud anticipating the arrival of our first overnight visitors.

Aimee's parents and her brother Nils are staying with us for four days starting today.  They're headed to Minnesota for four days after that.

We were very pleasantly surprised to get the news recently that they were making the trip and we've been busy preparing for their arrival.

We don't have a lot planned to do while they are here, but we will be celebrating Aimee's birthday on Monday.  No doubt the four days will go by in a flash.

Rainbow

Last weekend we had some rain and sun at the same time.  This presented us with a really nice double rainbow that you see here.

Actually it wasn't really rain but sort of a hail.  Little ice crystals were hitting the balcony and bouncing off of it.

The double rainbow lasted for about a half hour or so, long enough for Aimee to take this self-portrait.

Chilly

It has been pretty chilly here the last few days.

Not too cold to play softball, fortunately.  Aimee had a good game on Sunday when she hit a home run in her first at-bat.  Her team won and now plays for a championship next week.

But it was a good weekend to stay inside and watch football.  The Denver and Atlanta games were very entertaining.  Aimee's Packers were overmatched in their game.  Not as bad as the Irish were against Alabama but a loss just the same.

New Year's Eve Eve

Sunday night we rang in the New Year a little early. 

It was a quiet celebration.  We had an early dinner and enjoyed a bottle of Champagne.  After that we watched some football, took the dog for a walk and went to bed around 9 pm.

Monday was a beautiful day here.  We slept in a little and had a pancake breakfast followed by a hike in the hills.

We're looking forward to our first full year in the new house and finishing the job of settling in.

Happy New Year to you and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2013!

Thanksgiving

 Turkey Day was fun for us.  Originally it was just going to be the two of us enjoying a small meal and watching football.

At the last minute, we ended up inviting over a couple of friends from work who had no other plans for the day.  We ended up with five of us for dinner.

One of the guests made some very tasty garlic mashed potatoes.  Aimee and I handled the bird/stuffing, a salad, green beans, cranberries and a homemade pumpkin pie.

There were three NFL games to watch and time to throw the football around the backyard while the turkey was cooking.

Football Day

Saturday was a bit rainy and a good day to stay inside and watch football.

The USC-UCLA game was very entertaining and probably not at all what Trojan fans were expecting.  We also watched the Notre Dame game, which was not much of a contest at all.

Hard to believe that BOTH Oregon and Kansas St. lost at the end of the night.  We watched Stanford's win in overtime. 

Nobody would have believed that the number one ranked team in the USC-N.D. game next week would be the Irish.  We'll be looking forward to that one for sure.

New TV

When football season started we took the HD plunge and got a new TV.

 

Our trusty boob tube has served us well for many years but now that we are settled into our new digs we made the move to the bigger screen.

 

We got it home and plugged in just in time for the Giants-Cowboys season opener and since then we've enjoyed many games and look forward to many more.

 

No Treats

Last year at this time we were just days away from moving out of our old house.

On Halloween we knew that we'd get very few trick-or-treaters knocking on the door.

This year, in the new house, we got zero visitors.  We weren't expecting any because
the street is a little dark and the neighborhood is very hilly.

Just in case, we had a bag of candy waiting by the door, but nobody came by.

Endeavour

Recently the Space Shuttle Endeavour flew into town to move to its final resting place.  They flew the shuttle (on the back of a 747) throughout the whole L.A. area so everyone could go outside and get a look at it.

Then they moved it from LAX to the Science Center across town where it will be on permanent display.  That move took a couple of days because they had to transport it on city streets at 2 mph.

When it stopped to take a break I got a chance to check it out while my car was next door getting an oil change.

New Arrival

We are very happy for Aimee's brother Lars and his wife Molly who welcomed in their first child this week.

Liam Richard arrived just after midnight on Monday morning and he and Molly are doing great.

Liam's name was selected by a vote of family members who were given a couple of names to choose from.  We're not sure when we'll get to see this guy but we're definitely looking forward to it.

Cooling Off

 We've had triple digits the last ten days or so.  Fortunately, our bedroom stays relatively cool even during these hot times.

But at night, when we're trying to sleep, the A/C wasn't keeping it quite cool enough.  We checked the air filter, which you see above, and it was absolutley filthy.  Hard to say how long since it has been changed but we'll be sure to keep a close eye on it now.

Still though, even with a new filter, the unit wasn't quite getting the job done.  Turns out it was low on Freon.  After these guys came out and topped it off we were good to go.

Camping Again

Last weekend we spent a few days at Bass Lake enjoying the nice weather and doing some relaxing.  Here are some pictures of the girls in their tents.

Rosebud usually spends the four hour plus drive sleeping in her bed behind the driver seat.  However, this time she decided to park her snout on the center arm rest and keep it there the entire time.

Tire Troubles

Recently we had some bad luck with our wheels.

I took Aimee's car in for an oil change on Saturday afternoon.  When I got there they showed me a nail that was lodged in the left rear tire.  Unfortunately it was in a spot that wouldn't hold a patch and so we had to get Aimee a new tire to go with her oil change.

When I came home I saw my Blazer sitting in the garage with a flat left rear tire. I pulled out a nasty piece of very sharp metal that had lodged in one of the grooves.  I drove around on the spare for a few days before I went in for my oil change.

On Tuesday I got a call from Aimee who was on the side of the road with more tire trouble.  Apparently she picked up a bolt somewhere along the way and it lodged itself into one of her tires - not the new one.

When I took my car in I brought Aimee's tire with me.  They were able to patch up both tires while I got my oil change and now we are both back on the road at full strength.

Quake

Last night while we were sitting upstairs in the kitchen area we felt a quick jolt.

It was not a big earthquake and it was very brief but it was enough to wake up Rosebud and cause her to come upstairs and check in with us.  She's not usually fazed by a small shaker but this one must have startled her while she was sleeping.

Short Trip

We spent last weekend up the coast in Pismo Beach.

The weather was very nice and we were able to enjoy some beach time.  We also spent one day with a group of friends doing some wine tasting in nearby Paso Robles.

It happened to be the same weekend as their annual Wine Festival.  The wineries were especially hospitable to all guests and we had a really nice time.

Nighttime visitor

The other night we were awakened by some noises outside our bedroom window.

When we looked outside and turned on the light we saw  a skunk finishing up his dinner.  The menu that night consisted (we think) of a mouse.  Whatever it was, it was a noisy little critter right until the end.

We closed the window and watched the skunk finish eating.  Fortunately, he didn't mind (or notice) that he had an audience.

New Couch

 Last week we finally got our new couch.  It took exactly 2 months from the day we ordered it to have it delivered to the house.

I guess there were some production delays at the factory and they ran out of the fabric that we had selected.

Not a big deal.  It's here now and should keep us quite comfortable for a long, long time.