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.

I'm Vibe'n

Here's my new Vibe. I am really enjoying the comfy seats and automatic transmission. Mark enjoys reclining the seats (the pick-up didn't have that option).

Rosebud likes to jump right into her new spot.

Christmas Day

It is cold and windy here in California on Christmas Day.

Usually, Aimee is up and about on the weekends by 7:30 or 8.
Today, she slept in until 10:30!
Rosebud is very happy to have us both home during the day.

If it warms up a bit we'll take her out for a visit to the duck pond. Her leg is doing much better and the staples are ready to come out. Probably tomorrow we'll go to get that done.