Monday was another day of sleeping in late and enjoying a tranquil wake up. Warm winds barely stirring over your skin as you sip coffee looking out over a beautiful bay. Perhaps a pastry to add to the morning repast.
Decided to head to Ixtapa this Monday a.m. (or was it noon already) as we headed by taxi around the headlands. We were dropped off at the open air mall which we found half closed and desolate of even tourists. We tried to obtain a few Rx's at the drugeria which Carolyn had failed to bring along in the correct number, but unfortunately even here they sometimes require prescriptions. After wandering a bit, we headed back to the flea market area and found a shop where Tshirts, shirts and baubles were purchased before we headed over to the beach.
The beach here is lined with high rise hotels, like a poor man's version of Miami or Kanaapali, but not nearly as picturesque as Zee. We walked along the beach with the black flags waving to keep all out of the surf (there were rips but it didn't look quite that bad) and then found a nice restaurant along the shore for lunch. We shared a sandwich and beverages and then decided we like ClubIntrawest better so we hailed a cab and went 'home'.
We soon found our 'regular' spots poolside and enjoyed the sun and warm water while I finished reading my second book of the vacation. After that, we invited Bill and Louise over for appetizers at our condo and again headed down the beach for dinner. This one was excellent and it stayed down for all concerned, too.
Today, we waved to Bill and Louise from our patio as they headed back to Portland after a four day excursion and we ended up under the palapas and the shade. I began reading Jekyl and Hyde to Carolyn and also began reading the first few chapters of Prof. MacCloud's treatise on Christianity. I've found the chapters well-written and informative.
Then Carolyn and I wandered about 30 feet to our right and both had massages just off the beach! I think I might have actually fallen asleep for a brief moment. VERY RELAXING! Then Carolyn picked out color for both toes and fingernails.
This evening we headed back to Zee for dinner at Tamales where we enjoyed a sampler plate of beef enchiladas with mole sauce, chile relleno, quesedilla with chicken, and a pork tamale. We're stuffed and well fed.
Hope this isn't too hard for you who have little access to Mexican food, but we'll eat in your honor.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Sunday in Paradise
We continue to wake late and enjoy the luxury of sleeping in. We began our day with coffee and the pastries purchased in town. Then put on our swim suits and took our books down to the pool.
It was warm but not quite as humid and we enjoyed the cervazas and micheladas (beer and ice with lime and the glass rimmed with salt) at the swim up bar or by our lounge chairs. I finished off The Chosen and began another book while Carolyn sketched and watercolored various scenes looking out on the bay. We met some Canadians including a relocated Scot and shared tales of our experiences at other Clubs while we kept wet by dipping in the pool. A great long day of just relaxing.
Bill and Louise ended up at the pool near the end of the afternoon and we were invited to share in appetizers and beverages at their room. We brought fresh chips and salsa we had purchased while they provided beer and wine that a departing couple had left them. Then off down the beach to enjoy another dinner. The girls had coconut shrimp (they were huge!) in mango sauce while I had chile rellano. We then took a cab into town to check out the Sunday evening happenings.
A Mexican clown was holding court near the beach, but his jokes were untranslatable by us and we soon headed down to check out various markets. It was after nine, and many of the shops were closed or closing, but Carolyn found a few in which to wander. Then back to the club where we got Carlos to show us the three bedroom suite that sits high atop the complex with wonderful panoramic views of the bay and city. It would be a great place for three couples to share if you don't mind a rigorous hike!
Unfortunately, either the mango sauce or something didn't sit well with Carolyn and around midnight she lost her dinner. Not a pleasant way to keep the weight down. But thankfully, this morning she awoke feeling much better.
It was warm but not quite as humid and we enjoyed the cervazas and micheladas (beer and ice with lime and the glass rimmed with salt) at the swim up bar or by our lounge chairs. I finished off The Chosen and began another book while Carolyn sketched and watercolored various scenes looking out on the bay. We met some Canadians including a relocated Scot and shared tales of our experiences at other Clubs while we kept wet by dipping in the pool. A great long day of just relaxing.
Bill and Louise ended up at the pool near the end of the afternoon and we were invited to share in appetizers and beverages at their room. We brought fresh chips and salsa we had purchased while they provided beer and wine that a departing couple had left them. Then off down the beach to enjoy another dinner. The girls had coconut shrimp (they were huge!) in mango sauce while I had chile rellano. We then took a cab into town to check out the Sunday evening happenings.
A Mexican clown was holding court near the beach, but his jokes were untranslatable by us and we soon headed down to check out various markets. It was after nine, and many of the shops were closed or closing, but Carolyn found a few in which to wander. Then back to the club where we got Carlos to show us the three bedroom suite that sits high atop the complex with wonderful panoramic views of the bay and city. It would be a great place for three couples to share if you don't mind a rigorous hike!
Unfortunately, either the mango sauce or something didn't sit well with Carolyn and around midnight she lost her dinner. Not a pleasant way to keep the weight down. But thankfully, this morning she awoke feeling much better.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Arriving in Zihuatanejo
We left home around 7 a.m. Friday morning so that we would arrive in time for our 10:45 flight with time for the security checks and traffic. Of course, it only took us an hour or less in Friday-lite traffic to arrive at the off-airport parking, and the shuttle had us to Alaska Air within ten minutes. After being denied a kiosk boarding ticket, we stood in line for a bit at customer service and were soon in another line to have our bags x-rayed. With all that, we were up in the boarding area with an hour and a half to spare, even before the flight was delayed by 45 minutes.
With the two hour time change, we arrived in Zee about 4:30, grabbed a taxi and headed to the Club. At Playa la Ropa, the taxi turned into the large palm sculptured gates and down the rather steep drive to the Club reception area. We were truly surprised at how tropical and open and nice the whole Club appeared and the staff welcomed us as warmly as the staff of the Ritz had welcomed us in Bali. After checking in, Carlos shouldered Carolyn's bag and grabbed my duffel as he climbed the two flights of stairs to our one bedroom condo while he mentioned to me that he can always tell the woman's bag! Our condo has a view over the reception area towards the bay and we can see parasails and boats plying the ocean. Sliding doors with great louvered shutters open fully to allow a view from our bed past the living area to the deck which has two great lounge chairs, an outside eating area, and a dipping pool with cool water (no jets).
We unpacked quickly and then headed down to the Zi bar to have an adult beverage (taking the service elevator by mistake instead of the stairway) to find ourselves the only couple in the place with the exception of the wait staff! But soon a few more couples found their way (several from the same flight) and we began talking to one couple seated at an adjacent table. It didn't take much time before we joined tables with Bill and Louise and started sharing stories. Bill and Louise have around 400 kids! They do foster care for abused and neglected infants in the Portland area, and Bill, after a twenty-five year career as a cop, is now in the travel business.
Saturday, we slept in late and then headed to the pool to enjoy the great temperatures and more than a few cervesas at the swim up bar. About mid-afternoon, we walked up the road and then down to the seaside walk as we went into Zihuatanejo for a little shopping. We entered several shops in the open market and then into a more exclusive store where Carolyn bought some jewelry, then it was off to the Super-mercado by taxi to buy staples for the week (beer, pastries, tortillas, chips, tequila, etc.) and then we grabbed another taxi for the ride back to the Club. We unloaded our stuff and Carlos helped take all the groceries to our room.
A message was blinking and answering it, Bill and Louise were asking us to join them for drinks and then dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach. About that time Carolyn discovered her bag with the jewelry was missing and must have been left in the cab. We hurried down to reception and Carlos told us not to worry, they had the cab number but he didn't have a radio so they would have to rely on other drivers to locate him and get him to return to the club. Carolyn was distressed, but we met up with Bill and Louise and headed out for a late dinner. Rossy's was practically shut down, but served us our late dinner and Carolyn and Bill both enjoyed their red snapper even though it came with head and eyes intact.
Then we walked the half mile back to the club and Carlos met us near the pool area in the golf cart to take us up the hill. His head was bowed as if they had been unable to find the cab driver, then he smiled and said he had paid a bounty to another cab driver and paid a reward to our driver for returning the goods (after threatening him with the loss of his taxi license) and he had the jewelry in his possession! Carolyn was so grateful and he reluctantly took another tip for his efforts.
A full day and thankfully a good day. More warm days in paradise are expected!!
With the two hour time change, we arrived in Zee about 4:30, grabbed a taxi and headed to the Club. At Playa la Ropa, the taxi turned into the large palm sculptured gates and down the rather steep drive to the Club reception area. We were truly surprised at how tropical and open and nice the whole Club appeared and the staff welcomed us as warmly as the staff of the Ritz had welcomed us in Bali. After checking in, Carlos shouldered Carolyn's bag and grabbed my duffel as he climbed the two flights of stairs to our one bedroom condo while he mentioned to me that he can always tell the woman's bag! Our condo has a view over the reception area towards the bay and we can see parasails and boats plying the ocean. Sliding doors with great louvered shutters open fully to allow a view from our bed past the living area to the deck which has two great lounge chairs, an outside eating area, and a dipping pool with cool water (no jets).
We unpacked quickly and then headed down to the Zi bar to have an adult beverage (taking the service elevator by mistake instead of the stairway) to find ourselves the only couple in the place with the exception of the wait staff! But soon a few more couples found their way (several from the same flight) and we began talking to one couple seated at an adjacent table. It didn't take much time before we joined tables with Bill and Louise and started sharing stories. Bill and Louise have around 400 kids! They do foster care for abused and neglected infants in the Portland area, and Bill, after a twenty-five year career as a cop, is now in the travel business.
Saturday, we slept in late and then headed to the pool to enjoy the great temperatures and more than a few cervesas at the swim up bar. About mid-afternoon, we walked up the road and then down to the seaside walk as we went into Zihuatanejo for a little shopping. We entered several shops in the open market and then into a more exclusive store where Carolyn bought some jewelry, then it was off to the Super-mercado by taxi to buy staples for the week (beer, pastries, tortillas, chips, tequila, etc.) and then we grabbed another taxi for the ride back to the Club. We unloaded our stuff and Carlos helped take all the groceries to our room.
A message was blinking and answering it, Bill and Louise were asking us to join them for drinks and then dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach. About that time Carolyn discovered her bag with the jewelry was missing and must have been left in the cab. We hurried down to reception and Carlos told us not to worry, they had the cab number but he didn't have a radio so they would have to rely on other drivers to locate him and get him to return to the club. Carolyn was distressed, but we met up with Bill and Louise and headed out for a late dinner. Rossy's was practically shut down, but served us our late dinner and Carolyn and Bill both enjoyed their red snapper even though it came with head and eyes intact.
Then we walked the half mile back to the club and Carlos met us near the pool area in the golf cart to take us up the hill. His head was bowed as if they had been unable to find the cab driver, then he smiled and said he had paid a bounty to another cab driver and paid a reward to our driver for returning the goods (after threatening him with the loss of his taxi license) and he had the jewelry in his possession! Carolyn was so grateful and he reluctantly took another tip for his efforts.
A full day and thankfully a good day. More warm days in paradise are expected!!
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Headin' South
Tomorrow morning, Carolyn and I head to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, for a week's worth of R&R at our new Club Intrawest resort set on the Pacific ocean. We plan to read a lot, get too much sun, enjoy margaritaville and explore. It's likely we won't post or check email while we're away so we'll just have to learn to wait patiently like in the old days when you had to wait for snail mail.
Hope your week will be enjoyable as well. Adios!
Hope your week will be enjoyable as well. Adios!
Monday, May 16, 2005
Boat Weekend
Dennis and I had planned our boat's move down to Dana Point like the battle plan it was. Full auxiliary gas cans to make sure we had enough fuel. Food and plenty of water in case the sail or cruise took longer than we thought. Sun tan lotion, jackets, binoculars, etc, etc.
Carolyn and I drove down to the Costco at Crown Valley and met Dennis and Steve who then drove with us up to the Sea Scout base in Newport. We arrived at 9:30 under a sunny sky and transported all of our gear to the boat. Both of them really liked the re-staining and varnishing job I had done on the cabin door. By 10, as Carolyn waved from the dock and headed back home, we headed out of the harbor under power.
As we approached Balboa Island, our clear skies began to turn to fog which blanketed the coast for the next three hours or so. So with no wind and calm seas, we motored down the coast using Dennis' rough estimate of the proper compass heading he had gleaned from a road map. We checked our speed indicator which steadily showed 3.8 mph and based on the mileage it takes us to go via PCH from Newport to Dana, we thought we'd be cruising for five hours or so. And, we had told Carolyn and Gloria that we probably arrive around 3 p.m.
A little before 1 p.m., the fog along the coast lifted enough so we could see a bit of the shoreline. Steve and I saw a long stretch of beach, but the fog hadn't cleared enough vertically to show structures or topography higher than about twenty feet. Thinking about the coastline, we thought there were only a few long stretches of beach, like Crystal Cove beach, which we knew we must have passed, and then the Strand, just short of Dana. Suddenly, the Headlands appeared and then the harbor breakwater! It had only taken three hours to make the trip for the Journey so our mileage or our speed were definitely off. We were quite glad the fog had lifted or otherwise we might have ended up off of Pendleton.
Besides deciding that a GPS is one of our first needed purchases, we called our wives via cellphone to meet us in at our slip, but we couldn't get a hold of Carolyn as she didn't have her cell with her. Steve handled our entry into the marina and he recovered nicely after we sent him down the wrong row of boats, but we made it.
Carolyn got home about that time and picked up her messages, called us, and hurried down to join Gloria and Sharon, Steve's wife. She brought champagne and snacks, so we celebrated our boat's new home and the fact that we didn't end up in Mexico or beached in Laguna. And then we took Journey out for a sail off of Dana with moderate winds and clear skies.
Sunday, after church, we met Dennis at the slip to work on the hand rails and other exposed teak. Dennis and I sanded, then taped off the hand rails, and then stained them the first coat and Carolyn wiped off the stain (and the occassional spill). We left after about two and half hours with the woodwork looking quite a bit better. Dennis is planning to stain them again and then varnish them this week or weekend as we'll be leaving for Zihuatanejo on Friday.
Now all I have to remember is to put on more sunscreen as all of us got our share of being burned this weekend!
Carolyn and I drove down to the Costco at Crown Valley and met Dennis and Steve who then drove with us up to the Sea Scout base in Newport. We arrived at 9:30 under a sunny sky and transported all of our gear to the boat. Both of them really liked the re-staining and varnishing job I had done on the cabin door. By 10, as Carolyn waved from the dock and headed back home, we headed out of the harbor under power.
As we approached Balboa Island, our clear skies began to turn to fog which blanketed the coast for the next three hours or so. So with no wind and calm seas, we motored down the coast using Dennis' rough estimate of the proper compass heading he had gleaned from a road map. We checked our speed indicator which steadily showed 3.8 mph and based on the mileage it takes us to go via PCH from Newport to Dana, we thought we'd be cruising for five hours or so. And, we had told Carolyn and Gloria that we probably arrive around 3 p.m.
A little before 1 p.m., the fog along the coast lifted enough so we could see a bit of the shoreline. Steve and I saw a long stretch of beach, but the fog hadn't cleared enough vertically to show structures or topography higher than about twenty feet. Thinking about the coastline, we thought there were only a few long stretches of beach, like Crystal Cove beach, which we knew we must have passed, and then the Strand, just short of Dana. Suddenly, the Headlands appeared and then the harbor breakwater! It had only taken three hours to make the trip for the Journey so our mileage or our speed were definitely off. We were quite glad the fog had lifted or otherwise we might have ended up off of Pendleton.
Besides deciding that a GPS is one of our first needed purchases, we called our wives via cellphone to meet us in at our slip, but we couldn't get a hold of Carolyn as she didn't have her cell with her. Steve handled our entry into the marina and he recovered nicely after we sent him down the wrong row of boats, but we made it.
Carolyn got home about that time and picked up her messages, called us, and hurried down to join Gloria and Sharon, Steve's wife. She brought champagne and snacks, so we celebrated our boat's new home and the fact that we didn't end up in Mexico or beached in Laguna. And then we took Journey out for a sail off of Dana with moderate winds and clear skies.
Sunday, after church, we met Dennis at the slip to work on the hand rails and other exposed teak. Dennis and I sanded, then taped off the hand rails, and then stained them the first coat and Carolyn wiped off the stain (and the occassional spill). We left after about two and half hours with the woodwork looking quite a bit better. Dennis is planning to stain them again and then varnish them this week or weekend as we'll be leaving for Zihuatanejo on Friday.
Now all I have to remember is to put on more sunscreen as all of us got our share of being burned this weekend!
Monday, May 09, 2005
Birthday Weekend
I left work early Friday, taking an unofficial two hour birthday leave, so I could get home around four to pick up Carolyn and drive down to the Blue Lantern Inn in Dana Point for a short birthday break. Carolyn had arranged both the hotel and dinner and the weather cooperated with blue skies and temperate temps.
We had a nice first floor room just off the lobby, but it was private and quiet and had a small patio with a view to Cannon's and the north end of the marina. We enjoyed a glass or two of white wine with a few appetizers in the late afternoon, and then after a quick nap for me, we dressed and walked over to Luciano's for a great Italian dinner. Carolyn had secured the most private two-person table and the pasta and wine and conversation were all incredible. A very nice almost-birthday dinner.
We returned to the Inn to watch a silly movie, In Laws, and relish a great bed with soft sheets and the smell of the ocean in the air. We were able to sleep in and then enjoyed a B&B breakfast on the patio with bright sun and a slight breeze. Thankfully, we didn't have to check out until noon, so we were able to appreciate the view overlooking the harbor.
For whatever reason, I wasn't feeling that great when we got home so we took to bed for a nap and a book read. I powered through a murder mystery that Lisa had given me around Christmas, and then I got a surprise call from Ashley around 5:30. Obviously, Ash and Bryce keep different hours from us as it was 1:30 in the morning in Edinburgh, and they had just come in from a 'pub crawl' with friends. Where did we go wrong! (just kidding) But we had a good conversation catching up on their current plans and ours, and it was just good to hear her laugh at my bad puns/jokes and she just seemed happy. I like that!
Sunday, Lisa, Katie, Carolyn and I went over to Trader Joes to make a picnic lunch before Wanda met us at our house and then we headed down to the boat for a sail in Newport harbor. It was pretty cloudy over Lake Forest when we left and I was thinking it might be pretty blustery at the beach, but the closer we got, the fewer clouds there were and the sunnier it got. We took all of our lunch onboard and ate salads and sandwiches and fruit with a glass of champagne before leaving the dock.
As we sailed down the harbor, I let Katie try her hand on the tiller and she did quite well sailing us under a beam reach almost the entire way down towards the jetty. At that point, I asked it they wanted to go out in the ocean to which the replied affirmatively, so the Journey made her first excursion into the ocean with me at the helm. We sailed down the coast a bit, and just off Big Corona, two porpoises leapt out of the water only 20 yards to our port! That was cool. We continued down to the Crystal Cove area and then headed back to the harbor with a nice breeze and relatively calm seas.
It was a great four hours on the water and everyone enjoyed the sail. It was a wonderful Mother's Day and we all came back a little more relaxed and some of us a bit more sunburned!
UPDATE: I just spoke with Dennis who said their family had just arrived at Big Corona on Sunday for a Mother's Day picnic when they saw us (their boat) heading out the jetty! Pretty funny and we couldn't have planned it better.
We had a nice first floor room just off the lobby, but it was private and quiet and had a small patio with a view to Cannon's and the north end of the marina. We enjoyed a glass or two of white wine with a few appetizers in the late afternoon, and then after a quick nap for me, we dressed and walked over to Luciano's for a great Italian dinner. Carolyn had secured the most private two-person table and the pasta and wine and conversation were all incredible. A very nice almost-birthday dinner.
We returned to the Inn to watch a silly movie, In Laws, and relish a great bed with soft sheets and the smell of the ocean in the air. We were able to sleep in and then enjoyed a B&B breakfast on the patio with bright sun and a slight breeze. Thankfully, we didn't have to check out until noon, so we were able to appreciate the view overlooking the harbor.
For whatever reason, I wasn't feeling that great when we got home so we took to bed for a nap and a book read. I powered through a murder mystery that Lisa had given me around Christmas, and then I got a surprise call from Ashley around 5:30. Obviously, Ash and Bryce keep different hours from us as it was 1:30 in the morning in Edinburgh, and they had just come in from a 'pub crawl' with friends. Where did we go wrong! (just kidding) But we had a good conversation catching up on their current plans and ours, and it was just good to hear her laugh at my bad puns/jokes and she just seemed happy. I like that!
Sunday, Lisa, Katie, Carolyn and I went over to Trader Joes to make a picnic lunch before Wanda met us at our house and then we headed down to the boat for a sail in Newport harbor. It was pretty cloudy over Lake Forest when we left and I was thinking it might be pretty blustery at the beach, but the closer we got, the fewer clouds there were and the sunnier it got. We took all of our lunch onboard and ate salads and sandwiches and fruit with a glass of champagne before leaving the dock.
As we sailed down the harbor, I let Katie try her hand on the tiller and she did quite well sailing us under a beam reach almost the entire way down towards the jetty. At that point, I asked it they wanted to go out in the ocean to which the replied affirmatively, so the Journey made her first excursion into the ocean with me at the helm. We sailed down the coast a bit, and just off Big Corona, two porpoises leapt out of the water only 20 yards to our port! That was cool. We continued down to the Crystal Cove area and then headed back to the harbor with a nice breeze and relatively calm seas.
It was a great four hours on the water and everyone enjoyed the sail. It was a wonderful Mother's Day and we all came back a little more relaxed and some of us a bit more sunburned!
UPDATE: I just spoke with Dennis who said their family had just arrived at Big Corona on Sunday for a Mother's Day picnic when they saw us (their boat) heading out the jetty! Pretty funny and we couldn't have planned it better.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
We're Moving to Dana!
Not our house, but our boat! This last weekend Dennis Hughes and I drove up to Wilmington to the Lighthouse Marina to check out a temporary slip opportunity as the Sea Scouts were making strong comments about us leaving our current Newport home.
Barbara, the Lighthouse owner, had interviewed both Dennis and myself over the phone to make sure we'd be a good fit for her marina. It was sort of like being interviewed to rent a room in someone's home. But Barbara liked us well enough and we signed up for a minimum two month stay at her marina and we'd planned for a very long Saturday (May 14) to motor/sail the boat up the coast to her new temporary berth.
But Dennis made an agreement with Barbara to not cash our check until today, to give us time to a final check with the Dana marina to see where we were on the waiting list. On Saturday, I think we had moved from 15th to 9th as slips became available at the first of the month and those on the waiting list could either pony up the cash or forgo their place in line. Dennis called Tuesday and we were now number 2! And they were still calling those on the waiting list.
Dennis went down to the harbor personally today and the answer is that we have a slip!! So in ten days, we'll only have to sail from Newport to Dana Point rather than the forty miles or so that it was up to the LA harbor. We've found a home! And, I think Barbara will get a bouquet of flowers!
Barbara, the Lighthouse owner, had interviewed both Dennis and myself over the phone to make sure we'd be a good fit for her marina. It was sort of like being interviewed to rent a room in someone's home. But Barbara liked us well enough and we signed up for a minimum two month stay at her marina and we'd planned for a very long Saturday (May 14) to motor/sail the boat up the coast to her new temporary berth.
But Dennis made an agreement with Barbara to not cash our check until today, to give us time to a final check with the Dana marina to see where we were on the waiting list. On Saturday, I think we had moved from 15th to 9th as slips became available at the first of the month and those on the waiting list could either pony up the cash or forgo their place in line. Dennis called Tuesday and we were now number 2! And they were still calling those on the waiting list.
Dennis went down to the harbor personally today and the answer is that we have a slip!! So in ten days, we'll only have to sail from Newport to Dana Point rather than the forty miles or so that it was up to the LA harbor. We've found a home! And, I think Barbara will get a bouquet of flowers!
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Saturday Events
With a bright sky Saturday morning instead of the forecasted rain, we hid our eyes under the covers and avoided getting out of bed to around 10 with the exception of getting coffee and the papers. It was great!
Then we felt we should join the day and bring a little more organization to the house. Carolyn made WW pancakes and I took out trash and put away the dishes. I then headed out to buy a new finishing sander while Carolyn headed off to purchase more yarn for her various projects (ponchos, baby booties, etc.). I had been unhappy with my previous efforts to re-finish the boat galley door and so I put the sander to the test. This time I went through three grits to get a good overall finish and I think I succeeded. Today, I'll begin re-staining and varnishing.
The afternoon began clouding up, but rain didn't seem likely then, so we motored down to SJC for a gathering at Saddleback Valley Christian School where our previous pastor, Mike, was going to talk. Several hundred former congregants were there to greet and encourage him. I was struck about how he really wanted to look forward, not concentrating on the past, as he laid out his vision for a new church that would center on strong Bible exegesis with current day applications and a commitment to expand that focus on new church plants within the larger Southern California area to start.
Afterwards we drove over to Wanda's to give her a brightly colored poncho Carolyn had made and then after a time of socializing, we all went out to dinner at Hennesy's in Dana Point. We sat outside near a patio heater and enjoyed burgers and pulled pork sandwiches while watching the full moon dance behind an increasingly cloudy sky. We even had a local who stopped by to comment on the coming storm - a 'meteorologist' he claimed who worked in a local surf shop and acquired one-of-a-kind Hawaiian shirts (this one silk). Wanda thought he was a little crazy, Carolyn thought he was just friendly, I thought he was trying to pick Wanda up! Just kidding. Anyway we had a good dinner and two desserts because yours truly was a klutz and spilled water on our first chocolate decadence when we were only about two thirds through. That justified a good tip.
Then we felt we should join the day and bring a little more organization to the house. Carolyn made WW pancakes and I took out trash and put away the dishes. I then headed out to buy a new finishing sander while Carolyn headed off to purchase more yarn for her various projects (ponchos, baby booties, etc.). I had been unhappy with my previous efforts to re-finish the boat galley door and so I put the sander to the test. This time I went through three grits to get a good overall finish and I think I succeeded. Today, I'll begin re-staining and varnishing.
The afternoon began clouding up, but rain didn't seem likely then, so we motored down to SJC for a gathering at Saddleback Valley Christian School where our previous pastor, Mike, was going to talk. Several hundred former congregants were there to greet and encourage him. I was struck about how he really wanted to look forward, not concentrating on the past, as he laid out his vision for a new church that would center on strong Bible exegesis with current day applications and a commitment to expand that focus on new church plants within the larger Southern California area to start.
Afterwards we drove over to Wanda's to give her a brightly colored poncho Carolyn had made and then after a time of socializing, we all went out to dinner at Hennesy's in Dana Point. We sat outside near a patio heater and enjoyed burgers and pulled pork sandwiches while watching the full moon dance behind an increasingly cloudy sky. We even had a local who stopped by to comment on the coming storm - a 'meteorologist' he claimed who worked in a local surf shop and acquired one-of-a-kind Hawaiian shirts (this one silk). Wanda thought he was a little crazy, Carolyn thought he was just friendly, I thought he was trying to pick Wanda up! Just kidding. Anyway we had a good dinner and two desserts because yours truly was a klutz and spilled water on our first chocolate decadence when we were only about two thirds through. That justified a good tip.
Tournament Poker
Friday night I spent at my second friendly Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament. This one was held in an industrial warehouse just about 5 minutes from home.
There were 30 players, including about five women, who each bought in for $30 and began play on five tables. My table started off tentatively with a lot of checks (no raises) and people folding. Ilene 'The River' was taking a lot of pots on the last card and scared off at least a few. But other tables saw a few 'all ins' which eliminated someone.
As people were eliminated, we consolidated tables and I found myself on the last two. Unfortunately, I was knocked out at number 14 when I matched an 'all in' and my diamond flush to the king was beaten by a full house! Bummer.
I took the roll of dealer for the next hour or so as more and more were eliminated. And then there was one table. At eleven, I called it quits and came home to wife that had hoped I'd be bringing home the cash. Sorry! Maybe next time. I'll have to be a little more careful about the all ins!!
There were 30 players, including about five women, who each bought in for $30 and began play on five tables. My table started off tentatively with a lot of checks (no raises) and people folding. Ilene 'The River' was taking a lot of pots on the last card and scared off at least a few. But other tables saw a few 'all ins' which eliminated someone.
As people were eliminated, we consolidated tables and I found myself on the last two. Unfortunately, I was knocked out at number 14 when I matched an 'all in' and my diamond flush to the king was beaten by a full house! Bummer.
I took the roll of dealer for the next hour or so as more and more were eliminated. And then there was one table. At eleven, I called it quits and came home to wife that had hoped I'd be bringing home the cash. Sorry! Maybe next time. I'll have to be a little more careful about the all ins!!
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Know Your State
"Borrowed" from Hugh Hewitt, I listed only my favorites, if you wish to see the whole list check out his site.
KNOW YOUR STATE MOTTO
Alabama
Hell Yes, We Have Electricity.
Alaska
11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!
Arizona
But It's A Dry Heat.
Arkansas
Literacy Ain't Everything.
California
By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.
Colorado
If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.
Hawaii
Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru
(Death To Mainland Scum,Leave Your Money)
Idaho
More Than Just Potatoes...
Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good
Illinois
Please, Don't Pronounce the "S"
Michigan
First Line Of Defense From The Canadians
Minnesota
10,000 Lakes...And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes
Mississippi
Come And Feel Better About Your Own State
Nevada
Hookers and Poker!
North Carolina
Tobacco Is A Vegetable
Oklahoma
Like The Play, But No Singing
Oregon
Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner
Pennsylvania
Cook With Coal
Texas
Se Hablo Ingles
Utah
Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus
The District of Columbia
The Work-Free Drug Place!
KNOW YOUR STATE MOTTO
Alabama
Hell Yes, We Have Electricity.
Alaska
11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!
Arizona
But It's A Dry Heat.
Arkansas
Literacy Ain't Everything.
California
By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.
Colorado
If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.
Hawaii
Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru
(Death To Mainland Scum,Leave Your Money)
Idaho
More Than Just Potatoes...
Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good
Illinois
Please, Don't Pronounce the "S"
Michigan
First Line Of Defense From The Canadians
Minnesota
10,000 Lakes...And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes
Mississippi
Come And Feel Better About Your Own State
Nevada
Hookers and Poker!
North Carolina
Tobacco Is A Vegetable
Oklahoma
Like The Play, But No Singing
Oregon
Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner
Pennsylvania
Cook With Coal
Texas
Se Hablo Ingles
Utah
Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus
The District of Columbia
The Work-Free Drug Place!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Saturday Sailing
Dennis wasn't feeling well enough this weekend to join us so Carolyn and I headed down to Newport early Saturday afternoon for a sail. The wind was rather light and a little flooky but was mostly abeam which allowed us to sail down to the jetty and back with only a tack or two. Our biggest problem was getting out of and into our slip. The engine is a bit rough, just running on three cylinders, and the transmission doesn't like reverse very much. Thankfully a good sea scout helped us as we docked!
After our cruise up and down the bay, we enjoyed a glass or two of wine along with bread and cheese and grapes while watching others coming back to their berths. Then we cleaned up the boat and headed down the coast in the BMW with the top down and the sun and wind in our hair. A beautiful day!
After our cruise up and down the bay, we enjoyed a glass or two of wine along with bread and cheese and grapes while watching others coming back to their berths. Then we cleaned up the boat and headed down the coast in the BMW with the top down and the sun and wind in our hair. A beautiful day!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Monthly Poker
Another good night with the boys playing Texas Hold 'Em last night. There were eight of us this evening seated around Paul's newly made oval table. The buy-in, as usual, was twenty bucks and I don't think I ever dipped below my initial purchase.
We had some really interesting hands. I lost one with a full house to a four kings and another player had stayed in with a slightly poorer full house. It was a good pot - unfortunately, I didn't take it. Trip twos won the pot on at least two occasions. But I took good pots with another full house and even a high pair.
The last twenty minutes we tried our luck with Omaha poker. In this game, you are dealt four cards down with the same flop, turn and river sequence as in Hold 'Em. The difference is you have to use two, and only two, of the cards in your hand along with three from the board to make your best hand. People stay in a little longer because of all the possibilities and, therefore, the pots are usually bigger. It takes a little getting used to the different probabilities.
Overall, I won $27.25 and sacrificed about an hour of sleep. That's what naps are for!
We had some really interesting hands. I lost one with a full house to a four kings and another player had stayed in with a slightly poorer full house. It was a good pot - unfortunately, I didn't take it. Trip twos won the pot on at least two occasions. But I took good pots with another full house and even a high pair.
The last twenty minutes we tried our luck with Omaha poker. In this game, you are dealt four cards down with the same flop, turn and river sequence as in Hold 'Em. The difference is you have to use two, and only two, of the cards in your hand along with three from the board to make your best hand. People stay in a little longer because of all the possibilities and, therefore, the pots are usually bigger. It takes a little getting used to the different probabilities.
Overall, I won $27.25 and sacrificed about an hour of sleep. That's what naps are for!
Monday, April 11, 2005
Augustine
I like this quote which I found on the Federalist today.
"Let us understand that God is a physician, and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation." - Augustine
"Let us understand that God is a physician, and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation." - Augustine
Politics and Religion at Dinner
This weekend was beautiful in So. Cal., the sky was clear and bright and we started off for a few errands as we drove down to San Clemente so Carolyn could pick up some items on sale at the art store while I checked out possible window replacements. Then we stopped at Expo to check out possibilities for new bathroom fixtures and tile choices (just looking). Then it was off to BevMo to replenish the wine refrigerator. We finished up with a good late lunch at La Salsa.
The afternoon was spent sanding the door for our sailboat which we had brought home and Carolyn worked on her various art projects. Then we readied ourselves for a dinner hosted by Debbie for Steve Kanda's birthday.
We were the first to arrive at 6:15 to find Debbie, Steve and Steph (Manny was taking a required writing exam) making final preparations on a gourmet dinner of tri-tip, asparagus, stuffed artichokes, diced potatoes, a salad including goat cheese and small tomatoes, and, of course, plenty of wine and champagne! Within twenty minutes, we were joined by the rest of the old SMCHS crowd, Dave, Mary Margaret, Arthur and Linda Gome.
Within moments, Mary made it clear that "it was about time" since the Kandas and Hutchins had not invited them to any events/parties in a long time. Debbie was most gracious and apologized that they hadn't reciprocated in a long time and that life sometimes just gets too busy. Mary was sort of off the hook, but she seemed to be placated a little although her ears perked up when it was casually mentioned that the Kandas and we had spent some time together in October (our trip to SLO).
But the real fireworks occurred around the dining room table as discussions veered from Steph's wedding plans (March 2006) to Terri Schiavo and the Pope. They always warn you to never discuss politics or religion, and the intensity of some of the comments were pretty extreme around the table, quite often by Mary!
Besides the normal info on Steph's wedding, a significant conversation related to their desire to have a 'spiritual' wedding, but not a religious one. Raised a Catholic, marrying an adopted Jew, that could cause some issues, but neither Steph or Manny attend church/synagogue, yet Debbie and Steve would prefer they are married by a priest, perhaps with a rabbi in attendance. While all the other major issues of their wedding have already been addressed, I'm guessing that who performs the ceremony will be one of the more complicated ones to complete.
Catholic discussions led to the Pope's recent death and Mary's assertion that he had set back the Church decades because he was so conservative having rejected the ordination of women priests or the use of birth control especially condoms in places like Africa with high incidents of AIDS. Of course, Mary can rarely just discuss these issues, but must 'comment' at a rather higher than conversational decibel level. I think we and the Gomes (Presbyterians) defended the Pope's conservative stands more forcibly than the two Catholic couples.
And then we got into a discussion of Terri Schiavo and the use of life support treatments. Mary was adamant that she would never provide respiratory or life support to David or her kids if their probable future life would be less vital than currently. I was aghast to find that she (and Dave) concurred that if they were to be confined to a wheelchair they would rather die! And, of course, Mary stated she would abort a child that was likely to not be 'normal'. Carolyn strongly spoke of the intrinsic value of every life, and soon she and Arthur had left the room to avoid further heated discussions and to try to learn a few Latin dance steps and which was ultimately her undoing.
In addition to the politics/religion, Dave and I discussed sailing and his five year plan to purchase a 40' plus catamaran to circumnavigate the globe over four or five years. He is a stronger man than me as I could not imagine being confined with MM that long. They will be trying their hand at a longer time sailing this summer when they take their family on a week bareboat cruise through the British Virgin Islands.
Walking to our car around 12:30 a.m., Carolyn discovered that her dance moves with Arthur had really hurt her hip and she felt as if she had torn a ligament! Sunday morning she could barely move and so we decided to stay home (we had planned to go to Coast Hills) and take it easy. We began the morning with the papers, coffee, juice and sausage and scrambled eggs made by yours truly. Carolyn did some more painting and Bible study while I watched Tiger win his fourth Masters primarily due to his ball's half revolution on the 16th that dropped in for a birdie rather than hanging on the side of the cup.
I'm hoping that we were appropriately forceful in our defense of our beliefs and faith over the weekend, but the dinner party seems to focus on our desire to be with those who are more closely aligned with us spiritually and even politically.
The afternoon was spent sanding the door for our sailboat which we had brought home and Carolyn worked on her various art projects. Then we readied ourselves for a dinner hosted by Debbie for Steve Kanda's birthday.
We were the first to arrive at 6:15 to find Debbie, Steve and Steph (Manny was taking a required writing exam) making final preparations on a gourmet dinner of tri-tip, asparagus, stuffed artichokes, diced potatoes, a salad including goat cheese and small tomatoes, and, of course, plenty of wine and champagne! Within twenty minutes, we were joined by the rest of the old SMCHS crowd, Dave, Mary Margaret, Arthur and Linda Gome.
Within moments, Mary made it clear that "it was about time" since the Kandas and Hutchins had not invited them to any events/parties in a long time. Debbie was most gracious and apologized that they hadn't reciprocated in a long time and that life sometimes just gets too busy. Mary was sort of off the hook, but she seemed to be placated a little although her ears perked up when it was casually mentioned that the Kandas and we had spent some time together in October (our trip to SLO).
But the real fireworks occurred around the dining room table as discussions veered from Steph's wedding plans (March 2006) to Terri Schiavo and the Pope. They always warn you to never discuss politics or religion, and the intensity of some of the comments were pretty extreme around the table, quite often by Mary!
Besides the normal info on Steph's wedding, a significant conversation related to their desire to have a 'spiritual' wedding, but not a religious one. Raised a Catholic, marrying an adopted Jew, that could cause some issues, but neither Steph or Manny attend church/synagogue, yet Debbie and Steve would prefer they are married by a priest, perhaps with a rabbi in attendance. While all the other major issues of their wedding have already been addressed, I'm guessing that who performs the ceremony will be one of the more complicated ones to complete.
Catholic discussions led to the Pope's recent death and Mary's assertion that he had set back the Church decades because he was so conservative having rejected the ordination of women priests or the use of birth control especially condoms in places like Africa with high incidents of AIDS. Of course, Mary can rarely just discuss these issues, but must 'comment' at a rather higher than conversational decibel level. I think we and the Gomes (Presbyterians) defended the Pope's conservative stands more forcibly than the two Catholic couples.
And then we got into a discussion of Terri Schiavo and the use of life support treatments. Mary was adamant that she would never provide respiratory or life support to David or her kids if their probable future life would be less vital than currently. I was aghast to find that she (and Dave) concurred that if they were to be confined to a wheelchair they would rather die! And, of course, Mary stated she would abort a child that was likely to not be 'normal'. Carolyn strongly spoke of the intrinsic value of every life, and soon she and Arthur had left the room to avoid further heated discussions and to try to learn a few Latin dance steps and which was ultimately her undoing.
In addition to the politics/religion, Dave and I discussed sailing and his five year plan to purchase a 40' plus catamaran to circumnavigate the globe over four or five years. He is a stronger man than me as I could not imagine being confined with MM that long. They will be trying their hand at a longer time sailing this summer when they take their family on a week bareboat cruise through the British Virgin Islands.
Walking to our car around 12:30 a.m., Carolyn discovered that her dance moves with Arthur had really hurt her hip and she felt as if she had torn a ligament! Sunday morning she could barely move and so we decided to stay home (we had planned to go to Coast Hills) and take it easy. We began the morning with the papers, coffee, juice and sausage and scrambled eggs made by yours truly. Carolyn did some more painting and Bible study while I watched Tiger win his fourth Masters primarily due to his ball's half revolution on the 16th that dropped in for a birdie rather than hanging on the side of the cup.
I'm hoping that we were appropriately forceful in our defense of our beliefs and faith over the weekend, but the dinner party seems to focus on our desire to be with those who are more closely aligned with us spiritually and even politically.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.
UPDATE: Turned off haloscan because it couldn't import the old Blogger comments. Well, I tried!
UPDATE: Turned off haloscan because it couldn't import the old Blogger comments. Well, I tried!
Monday, April 04, 2005
Weekend Update
While we thought of Ashley and Bryce in London, Saturday was spent working out in the yard mowing, trimming, planting under a beautiful sunny day. We probably spent three or four hours welcoming Spring outside, before I was able to catch a short nap before getting ready for dinner.
The Hales had invited us down to Laguna for dinner in Romeo's off of Main Beach. We met up at 6 and had great pasta, or salmon, or veal and a good bottle of Chianti. Then it was off to the High School for a performance of the LA Scots, a pipe and drum corp who played numerous reels, etc. Carolyn said it reminded her of the Highland Games even though the pipers were not nearly as numerous (obviously). We had a good time and good conversation and the music kept both John and me awake.
Sunday, after an hour less sleep because of Daylight Savings, we went to church at Saddleback again, primarily to pick up tickets for their 25th anniversary celebration which will be held in Anaheim Stadium on the 17th which Katie wants to attend. This time we actually ran into a few people we knew including Jill Schreiber and the Youngs from our Bible study.
Then it was home for a quick read of the Sunday papers and lunch before we headed to Newport to meet the Hughes for an afternoon sail. We decided to ignore any chores this time and took the opportunity to have Gloria and Carolyn 'man' the tiller for a while to get a feel of the boat's handling while I got more familiar with the mainsail and jib. It was a great day just enjoying the sun, wind and salt air without too many boats in the harbor.
Leaving around 5, both we and the Hughes headed down PCH, stopping for a brief dinner at Del Taco in Dana Point, before we drove to PCC for an open meeting on the history of the dispute that led to Pastor Mike's resignation and the plans for the future. The parking lot was full and the street was fully parked for two hundred yards from the church. We ended up in an upstairs annex listening to the discussion on a video feed. It was the most painful meeting I've ever had the displeasure to endure even after an admonition to behave in a Biblical fashion! The level of animosity was painfully obvious from many who spoke from the crowd, and the two senior associate pastors had a real difficulty in either controlling it or explaining well the circumstances of Mike's departure. It felt as if they we're sugar-coating much of their descriptions, and it sounded like they had not appropriately responded to legitimate requests for information/meetings as mandated by the church's constitution. After an hour and half, we couldn't take it any more, so we left for home to unwind before the beginning of this work week. It was not a fun way to end an otherwise really good weekend.
The Hales had invited us down to Laguna for dinner in Romeo's off of Main Beach. We met up at 6 and had great pasta, or salmon, or veal and a good bottle of Chianti. Then it was off to the High School for a performance of the LA Scots, a pipe and drum corp who played numerous reels, etc. Carolyn said it reminded her of the Highland Games even though the pipers were not nearly as numerous (obviously). We had a good time and good conversation and the music kept both John and me awake.
Sunday, after an hour less sleep because of Daylight Savings, we went to church at Saddleback again, primarily to pick up tickets for their 25th anniversary celebration which will be held in Anaheim Stadium on the 17th which Katie wants to attend. This time we actually ran into a few people we knew including Jill Schreiber and the Youngs from our Bible study.
Then it was home for a quick read of the Sunday papers and lunch before we headed to Newport to meet the Hughes for an afternoon sail. We decided to ignore any chores this time and took the opportunity to have Gloria and Carolyn 'man' the tiller for a while to get a feel of the boat's handling while I got more familiar with the mainsail and jib. It was a great day just enjoying the sun, wind and salt air without too many boats in the harbor.
Leaving around 5, both we and the Hughes headed down PCH, stopping for a brief dinner at Del Taco in Dana Point, before we drove to PCC for an open meeting on the history of the dispute that led to Pastor Mike's resignation and the plans for the future. The parking lot was full and the street was fully parked for two hundred yards from the church. We ended up in an upstairs annex listening to the discussion on a video feed. It was the most painful meeting I've ever had the displeasure to endure even after an admonition to behave in a Biblical fashion! The level of animosity was painfully obvious from many who spoke from the crowd, and the two senior associate pastors had a real difficulty in either controlling it or explaining well the circumstances of Mike's departure. It felt as if they we're sugar-coating much of their descriptions, and it sounded like they had not appropriately responded to legitimate requests for information/meetings as mandated by the church's constitution. After an hour and half, we couldn't take it any more, so we left for home to unwind before the beginning of this work week. It was not a fun way to end an otherwise really good weekend.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Nana's Honda!!
Carolyn took Wanda up to the Circle of Orange for a little "girl" excursion to have lunch at the Filling Station and tour the antique shops. Then on the way home Carolyn asked me via her mobile whether they had any cars that fit Wanda's requirements at Capistrano Car. I quickly checked, they didn't, but I looked on the CarMax site for their new Irvine lot (off of Bake) and found listed a 1995 Honda Accord with 107k miles for just under $8k, champagne color with leather seats. A possible match so I called Carolyn back.
Less than an hour later, Carolyn called and told me they were at CarMax and were buying that exact car! We talked about buying a warranty and declined. An hour after that, on my way home, Carolyn called again to tell me that they were still there and she had prevented them from charging an additional $300 through a dyslexic mistake. So, this evening I arrived home before wife or mother-in-law.
Rolling in around 6:30, and after two and half hours at the dealer, the 'new car' rolled in with Wanda behind the wheel. She was totally excited with the firm leather seats, the wood trimmed interior, and the easy ride. We all lifted glasses of wine to celebrate with crackers and cheese while Wanda continued to thank me for finding the car for her. I continued to mention she might want to thank Carolyn who had actually endured 2.5 hours of car buying hell! She had performed admirably in keeping all the paperwork straight and not allowing them to add costs.
We are glad that Wanda now has good transportation as her old car was falling apart, and Carolyn and I laughed about how I was the good son-in-law and get credit even when credit is barely due.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Animal Groups
I've always enjoyed the various names given to groups of animals.
Some favorites:
Chattering of chicks
Quiver of cobras
Murder of crows
Convocation of eagles
Mob of emus
Gaggle of geese
Bloat of hippopotami
Scold of jays
Cloud of locusts
Prickle of porcupines
Shiver of sharks
Committee of vultures
Some favorites:
Chattering of chicks
Quiver of cobras
Murder of crows
Convocation of eagles
Mob of emus
Gaggle of geese
Bloat of hippopotami
Scold of jays
Cloud of locusts
Prickle of porcupines
Shiver of sharks
Committee of vultures
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
What Age Would You Choose for a Day/Week?
In my blogosphere wanderings, I saw someone's post where they discussed what age you would like to go back to if you could be that age again for just a day or as long as a week.
I think I would go back to 5 years old. It was a time when everything was basically happy with few, if any, responsibilities. No school. No chores. I could play outside with my friends. I didn't need to wear a helmet to ride my bike. I was in good shape with all the running around. I could play soldier using surplus WWII gear and guns weren't politically incorrect. We'd pretend to kill the 'Japs' or the Nazis.
My mom and dad hadn't divorced yet either. I had a sister two years younger who would follow me around and my older brother had not yet left to a boarding high school in St. Louis so we still played together. Both sets of my grandparents were alive and we visited often, receiving all the attention a young grandson gets in terms of encouragement and treats.
We had a great Irish setter and for a while I had a lizard for which I had built his own cage. My uncle George, a life-long bachelor, was my guide into the mysteries of wood working and tools (skills not shared by my father).
And if I was to go back to that age during summer, there would always be the vacations to either Lake Tahoe or the Rogue River or just going to the movies and New Joes in San Francisco.
What age would you choose and why?
I think I would go back to 5 years old. It was a time when everything was basically happy with few, if any, responsibilities. No school. No chores. I could play outside with my friends. I didn't need to wear a helmet to ride my bike. I was in good shape with all the running around. I could play soldier using surplus WWII gear and guns weren't politically incorrect. We'd pretend to kill the 'Japs' or the Nazis.
My mom and dad hadn't divorced yet either. I had a sister two years younger who would follow me around and my older brother had not yet left to a boarding high school in St. Louis so we still played together. Both sets of my grandparents were alive and we visited often, receiving all the attention a young grandson gets in terms of encouragement and treats.
We had a great Irish setter and for a while I had a lizard for which I had built his own cage. My uncle George, a life-long bachelor, was my guide into the mysteries of wood working and tools (skills not shared by my father).
And if I was to go back to that age during summer, there would always be the vacations to either Lake Tahoe or the Rogue River or just going to the movies and New Joes in San Francisco.
What age would you choose and why?
Monday, March 28, 2005
Family Weekend
It seemed like a long weekend with Uncle George's funeral on Saturday and our Easter get-together on Sunday.
Saturday morning we were up relatively early to pick up the house, get the car washed, and to shower and dress for George's funeral. Wanda made it to our house promptly at 9 am and we were on our way to Holy Cross cemetery in Culver City at around 9:20. You can never be sure about the traffic through LA and there was a slight slow down near LAX, but we found our way there about a half hour before the 11 am service.
We were greeted by Kathy Oliver who had spent the last few weeks up in LA visiting her father daily and who seemed exhausted emotionally and welcomed our hugs and love. We all milled around greeting cousins and friends before the service. Eddie and Calla Chevalier were there with Tim and Ian, Mike Chevalier dressed in a somber black Hawaiian shirt and shorts continued his tradition of dressing to his own standards.
The priest gave an interesting homily about the meaning of life and the importance of how we fill it with love for others - a trait of George's that was profound in his willingness to take in and feed the less fortunate. George's caretaker was the second to speak. Philip is from the Philippines and he and his wife and son have lived with George and Jean for at least three years providing care. Philip spoke lovingly of how George taught him English, facilitated bringing him here from the Philippines, and often played ball (in the house) with his son. Eddie then got up and gave a great tribute to his father and how he found the greatest pleasure, not in travel or possessions, but in his family.
Just before the service started, Lisa, Cale and Amy appeared after having gone to the wrong chapel at first! It was Cale's birthday on Saturday, so they didn't join a good portion of those who attended as we were all invited to a lunch at Tony P's in Marina del Rey about 4 miles away. The Chevaliers hosted a lovely reception on the waterfront which allowed us time to catch up with a number of our extended family.
Leaving mid-afternoon, Carolyn, Wanda, and I stopped off in Newport Beach to show Wanda the new sailboat which required us to take off our non-marine shoes to board her. I think Wanda is looking forward to her first sail.
After a quiet Saturday night, Sunday dawned bright and clear and warm. Carolyn prepared a great brunch for Wanda, Lisa and Katie and us which included fresh fruit, mimosas, sausage and the creme brulee french toast we had enjoyed in Lake Arrowhead. Fabulous!! Then we took our croquet set down to the lake for a vicious game where both Lisa and I declared ourselves poison and tried to slam the heck out of everyone else, but Carolyn was able to create some strange sort of force field and we kept missing and she snuck by to win.
To facilitate our weird schedule and the ecumenical nature of our group, we had our Easter service at Saddleback at 4:30. This being the eleventh of twelve services, Pastor Rick Warren was sounding a little raspy, but the service alternated music between the discussion of five points from his Purpose Driven Life on "What on Earth am I here for?" And, of course, the first purpose is that our life is for God's pleasure and that we should glorify Him. At the services close, Pastor Rick challenged those who hadn't sought God's purpose to repentance and to follow Christ.
Then it was home to rest up for the start of another work week. Happy Easter!
Saturday morning we were up relatively early to pick up the house, get the car washed, and to shower and dress for George's funeral. Wanda made it to our house promptly at 9 am and we were on our way to Holy Cross cemetery in Culver City at around 9:20. You can never be sure about the traffic through LA and there was a slight slow down near LAX, but we found our way there about a half hour before the 11 am service.
We were greeted by Kathy Oliver who had spent the last few weeks up in LA visiting her father daily and who seemed exhausted emotionally and welcomed our hugs and love. We all milled around greeting cousins and friends before the service. Eddie and Calla Chevalier were there with Tim and Ian, Mike Chevalier dressed in a somber black Hawaiian shirt and shorts continued his tradition of dressing to his own standards.
The priest gave an interesting homily about the meaning of life and the importance of how we fill it with love for others - a trait of George's that was profound in his willingness to take in and feed the less fortunate. George's caretaker was the second to speak. Philip is from the Philippines and he and his wife and son have lived with George and Jean for at least three years providing care. Philip spoke lovingly of how George taught him English, facilitated bringing him here from the Philippines, and often played ball (in the house) with his son. Eddie then got up and gave a great tribute to his father and how he found the greatest pleasure, not in travel or possessions, but in his family.
Just before the service started, Lisa, Cale and Amy appeared after having gone to the wrong chapel at first! It was Cale's birthday on Saturday, so they didn't join a good portion of those who attended as we were all invited to a lunch at Tony P's in Marina del Rey about 4 miles away. The Chevaliers hosted a lovely reception on the waterfront which allowed us time to catch up with a number of our extended family.
Leaving mid-afternoon, Carolyn, Wanda, and I stopped off in Newport Beach to show Wanda the new sailboat which required us to take off our non-marine shoes to board her. I think Wanda is looking forward to her first sail.
After a quiet Saturday night, Sunday dawned bright and clear and warm. Carolyn prepared a great brunch for Wanda, Lisa and Katie and us which included fresh fruit, mimosas, sausage and the creme brulee french toast we had enjoyed in Lake Arrowhead. Fabulous!! Then we took our croquet set down to the lake for a vicious game where both Lisa and I declared ourselves poison and tried to slam the heck out of everyone else, but Carolyn was able to create some strange sort of force field and we kept missing and she snuck by to win.
To facilitate our weird schedule and the ecumenical nature of our group, we had our Easter service at Saddleback at 4:30. This being the eleventh of twelve services, Pastor Rick Warren was sounding a little raspy, but the service alternated music between the discussion of five points from his Purpose Driven Life on "What on Earth am I here for?" And, of course, the first purpose is that our life is for God's pleasure and that we should glorify Him. At the services close, Pastor Rick challenged those who hadn't sought God's purpose to repentance and to follow Christ.
Then it was home to rest up for the start of another work week. Happy Easter!
Friday, March 25, 2005
Men Buy, Women Shop
Or at least that seems to be the case for most persons I know. Late, yesterday afternoon, I got home around 5 p.m. from a Land Summit meeting that had been held in Chino, and I announced to Carolyn that I needed to get a dark suit for the funeral on Saturday. My formal attire has either not kept up with current styles or my current 'physique' and I haven't bought a new suit in over a decade.
Carolyn agreed to come with me to the Men's Warehouse near the Laguna Hills mall. I told the salesman that I needed a dark suit for funerals and evening weddings, and I needed it tailored by Friday night. We looked at several that I rejected because I didn't want to look like a gangster or someone in a 'shiny' suit. Within about thirty minutes, we'd chosen a dark suit with a slightly lighter thin stripe, two shirts, two ties, socks, and had the suit measured for alterations.
Now, picture that same scene say with Carolyn looking for a dress for a wedding. My guess is several days of visiting numerous shops in several malls to find the right dress. I am so glad I'm a guy because I hate shopping (not counting Home Depot or Circuit City, of course).
We were out of the store a little past 6 and over to California Pizza Kitchen for chicken chipotle ravioli (pretty spicy!) and lettuce wraps before heading over to our Thursday night Bible study where we continued into the second chapter of 1 Peter.
A funeral and family gathering for Uncle George on Saturday and Resurrection Sunday with Wanda, Lisa and Katie. Happy Easter everyone!!
Carolyn agreed to come with me to the Men's Warehouse near the Laguna Hills mall. I told the salesman that I needed a dark suit for funerals and evening weddings, and I needed it tailored by Friday night. We looked at several that I rejected because I didn't want to look like a gangster or someone in a 'shiny' suit. Within about thirty minutes, we'd chosen a dark suit with a slightly lighter thin stripe, two shirts, two ties, socks, and had the suit measured for alterations.
Now, picture that same scene say with Carolyn looking for a dress for a wedding. My guess is several days of visiting numerous shops in several malls to find the right dress. I am so glad I'm a guy because I hate shopping (not counting Home Depot or Circuit City, of course).
We were out of the store a little past 6 and over to California Pizza Kitchen for chicken chipotle ravioli (pretty spicy!) and lettuce wraps before heading over to our Thursday night Bible study where we continued into the second chapter of 1 Peter.
A funeral and family gathering for Uncle George on Saturday and Resurrection Sunday with Wanda, Lisa and Katie. Happy Easter everyone!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Travels
We have a lot more of the world to see. Some of these places were only visited by one of us, probably Carolyn on her trips with friends. Where should we go next?
create your own visited countries map
create your own visited countries map
Miscellany
Pastor Mike gave his last sermon at Pacific Coast Church on Sunday and I'd have to say he was most gracious, talking about transitions and using 1 Corinthians to say while we often have our own plans, God has the ultimate control. His intentions were to stay on at PCC, but the current circumstances have altered those plans.
I don't know if I was just being hyper-observant, but the prayers led by Pastor Dan and Pastor Mark (Senior Associate Pastors and elders) during the service seemed to be rambling and unfocused whereas they are usually heartfelt. And when all the staff came on the stage at the end of the sermon to pray for Mike and his family, Pastor Mark was noticeably absent. All I can hope for is that God will use this change to broaden His work in our area and that those involved in the dispute will learn to trust Him more fully.
Later Sunday, we heard that George Chevalier had passed away after a bout with cancer. Carolyn's cousin, Eddie, called Monday to tell us of the funeral that will be held for his father on Saturday. Pray for George's 'kids', Eddie, Mike and Kathy, and all the grandkids. George was a kind and generous father and friend.
The Terri Schiavo case ruled the news yesterday as Congress passed a law specific to her case that would allow Federal court intervention to re-insert her feeding tube and they just ruled today that the courts had fully protected her rights and would not intercede. It has made me more focused on completing the creation of our living trust along with wills and directives on what to do if I were in the same situation.
Carolyn didn't feel that well yesterday and spent most of the day resting and completing her Community Bible Study, but she is feeling moderately better today and is at her leaders meeting as I write this. Pray for her health and that she might get over this persistent pain that she's had for over a month.
I don't know if I was just being hyper-observant, but the prayers led by Pastor Dan and Pastor Mark (Senior Associate Pastors and elders) during the service seemed to be rambling and unfocused whereas they are usually heartfelt. And when all the staff came on the stage at the end of the sermon to pray for Mike and his family, Pastor Mark was noticeably absent. All I can hope for is that God will use this change to broaden His work in our area and that those involved in the dispute will learn to trust Him more fully.
Later Sunday, we heard that George Chevalier had passed away after a bout with cancer. Carolyn's cousin, Eddie, called Monday to tell us of the funeral that will be held for his father on Saturday. Pray for George's 'kids', Eddie, Mike and Kathy, and all the grandkids. George was a kind and generous father and friend.
The Terri Schiavo case ruled the news yesterday as Congress passed a law specific to her case that would allow Federal court intervention to re-insert her feeding tube and they just ruled today that the courts had fully protected her rights and would not intercede. It has made me more focused on completing the creation of our living trust along with wills and directives on what to do if I were in the same situation.
Carolyn didn't feel that well yesterday and spent most of the day resting and completing her Community Bible Study, but she is feeling moderately better today and is at her leaders meeting as I write this. Pray for her health and that she might get over this persistent pain that she's had for over a month.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Maiden Voyage
Our Cal 2-27 was officially purchased earlier this week and Dennis and his son Steve had been down on Wednesday to check out the engine and electrical issues. All of it worked although the engine needs a little work to get it to run smoothly. So we planned a work day this Saturday to clean her up.
Dennis was at the Sea Scout base (its temporary berth) around 8 a.m. and Carolyn and I made it down around 9:15 after two attempts to leave. Dennis and I tackled the upper deck while Carolyn scrubbed down mildew and woodwork down below. After several hours we were definitely pleased with the result. Carolyn had the woodwork gleaming and any trace of mildew gone while Dennis and I had scrubbed the deck of all the grime it had accumulated. Gloria, a late riser, met up with Steve, their son, and came down in the late morning and Steve got right to work changing spark plugs and adjusting the electrical system. The engine is now running on two or three of four cylinders and he will be checking cylinder compression to determine why the fourth isn't firing.
Carolyn and Gloria made a run to Taco Bell to grab a late lunch for all of us and then we decided to try our new baby out! All the while, hoping we wouldn't be caught be the Harbor Patrol as we don't have the 2005 sticker on yet. Dennis let me skipper as he handled raising the mainsail and jib and tended the winches. Luckily we had a beam reach all the way down the Newport Channel past the ferry and even all the way back beyond the Balboa Bay Club. We had to tack about three times!
The day had started out a little rainy with drizzle but by the time we took the boat out the sun shone over the bay as clouds were seen both to the east and the west. Next time out I'll have to remember sun block as I came back with a sunburned face.
Dennis was at the Sea Scout base (its temporary berth) around 8 a.m. and Carolyn and I made it down around 9:15 after two attempts to leave. Dennis and I tackled the upper deck while Carolyn scrubbed down mildew and woodwork down below. After several hours we were definitely pleased with the result. Carolyn had the woodwork gleaming and any trace of mildew gone while Dennis and I had scrubbed the deck of all the grime it had accumulated. Gloria, a late riser, met up with Steve, their son, and came down in the late morning and Steve got right to work changing spark plugs and adjusting the electrical system. The engine is now running on two or three of four cylinders and he will be checking cylinder compression to determine why the fourth isn't firing.
Carolyn and Gloria made a run to Taco Bell to grab a late lunch for all of us and then we decided to try our new baby out! All the while, hoping we wouldn't be caught be the Harbor Patrol as we don't have the 2005 sticker on yet. Dennis let me skipper as he handled raising the mainsail and jib and tended the winches. Luckily we had a beam reach all the way down the Newport Channel past the ferry and even all the way back beyond the Balboa Bay Club. We had to tack about three times!
The day had started out a little rainy with drizzle but by the time we took the boat out the sun shone over the bay as clouds were seen both to the east and the west. Next time out I'll have to remember sun block as I came back with a sunburned face.
Friday, March 18, 2005
It's Friday
And it's raining again!! After more than a week of normal So. Cal. weather, the storm watchers (TV weatherpersons) are out again talking about how this current 'storm' will bring our rainfall up to either the second or wettest season in the 130+ years of L.A. recorded weather. And, of course, we're planning our first workday down on the boat which we actually purchased on Tuesday.
Dennis and Steve were down in the harbor earlier in the week and the engine and all the electrical systems work! Much to our delight. Perhaps the rain will pass through quickly and we'll get a chance to try out the sails around Newport Harbor.
I'm trying to be a bit more diligent in diet and exercise recently. I've been drinking water rather than Coke or Diet 7-Up for lunch and started taking a half hour walk at lunch at least three times a week. Of course, I don't walk in the rain except to get to my car. Hopefully, the work around the boat will burn off a few more calories.
Dennis and Steve were down in the harbor earlier in the week and the engine and all the electrical systems work! Much to our delight. Perhaps the rain will pass through quickly and we'll get a chance to try out the sails around Newport Harbor.
I'm trying to be a bit more diligent in diet and exercise recently. I've been drinking water rather than Coke or Diet 7-Up for lunch and started taking a half hour walk at lunch at least three times a week. Of course, I don't walk in the rain except to get to my car. Hopefully, the work around the boat will burn off a few more calories.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Breakin' Up is Hard to Do
Received two letters from Pacific Coast Church yesterday, one from the elder board and one from Pastor Mike announcing that Mike will be leaving PCC after serving for 15 years. Evidently, the mediation wasn't successful! Then we met with our application study group last night for the last time under the auspices of PCC as our group leader is a close friend of Mike's and will be following him as he (probably) sets up another church in the not too proximate area (but which may be closer to our home).
This is rather distressing as we just went through this a little over a year ago at Mission Hills Church. We'll hear Mike preach his last sermon this Sunday, and then who knows where we will attend for the short-term including Easter. We're likely to follow Mike as we really like his teaching style, but it may be months before there is any place to meet or he may decide to take a bit of time just to rest. This whole event stresses families and friends as they choose different churches.
Please pray that Christian friendships won't be impacted, but that we might consider this an opportunity to expand Christ's influence throughout the Saddleback Valley.
This is rather distressing as we just went through this a little over a year ago at Mission Hills Church. We'll hear Mike preach his last sermon this Sunday, and then who knows where we will attend for the short-term including Easter. We're likely to follow Mike as we really like his teaching style, but it may be months before there is any place to meet or he may decide to take a bit of time just to rest. This whole event stresses families and friends as they choose different churches.
Please pray that Christian friendships won't be impacted, but that we might consider this an opportunity to expand Christ's influence throughout the Saddleback Valley.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Numbers
Those of you who know me, know that I'm a numbers man. Where Carolyn can retain names, I retain numbers. I see patterns, primes, quotients. I remember numbers that have little need to be remembered.
So on Friday, while I was totally hooked up to the ER monitors, I'd occasionally look over to check my vitals - you know, to see if I was flat lining or anything (just kidding). Blood pressure was good and low around 115/75, respirations around 20 per minute and heart beats of around 72 per minute.
Do you realize what an amazing machine our hearts are? 72 beats per minute, 4,320 beats per hour, 103,680 beats per day. Nearly 38 million beats per year. By the time you're 25, your heart has worked almost flawlessly for 946 million beats and mine has worked over 2.1 billion and I'm hoping for over 3 billion!
God does some amazing work! And I'm extremely grateful that the hours He's numbered for me have not yet been fully counted.
So on Friday, while I was totally hooked up to the ER monitors, I'd occasionally look over to check my vitals - you know, to see if I was flat lining or anything (just kidding). Blood pressure was good and low around 115/75, respirations around 20 per minute and heart beats of around 72 per minute.
Do you realize what an amazing machine our hearts are? 72 beats per minute, 4,320 beats per hour, 103,680 beats per day. Nearly 38 million beats per year. By the time you're 25, your heart has worked almost flawlessly for 946 million beats and mine has worked over 2.1 billion and I'm hoping for over 3 billion!
God does some amazing work! And I'm extremely grateful that the hours He's numbered for me have not yet been fully counted.
Friday, March 11, 2005
A Day in the ER
Well, the pain in my chest began Thursday afternoon and it felt like a pulled muscle on my left rib cage and a sharp jab between the ribs when I twisted or turned in a different direction. Now I knew it wasn't because of heavy lifting or exercise because I hadn't done either! Like a typical male, I chose not to mention it to Carolyn as I didn't want her to worry and I went to bed expecting/hoping the pain would be non-existent at dawns break.
At around 1 a.m. Friday morning I awoke with the same pain and as I turned from my back to my side I'd get that sharp pain. I got up and got on the internet and did a little googling on "heart attack and pulled muscle" as well as making sure that Saddleback was on our hospital provider list for Blue Shield. As I got back into bed, Carolyn woke up and wondered what was wrong. I gave her my symptoms and we discussed whether or not I wanted to go to the ER. After a short mulling period, I said yes and we quickly dressed and drove over to Saddleback's ER.
It wasn't too busy, but putting chest pains as your symptoms when you're a 56 year old male generally gets you to the front of the line unless you have blood spurting. A nurse did the normal triage and soon I was in a private room in the ER hooked up to a machine which monitored resting pulse rate, blood pressure, and heart rhythms. And then the fun began.
Two guys working on their paramedic degree were prowling the corridor and they came in to practice putting in a line to infuse saline or extract blood samples. The first guy worked on my left arm and made comments like "oh, this is difficult" and "darn" - comments which don't engender confidence and I have the bruise to prove it. The second guy was quieter but his bruise was 'purpler'. But finally with the male nurse's assistance they were able to get a line in and take the first of about three blood samples.
Carolyn was with me in the ER and after about two hours (4 a.m.) I convinced her to go home to catch a few hours of sleep. She made several calls and e-mails to Ashley, Pattie and George our church's application group leader. I slept fitfully as activity occurred in the halls outside and the blood pressure cuff automatically inflated every 15 minutes or so.
Carolyn showed up again around 7 a.m. and we waited for the requisite number of blood draws to determine my enzyme levels which are indicators of a heart attack. Then George showed up at the foot of my bed with his youngest son and prayed with us. It was a wonderful gift of Christian brotherhood.
Around 9 I got a breakfast plate for the heart un-healthy - decaf coffee, those special eggs, OJ, and oatmeal. I ate enough of the pablum to satisfy my hunger if not my taste buds. Then more waiting and by this time I had been moved over to another section of the ER which was the 'holding' area for those awaiting hospital admittance. Dr. Chong finally showed up and went through the four possibilities for my pain and he thought it unlikely I had had a heart attack but he was scheduling a stress test to rule out other heart problems.
I continued to try to catnap while Carolyn sat beside me reading, knitting or watching. She was getting really tired around 12:30 so I convinced her to go get something to eat and she walked over to the food court in the mall. By that time we knew that people in the hospital were not doing early check-outs and getting a bed would take some time.
But finally, after being told I couldn't eat for two hours before the stress test, it became obvious that since my blood chemicals looked OK, they were going to send me for that and if it showed no problems, I'd be discharged.
Around 2 I was wheeled through the hospital corridors in a wheelchair (finally with my pants on and not just a gown) to the test room. I had two nurses who took pleasure in ripping off the old leads from my chest and shaving and roughing up the areas for the new leads. Although I did lose a lot of chest hair today, they were actually quite humorous about the whole situation. Primed for my walk on the treadmill the doctor was paged who came in a few minutes later introducing himself as Bob - not even Dr. Bob! He was a real nice guy and let Carolyn stay in the room. He also told me right away that it wasn't my heart but more likely an inflammation of the nerves between my lungs and ribs.
But we had the test anyway, and my blood pressure and heart looked just great through a full ten minutes of increasing speed and incline! Not bad for someone whose major exercise comes on the weekend when working around the garden.
Released a little while later, Carolyn drove us home and I've had a shower, shaved and dressed much to my wife's delight. Now, I think we'll take a little nap!
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!
At around 1 a.m. Friday morning I awoke with the same pain and as I turned from my back to my side I'd get that sharp pain. I got up and got on the internet and did a little googling on "heart attack and pulled muscle" as well as making sure that Saddleback was on our hospital provider list for Blue Shield. As I got back into bed, Carolyn woke up and wondered what was wrong. I gave her my symptoms and we discussed whether or not I wanted to go to the ER. After a short mulling period, I said yes and we quickly dressed and drove over to Saddleback's ER.
It wasn't too busy, but putting chest pains as your symptoms when you're a 56 year old male generally gets you to the front of the line unless you have blood spurting. A nurse did the normal triage and soon I was in a private room in the ER hooked up to a machine which monitored resting pulse rate, blood pressure, and heart rhythms. And then the fun began.
Two guys working on their paramedic degree were prowling the corridor and they came in to practice putting in a line to infuse saline or extract blood samples. The first guy worked on my left arm and made comments like "oh, this is difficult" and "darn" - comments which don't engender confidence and I have the bruise to prove it. The second guy was quieter but his bruise was 'purpler'. But finally with the male nurse's assistance they were able to get a line in and take the first of about three blood samples.
Carolyn was with me in the ER and after about two hours (4 a.m.) I convinced her to go home to catch a few hours of sleep. She made several calls and e-mails to Ashley, Pattie and George our church's application group leader. I slept fitfully as activity occurred in the halls outside and the blood pressure cuff automatically inflated every 15 minutes or so.
Carolyn showed up again around 7 a.m. and we waited for the requisite number of blood draws to determine my enzyme levels which are indicators of a heart attack. Then George showed up at the foot of my bed with his youngest son and prayed with us. It was a wonderful gift of Christian brotherhood.
Around 9 I got a breakfast plate for the heart un-healthy - decaf coffee, those special eggs, OJ, and oatmeal. I ate enough of the pablum to satisfy my hunger if not my taste buds. Then more waiting and by this time I had been moved over to another section of the ER which was the 'holding' area for those awaiting hospital admittance. Dr. Chong finally showed up and went through the four possibilities for my pain and he thought it unlikely I had had a heart attack but he was scheduling a stress test to rule out other heart problems.
I continued to try to catnap while Carolyn sat beside me reading, knitting or watching. She was getting really tired around 12:30 so I convinced her to go get something to eat and she walked over to the food court in the mall. By that time we knew that people in the hospital were not doing early check-outs and getting a bed would take some time.
But finally, after being told I couldn't eat for two hours before the stress test, it became obvious that since my blood chemicals looked OK, they were going to send me for that and if it showed no problems, I'd be discharged.
Around 2 I was wheeled through the hospital corridors in a wheelchair (finally with my pants on and not just a gown) to the test room. I had two nurses who took pleasure in ripping off the old leads from my chest and shaving and roughing up the areas for the new leads. Although I did lose a lot of chest hair today, they were actually quite humorous about the whole situation. Primed for my walk on the treadmill the doctor was paged who came in a few minutes later introducing himself as Bob - not even Dr. Bob! He was a real nice guy and let Carolyn stay in the room. He also told me right away that it wasn't my heart but more likely an inflammation of the nerves between my lungs and ribs.
But we had the test anyway, and my blood pressure and heart looked just great through a full ten minutes of increasing speed and incline! Not bad for someone whose major exercise comes on the weekend when working around the garden.
Released a little while later, Carolyn drove us home and I've had a shower, shaved and dressed much to my wife's delight. Now, I think we'll take a little nap!
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Problems at Church
At our last church home, Mission Hills, an issue arose between our pastor and the elder board over administrative functions and who had the final say re hirings and firings. Those issues plus personality clashes led to an undercurrent of gossip and the creation of various 'camps' within the church. Letters detailing complaints flowed through back channels. Even with the CBA coming in to mediate, the result was that our pastor publicly repented of his failings, but was effectively forced out a short time later and the dissidents held strongly to their positions which left many, including us, uncomfortable about remaining in that body. So we left and started attending Pacific Coast Church about 14 months ago.
We have really enjoyed the teaching of Pastor Mike, and he began a series of four sermons six weeks ago on the true gospel and how to ascertain it through Bible study. And, then after three sermons, he did not preach the next Sunday and we had a report on a recent missions trip to Cuba which seemed to be hastily put together. Then last Wednesday at our applications group, our leader asked us to especially pray for our church leadership. Something was definitely wrong between Pastor Mike and the elder board!
Sunday we were in Lake Arrowhead in the morning so we missed the service, but we came home to an e-mail that said 'leadership issues' would be discussed at the evening communion service. We had barely any time to put our bags down before we raced to San Clemente to find the parking lot and adjacent street packed with cars. We ended up sitting in the lobby watching a monitor and others ended up on the patio.
PCC is a reasonably large church, but it turns out we have only five elders, three of whom are staff members and pastors. There was an attempt to silence rumors without giving much detail as the CBA has again been called in to help mediate and it might not be helpful to lay out all the issues in detail right now. But the obvious problem is between our senior pastor and an associate pastor who he wished to terminate (I think). The elder board disagreed. Our building program has been put on hold to a degree. Our senior pastor has requested a 'sabbatical' of at least 30 days and perhaps longer.
Our hearts hurt right now as these issues are so disruptive and divisive and it feels like deja vu all over again. I'm not trying to gossip, just to inform and to ask for your prayers for the church. And perhaps a caution on picking godly, non-staff elders, and the importance of prayer and faith and unity as decisions are made about both administration and growth.
We have really enjoyed the teaching of Pastor Mike, and he began a series of four sermons six weeks ago on the true gospel and how to ascertain it through Bible study. And, then after three sermons, he did not preach the next Sunday and we had a report on a recent missions trip to Cuba which seemed to be hastily put together. Then last Wednesday at our applications group, our leader asked us to especially pray for our church leadership. Something was definitely wrong between Pastor Mike and the elder board!
Sunday we were in Lake Arrowhead in the morning so we missed the service, but we came home to an e-mail that said 'leadership issues' would be discussed at the evening communion service. We had barely any time to put our bags down before we raced to San Clemente to find the parking lot and adjacent street packed with cars. We ended up sitting in the lobby watching a monitor and others ended up on the patio.
PCC is a reasonably large church, but it turns out we have only five elders, three of whom are staff members and pastors. There was an attempt to silence rumors without giving much detail as the CBA has again been called in to help mediate and it might not be helpful to lay out all the issues in detail right now. But the obvious problem is between our senior pastor and an associate pastor who he wished to terminate (I think). The elder board disagreed. Our building program has been put on hold to a degree. Our senior pastor has requested a 'sabbatical' of at least 30 days and perhaps longer.
Our hearts hurt right now as these issues are so disruptive and divisive and it feels like deja vu all over again. I'm not trying to gossip, just to inform and to ask for your prayers for the church. And perhaps a caution on picking godly, non-staff elders, and the importance of prayer and faith and unity as decisions are made about both administration and growth.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Southern California Advantages
As my previous posts show, we spent early Saturday morning in Newport Harbor buying a sailboat, and about an hour and half to two hours later we were up in Lake Arrowhead. From sea to 6000 foot elevation, from saltwater to snow, for a short little break from the routine.
The village in Lake Arrowhead was relatively quiet much to my surprise, but perhaps because route 18 was closed or that the weather was a little cloudy/misty/rainy contributed to the lack of crowds. We checked out a few shops and then stopped in at Woody's for lunch - salad/soup bar for Carolyn and burger and fries for me. The booths are constructed as if from the old-style ChrisCraft wooden speed boats with table tops of inlaid wood and the restaurant has nice views of the lake.
After lunch we checked out a few of the outlet shops (Bass, Jockey) and picked up a few items before heading over to our B&B, Fleur de Lac, to check in. We had a very cozy room (thus the cheapest) with a double (or queen) bed tucked up against the wall and under a bit of a dormer. The great room off the reception area was furnished with leather couches and chairs and stocked with games, CDs, books and wine or sodas for an afternoon repast. After a much deserved nap, we found ourselves back there to sample the wine and peruse the menus from local establishments as we contemplated dinner.
Several places were either too far or required reservations, Carolyn didn't want Mexican, so we ended up back at Woody's for our second meal of the day. Carolyn went with a seafood dish while I had a filet mignon stroganoff preceded by the salad bar. Neither of us could finish all that was served, but it all was good.
Sunday we awoke to a sunny, white cloud enhanced day. The sky was just brilliant. Breakfast served by the Inn's hostess was a creme brulee type french toast which was entirely decadent and may find its way into Carolyn's repartee! We then checked out and drove around the mountains a bit enjoying the snow and scenery.
Heading home in the early afternoon, I suggested we check out The Preserve at Chino, which is the master-planned community in former dairy lands the Lewis Operating Corp. is constructing. We visited the 15,000 sq. ft. Parkhouse which acts as both the information center and the community association center, then we walked three of the five models complexes currently building on the site. I think all of the nine models we walked were over 3,000 sq. ft. and at most were on 6,000 sq. ft. lots and were priced at $630,000 and up. There were some interesting designs or rooms, but I wasn't bowled over by any in particular, and I did find the pungent smell of nearby dairies a little overwhelming.
Home again around 4 p.m., we found out about an important church service to be held at 5 via e-mail (more on that later) so we hurried down to San Clemente and afterwards enjoyed In N Out for dinner before getting home to relax.
The village in Lake Arrowhead was relatively quiet much to my surprise, but perhaps because route 18 was closed or that the weather was a little cloudy/misty/rainy contributed to the lack of crowds. We checked out a few shops and then stopped in at Woody's for lunch - salad/soup bar for Carolyn and burger and fries for me. The booths are constructed as if from the old-style ChrisCraft wooden speed boats with table tops of inlaid wood and the restaurant has nice views of the lake.
After lunch we checked out a few of the outlet shops (Bass, Jockey) and picked up a few items before heading over to our B&B, Fleur de Lac, to check in. We had a very cozy room (thus the cheapest) with a double (or queen) bed tucked up against the wall and under a bit of a dormer. The great room off the reception area was furnished with leather couches and chairs and stocked with games, CDs, books and wine or sodas for an afternoon repast. After a much deserved nap, we found ourselves back there to sample the wine and peruse the menus from local establishments as we contemplated dinner.
Several places were either too far or required reservations, Carolyn didn't want Mexican, so we ended up back at Woody's for our second meal of the day. Carolyn went with a seafood dish while I had a filet mignon stroganoff preceded by the salad bar. Neither of us could finish all that was served, but it all was good.
Sunday we awoke to a sunny, white cloud enhanced day. The sky was just brilliant. Breakfast served by the Inn's hostess was a creme brulee type french toast which was entirely decadent and may find its way into Carolyn's repartee! We then checked out and drove around the mountains a bit enjoying the snow and scenery.
Heading home in the early afternoon, I suggested we check out The Preserve at Chino, which is the master-planned community in former dairy lands the Lewis Operating Corp. is constructing. We visited the 15,000 sq. ft. Parkhouse which acts as both the information center and the community association center, then we walked three of the five models complexes currently building on the site. I think all of the nine models we walked were over 3,000 sq. ft. and at most were on 6,000 sq. ft. lots and were priced at $630,000 and up. There were some interesting designs or rooms, but I wasn't bowled over by any in particular, and I did find the pungent smell of nearby dairies a little overwhelming.
Home again around 4 p.m., we found out about an important church service to be held at 5 via e-mail (more on that later) so we hurried down to San Clemente and afterwards enjoyed In N Out for dinner before getting home to relax.
What Should We Name Her?
So Carolyn already let the cat out of the bag, but it is now official that we are half owners of a Cal-27!! We met Dennis Hughes and his son, Steven, at the Sea Scouts base in Newport harbor to meet Terry who handles the sales of donated boats for the Scouts. We checked the boat out as much as we could and it is the cleanest of any we've seen although it definitely needs a good power washing and buffing (maybe some paint) and some typical work on the wood which needs sanding and varnish. We may decide to paint on some sort of accent stripe as it seems rather vanilla looking but it does have a black and gold stripe at the waterline. It has a self-furling jib, an engine that works (we think), and even an automatic pilot attachment. After Carolyn I left for a short weekend in Lake Arrowhead, Dennis was able to get a diver who was working on a nearby boat to check out the hull and everything looks good!
Now we have to think of a proper name for her. Suggestions are welcome. Here are a few we've thought of so far:
Saline Solution
Go Sea Cal
Salt & Light
Now we have to think of a proper name for her. Suggestions are welcome. Here are a few we've thought of so far:
Saline Solution
Go Sea Cal
Salt & Light
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Is there a sailboat in our future?
We may have a line on a Cal-27 sailboat at a reasonable price from the Sea Scouts in Newport Beach. A woman in Poland (!!) bought it back in October with the plan to have it shipped to Poland. I can't imagine what those shipping costs would have been, but it seems she hasn't made any progress in arranging shipping. So the Scouts may return the purchase price to her and re-sell it and Dennis was in the right place at the right time. He has seen the boat and says it is pretty clean with an inboard engine and a furling jib. I'll try to see it with Dennis either Friday late afternoon or early Saturday morning before Carolyn and I head up to Lake Arrowhead for a short weekend away from our still drying out downstairs.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Scared into Heaven?
Last night, Carolyn and I attended a presentation at our old church at the invitation of friends which was titled "Heaven's Gate or Hell's Flames" which used vignettes and video against a backdrop which tried to represent the entry to heaven or (stage right) the gates of hell.
The vignettes showed various life-situations where people might either accept/reject/put off a decision to follow Christ followed immediately by their death (car accident, suicide, murder, etc.) where they find themselves before Heaven's Gate pleading to the angels to find their name in the Book of Life only to be grabbed by the devil and his demons if they hadn't accepted Christ. Those who had accepted Him were welcomed into heaven with fanfare and rejoicing.
Really, this was a revival meeting updated to include strobe lights, video and loud music. But the Gospel was preached and obviously was impactful in that dozens went forward at the altar call to proclaim publicly their acceptance of Christ. They were then given either prayer support and/or a packet of material for their review later and they were invited to a Bible teaching church.
As the pastor said, many would find this approach dated, but the outreach over 3 days brought dozens to the altar rail. So my question is what do you think about this evangelical approach? Can you scare someone into a relationship with Christ? Or is fear of hell a legitimate heart response that can convict us of our sins and prompt us to bow in obedience?
The vignettes showed various life-situations where people might either accept/reject/put off a decision to follow Christ followed immediately by their death (car accident, suicide, murder, etc.) where they find themselves before Heaven's Gate pleading to the angels to find their name in the Book of Life only to be grabbed by the devil and his demons if they hadn't accepted Christ. Those who had accepted Him were welcomed into heaven with fanfare and rejoicing.
Really, this was a revival meeting updated to include strobe lights, video and loud music. But the Gospel was preached and obviously was impactful in that dozens went forward at the altar call to proclaim publicly their acceptance of Christ. They were then given either prayer support and/or a packet of material for their review later and they were invited to a Bible teaching church.
As the pastor said, many would find this approach dated, but the outreach over 3 days brought dozens to the altar rail. So my question is what do you think about this evangelical approach? Can you scare someone into a relationship with Christ? Or is fear of hell a legitimate heart response that can convict us of our sins and prompt us to bow in obedience?
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Da Brain, Da Brain
If you link to the links of the links of the blogs you read, sometimes you find a fun little quiz. Thankfully, my brain matches my gender.
Your Brain is 40.00% Female, 60.00% Male |
You have a total boy brain Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts And while your emotions do sway you sometimes... You never like to get feelings too involved |
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Morning with the Hygienist
Isn't it interesting that we're always told by our dentist to never use sharp objects in our mouth and the first thing the hygienist does when one arrives (as I did this morning)is that she opens a new packet of extremely wicked looking instruments to poke, prod and scrape. Visions of the Marathon Man quickly pass through my conscience, but her hands are steady and after thirty minutes of "activity" I'm able to leave with teeth that require one to run your tongue over them for at least two or three days.
Thankfully, no problems were discovered as I'm very attached to the teeth that I still have - I can't believe you could really have 32 that fit in your mouth well.
Thankfully, no problems were discovered as I'm very attached to the teeth that I still have - I can't believe you could really have 32 that fit in your mouth well.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
American Teens and Religion
On MSNBC, a recent survey is quoted which details the current state of religious belief by American teens. Unfortunately, their understanding of core beliefs seems to be a bit shallow (perhaps like their parents). The view portrayed in the last two paragraphs is particularly concerning. I've copied a bit of the article below:
While America is becoming a more diverse nation, at least 80 percent of teens still identify as Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon or Jewish, with most teens adhering to their parents’ faith tradition, the report said.
Substantial majorities said they:
Were affiliated with a local congregation (82 percent).
Had few or no doubts about their beliefs in the past year (80 percent).
Felt “extremely,” “very” or “somewhat” close to God (71 percent).
Prayed alone a few times a week or more often (65 percent).
“Definitely” believed in divine miracles from God (61 percent).
Fifty-two percent said they attended worship two to three times a month or more often.
Many were so detached from the traditions of their faith, says the report, that they’re virtually following a different creed in which an undemanding God exists mostly to solve problems and make people feel good. Truth in any absolute, theological sense, takes a back seat.
“God is something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist” who’s on call as needed, Smith writes. He says the trend reflects tendencies among teens’ Baby Boomer parents. The report speculates that poor educational and youth programs, and competition for teens’ time from school, sports, friends and entertainment also are part of the picture."
While America is becoming a more diverse nation, at least 80 percent of teens still identify as Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon or Jewish, with most teens adhering to their parents’ faith tradition, the report said.
Substantial majorities said they:
Were affiliated with a local congregation (82 percent).
Had few or no doubts about their beliefs in the past year (80 percent).
Felt “extremely,” “very” or “somewhat” close to God (71 percent).
Prayed alone a few times a week or more often (65 percent).
“Definitely” believed in divine miracles from God (61 percent).
Fifty-two percent said they attended worship two to three times a month or more often.
Many were so detached from the traditions of their faith, says the report, that they’re virtually following a different creed in which an undemanding God exists mostly to solve problems and make people feel good. Truth in any absolute, theological sense, takes a back seat.
“God is something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist” who’s on call as needed, Smith writes. He says the trend reflects tendencies among teens’ Baby Boomer parents. The report speculates that poor educational and youth programs, and competition for teens’ time from school, sports, friends and entertainment also are part of the picture."
Monday, February 21, 2005
It's Worse than We Thought
After spending the weekend removing most of the remaining items from our back room and moving everything in the dining and garden rooms away from the outside walls, our kitchen contractor sent over a couple of guys to check out how bad our water intrusion problem was. Pretty bad!!
Carolyn was up early to welcome them and has been updating me throughout the morning before tiring of the stress and running away to Marcia's for a knitting get-together. But this is what I know: the carpet was extremely heavy with water in the back room and they could barely get it out; the were sweeping water out of the back room through the rear entrance; they were ripping out drywall a few feet high to allow it to dry out; termites have taken up residence in our back wall; water is coming through the slab and back entry door; the stained glass windows are apparently in really bad shape with wood rot; and the construction in the back room is probably not up to current code (big surprise).
The couches that Ashley and Bryce used in Pasadena may go the way of all donations to Goodwill or the Salvation Army as they may some damage themselves (we'll have to help acquire a newer sofa when they finally move back) and we're trying to go through our stuff to see what we can rid ourselves of.
That is our joy for the beginning of the week, but we are extremely glad that we still have a home (we love the upstairs)and that it hasn't slid down a mountainside as a few have during our current heavy rains nor have either of us been hurt.
Carolyn was up early to welcome them and has been updating me throughout the morning before tiring of the stress and running away to Marcia's for a knitting get-together. But this is what I know: the carpet was extremely heavy with water in the back room and they could barely get it out; the were sweeping water out of the back room through the rear entrance; they were ripping out drywall a few feet high to allow it to dry out; termites have taken up residence in our back wall; water is coming through the slab and back entry door; the stained glass windows are apparently in really bad shape with wood rot; and the construction in the back room is probably not up to current code (big surprise).
The couches that Ashley and Bryce used in Pasadena may go the way of all donations to Goodwill or the Salvation Army as they may some damage themselves (we'll have to help acquire a newer sofa when they finally move back) and we're trying to go through our stuff to see what we can rid ourselves of.
That is our joy for the beginning of the week, but we are extremely glad that we still have a home (we love the upstairs)and that it hasn't slid down a mountainside as a few have during our current heavy rains nor have either of us been hurt.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Rain, Rain, Go Away
My weekend began with the best of intentions including a self-imposed "honey-do" list, but first it was down to church for a financial seminar to learn a little about wills, living trusts, probate, etc. Basically, how the feds and state want to tax what little I might leave on my demise and how to beat them at their own game rendering unto Caesar only that which he is due.
Driving back, the freeway was heavily showered and my wipers were on high as to my left, the sun shined in infrequent spots. It was squall-like with burst of intense rain and/or wind followed by light mist. There were even several trees that had fallen onto Lake Forest Drive. I got back to have a sit down with our kitchen contractor about his last billing and as I waited I walked into the back room and as I took the last step from dining room to the back "storage" room, my foot went 'sploosh'. The carpet was wet and inside the back room, we have a soaked carpet. Much worse than what created havoc on Ashley and Bryce's stuff, but luckily there wasn't too much on the floor. So Carolyn and I spent the better part of the afternoon moving the rest of the stuff from the back room and moving everything over to the back wall in the dining room and garden room so our contractor can pull the carpets back, rip off sections of drywall in the back room and facilitate the drying, mold-stopping process. For now, you'll find us upstairs ignoring the problem.
After our project, we headed to the movies for a late afternoon movie planning to see The Aviator in prep for the annual Oscar party the Priors hold, but it was sold out, so we saw Sideways, another Best Picture nominee. Rather quirky, a fair amount of the 'f' word, a lot on wines, and sex scenes that were far from romantic! Not my choice for Best Pic! The only thing it did inspire us to do was to open one of our better wines when we returned home, light some candles and the fireplace, and listen to some classical music.
Hope you're all staying drier than our house is.
A picture from the end of our flooded street when the storm drain couldn't handle all the water.
Driving back, the freeway was heavily showered and my wipers were on high as to my left, the sun shined in infrequent spots. It was squall-like with burst of intense rain and/or wind followed by light mist. There were even several trees that had fallen onto Lake Forest Drive. I got back to have a sit down with our kitchen contractor about his last billing and as I waited I walked into the back room and as I took the last step from dining room to the back "storage" room, my foot went 'sploosh'. The carpet was wet and inside the back room, we have a soaked carpet. Much worse than what created havoc on Ashley and Bryce's stuff, but luckily there wasn't too much on the floor. So Carolyn and I spent the better part of the afternoon moving the rest of the stuff from the back room and moving everything over to the back wall in the dining room and garden room so our contractor can pull the carpets back, rip off sections of drywall in the back room and facilitate the drying, mold-stopping process. For now, you'll find us upstairs ignoring the problem.
After our project, we headed to the movies for a late afternoon movie planning to see The Aviator in prep for the annual Oscar party the Priors hold, but it was sold out, so we saw Sideways, another Best Picture nominee. Rather quirky, a fair amount of the 'f' word, a lot on wines, and sex scenes that were far from romantic! Not my choice for Best Pic! The only thing it did inspire us to do was to open one of our better wines when we returned home, light some candles and the fireplace, and listen to some classical music.
Hope you're all staying drier than our house is.
A picture from the end of our flooded street when the storm drain couldn't handle all the water.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Rainy Friday
Like a few of my blogger associates, I haven't really felt the excitement of posting recently. Perhaps it is caused by the routine of my day-to-day working life or the fact that it is raining again in So. Cal which makes the commute a bit more exciting/entertaining/dangerous/lengthy.
We finally got back to church this last Sunday and heard the first sermon in a series on speaking the true gospel along with the admonition to not rely on anyone (including our pastor) to provide God's truth without knowing it in fact yourself. Then on Wednesday we met with our application group and last night with our Bible study - prayer warriors all. Carolyn can use them as she is experiencing pain related to possible kidney stones and we are waiting for permission from Blue Shield to get a CAT scan.
After being totally lazy the last few weeks, we have great plans to create order out of chaos at home this weekend by completing the attack on the back "sauna" room and organizing books/clothes/bills etc. wherever they may be stashed. Sounds like fun, huh! But then, of course, on Monday, it's VALENTINE's DAY and you know what that means - DINNER OUT and maybe a little somethin' else.
May all you lovers out there have a great weekend and Monday. Do they do Valentine's Day in the UK?
We finally got back to church this last Sunday and heard the first sermon in a series on speaking the true gospel along with the admonition to not rely on anyone (including our pastor) to provide God's truth without knowing it in fact yourself. Then on Wednesday we met with our application group and last night with our Bible study - prayer warriors all. Carolyn can use them as she is experiencing pain related to possible kidney stones and we are waiting for permission from Blue Shield to get a CAT scan.
After being totally lazy the last few weeks, we have great plans to create order out of chaos at home this weekend by completing the attack on the back "sauna" room and organizing books/clothes/bills etc. wherever they may be stashed. Sounds like fun, huh! But then, of course, on Monday, it's VALENTINE's DAY and you know what that means - DINNER OUT and maybe a little somethin' else.
May all you lovers out there have a great weekend and Monday. Do they do Valentine's Day in the UK?
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Kitchen Kudos
Carolyn just got word that our kitchen won a regional award for design by Dacor, the maker of several of our appliances! Kathleen, our kitchen designer, called to let us know that the duo of Kathleen/Carolyn had finally been recognized. We're not sure what this all means, however, Dacor may have a professional photographer in to take shots. And, perhaps, there is another level of competition.
In any event, we are really pleased with how it turned out and my kudos to Carolyn who spent so much time in picking all the right components and was instrumental in the new design!!
In any event, we are really pleased with how it turned out and my kudos to Carolyn who spent so much time in picking all the right components and was instrumental in the new design!!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Weekend at the Oasis
After rain off and on throughout the week, Saturday dawned bright and clear and Carolyn and I slept in and then packed the few essentials for our quick trip out to ClubIntrawest in Palm Desert.
Taking the toll road over to the 91 freeway and then the 60 to the 10, it only took us an hour and 45 minutes for the trip. We stopped for lunch just before getting to the club and then went to check in. We had a one bedroom condo on the second floor with a view of the pool and the golf course. The rooms are painted in bright colors, has tiled floors and even has an extra outside shower which we didn't use this time as it was a little too cool in the morning. The afternoon temps were around 70 and we made it down to the pool and spa for a while to read and relax.
Saturday evening we went down to the The River, a Spectrum-like (though smaller) enclave with shops, theaters and restaurants. After checking out Borders and finding that Sideways didn't start until after 10, we dined at a restaurant that fronted the "river" - a water feature separating the restaurants from the main street. After a nice meal and a glass of wine, we decided we didn't want to wait so long to see the movie so back to the condo we went.
Sunday morning we slept in again and checked out around 11, but before we left the premises, we checked with the members experience person, Karen, about changing our time planned in Zihautanejo from 12 days to 7 to avoid the overlap with a wedding and the end of Community Bible Study. Then, we began talking about other vacation alternatives and we ended up buying some additional club points which will allow us to have a two-bedroom on occasion. So over lunch at the golf clubhouse down the road, we began talking about how we might see Ashley and Bryce later in the year. Should it be in Scotland, or perhaps in western Europe, like in Holland, France, Spain or Italy? We're thinking of late summer or early fall.
On the way home, we encountered at least two accidents which slowed traffic significantly, and we even stopped at Casino Morongo to check out their new facilities. They allow smoking in the casino and it was crowded and over-priced - not likely to draw us back again! Arriving at home, Gracie was most happy to see us again after our short time away.
Taking the toll road over to the 91 freeway and then the 60 to the 10, it only took us an hour and 45 minutes for the trip. We stopped for lunch just before getting to the club and then went to check in. We had a one bedroom condo on the second floor with a view of the pool and the golf course. The rooms are painted in bright colors, has tiled floors and even has an extra outside shower which we didn't use this time as it was a little too cool in the morning. The afternoon temps were around 70 and we made it down to the pool and spa for a while to read and relax.
Saturday evening we went down to the The River, a Spectrum-like (though smaller) enclave with shops, theaters and restaurants. After checking out Borders and finding that Sideways didn't start until after 10, we dined at a restaurant that fronted the "river" - a water feature separating the restaurants from the main street. After a nice meal and a glass of wine, we decided we didn't want to wait so long to see the movie so back to the condo we went.
Sunday morning we slept in again and checked out around 11, but before we left the premises, we checked with the members experience person, Karen, about changing our time planned in Zihautanejo from 12 days to 7 to avoid the overlap with a wedding and the end of Community Bible Study. Then, we began talking about other vacation alternatives and we ended up buying some additional club points which will allow us to have a two-bedroom on occasion. So over lunch at the golf clubhouse down the road, we began talking about how we might see Ashley and Bryce later in the year. Should it be in Scotland, or perhaps in western Europe, like in Holland, France, Spain or Italy? We're thinking of late summer or early fall.
On the way home, we encountered at least two accidents which slowed traffic significantly, and we even stopped at Casino Morongo to check out their new facilities. They allow smoking in the casino and it was crowded and over-priced - not likely to draw us back again! Arriving at home, Gracie was most happy to see us again after our short time away.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Left on a Jet Plane
Well, Ashley and Bryce have flown the coop on Wednesday back to Edinburgh and a return to their post-grad studies. We are feeling a little lonely after having the pleasure of their company for a month. Carolyn, especially, was feeling a little melancholy yesterday, but we were glad to receive a quick e-mail this a.m. that they had arrived in Scotland in a timely manner and their luggage had made the same trip! I think they were then settling into a time zone adjusting nap.
On Tuesday night, the Hales, Wanda, B&A and us, had a fine farewell dinner at Flemings in Newport Beach where we enjoyed great steak filets, cocktails, salads, side dishes of vegetables and/or various potatoes and a good Cabernet. It was a great time of over indulgence and conversation.
Just so we don't get into our routine too quickly, this weekend we're going out to Palm Desert to spend Saturday night at Club Intrawest (our timeshare)to just enjoy some time alone and away from chores and obligations.
I'll try to be more disciplined in my/our posts than I've been during the holidays and the 'kids' visit.
On Tuesday night, the Hales, Wanda, B&A and us, had a fine farewell dinner at Flemings in Newport Beach where we enjoyed great steak filets, cocktails, salads, side dishes of vegetables and/or various potatoes and a good Cabernet. It was a great time of over indulgence and conversation.
Just so we don't get into our routine too quickly, this weekend we're going out to Palm Desert to spend Saturday night at Club Intrawest (our timeshare)to just enjoy some time alone and away from chores and obligations.
I'll try to be more disciplined in my/our posts than I've been during the holidays and the 'kids' visit.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Wow!
As I left home this morning, the skies were brilliantly clear with views of the San Gabriels in their snow-capped glory clearly evident about 50 miles away! Now, I work in Upland at the foot of those mountains and some days you couldn't see them at two or three miles because of the haze or smog. The Santa Ana winds have cleared the skies and warmed the air so that we are in the low 80s.
Of course, in addition to the great weather, my Monday evening was nearly as spectacular as Bryce joined me and six others to play our monthly game of Texas Hold 'Em. I spotted Bryce the buy-in and he was up almost immediately after taking a few of the first hands. I was up most of the evening and had made my buy-in back about an hour into the game, but my best hands were in the last hour including the flop which contained 3 twos and while others were making full boats with the flop, I held the fourth two and the betting was heavy and no one wanted to fold. I was very happy with the result! For the evening, I walked away with $70 and Bryce collected $40.
This last weekend was focused on finishing moving all Ashley and Bryce's gear out of the back room which is wet from the rains. Numerous trips to Home Depot for plastic containers and lifting and stacking a 7x7 area in the garage occupied most of Saturday before we all called it a day and headed off to see Finding Neverland followed by a late dinner. Johnny Depp did another fine job of acting and we enjoyed the film. Sunday morning I had so much work to do to help Carolyn get ready for the baby shower for Katie Varela that we didn't make it to church. But we plan to make it to our Application group tomorrow.
Hope you had a good weekend.
Of course, in addition to the great weather, my Monday evening was nearly as spectacular as Bryce joined me and six others to play our monthly game of Texas Hold 'Em. I spotted Bryce the buy-in and he was up almost immediately after taking a few of the first hands. I was up most of the evening and had made my buy-in back about an hour into the game, but my best hands were in the last hour including the flop which contained 3 twos and while others were making full boats with the flop, I held the fourth two and the betting was heavy and no one wanted to fold. I was very happy with the result! For the evening, I walked away with $70 and Bryce collected $40.
This last weekend was focused on finishing moving all Ashley and Bryce's gear out of the back room which is wet from the rains. Numerous trips to Home Depot for plastic containers and lifting and stacking a 7x7 area in the garage occupied most of Saturday before we all called it a day and headed off to see Finding Neverland followed by a late dinner. Johnny Depp did another fine job of acting and we enjoyed the film. Sunday morning I had so much work to do to help Carolyn get ready for the baby shower for Katie Varela that we didn't make it to church. But we plan to make it to our Application group tomorrow.
Hope you had a good weekend.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Blue Skies
The past fortnight all was wet and grey
How happy to finally see blue sky today
White clouds around mountains still float
At least now, we can put away the boat
Again we welcome the sun, at last
Perhaps, we hope, the worst has passed
How happy to finally see blue sky today
White clouds around mountains still float
At least now, we can put away the boat
Again we welcome the sun, at last
Perhaps, we hope, the worst has passed
Monday, January 10, 2005
Get Out the Waders!
It seems that it has been raining without stopping for weeks although there have been slight breaks. But when it's wet inside, that's not good!
We discovered a few days ago that our back room's carpet was wet (its happened before but we thought that had been solved with our new landscaping area drains) and, of course, that is the room where all Bryce and Ashley's belongings are stored. We've made a beginning effort to move out some of the wettest boxes and soak up the excess water by de-humidifier or shop-vac with limited success. Bryce is currently concentrated on his impending licensure exam tomorrow and playing moving man or storm water remover is not high on his priority. So likely on Wednesday, we will hit the salvage effort in force.
The only saving grace in this whole disaster is that it got Bryce and me talking about how we could convert the room into a men's poker/game room with linoleum tile (easy to soak up any water), a British dart board, an elevated TV for sporting events, and a bar! I didn't know he had such a design interest.
This weekend we hit two church services, going to PCC on Saturday night so Bryce and Ashley could experience our worship service and then Sunday to a PCA church in Newport which is held in a Jewish synagogue. The senior Hales joined us there and then we enjoyed pizza back at their home in Three Arch and wished Blake a safe trip back to college.
Ashley hosted a number of her friends from elementary and junior high on Sunday evening for wine and appetizers (Natalie, Nicole, Sara, Melissa, Lori). While the estrogen levels where high, Bryce and I headed to the Spectrum for beer and munchies with Jon Varela at Champs (the Yard House was closed because of a power failure), and then Bryce and I went to see Ocean's Twelve. In the open-aired Spectrum, I laughed out loud at the signs which abounded that declared "Caution - Wet Surface" as the rain poured down!
When we got back home, four of the young ladies were still there, and we listened as they reviewed the various crushes they had on their seventh grade male counterparts or how a few of the chubby, short ones actually turned out 'hot'. It was actually quite funny to hear how well-behaved, Christian kids in Orange County viewed the 'difficulties' in their lives.
We discovered a few days ago that our back room's carpet was wet (its happened before but we thought that had been solved with our new landscaping area drains) and, of course, that is the room where all Bryce and Ashley's belongings are stored. We've made a beginning effort to move out some of the wettest boxes and soak up the excess water by de-humidifier or shop-vac with limited success. Bryce is currently concentrated on his impending licensure exam tomorrow and playing moving man or storm water remover is not high on his priority. So likely on Wednesday, we will hit the salvage effort in force.
The only saving grace in this whole disaster is that it got Bryce and me talking about how we could convert the room into a men's poker/game room with linoleum tile (easy to soak up any water), a British dart board, an elevated TV for sporting events, and a bar! I didn't know he had such a design interest.
This weekend we hit two church services, going to PCC on Saturday night so Bryce and Ashley could experience our worship service and then Sunday to a PCA church in Newport which is held in a Jewish synagogue. The senior Hales joined us there and then we enjoyed pizza back at their home in Three Arch and wished Blake a safe trip back to college.
Ashley hosted a number of her friends from elementary and junior high on Sunday evening for wine and appetizers (Natalie, Nicole, Sara, Melissa, Lori). While the estrogen levels where high, Bryce and I headed to the Spectrum for beer and munchies with Jon Varela at Champs (the Yard House was closed because of a power failure), and then Bryce and I went to see Ocean's Twelve. In the open-aired Spectrum, I laughed out loud at the signs which abounded that declared "Caution - Wet Surface" as the rain poured down!
When we got back home, four of the young ladies were still there, and we listened as they reviewed the various crushes they had on their seventh grade male counterparts or how a few of the chubby, short ones actually turned out 'hot'. It was actually quite funny to hear how well-behaved, Christian kids in Orange County viewed the 'difficulties' in their lives.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Pastor Bryce
Sunday the 2nd found Carolyn, Wanda and me driving up the 57 freeway about 30 minutes behind Bryce and Ashley to Christ Church in Pasadena to hear and support Bryce as he preached in their old church. Sally and John, Bryce's parents, drove up from a short holiday in the Palm Springs area and we spoke once or twice by cell phone on corrected directions to the church. Lisa joined us from Montrose.
We all were warmly welcomed by the pastor, Mark, and others in the church we had visited a few times before when Bryce and Ashley lived in Pasadena. Held in a community center at the base of the mountains, the view from the meeting area was of a fairly full detention basin - full of the rain waters that we've been getting fairly frequently in the last two weeks (New Year's day and the Rose Parade having been sandwiched between two storms).
After praise songs, responsive readings, and a welcome from Mark along with an explanation of who Bryce and Ashley were for those who were new to the church, Bryce led us in prayer before beginning his exegesis of Psalm 139.
Bryce went through David's song thoroughly and made clear our total depravity in the presence of an awesome, omniscient, omnipresent, and totally holy God. David used concepts and words that tried to explain how far from God we actually are and how we can neither hide physically or spiritually from God. So our only hope is to appropriate Christ's perfection through our dependence and faith in him.
For a complete sermon, you'll have to request that Bryce post it on his blog, but we all were proud of how well he taught from God's word and the call to those who had not yet accepted Christ which was integral to his message. He spoke with authority and at ease which is good because he wants to do this the rest of his life!
We all were warmly welcomed by the pastor, Mark, and others in the church we had visited a few times before when Bryce and Ashley lived in Pasadena. Held in a community center at the base of the mountains, the view from the meeting area was of a fairly full detention basin - full of the rain waters that we've been getting fairly frequently in the last two weeks (New Year's day and the Rose Parade having been sandwiched between two storms).
After praise songs, responsive readings, and a welcome from Mark along with an explanation of who Bryce and Ashley were for those who were new to the church, Bryce led us in prayer before beginning his exegesis of Psalm 139.
Bryce went through David's song thoroughly and made clear our total depravity in the presence of an awesome, omniscient, omnipresent, and totally holy God. David used concepts and words that tried to explain how far from God we actually are and how we can neither hide physically or spiritually from God. So our only hope is to appropriate Christ's perfection through our dependence and faith in him.
For a complete sermon, you'll have to request that Bryce post it on his blog, but we all were proud of how well he taught from God's word and the call to those who had not yet accepted Christ which was integral to his message. He spoke with authority and at ease which is good because he wants to do this the rest of his life!
Saturday, January 01, 2005
New Years Day
Welcome to a new year!! Time seems to fly faster and faster and now I must remember to write 2005, 2005, 2005 - repetition helps!
The 31st was spent without work - at Lewis anyway - with a a little longer sleep and lazying about in the morning before attempting to make "some" order out of the chaos that was my garage. The cleanliness that existed before the remodel was totally absent and both OSHA and our insurance carrier were about to forbid any human activity in there without my Friday effort. I spent about four hours trying to find the floor, my workbench, and to eliminate at least some extraneous 'stuff'. But after that amount time and the lack of any further trash can room, I put the rest aside for another day or week or new years!
Paul and Marcia came over with their grandson on New Years eve and we enjoined good conversation, a white chili dinner with cornbread, and games until the new year was rung in. We played Cranium at first but Paul and I weren't particularly clicking on all cylinders as the girls took a lead and even though we nipped at their heels a few times, they won. All I can say is I hate Humdingers! We followed that with Catch Phrase and here Paul and I did better winning 2 of 3 and 3 of 5 with our excellent deft exchanges as the timer was finishing its last few beep-beeps. A safe and sane celebration of the new year.
Today, I awoke at 7:55 just late enough to wake Carolyn for our annual watching of the Rose Parade in pajamas. In typical Southern California fashion, the rain storms of the last few days had stopped and the parade route was clear, bright and backdropped by the snow capped San Gabriel mountains. I expect a few more thousand mid-Westerners are packing up to move as I finish this entry.
After watching a little of the morning football games, Bryce joined me on trip up to Home Depot (a good diversion from writing one's sermon) to purchase a few items and observe me completing the special order of a new pair of bi-fold closer doors for the guest room. Our associate was friendly and helpful, even if he was not particularly adept at entering info in the computer. Then a quick stop to pick up lunch at Baja Fresh and home to watch the Rose Bowl with Texas and Michigan. Right now, Texas has just scored with 4:56 left and leads 35 to 34 and the Texas quarterback, Vince Young, has run in for three TDs! A really good game.
Tonight, if Carolyn is feeling OK after her headache, we're going to stop in at an open house to welcome in the new year. On Sunday, we'll be heading up to Pasadena to attend Christ Church as Bryce preaches and then rush back to OC for a birthday bash that afternoon including a jazz pianist.
Michigan just made a field goal to go ahead 37 to 35!
Have a Happy New Year you all and feel free to leave your comments.
UPDATE: Texas wins on a field goal with no time remaining 38 to 37!!
The 31st was spent without work - at Lewis anyway - with a a little longer sleep and lazying about in the morning before attempting to make "some" order out of the chaos that was my garage. The cleanliness that existed before the remodel was totally absent and both OSHA and our insurance carrier were about to forbid any human activity in there without my Friday effort. I spent about four hours trying to find the floor, my workbench, and to eliminate at least some extraneous 'stuff'. But after that amount time and the lack of any further trash can room, I put the rest aside for another day or week or new years!
Paul and Marcia came over with their grandson on New Years eve and we enjoined good conversation, a white chili dinner with cornbread, and games until the new year was rung in. We played Cranium at first but Paul and I weren't particularly clicking on all cylinders as the girls took a lead and even though we nipped at their heels a few times, they won. All I can say is I hate Humdingers! We followed that with Catch Phrase and here Paul and I did better winning 2 of 3 and 3 of 5 with our excellent deft exchanges as the timer was finishing its last few beep-beeps. A safe and sane celebration of the new year.
Today, I awoke at 7:55 just late enough to wake Carolyn for our annual watching of the Rose Parade in pajamas. In typical Southern California fashion, the rain storms of the last few days had stopped and the parade route was clear, bright and backdropped by the snow capped San Gabriel mountains. I expect a few more thousand mid-Westerners are packing up to move as I finish this entry.
After watching a little of the morning football games, Bryce joined me on trip up to Home Depot (a good diversion from writing one's sermon) to purchase a few items and observe me completing the special order of a new pair of bi-fold closer doors for the guest room. Our associate was friendly and helpful, even if he was not particularly adept at entering info in the computer. Then a quick stop to pick up lunch at Baja Fresh and home to watch the Rose Bowl with Texas and Michigan. Right now, Texas has just scored with 4:56 left and leads 35 to 34 and the Texas quarterback, Vince Young, has run in for three TDs! A really good game.
Tonight, if Carolyn is feeling OK after her headache, we're going to stop in at an open house to welcome in the new year. On Sunday, we'll be heading up to Pasadena to attend Christ Church as Bryce preaches and then rush back to OC for a birthday bash that afternoon including a jazz pianist.
Michigan just made a field goal to go ahead 37 to 35!
Have a Happy New Year you all and feel free to leave your comments.
UPDATE: Texas wins on a field goal with no time remaining 38 to 37!!
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Christmas times 3
Well, we've just finished up with an extended Christmas celebration here at home. It started with a holiday from the office beginning on Thursday the 23rd and ended yesterday, Monday the 27th.
On Christmas eve, Lisa and Katie (Carolyn's sister and our niece) joined Carolyn, Wanda and me for an afternoon that started with a church service that found us in the overflow tent, followed by gift exchanges, talking and dinner served on Spode Christmas plates of prime beef, roasted potatoes, vegies, wine and dessert. I got a Seinfeld DVD from the first two seasons and Lisa and Katie got homemade knitted scarves from Carolyn. Lisa and Katie left in the evening while Wanda stayed over to share Christmas morning with us.
Christmas day was Southern California winter warm at around 70 and with no small children to start the process, we all slept in a little longer than our norm. But I had to have a shower and shave before starting with our stockings as I didn't want to scare Wanda with my "bed head". We found stockings stuffed with unique magazines, decadent chocolates, and small gifts like a new pocket knife for Carolyn. After fueling with coffee and homemade scones, we dug into the big stuff. I was gifted with several new shirts and slacks along with a new 70-210 telephoto for my old Olympus 1 and topsiders from Wanda for my future boat (the sailboat that my friend and I are talking about acquiring in the 25 to 27' range). Carolyn scored a pearl ring (she had found it on her shopping trip to the jewelry mart area of LA), several CDs, and a promise of a new drafting board and chair that are on their way from the mid-west for her art work. I enjoyed watching some of the Lakers-Heat game along with a little football as well. Then I drove Wanda home.
Sunday, we made it to church and this time were early enough to sit in the main sanctuary where we heard a good sermon on putting the past behind you - what benefit is there in worrying about the past? The admonition from Paul was to press on, to try to be more Christ-like. Good reminders for the upcoming new year! We then went home to ready our house for the return of Ashley and Bryce! We did manage a nap however.
John and Sally Hales stopped by in their Suburban on Sunday around 6 p.m. and the four of us headed up to John Wayne to pick up Ash and Bryce. They arrived timely at 7 and it was good to get/give hugs from/to them after nearly a year (for me, at least). After getting their bags, we drove directly to In N Out to satisfy Bryce's cravings, and he certainly seemed to enjoy it. Then back to our home where the elder Hales left us. Bryce managed to stay up to 9:30 or so before he collapsed in his own king-sized bed with a sigh of pleasure heard down the hall. Ashley managed to talk to us for another half hour before heading to bed herself. It is good to have them back for a little while.
Monday morning was Christmas No. 3 and we enjoyed gifting Ashley and Bryce. Their stockings were filled with socks, candy, magazines and gift certificates for In N Out, Chipotle and Starbucks so they can go out together or with friends. Then we gave them a couple of their gifts before the Hales family returned that afternoon. Bryce got a U2 Ipod (definitely a hit) and they finally got a DVD from their wedding. In the early afternoon, the Hales including Blake, Margaret (Bryce's grandmother), Lisa, and Wanda returned for more gifts exchanges and dinner. Ashley ended up with lots of new clothes, Bryce received the Ipod and some clothes, Carolyn had made scarves for everyone, the Hales had given Ash and Bryce the gift of the plane tickets home, and various other chocolates, bottles of wine, etc. were exchanged. Before and after, everyone huddled in our new kitchen eating appetizers and drinking champagne which was followed by dinner of pork loin, twice baked potatoes, green beans, cranberry molded salad and rolls along with a nice cab/merlot.
We finished up the evening with a Hales tradition of bingo played for white elephant type gifts that Sally and Carolyn had provided. We had a hilarious time as various participants had trouble reading the numbers off the balls or mis-hearing the numbers called. Meanwhile, I continued my poker luck by winning four or five or six times even after being handed cards by others who complained that their cards never won. For my success, I ended up with two rather tacky picture frames and a box of chocolates!
Everyone then left and Ashley and Bryce headed up to bed still trying to overcome the jet lag of their 18 hour journey home. Carolyn and I finished cleaning up and then hit the spa for a few minutes to sooth my aching back before heading off to bed ourselves. We had a great five day holiday break and look forward to more evenings and days with Ashley and Bryce in between their getting together with all their California friends and family!
On Christmas eve, Lisa and Katie (Carolyn's sister and our niece) joined Carolyn, Wanda and me for an afternoon that started with a church service that found us in the overflow tent, followed by gift exchanges, talking and dinner served on Spode Christmas plates of prime beef, roasted potatoes, vegies, wine and dessert. I got a Seinfeld DVD from the first two seasons and Lisa and Katie got homemade knitted scarves from Carolyn. Lisa and Katie left in the evening while Wanda stayed over to share Christmas morning with us.
Christmas day was Southern California winter warm at around 70 and with no small children to start the process, we all slept in a little longer than our norm. But I had to have a shower and shave before starting with our stockings as I didn't want to scare Wanda with my "bed head". We found stockings stuffed with unique magazines, decadent chocolates, and small gifts like a new pocket knife for Carolyn. After fueling with coffee and homemade scones, we dug into the big stuff. I was gifted with several new shirts and slacks along with a new 70-210 telephoto for my old Olympus 1 and topsiders from Wanda for my future boat (the sailboat that my friend and I are talking about acquiring in the 25 to 27' range). Carolyn scored a pearl ring (she had found it on her shopping trip to the jewelry mart area of LA), several CDs, and a promise of a new drafting board and chair that are on their way from the mid-west for her art work. I enjoyed watching some of the Lakers-Heat game along with a little football as well. Then I drove Wanda home.
Sunday, we made it to church and this time were early enough to sit in the main sanctuary where we heard a good sermon on putting the past behind you - what benefit is there in worrying about the past? The admonition from Paul was to press on, to try to be more Christ-like. Good reminders for the upcoming new year! We then went home to ready our house for the return of Ashley and Bryce! We did manage a nap however.
John and Sally Hales stopped by in their Suburban on Sunday around 6 p.m. and the four of us headed up to John Wayne to pick up Ash and Bryce. They arrived timely at 7 and it was good to get/give hugs from/to them after nearly a year (for me, at least). After getting their bags, we drove directly to In N Out to satisfy Bryce's cravings, and he certainly seemed to enjoy it. Then back to our home where the elder Hales left us. Bryce managed to stay up to 9:30 or so before he collapsed in his own king-sized bed with a sigh of pleasure heard down the hall. Ashley managed to talk to us for another half hour before heading to bed herself. It is good to have them back for a little while.
Monday morning was Christmas No. 3 and we enjoyed gifting Ashley and Bryce. Their stockings were filled with socks, candy, magazines and gift certificates for In N Out, Chipotle and Starbucks so they can go out together or with friends. Then we gave them a couple of their gifts before the Hales family returned that afternoon. Bryce got a U2 Ipod (definitely a hit) and they finally got a DVD from their wedding. In the early afternoon, the Hales including Blake, Margaret (Bryce's grandmother), Lisa, and Wanda returned for more gifts exchanges and dinner. Ashley ended up with lots of new clothes, Bryce received the Ipod and some clothes, Carolyn had made scarves for everyone, the Hales had given Ash and Bryce the gift of the plane tickets home, and various other chocolates, bottles of wine, etc. were exchanged. Before and after, everyone huddled in our new kitchen eating appetizers and drinking champagne which was followed by dinner of pork loin, twice baked potatoes, green beans, cranberry molded salad and rolls along with a nice cab/merlot.
We finished up the evening with a Hales tradition of bingo played for white elephant type gifts that Sally and Carolyn had provided. We had a hilarious time as various participants had trouble reading the numbers off the balls or mis-hearing the numbers called. Meanwhile, I continued my poker luck by winning four or five or six times even after being handed cards by others who complained that their cards never won. For my success, I ended up with two rather tacky picture frames and a box of chocolates!
Everyone then left and Ashley and Bryce headed up to bed still trying to overcome the jet lag of their 18 hour journey home. Carolyn and I finished cleaning up and then hit the spa for a few minutes to sooth my aching back before heading off to bed ourselves. We had a great five day holiday break and look forward to more evenings and days with Ashley and Bryce in between their getting together with all their California friends and family!
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Good Night at the Table
Our poker group met again last night for an evening of Texas Hold 'Em amidst bluffing, 'praying', eating and 'attaboys' after a particularly well played hand.
We started off with six players and added a seventh about two hours into our game. I was lucky and in the first hour and half or so I had about doubled my initial $20 buy-in and the losers in the group had bought some of my chips so for the rest of the evening I had that $20 tucked away in my pocket and was playing with other peoples money. I hovered around $15 to $25 up for most of the rest of the evening fueled by hands like my A-2-3-4-5 straight that no one saw coming (the A-2 were my hole cards). Then around 10:30 just before our 11:00 cut-off, I started getting some really nice hands again and some of the others led the way in raising pots that I was lucky enough to take. I ended up with a profit of $50.25, by far my best night with the boys!
I'm beginning to enjoy this monthly outing!
We started off with six players and added a seventh about two hours into our game. I was lucky and in the first hour and half or so I had about doubled my initial $20 buy-in and the losers in the group had bought some of my chips so for the rest of the evening I had that $20 tucked away in my pocket and was playing with other peoples money. I hovered around $15 to $25 up for most of the rest of the evening fueled by hands like my A-2-3-4-5 straight that no one saw coming (the A-2 were my hole cards). Then around 10:30 just before our 11:00 cut-off, I started getting some really nice hands again and some of the others led the way in raising pots that I was lucky enough to take. I ended up with a profit of $50.25, by far my best night with the boys!
I'm beginning to enjoy this monthly outing!
Monday, December 20, 2004
Holiday Weekend
I thought we were done with Christmas parties/events, but this last weekend proved that false.
Friday, Carolyn and Wanda rode the train up to LA (a little late after their 9:45 a.m. train derailed before reaching Irvine) to meet with Lisa and Katie for an afternoon of window shopping and conversation before Katie's choir performance at Crescenta Valley High. I then left work at 5 p.m. and drove over to Montrose and met them at Lisa's condo before we all drove over for the performance. I was utterly amazed that a public high school sang and played so many Christian hymns! They had a full orchestra and three separate choirs on the stage singing various Christmas themed music. For the finale, alumni including Lisa and Carolyn, were invited on stage to sing the Hallelujah Chorus with the retired choir director. I think Carolyn, standing in front of the young men, sang every part! But they both had a great time.
Then we drove through the holiday lighted Montrose and stopped at a BBQ place for a late dinner of pulled pork or brisket sandwiches. Then, after dropping Lisa and Katie off and picking up Wanda's new artificial "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree, we drove home and Wanda slept over.
Saturday was spent sweeping up the leaves in the yard that continue to fall - alas, when will the horror finally end? It was a beautiful weekend with temps in the high 70s and it called out to those of you living in colder climes. Then we readied ourselves for a evening at the Orange County Pops Symphony with front row tickets made available from Lewis Company.
Again, songs filled the air proclaiming the incarnation of the Savior with only a short section devoted to Hannukah and, thankfully, nothing to Kwanza. At one point, the conductor asked for volunteers and, of course, my bride was one of five invited to perform with the orchestra! She played the bells (like in sleigh bells) while Rockette-kicking, doe-see-doeing and generally hamming it up with the others on a stage with only three thousand or so in the audience looking on! So now Carolyn can honestly say that she has performed as a featured instrumentalist with the OC Orchestra!
Sunday, we drove down to pick up Wanda for Church, but found she was just too tired to make it. So we made our way down and enjoyed the sermon and Pastor Mike's teaching by ourselves. Then I dropped Carolyn off at the Hawley's for an afternoon baby shower while I drove home to do a few chores and watch some football. Carolyn got a lot of good ideas for 'future' baby showers. Our evening finished up with sharing a dinner from Biagios and catching a TV show or two before jumping into the spa for about two minutes (it was tooooooo hot) before calling it a weekend and a night.
Friday, Carolyn and Wanda rode the train up to LA (a little late after their 9:45 a.m. train derailed before reaching Irvine) to meet with Lisa and Katie for an afternoon of window shopping and conversation before Katie's choir performance at Crescenta Valley High. I then left work at 5 p.m. and drove over to Montrose and met them at Lisa's condo before we all drove over for the performance. I was utterly amazed that a public high school sang and played so many Christian hymns! They had a full orchestra and three separate choirs on the stage singing various Christmas themed music. For the finale, alumni including Lisa and Carolyn, were invited on stage to sing the Hallelujah Chorus with the retired choir director. I think Carolyn, standing in front of the young men, sang every part! But they both had a great time.
Then we drove through the holiday lighted Montrose and stopped at a BBQ place for a late dinner of pulled pork or brisket sandwiches. Then, after dropping Lisa and Katie off and picking up Wanda's new artificial "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree, we drove home and Wanda slept over.
Saturday was spent sweeping up the leaves in the yard that continue to fall - alas, when will the horror finally end? It was a beautiful weekend with temps in the high 70s and it called out to those of you living in colder climes. Then we readied ourselves for a evening at the Orange County Pops Symphony with front row tickets made available from Lewis Company.
Again, songs filled the air proclaiming the incarnation of the Savior with only a short section devoted to Hannukah and, thankfully, nothing to Kwanza. At one point, the conductor asked for volunteers and, of course, my bride was one of five invited to perform with the orchestra! She played the bells (like in sleigh bells) while Rockette-kicking, doe-see-doeing and generally hamming it up with the others on a stage with only three thousand or so in the audience looking on! So now Carolyn can honestly say that she has performed as a featured instrumentalist with the OC Orchestra!
Sunday, we drove down to pick up Wanda for Church, but found she was just too tired to make it. So we made our way down and enjoyed the sermon and Pastor Mike's teaching by ourselves. Then I dropped Carolyn off at the Hawley's for an afternoon baby shower while I drove home to do a few chores and watch some football. Carolyn got a lot of good ideas for 'future' baby showers. Our evening finished up with sharing a dinner from Biagios and catching a TV show or two before jumping into the spa for about two minutes (it was tooooooo hot) before calling it a weekend and a night.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Can I Rest Now?
Thursday, our Couples Bible study potluck. Friday, our Lake Forest I boat parade. Saturday, a drive up to Pomona for my company Christmas party after having put up Christmas lights, cleaned up the garden and started the long process of cleaning the garage. I acquired a five-year service award that makes either a handsome paper weight or a unique murder weapon. And, finally, Sunday picking up Wanda to go to our church, the service, returning to talk with Wanda for an hour or two, then some shopping, lunch, fixing the Christmas lights that were out, hanging some new ones, putting boxes back up in the attic, cleaning up around the computer, ironing, watching a little football (American), and then settling in for a three hour marathon of Survivor finale. Then we decided we had to watch another program we had recorded earlier so I got into bed around 11:45 and was up this morning at 5:30.
I need a nap!! I think most of our holiday events are over except, of course, Christmas itself, maybe a visit to watch the Newport Beach boat parade and the Boxing Day return of the younger Hales, Ashley and Bryce. I guess we'll have to clean-up 'their room' so they have a place to put their bags. And then there is always the Christmas shopping that I seem to postpone to the latter days of the shopping window! Wish me luck.
I need a nap!! I think most of our holiday events are over except, of course, Christmas itself, maybe a visit to watch the Newport Beach boat parade and the Boxing Day return of the younger Hales, Ashley and Bryce. I guess we'll have to clean-up 'their room' so they have a place to put their bags. And then there is always the Christmas shopping that I seem to postpone to the latter days of the shopping window! Wish me luck.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Holiday Party
Last night we had our Thursday night Bible study over for a Christmas 'potluck' if you could call it that with all the gourmet cooks in our group!
The six couples enjoyed an appetizer of cream cheese covered with a raspberry chipotle sauce and then after re-heating and prep work, all twelve of us went into the dining room for a dinner of spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, pot roast that just fell apart roasted with carrots and onions, pork loin, steamed vegetables, twice-stuffed potatoes and rolls. Some enjoyed a glass of fume blanc while a few others had a combo cabernet-merlot.
After clearing the table, we went into the living room which Carolyn had finished decorating with our Christmas candles and nativity scenes to sit down and have our white elephant exchange. Otherwise known as the "pass the junk" exchange. Some of the highlights included an absurdly decorated piggy bank, an angel with broken head, and a large smiley face yellow cup. We finished up with a decadent chocolate cake and coffee.
We had a great time and we enjoyed it all, but I am glad we have a two-drawer dishwasher because we had a LOT of dishes.
The six couples enjoyed an appetizer of cream cheese covered with a raspberry chipotle sauce and then after re-heating and prep work, all twelve of us went into the dining room for a dinner of spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, pot roast that just fell apart roasted with carrots and onions, pork loin, steamed vegetables, twice-stuffed potatoes and rolls. Some enjoyed a glass of fume blanc while a few others had a combo cabernet-merlot.
After clearing the table, we went into the living room which Carolyn had finished decorating with our Christmas candles and nativity scenes to sit down and have our white elephant exchange. Otherwise known as the "pass the junk" exchange. Some of the highlights included an absurdly decorated piggy bank, an angel with broken head, and a large smiley face yellow cup. We finished up with a decadent chocolate cake and coffee.
We had a great time and we enjoyed it all, but I am glad we have a two-drawer dishwasher because we had a LOT of dishes.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Birthday Celebration
Since we had been attending parties on both Saturday and Sunday nights, Carolyn and I hadn't had the opportunity to go out and celebrate her 12/05 birthday by ourselves.
Well, we were both so tired on Monday that we just stayed home, but we managed to go out last night. We went to BJ's Pizza which is in the former Gordon Biersch facility by the Laguna Hills Mall. Carolyn had been there for a lunch with some of the ladies from Community Bible Study within the last month so we tried it out for dinner.
They have opened up the interior which makes it feel a lot larger than Gordon's and they still serve micro-brews along with pizza, pasta, sandwiches, burgers, steaks and 'comfort food' like meatloaf or pot roast. I chose this huge frisco type burger with cheese and bacon while Carolyn, longing for the UK, had fish and chips. Both were delicious and well complimented with our medium dark brews.
Then, because I'd mentioned the birthday, our waiter brought us this heavenly dessert of warm chocolate, macadamia nut cookie covered with vanilla ice cream! It reminded us of Ashley's birthday 'cake' at age 8 in Crested Butte which was a large decorated cookie.
Certainly not on anyone's diet, but we came home full (maybe a little too full) and Carolyn's birthday had once again been extended for a few days. If she had her way, it would be a full week!
Well, we were both so tired on Monday that we just stayed home, but we managed to go out last night. We went to BJ's Pizza which is in the former Gordon Biersch facility by the Laguna Hills Mall. Carolyn had been there for a lunch with some of the ladies from Community Bible Study within the last month so we tried it out for dinner.
They have opened up the interior which makes it feel a lot larger than Gordon's and they still serve micro-brews along with pizza, pasta, sandwiches, burgers, steaks and 'comfort food' like meatloaf or pot roast. I chose this huge frisco type burger with cheese and bacon while Carolyn, longing for the UK, had fish and chips. Both were delicious and well complimented with our medium dark brews.
Then, because I'd mentioned the birthday, our waiter brought us this heavenly dessert of warm chocolate, macadamia nut cookie covered with vanilla ice cream! It reminded us of Ashley's birthday 'cake' at age 8 in Crested Butte which was a large decorated cookie.
Certainly not on anyone's diet, but we came home full (maybe a little too full) and Carolyn's birthday had once again been extended for a few days. If she had her way, it would be a full week!
Monday, December 06, 2004
Parties and Rain
It's almost winter around here with the wind blowing, the rain and temps in the high 40s at noon on Sunday.
Carolyn was baking an apple-pear pie on Friday when I got home from work that was to be our contribution on Saturday's get together and we sat in our kitchen enjoying wine, cheese and crackers while it finished baking. Darla then called and invited us over for a Christmas tour of the lake. A number of lakefront owners had already decorated the weekend of Thanksgiving so lights flickered off the lake and herds of "deer" stood amongst decks and potted plants.
Saturday, Carolyn went off with five of the 'queens' to the jewelry mart area of LA while I did laundry, cleaned up the house, and watched the USC-UCLA game which SC won by a measly five points when they had been expected to win by a margin of over twenty points. Carolyn called with her success at finding a birthday gift for herself from me and another for Christmas. That pretty much solved my shopping issues for the season!
The queens and their husbands met that evening down in Links Pointe and enjoyed conversation along with wine, shrimp, ham, appetizers and desserts. The ladies showed off their shopping prowess while the Oklahoma game played in the background.
Sunday, we finally made it to church after an absence of several weeks and Pastor Mike again effectively used his own life experience to illustrate the passage from Corinthians. Then we stopped by Wanda's for a brief visit and I hung a new watercolor for her that she had purchased at the community art show. Then it was home to start the process of decorating for Christmas by setting up the tree and getting all the boxes out of the attic.
Six o'clock found us at the next party of the weekend for Community Bible Study. We drove up to Villa Park in the rain and I met all the women leaders and their husbands who get together just this one-time a year. I didn't hide in the corner very often but made acquaintance with a number of guys when we found connections through our work, mutual friends, or sports centered on SMCHS.
After a full weekend, we drove home, cranked up the heat in the house, watched an NYPD Blue from last week that we had taped, then dove into bed after throwing on an extra blanket to make it all cozy. That's all folks!
Carolyn was baking an apple-pear pie on Friday when I got home from work that was to be our contribution on Saturday's get together and we sat in our kitchen enjoying wine, cheese and crackers while it finished baking. Darla then called and invited us over for a Christmas tour of the lake. A number of lakefront owners had already decorated the weekend of Thanksgiving so lights flickered off the lake and herds of "deer" stood amongst decks and potted plants.
Saturday, Carolyn went off with five of the 'queens' to the jewelry mart area of LA while I did laundry, cleaned up the house, and watched the USC-UCLA game which SC won by a measly five points when they had been expected to win by a margin of over twenty points. Carolyn called with her success at finding a birthday gift for herself from me and another for Christmas. That pretty much solved my shopping issues for the season!
The queens and their husbands met that evening down in Links Pointe and enjoyed conversation along with wine, shrimp, ham, appetizers and desserts. The ladies showed off their shopping prowess while the Oklahoma game played in the background.
Sunday, we finally made it to church after an absence of several weeks and Pastor Mike again effectively used his own life experience to illustrate the passage from Corinthians. Then we stopped by Wanda's for a brief visit and I hung a new watercolor for her that she had purchased at the community art show. Then it was home to start the process of decorating for Christmas by setting up the tree and getting all the boxes out of the attic.
Six o'clock found us at the next party of the weekend for Community Bible Study. We drove up to Villa Park in the rain and I met all the women leaders and their husbands who get together just this one-time a year. I didn't hide in the corner very often but made acquaintance with a number of guys when we found connections through our work, mutual friends, or sports centered on SMCHS.
After a full weekend, we drove home, cranked up the heat in the house, watched an NYPD Blue from last week that we had taped, then dove into bed after throwing on an extra blanket to make it all cozy. That's all folks!
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