Happy as a Clam?

Well, my daughter's musings on the above phrase's meanings/origins directed me to a Google search where I found:

John G Saxe discussed the phrase poetically, in his Sonnet to a Clam, in the late 1840s:
Inglorious friend! most confident I am
Thy life is one of very little ease;
Albeit men mock thee with their similes,
And prate of being “happy as a clam!”
What though thy shell protects thy fragile head
From the sharp bailiffs of the briny sea?
Thy valves are, sure, no safety-valves to thee,
While rakes are free to desecrate thy bed,
And bear thee off,—as foemen take their spoil,
Far from thy friends and family to roam;
Forced, like a Hessian, from thy native home,
To meet destruction in a foreign broil!
Though thou art tender, yet thy humble bard
Declares, 0 clam! thy case is shocking hard!

The saying is very definitely American, hardly known elsewhere. The fact is, we’ve lost its second half, which makes everything clear. The full expression is happy as a clam at high tide or happy as a clam at high water. Clam digging has to be done at low tide, when you stand a chance of finding them and extracting them. At high water, clams are comfortably covered in water and so able to feed, comparatively at ease and free of the risk that some hunter will rip them untimely from their sandy berths. I guess that’s a good enough definition of happy.

Leave your thoughts or questions or knowledge on other phrases.

Autumnal Yosemite

Carolyn and I planned a short three day holiday in Yosemite and were getting ready early Saturday morning to depart when the phone rang around 6:30 a.m. Now, typically an early morning (or late night) call is not a good thing, but this time was different. Ashley was calling from Scotland with the fantastic news that her brother-in-law, Carter, had just been offered a professor position at his (and his wife's, Ashley's and Bryce's) alma mater, Westmont!! That is such great news and we know the Hales will be glad to have their grandchildren within driving distance!

And then, before I could ask, Ashley informed us that she has received her MSc degree from the University of Edinburgh - with distinction no less! We couldn't be prouder of her or of Bryce as they continue their pursuit of higher degrees.

So we started off a little later than we expected at 7:30 but made great time through LA and arrived at our hotel, The Tenaya Lodge, in Fish Camp just 2 miles outside of the entrance to Yosemite National Park. The day was sunny, but brisk, just what we had hoped for. We checked in and then made the 45 minute drive into the valley.

Of course, we had to stop at the outlook as you come through the long tunnel to take the shot that everyone has seen on numerous postcards or posters

and then we stopped at Bridalveil Falls which was pretty full after the recent rains and first snowfall in late October. We shot both digital and film and I only found out later that my ASA setting was set incorrectly for the 400 ASA film I was shooting. Dang! I'm hoping that the photo developer can push or pull that roll so I get some of my shots.

Then we drove through the valley toward the Visitor Center and the Ansel Adam's gallery and we stopped to shoot the shimmering Aspens in the meadow as they rained golden leaves down on all who passed by. Afterwards, we stopped on the bridge that frames Half Dome so well in one direction and the quiet Merced River with its reflective glory in the other.

We left the valley in the dimming light and drove back to the hotel where we had dinner amidst a fairly busy seminar/convention crowd and then a great night's sleep. Sunday morning we woke up at a leisurely hour and breakfasted downstairs with enough food to last us 'til evening. Back into the valley we ventured, this time to walk from the Curry Village area up to Happy Isles and then to the footbridge at the base of Vernal Falls. This time Carolyn made it all the way, but we both realize we need to walk more (like Ash and Bryce) so that we can do this more often. It would probably help if I wasn't carrying the equivalent of a 30 lb. pack with me as well (I'm not just talking about my day pack, if you know what I mean).

In celebration of our "feat", we drove over to the Awanhee and sat before the great stone fireplace, had a hot coffee drink in the bar, and toured/sketched the grounds. As we drove out of the valley for the last time on this trip, we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the low hills that roll down to the central valley.

Driving into the hotel, there were I think five cars in the parking lot. The hotel which had been full on Saturday night was now down to fifteen rooms on Sunday! We opened a bottle of the Justin vineyard's Orphan which we had purchased on our earlier trip to SLO and enjoyed the better part of it before dinner where we shared an order of prime rib which was excellent. Quite full, but encouraged/prodded by Carolyn, we went over to the indoor pool and spa for a soak before falling into a long sleep!

Waking at 9:30 (!), we again enjoyed breakfast at the hotel (there was one other person in the dining room with us) and then drove into the park to visit the giant redwoods. We strolled amidst towering trees and a welcome silence of nature beginning its long winter nap.

The drive home was a little longer with the traffic through LA, but we'd had a great time re-visiting one of our favorite places and having seen 3 coyote, 2 field mice and one deer, thundering falls, glorious vistas, smiles of fellow hikers and just regenerating our spirits and our fondness and love for each other.

Jury Gets One Right!

Scott Peterson was just found guilty of first degree murder of his wife, Laci, and second degree murder of his unborn son, Conner. After days of jury shifts and changes and two jurors expelled, the newly constituted jury got down to business and found Scott guilty in less the five hours.

I've listened to various pundits discuss the case over the last five months and I think the quickness of the verdict concerned some that it would mean an acquittal. But I guess, the cad like attitude displayed by Scott in his telephone calls to his 'girlfriend' Amber while at memorial services for Laci and the fact that Laci's body was discovered just miles away from where Scott was fishing and that there wasn't enough time for Laci to have been abducted that Christmas eve morning led to the inevitable conclusion that the weight of the circumstantial evidence said - GUILTY!

I can't imagine spending five months on a jury like this or having to be sequestered for the last week and a half. More power to those who were able to get it right!

The Weekend Past

Just a quick update on our weekend.

Saturday, I was greeted by a call from an "unknown" female who then announced it was my daughter. It just didn't sound like Ashley and she sounded so close. I think I need to check my hearing! But we had a good conversation and caught up on each other's activities.

After the normal chores around the house, Carolyn and I headed over to the Prior's for a baby shower for 28 lb. Marcus (Devin's son). It was mostly an open house, converse a little, drop off a gift and watch Marcus easily go from adult to adult. Then we went home and enjoyed a little afternoon nap before going over to Paul Rademaker's surprise 59th birthday party around 5:30.

Paul is in my accountability group so several guys and their wives from that group were there along with others that we didn't know. Carolyn and I sat with a John and Karen eating dinner only to find out they both go to our church (Pacific Coast Church) in San Clemente and that John is an artist/landscaper/waterfall maker! He and Carolyn talked about painting our "cascada" from its current gray elephant status to a more variegated look, and John will be coming over to check it out this week. It's funny how people with various talents or needs come into your life.

Sunday, we ran into the aforementioned John on the Church patio (Karen stayed home to be with her sister) so we ended up sitting together in the service. Afterwards, Dennis Hughes asked us to join him down at the harbor as he wanted to show us something. We trailed him down to the guest dock area where he showed us the 29' Ericksen that had recently been on EBay and had sold for a reasonable price. But one needed a slip to put the boat in and those are on a waiting list. We looked at a few different length boats and it was helpful to see them in person. I think we'd prefer a 27' to 29' length boat with an enclosed keel. We'll keep looking.

Then we headed over to Wanda's after picking up some tacos for lunch. After munching down on those, we three went to the Niguel Shores art show that they hold in their community center. Carolyn continued her lucky ways by winning a small sailboat painting (prophetic?) from the raffle and then we purchased two other watercolors that the Men's Club were selling, one a picture of a cottage in Cornwall, England and the other of Mirror Lake in the Grand Tetons.

I finished up the afternoon with a little pro football while Carolyn read and napped. Then Carolyn made a wonderful Chinese dinner that was delicious and we finished up the evening with American Dream.

This coming weekend, I'm going to take Monday off and we are going up to the Tenaya Lodge just outside of Yosemite so we can easily drive into the valley and walk and photograph one of our favorite spots. We expect it to be cold and beautiful!

Per Bryce's Request

Bryce commented that it would be helpful to have a map that reflects the 2004 Presidential election results. The map below shows those counties which voted for Bush (red) and those voting for Kerry (blue). We are truly a red nation.

My Election Predictions

In an effort to put myself out there before the polls open tomorrow, here are my projections on the national elections.

Bush takes the election with electoral votes of 283 to 255. Bush takes Ohio, Florida and late in the night, Hawaii. Kerry takes Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota (barely). Popular vote: Bush 51.3%; Kerry 47.9%; Nader .7%. As far as the Senate, the GOP picks up 2 or 3 seats and in the House, they pick up 8.

If we're lucky, tomorrow around 10 pm Tuesday night we'll know if I'm correct. Hopefully, we won't have a need for legal challenges

UPDATE As of 11:00 am PST 11/03/04 George Bush has 274 EV with New Mexico and Iowa likely to go to him as well which would give GW 286 EV v. Kerry's 254. Of the three major candidates, GW took 51.4% and Kerry had 48.3% of the popular vote. In the Senate, the GOP did markedly better than my estimate by picking up 3 seats with two more likely in Florida and Alaska which would shift the Senate to 55-44-1. And in the House, the net increase will be about the eight seats I predicted.

Halloween on Islamare

Horror and fun at the end of Islamare with the Bethkes and Jonathon providing most of the terror (although my outfit might scare more than a few)!!

Weekend Pictures

After a welcome conversation with my daughter this morning, I thought I'd post two more of my favorite pictures from our trip to visit Ashley and Bryce this past December.

St. Andrews Cathedral Cemetery

St. Andrews Cathedral Cemetery

Create a Caption

Does this picture disturb you as much as it does me?

I challenge you all to leave an appropriate caption.

Fall Weekend

This last weekend was a nice Fall weekend. We started off in the morning cleaning up the yard of fallen leaves, etc. to quickly change from sweatshirts to t-shirts after about 15 minutes as the day warmed up just enough to take the chill off. It was nice to see the trees beginning to change color a little after the change in temps with our two or three days of rain (a good start for the rainy season).

A few other chores and some college football took up the rest of the afternoon and then we took a "Halloween Cruise" with the Bethkes whose boat was decorated with pumpkins, witches and small skeleton lights.

Church service was dedicated to missionary work and emphasized the dramatic increase in Christianity with the last 40 years, primarily in China and South Korea. The swath of countries from Indo-China through the Middle East to northern Africa remains the most difficult and least evangelized area in the world.

Sunday lunch was nachos with cheese, black beans, salsa and guacamole with brewskis as we watched some pro football. We ate enough that we didn't even have dinner! After some computer/financial work, I then caught the second game of the World Series and watched Boston go up 2 to 0.

Obviously, not an over-taxing weekend, but just fun to relax and enjoy our home and neighborhood. Hope you had a good weekend as well.

October Poker

Poker is more fun when you win
Like roulette balls that spin
And to your number slot don't fall
Losing is no fun at all

Six or seven is better than four
Players only wishing for more
To share the betting or deal
Or fixing a snack or meal

Where were the cards for me to make
Four of a kind,a flush or a straight
No, this week my fate just to lose
Next month, perhaps I'll have better news

Sunday's Sermon

Do you sometimes think about skipping church when your senior pastor isn't preaching and the church will be having a guest preacher? In the past, I sometimes have felt that way, but not at Pacific Coast Church as every "substitute" I've heard has been excellent.

Dr. Richard Mayhue who is the Dean of Masters Seminary (www.tms.edu) preached this last Sunday. The first thing that caught my attention was when he stated that he is invited to numerous churches to preach and in some cases he refuses as they wouldn't be open to his preaching faithfully from the Word. That I considered a strong rebuke.

He spoke on Revelation 1:9-17 and its description of Christ. Nowhere else in the Bible do we get any information about Jesus' physicality - his height, musculature, eye color, or prominent features. But in these verses we see Christ in his glory as our high priest and John doesn't sit down and talk with him, but falls at his feet overcome by his righteousness, his glory, his magnificence. A position that we will all find ourselves in some day, hopefully in thankfulness and adoration, rather than in submission and despair.

Friday's Pics

Two of my favorites from our trip to London and Scotland in December 2003 where we had a great time with Ashley and Bryce.

London Park

Stirling Castle

Don't Try This After Drinking

Click on the this for a look at an optical illusion that will test your sobriety.

Pleasant Evening

Got home Monday night fairly quickly as Columbus Day kept some of the public servants and students off the freeway. The day had been partially overcast with high clouds as a quick moving front passed through the area - a promise of "cooler" days to come.

I pulled in the trash cans and refilled the recycle bin about 3/4 full with more cardboard left over from the new appliances and boxes from our kitchen. (Wanda had come over on Saturday to help Carolyn start to put things back in the kitchen as most of the cabinets were now available even though plumbing and electrical items remain to be completed.) Carolyn was baking a Trader Joe's lasagna in our new oven and learning how to use the new controls and we ate at our new marble countertop and imagined how it will be to have running water, a dishwasher (no garage sink), a garbage disposal, and how good it will look with a new copper hood and painted!

We checked e-mail and blogs, did a little financial work and watched a smattering of national news. Then we watched American Dreams from last Sunday night (a DVR is a nice new addition to cable) which was focused on the Vietnam war, and then headed down to the jacuzzi for a hot soak under a dark sky. We enjoyed it but could only handle it for about 10 minutes and we were still so warm we sat out on our bedroom deck and talked while wrapped in our beach towels. Not something you could comfortably do in Edinburgh, I suspect. Then it was off to a warm bed at 9:30 or so. Quite pleasant!

Throughout the night, we had flashes of lightning and distant rolling thunder and even a little rain as the front raced through Southern California. A little bit of nature's drama for our typically weather challenged area.

Kitchen Update

The marble is down and Carolyn is beginning to put some things away! We have electrical outlets and lights to finish along with the installation of plumbing, dishwasher and the copper hood and painting, but the kitchen is usable and looks fantastic!

Friday Pictures (a little late)

Here are some pictures from Yellowstone National Park on a road trip when Ashley was 13 and we drove about 3000 miles in 11 days to Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Oregon. Ashley had her head in a book a lot of the time, so she may not remember the scenery!

Yellowstone Meadow

Yellowstone Falls

Liquid and Electronics

Just a word to my fellow bloggers - wine and keyboards don't mix! A made a clumsy mistake the other day by spilling a nice glass of wine which basically fried my keyboard. I tried typing in a username on one of my websites and Hutchins sort of came out like HutCJkEwgSS. Needless to say, I couldn't access that site or my blog and Carolyn couldn't get her email from our desktop computer. Today I picked up a new keyboard and we are online again. Hurrah!!

Musical Interlude

If you have high-speed access, you might enjoy the singing talents of 'George Bush' and 'John Kerry' at this site. Just click the title "Musical Interlude" which is linked to www.jibjab.com and then on This Land is My Land.

Weekend Pictures

A few pictures from our fun weekend

Steve, Carolyn and Debbie

Artist Capturing the Street Scene

Art on Display

Outside a Winery

Justin Winery - Dave's Domain

Justin Winery