greetings

the long vacation is over, back to regular postings

2009-07-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

So many pictures, how in the world do I pick and choose which ones to post? I just LOVE taking pictures with my new camera!! Enjoy the view from behind my lens . . . . . . . . . .

Let's begin with our recent vacation trip to the coast . . . Justin was painting a new tri-plex in Pismo during the daylight hours, so Jen and Annie spent their days hangin' with the "g-units," aka, Grandpa & Grandma. And so the trip begins . . .

Caravaning on vacation, that's Jen following behind us. Ken, Annie and I were riding in the truck leading the way towards the cool ocean breezes!You know . . . everything is always funnier when you're at the beach. Must be the cooler weather, it just makes everyone lighten up and laugh at the little things!The first night there, we met up with Mark & Ronda for dinner and a breezy walk on the pier.Check out Annie's new "Jeep" stroller we purchased recently. It is so super cool, it's literally like a 4-wheel drive stroller - it maneuvers so easily, we fight to take turns pushing her in it . . . okay, I exaggerate, however, it is one of the best grandchild investments we've made thus far.Above, the "Beach House" where we stayed.One early evening, we took a leisurely stroll to the beach.Now, in this picture above (which reminds me a lot of the characters' coloring in the Twilight movie that Jen loves so much), the sun on Annie's hair naturally brought out the fiery red it has in it, and I just enhanced it when I finalized the picture. Cool huh?Father and daughter watching the waves go in and out.Some Carlson family pictures below . . .This beautiful red dress was brought back from Annie's Ya Ya Tina during her recent trip to Greece.Above . . . Justin loved using a large piece of seaweed to practice his roping skills. He got me SEVERAL times leaving nasty green seaweed goop on my pants and legs . . . real funny Justin!"Potty Gramma, got to go!"A trip to the coast isn't complete until we've stopped at the strawberry stand across from Ron's Nursery. Annie and I bought a little box of strawberries and proceeded to sit on the tailgate and finish them off. Yummo!(Below) The morning we left for the coast, we were watching Michael Jackson's funeral on television. Annie loves MJ's music and someday when she is much older, she can look back at this picture and know where she was and what age she was at the time the Pop Legend passed away.The Fourth of July with family out at the Young's home!!! Fun, food, family, friends, fireworks!All tuckered out from hamburgers, homemade ice cream, swimming, and fireworks.

A few days BEFORE the 4th of July, cousin Jay was in town and came for dinner at Mark & Ronda's . . . and since Annie seems to be smitten with her second/third (which one is it?) cousin, we had to get a few pictures of the two of them together. Any reason for a family get-to-gether at the Young's, we're all in. Oh, and the margaritas, top shelf baby, yummo!

Home grown Onions from my brother Mark's garden.

Now, seen below, are a couple photos taken just this past Sunday, July 12th. Justin and a couple buddies went on a fishing trip to Ventura and caught a shark or two!

Okay, next week I start my camera class - expect my work to improve!

been vacationing

2009-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have hundreds of vacation photos to download, boy will it take time to upload some of the better ones to share here . . . so hang in there . . . I'll try to get my blog updated by the time I go to bed tonight as I have to be back to work tomorrow . . . major bummer! I've been off so long . . . 18 days (counting weekends) and I almost forget what it feels to be working . . . I even had a nightmare last night that my boss called me around noon and said "where the heXX are you, you're supposed to be back today!" Man I woke up all frightened . . . Pam must be scary - NOT! LOL!!!

BIG FISHING ON THE 4TH OF JULY

2009-07-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Big Burly Men, aka, Lani, Ken, and Justin, rose early and hit the road BEFORE THE CRACK OF DAWN this 4th of July. Why some might ask, a group of average-minded men would wake up so blasted early on a national holiday? Well, . . . below are some of the numerous fish they caught (and released) today. Pictures don't lie, there's no exaggerated fishing stories here....they caught some big ones and below is the proof in LIVING COLOR!

BIGGEST catch of the day ---- THE AWARD GOES TO: JUSTIN - an 18 lb. catfish!!!

BIGGEST bass caught - KEN - 6 lbs., 15 oz.

2ND BIGGEST bass caught - Lani - 6 lbs., 14 oz.

3RD BIGGEST bass caught - Justin - 6 lbs, 11 oz.

God Bless America!

HOW DO WE LOVE THEE, LET US SHOW YOU THE DAYS!

2009-07-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

In "OUR" book . . . this IS the definition of a "bathing beauty!"

"Outside and swim?" ~ Annie"Up Papa, up!" ~ AnnieBanana Boat's new tricycle. Notice it is "primary" colors and not pink and purple,-- just planning for future siblings is all.

Cheeeeeese!

Another successful day with the grand baby who is at this very moment asleep in her bed in our room, peacefully sleeping in anticipation of a fun evening at her Great Aunt Ronda & Uncle Mark's house for dinner. Her mommy and daddy are preparing to finally move, so they will be busy.

who needs facebook when you can blog your heart out here?

2009-06-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Vacations - they are just about as good as it gets for the working class . . . I love vacations, wish I had more, wish I could afford to travel hither and yon, but I am happy to just kick back at home, walk the mall in the morning, and swim with my little Banana Boat in the afternoon. She's on her way over to Gammie and Papas' house right now.

I perused the Facebook pages today, and well, I found them simply boring. Blogging is so much more fun, productive, and a good use of some one's writing and photographing skills. Besides, such things as twittering and commenting (Facebook) are almost pointless...who cares what someone is doing every second of the day when it is simple one liners like "I just took a bath," or "I am thinking about dinner," and other such one line nonsense . . . Me, I'd rather post rambling blogs that give my artistic and intellectual side a chance to stretch its legs, so to speak.

There it is there, got to run and prepare for the little swimmers highly anticipated arrival. Grandchildren, man oh man, they are fun!

giant cuke update

2009-06-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update . . . that giant cucumber from yesterday's blog -- well I cut it up with a normal sized cucumber I found growing as well. Then I tossed them with some Good Season's Cheese Garlic Italian dressing, salt and pepper, refrigerated them for about an hour, and they both were equally yummy. Size doesn't matter after all, go figure!

I took the bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, and little tomatoes from my garden, added some onions my brother grew in his garden, and some fresh corn from the cob, added some butter, salt and pepper, garlic salt, and put them in a pan on the stove and cooked them up, they were also very delicious!!

We had a little family early dinner, late lunch, at my mom's yesterday. It was so scorching hot in her house because her air decided to shut down, so we weren't up to playing any games, we just ate and chatted under a bunch of fans!! We had a good time though, as always. (The margaritas Ken and Mark mixed up probably helped, under the circumstances!)

I love summer, I love gardens, and I love vegetables! But, best of all, I loved sharing the fruits of my labor with family and friends!

the lazy days of summer

2009-06-28T09:04:00.001-07:00

Check out the size of this cucumber I found growing, and growing, and growing in my garden this morning! The picture doesn't do it justice, at first I thought it was a watermelon. It is seriously huge! Oh, and I picked a bunch more little tomatoes and some fresh yellow squash. I feel a fresh veggie dish for dinner coming on!

Here Annie is holding the monstrous cucumber. When I first put it in her hands, she was like "whoa, this is heavy!" It's about as long as her torso . . . seriously!
"Cheeeeeeeese!!!!" "Gammie, Gammie!! This cucumber is heavy!!! "

"Come on Gammie, I'm over it! ""Seriously Gammie, take this out of my hands!" "Okay, give it to Gammie."

Just look at the mother lode of bell peppers growing in my front yard! I'm such a little California farmer!

Snowball and Annie, her best meow meow friend at Gammie & Papas' house. Time: 6:45 a.m., Sunday morning. Now, I ask . . . "why is it she sleeps until 10:30 a.m. at her house, but wakes up with the first light of day at Gammie & Papa's house?" I think someone is fibbing about how long she sleeps just to get us to keep her over night!!! "You don't have to fib Carlsons, we'll watch her regardless, after all, she is our lovey dovey, snuggle bunny."Here she is kissing Bella before she puts her in the stroller for an early morning walk."Gammie, I love meow meow!" ~ Annie CarlsonOkay, I was at Home Depot the other day and I overheard them saying that the water lilies in the pond outside were "free." I grabbed a bag, and loaded them up and put them in my fountain! Love free, love lilies, love my fountain. Does it get any better?

Below are several pictures of my front yard I took this morning. It is just so beautiful and peaceful! No brag, just stating the obvious.Saturday evening we went to a friend's son's significant other's baby shower barbecue. (Wow, that was a mouthful!) Below Annie's Papa takes her exploring to look at the horses and a gimpy goat."What is it Papa?" "Bye bye Puppy." ~ Annie CarlsonCheck out the new dress Annie's GG Marilyn bought her. So cute!"Big horsies. Scary." ~ Annie CarlsonThe look of a 22 month old longing to get into the pool and play with the other kiddies.Annie made a fast friend with Mikaela. Annie loves kids and stuck to Mikaela like glue! They played, ran, chased, giggled, oh . . . did she ever giggle!! Annie and I were checking out the nursery in the house and Mikaela joined us to look around too. We started to walk out of the bedroom, I turned around, and Mikaela and Annie were walking out, hand in hand. Adorable!! They were inseparable for the rest of the evening. They played together, ate together, and just had a great time.Meeting a new friend to the now "trio of friends." Her name was Emerson and she was about one month older than Annie. She joined in and they played and played.Kenny and Lanny sat under the tarps and chatted, while I chased the kids around and kept them away from the pool. Figures! LOL! Fast friends! Emerson, Mikaela, and Annie.After the barbecue baby shower, Annie, Uncle Jared/Justice, aka Uncle JJ, and I went and had ice cream by the fountain. It was hot, we ate our ice cream and retreated to our air conditioned homes! Pansies!

FIRST 'MATERS!

2009-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Just want to brag a little . . . planting little cherry or pear tomatoes are the way to go, they don't split, the birds aren't all into them, and you get beautiful little, uh, fruits....or are they categorized as veggies!? (Above are pictures of a couple of my home grown bell peppers and my first three "ripe" cherry tomatoes.)

“To really figure out if a tomato is a fruit or vegetable, you need to know what makes a fruit a fruit, and a vegetable a vegetable. The big question to ask is, DOES IT HAVE SEEDS? If the answer is yes, then technically, you have a FRUIT. This, of course, makes your tomato a fruit. It also makes cucumbers, squash, green beans and walnuts all fruits as well. VEGETABLES such as, radishes, celery, carrots, and lettuce do NOT have seeds (that are part of what we eat) and so they are grouped as vegetables.”

TOMATO TRIVIA: The word tomato comes from a word in the Nahuatl language, tomatl. The specific name, lycopersicum, means "wolf-peach." The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in British North America is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is today South Carolina. They may have been introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and probably in other parts of the Southeast as well. It is possible that some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America.

The music he made is what should be remembered.

2009-06-26T08:52:00.001-07:00

I'll never be alone

And you, my friend, will see

You've got a friend in me

I grew up singing along to Michael's songs as I was a child, about seven, when he started his singing/performing career. Seems like he's been around forever and it sure didn't seem real when I heard he had passed - it was such an odd feeling similar to how I felt the day they announced Lady Diana had died -- unreal.

He was a gifted artist and his music will live on for generations to come. I think I will go out and purchase his Thriller CD today, if I can even find one. (UPDATE: After searching the Net and finding that music sites were sold out of his best stuff, I got dressed (since I'm on vacation) and drove over to Best Buy to beat the "Michael Jackson music buying frenzy" I half expected. Alas, the frenzy beat me when I was told they had "sold out of everything Jackson yesterday." So I thought, "what the heck, I'll try Walmart!" Surprise....they too were sold out of everything EXCEPT two little CDs oddly staring back at me from the shelf of music that begins with the letter "J." They must have been overlooked during the "frenzy" because this CD contained 10 of Jackson's number one all time best songs, including Thriller, Billie Jean, and Beat It. The CD was aptly titled "Michael Jackson's Number Ones." I grabbed them both (in lieu of flowers, it'll be my contribution to the support of his three kids) and listened to one of them on the way home - loudly...the memories, that's all that's left now of Michael Jackson, memories . .. and the music.)

I do however have several of his older "albums," yes I said it, albums. I am half of 106 you know, I remember albums, still own several, and I often mistakenly refer to CDs as "albums."

And that's all I have to say about that.

R.I.P. Michael.

BABY GIRL VISITS GAMMIE AT WORK

2009-06-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Quick visit with her Gammie to show off her little dress we bought her at Old Navy. Cutie Pie!
Our star!!!

Always on the go!

ICEBERG ROSES . . . SIMPLY THE BEST ROSE THERE IS!

2009-06-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, my cousin Nancy (from Temecula) bought me an Iceberg Rose bush. (Okay, she gave me a Home Depot gift card and I picked out the rose, however, forever when I look at this beautiful rose blooming in my backyard, I will think fondly of Nancy.) I LOVE this rose. I am not a rose person, but I highly recommend getting a couple of these roses for around your yard. Very few thorns, very soft breezy branches, and they bloom like nobody's business!!! Seriously!!!Iceberg Roses are Modern Floribundas. Iceberg Roses are popular for their easy care and abundant flowers. They have been described by some as the best garden variety rose of all time. If you live in a warm climate where roses grow well, take a look around and you will surely see many yards covered with clusters of white roses. In most cases, those are Iceberg Roses.

Reimer Kordes was the first to breed Iceberg Roses in Germany in 1958. They are a cross between the Robin Hood and Virgo roses. They have won many awards, including the National Rose Society Gold Medal in 1958. The Baden Baden Gold Medal in 1958, World’s Favorite rose in 1983, and the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

Iceberg Roses can be grown in hardiness zones 5-9. They have a light scent and are almost thorn free. Iceberg Roses can be grown as a bush or as a climbing variety. They are often grown along hedges, fences, or trees. The bush rose plant grows approximately three feet tall. They are disease resistant, especially to powdery mildew.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND, WE THOUGHT THEY'D NEVER END, WE'D SING AND DANCE FOREVER AND A DAY

2009-06-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

CHERISH is the word I use to describe . . . all the feeling that I have hiding here inside for you . . . O-o-h child . . .You are the Sunshine of my life . . .Love me tender . . .We are family . . .Tiny Dancer . . .Leader of the pack . . .My girl . . .Feed me Seymour, feed me! (okay, it's not a "song" in my head like the rest of them, but that's what I hear when I see this picture!)Super freak . . . she's super freaky . . .Just like Heaven . . .Goodbye yellow brick road . . .Under the Boardwalk . . .Papa was a rolling stone . . .I only have eyes for you . . .I saw her standing there . . .We've only just begun . . . to grow . . .She's a brick house . . .Born to be wild . . .You're still the one . . .Rainy night in Georgia . . .There goes my baby . . . Summer in the city . . .Ring of Fire . . . Love to Love you baby . . .Endless love . . .I want to hold your hand . . . Whole lotta love . . .When a man loves a woman . . . (Happy 1st Anniversary to the Bergmans!)I fall to pieces . . . Great balls of fire . . . Lean on me . . .Can't help falling in love . . . Joy to the world!Whole lotta shakin' goin' on . . .Wild thing . . .Hit the road Jack . . . (the lyrics should be "Close the door Ken" - LOL!)Ticket to ride . . .American Woman . . .You are so beautiful to me . . . Walk like an Egyptian . . . We're going to party like it's 1999 . . . (Happy Father's Day to our wonderful Dad's!)Memories . . . (Happy Father's Day Dad!)Hot fun in the summertime . . .California Girls . . . Strawberry Fields Forever . . .

Babe, I got you babe . . .

A perfect ending to a truly perfect weekend. I am blessed.

A GIRL ON A MISSION TO LEARN HER NEW CAMERA

2009-06-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Sir Choppers, the loved one.

The gorgeous evening sky taken from the street in front of our house.

Zinnia blooming in my front yard.The Lion's Tail, still beautiful.My new garden whimsy! "Sir Bounce Around."Really cool picture of our truck in the driveway.My ALL TIME FAVORITE flower - the Bachelor Button. It is blooming for the first time in my front yard (I planted them by seeds). I have loved this flower since I was a very young child, living in Atascadero, and would walk home and see these beautiful flowers blooming in the field between school and home. I would gather little bouquets. Ahhh, the memories.Farmer Ken harvesting squash in our garden in the backyard.Where the snails live . . . in this little bush by the vegetable garden. I pour beer on them periodically, hoping to terminate their lives (or get them arrested for public intoxication, whichever eradicates them) before they eat my plants into oblivion . . . and it's less gross than stepping on them.

and then sometimes . . . I toss them into the pool hoping they will just drown (the little guy above looks like he's saying "what the....?"). I know, it's sad, but they destroy my plants!!!

We took a trip to Fresno on Friday. The two pictures above and three pictures below were taken during that trip.

The picture above was recently seen in Fresno, at an In N' Out . . . and below, Jen's appetite was ruined after viewing the above drive-thru phenomenon. Above and below taken during our trip to Los Angeles.

A disabled homeless family in Los Angeles . . . and their constant little canine companion.A statue in the lobby of the Doris Stein Eye Institute. Bronze sculpture, a life-sized statue of a blind boy, entitled "The Kingdom is Within." What is Mark & Ronda looking at? Oh, not the statue above, but the library at the Institute. The foyer is set off by massive wood and glass doors and adorned with a magnificent breakfront from Dr. and Mrs. Stein's estate (seen in the picture above). Outside the Doris Stein Eye Institute, taken by Ronda. I'm such a "poser."

Only in Los Angeles would this look be considered cool . . . and only in Los Angeles would one walk out in public with such a shock of red hair!

JEMMO by Christopher Ables

2009-06-16T12:48:00.001-07:00

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY . . . A WORK IN PROGRESS

2009-06-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah and Amen, the frosted-haired lady's FIFTY-THREE . . . that's right fellow bloggers, FIFTY-THREE, and DARN PROUD of it!Watch the speed action photography below as Jared was tinkering with my new camera. We all we're acting goof-ballish while the camera snapped away every 1/4 of a second.

Nuts . . . a group of close family and friends who are just plain N---U---T---S!!! LOL! Put a lens in front of us, and we'll all nut up! It's just in our blood (that's for you Jemmo - a Twilight reference), and I must say, thankfully we're all like this -- wouldn't have it any other way -- letting our hair down and having fun baby! That's my family! (A special shout out to my cousin Nancy who was up visiting from down south and joined the birthday celebration! Thanks Nancy for joining in on the silliness and fun!)

So . . . this old gal turned 53 on Saturday surrounded by a bevy of close family and dear friends. Dinner at our house, tomato basil pasta was the starter . . . sitting and visiting with everyone was the main course. After downing veggie appetizers, compliments of Heather & Eli, coupled with Ken's great guacamole, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of Williams-Sonoma inspired pasta, fresh summer salad from the Youngs, sodas and bread from my darling kids, and a sundae dessert bar from Laura, Jeoff and my mom. Then we headed out back for a tour of my vegetable garden and to watch Jen spin her rifle from her high school days in colorguard. Many of us gave it a whirl, but she was by far the best rifle "twirler" of the evening. She's still got it after all these years!

I was able to try out my new camera, along with much assistance from both Jared and Ken. So in this blog you'll see some of the playing around we did. Enjoy the madness!

On a separate note, we also received some very sad news from my nephew during the course of the evening. My older brother David (my half brother) passed away unexpectedly during a fishing trip. He was my father's oldest son, and he was just 60 years old. Please everyone, say a silent prayer for his wife and children as this is such a difficult time. I am glad that my father was not here to see this, losing a child is such a sad experience. It is our hope that they will be reunited in Heaven, father and son. Brother . . . your family will miss you.Above is an old picture of all of us as kids, my older brother David is in the middle with the white jacket and striped shirt (I'm on the far right). (My recent photos are on a disk that I've got to locate.)

Rest in Peace David................

**********************************************************************************

Some pictures are a little less . . . crisp . . . than others, but we're learning the ins and outs of this fancy dancy camera. They'll get better as I (we) figure out the bells, whistles, F-stops, apertures (is that even spelled right?) - you get the picture (no pun intended!).

Above, Jared was trying the new camera out using Laura and I as his trusting subjects! "Where's that 'make me look thinner and younger' setting?"

My present (also as pictured at the top of my blog) from Chris and Jared, a Christopher Ables original! I absolutely love it and can't wait to put it on my desk for the world to see how talented Chris is!! My darling children got me a camera "how to do" book and new case. I am blessed!
Justin had been a busy boy this day, speeding around all day "above the law." LOL!

Below are pictures of Jen and Annie in an old pair of LARGE blue prescription glasses of mine from over a decade ago. I wore these big old honkers once upon a time? What was I thinking?

It was a wonderful birthday. Thank you to everyone who was there and made it such a special event. (Thank you to all of my friends who texted me throughout the day too, what fun that was!) Thanks family and friends for your presence, the flowers, gifts, thoughts, well wishes, and especially for the laughter. There always has to be laughter! God bless you all!

53 -- 53 -- 53 -- 53 -- (just getting used to the number in case someone should ask....LOL!!!)

EXPECT A NEW LOOK!

2009-06-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

My darling husband Ken bought me my birthday present a couple days early (and he wheeled and dealed to get us a great deal to boot!!) . . . a new Canon Rebel camera similar to the one pictured above. Expect some changes in my photography appearing on these pages . . . as soon as I can figure out how to use all the new gadgets! I'm sooooo excited!!!!!

Come for BBQ Pizza, Stay for Family Fun!

2009-06-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

The email invite said "come Sunday for BBQ pizza." We came, in droves. Prior to our departure for the family festivities, I harvested my garden . . . fresh zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, basil, oregano, and fresh mint. Packed it all up and headed to the Young's to make fresh pizzas on the grill, play games, sit and shoot the breeze, and oh....what a beautiful breeze it was!! We have been lucky lately, the weather has been a slice of Heaven and none better than tonight as we gathered with our family. So . . . we had a little slice of pizza followed by a little slice of what defines life . . . good times! Thanks again Mark & Ronda for the oasis to sit and relax, play, and stay in, and especially for your wonderful hospitality!"The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun . . . Jus' thinkin' about, tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow 'til there's none . . . when I'm stuck with the day that's grey and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say, ohhh . . . the sun will come out, tomorrow . . . so you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow . . . come what may . . . Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow -- You're always a day away!" Our own little auburn haired Annie.The corn sure is tall . . . it's taller than Nanna-Boat! Annie's getting so good at saying "cheeze" for Grammie!

Another delicious two-day weekend posted on the blog and put to bed. God is good, God is great, God, thank you for this time we spend together as a family! We are truly blessed!

quack quacks, garage sales & green jello!

2009-06-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY MORNING: FRENCH TOAST AT GRAMMIE & PAPA'S, A WALK TO THE PARK, ACTING SILLY AT THE GARAGE SALE, FEEDING THE QUACK QUACKS. AHH, LIFE'S GOOD!

Annie and her mama.Jeremy "helping" Jemmo into her turtle floaty.

Garage sale morning -- silly Mama in Daddy's waders and Annie's turtle floaty! Wade fast asleep on his mommie Erica's chest. Such a sweet face. Mama duck and her two adorable little balls of fluff! They seemed to float effortlessly above the ground as they followed their mama everywhere she went at breakneck speed. Just so darn cute!

Running to see Papa who just arrived at the park.Tossing bread crumbs to the ducks and geese (oh and a scattered blackbird here and there trying to get in on the food action!).

Lunch at Grammie & Papas. Left over mini meatloaf, tomatoes, blackberries (squished on Annie's tummy), and a new taste, wiggly green jello. Yummo!

We love, love, love weekends and time spent with the grandbaby!

guess who's coming for dinner

2009-06-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

Grammie made mini meatloaves (recipe below), a fresh salad with Ranch dressing, salty bread, and sliced bananas for dinner. Annie ate it all up, she was a good eater and even asked for thirds on the bananas! Progress!!! Laughing out loud with a mouthful of dinner!

Grammie is sooooo funny!The delicate little flower at the end of a chive plant in my friend Patty's garden.Cool construction near the Kohl's store, highlighted by the stormy evening sky. A sign of progress, the pest stuff has been done at their new home. End of escrow must be close!

Mini Meatloaf Recipe

1 lb ground sirloin

1/2 cup diced onion (sweet Vidalia onion)

1/2 cup salsa

2 cups Mexican 4 blend grated cheese

12 saltine crackers, crushed

1 egg

Combine ground sirloin, onion, egg, salsa, 1 cup of cheese, and crackers in a bowl. Mix well. Meanwhile spray Pam on a 12 individual cup cupcake/muffin pan. Place the mean mixture in the separate holes and push down. Take a small spoon and make a well in the top of each mini meatloaf. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Take remaining 1 cup of cheese and salsa and place in little indentations on tops of cooked meatloaves. Bake for an additional 3 minutes. Serve with a fresh green salad and bread. Enjoy! Quick, easy and delicious too!

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE - Circa 1956 and up

2009-06-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Whilst digging through my cupboards and drawers, I found some memories, captured in print. Enjoy a little of our history.

Ken and his twin sister Kim - how cute are they?Ken on his 15th birthday -1971. Just look at those long legs!!!My beautiful mom and I, circa late 1956. Purple leather or vinyl? Really, that was in style?Can you find me in my first grade picture - hint second row, LOTS of dark hair, white dress.....My Dad, Mom, brother, and I. Around 1959.Linda, Mark & Jill -- me and my siblings, circa 1960.Can you pick me out in this lineup? Tap dancing Indians from the '60s! The Young kids and the Linney kids goofing off in Tehachapi during the late '60s. That's me in the middle in the striped tee and cut-off jeans.

The Young family men. Dad, Ken, Dan, Jared and Henry. I am guessing this would have been around Father's Day, 1989, or thereabouts.

The Ridgeway and Letourneau kids at Disneyland -- around 1991, I am guessing.

My daycare days. Jen and Sarah must have been around 2ish, making Jared close to 5ish. The other little girl is some random blond kid from down the street I think.Jen, Jared, & Sarah, 1984.Sarah, Jared & Jennifer sharing a fun moment. I am guessing the girls are around 4 years old, making Jared around 6 and a half, to seven years old. I swear I see Annie in that face of Jennifer's.Jared, proudly supporting Jesus! Good times!Freckle-faced Jen, I'm guessing, 6th grade?Look how young they looked in 2005! Just babies!

JACUZZI SPA FOR SALE - $500 AS IS

2009-06-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: If interested, you know how to reach us. The last time we had it filled and up and running the spa/jacuzzi controls/jets worked fine. Before we placed it on the pad, we replaced all the jet tubing and it sat upright for a couple months. When we finally sat it down on the cement pad and started to fill it, it was leaking out of what on the jets. We believe that one of the newly replaced jet tubes had come undone (there are no cracks in the spa itself). However, we never got a bunch of guys back over to lift it back up and check it out. Why you ask? Because we were lazy and we just kept putting it off - it was hard enough to get 6 guys over to place it on the cement pad, let alone to come back again to lift it up again. And, I personally didn't care, the hubby liked the spa, I'd rather have a gazebo!

So feel free to come take a look at it, if you have enough guys, feel free to lift it up and inspect it, it will most likely turn out to be some minor little adjustment, but we're just too old to want to deal with it anymore....but for $500 it would be worth whatever small amount of work it needed to get it back into tip top shape!

New spas this size are priced well over $4,000, so this is quite a bargain. If you don't have a pool, spas are a nice way to cool off and relax during our hot summer months. This one seats 4-6 people and is fun for entertaining in your backyard. In the winter, they are toasty and help you relax and heal what's ailing you!!! (It has a cover, not in the best shape, but it will do to keep it out of the elements.)

Lowe's has flat bed trucks you can rent cheap, get about 6 big burly friends and move this puppy to your home. All for the low, low price of $500.....cash and carry baby! That's how we roll.

A = ANNIE, AVOCADOS, AND AWESOME VIEWS

2009-06-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

Annie washing Bella at Gammie's and Papa's. . .

Our little snuggle bunny, lovey dovey, apple of our eye!Miss Hollywood!

Avocados with Warm Bacon Parsley & Spinach Vinaigrette Salad - made this (pictured above) last night - a HUGE hit! A perfect summer dinner!

1/3 pound sliced bacon

2 firm ripe avocados, pitted, sliced

Fresh spinach leaves

3 garlic cloves

2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

Kosher salt

Ground Pepper

2 Tbls chopped leaf parsley (I left this off the recipe when I made it, because I don't like parsley.)

Blackberries

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Artichoke hearts

1. Cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels; let cool. Remove pan from heat and discard all but 2 tbsp. bacon fat. Place spinach on plate. Place avocado wedges on top of the spinach. Artfully place artichoke hearts, blackberries and halved cherry tomatoes around the edges and over the top of the avocados.

2. Heat reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add garlic, 1/4 cup water, the lemon juice, and sugar and simmer 1 minute, stirring. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley and crumble in bacon. Immediately pour over avocado wedges and spinach and serve. (Makes 4 servings.)

Nutritional Information: Calories: 270 (83% from fat); Protein: 5.2g; Fat: 25g (sat 5.7); Carbohydrate: 8.6g; Fiber: 2.5g; Sodium: 211mg; Cholesterol: 14mg

Above are two pictures taken from our backyard patio. Both of the evening sky, one of all the vapor trails that were crisscrossing over the dusky sky scape. (Chris took the vapor trail picture for me while I was out shopping, but under my direction - LOL!)

Little bird from Ron's Nursery peaking out from under one of my potted plants.

what kind of world are we leaving to our children . . . our grandchildren . . .

2009-05-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

We Americans generate trash at an astonishing rate of 4.6 pounds per day per person, which translates to 251 million tons per year! This is almost twice as much trash per person as most other major countries. What happens to this trash? Some gets recycled or recovered and some is burned, but the majority is buried in landfills. The amount of trash buried in landfills has doubled since 1960!This morning, Jennifer and Chris came over to work around our yard. After several hours of planting and hauling debris from the front yard and loading it into the truck, they were done. They were thankful (to be done) and we were thankful (to have it done). Everyone was happy. Ken and I then made a quick trip to the dump, aka, county landfill. We had a nice leisurely drive through the "not so nice area" of town (a little unnerving for me, but Ken is more at home as many of his "guys" hang out there). Above and below are pictures taken during our dump excursion.

As we drove closer to the dump, we noticed all the trash strewn about the road, in the orchards, plastered up against fences -- just everywhere. Although it's the law to cover and tie down your trash when hauling it to the dump, sadly this law is not followed by many people. The ultimate outcome of this blatant disregard for "the rules" is unsightly trash scattered about our city. Very sad.

We saw this sign at the dump and both wondered out loud "what the heck is 'grizzly maximum speed'." So I snapped a picture. Then when I was about to blog about it, it hit me, "grizzly" was surely what they call some of those BIG trash/earth movers. Now I get it, it's all clear now. (However, it still struck me as an odd sign.) Can't you just see a big old grizzly bear coming up behind you at about 25 mph and leaving you in the dust? LOL...

In the picture below, off in the distance, is a massive pile of discarded electronics. It was surreal looking at the pile of televisions and other electronic devices. Once forms of endless entertainment, now a heaping pile of rubbish. It was like a scene from the futuristic movies Mad Max or Escape From New York. One can almost imagine that Snake Plissken is out hiding behind this pile of wires, circuits, and other various digital components. Just strange to think about how we dump everything and then it is hauled out to this once fertile land and buried and buried and buried..... We continue to bury and contaminate our Mother Earth as we continue to throw away our trash without a second thought. It just makes you wonder "what kind of world are we leaving for our babies and for their babies....and on and on."

A dust storm laced with trash picked up and blew by us while we were unloading the yard debris from our truck. It was almost pretty to look at, but it smelled awful!

So, tonight I made a new pasta recipe using this Italian pasta shown below. The recipe was called: Pappardelle Al Telefono. It was made with this pasta (pictured below), marinara sauce, heavy whipping cream, fresh mozzarella balls, and fresh basil from my garden. I wasn't sure how it would taste, it was kind of milky red in the pan when I was finished with it, but let me tell you, it was very light and extremely yummy. My mom, Ken and I enjoyed it with a fresh green salad and fresh fruit. I highly recommend this light and easy recipe!

Sadly, the wrapper is now in the trash, and in a few days will be on its way to the county landfill. And the cycle continues.........BIG SIGH!

life - go out and make the most of it!

2009-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Above and below are "several" pictures I took today from inside the front cab of our truck (through the windshield, pardon the bugs), driving up the Grapevine. The clouds were just so large, fluffy, and white, they almost looked like they were the aftermath of an explosion! So, with my little Sony Cybershot in hand, through the windshield, bouncing along the highway, I snapped away. Here are the results....Spectacular...huh?!? We even experienced a moment of rain, however, it only lasted a couple minutes.Sleepy girl on our Saturday afternoon impromptu trip out of town.

Butterbean Carlson riding a beach pedal bike, she's so adorable and so, so, so much fun! So, the question of the day is . . . is it a turkey or a duck or a goose? It waddled like a duck, did a gobble gobble gesture like a turkey, had feet like a duck or a goose, up top it had the whole turkey look going on, but favored a duck or a goose from the lower neck down. Freak of nature? You be the judge! I couldn't find anything on the Internet to explain it and my son-in-law the hunter, couldn't explain it either.Visiting Gammie's work. (Gammie = her new word for me...love it!)Enjoying Japanese and sharing a silly face with her Uncle Chris. "Pass the tofu please!"

I've blogged about it before, but for some reason, Choppers likes to sit on Mia, he backs up to her, lifts his back legs in unison and puts them squarely over the neck and face of Mia. Then they both just sit there and watch television together . . . in this odd fashion. Crazy! My front yard, have I told you all lately just how much I love it? It holds a special place in my heart. Everywhere I look there's something else to see end enjoy. It's our little plot of paradise. My zinnias are all in bloom. Such bright, neon colors popping up all over my front yard.The view through my Lion's Tail plant. It it so beautiful in bloom.This is such a cool plant! The zucchini is producing! Get in line everybody! Below, my first veggie of the season, I'm so proud.This is the sofa at Jennifer Leather that Jen would like to have for their new home. It is gorgeous!

definition of "beloved" -- dearly loved, dear to the heart

2009-05-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many of us have really given much thought to, beyond the childhood reciting of the Ten Commandments, the fifth commandment, Honor thy Father and Mother? Did you really know that according to the teachings of the Bible, parents are entitled to a degree of love and respect which is due to no other person. God Himself, who has placed upon them a responsibility for the souls committed to their charge, has ordained that during the earlier years of life, parents shall stand in the place of God to their children. The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to give them love and tenderness, to lighten their cares, to guard their reputation, and to succor and comfort them in old age.

God exhorts us to honor father and mother. He values honoring parents enough to include it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) and again in the New Testament: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth" (Ephesians 6:1-3). Honoring parents is the only command in Scripture that promises long life as a reward. Those who honor their parents are blessed (Jeremiah 35:18-19). In contrast, . . . those who exhibit ungodliness in the last days are characterized by disobedience to parents (Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2).

Even Jesus, God the Son, submitted Himself to both His earthly parents (Luke 2:51) and His heavenly Father (Matthew 26:39).

Following Christ’s example, we should treat our parents the way we would reverentially approach our heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:9; Malachi 1:6).

This morning, Memorial Day 2009, Mom, my brother and sister-in-law Mark and Ronda, and I went up to visit the Hill of Valor where Dad was laid to rest just over two years ago. We go there to "the hill" not because we think our father's still there, because we know he is not; We go because it represents for us, the living, a gathering place to celebrate the memory of someone we cherished while they were with us. We join together to honor a man, a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, a friend, whom we all so deeply loved, recognizing he is absent of this place and now resides with our Lord. We make the trek to "the hill" because he asked his loved ones, his family, to remember him in this way, by gathering together and visiting his final resting place. We also gather to support his widow, our mother, because we love her and we know it means so much to her to have her children, her family, there beside her. She relishes being surrounded and supported by her family when she goes to visit Dad's grave. It's that support that strengthens her. My dear mother, in this modern day diary, I want to express to you, with great affection, that you are truly beloved!

We should never allow the cares of the world to overshadow the things that are most important—serving God through serving people, especially the people in our own families. The Bible says, "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise—"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth" (Ephesians 6:2-3).