Christmas Lights everywhere you look . . .

This sampling from the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on 29 December (#1). And, (#2, 3, 4) from Griffith Park on 26 December.

I find THIS disturbing, grotesque. Is the premeditated conspiracy to kill this man going to raise the dead? Will this be "mission accomplished" again?

Christmas vacation was awesome! I got to do some golfing for the first time in about five years, with my brother David, my best friend from P'ville, Joe, and his friend Randy. David and myself think we're about ready to go pro. It is clear to see by these swings that we are legit contenders for the next Masters tourny.
...shaking off the rust.

We each got a par on one hole, and took turns driving the golf cart way too fast in the rain.


The other half of our foursome wanted to quit after the 13th hole, due to poor play and anticipation of a "squeeze burger" from the squeeze inn, a burger joint that has a counter, and 8 or so bar stools to serve a crowd usually double that, (hence the name) which serves the most artery clogging deliciousness known (and somewhat unknown) to the Sacramento area habitue.

In addition, we did some bowling the night before! Sweet!

I don't even watch as the ball gets sucked into the gutter...


The best part of my vacation was hanging out as part of the absolute coolest trio of knuckleheads ever born, the Weaver brothers. Corny!


Now, back to business! I have work in an hour... (sigh).

I met Paul for the first time this holiday week. Paul is a new intern at the Peterson/Curtin residence on Country Club Drive. Paul meticulously offers his assitance to Kyle while Steve is at work, or otherwise unavailable. Together, Kyle and Paul make a dynamic duo that rivals the one formed by Doris and myself. I was impressed by Paul's simple, but very friendly demeanor, as well as his dedicated attentiveness to Kyle's (sometimes quite demanding) needs. We were also able to chat a little about sharks, and other animals --(an obvious passion of his)-- Kudos Paul!

Kyle is not pictured here, he wanted to stay in bed. (Paul would "check back with him at 9:30")

Only time will tell if he is a good fit for the Beth Plan, similarly to whether or not Radmonovich will be able to play under Phil Jackson's triangle offense on the Lakers this season.

If you see Paul back at the ol' P'ville ranch, give him five for me!

I'm with floyd.

Christmas Wrapping

Brianna helped wrap Great Grandma Pete's and Mama Jane's gifts this morning.



She was posing so enthusiastically for the picture (with Sam's and Ashley's present, too) that Mama Jane's gift fell out of its wrapping. Oops!

Wish You Were Here...

If all goes well, click on the title to see a picture of the prime rib I came home with from Safeway this afternoon. Silly me, I told the butcher I needed enough for 8 - 10 with one of those being a 4 year old. She sent me off to do the rest of my shopping and I came back to this. Umm...looks like enough for 8 - 10 and 10 of their best friends, too. Wish you were all here! Enough for all!! Actually, you may see some of this if I bring leftovers.

A little further down the line, perhaps.
I'd love to work for a truly "fair and balanced" network such as Al-Jazeera.

This is such an honor! I'd like to thank all of my supporters who made this possible, Google, George W. Bush and the Tooth-fairy! Yay! We did this together! So many more to thank...

More gifting ideas

Sent from a friend in Colorado.

...from three little boys born in Africa...



...during their first trip to a major chain store here in America.

...out of the mouth of "babes" we remember what this time of year is for.

...don't give up...give the right things.

The Whittier Daily News has clearly been printing lies!
This morning's paper claimed that Whittier received only .14 inches of rain last night. However, here at Peterson labs we measured a reading much higher: .55 inches.
Here's Doris taking the official reading!

The folks at Whittier Daily News are decidedly not taking their job seriously.

Christmas Gifting

This year no one has mentioned applying a consistent method to family gift-giving. For information purposes, I am announcing that Steve and I will be gifting family members either as individulas or as part of a group, depending on our mood, time contraints, and opportunity. Nothing will be expensive, most things will be disposable, or able to be used up, or based on whatever else we choose. We look forward to spending time with you all at Christmas more than any thing else.

grandma's had her house painted, between a few other home improvement tasks here and there. she made a bold statement with her new door color.

see you all 'round the holidays!

On my way home

Checking in from Binghampton, NY where the airport has free WiFi service. Temperature is in the 20s; no snow today.

Traveling again--Appalachia

Ideally, I would already be in Chicago waiting for my flight to Charleston, WV. Instead, due to unfavorable weather in Chicago that has cause runway conditions that are delaying landings, I am in our living room, next to the Christmas tree in Whittier.

I will be taking a later flight to Washington DC (Dulles) overnight and then on to Charleston in the morning. This week's schedule includes Monday: Charleston, WV; Tuesday: Pittsburgh, PA; Wednesday: Binghampton, NY (from where I drive south to Montrose, PA). All these places are considered part of Appalachia. This is all freelance work--second year assessment work. We will make recommendations for capacity building interventions. That is why my company is called the Capacity Partnership Group.

In other news: someone got let go from the office this week. I was given more hours and more responsibility due to someone else's quitting last month.

Doris' Birthday Card

Brianna received her birthday card from Great Grandma Doris. She got distracted by the bubble wrap. For some reason only known to her she decided to put her present in her Christmas stocking.