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.

Tour Of California News

I'm sure everyone who cares got the same e-mail that I got, but in case you missed the announcment."Discovery Channel team will be back including Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie. CSC will be back and likely be armed with David Zabriskie and Bobby Julich. Also coming back is the powerhouse Predictor-Lotto (formerly known as Davitamon-Lotto) squad that features Cadel Evans, "Fast" Fred Rodriguez, and Chris Horner." I enjoy the Christmas season so much, and it is always a bit of a let down when it ends. Now I have something fun to look forward to with the Tour of California to ease the pain of Christmas ending.

This new word came up at dinner on Thanksgiving at Grandma Doris'

Wont

wont adj
accustomed or likely to do something (formal)

n
a habit or custom followed by a particular person or group of people (formal)

vti
to have or give somebody the habit of doing something (archaic)

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Beth and her favorite guys

Beth got to spend the day with her favorite guys. You can see from the shirts which one of them is the one she likes best. What a great thanksgiving for her and her sons.

Christmas Shopping this weekend

At least some of my Christmas shopping will be done at this website.

For myself, I hope someone gives me a goat.

Thanksgiving Pies

Brianna and MamaBeth made pies. They made apple and pumpkin pies. Brianna made small pies to take home with her. MamaBeth pinned a towel around Brianna's waist to serve as an apron. Brianna called it her "curtain".

Brianna and Mama Jane's Turkey Card

Brainna
received a Thanksgiving Day card from Moma Jane. She was really surprised. All the turkeys were punched out and assembled on the table. Thank you Mama Jane.

Remingtons Volunteer at an Ohio Polling Place

[As reported to Cindi, and shared here...]

Yesterday, Richard and Jane got up about 4:50AM, dressed, had breakfast and coffee and were off to the voting booth by 6:00 AM. The polls opened at 6:30AM and were open until 7:30 PM. We rushed home for a crock-pot heated bowl of chili, orange-carrot-pineapple salad, and then back to the voting booth all in 45 minutes. [Lunch] We did not even have a [bathroom] break until the polls closed. We had the hugest turnout ever! Most of the races were disappointing to me. Stopped for a cheeseburger which we brought home, ate, showered and hit the bed. We were VERY tired. But made it through!

[Proud of you, Mom and Dad, for being involved citizens. Where do you get the energy? The cheeseburger or the orange-carrot-pineapple salad?]

The Angel

Brianna was an angel for Holloween this year. She had a very good time. She said, "Trick or Treat." She also said, "Thank You." That was much better than the "smell my feet" she practiced in the car. Shawntea, Brianna, and Papa went to his old neighborhood and Papa saw a lot of his old neighbors. He even handed out candy at on of their homes so the neighbor could take a restroom break. We came home and eat MamaBeth's chili and fresh baked bread. It was a fun night and now Papa will take a nap.

936 in October

Only 11 today, pretty low since the average for hits on this site is over 20 per day. All our readers must have been out scoring some candy from the neighbors.

neato

i have the highest grade in my communications in modern society class. check it!
id number 68532
setting the curve with 136 points.
http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/etrotter/233/Fall2006grades.htm

black political thought might be another story... anxiously awaiting results for midterm test. yikes.

writing newspaper story today, off to school...

internet ocd

i'm not sure how compulsive i am. i do think this sounds a bit like me though. any thoughts?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6062980.stm

wish you were here

the sky was truly something to behold at sunset on friday. this is what i saw...

beth can't post

Beth has tried to post several times. She get's a message that techs are working on the problem. Her wonderful missives are absent as a result.

What's in your pool?

Friends of ours found this in their pool on Monday.

Our friend Jeff came over yesterday afternoon saying that our friends were on channel 7 and we should turn on the TV. We did, but never saw this story on TV. This photo is from the front page of today's Whittier Daily News.

DRIVER RESCUED: Emergency personnel remove a Ford Taurus from a pool at a home at Edmaru Avenue and Mar Vista Street in Whittier on Monday. The elderly resident of a nearby home lost control of her car and plunged into the pool after knocking down a brick wall. (Bernardo Alps / Staff Photo)

At the game

Cindi thought it would be a good idea to post this photo too. Guess which one is me.



I have exceded the 200 photo limit of my free account at Flikr.

Ohio Team Traveling West

Yes, once again, it will be our privilege to host Dick and Jane Remington for the Christmas holidays. They arrive on the 23rd. Deck the halls.

Twentyseven-seven

…was the final score of the UCLA-Arizona football contest at the Rose Bowl Saturday. Being the great sport fan that I am, and Cindi's reputation with college football (did you know that she once enjoyed season tickets for the Purdue Boilermakers) our friends, Jim and Lorainne invited us to the Rose Bowl yesterday. Jim met us there with a grandson and two of his friends. The kids had much better seats that us. Jim and the kids joined us at the Pasadena venue after the USC-Washington game that they enjoyed at the Collesium earlier in the day.



And, about the Dodgers--"next year."

bears, cars, life.

i'm watching the movie "grizzly man" for, like, the tenth time ever. it's a movie about an outsider who made a name for himself in a very uniqe fashion.
i really enjoyed my visual communications class today. the lecture was given by a substitute instructor, a young lady who teaches graphic design. in the recent weeks, i've come to realize that i want to do something more "affective" in the field of communications, rather than allowing so much of my time to be consumed by soul-sucking news. i'm writing for the school newspaper at rio hondo, but not really learning much from the classes i'm taking there that i couldn't have picked up on my own by simply observing newspaper reporting. i'm getting pretty good at playing my acoustic guitar, even composing my own music. i wish i would have been more confident, and felt more supported in learning guitar, as i think that my friends and family weren't exactly interested in hearing what i had to play.
i regret that it took me so long to make sense of the cold, manic world around me after graduating high school. i am now very eager to graduate from college and move on to the adult world where most of my friends, and people my age have already ascended.
i found out just today that i am in the hole 206 dollars to the department of motor vehicles for my delinquent registration fee, which was mailed to two addresses prior to my current one, explaining why i have no sticker on my license plate. they are now threatening to take money out of my paychecks at polly's every month until the balance is settled, which is why i will be waiting in line at the dmv tomorrow. i'm a total criminal.
timothy treadwell, the focus of "grizzly man" was devoured by bears, doing something that he found to be rewarding to him. the movie definitely makes one consider the worth of pursuing something in which one belives entirely. i often wish i had that drive, to do anything.

Quarter Century Celebratory Revelry

It was Rob's birthday celebration! The real birthday is tomorrow if I am not mistaken.


Southern California cousins.



Grandma and chiles on your cycling socks. And, undershirts on your head.


Rob had a cold. The ephedra based cold remedies might have had some effect on the victim object of our photographic affection.

Catching Up...

Haven't blogged in a while. I was thinking about what's been interesting in my life lately. I finished reading a book that I found personally challenging, "Chasing Francis." It is a clever blend of fiction and non-fiction. It's about a pastor of a "megachurch" who wrestles with big questions about his faith and the church's impact in a broken world. He travels to Italy for some time away and encounters the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. It digs into the topics that have been on my heart and mind lately:forgiveness, the poor, AIDS, the environment,homelessness, peace, and community, and how to respond to those things as a follower of Christ. I found it interesting, relevant, authentic, brutally honest, and entertaining.

I also saw a movie this weekend, "All the Kings Men." There will be Oscar nominations for this one. Very well done, though a troubling story. My friend, Erica, a US History teacher, gave us the background story. Complex characters and good dialog. Be ready for relational discomfort. This isn't a romantic comedy. It's based on a 1946 Pulitzer-prize winning novel made into a 1949 and a 2006 movie. The 2006 movie is not a remake, however. I thought the acting was excellent. The film is about the life of Willie Stark, a fictional character based loosely on a Louisiana governor, Huey Long. If you are looking for an entertaining, light-hearted evening out, this is not it. So, clearly, I liked it. And I did. Intriguing and insightful.

Where are the sports fans out there?

So, what about them Dodgers!!!!!!!!!

Since No One Asked

Since no one asked, my entire school was on Blue yesterday when I showed up to check on things. For the uninformed, blue is good, the Holy Grail of school behavior. Considering the group, it is an unparalled achievement for which I take all the credit I am due, which is none. Thanks to the teacher, paraeducator, and a three day weekend is probably more likely.

Don't ask about today...

John Hodgman is the PC guy in the MAC comercial

and, Rob and I were talking about him last night. He makes reports on the Daily Show. Anyway, he has a book out called The areas of my expertise. It is literary parody. Robert Siegel interviewed him on NPR this afternoon the Wacky World of John Hodgman. Ir you like parody and satire, check it out. If that's not your thing, walk away.

Invitation to Cruise Alaska 2010 [CORRECTED AND UPDATED]

Glen and I would like to invite the family to join us on an Alaska cruise in the summer of 2010 to celebrate Mom Doris' 80th birthday and Mom/Dad Dick & Jane's 60th anniversary. [Pay your own http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifways] This is the "start saving" alert. We had such a grand time and want to encourage a family cruise for any and all who'd like to participate.

This would be most successful if we were mostly independent during the day and shared dinner each night as a group to share experiences. That way everyone can spend the day the way they'd prefer and within their budget without trying to mobilize the group into agreement...a stressful thought. If we did end up on similar excursions or around the ship at the shows or something, that adds to the fun.

If you are interested, keep it in mind. We would probably book it one year in advance (2009). Current prices for rooms with a balcony -- highly recommended -- are $1450 - $1650 per person for a 7-night event. Our itinerary would likely include Skagway, Hubbard Glacier, Vancouver, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, and Juneau. I'd also hope for Icy Strait Point and/or Sitka, if it works out. Plan extra $$: airfare, tipping ($150-$200/week for two people paid at the end of the trip), excursions, a fancy photo ($15), etc. We had such a good time. It would be a grand family memory. Pricey, but unforgettable play time together.

Check your muster station

Everyone goes to a muster station before we leave the port. We were assigned to station #11.

Lot's of jokes about the ketchup drill that came much later.

mus·ter v
1. vti to bring together a group of soldiers or the members of a crew for a particular reason, for example, inspection, or assemble in this way
2. vt to gather people or things together for a particular reason
3. vt to summon up something such as strength or courage that will help in doing something

n
1. a gathering of soldiers or a crew for a particular reason, for example, inspection
2. See muster roll
3. any gathering of people or collection of things

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Anyone have plans for this weekend?

Anyone going Light a big ole fire in the back yard to burn any meat on the grill? If I were to light the fire, would anyone come over to watch or burn their own meaty food?

Travelling again

Wednesday through Friday it's Charlottesville, VA

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

Vancouver British Columbia--that's in Canada

Buchart Gardens




There is really no way to describe this in all its floral Canadian floweriness. Former cement quarry turned into a flower garden.