Not Christmas Eve, but Christmastime Photos

No Christmas Eve photos from the north, just ones taken this morning before Andrew headed back up the mountain.

How bout some Christmas eve pictures?

Family Celebrity

Brianna Curtin is quite the performer! We are all proud of her! Here she is with Beth and Steve when she recently performed as a "Christmas Munchkin for the Wizard of Oz." Rumor has it Gramma Pete will be in the adoring audience for "The Nutcracker" later this week. [Photo Credit: Shawntea Curtin]

Most of the Group...

Many gathered in Doris Peterson's home to sing "Happy Birthday!" and celebrate at least 50 or so--give or take a decade or two...or three--years of life, love, and family. Ribs, tri-tip, corn on the cob, three cakes, and great company rounded out a fine evening.

29,586

On her 80th birthday last week, Gramma, Doris, mom was 29,586 days old. Happy birthday!

Today is the 19,901st day of my life.

…or

# 1,719,360,000 seconds
# 28,656,000 minutes
# 477,600 hours
# 2842 weeks

Want to know your age in days, minutes, seconds? Check out this link.

Tree Grabs Paper

Cindi found our newspaper this morning and took this picture with her phone. She said, "found your paper, musta been windy."

Dick & Jane Make Plans to Visit

My parents, Dick & Jane, booked their flight to Los Angeles for a visit. They will be here from New Year's Eve, landing at 7:00pm through January 8, 2011. They are staying at The Palms on La Mirada Blvd. in a one bedroom apartment for the week. This is free to them, since they live a a facility owned by the same company. That is very nice and they will have nice accommodations and breakfast ready for them when they are! They'll spend the rest of the day with us at the house or running around.[That guy in the photo is my brother, Ric.]

Grandma Pete Celebrates #80

It is "Happy 80th Birthday Week" for Grandma Pete and the family. Various festivities are planned and family members are gathering to celebrate with her. It should be a grand time! Here is a photo of Grandma and some of her grandsons the year she turned 75.

Record-breaking 113 degrees in downtown L.A.

Today is the hottest day ever recorded in downtown L.A. At 12:15 p.m., the weather station at USC hit the 113-degree mark, breaking the old all-time high of 112, set on June 26, 1990.

It makes today the hottest day since records in downtown L.A. started being kept in 1877, said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service.


More on this story at LA Times here and from NPR here.

I have officially passed...

...the tests to skip the year of Beginning Greek and Beginning Hebrew. I am enrolled in the second (Intermediate) year of them both. That means my summer goals were accomplished, and I am moving forward with proficiency in reading the Bible in its original languages. Many thanks are due to my professors for giving me the desire to study the languages. They have continually encouraged me in my studies.

Doris has a new computer

It is from Beth. Glen is helping log into various accounts.

Oops...everything's new!

I am now in a new room in a different dorm than I expected, and have a different, new, roommate. But I am thrilled to be back with everyone!

Since I had considered living off campus for a while, and filled out the off-campus housing application, I was put on a different list for housing, and when the off-campus housing application was denied, I was still in limbo concerning where I was going to live. This morning (the day I checked/moved in), my Resident Director called me and said I would be in a different dorm. So here I am in Waldock Hall, which does seem to have bigger rooms than Hotchkiss had. It is an all-boys dorm. The personality of the dorm should fit me better (my opinion as well as the opinion of just about everyone else).

I'm rooming with Chan Sol Park, a freshman who just arrived 4 days ago from South Korea. He's currently chatting on Skype with his girlfriend who started at Bethel College in Indiana this week.

I still have to schedule the tests for Greek and Hebrew after I know what my work schedule in the library is going to be like. But I am very glad to be here!

In 23 days,

I will be the roommate of an RA at The Master's College. I am excited at the prospect.

The Cat

So this is my almost 20 year old cat. This cannot possibly be the most comfortable place in the house for her to rest. After I took this photo she turned around and is now facing the other way.

Pool Pals

This is one of our new friends who hang out by the pool. Pretty and pretty spectacular, if you ask me...

Sam Got a Bath

Sam just got back from the groomers. Possibly the second or third official bath of his life. I think he has forgiven us.

Now What?

Slow times on the famblog. So, I'll jump on. I am enjoying the mild summer weather. With an exception of a couple of REALLY hot days, we've had great temps. That's all for now.

Rolling Stone and Resignation

Regarding General Stanley McChrystal's resignation, I have a few questions:

1. Why would someone of his responsible level make the comments reported in the article to a reporter?
2. What really happened? Did people investigate and verify the information to find out if it was accurate and true?
3. How does a reporter justify reporting information that will end someone's career? And then feel OK about that? What motivates that level of reporting, or was this a whistle-blowing report of some sort?

I am sad to see a career end this way and curious to know the whole story. Kind of military verbal suicide, so there must be more to this story.

Can we get a weather widget in the right column of the blog for Pico Rivera, CA please? Things might be a little hotter on this side o' the Calahari-like San Gabriel riverbed.

A cool thing about riding my bike to work along that man controlled drainage ditch is the changing ecosystem. When a solid rain falls and periodically through Spring as the snow at Baldy's tip runs down Azusa Canyon and floods the concrete, the pools become a haven for birds. Egrets and several other pencil-thin stemmed birds wade in to feed on river critters while Canadian geese gather and conspire to take off in a V. Gulls in hundreds if not thousands dangle and gossip. Ducks, jet-black birds with vermillion shoulders, tennis-ball colored finches, screeching Parrots, Falcons smaller than a grapefruit, semi-circled turkey vultures picking at a dead pit bull just beyond the fog...

The growth of meadowlike foliage with brilliant yellow flowers and lush green vegetation provide a pretty landscape for a few short weeks.

The changing climate allows fleeting moments of plenty for the animals, which all move on as the sun gains stamina. It must be difficult on the people who live under the bridges where the river meets Lower Azusa and the 10. At times there are signs of people between Peck and up much of the way. Half-heartedly hidden tents amid the mid-river trees, apparel spread along the rocks near a drainage, a trophy, a desk, cigarette packs, a bike, a tattered lawn-chair, cans; there are people living and functioning without a roof.

Along the trail I pass some of the same people, headed for vocation in the opposite direction. I make sure to say hi to each one. I pass by paísas on horse-back who always offer a proud wave, along the stretch of stalwart urban ranches that line the trail. There are horses, ponies and miniature cows that have remarkably long horns for their diminutive frames, with chickens, mutts and pest-control cats peppered in between. Seemingly suicidal ground squirrels, rabbits and fence lizards dart immediately in front of my bike on the path, each time narrowly escaping without incident.

I take the surface streets beginning with Ramona. Then a right on Maxson, cut over on Killian or Emery, right on Cogswell and I pass several streets where my Dad once lived. The neighborhood is not like when his family lived there. There are many pedestrians scouting for recyclables, teens out strolling who ought to be in a classroom and "gentleman's" clubs are conspicuous. Liquor stores, payday advances, discount shoe stores dispensing Jordans that cost a paycheck... all-pervasive graffiti. Soon-to-be fathers will some day marvel at how the same neighborhood has further changed in a generation.

I arrive ten minutes early in Monrovia, to cool down and tidy up a bit before walking in to work. Even with minimal sign that I have been doing cardio, people seem puzzled that I would choose to ride my bike to work...

World Cup Action

U-S-A...U-S-A...! Hope you were all watching when Team USA won their World Cup match today and moved on to the next level. It was a goal by Donovan at the 90 +2 min. point in the match against Algeria. So next week it will be USA in the World Cup AND the Tour de France begins. (Almost late getting Steve to his post-op check with his opthamologist with all this excitement!) See you all next week!

~ Confucius

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."

Earthquake~

Beat you to it.

I ate a breakfast burrito today and the last three days I've worked. I took yesterday off because I work Saturday. The pre-cooked sausage patties I received as part of my monthly food pantry assistance go well wrapped in a tortilla with eggs, cheese and salsa from Superior.

My mechanical horse awaits me in the garage. 7:32 departure time. One hour and ten minutes to ride to work in Monrovia.

June gloom has settled nicely, making morning bike rides very pleasant.

I redesigned a flyer to recruit volunteers for our Back-to-School event at the Santa Anita Race Track coming this August. It is time to recruit new members for Toastmasters meetings which happen weekly. In a vacuum, I was elected to "Sargent at Arms," a silly title that sounds really tough.

I stuck out like a sore thumb at the $75-a-plate Golden Plate Awards Gala last Thursday, also at the track. It was a ritzy event with a lot of Foothill area power players in attendance.

My cell phone is still somehow connected and in my pocket, but not for long. I am not sure who would be more inconvenienced when I remove myself from the wireless network of hand-held tweeters: myself or the advertisers who so eagerly want to connect me to the worldwide advertising Web...

Ooops. Time to depart...

Australian to win CA's bike race

Levi Leipheimer (from Santa Rosa, CA) has won the Amgen Tour of California for 3 years in a row, but this year, with only 1 day left to go, he's in 3rd place overall, 25 seconds behind after nearly 30 hours of racing. Dad and I rode to today's time trial in downtown LA.

Michael Rogers is the aforementioned Australian that looks like he's going to ruin Levi's party. Here he is going down the little steep hill in the race today:


Levi Leipheimer going up the same hill:

From 2010 AToC in LA

Tomorrow's final stage is a slightly hilly ride in Thousand Oaks.

Yesterday, the riders rode 135 miles from Palmdale to Big Bear, taking Angeles Crest Hwy on the way to Rim of the World Hwy at Big Bear. It was special watching them (from my computer) ride in places I've very much enjoyed riding in before.

This is on Angeles Crest Hwy, this side of Wrightwood.

(Thank you Graham Watson and associates for the picture.)

And, a more scenic shot, from one of my favorite places on CA-2/Angeles Crest, at about 7000'.

One Big Frig...

So we got our new refrigerator delivered today. Now that's one big frig...but so energy efficient and pretty, too! Too bad the water heater went out yesterday. Heard these things come in 3s...don't tell the other appliances...

Dick & Jane On The Move

My parents have leased a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment in a senior independent living center, and are very happy. They have been moving little by little with no rush and the help of friends. They plan to be living at the new place by the first week of May. They have been enjoying their meals there on a regular basis. They've met neighbors, planned the flowers to plant in container on their deck, repurposed favorite furniture, ordered phone service, and made plans to play cards with new friends, sew on Fridays with the women (mom), attend the movies, and watch out their windows for deer in the field. I'm having fun hearing all about it and hearing their happiness in the new situation. Their home is still for sale.

For a virtual tour: http://rtvpix.com/rst/BU-9379-INAHXL-01

"Nobody blogs anymore." - Anonymous

Our Newest Housemate...

Here is the boy...he is now home.

Glen & Cindi are sleeping all night.

He is not.

We have Gramma Pete,' Ms. Pete,' Mrs. Pete,' and now the fantastic Baby Pete!

Our Sunday Surprise

Well, our littlest housemate has surprised us all. To quote this morning's text message from the dad: "Elliet Catherine came out a boy! So, Peter Michael is 7lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long. He is perfect!"

He arrived safely last night at 10:00pm or so. We will go meet him this morning.

Good thing the nursery is brown and yellow!

Rain

Last Fri thru Sat we got 1.45" rain which made 14.26" rain this season. More to come this week

Doris

From the Whittier Daily News

Here's something fun.

You should be able to read it here.

Rain

I haven't been keeping up with my duties. We had 9.85" rain this season up to 1/10 Then 2.35" on the 5th, and .1" on the 6th and .5" on the 9th so now it is 12.71" so far this season in my back yard .

Where are they now?

Mountain snow

From TMC

Looking out from a hill behind TMC, taken yesterday (Sat). Also notice the towers at Six Flags.

From TMC

Hotchkiss is a green dorm

From TMC

Actually, it's brown on top. But there's green all around it. Solar panels are cool too. It's shaped like an 'H'.

Rain!

We measure rain by the wetness of the Dog. Gramma Doris measured half an inch overnight. There must have been more than that during the day. Stay tuned.

Refer Madness

Most of Sunday was spent with the refrigerator. It was collecting ice in the back corner of the freezer box, I thought it would be a good idea to manually de-frost the thing. It took a long, long time to de-frost that glacial pile of ice--clearly there was plenty of ice behind the back wall too. Vacuumed all the coils, the back, that fans, the motor.

Then thinking I was done, I plugged it back in and turned up the dial on the thermostat. Nothing happened. Nothing. Except the light came on. No sound. No humming. No cooling.

Oh well. My Placervillian sister had just told me recently that one can live without a dishwasher [and we have for some months] but you can't live without a refrigerator. --I don't know, maybe I can learn how to salt meat for long term storage.

After some time of looking for tips on how to fix a refrigerator on online do-it-yourself sites. It happened. With the freezer door still open. It started. A noise. Strangely loud. Familiar yet strange. Cindi called out with "what's that noise?" I had no idea. I came running. It was the sound of the refrigerator, amplified by the empty freezer box, with the door wide open. It had come to life. Ready to cool its inner-world.

We are still waiting to see if the ice maker starts to work again. But the water in the ice trays is already solid. Yay!

For Sale

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/263-Sand-Run-Rd-Akron-OH-44313/35437266_zpid/

My New Favorite Poem

Forgetfulness - Billy Collins

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.