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Wednesday 9/28/2006 10:15AM
Paul and I had a 4 hour long class last night in Bakersfield and didn't get home until after 11pm. The fire has settled down a bit today, so far and our fire crew here said that they may put guys on the ground to help fight it today. That will depend on the winds I'm sure.

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Wednesday 9/27/2006 2:07PM
We had a lot of smoke and ash yesterday. Paul and I rigged up sprinklers to hit the wood decks and pinon pines around the deck. It was a calm night and it had cleared up by morning and we had some fresh air and blue sky for a few hours. The sheriff came by this morning to issue a Recommended Evacuation. We're staying unless it gets really bad. The wind is blowing against the fire right now but higher up it's blowing the smoke back over us. There is some more info on the fire here: Pinon Pines Forum regarding Fire

I took iced tea and snacks out the the fire crew that arrived this morning. They are camping out to protect our street which is comforting. Each street has a fire engine and crew to protect the houses if the fire comes here. Right now it looks like Pine Mountain Club which is to the west of us is in more danger than we are. The fire is about 4 miles from where we are now but the wind is blowing it more towards Pine Mountain Club.

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Tuesday 9/26/2006 9:20AM
Got the word last night that we are under precautionary evacuation here in Pinon Pines. I packed up photos and my featherweight sewing machine and made a list of things to take if we do actually need to leave. So far were not in imminent danger from it. Lockwood Valley is now under a Recommended Evacuation because the fire jumped one of their bulldozer lines yesterday. It's hard to tell how far the fire is from here. The winds have been pretty calm and it does smell like smoke outside but we haven't had the orange glow from lots of smoke over us.

I've got a headache from my sinuses bothering me, probably due to the smoke. I'm going to try to get some work done today. I have a full schedule and have vowed not to take on any new jobs for the next few months while I prepare for my dental surgery to have my wisdom teeth out.

I baked another apple pie yesterday and gave more apples and pears away to neighbors. I'll give out some of the pie too because this is the second apple pie that I've made within a few days and even I'm getting a little tired of it. The recipe I use calls for 1/2 part brown sugar. I forgot do do that last night so I added molasses instead and it came out really good.

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Wednesday 9/22/2006 12:06AM
My horiscope for the day: Today's Virgo Moon indicates that you are at the end of one phase and at the beginning of a significant emotional cycle. Reflect on the previous months and reassess your present needs. Be daring and think forward a few months. Imagine how you can get to where you want to be, especially in the emotional realms and in the physical world. Thursday, September 21, 2006
That's a good one. I know that when I really want to accomplish something I need to think about it first and make some sort of a plan even if it's just putting the idea out in the universe. Otherwise I tend to get stuck in a sort of limbo of everyday monotony which can be very frustrating and dull. Currently I'm completely obsessed with sewing, disdaining work, and dreading getting my wisdom teeth out. All of those possible complications scare me.

I felt a little nauseas and antisocial today and didn't sleep well last night. I worked until 3pm then took the rest of the day sewing some double layer curtains for the upstairs window so that we don't have to use paper bags anymore to block out the morning sun. I had to run down to the hardware store for a curtain rod and also picked up a 6 pack of flowers to plant this weekend.

Paul spend the day at the track driving his Z4. Bettina came by in the afternoon and we talked about taking a sewing class together in Bakersfield. It would be only once a week in evenings and is a beginners class with a project of making PJs. It starts next month. I think it's only 4 classes. I'll probably go ahead and do it.

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Wednesday 9/20/2006 7:30PM
Went for a consultation with a dental surgeon down in Santa Clarita today. I need to have my wisdom teeth taken out and they are seriously impacted. On Friday I go for a 3D scan so that the doctor can see more information than the x-ray could provide. I will try to get a copy of the imaging so that Bela, our neighbor who is developing 3D imaging software for this purpose (and other purposes) can create a better model for the doctor to look at. He's spoken to this doctor about it before and the doctor is seems excited to have this technology. I'll plan to have the surgery in the next month or two when I can have to time to recover. I will probably not be able to do much for a couple of weeks at least. Hopefully there won't be too many of the possible complications like sinus problems and nerve damage which we discussed during the consultation today. I should have had this done when I was much younger and regret not taking care of it then as the problem is much worse now.

The fire is still burning up here and is slowly creeping over the ridge towards lockwood valley and towards us, though I don't think it's threatening our community yet, it is very close and somewhat disconcerting. The smoke is blowing away from us today which is good. At this point this fire has burned more than 100,000 acres and is the largest burning fire in the country. -->More fire and pie pics

I'm getting very anxious to receive a new featherweight 222 sewing machine that I ordered from the UK last week. It was shipped out almost immediately but is going through customs now in LA and waiting for inspection. This machine is like the 221 I have but is a freearm meaning that I will be able to sew round things like sleeves and hems on pants with it. This is one of the "Bargain Priced" as I didn't want a perfect machine and to be the first one to scratch it up by using it, plus the cost is a little more bearable than the best ones he has to offer.

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Monday 9/18/2006 8:45AM
On Saturday I spent most of the day sewing a skirt made from old jeans I used the newer machine as I didn't want to wear out the other one sewing through the thick material and I'm not sure that the larger needle is ok on that machine since the needle goes through slightly off center on the throat plate. It came out quite well but I still want to make a couple of adjustments. On Sunday I cleaned the house and then Paul and I took Bela Jr and drove out Lockwood Valley to see the fire. We could actually see a ridge burning from there. The fire at that point was about 12 miles away. It was very windy yesterday so it really flared up and doubled in size. It's heading towards Filmore and Ojai and our friend Mike said that the smoke is really thick down there. On a satellite image the smoke covers the entire area Ventura County and out into the ocean. It was over 80K acres burned or burning yesterday.

We had all three kids over for dinner yesterday. Bela Jr. helped fold laundry and worked on refrigerator poetry. Margo & Leda made mashed potatoes and kale. I made noodles, fish sticks, french fries, a cucumber salad and biscuits. It was a bit of a last minute plan but turned out well.

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Monday 9/11/2006 8:30AM
We had a nice weekend at home. Paul worked in the yard and on his Mustang. I cleaned the bathroom did laundry and baked a pie with Leda from Berries we picked in the back yard. The weekend went by too fast and there are still too many things that I didn't get to.

Yesterday afternoon after Leda and I picked more fruit in the front yard Paul and I drove down to see where the fire is still burning. The smoke has been spreading up here and making the light outside orange. It's burned up behind lake pyramid and is really big but still pretty far away. They have closed Gorman because a lot of the firefighters are entering through there to get to the back side of the fire though it's still pretty far to the south of us.

Well, it's Monday and I really don't want to work today. I never did get a chance to try the new presser feet that came for the featherweight, though I did oil the parts and cleaned out the area under the throat plate on the machine, which I couldn't do early because I couldn't get the screws off. Luckily Paul had no problem getting them off.

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Thursday 9/7/2006 12:00PM
I dream of having a timber frame home on the rolling hills in South Western Missouri. With hundreds of acres of trees, prairie, springs, streams, rock outcroppings and a lake. I want horses running free on the property, a few cows, chickens, and a vegetable garden. I want to have good friends for the occasional bar-b-que, hiking adventure, or shopping trip and of course, health and happiness with my one and only Paul.

Now about 10 years ago my dream was to have a little house in the woods. It seemed far out of reach at the time when I was renting a small one room "apartment" in Santa Monica. When we moved into this place there was a piece of paper posted on the door that read "Welcome to the Woods" with stickers on it. I didn't realize until months later when I read my eBay personal profile goal, "to live in a house in the woods" that I realized that this dream had come to pass.

A lot of things in life are like that. You have to dream them first before they can happen. At least I believe this is so. It seems that we get what we ask for. It's important to realize this because I believe that if you are not happy in your life or your relationships you need to really take a hard look at what you are asking for (that you might not even know you are asking for). Things usually happen for a reason, and you're it.

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Wednesday 9/6/2006 9:00AM
On Sunday Paul and I drove down to Bakersfield and test drove the Toyota FJ Cruiser. It handles well and Paul says is very well made from the underside (ie. the 4 wheel drive, frame and engine) but I wasn't impressed with the cheap plastic quality inside and out. It also seemed smaller inside than I would imagine. It's not as roomy as my PT Cruiser, however the small back seat also lends to a larger cargo area than the PT has. Good qualities are comfortable driving and the 4 wheel drive for playing out in the hills. I'm still on the fence now though. I have 20K miles left on my extended warranty on the PT. I have a couple of months to catch up on bills and get my credit in order also. I really love my PT and may just keep it, though having a new car under warranty is always nice. I may also start shopping around for a classic car instead. I really love good quality and these days it's hard to find.

On Monday Bettina and I went down to Bakersfield to Hancock Fabric and took advantage of the Labor Day sale they were having. We've planned to make a skirt that she found a simple pattern for and picked out some fabric for that. I also bought some other fabrics I liked and some .99 cent patterns. Paul spent the day working on getting the cotton woods out of the yard and peeling old stickers off of his race car with Bela Jr. I made a tri tip on the Bar-b-que for dinner.

Yesterday evening after work I finished the pair of muslin pants I was working on. This and the apron are my first two clothing projects on the sewing machine. I used the Featherweight for both. I made a pattern out of brown craft paper using another pair of linen pants I have for gardening as the guide. I experimented with different seams and folded all of them under (something I forgot to do on the apron, which Paul brought to my attention). The apron was made from a pattern that was Zendola's (Paul's Mom).

More pics starting in the middle of this page (click here)

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Wednesday 8/30/2006 5:30PM (PT)
It's been almost a week since we got back from our trip but it already feels like it was longer. We had a few days to recover and start on battling weeds in the garden again. Our pear tree was so loaded down with fruit that one branch broke and another was touching the ground. I thinned it out so hopefully we'll have some nice big pears in a month or so.

We had a bar-b-que with the neighbors when we got back home on Thursday which was nice.

I had a relaxing and quiet Birthday at home on the 26th. I organized the guest room which is now also my sewing room and arranged the new sewing machine I bought before we left and the new one I got that was Paul's moms (a beautiful antique Singer Featherweight 221) on the folding table in the corner. I hung up some pictures and just spent the day doing stuff I wanted to including watching some old black and white movies, which I've been getting really into lately.

On Sunday we had a little get together for my Birthday and Bettina and the kids brought over a cake and gifts; A nice little cup and saucer from Margo, A deck of hand drawn Tarot cards from Leda (really amazing, all 72 cards hand drawn!), An artistic hand made parrot from little Bela, Material for sewing from Bela & Bettina and hand made place mats and a quilt wall hanging from Bettina. Paul bought me two nice sewing books one that comes with patterns for making a skirt, pants and shirt.

After the luxury of relaxing for a few days it's back to work. I've been catching up on emails and phone calls and the usual grind. I did take a break last night though to make my first apron on the Featherweight. The older machine sews a bit slower but is smoother and easier to control than the more modern one.

Now I'm taking a break to get the rest of my photos organized and finish my trip blog. I figured I'd better do it before my memory fades. I'll pick up where I left off below.

Day 10/Aug 18: Greer, South Carolina. We drover from Sevierville (pronounced Severe-Vale.. I've been corrected again just today by a client of mine who used to live around there. They don't say ville they say vale, she says. So it goes.) through the Smoky Mountains National Park to Greer South Carolina where Paul's high school friend Bill Mulkey and his wife Carmen live with their two 10 year old daughters, Mackenzie and Morgan. We got in town around 8pm after about a 4 hour drive and met up at a Mexican restaurant. After dinner we went back to their home and sat out on the back porch talking until almost 1:30am. We checked into a nice hotel, the Courtyard Marriot in town for the night then would head out the next day since Bill was busy with plans with his wife the next day. It would have been nice for Paul to have had more time to spend with his friend but unfortunately the wife had other plans :/
Day 11/Aug 19: From my Journal: "We are now in Jackson Mississippi in a Comfort Inn. It's an older one and not nearly as nice as the Courtyard Marriot we stayed in last night in South Carolina. This one has a warped wall and smells like mold or mildew. We went out to eat at IHOP after looking around for American Spirit Cigarettes with no luck. Tomorrow we're heading to Abilene TX to visit with Paul's dad for a few days. It will be nice to stay in one place again and be able to settle in a bit. Today's drive was very long and boring. We took the 20 all the way from S.Carolina through Georgia and Alabama to Mississippi, about 500 miles of tree lined highway with almost no breaks. I was hoping to see more but it's impossible from the highway.

I've had a sinus headache all day today. Just took a sudafed which hopefully wont make me drowsy tomorrow. I took one the day after leaving April & Ron's and felt really tired for all day."
Day 12/Aug 20: We drove through Louisiana and into Texas and got in early enough to go to dinner with Paul's Dad, Bill at Olive Garden then stayed up a bit to chat. Victoria got in later as she was at a birthday party.
Day 13/Aug 21:Cigarettes and Texas Horses: By this time Paul had been smoking Winston's for a few days and was hating life. We went to the Leaf in Abilene which is the local Tobacco shop for some American Sprits. Paul bought a case. I think it's The only place in Texas that sells them. Funny thing happened then, when he went to put the new case in his usual spot, in the compartment under the seat, he found that there was still a whole pack of American Spirits left!

I made friends with two horses that live out in the property behind Bill's 7.5 acres. They were very sweet and had about 25 acres of land to run on. I wanted to take a picture of them but the next day they were no where to be found. I had seen a horse trailer on the property so I think maybe the owner moved them to his other property that Bill mentioned he had. Paul and his dad went into the huge metal building Bill built for storage and his tractors. Bill still keeps Paul's toys and every time we visit tries to get him to take them back. I told him we would build a special toy room for them when we move to Missouri ;)

Paul came across his mom's old sewing machine. It's a Singer Featherweight 221 from 1955 and comes in a portable case. It's quite small and light weight compared to the one I got at the garage sale before we left. Bill said that he didn't have any use for it and gave it to us. He also found a large cutting mat for sewing which he gave to me. I cleaned them up and started researching the machine online. It took me about 30 minutes to figure out how to get it threaded but once I did and I adjusted the tension it sewed beautifully.
Day 14/Aug 22: We had lunch at a typical Texas place which is the all you can eat style place with long bench seats. I had the bar-b-qued ribs, beans, cabbage, cornbread and root beer. Afterwards I talked Paul into dropping by the sewing store so I could pick up some needles and oil for the Featherweight. I couldn't wait to get back and start using it. I had tried it a little bit before but you don't want to run those too much without fresh oil in them. I looked up the directions online and oiled all of the parts and then worked on making a small quilt sample which I gave to Bill and Victoria before we left.
Day 15/Aug 23: Heading Home. We left Paul's Dads after having lunch with him and Victoria. It was hot. I snapped a few pictures and then we were on the road again headed towards home this time. We drove all the way through Northern Texas and into New Mexico where we found a Hampton Inn in Las Cruces to stay the night in. The room was really nice but there were a couple of mosquitoes loose and I was only able to assassinate one of them, the proof of the survivor was causing me to search out my cortisone cream the next morning. We had dinner at Denny's and noticed a lot of bugs in the air. New Mexico and Arizona have been getting lots of rain and flooding lately which is probably the reason. It's also the reason for the beautiful green and flowered desert which is usually brown when we've driven through it before.
Day 16/Aug 24: We drove on to Arizona up to Phoenix just when Belinda happened to be flying in to see her boyfriend Steve who lives there. We met them for lunch before continuing on our drive home. After the nice break it wasn't hard to keep going. We hit a little bit of traffic getting out of Phoenix but it wasn't too bad. We drove through a huge sandstorm at sunset and I got some interesting photos of that. We got home around 11pm. The house was so clean we thought we were in the wrong one. But that was Bettina that had cleaned up for us and sorted our mail to make it so nice to be home again.

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Thursday 8/17/2006 9:15PM (ET)
I'm working on uploading some of our photos from our trip. Today we are in Tennessee in a medium sized town called Sevierville near where Paul's friend Bill Talley lives. It was a nice drive in from Paducah, Kentucky where Paul surprised me with a room with a Jacuzzi tub in it. Right now I'm waiting for Paul to finish up some emergency work he's doing with Wayne. They are having some technical problems in LA again. So I've got some time to kill here I'll give you the update on our trip.

Day 1/Aug 9: We left the house around 1pm and drove up the 40 through Southern California, stopping at McDonalds for a bite in Needles before crossing the Colorado River into Arizona. We filled up the truck with diesel in AZ (cheaper gas prices than CA) where a storm was blowing wind and dust around. We had just a few drops of rain though before reaching our destination in Flagstaff AZ. The drive was about 8 hours. We stayed in a Motel 6 on the eastern end of Flagstaff.
Day 2/Aug 10: A 12 hour drive to Lubbock TX. This was a long drive from the mountains of AZ through New Mexico and flat endless highways in Northern Texas. We saw a couple of rainbows and drove right through the middle of two big storms. Again we only got a few drops of rain, but we did see some lightning. By the time we finally got in to Lubbock we were listening to Marilyn Manson and Metallica to stay awake. We checked into our favorite hotel, the Courtyard Marriott.
Day 3/Aug 11: We went to breakfast at IHOP and then to the wedding rehearsal at the Holiday Inn just down the street from our hotel. We went to the Lubbock Club in Texas for the rehearsal dinner and had filet mignon and wine. Friends and family of James and Carrie gave heartfelt speeches and those in the wedding got gifts. Paul received a knife engraved with his name from James.
Day 4/Aug 12: The wedding. We arrived at the hotel early and I helped setup the tables in the reception room. Paul walked Melanie and her mother down the isle to seat them during the ceremony. Afterwards we had lunch cake and punch. James asked me to dance and I reluctantly agreed. It was a bit embarrassing as he tried to teach me the two step in my high heels, which I could barely walk in let alone dance in. It was a lot of fun though and I'm glad I got to participate. Later in the evening we met up with James and Carrie and some friends of theirs for a little get together and garage pool. We got to bed around 2am or so.
Day 5/Aug 13: Driving to Missouri. We weren't sure if we would make it all the way through after the long day we had before. It was about a ten hour drive straight up through the pan handle and Oklahoma. We stopped at a hamburger place for lunch and the people in OK were really rude and everyone seemed grumpy. We were so glad to finally reach Missouri where I've yet to find an unfriendly person. We reached April and Ron's house around 9pm and stayed up to chat and look at fire flys out on the back deck.
Day 6/Aug 14: I had coffee and a breakfast bar and checked in with work while April and Ron both worked on their computers and Paul slept in. One project of mine was having some issues but with the help of Mike and Randy it was solved soon after. There wasn't much I could do anyway with the limited internet access. I made friends with April and Ron's new frisky puppy, Rehn. Later, we took a drive with April and Ron to the Mark Twain forest near some caves, which we couldn't find. We did find lots of fossils though. They are everywhere you look on the broken bits of orange and cream colored rocks that lay about on the forest floor. We went for a very short walk to a muddy pond surrounded by grape vines, broad leaf trees, pines, and tons of other types of plants and flowers. I saw some really odd looking dragonflies that have light blue bodies and black wings. We went back to the house and shot guns off of the back porch. I brought my Sig 380 along and Paul brought his new Kahr 45 so along with April and Ron's collection we had quite an arsenal. We setup targets in front of the thick woods in the back. Afterwards we went to the big Sporting Mall, Bass Pro Shops, in Springfield Missouri to look for a holster for my gun and pick up some ammo. Paul found a couple pairs of good boots there but I couldn't find a good holster so some of the guys there recommended a store down the road which we could try in the morning. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some frozen fries and ice cream to go with hamburgers and had a nice dinner. We watched a great movie called the Island and I did some laundry at the house. I went to bed around 1 or 2 and Paul stayed up talking to April until about 3am. Ron had to go to bed earlier so that he could get up early for work the next day.
Day 7/Aug 15: We woke up late and packed up our stuff. It was hard to leave our friends and their cozy house in the woods but also exciting to venture out to places we hadn't been before. We drove across the southern part of Missouri. The forest of broad leaf and pine trees grows thicker to the east then everything flattens out and there are some very large farms growing mostly beans and corn. The Mississippi river forms the boarder between Missouri and Kentucky. We crossed near where the Ohio River and the Mississippi river meet and for about 2 minutes we were in Illinois before crossing into Kentucky. In Kentucky we were on a smaller highway with large trees on both sides. The houses lay closer to the road and seem to have a more Southern look. Most of them are pretty small but everything is incredibly neat and tidy. It seems as though people must mow their lawns twice a week. There are almost no fences just big lawns and lots of trees.

We arrived in Paducah KY while it was still light out and checked into a hotel with a Jacuzzi tub in the room which was very relaxing after the 5 hour drive.
Day 8/Aug 16: Another 5 hour drive brought us into Sevierville (pronounced Severe-Ville), a town near Seymour where Bill Talley lives now. Bill is a friend of Paul's who's moved back to his birthplace for his last days while he's receiving treatment for cancer. We checked into our motel then visited with Bill for a while in the evening. He is in good spirits and gaining his strength back. He has a nice apartment with rolling hills and trees in the back yard.
Day 9/Aug 17: Paul had to work late on some problems with the network in LA so we slept in. We took Bill out to lunch at the Red Lobster and then stopped at the Tennessee Trading Post to buy some souvenirs. Bill spotted a rocking chair he liked and Paul and I secretly planned to get him a couple later on, which we surprised him with later that evening. Our hotel has no laundry so after a late dinner at IHOP we found a 24 hour laundry mat in Pigeon Forge, about 10 miles up the road. Pigeon Forge is like Las Vegas and Disneyland mixed together. There are blocks full of mini amusement parks, laser tag, miniature golf, theaters, and kitsch stores. Everything was closed when we drove through. We got to the laundromat around 1:30 am. It's on a quite road just outside of Dollywood amusement park. The cicadas and frogs are the only sound except for the occasional car and the hillbilly across the road calling their dog, "Dixie"! We had the laundromat all to ourselves and had fun with the 25 cent "Love Meter" (I'm a "passion flower" and Paul is a "nerd") and then bought 75 cents worth of super bouncy balls. I sacrificed one to see if I could get it to bounce across the highway and into the woods (a successful experiment). The other two kept us busy with an invigorating game of bouncy ball tennis and probably entertained whoever monitors the security cameras. We splurged and bought 2 plastic drawstring laundry bags (the fanciest ones in the vending machine) and played around with the idea of buying 20 bouncy balls and putting them in a dryer then opening the door... we didn't do it, but it sounded like a fun idea. 3:30 am now and time for bed.
to be continued...

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Monday 6/26/2006 10:00AM
After a long weekend of being out in the yard, sweating in the sun and moving dirt and rocks around, it's hard to get back in front of the computer. Paul and I got a little closer to our goals with the yard. We expanded the rose planter, rearranged an edge of the driveway and replanted rocks. Moved dirt and wood chips into the rose garden and wen't to the dump with old cross ties, and other junk. We still have hours more to look forward to but it's coming along. We have plans to put in two new trees. A pine and a plumb tree. Once we're done moving dirt and wood chips from the side of the yard we will be putting in a little shed for storage. We're working our way back to the back yard where the garage will be... someday.

We finished the weekend off with a nice visit with Bettina and Margo on the front porch while the sun set and the bats flew around.

Now back to 500 spam emails to filter through. Maybe by noon I'll actually get something done here.

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Monday 6/7/2006 10:00aM
I'm having a horrible bout of procrastinationitus.

I've been working too much for so long and I need a break. I'm daydreaming about snorkling in Hawaii and hope I can make a trip to the big Island to visit Michelle in the next couple of months.

I'm also hoping to get away for a day or two to Las Vegas with my Grandma Linda... If she's feeling up to it.

Until then I will continue to plod on.

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Saturday 5/27/2006 1:00PM
This spring has been full of cleaning, working, and the ocassional Bar-b-que.

Seems like it's been forever since I've written here. I've been very busy with the business. Paul's birth-mom, Barbara and her husband Don came and visited us for a weekend and we went to the Lilac Festival. Before that we were finishing up the laundry room and cleaning the house every spare moment, plus a little yard work in between.

Yesterday and today I'm feeling a little under the weather with a sinus headache but that's not keeping me from enjoying the nice day. After breakfast and an episode of Star Trek I washed dishes. In between dishes and after I took some humming bird photos and read more about the shutter speed, and ISO settings to get them to come out better. I think I got a few pretty good ones. My camera is charging now but I want to take some more of the ones outside of my office later this afternoon.

I finished a painting which I will be sending to my friend Ben up in Canada for his new studio. I'll post a photo of it here after he receives it. I'm looking forward to having more time to paint this summer.

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