Month: February 2016

24 February …

 

Well … I’m the Presiding Officer for the radio club for another year.

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Weather is still doing a guess-what-comes-next thing.  After I posted the blog last week, it began to rain (over 2″ by the time it was done) and it had begun to snow by the time we left the radio clubhouse to come home … then thursday morning the snow began in earnest. 

By friday morning it was winter again.

By friday afternoon the hydro intake was clogging so George took off on the “mule” to clear it.

By sunday, when we went grocery shopping, the mountain was looking nice.

By monday the thaw had left only about 40% of the ground covered by snow.

By tuesday morning, as we left for Medford, at home most of the snow was gone but the Mountain looked fine …

and the reservoir is obviously filling.

Then this morning we were treated to really cold sun.

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My scheduled session at the Family History Center was cancelled again.  They weren’t even open.  Who would go out to do genealogy in a snow storm?  Next scheduled session … 3 March.

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Yesterday we saw the retinologist … again.  Not much improvement, but that’s a plus because at least his eyesight isn’t deteriorating.  Next appointment the end of March.

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Our range’s oven is failing.  So while we were in Medford yesterday, we went by West Coast Appliances to check out a new range.  What an eye opener.  We had paid about $350 – 400 for the one I have.

I would like to have two ovens … a small one for small stuff like a pie or muffins or a single loaf of bread and a large one for turkeys or when I’m baking several things at once.  Forget it.  Lowest price we saw was $1,200+.

So no extra oven.  Maybe a small separate one like the toaster evens we used to have but large enough for a 14′ pie?  Starting price $ 599.  And this is at a discount dealer.

We shall see …

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Remember a couple of weeks ago when I went on a rant about our local NPR station?  At the time all I was doing was letting off steam.  I had no idea anything could be done about it.  I just assumed we would continue listening and ranting at the begging and commercials.

However, our younger son had a solution. 

We now have Sirius radio … woohoo.  But that has presented a new problem.  When you’re standing at the buffet table, how do you decide what to put on your plate?  Met Opera? 40s-50s music?  BBC news?  NPR news?  Smooth Jazz?  Blues?  Symphonic?  TED presentations? and on … and on … and on …

We are blessed in our children.

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I recently finished reading the first of the Shadowhunter books.  Fantasy in full bloom.  An easy, fun read. 

Still dabbling into the history of the Tudors.  What a fascinating time.

And I’m also reading in “Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets”.  So far it is a mixed bag, but then so far I’ve read only four of the stories. 

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The “light” year is going forward.  As I get out of bed a bit after 0500 I can now see the difference between the black trees and the light blue-charcoal sky.  By the time we finish breakfast, it is light enough to see everything outdoors.  The sun is not yet up before 0630, but the change in “day” length is noticeable.

~~~

Last week I got a note from a cousin about some pictures I’d used.  He sent one of a railroad crossing with a “Yield” triangle sign right below the railroad crossed bars.  It had been taken as the car was moving and I wasn’t able to clear it up enough to post. 

 

 

I did, however, find this crossing signs on another web site (no photographer listed so can’t give credit).

 

~~~

As a close …

here’s a shot of one of my favorite sections of the road to our house.  It’s the last climb before you get to the driveway.  It pleasures me every time I drive it.  May be the trees.  May be because we’re home.  What ever …

 

And so … an interesting thought in closing …

 

Men with courage do not slay dragons, they ride them.

 

‘Til next week …

 

 

 

 

 17 January …

 

Last wednesday we made a trip out to Yreka.  It was a shopping trip.  George suggested we have dinner at Casa Ramos. 

What’s to say “No” …

We go there most every time we do shopping in Yreka … unless we’re in a hurry.  Then we go to Subway in the south-of-town shopping center.  I prefer Casa Ramos.

We always have the daily special.  Last week it was a Mucho Grande (Pollo) Burrito.  Yea … Mucho Grande.

You know those big, oval, heavy pottery plates Mexican restaurants use?  Well, those burritos filled the plates.  The chopped greens, salsa, tomatoes, and sour cream had to go on top of the burrito rather than on the side.

I always leave there with a full belly, a big smile, and three or four of their chocolate mints.

If there is a Casa Ramos in your area … try it … I’d bet you’ll like it.  They are owned by a single family who insist on authenticity and quality.  And no, I was not paid for this commercial … but we do get a veteran’s discount at the local places (one in Mt Shasta, one in Yreka).

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Ever need an eye candy lift during your day?  I get one from my older son’s page when I feel that need … http://occularity.tumblr.com/

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The situation up in Oregon in re public lands has this area mesmerized.  There was a gathering in Yreka last week … men in cowboy hats, with sidearms, on horseback.  That was interesting.

I was unaware there was any federal land in this area being used by ranchers for grazing.  Guess I should have known. 

A bit ago there was talk of creating a National Monument for land protection in the northeast part of the county and signs saying “NO Monument” showed up.  There are still a few of them around, but no longer any big fuss.

I wonder what happened.

~~~

Two days before Valentine’s Day there was an article on NPR about how folks buy Valentine gifts.  It said that when you’ve been together a long time, you tend to buy gifts which benefit both of you … George said  “Happy Valentine’s Day.  I bought you an electric chain saw.”

Let’s see … what did I get for him ???   Garden seeds.

~~~

I had an interesting interlude yesterday morning.

When I am sitting at the computer, I can look out the south windows past the trees, across the meadow, toward the Eddys. Early tuesday (as the morning light began), I was concentrating on finding an agent for the work I’ve been fiddling with for a few years and I glanced out the windows just to get a boost from the view.  It was as I expected … soft, clear, green, and gold.

I went back to work and when I glanced out again, about 10 minutes later (the sun still wasn’t up), I could no longer see the mountains.  They had hidden in mist/fog.  I could, however, still see the meadow.  Two minutes later the meadow had joined the mountains in the fog.  Another couple of minutes and the trees near the meadow were gone.  Another minute or two and trees near the house were getting gauzy.

Then all of a sudden the view was back to soft, clear, green, gold.  The air was so clear I was able to see the remaining patches of snow at the top of the meadow and on the mountains.

What a ride …

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The death of Scalia … quite a surprise.  I was anticipating the loss of Ginsberg first.

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It appears we will finally be able to elect the amateur radio club officers for the coming year.  The roads are clear so the meeting this evening is a go.  I think I know what the results will be … but stay tuned.

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Latest misplaced modifier … “He never knew his father who died when he was two-years-old.”

Neat trick …

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Winter snow does us a favor sometimes not noticed.  It clears most of the moss build-up off the roof.

Rain this morning … due to last through tomorrow with the possibility of snow above 3,500′. 

We’re at 4,200′.

~~~

And finally, today is “Random Acts of Kindness” Day.  With that in mind, here is some advice for the coming week …

 

“Let your dreams be bigger than your fears and your actions be louder than your words.”

 

So … ’til next week …

 

 

10 February …

 

Last week was a bit out of kilter.  Sorry the blog was late.  I am hoping that time is past as I begin to plan for Spring.

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I think I neglected to share a photo of this year’s under-tree train.

The engine is different.  The joy is the same.

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The wheel of the year is certainly turning.  It seems just a few days ago that it was completely dark outdoors by 1530.  Now it is still light at 1800.  Soon twilight will last until 2300.  Time is going by soooooo fast.

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We had snow again beginning on Groundhog Day and continuing, but not steadily, until the weekend. 

I missed my session at the Family History Center … again.  Our road wasn’t in deep snow, but what snow we had was on top of ice. I had to go out for mail and it took me thirty minutes to go the three miles to sanded pavement. 

The FHC used to expect this and just not schedule me from the middle of December until the end of February.  I am hoping we are getting back to “normal” in re snow pack, so that schedule may become the norm again as well.

I am getting antsy about starting the family history which involves non-US research.  Maybe I’ll have to find a way to upgrade my Ancestry membership to International for half a year.   Oh well …

~~~

Friday last, we received this notice from the local landowners’ group … 

“Today’s power outage lasted for one hour and sixteen minutes with ten thousand five hundred customers effected.”

Reminded me how lucky we are with our power set-up.  We didn’t know anything about the outage until we got the email.  Our lights and house equipment (such as the washer and fridge and telly) were working as usual.

Oh well …

~~~

Recently heard this report on NPR, and am still digesting the idea that we are funding both sides of the conflicts in the Middle East and the Ukraine.

The Pentagon is spending money to counter Russian aggression. And yet to launch top-secret military satellites, the Pentagon still relies almost entirely on rocket engines made in Russia.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, at a January hearing Sen. McCain held on the Russian rocket engines, told his armed services panel the U.S. would need to buy at least another 18 of them at $30 million apiece before an American-made replacement is ready.

Guess it is a good way to hedge your bet … i.e. whatever happens, you win … but is it ethical  (we’re killing “collateral damage” on both sides)?  Shouldn’t voting taxpayers have a say?

I remember when we MADE most of what we needed (our own space equipment, clothing, building supplies, food).  In those days most people had jobs at livable wages, children went to school at no cost for tuition or supplies (lunch did cost … a quarter), doctors were family docs and made house calls, and so on and so on …

Nowadays the unemployment rate is high and many of those who do have work don’t receive a livable wage, tuition is VERY high and students and teachers have to provide pencils and paper and all other supplies, doctors are specialists a lot of whom are millionaires, we ship our raw materials overseas and pay high prices for the returned finished products, people at the bottom of the fiscal profile are deemed worthless and those at the top are dis-proportionally rewarded merely for being at the top, and so on and so on …

This country, which was once a shining light in the world, is now an author of darkness and is becoming the prime example of ignorant wrong thinking.

I don’t have a solution to this problem, but I have no doubt it is a problem.

And that makes choosing for whom to vote a real conundrum.  Some candidates seem to think the process is a joke.  Other candidates appear to acknowledge the problems, but the government machinery is such that they may have little or no chance of making a difference.  Maybe electing a clown who will immediately destroy the country is the best choice.  Once destroyed, the way to rebuild is open.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again … this time without all the mistakes?

People don’t fail — they give up.

Pay attention to what is happening.  Make your choice.  Vote. Good luck.

~~~

This morning the melt has cleared the land …

the sun is shining …

 and a new day has begun.

 

‘Til next week …

 

 

3 February …

 

Sorry I’m late …

 

Last wednesday evening we got an automated phone call from the Yreka police telling us of a missing boy … providing a physical description, clothing, place last seen, and asking for help locating him. That was the first time we’d ever received such a phone call.  I had heard the county was planning an Orange Alert program but hadn’t experienced it.  That call was followed within an hour by an all clear … the child had been found.  I guess the system works.

The event reminded me of times when we first moved out here.  We were the only ones this far out.  The nearest neighbor was about two miles away. 

During those days, among the lost souls arriving on our doorstep, in the middle of a blizzard, was a man looking like a Yeti … trying to take food to his dogs.  He was about a mile in the wrong direction.  At the time we were still using space in the barn as a living room.  He said he had seen the smoke from our wood stove and knew he could get warm there.

Another time it was a couple who had been hiking in the meadows northwest of us.  They had waited too long to start their return and got lost.  They were trying to get to Old Stage Road (which was not paved in those days) and got turned around.  They had been walking away from the road toward the mountains.  They spent the night in the trees and showed up at the barn when George went out to milk in the morning.

Another time the wife of the local California Highway Patrol Captain (I think that was his rank … anyway, he was the top dog) had come into our area to pick up her daughter and one of her daughter’s friends from a Brownie meeting.  It was late autumn and after dark.  She had her younger son with her and turned left at an intersection when she should have turned right.  They ended getting stuck in a mud hole on the road which runs along the far side of our property and spending the night huddled together on the back seat of the car.  The next morning they saw the barn and walked across the swampy meadow to ask if they could use our phone.  We didn’t have a phone in those days, so George put them in the Jeep and took them out to the road where they met a phalanx of CHiPs and Sheriffs looking for them.  Interesting follow-up is that about three years ago, when doing one of the radio club public service events, we met the wife of the now adult little boy involved in that adventure.  She called him to come meet us and take pictures.

There were at least three or four similar lost people events over those early years, but that’s enough to tell now.  You get the idea. 

And now, post-Silicon Valley money influx, there are lots of (too many) neighbors so no more lost souls.

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During one of his BORED periods this winter, when he couldn’t get outdoors, George found a free television channel which shows old series from the 60s and 70s.  As a result he got into the habit of watching “Adam 12” weekday mornings.  What a trip …

It was filmed in Los Angeles and there is vista after vista of empty fields and nearly empty streets, a freeway under construction, housewives in aprons, lovely Chevrolet automobiles, and a police force the likes of which our younger son joined lo those many years ago only to have it morph out from under him into the kind of military force we see today.

Oh well …

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For those who took HomeEc in middle school … did you learn to make Sunshine Eggs?

Breakfast this morning …

 

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Weather has been in the if-you-don’t-like-it-wait mode.  Each day a new adventure.

the 29th …

the 30th …

the 31st …

 

Groundhog Day dawned with a fresh layer of snow, but by 0900 the sun was out and shining.  Shadows were seen … six more weeks of winter.  Oh well …

~~~

And this afternoon it is snowing and building again.  Here’s the current view out the windows.

So …

 

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

 

        …’til next week …