Grandma Heaven!

I have been at Chris and Lorna's for 9 days, lucky me.  Usually my visits have to be short for one reason or another, so it has been really nice.  For 5 of those days I got to babysit the grand kids while mom and dad got a much deserved vacation.  I told the kids that it was our vacation too, and did my best to spoil them rotten!  On a trip to Walmart we bought a round loom set and kayla picked it right up and made this hat she is wearing.  Ian did most of the work on his little doggie hat, too.



Pictures from a trip to the park.

The playground had one of those cool wavy mirrors.

Another day we went to Arctic Circle for lunch.  They had cherry dipped cones!

Lorna left the stuff to make "slime"  or "gak" as it was called when my kids were little.  It was fun to make and a hit to play with.  It entertained them for over an hour!

Sweet brothers!

The kids decorated with balloons and streamers for a visit from uncle David.  He brought the best sugar cookies ever!

The kids decorated the front door for mom and dad's return, they were so excited.  Chris had to go directly to work, but here is the rest of the family!

We are still having fun.  Last night Chris took us all to the rodeo for pioneer day.  Kayla really got into it, especially the barrel racing.  On the way home all of us enjoyed watching the firework displays all over the valley.  Emmett kept saying "Emmetts window, fireworks, FAVORITE!"

Bodega Bay!

Everybody remembers "the showers are free today" (okay, not Chris, he was on his mission), and I stayed in the very same campsite this year as we did that year. I love this old oilcloth tent that we bought while we were in college. I found it at DI and paid $5 for it. I had to spend another $1.40 for a 2x4 to make the center pole and cross beams to hold it up, and Uncle Byron put a couple of patches in the corners - and we had a tent. I especially like using it at the coast because it's so warm and easy to set up.

Even cooler was this little trailer I saw. It almost looks homemade. But probably is just from the 1950's. I'd like to make something like this. That would be fun.

This first day there was beautiful and I was in the surf for a couple of hours before giving in to the "nap" urge. There was plenty of sun for the most part, with a bit of cloudiness in the mid-afternoon. I walked north on the beach as far as it went. The rest of the evening I sat around camp and relaxed. Oh, and took a free shower.

The next morning (most of the day) was more overcast, but with some beautiful scenery with low clouds hovering in the vales until late morning.

I got up early and walked all the way south on the beach as far as it went. Along the way I picked up these do-dads.

The living and the dead always populate a beach in the early morning hours. The seal is gone (there were vultures on it, I've never seen vultures on the beach before), and the big guy on the right was in danger of going that way until I came along. I flipped him upright and he scurried off into the ocean.

STATE FAIR!

Since Mom left for Utah this morning, and since they are putting on the State fair in July and not August anymore, and since I had to be in Sacramento for a YSA Conference meeting the next morning - we went to the fair last Friday rather than on our anniversary like we have for years. A few brief comments about each photo.

 The first thing I always do when I arrive at the fair is start the day off

right with a Jumbo Corn Dog (on our away to the livestock barns).

They don't really do the big tractor display anymore, but they had this one set up for

little kids to get their picture taken on. So here's our little kid getting his picture taken.

Look carefully at the name on this beautiful quilt. Enlarge it if

you need to. Chris' family wil especially get a kick out of it.

They had this great display in the Art building of "sugar art." There were several masks made out of sugar (and in the case of this one, roses too) which were meant to worn on Dias de las muertas. Pretty cool.

Again in the Art building. "The Thinker" made out of angle iron,

and sitting on a can (get it? on the can?) I couldn't pass it up.

I always love these huge welded sculptures. they have new ones every year, of course. I wish I

knew how to weld, and that I had the time - man, I'd sit around and make stuff like this all day.

On the left, a cool mosaic. On the right, the detail shows more than the average complexity. Each little tile is actually two or three little tiles, of different colors. Amazing.

Mom waving at Grant from the Monopoly game board.

Mom - my very own Sun-Maid. The original one had her picture taken for this iconic ad in 1912.

Guess who? This was in the Science exhibit, where they had lots of cool stuff for kids

to do. Like huge bubble makers, and a life sized chess set, and electronic music makers.

This reminded me of Grandpa Samuel Lorenzo Adams, who

made the first hearse for the town of St. George (I think).

This one about the coolest thing I saw in the Art building. The two vases spin on turn-tables. The tower in the center has lasers pointing out each side that move down. The lasers read the groves in the vases and produce sounds. The concept is called Arche-audiology, the study of how sounds are ingrained in all forms of art.

Hmm.

And this? This is the wrist band they gave me when Mom and I went into the rock concert. Yes, we went to a rock concert. But it was an Old Peoples rock concert. In order; The  Buckinghams (who were actually Italians from the west side of Chicago, not from England), the Grass Roots, Gary Puckett (who was TERRIBLE! He didn't even know what town he was in), Micky Dolens from the Monkeys (who had the best on-stage act), and The Turtles. It was getting late, I had to get up early, and so we left before the thing was over. But it was fun watching the old folks who were stuck in the 60's rock out And for the most part, the music was pretty fun too.

Time Out

Taking a break from the many projects we have going on this summer, I added a link on the far right under "Family and Friends" to my brother Mike's  blog site where he has posted brief bios of our parents and some of our grand parents - along with some photos too. It's well worth the trip to read his posts. I think I'll hire him to write my obit. He seems to be able to make everyone look good no matter what, and I will surely need that. 

Nearing Completion

You now see what is becoming the finished product of our downstairs laundry room/bathroom. The tile and grout look great, and you'll see that we're washing our clothes again (whew!). You'll also notice that Mom painted the walls a kind of medium gray. Looks good. 

We drove down to Denio's and bought a few things at the auction Friday. I picked up a nice appliance dolly and some needed small tool supplies for the shop - but the big news is that Mom found her perfect sewing desk. She talked the guy down to a suitable price and there it sits now in our new laundry room.

The nice shelving unit replaces the old counter top sitting on PG&E cross arms from power poles. They are really nice (got 'em at Lowe's) and it may sound funny, but they just snap together. The bookshelf on the far left was a late addition purchased just today at a yard sale. We also picked up a couple of brand new sinks for the downstairs bathroom at the same yard sale ($20 for both).

And the first storage bins to go in the new shelves? Guess who's 50 Gallon containers those are? Uh Huh.

Independence Day Gig

A few weeks ago the director of the Yuba-Sutter Symphony called me and asked if I would help them out by playing trombone for their July 4th gig, which is basically a kids parade of a couple blocks, at the end of which they and their parents are met by a concert of patriotic music. 

Uncle Sam rode in on a trailer filled with straw bales.

Followed by masses of kids riding bikes and trikes or being pulled in wagons. They were decorated in red white and blue, and wearing patriotic hats - and followed by proud parents, themselves dressed in their best USA colors.

Mom took all these photos while I tooted my horn (grandma came along too). I am uniquely hidden in the back so that you don't have to see me, and it was really nice to sit and play - not have to be in charge of anything (my kind of gig). We did all the familiar tunes: 76 Trombones, God Bless America, The Girl I left Behind, Toreodor (from Carmen), God Bless the USA, El Capitan, and of course, the Stars and Stripes Forever. 

Tonight we'll cook hamburgers on the grill, eat salad and corn on the cob - and conclude by watching the massive fireworks display down at the end of the street. Over the years, this impromptu party has grown to be one of the biggest affairs anywhere south Yuba City. (I just made that up. I don't know who else might have big things going on. I just know this is really big.) And we don't have to get up early in the  morning. Yea!

Floor Update

 Mom spent the entire afternoon/evening Saturday grouting the downstairs floor. It turned out real nice. Of course, this isn't the finished product, actually, just the beginning. We have a little touch up to do. but  we'll probably  put the appliances back in by tomorrow.

We have the kitchen floor finished and the fridge & stove are back in place. We'moving everything else back today. Next up - the baseboards in the laundry room.