Waking up on the wrong side of the rock!

I told Ethel I couldn't stand that cheap junky hair gel she gets at Walmart just because it's a pretty color.Anyway, go ahead and laugh and it might be the last thing you do.... I met this fellow at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
This old bucket used to be a pot for something until it just started being used for storage about 100 years back.

Grapes are "in".....at least in wine country. These vines have finished their yearly job and are packing it up for yet another year. Actually, these vines produce the Glines' yearly raisen crop. They get sulfered a bit and dried on the tin roof of the shed and packed away for winter use.

Guess which city this is. I really can't remember either except it isn't Houston.

This is one of 3 palms. Dad informed mom that 1 has to go as they take up too much room. I will try and post pictures of the other two also and we can get a vote going to submit to the woodcutter. Save the palms!

A quick visit back to Yuba City....too quick but wonderful!

Here are a bunch of pics in no particular order. This is a tangerine tree that keeps a lot of people happy each year. It looks like someone just finished off the few left at the top.

The summers in Yuba City was basically rainless but it finally rained on my 2nd day there. The roses were beautiful-right after a rain. My parents apologised that I came so late in the year that I missed the real beauty of their garden. I didn't even notice. I thought it was great at this time of year. Autumn is my favorite time anyway.

My dad tries to relax and it's always a team effort. He isn't in his chair but for a few short minutes before they all pile on. When my mom first started raising Dachshunds, my dad's take was that they didn't deserve to be called dogs as their legs weren't long enough. I was amazed when the smaller girl jumped up on his greenhouse shelf. These dogs don't let those short legs limit them from jumping high!

From the green house. He used to have more Orchids but now he has a lot of cactus of all sizes,shapes and interest. I think this a jade and I don't know the tall one's name. Maybe it's a cactus?

By the outdoor jacuzzi . That stump used to be a walnut tree.





Sleepy dogs

summer squash

just a sample of the abundant cactus life. It was everywhere! I think that one is called Old Man's Beard.






One more rose.

Mom and dad- This wall was carved by my dad a few years back.

I couldn't get enough of these roses.

The oranges started to split but they will taste great anyway.

My dad was into fitness as a young man. I found these in the corner of the green house. I remember not being able to lift these as a kid. He just filled paint cans with cement. Great idea!

Shasta Daisies. My mom was raised in a company town in McCloud, Calif. It was run by a lumber baron
that owned the town, everything and everybody. She always had these daisies on the hillsides as a child. My Grandpa was a lumber jack in those days.

I picked up quite a few of these and stuffed them in my suitcase.

Dad.s shop .

He loves these shoes. I pointed out that they were actually two different shoes and didn't even match. Never the less, they keep his feet dry,at least most of his feet, minus the toes.

One of my favorite pics

His greenhouse

a small plant in a abalone shell

Wicker furniture just feels better with scraps of carpet!

This used to be in the front of the house.

Otis and Dad. He's their oldest dog and my Dad's constant companion- even at work.

Dad was 21 and mom was 17 when it all started. He had just come home from the Navy and WWII.

My Grandpa wasn't real happy they eloped but made my mom promise to at least finish highschool. Grandpa put the shotgun away but never liked my dad very much. My mom was the only girl in her family.













A Reflection on my visit home last week........

It is always such a unique experience to return to the place of one's childhood. I lived in the same city until I was 15, traveled all the backroads, riverbotttoms and explored anything looking remotely interesting on the back of my independent- minded Pinto horse, Ringo. My parents picked me up at the Sacramento airport and drove home on the back country roads to show me how things haven't changed. I was jolted inside but kept a straight face. I had ridden those dusty roads on Ringo bareback on hot summer days- just to get a Popsicle or orange soda. It was the highlight of my day to enjoy a Popsicle while looking at all the permanent merchandise that had sat on Charlie's markets shelves forever. Charlie really never seemed to get anything new and didn't seem like he even thought about it. Everything was just sitting on those old wooden shelves slowly becoming antiques.

Well, I couldn't really believe Charlie's Market was still there but the street looked as it did when I was viewing it from horseback 40 odd years ago.

It's good to take those trips back. I came from a heritage of rice patties, fruit and nut orchards, endless quiet roads and the Sutter Buttes- the smallest and most beautiful mountain range in the world. I want to mention that the Buttes are rather unspoiled and have remained beautiful . The current and long lasting landowners,if not actually the original settlers, are the cantankerous diamondback rattlers. They are known for their intolerance of tourists and progress of any kind. They are in cahoots of some sort with the black-widow spider. They are the villains of my childhood that snuck into my dreams by night and always seem to be on the lookout for me by day. I made it easy tho. Once my dad bought me a horse, I was a kid that went anywhere and everywhere. I bumped into all kinds of country dangers. I even developed a reputation of sorts as a Pomegranate Pirate. My handmade saddlebags were full of anything tasty that happened to be hanging off a tree and no one was around. That's how I got so tall so young and as it was, probably got on the wrong side of the law eventually. I got my early training as a fruit and nut rustler. Of course, I never told my parents all this. I kept quiet, looked innocent and my parents trusted me.

Parents- that is a little warning about when your kids smile a little bit too big and have a hard time making eye contact.

Anyway, I did have a lot of emotions on my trip back. It was great. My parents are my heroes, having put up with us kids and all of hair and hackle raising antics. Somehow, we all seemed to have turned out ok and are alive. My dad can't see much but their property is a garden and orchard that is a treat to the eyes and palate. I spent hours in their garden- just taking pictures ( and eating) fruits and nuts. I no longer have a horse to roam the countryside so I had to keep my pilfering limited to my parent's backyard. I arrived in Houston with a suitcase of Pomegranates and a big bag of walnuts....leaving all my extra clothes behind!

So , on my birthday this year, I have to say, I have the best parents in the world. Not only did they raise us, but they raised half of the neighbor kids throughout the years. They always had open doors and open hearts and still do- a sample to us all.

Being a grandma has it's moments. Being in San Diego and being with Jude Christopher was great. I was thinking I have been at most of my Grandkid's births. I missed only 4of 9! I was just a bit late for Georgia's so maybe I can whittle that down to 3- Arwen, Violet and Kaelyn.

I think tho' that Jude's was the easiest yet. I keep saying it was all that Red Raspberry tea I kep bringing to Nadia.

here's where I am.....

San Diego has captured my interest. I just had to be here for the arrival of Jude and it sure was a exciting experience. I don't have my camera wire so my camera is full of pictures but with no way for me to share them as of yet.

Days are full but somehow time passes so slowly. I can't figure it out. Is my life at home that intense. It seems time passes ever so quickly there. I did start to panic a bit as my days were seeming to zip pass. I needed this time to slow down and appreciate all the beauty, new people, places and events. I am getting to know San Diego.

I did enjoy Balboa park but was itching to spend a day just getting lost in it and wandering around. People are so friendly here. It's easy to strike up a conversation and I have met some interesting people- mostly young parents. Violet and I are spending a bit of time together in the park!

Updates

Still, we just had to have a birthday party for Allen. His ice cream all melted but he sure had fun anyhow and is now 3!

These houses were all on our street.

Well, I will break my silence. It has just been a bit crazy in Houston. Ike barreled through town, and left us a lot to do. It's path came right up the 45 corridor IKE kept his eye on us a bit. It did get calm after a bunch of big trees blew down. Then it all started up again. Somehow, we were brave enough to take a peek outside to see what was going on and then got everyone to come downstairs in case more trees came down. All, in all, a lot of folks had it a lot worse than us. All over this part of Texas, we lost a lot of really old trees.Our cars were parked in the cul-du-sac and the trees not only just barely missed our house but our cars too!

We went 2 weeks without electricity and phone service. It was funny just being outta touch but it was great- getting more time to help our neighbors and live the simple life. When the lights came on, we had a bit of adjusting to do. I still headed to bed at dusk for a while and kept on drinking soy milk and crackers. Count your blessing.

"We are fine.... who needs electricity anyway?" (post written by Maya)

Hello everyone,
Mom asked me to put something up on her blog the other day, but I have just recently gotten around to it. Everyone is fine there in Houston, although they are still without electricity at their house they do have the use of Tim's (my brother) apartment for what it looks like another month. They have electricity there. Thanks Tim for your generosity. The cooler (somewhat) weather has been a nice treat from what I have been told. The cell phone towers have recently been put on line in their area - I have been able to contact them at least once daily.

Thanks everyone for all your prayers. Do pray that the electricity get re-instated real soon, and that there won't be such difficultly finding gas stations that have gasoline and are up and running.

Good night.
Maya

Yikes Ike!

It seems we may be in for a bit of a wild ride. Ike seems to be inching towards Houston. We will know just how close real soon. People here are taking it seriously however and the battle is on at the grocery stores. Carts are rare and it takes a bit of bargaining to get one. Today, one lady had a list of who she was passing the cart on to. I couldn't secure one but Jeannie is resourceful and took out after an empty cart- running full speed in her high heels. People moved aside and let her have it.It gets brutal when hurricanes threaten. The Katrina people here are leading the way. They know what's up.

The piles of water bottles were nearly blocking the entrance to the stores and I think the loggers are in a rush to cut down more trees so they can supply the demand for plywood! They say we will get 100 mph winds and lots sof rain here in Spring and the Woodlands. Teresa is outside constructing some kind of raft out of anything that looks floatable and stuffing her rabbits with food so they won't blow away. I don't know what I can possibly do with the poodles. They love water and chasing things so much that they may be totally in their element.

As for us, we are pulling out our matching blue shirts and Disaster Relief Badges and we will follow our mighty commander into the aftermath, that is, if we can find our way through the maze of water bottles to get out of our house. Our Vans are full of gas and ready to go. We even have Jason and his trusty ax so we can quickly take care of any trees that fall in the roads. He's been in training out back. Our oak tree that came down last year has given him a lot to do.

Well, that is enough for now....got things to do!