First Steps

One before the other.  He's tried to do it a million times.  It all came together this afternoon...guess there's a lot more of these to come.

Little Buddha Tries Modern Porridge

Little Buddha has enjoyed his first bowl of porridge just like Goldilocks did all those years ago. He appears to still be working through baby bears bowl.

First Evidence of Little Buddha's Ability to Crawl

He's been laboring to get to this point. We think he's got his eyes fixed on the prize of standing up. He tends to use his crawl to get to a place where he might be able to work himself into an upright position. We've watched him suffer through several significant head bumps.

A quarterback for a pro football team went for the store brand of Cheerios. When he realized he could save $.39 he was ecstatic. The savings went towards the purchase of a Hostess cherry pie. He was surprised at how small the pies seemed compared to what he expected. Haven't we all had this experience with Hostess products?

First Day of Sitting Up

They didn't say anything when we picked him up at day care. When we got him home and went about the business of making dinner we spotted him sitting up in the middle of the living room floor. Quite a surprise indeed.

I think it was Albert Einstein that said "whoa" when first he sat upon a horse.

Early Video

"Old video" of DAE taken at the hospital before he was released.

DAE

More photos will be available soon. Mom and the new guy are doing alright. Should be released tomorrow (5/4)

Tarmo

We watched him yawn a few times. For a moment he had both hands and a foot in front of his face as if he did not want us to see what he looked like.
I've tried putting my foot in front of my face a couple of times since we saw him do it. I've found that I'm not able to perform such a stunt.

Tomato

Tomato soup.
Grilled tuna sandwich.
Glass of water.
Dinner.
Snow on the porch since last Wednesday.
I missed the comet that some said showed so prominently this past week.
Despite efforts to spot it myself.
Saw venus up high around sunset on Friday.
The comet too low on the horizon.
Obscured by trees.
It's Sunday night.
Caught in the middle of the end of last week
and the beginning of next week.

Heavy wind and rains a coming. Desk lamp flickering with each letter I pound. Radio muffled by the floor between us...you get the picture.

Far from here, or maybe not, the world rages with noise and confusion. Confusion swims in a bottle of tequila in the cabinet above the fridge.

It's pointless to go on typing this way.

Jack is driving me crazy with his demands for attention as I tend to this message. I took a small rock from his mouth. Now he's acting like it's a tremendous injustice for me to have done such a thing. We really struggle some times.

This ultrasound photo was taken yesterday. It's my first view of "baby". I saw two arms, five fingers (didn't get to see much of "baby's" other side), two legs, a spine, a heart beat, a nose, eye sockets and a significant degree of stubborness. Jumping jacks, toe touches, dancing and all other forms of movement could not seem to get this child to move for some additional angles.

Speaking of move, this was a very moving experience for me. This first sighting brought some of the reality of what's going on to mind. We are so excited!

Jack has given up on his efforts to get the little rock back. I can be stubborn too. He's sleeping at my feet. I'll make up for his frustrations with a trip to Ross Park this morning. Uh oh! he looked up at me when I typed the word "park". I guess I've let the cat out of the bag.

Earthquake!!

We suffered an earthquake about 130AM last night. I woke up, well kind of, and felt the rolling of the bed and then listened to the house shake like it had been broadsided by a big bear or something.

There were aftershocks while I was riding to work. I didn't feel any of them but now think I know why I fell off my bike three times on the way in.

Despite the drama we are alright. The only real damage being a drained watch battery, cracks on our backsides and a bunch of dirty dishes in the sink...but, as I said, we are alright.

Jack was up and barking for the aftershocks. So were the other dogs in the neighborhood. I felt the urge to bark myself but I was too busy getting myself picked up off the road. Crazy times indeed.

Fishing

Today...an eight hour trip way out there. The fish simply weren't biting. I'm guessing it's either something they just don't do on Sundays or we just didn't serve up the right buffet. One among the six of us unfortunately bowed at the tail of the boat and offered his morning breakfast (and likely anything left from several meals before that)as bait. It didn't work. I also gave up my breakfast (taco seasoning seasoned ground beef, cheese and a flour tortilla) as bait as well but it didn't work either.
I walked away from the deal with a heap of photos of the islands, water and anything other than that that appeared to be of interest at the time.
It has rained very brieflyl and lightly on several occasions during our stay but today we had our first significiant cloud burst. It all happened around 1500 this afternoon. I half expected Noah's ark to be the last thing to fall from the sky as it seemed the storm of biblical proportions might have been just that times two...two of every thing that ever ascended to the sky anyway.
On this trip I've filled in many of the holes created by my overburdened memory about just what happened to the Donner party. Revisiting the story was just as horrific as I remember it being the last time I gave it a thought.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday morning. I can hear a spotted dove in the near distance. The winds which, at times over the past several days, have pushed the window curtains to a near perpendicular position are relatively calm. The tide is out so the rocky shore is exposed. A couple of days ago this is where we spotted a tiger moray eel in less than a foot of water.

We've spent a lot of time snorkeling off nearby beaches. We even took a tour of some of the best snorkeling spots in the area. The coral reef stands out in my mind as the high point so far. I can hardly believe how beautiful the fish have been.

The sun has yet to make an appearance but it won't be long. Our noisey next door neighbors just left for their day's adventure - their departure accentuated by a loud slam of their door. Those still sawing logs at 0545 surely have a range of things they'd probably like to say right now.

I can't figure out why after all the years of schooling I've had, that I was not aware that Captain James Kirk...I mean Cook!..was murdered here in a dispute over a stolen row boat.

Bulbs

Every day several of a multitude of bulbs find their way to blue sky. We planted so many so late in January that we weren't really sure we'd see any of them come around. So far this year's weather has been relatively moderate and wet...apparently favorable enough conditions to grow a seed in a slab of concrete.

Venus

Venus is shining like a big wally in the morning southeastern sky these days. Take a look at it for yourself...you'll see.

We painted the Morrison Room burnt sienna. It looks great. The likeness of "Morrison" will be framed by some nice floor molding likely painted black or something.

I'm expecting a heavy frost this morning, just like yesterday. All of the bulb plants better be able to handle it. Flowers, though I'm not a sissy, are important to me. There should be lots of color out there starting in the next few weeks. The ornamental cherry trees are already blooming and there are a few others out there that'll soon officially come out of their winter blahs.

Last month's heavy (and I do mean heavy) rains overtaxed our driveway drain. Water was on the verge of coming in the house via the garage door. It's likely that a root is blocking the underground drain pipe that leads to the road on the south end. I, unless you want to, will be digging for gold this spring.

Not much else to report. Gonna make it to the dog park this morning. Jack has got to run so the ball is gonna fly.

Fall

Today I got it in my mind that one of the most meaningful things I could do is power blow all the leaves off the driveway, porch and basketball court. I saw how the water was pooling where the bulk of the leaves were and I thought...what a great place for moss to grow. I did this not really expecting the sun to shine unfettered all day long and dry the aforementioned surfaces...what luck!

I got into a little trouble when I went to pick up all of Jack's messes in the back yard. The past week's worth of rain really compromised the structural integrity of the deposits thus giving me the only option of scraping up the bulk of the mass and leaving a clear indicator of what had been removed.

When I got around to mowing the lawn I had hooked up the bag to the mower but, in the end, it didn't help me out. The grass was too long and too wet to make it into the basket. I guess mulch ain't always bad is it? I also came across a few of Jack's messes which ended up going through the blender...if you know what I mean.

Since both the blower and the lawn mower are electric, I had the 100' cable running all around the yard. I couldn't help but think of the Yellow River meandering through China. I didn't let my mind go too far though as I needed to stay focused on what I was doing. I didn't want to end up looking like a piece of beef jerky.

So that's about it. The sun set on a yard that looked better than it did when the sun rose. It's supposed to be frosty tonight. This will be our second frost this fall/winter.

K-Mart

This weekend we replaced a ceiling fan in the downstairs living room. The old fan which was all white and had a “K-Mart” intensity light hanging from it was replaced by an all black fan with no light. It looks a lot better...it really does. We think it’s quieter as well.
For me one of the best things about this new fan is that I’m not given to listening for an announcement about the blue-light special. K-Mart really got inside my head when I was young. Right now I’m thinking about the “food” they sold. I remember the ham and cheese sandwiches that were always on display. The thing I never really questioned and would like to question here is why did it never smell like there was food anywhere near their little deli area? I can remember it smelling like, well, non-food. Bot household cleaners or compost but something completely different and, again, non-foodish. I never had a ham and cheese sandwich there. I believe my patronage of their edible offerings was limited to the popcorn which wasn’t bad but it certainly didn’t match up with the popcorn that Valu-Mart used to sell. K-Mart offered a decent slushy…I know I had a couple of those as well.
There is a K-Mart (Super K-Mart or some derivative) not far from home. I went in there a few months ago (under serious protest mind you, but that’s another story) and I find it hard to describe what I see when I go in there. The lights are bright as they can be. There definitely does seem to be something strange about K-Marts. I’ve thought about it a bunch. I can’t put my finger on it but I don’t like what I feel when I go there. When I go in there I just want to leave.
K-Mart makes me feel like the world outside its walls is not so bad. I don’t like K-Mart. I don’t even like the fact that it makes me feel like the world ain’t so bad. I never did take advantage of a blue-light special. K-Mart never really did anything for me and I guess, in turn, I never did anything for K-Mart.
We won’t really need the fan for the next several months. There will likely be rainy days this winter in which I’ll feel moved to try to count its revolutions…that’s okay with me. That new fan means there is one less thing to help remind me of K-Mart and perhaps, as I grow older, I’ll be free of any associations I can now make with K-Mart. When that day comes I know I’ll be a happier man.

Monday morning

It's Monday morning. The sky to the west has at its base a ribbon of blue, then salmon then a lighter blue. There are a few high clouds making their way in with the surf.. It's a chilly morning with only one of the few houses I can see from the hotel window having turned on any lights inside.
Yesterday's "Woofstock" at a local park was well attended. The competitions ranging from the pet/owner look-a-like contest to the best pet trick contest seemed to keep everyone involved. The dogs and people in attendance were on their best behavior as I didn't witness any fights nor did I see or step in any messes.
Last night I dreamt of a conversation with a dog and a cat. I don't remember much about the conversation other than it seemed real comfortable and natural. The only surprising thing was seeing the cat walk down a hill on its hind legs. Since I can't find a professional interpretation of a dream about cat's walking I must surmise that maybe we've descended not from monkeys but maybe cats...or maybe a combination of the two.
A city owned garbage truck just drove by. What an odd looking piece of equipment.
Now the sky to the west has at its base dark blue, a vague reddish tint turning more white and then an even lighter blue. One of the long clouds now looks like it has stepped into the sun's spotlight. At least its not speaking to me...yet.
The wind is calm. I can hear the surf in the distance and, as a bicyclist passes by I can see a man changing a tire on an old fifth-wheel trailer just across the street. He's wearing a hooded sweatshirt advertising something...I can't quite make it out. There goes an 80's vintage Chrysler. So far everything seems to be in order. I'm glad that I'm not the guy running a jackhammer in the distance...I think I'd rather drink coffee than bust concrete at 0722.

Nose Cleaning

I've been thinking of having my nose professionally cleaned. I don't believe I've ever had it done before. I've done it myself but it seems like there might be more to it..more that a professional might be able to do.
There are dead leaves on the lawn...must be that time of year again. It sounds cliche but I really don't know where the summer went.
The house in the picture is in Eureka. It's the Carson house. The house was built in the 1880s at a cost of $85Gs. With the exception of a restaurant that was built on to the west side it's off limits to the public. Those choosing to attempt to dine in the restaurant must meet a stringent dress code. You can see part of the restaurant on the lower left side of the house.
I can't imagine what it would be like to have my house under water or be stuck in it with no electricity, television, radio and having to give some serious thought to eating the microwavable chicken casserole that's been in the freezer since before the dawn of man. I simply can't imagine how terrible that world would be.

Trinidad

It's been a beautiful week down here. The fog has been kept at bay by winds so the visibility has been outstanding.
I'm amazed at how many people seem to be commuting by bicycle down here. Most of the bike traffic is between Arcata and Eureka on Hwy. 101. I've seen what look to be nice bikes but, for the most part, the bikes have been pretty junky. I'd wager most of the cyclists are students at Humboldt.
There are heaps of old houses built around 1880. Most of the houses that still remain resemble the painted lady variety with ornate decorations on the exteriors. Most of them were built when lumber and fishing reigned supreme.
Hitchhiking is also real big down here. Most of the on-ramps to 101 feature someone with their thumb up. The other night just after sundown I saw a male hitchhiker with one arm across his chest under his t-shirt and his sweater tied to his waste so it looked like a skirt. His attempt to look like a lady hitchhiker probably netted him a ride pretty quick..then again, maybe not.
Well, that's the news from the north coast. Hope all is well.