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Almost every Saturday morning I have been walking up Mt Rubidoux. Sometimes up the road and sometimes up one of the trails. Today was a fairly cool day with a chance of rain. Overall, it was a great day for a walk.  A views west from the top of Mt Rubidoux It seems that whenever I take the puppies for a walk, they walk me. Perhaps it is more correct to say that they drag me. Nonetheless, we both get some exercise.
About a week ago I wrote about the Su Casa apartment complex in my Su Casa – Taking a bite out of problems . . . post. The problem is officially gone. The only people seen at the old site are middle aged men waving their metal detectors. They are definitely not a problem. Perhaps they will find more than a few rusty nails.  Park Su Casa? Today Jacob and I met with the Mt. Rubidoux District VOA to hike Mt. Rubidoux and listen to a presentation on Leave No Trace (LNT). The VOA or Venturing Officer’s Association is for the local Riverside area. Jacob and I enjoyed the hike. Jacob took my phone and too a lot of pictures for the event as well as pictures of anything that he found interesting. Of course there is what I call ” Hole in the sky.”  Hole in the sky We reached the top and he took a couple of photos. On from the northern end towards the top with the cross and then one from the southern end with the flag.
After we hiked back down we hiked over to Fairmont Park and had our picture taken in front of the U.S. LVT-4 Water Buffalo.
In life there are times that you need to face you nemesis. A time when that which is good prevails over that which is bad, provided you have the proper resources. For example, the Su Casa Apartments have been a nemesis to the neighborhood for as many years as I have lived here and that is close to 20. If you call the non emergency number for the police you do not need an address, just a name, Su Casa. They know it. For several years the city has been trying to get the place cleaned up. The city finally had to resort to purchasing the property. They then sent the fire department out to use it for training. They cut holes in the roofs and walls. They used their ladders and hoses to practice fire drills. I thought they would burn the place down for practice. Much to my surprise and delight they brought in something to take a bite out of the place. Sometimes you need to give a problem a good strong grip and give it a rip. May the munching begin.  The Jaws of Hope and Change Today my little girl was married. It is a day that you think about now and then as you see your daughter grow taller and older. Twenty one years ago, it seemed like this day was forever away. Today it is here and watching a little girl eat her First Birthday banana cream pie seems so long ago. It all makes me remember back to when she was cute little bundle of love.  Emily in the arms of Great Grandma Rogers next to Great Grandpa Rogers She grew up quickly. Being the oldest, she always wanted to help. There was nothing like working around the yard and taking a break for ice cream.  Emily, dad and Eric eating ice cream - 1996 Emily started to blossom as she worked her way into her teen years. It was always difficult to get a picture of her because she did not want a picture taken of her. She would quickly put up her hand. You felt lucky if you could talk her into posing for a picture.  Emily when she was about 13 in 2002 As she grew older she became a little more daring. If the boys did it, she would. One warm Saturday we hiked to Deep Creek in the San Bernardino mountains to go swimming. Emily decided to take the plunge.  Emily jumping into Deep Creek - 2005 Then there was the High School Senior Prom. Little Emily was getting to be tall.  Emily dressed up for the Senior Prom - 2007 We met Walter for the first time when Emily came over for her birthday in 2008. A year later they were back for the lighting of the Christmas Lights on the Mission Inn. I remember we were trying to find each other while talking on cell phones as we wandered in the throngs of people.  Walter and Emily - Christmas 2009 Christmas 2010 has passed and we are into 2011 which brings us to today, the day Walter and Emily were married at Venice Beach. It was a very nice wedding ceremony and a wonderful time.  Before the wedding on the beach  During the service  The new couple - Mr. and Mrs. Mazariegos  Kissing at the beach After taking a stroll on the boardwalk of Venice Beach I had to ask myself, is the Doctor really in or is he out? There were several places that advertised that the doctor is in and willing to write prescriptions. In fact they say, “‘Weed’ love to help you!” You can even join a club, “Medical Kush Beach Club.” There may be a doctor “in” in one sense, but I am more inclined to thing the doctor is “out.”  Am I in a different world . . . There is always change happening in universe and that extends to our little universe called home. Recently we had three more mouths added to our universe. Scott moved back in with us and he brought with him two young dogs. Of course now I have a couple of friends that will go on walks with me. Scott has gone on walks with me as well so I cannot count him out. We are happy to have all of them.  Marley as in Bob (boy dog) and Chewbacca as in Wookiee (girl dog) If is is not Girl Scout Cookies, they it is the free M&M’s. Needless to say, the free M&M’s moved fairly quickly in comparison to the cookies. I am proud to say, I stayed away from both.
I decided today was the day I was going to work on raising the bar of my physical fitness. I started my commitment yesterday by walking a mile. The tough part for today was going to eat right. I started the day weighing myself on the Wii. Then it was off to work. As I arrived, one of the first things that greeted me in the break room was an army of Girl Scout cookies.  First day of diet . . . I passed on the cookies and even came home tonight and walked 2.5 miles. It looks like I am off to a good start. It was a nice January evening and there was a light breeze. We were working on the boats and I though I would take a break and go for a quick sail. The breeze was cool as the sun was setting in the west. It was nice to just get out and enjoy the relatively quiet of a winter evening in the middle of a lake.  Sun goes down on my way back to the dock Last year I said, “You know you may be getting old when the baby turns 14.” Well, I do not feel any older than I did last year. Perhaps I am in a holding pattern. Nonetheless, the baby is 15 years old in two days. He wanted macaroni and cheese for dinner and a couple of pies for his “cake.” Happy Birthday to Jacob.  The Birthday Boy Once it becomes dark out, the creatures on the night emerge. Then they try to get into my trash cans and knock them over. I thought I would share a face of darkness that only a mother could love.  A face of darkness . . . Christmas morning is different with teenage children, even if it was the 22nd. Scott stayed up most of the night playing on the X-box and slept on the couch. Emily popped in our room with Jacob standing right behind her about 7:00 am and said, “Merry Christmas, where is Santa.” Our reply was, it is difficult for Santa to come when someone is up most of the night playing the X-box in 10 feet from the tree. Emily and Jacob had set the table and were ready to get the day started. Scott on the other hand was ready to stay a sleep. Eric was indifferent to waking up. However, we all got up so we could open presents.  Scott and Eric  Emily and Jacob As we were opening presents, Grandma Natalie called that her house was flooded. We had a lot of rain overnight. There was a lot of flooding through the city. One of the major roads through town had washed out. We let Natalie know that we were almost finished opening presents and then we would be over. Scott, Eric and I grabbed some tools and made out way to her house. Water had built up in front of the house and had nowhere to go. We started digging trenches to get the water flowing from around the house. Soon the water had cleared out and we were headed back home. Upon our arrival, breakfast was cooked so that we could take advantage of the table that Emily and Jacob had set. As soon as breakfast was over, Scott headed back to bed. When we got back Emily had put on her favorite gift, pajamas with feet.  Emly in her pajamas with feet Twas the night before our Christmas and not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Actually, we celebrated Christmas Eve on Tuesday December the 21st. As for creatures, the train was stirring a lot. As for blogging, the blog has been broken on the admin side and it has been fixed. More posts when I have time  Train and the tree |
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