11/24 Anderson

Our week here has been very typical for fall/winter.  We started the week with lots of rain and wind and cooler temperatures.  For the last 2 days we have had clear warm days and cool nights.  Looks like it will top out around 70 today and this weather pattern will hold for most of  next week.   We had a power outage ( 3 hours) during the storm earlier in the week then we lost of internet service for about 18 hours.  The two instances were not related - local transformer blew on the electrical outage and someone cut a optical cable that belongs to Charter in the bay area.  Someone was trying to steal copper wire - suspect they got surprised when they found bundles of optical lines which are usually silica or plastic.  That little trick fits into the "dumb and dumber" category.   They may have learned that orange and/or yellow cables are usually for optical data ? 



Had to capture the bit-o-sunshine we got one day this week.

Lassen Peak emerged from the storm snow capped.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving - still working on the leftovers which we enjoy almost as much at the dinner itself.  We are already looking forward to our turkey at Christmas which has been kind of a tradition for us. 

Very special day for us - we get to celebrate Kathy's birthday.  She finally decided where she wants to go - Outback - she was considering a local eatery but the last time we deviated from the norm the meal was not that good.  We are not blessed with good restaurants in these parts but we do have some that have very good quality and we try to stick with them.  We don't go out to eat much which might be part of the problem in terms of finding good places?  I am sure we will do more exploring in the future?!

Kathy has been working inside this week - focused on her studio and the spare bedroom.  She has been very busy and creative.

 

Loving the new floors in the studio!!!

 

Finally made a bedskirt.  22" drop  - $20 to make.

I have not been very productive - did manage to mow the yard yesterday and then starting to work on those pesky weeds in the yard.  I got rid of my burn piles and now I have another one piling up and drying out.  I did have plans to do a little painting but decided to wait on that project.


Kathy had fun with her camera once again - she took some of her still pictures and put them into a video (of sorts).  The pictures were taken of me moving the cows from the side pasture back to the neighboring pasture.  I sent that movie out to family and friends on Thanksgiving - very large file and some may have deleted it without viewing - I am sure it looked like spam of sorts?    The cows come over for water and then try to eat the grass over the fence in the back yard - - they plow right through the fence so I try to keep them away - loosing battle, they will likely win this battle in the future??!!

Our stay is coming to a close and we are already looking forward to another extended week end next week.  Kathy had to take 3 days of vacation and she got a 10 day vacation.  This works out pretty good and we will do it in the future as well.

Enough babble - hope you all have a great week.

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie ( the cat)

11/17 Anderson

Winter wonderland, we are certainly in the middle of a couple of storms.  The first one went through last night and another one is bearing down on us now and will stay with us for most of the week.  By comparison to other parts of the country these should not even be called storms - more like seasonally unstable conditions which result in a little wind and rain.  We can be very thankful for the beautiful weather most of the year.  One one of the positive things about this time of the year is that the pasture turns nice and green and lush.  The animals are having a feast with the new grass. 

 

 

 

We are here for the week - get to enjoy Thanksgiving then on Saturday we get to celebrate Kathy's   B-day.  It will be a great week for some R&R for her.  We have a couple of projects but nothing big.  Today, she is repainting some of the furniture in her studio.  She was not happy with the tops of the buffet and table.  She enjoys that stuff and I am sure do a great job.  I have some painting outside but will wait for the temperature to climb a little before I tackle that project.  Pretty good excuse and I am sticking with it.

I played golf 3 times last week - the course is in very good shape.  Found lots of golf balls and got some very good exercise.  For some reason they are really increasing the maintenance on the course.  They have always been a little slow in mowing the rough - now they seem to clean it up several times per week.  Some rumors are floating that the owners (husband and wife) may be preparing the course for sale.  The husband has recently recovered from major heart problems.  He is back and work and looks great, better than I have ever seen him.  I use the term "work" loosely as he only hangs out in the golf shop and bar taking care of customer etc.  In these economic times I  would imagine the course may not be that easy to sell.  More rumors, there is allot of cash coming in the the shop and bar and much of that ends up in their pockets and not in the books.  They own everything outright and don't really have much in expenses except for the groundskeepers, taxes, utilities etc.  Their P&L statement might be a little light on revenue?!! 

I did manage to get my burn piles gone yesterday before the rain.  Two weeks ago I tried and it was too wet but they went up nicely this time.  One of the piles was still smoldering this morning.  Now it is time to start new ones with all the weeds that will fill the yard with all the rain we are getting.  Now that the blackberry bushes have gone dormant I am tempted to touch some of them as well.  The problem is that they are typically on both our property and adjoining property - I would not like to start a major fire on the neighbors property.  Still have to ponder that decision??!!

We are looking forward to a nice big Thanksgiving dinner - - still have to go shopping for the turkey.  Can't believe the price of those things have climbed 50 percent over the last year or so.  We always enjoy the bird and will likely have one of Christmas as well.  Not sure which is best the actual dinner or the leftovers?  Speaking of prices - - got gas recently for 3.34 that is over dollar less than what is was in the August time period, not sure what it was last year?  The last price increase in Ca was due to a refinery fire at the Chevron plant.  I heard on the news that that price increase was not really due to the fire but was a good opportunity to jack the price up once again!!?? 

This is a great time of the the year to look back and reflect on how thankful we are for such a good life.  We are truly blessed and very thankful to be in this time and place.  With all that is happening around us in this world, we really have a much better appreciation than ever. 

We hope you have wonderful Thanksgiving!!

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie(holding down the fork in Tracy)

11/3 Anderson

We are having a great fall, very cool, a little rain, no winds and the trees are turning color.  The only thing wrong with this time of the year is that the days are too short!!  Already looking forward to the end of December when we head the other direction.  Yet again on a positive note - - we sure get great views of our sunrise and sunset, with the cloud cover it sure makes it pretty.

Sunrise
 

The trees down the lane will be spectacular in a few years when they're bigger.

Kathy and I are very busy with our fall projects - - she is finishing up the furniture for her studio and I have been working in the pasture and yard.  We got a lot of rain last week and the ground is very moist and that is perfect for pulling those nasty weeds.  I made an attempt to pull them several months ago and did not get very far as they were deeply embedded and hard to pull and even dig.  Kathy got her studio floor painted 2 weeks ago and now she is painting all the furniture ( table, chest, bookcase, etc.)  She is working hard to get it done so the project is behind her and she can get on with her other projects. 



I painted the tops in a color called "Graphite."  It has a little more blue in it than I like so I may replaint it in a brown.

Kathy colored her hair red...BIG RED!!!  Matches the autumn leaves.

Today was a burn day so I attempted to get rid of my burn piles - - did not work, the material was too wet and would not stay lit.  One of them has been smoldering for several hours and it may eventually burn everything.  I decided early not to try and keep the others lit - - wait for another day when things a much dryer.  I seem to always have a burn pile hanging around so don't really mind them. 

Over the last 3 weeks I have been fighting a earache in my right ear.  It started when some flying insect flow into my ear.  I fought with that little critter for a week and finally got it all out.  In the process I managed to block my ear canal next to the ear drum.  That was really dumb of me - - with all the poking around in my ear I used a q-tip and put a small amount of lotion on the swab.  That lotion built up, dried out and caused the blockage.  Last Tuesday I went into the doctor to check out the blockage and the nurse irrigated my ear.  They got the material out and I am on the mend - still a little tender but much better and I can hear again!!@@##. 

 Played golf several times the course is really in great shape - - they are laying down more fertilizer and seed and it sure does look good.  It gets lots of play and at the end of the summer is usually shows the wear and tear.  On Tuesday I cleaned up golf balls that have been accumulating  for several months.  That process takes a long time and I have been putting if off.  I got about 1200 done and have at least 2000 to clean.  Some time ago I did a search on most expensive golf balls - turns out it is a ball called Dixon.  I did a price check and you can buy 4 for a bout 55 dollars.  With all the balls that I have I have never seen one myself.  Well - - one of them did turn up in this batch.  It was a Dixon- Earth 3.  Now the rest of the story - on Wednesday I was playing and searching for golf balls and ran across another Dixon- Earth, it was in the water at the par 3 16th hole.  Now I have two for my collection.  I also had a sale here in Redding yesterday - I was contacted early in the week and sold 200 to a fellow in Redding - gave him about 220 and he was very happy with the purchase.  So  - the last 3 sales have been here in Redding and none in the Tracy area.

 

 

A little history for the Dixon ball - totally bio-degradable.  It is made from recycled material and the core is made of sea salt.  It is made by a small company in Tempe, Arizona, suburb of Phoenix.  They

just came out with a ball for the ladies - I think it is called the Spirit and it is a clear crystal ball.

 

More golf stuff - - some time ago I volunteered to teach the kids across the street about golf.  Last Sunday I met them in our park for their first golf lesson.  They all did great and I look forward to the next lesson.  The grass was pretty long so they had a hard time hitting the ball.  I need to find a park with shorter grass or maybe I will take them to the driving range.  We do have one of those not far from the Old River Golf Course I play on.  I think they had a good time and hope they enjoyed the experience!!??

 

Not much else for news - looking forward to the holidays - Kathy will be taking some more time off and that will be a good thing.  Halloween was busy a usual - seems like they bring more kids into the hood each year - we ran out of candy by 7:30, last year we ran out at 8:00.  We do have children in the hood but they are older and the average aged in around 12- 15.  The people totally trashed the hood - I went out on Thursday and picked up a bag of candy wrappers.  Guess the folks could not wait to get home - they had to eat on the run!!?? 

 

Hope you all have a great week - more later

 

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie

 

 

 

 

 

10-20 Anderson

We finally found the fall season and we enjoyed the last 10 days here in Anderson.  The days have been very nice with temperatures running 75 or so during the day and 55  at night.  The fall and spring are really very nice in these parts - hard to beat it anywhere?!!

Looks like the rain might be headed in tomorrow and then more to follow during the week.  We can certainly use the rain - great timing as we had our last irrigation water for the year last Tuesday.  I was able to handle that job for a change - 8:00 to 12:00 midnight.  We did not have much of a moon for light but I did not have much of a problem making my way around the pasture.  I got very good coverage and it was nice to do it myself for a change.  During the week I opened up some of the drainage areas and those improvements seemed to help a lot.  I still have a problem of getting water to the side and back pasture to fit that problem will require some additional piping. I talked with one of the land owners behind us and he said he applied for a grant to improve the drainage across the back pasture - not sure what that will do for us but anything will be a improvement.  I did look on google to check the height of our land from corner to corner - - at the main water inlet we are at 32 meters then we go to 31 m and finally 30 m  at the far opposing corner.  The pasture is pretty flat but we do have some natural drainage. 

We arrived in Anderson on the evening of the 10th.  Kathy had her Roses and  Rust show on Saturday the 13th.  She was able to set up on Friday and tear down immediately after on Saturday.  She did about 60% of her last years sales.  They had a good crowd but the folks did not seem to be buying much?  All the vendors experienced a reduced level of sales this year compared to last.  Kathy's inventory was a carry over from 2 shows last year with some new items.  She did not have bigger items this time and that may have been a factor in her reduced sales as well.  She seemed to have lots of interest in her stuff but fewer takers.  The verdict is still out on whether this will be the last show or if she will continue with this activity?  It is lots of work and the payoff is pretty minimal!!??  For pics of the show, click {here}


One of Kathy's projects this week was to remove the carpet in her studio and paint the floor - that is what she did  and the results are great - see for yourself!!??

Like all things - she worked very hard at doing the very best that she could and fruits of her labors certainly show.  The job is finished and she will be able to put the furniture and other "stuff" back when we return next time.

The other big project for Kathy was to take Rilee's high school pictures for the yearbook.  She started that project on Monday over 360 pics then they had to be edited which takes considerable time and effort.  The final proofs were turned over to Rilee on Thursday and then the final selection has to be made which will be put in a collage and send to the printer (school).

We have added cows once again to the herd - total count today is 3 horses and 5 cows and 4 of those cows will be having calves in the next 3-5 months. Those cows are certainly a challenge - we have little to no grass on the pasture so the cows naturally go through the fence to the neighbors who have plenty on their pasture that has not been grazed in 1 year or more. One of the mama cows - "Blacky" is the worst, nothing stops that beast, she goes wherever she wants even into my nice green back yard grass. It is a challenge to keep her out - when we are gone I am sure she will "make hay" of it as well. We are hopeful this cow situation is temporary, don't want to spend the winter and spring dealing with those critters!! Broc the youngest horse seems to stir things up - he always want to run and get the other excited. He that that today and Kathy was able to get the activity captured on her new I5. She did a great job and sure likes her new phone - - happy b-day early Kathy!!   Check out the video below taken with her new iPhone:

I did get to play golf once -went over to Churn Creek - - the other course Tucker was very busy.  Had a very nice time and it was nice to get out.  On Friday of last week I had a interesting experience with regard to the golf balls.  I got two emails from Craigslist for golf balls.  One gave me a phone number - told him I had lots of balls, he said he wanted 500, I said that would be fine and I would deliver  them.  Took him 650 total and he wanted them all - - very nice sale for me, I gave him a reduced price of $20 per hundred and he was fine with that.  The next  note came in call and it was from Redding as well - - - - - fellow wanted 100 balls and I delivered them to him on Saturday morning - took 200 and he wanted them all - again I sold them for $20.00 per hundred.  That total of 850 balls did not put a dent in the inventory here in Anderson - - - - - .  Funny thing about both of these - I have been advertising golf balls here in Redding/Anderson for 2 years on Craigslist  and have never had a request, got two on the same day and I was in town to make the sale.  That is what I call dumb luck!!??

Lastly - - so what have I been up too all week - you got it yard and pasture chores.  Major project was to physically dig up all the blackberry bushes in the pasture and put them in the burn pile.  I did that all except a few along the main road in the front pasture.  I think it looks great and I am now ready for the rain and more beautiful grass.  (Photo from iPhone)

Enough already - hope you have a great week.

More later

Ron, Kathy and Tessie

10-6 Anderson

Fall has finally arrived  yesterday we turned the corner and finally had a cool day - high at 78 and the same for today and into the week.  We may even get some rain on Sunday and Monday, that will be very nice for a change.  We got our irrigation water on Tuesday and we are at the end of the season for that as well - - run from April to October and we have mother nature to carry us through the rest of the year.  The pasture is doing very good, seems to be better each year.

I am the eliminator this week end, all out attack on moles and blackberry bushes that rest on our pasture fence.  Talk about a love -  hate relationship, love those little blackberries during the middle of the summer but hate the wild bushes that they come from.  Each year I spend countless hours trying to eliminate them, not very friendly either, the prickly vines are hard to work with and I have to sacrifice my body to battle them.  OH yes - the little moles, they are creating a terrible problem in my back yard so I am chasing them out with poison, I have tried  some of the home remedies ammonia, caster oil, etc but that did not work, had to resort to the hard stuff, got some poison and baited the holes in the yard.  They are pretty smart critters and it will take some time to rid the yard of them - it will be nice to have them gone!!  Tessie should be doing that job she does sniff and dig a little for them but nothing very aggressive.

Kathy is very busy preparing for the Roses and Rust show in a week or so. The show is next Saturday at the Redding Civic Center - she is looking forward to it.  She has done several and likes this venue the best - working outside at the various barns is not much fun especially in the hot summer.  We will be taking off some extra time for the show them follow up with a little extra time to just rest and relax a little to get ready for the holiday season and end of the year.  We are not doing very good on vacation - need to plan more and make that happen.  Not that Kathy does not have vacation days - she seems to always be at the max and is probably loosing days at this point. 

Have to add just a small note about the debate or should I say lack of debate?  This whole election process has gotten to be a little out of control.  The money they have spend over a 100 million and it will likely go to 200 million with advertisements filled with false statements and innuendos.  Then we have the debate and neither candidate is able to give us much tangible information from which we can make a sound decision.  Our country is not in good shape and more needs to be done by both parties to make it better.  Excuse me - my phone just rang once again with one of those annoying folks who wants me to get out and vote - - the ballot will soon be in the mail so quit bothering me.  This next 4 years will be very interesting as the last !!  I have to admit the picture is not as gloomy as it was 4 years ago but we are still a long way from where we should be, hopefully we will get there without a 7 trillion dollar deficit.  Better stop now I am approaching enemy territory on both sides??!!     WATCH THIS SPACE!!

Golf was very good as usual - last Monday I was able to play with two of the older fellows one has been fighting cancer.  They are both 80 and doing very good - they sure enjoy their golf and I am proud of them both - they give it their best shot.  My game seems to be improving -finally decided it was time to slow tings down - back swing for starters and that really makes a big difference.  I have theory about this here golf game - - the thing that affects your golf swing the most is " tension" if you are too relaxed throughout throughout your swing it will not be very good.  Conversely, if you are  totally relaxed you will swing freely and your balls will drive straight and true - amazing how much more distance you get with little or no effort!!??  Yes - the secret is making it happen - you will have to figure that one out yourself??!!

Enough babble - - hope you have a great week.

More later

Ron,. Kathy, Tessie and Sammie

9/29 Anderson

To share our Saturday evening with us, click {here} !!  Enjoy!!!

Feels like we are in the middle of summer - temperature today is 99 and looking at the century mark tomorrow and no relief in sight for next week.  I can't remember going into the month of October with temperature at the century mark.  We had a warm period like this in 1996  - remember it well, we went to the lake with the jet skis on Thanksgiving Day, that was a kick. 

Out on the back patio last night, watching the moonrise.
 

Kathy is over her busy spell at work so we will be spending more of our time in Anderson.  We will be taking some vacation time in 3 weeks of which most of that time will be devoted to the Roses and Rust show at the Redding Civic Center.  Kathy has been working towards that show for some time.

I tackled the yard once again this week end - in both places.  Today, I took on the blackberry bushes.  I keep them trimmed up off the fence, so when they do dormant for the winter I am so tempted to set a match to them.  I may get the courage to do that this winter.  We have been under a burn ban all summer - high fire danger and we certainly don't want to burn out ourselves and the neighbors?@!!

Ron, tackeling the blackberry bushes.
 

Kathy has once gain taken on new and different direction in her artwork.  She is now devoting her time to mixed media, I am sure she will display with pics some of her pieces in this post.  I think she likes the creative aspect of this medium more than the other stuff.  Creativity is at the center of much of her work now and in the past  - she does get ideas from the many mags that come into our house.  She is keeping that business alive.  I see the newspaper and magazine business more in decline in he coming years.  The digital media will overcome it all with 5-10 years.  We are already in that direction - my prediction is that within 5-10 years our tv/monitor will serve us with all the news and entertainment we would ever want?  In Anderson we do not have TV - just Internet, I canceled the dish after 3 months because we never used it.  Had to pay a big penalty but it was worth it and we don't seem to miss the TV at all.  Kathy has taken on netflix for her shows and I watch the news and weather on the Internet as well.


Journal pages, Eastern influence.

Journal pages, this one reminds me of the Colorado Aspen.

 

I like the juxtaposition of a classic 17th century portrait in a 21st centry mixed media piece.
18" x 24" canvas

Speaking of communication, we ordered a I5 cell phone for Kathy for her birthday.  She wanted one and it should arrive in a week or so.  She is looking forward to the camera and other options the I5 has.  I saw a video which was a drop test for a Samsung - Galaxy III verses the I5.  They were both dropped on the cement at various heights, the Samsung broke after two and broke apart after the 3rd drop from 6 feet.

I was able to play golf twice last week - had a good time per usual.  I am dong pretty good, my short game has improved lately and my putting was very good on Monday, Wednesday was  not so good.  In fact the round on Wednesday was not as good as Monday overall, noticed it during the round and could not put my finger on the difference.  It is really comfortable in the early morning - temperatures are running about 55 and when I finish 27 holes around 11:30 the temperature has climbed to 90 or so.  I do have to wear a light jacket when I start and usually shed it by the 5th hole.  I did wear my new shoes on Monday - I thought they may have cut back on watering so much at night and that the course would be be flooded per usual.  I was correct they did have water but is was not like a swamp per usual.  I like the new shoes and hope they hold up - - I will give them a water repellent treatment and that may help to keep them from getting cracked across the toe as the last 2 pair have? 

Not much for news - hope you all have a great week. 

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie

9/22 Tracy-Anderson

1st day of Fall and it feels like the 1st day of Summer?  The temperature is still hanging around 90 in these parts it will be nice when we get some cooler weather and great when we get some rain.  That may actually happen next week - - we are ready. 

We had a couple of very busy weeks, Kathy worked very hard at her work as they are closing the 2012 budget and opening the 2013 budget, she and her folks very hard to make the managers look as good as possible.  Money is moving in many directions in hopes the budgets are met.  She had to work yesterday, her normal Friday off so I went to Anderson to take care of the chores.  On Thursday of last week I ran the 5 K fun run at LM once again and finished 2nd again in my age group.  I did pretty good with my run, at the 2 mile mark I was 17 minutes out that puts me at a 8.5 clip and I normally run 10, that is what I did for the last mile and ended up at 27 minutes.  It was fun and I did get to see some of my old co-workers.  I got there a little early and looked around and did not see a soul that I recognized - - - many young faces.  During the race and I did see several people that I knew.  That was a fun outing but I did not enjoy the commute, it took me 2.5 hours to travel 64 miles - the traffic seems to be much worse that I remember, sure don't miss it at ALL!!   The rest of the story is that the next day Ron was super sore.  His quads were absolutely burning and he was hobbling like an old man.  The reason for the soreness is becuase he hasn't run a lick in 4 months!!!  I guess golf works a different set of muscles!

Runner Ron

We had house guests last week end, 2 of the ladies from Redding came down to participate in the art show at Goat Hill in Los Gatos.  They spent Thursday and Sunday nights with us - Kathy and the ladies had a great time.  These ladies are also with the Redding Handmade group which Kathy is part of and she really enjoys working with them.  They all had a good time and I suspect that it will be a repeat performance in the future.

We are looking forward to next several weeks, Kathy will be able to take some extra time off with long week ends and some vacation in 3 weeks to go with the Roses and Rust Show.  Kathy will be busy as usual getting ready - this show will again be at the Redding Auditorium.  She likes that venue last year and is looking forward to the same kind of turnout for this show.  The last show was at a old barn and she was outside under a tent this venture is inside and much more comfortable for everyone!!  It is much easier to get in and the vendors don't have as much trouble setting up their booths.  It should be great fun!!

I've been busy doing some are journaling background pages and a mixed media canvas.  Here are some pics...

16 x 20 canvas.  Count you blessings.

 

Girl with a Pearl Earring - Original work by Johannes Vermeer

We did get irrigation water last week and the pasture, yard and trees are doing very good.  We have two of our starter trees that are starting to loose their leaves, night be because of last of water or it could be the change in the season.  Some of the other trees are also starting to turn color.  This was the 1st week end in 2 months that Mt. Shasta and Lassen were visible because of the smoke.  There was a 200 acre fire just North of Redding yesterday afternoon which messed up the view once again  but it was pretty clear this morning.  Back to the yard - the grass in the back yard grows very well and I pick up the trimmings and give it to the horses - see previous posts, really enjoy the nice green cut grass.  They pick on each other to get better position - they are all males so that is to be expected.  This morning I thought there was a rodeo - all three of them came running from the back to the front pasture lead of course by Bronc who is very fast and feisty.  I get a kick of out watching them and the way they treat each other.  Bronc is the younger of the 3 and the other two won't have anything to do with him during the day, makes him a loaner.  Guess he needs another horse to balance out the pasture?

Not much else for news from these parts - - hope you all have a great week(s).

More later

Ron, Kathy, Tessie and Sammie