INCLINE VILLAGE HOLIDAY-2

Sunday was ski day at Incline. I don’t ski, I’m the photographer, mule. There is a lot of clothing, gear and ticketing, and waiting around.

The sun was very bright. The weather balmy. The predicted rain didn’t show.

Cedric dons his goggles.

No,wait!  Virginia is going to wear the goggles. Cedric put on a light weight pair of sunglasses.

Sisters.  Aren’t they sweet?  Where did those goggles go?

Finally, they are ready to go. Kristanne is skiing for the first time since high school. Austin is skiing for the first time. Last year he chose snowboarding, but this was their togetherness plan. Notice that the dark clothing.

Am I supposed to pick them out from all the rest from a great distance?

Owen only uses a snowboard. Doesn’t like to ski. And, of course he does it in all black clothing.

Theo only skis. Dressed in black. Both boys use the big runs.

Both Austin and Kris had a brush up lesson and skied three of the beginner hills, which was fine with them.

The emergency services brought in this injured skier, a reminder of how dangerous this sport is. There were two accidents that day.

People like to start their kids at a very young age. This little guy didn’t ski, but he wasn’t much younger than others I saw on the bunny slope.

Mt. Rose Ski area supplies incentives by entertaining the kids and a disc jockey playing popular music LOUDLY that appeals to young people.

Everyone had fun. We packed a great lunch and everyone went out for a couple more hours. I read Virginia’s newspaper and started a new book.

At the condo the non skiers watched the Patriots vs. Ducks?  Or Sea Hawks? And hung out visiting and snacking. We had another big family dinner. This time, I cooked the dinner of chicken boudin, Virginia prepared several salads to go with it. Doug’s and Virginia’s cookies, Cedric’s pies and Sees candy. No lack of desserts. Yum.

And, while we were gone, Laurie finished the puzzle.

 

MEN OF WORTH AT CAMPS.

We call ourselves girls, as in girl friends, girls night out. I guess when we are 90 we’ll still be girls. Girlfriends are the best, we decided.  Barbara Grogan, Madelaine Krska and Patti Johansen, are from north county. It was touch and go as a fire had the road between San Andreas and Angels Camp closed for a while. They got through and we gratefully hoisted our drinks, and nibbled on appetizers on the patio while the band set up.

We moved inside to listen to the music and chat. Madelaine talked to Bob Leemans during a break. Men Of Worth will be playing Camps for over a month of weekends, so if you want to catch them, go for it. Their singer is in his eighties and still has a powerful voice. He is a former musical arranger for a host of Hollywood greats, now retired and living in Sonora. We didn’t dance, but others took to the floor.

Barb, Maddie and Patti are old friends of Laurie and Bob Leemans.  Laurie decided to attend her husband’s gig another night. Barbara and I did a fair amount of people watching. A table near us had a couple who couldn’t see any one else but each other in the room. We chuckled a bit. Been there done that in another life. Before leaving Barbara got a hug from Bob.

Patti took advantage of Mark Twain’s sculpture at Camps Restaurant and Bar entrance,  and hugged him before we left. The sculptor captured Twain’s  rascally personality.  It was nice to step out with friends and get someone to commiserate with me on my car.

We left just as the sun was setting. No matter how busy life gets, friends, music and time away, the perfect solution to off-set the day’s tribulations.

PUBLIC ACCESS STUDIO AND STUDENT ART

The Paul Moeller Studio was built by a group of volunteers and is still part of my responsibility as the President of the Board.  We just bought new equipment and one piece was excessively noisy. I went to check it out.

We settled on a fix for the noisy playback equipment, pretty boring stuff. I don’t program anymore. The one change I admired that I hadn’t seen before, was Ed Lark, our manager, put up pictures of people who have made over 100 programs. I thought that was a nice touch. Jim programmed and made 95 productions for Olympia, WA. public access studio. I worked on about 80 productions when I was active. I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but it was one of the things we had in common when the dating service paired us up on Senior People Finder.

When I visit San Andreas, I like to stop by the local Arts Council Gallery which is currently hosting their annual Student Art Show. They had some pretty nice pieces.

Student art is very affordable, and what a wonderful thing to happen to a budding artist is for someone to pay money for their work.

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If you’ve never visited the gallery, it is an ever changing scene of local talent. I try to get there at least four times a year. Give it a go.

I had other errands, a leak in my power steering, a bit of shopping. It took up half the day. I received the last paper I was waiting for to finish my taxes.  It was nice to get out and do something different for a change, especially with the beautiful weather we are having.

DAFFODILS AND TULIPS

Let me set the stage. Jim and I were talking about going to daffodil hill, fifty miles away. Kautz Ironstone Winery does a great job with a daffodil show of their own. You walk their extensive gardens and view barrel after barrel of gorgeous flowers. Not only daffodils but tulips and pansies and hyacinths. They host a daffodil show, inside, which to me is less interesting than the gorgeous outside gardens.

It was all the more enjoyable because the weather was perfect, but the flowers speak for themselves.

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Still, Kautz advertises this as a Daffodil Show. And people every year come from miles around to show off their efforts.

In one area undercover, but out-of-doors, is a contest of daffodil bouquets. Kind of reminds me of place settings at the County Fair. They are interesting.

This particular setting won a silver bowl.  Suffice it to say, there is a lot to see if you decide to attend next year.

Again, setting the scene, this is the daffodil show room. Their placement and how they are judged is for you to see by attending. I question how anyone can choose one daffodil over another since they are all  beautiful and here you find perfection.

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For a more complete view of his lovely place, you can click on my album to view many more pictures: A full screen slide show is gorgeous.

 

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MURPHYS IRISH DAYS.

When Main St. Murphys sports a shamrock and the yellow line turns green, (magically, doncha know), it is nearing St. Patrick’s Day.

Leprechauns dancing in the street with fairies, mind you. You’ve never seen anything like it.

In a heavy Irish brogue this tall fellow told me my picture wouldn’t turn out because you cannot photograph leprechauns. I think that was the old photo development style. He doesn’t know about digital. Aha! The joke is on him.

They come in all shapes and sizes and it is the only time of year you can catch a glimpse of the wiley creatures.

The street was jammed with thousands of people. Judging from the cars parked and the loaded shuttle buses that ferried people from Kautz Winery, where there is ample parking.  I’d guesstimate 15,000 people came to visit.

The bagpiper band marched and played their special kind of music.

I know of The Daughters of The American Revolution. I didn’t know there was a Sons Of the American Revolution. In each case, they are people who are direct descendants of men and women who served in the American Revolutionary War. They have to be able to give proof to join.

Kids love a parade.

And what would a parade be without them.

I’m not sure how dogs feel about a parade. But there were plenty of them and they don’t seem to mind. Many people bring their dogs with them when they travel. Years ago, dogs would snap and tangle and challenge. Now, they are so socialized, I didn’t hear a-one bark or snap or seem uncomfortable. The Humane Society has done a marvelous job of training people how to handle animals, and temporizing their more aggressive behaviors.

A group of skaters surprised me by executing dance steps and interesting moves in a community where sidewalks are not all that common.

Here you are more likely to see horses and they are nice to see close up for people who don’t often get the chance. The kids love them. This young lady won Rodeo queen, a position she holds for a year.

Of course, you don’t have to be queen of anything to enter yourself and your horse in the parade.

Miss Calaveras and her princesses hung out the windows of a fire truck, which was unique.

The food choices on the street grab you with their smells. Kettlecorn, and sausages get the juices rumbling but we ended up having corned beef sandwiches at the Native Sons of the Golden West, another great organization in town. It was so crowded I couldn’t get near the Irish Soda Bread from St. Patricks Catholic Church Ladies Guild. It is wonderful.

I always meet people I know at the Hall and I like to support them. The sandwiches were delicious, along with potato salad, a pickle and real horseradish to clear the sinuses.

I took a lot of pictures if you are interested, double click on the picture and you can view a slideshow. (And please ignore that I misspelled Irish and Murphys when I uploaded my file.)

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FINDING PERSONAL TIME.

Jim always says, “When you get off the road, you rant about politics, things you can do nothing about.” He is right, of course. Being on the road keeps my nose out of the newspapers and the egregious crap that goes on in Washington seems more distant through the computer. We decided we need to find  personal time to do something fun each weekend. Without a doubt, chores pile up while I’m gone and tasks never ending are always waiting. I watch very little television, but a package offer from Direct TV and AT&T for phone, internet and television was irresistible. The installer came on a Sunday, she is an independent contractor.  Yesterday afternoon, we watched two movies back to back.  I’m home through December and they offer all those expensive movie channels for three months free.

But, life doesn’t always cooperate with your plans . My neighbor/friend had an emergency. She fell on a muddy down slope at Mellones Lake and twisted her knee and cut her foot. When ice and rest didn’t help, she called. We spent five hours in the emergency room.

Saturday night, son Ken and his wife Laurie visited, had a drink and took us out to dinner. I forgot to take a picture which means I was having a good time and forgot all about blogging. A good sign. Besides, I picked this Bob Hope eggplant in my neighbor’s garden, which he shares with Karen and I, and Jim isn’t too fond of eggplant.  It’s so pretty I hate to cut into it. I’ll put it in a fruit bowl for a couple of days with some bright red peppers.

A very simple recipe, my own experiment, is to saute an eggplant, chopped up in spicy olive oil. I like Vigo but any one will do.  When almost soft,  steam in the pan covered until cooked through, five minutes or so. Season with a splot of lemon juice fresh or bottled and a couple of tablespoons of Kikoman’s Honey Pineapple teriyaki glaze. Yum. Good on the side or over a minimum amount of rice. I’ve also made the sauce myself, with crushed pineapple etc.