Archive for January, 2009

C o mm e n t s FIXED!

January 28, 2009

If you have already visited this site, you may have noticed that you previously had to register to leave us a c-o-m-m-e-n-t. Our bad. (I didn’t know it was a setting that could be switched off.) We want our online visitors to be able to share their thoughts and suggestions quickly and easily, without having to create yet another online account you won’t ever use.

So we’ve modified the blog to require only an e-mail address and screen name of your choosing before you post your thoughts. The e-mail address is for us to be able to contact you, nothing more, so please leave your feedback, and often!

We hope you are enjoying the pictures… many more to come…

The best of: Christmas

January 26, 2009

As we line our new blog with photos, we’ll be digging through nearly two years of images. Here are some from the not-so-distant past — Christmas, actually. It was our niece’s first Christmas, and her first opportunity to learn the art of unwrapping.

Checking the ingredients…

And the taste test.

And my two favorite Christmas images (neither of which are really festive)…

My grandfather, mom’s dad, passed away the night after Christmas. He was 86.

Grandpa was many things: A family man and a pipeline welder; a good ol’ boy and a farmer; an adventurer and teller of tales (some dubious, some hilarious) with a lucky streak a mile wide. I entered his story when he had already retired from his welding career and was living in Rainbow, just east of Fallbrook, tending his eclectic grove of citrus, avocados and macadamia nuts, to name a few. I remember climbing into the passenger seat of his maroon, 80-something Cadillac on hot days and driving into town for an ice cream — he called it “that Thrifty feelin’.” And, most of all, I remember his smile — that genuine, unmistakable symbol of a life well lived.

On Jan. 17, we held a memorial service at our church and then headed to Riverside National Cemetery, across I-215 from March Air Force Base, where he is buried.

Rest in peace, Grandpa. We’ll miss you.

Big Bear

January 19, 2009

The weekend of the Chargers’ inevitable meltdown, we were in the mountains, snowboarding and taking lots of pictures.

This is our niece, Lorelai. She didn’t seem to mind the cold.

Probably the coolest thing I saw all weekend was the sunset on Sunday evening. My mom knew of a beach near where we were staying, and people had thrown debris onto the lake ice.

We have a ton of photos to blog, so please check back often. Until next time…