Rick Steves At Our Station

I am not sure how it all came about, but I believe our Pledge Producer asked Rick Steves if he would be interested in doing some pledge breaks, for our station.

He said yes and asked if we could also tape them for national distribution.

Sure, no problem... :-)

So he was in studio last evening, checking things out and will return to give 2 talks tomorrow and also do the taping of the breaks.

He is a busy man at the best of times, but he is currently in Country, so he divides his time between Edmonds, WA and stations around the U.S.

I find his information fascinating and appreciate all the work he puts into it.

Good luck today.

Imagery Wine

My boss at work usually gives my family a bottle of wine for the holiday season.

Last year it was something called Imagery Estate Winery.

It was a red wine and we normally are not big red fans.

So when I was choosing what wine to baste the turkey with on Thanksgiving, this wine seemed to fit the bill.

There was 2 glasses left, when we finished cooking, so my Husband and I tried the wine.

What a surprise! It was quite good.

I decided to go looking for the wine online and found out that it is no longer for sale. What I did find out was the wine got a good review in Vivino, a website for finding wines.

Also in my travels, I found out that the vineyard came within 2 meters of losing the tanks of fermenting wine from the Tubbs fire, that hit the Sonoma area.

By the way, the artwork on their wines, is pretty incredible. Each bottle is different.

Engaged

I admit this freely. I read Yahoo News every day, for the updates on the Royal Family. :-)

Of the two Royal sons of Princess Diana, I have found that Harry gets my attention, more than William.

So it is with great interest that yesterday Harry and Meghan Markle announced (via Buckingham Palace) that the youngest son of Charles and Diana was engaged and to be married (sometime in the Spring).

Being Kate is currently due to deliver hers and William's 3rd child in late March, I wonder if that means the wedding might be around May?

We shall see how that plays out, as does the fact that the wedding might be low key, due to Meghan being divorced.

No matter what, whatever they decide to do, will be perfect for them.

Especially since Harry designed this beautiful engagement ring for his betrothed.

The center diamond is from Botswana, a country that has special meaning to both Harry and Meghan. The two smaller diamonds are from the collection of Princess Diana. He said that he wanted his late mother to be with them, as they live their new life together.

I am truly so happy for them both.

On The Boardwalk At Long Beach, NY

My Water Post For Today.

When we were traveling from Garden City to Far Rockaway, we decided to take the scenic route via Meadowbrook Pkwy to the beaches.

One of the beaches we went through, was Long Beach.

I had never been there and so when we were by the boardwalk, we parked and walked over to the beach.

It is still not back to anything resembling normal, after Super Storm Sandy, but it is in better condition, than a few years ago.

It was a nice time of the day to visit and see the sand and water.

Note they are still grooming the sand, so it is fenced off from the public.

In spite of that, I hope that you enjoy.

Commuter Trail

The City of Santa Clarita has miles and miles of bike/walking trails.

They have put some big bucks into the infrastructure, over 30 years.

One of the first ones they built, was the Commuter Trail.

It brings people from Valencia, Saugus and Canyon Country, into the Metrolink Station on Soledad Cyn Road.

This past summer, they decided to sign these trails and when I dropped in to the train station on Wednesday, I saw my first one up close.

We have, over 115 miles of trails, in and around Santa Clarita and these definitely make things easier to navigate.

Oh, click THIS link and check out the interactive map.

Too bad Hubby and I don't bike anymore. :-)

The Big Seven Five

You may think that we did nothing for my Husband's 75th Birthday besides eat.

Not true.

We went shopping last Saturday and found new luggage for each one of us. The original idea came from the fact that our Son will be leaving us shortly and he usually borrows our bags.

So I told him that we would get him a bag, for his birthday. We knocked things around and being that our bags are 2 wheeled and getting old, we were going to buy new ones for each of us and save the old ones, for emergencies and multi-bag situations.

We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond with coupons (which is where we got our last bag) and found out that they had not a single piece of luggage.

My Son or Husband suggested that since Target was in the same shopping center, why not check them out.

As it ended up, there was a whole row of luggage, in different sizes. We chose what we wanted and ordered them online.

They arrived on Tuesday, making the deadline for his birthday. Yay team.

Wednesday night we needed to go out to dinner and I did not want to touch rush hour on the night before Thanksgiving, so we went to our go to place, Grand Panda.

Eric our waiter, had promised my Husband a birthday he would never forget and he pulled that off.

Several dishes of appetizers came out (deep fried chicken and green beans, were the ones I remember)

Then he finished with this huge banana split. Definitely put Grand Panda into the running for the best. :-)

Normally on a Friday dinner is at Saugus Cafe, so since we had already done the Grand Panda trip, I asked my Magic Son if he was available and he was.

So I set up an after dinner birthday cake with candles I brought. They ran out of Cherry Pie and so I went with Chocolate Cream.

Debbi and Michelle brought it all over and we all sang to him, once again.

He was happy, as you can see.

The numbers were mixed up for the second time (remember my son's 72nd birthday?) :-)

Debbi knows too much about our family. lol

During dinner, we mention the fact that 85 degrees C opened up today and they had 10 cent coffee, free shopping bags and a nice coffee mug, if you purchased $20 in products. So we decide to go and do the entire line thing together.

It was an interesting experience and we ended up (by pure chance) spending $21 in food. So my Husband got another birthday present (which he actually wanted). A California mug.

We left the food and coffee for tomorrow, but as I checked out, my Husband asked if he needed to pay and I mention to him that I am picking up the tab, since it is his birthday. The staff got wind of that and one after the other they wished him a very Happy Birthday.

What a wonderful thing to happen, at the end of his birthday day.

Many more, my wonderful man.

The Day After The Feast

First off, a very Happy 75th Birthday to my life partner. It has been quite a run. May we have many more together.

So, how was your Thanksgiving?

It was 90 degrees!

Thank goodness I began my cooking at around 9AM and finished by 1PM.

It would have been a killer, cooking from 1PM to 4PM.

So the turkey was done, out on our barbecue.

It took 2 hours out there. I guess it was a hotter heat.

The rest of the meal was Sweet Potatoes from AHO, the stuffing had produce from AHO, including the apples. Cabbage, cranberries, black olives and gravy.

I made Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, to get rid of the summer squash and zucchini. I made it just like the recipe (which you can click on inside the post). Folks, it came out GREAT!

Hope you enjoyed your day, too.

Riding The Rails On The Day Before Thanksgiving (2017)

As I mentioned yesterday, I had no Van Pool, due to it being the day before Thanksgiving, so I decided to skip the traffic and take the train in.

I decided to sit in car number 2 this time, since I did not want the lead car (a location I usually favor).

What I did not realize is that it is a bike/surf board car.

Seriously, who came up with this idea? :-)

I found it to be a very quiet and not crowded car and I was glad I chose it.

I know they run beach trains in the summer and so I assume that is why it handles the surf boards, too.

A plus for my ride, was the fact that a milk truck overturned right by the Burbank Metrolink Station. Boy and I glad I missed that commute from hell. The track runs right next to the fwy and so I saw the whole thing. Pretty messy.

Rah, Metrolink!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend (2017)

This is the last 1/2 day of work. I get out at 1PM and my son is not going in at all.

We are ready for Thanksgiving!

We are not scheduled to go anywhere, at this time.

We delayed our visit with our friends from Phoenix, by 2 weeks. The airfare was extremely cheap and it comes in right in the center, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We are grateful for that, since we miss our old days of running over to Phoenix every other year.

We will just be the 3 of us this year and there will be turkey served tomorrow. :-)

Next year it will be my Husband and I. Finally empty nesters. Ack!

If you are traveling anywhere, safe travels...and enjoy.

A Person Who I remember Well

I really don't work with people in "The Business" much, but there was a week in the early 90's, when my Programmer shared her office with the executive producer of The Charlie Rose Show. (I don't want to write her name here, but I still remember her).

He decided to come out West and do a week worth of shows, here in Los Angeles and we were the producing station, in this case.

I basically did my normal job and watched her do hers.

She was in charge of booking the guests and getting them over to the station. She also got the crew in and was in charge of getting everything done, in a reasonable amount of time, so people were not waiting around.

Well, that seemed to be a problem with her boss, Charlie Rose.

Corralling him and getting him to the station, became the chore of the day, every one of those 5 days.

With his lack of caring about his people, he did not make a very good impression with me. I am now glad that he never came up into our office area.

Sorry to hear that he is the next in the harassment hit line, but I am not totally surprised.

An Angel Fountain At Knott's

My Water Post For Today.

How could I say no to a fountain of an angel, in the midst of the Mexican area of Knott's Berry Farm?

Lots of children found it a wonderful place to play, even in the late afternoon, when the sun was going down.

In the summer, I am sure it cools you off, on one of those hot SoCal days.

For me, it was just the serenity that it brings to the area.

I loved it and I hope you do, too.

My 50th Order From Abundant Harvest Organics

I admit that I threw out the lettuce and the cucumbers. Life got in the way of both, last month and they went bad.

Without further ado, here is what I got, this time around.

6 Bartlett Pears

2 Zucchini

1 Eggplant

3 Hot Peppers

A bunch of Mustard Greens

A head of Lettuce

5 Radishes

2 Pomegranates

A bunch of Rosemary

4 Sweet Potatoes

1 Bunch of Carrots

7 Apples (5 Red and 2 Green)

Much as I am happy getting things from Abundant Harvest Organics and love the fact that I am trying to eat healthy, the bottom line is, my family does not eat the things and I am tired of going to great effort, for nothing.

I feel like, after the Holidays, I am going to go on a hold, or unenroll in it.

We will see, after the first of the year.

I feel bad, because there seem to be less and less people at my pick up point, too and I feel like I will be joining so many who gave it up.

In the way of what I have, I definitely will use the sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving.

Maybe make soup and use some carrots in that.

The zucchini I will definitely use and I love the pomegranates. Those apples will end up for lunch, or in my Thanksgiving stuffing.

One more box, just before the holiday. See you then.

The Palm Trees In Hollywood & Vine Station

I have shown off these film reels before...as a matter of fact, there is a photo of them on the side of my blog. If you click it, you see most of the subway stations in the Metro system. Click on the Hollywood & Vine one and you see these palm trees full size.

While we were waiting for our train to come, after seeing Hamilton, we both ended up taking photos of the top of some of the palm trees.

With the film cans, it is quite a sight from track side.

I find them endlessly fascinating to look at. Especially since I used to work with film cans, in my early KCET days.

The station is pretty impressive, especially since it now sits below the W Hotel. A very trendy place to stay.

Enjoy checking it out, via the link.

Totem Pole

A quick look at the totem poles they have at Knott's Berry Farm.

One of the things I am looking into (for the second year in a row), is taking a trip to Anchorage, Alaska.

When you are in that area of the world, totem poles are much more prevalent.

"Totem poles are sculptures carved from large trees, such as the Western Red Cedar. In North America, totem poles are part of the cultures of many indigenous peoples of Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest."

I personally remember seeing some in Victoria, British Columbia. They are very nice.

Let's hope that someday, I get to see some more.

Hamilton, From The Back Of The House

As I mentioned in a post earlier in the week, my Husband and I went to the Pantages Theater and saw the play that everyone has been talking about for the past 2 years...Hamilton.

My seats were 2 rows apart, but it worked out perfect for us. We were the last on the row and the curtains to get into the hallway on the side of the room, were right there.

We even got someone to take a photo of us, from the inside.

First off, how did I like the play.

Well, I liked it, but I must add that hearing what is going on, was sometimes an issue. Especially with the female leads.

I don't know if it was just me, but that is how it sounded. I probably should have gotten one of their free audio listening devices, but I hear everything else and it is to the point of hurting my ears. So that is why I shy away from those things.

The hip hop and rapping stuff sometimes was an issue, but most of the recognizable songs, were quite normal theater songs and made for quite a rush, when the lights went down, at their conclusion.

The story is (obviously) a very sad one and you just want to hit Hamilton over the head, for being so insensitive to others, as he allows Aaron Burr to kill him.

As they mention in the play, his wife, Eliza Hamilton, lived 50 years after him and did all sorts of wonderful things (she was co-founder of the first private orphanage in NYC). She was 97 years old, at her death.

Alexander Hamilton was killed by Aaron Burr, at 47.

It was like setting our Country up, monetarily, took everything out of him.

What made it a total win for me, was the fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda was in the house and at the end he asked for some money toward Broadway Cares and especially, Puerto Rico Hurricane relief.

That was the photo that I put up with this post (scroll up to the top). Lin-Manuel is wearing a black (looks blue) jacket and a gray hat. He was also sporting a horrid cold, which I read on Twitter, earlier in the day.

Glad I went.

Job Offers Before Graduation?

At dinner the other night, my Son mentioned that the girl who car pools with him, got a job offer.

I thought the GM Offer was because of the fact that they put so much money into each of the students, that they wanted first dibs on the best.

I guess I was wrong.

The girl is going for an Accounting Degree and the company that she was interested in, MGO, actually recruits for the best candidates.

She received an offer on Friday evening and my Son was explaining a bit of how her offer differs from his.

Like his healthcare will be cheaper. Well, hello son, you company (GM) probably has over a million employees on staff, between Detroit, Milford, Yuma and all the plants where the cars are assembled. Easy for them to get a good rate. :-)

I believe she plans (or already) accepted the offer, which is slated to begin after May Graduation. Obviously, I am glad to hear this news.

Back in our day, we got our degree and then tried to get something remotely in our field of study, usually having to resort to the "It's who you know", to get a foot into the door.

Good news all around, in the Angel House.

By the way, the photo was another one taken at my Son's Birthday dinner, a few weeks ago.

Tonight, We See Hamilton

Tonight we get to take Our Shot.

When Hamilton tickets went on sale, we thought we did not have any chance to pick up tickets at a reasonable price.

I was hearing prices being driven up to $800 dollars. Way too rich for my blood, but because I was curious, I logged in.

What ended up happening is that each ticket purchaser had a maximum of 6 tickets they could buy and it seems that they would buy them all in a row.

There are rows in the Pantages theater that have 7 seats and it seemed that on the day I was checking out, there were several single seats at the end of the rows. They were reasonable, $122 a seat.

So I asked my Husband if it really mattered if we sat together and we both decided that it was just fine. We could stay together, until the play began and then you don't generally talk to each other, when watching it, so we should be good with this.

We shall see how it works in actuality.

Dinner at Bob's Big Boy and then we will take the subway to Hollywood and Vine station.

The Pantages Theater is right across the street.

Wish us luck.

Review, later in the week.

Ducks At Belmont

My Water Post For Today.

A small island is in the middle of Belmont Lake State Park.

The ducks and waterfowl like congregating there in the shade (I guess).

It was nice to see them all and not to trip over them, like happens at Bridgeport.

I hope you enjoy the Fall and the birds.

Veteran's Day At Knott's (2017)

It was Veteran's Day yesterday and since Knott's Berry Farm has free admission to Veteran's and a family member or a friend, we decided to, once again, go.

Our city sends a bus down there with the veterans and family members and so for a small fee, we were there at the front gate by 10:30AM.

We rode the train ride, which I always love and we took the Log Flume, which I haven't done in ages.

After that, we walked to Friday's Restaurant, where we thought my Husband's lunch would be free.

No such luck. Their branch is owned by Knott's.

Oh well, we still got a small discount.

After lunch, my Husband would no longer be denied. He went onto the Bigfoot Rapids ride.

I waited for an hour outside, since last year I got soaked.

We got a funnel cake with boysenberries and then did some shopping.

A fun and not TOO expensive day at Knott's.

Sunset At The Pointe (2017 Edition)

First off, I want to wish all who served in our armed forces, a Happy Veteran's Day.

My Husband and I will be spending the day at Knott's Berry Farm, once again.

We took last year off, but have done this several times. Free admission and $1.50 for the bus each way. What a deal.

More on all that, tomorrow.

I thought I would show these 2 photos off today.

This is how my building, The Pointe looks at sunset, which is currently around 5PM.

Since we were leaving early, I got out just before 5PM and had to walk to the other side of the street, thus I got a spectacular view of the last rays of the sun on our building.

Just before I went across the street, I admired the clouds and the trees, by the main entrance.

A perfect time to see the last of the day and the beginning of the night.

Freeway Improvments

I took this photo back on Wednesday.

It took us quite some time to get to work that day and since we were in traffic anyway, I took the photo.

Minus the traffic, I wanted to point out the fact that Caltrans has built different levels of lanes.

The Northbound Lanes of the I-5 are much higher than the Southbound Lanes.

I must admit to the beauty of the wall, but as we drive next to it, I get serious feelings that we are going to hit it sometime.

One of the problems of driving in carpool lanes, you are right there and they are not really made for a large vehicle, like our van.

Oh well, I have great drivers and I can pray...right?

A Kitty In Her Winter Mode

Summer has ended and so my cat, Makenna, has decided to nap on our Lane Chest, where I keep her blankie.

My Husband and I got tired of her hogging the bed, right where our feet were, so by putting her blankie on the bed, it generally keeps her staying in her spot.

It is not perfect, but so far, it is working.

This photo was taken just before bed, where she decided to give up on me and so she laid down on her blankie.

There were still clothes on the chest, so she used them for laying her head.

Always a funny girl, that one.

Crispy Baked Eggplant

My Husband saw THIS recipe last weekend and wanted to try it sometime.

It happened to dovetail nicely with the eggplant I got in my box last week.

On Monday, I pulled out the eggplant and peeled it and cut it into large slices. Did the whole dredge and cover with the crumb mix and then put them onto a pan.

It took much longer (time wise) then they say in the recipe, but they seemed to come out good.

We served them with blue cheese, but you can dip it in red sauce (which I also have available right this moment).

Crispy Baked Eggplant

Ingredients

2 pounds small to medium-size eggplant (about 6 depending on exact size)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup plain panko breadcrumbs (use Rice Chex crumbs for a gluten-free option)
1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Olive oil, for baking sheets
Optional: marinara sauce for dipping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Thoroughly coat a baking sheet with oil. Set aside. (You may need to use two sheets.)
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 tablespoons water. In another bowl (a pie plate works well), combine the panko or Rice Chex crumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Cut the eggplants into thick rounds. (I like them to be between 1/2 and 3/4 inches thick so they have time to brown in the oven before they become too soft.) Dip the eggplant slices in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off. Dredge the dipped slices in the Parmesan mixture, pushing down gently to coat well. Transfer the coated slices to the baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown on the bottom, 17-20 minutes. (Peek underneath using a spatula; if they aren’t yet golden, give them a few more minutes and check again.) Flip the slices and continue baking until lightly browned on other side but still slightly firm, about 10 minutes more. All ovens vary, so don’t hesitate to adjust a few minutes either way. You want the first side to be golden brown; then worry more about doneness and texture than getting the second side equally browned. (When pressed for time, I have simply given the tops a quick broil rather than flipping and cooking for the additional 10 minutes.)
Remove from the oven, and serve as is or with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

Notes

If you’d like to try this recipe with larger eggplants, I recommend placing the slices in a colander and tossing with a half-teaspoon or so of salt. Allow the excess moisture to drain for 20-30 minutes, and then blot dry and proceed as directed.

The Footprint Of The World Trade Center

Yes, I still really don't want to revisit the many things I saw at the 9/11 Museum at the World Trade Center. Maybe someday.

I did want to show off a few photos of the footprint of the buildings.

They made the two footprints into a water feature (that I do not wish to show off as a water post).

The water falls down the sides of the hole in the ground and plates surround the holes. Those plates have engravings on them, not in alphabetical order, by the way. They have names of all people known to have died in the falling of the towers. They are mostly grouped by profession. The different businesses in the towers, the firemen from different ladder companies, etc.

This second photo shows a single white rose at the name of Laura Rockefeller.

She did not work at the World Trade Center, but was part of a shoot that day, in Windows on the World.

Click her name, to read more about her and how her friends figured out that she must have been there that day.

After doing that research, I am even more sad...an animal lover and a Showbiz person.

It was, by the way, a fitting tribute to the men and women who died on that day and I am glad I visited it.

Vets Memorial At Eisenhower Park

My Water Post For Today.

When we were at Eisenhower Park, there is a Veteran's Memorial that acknowledges all wars that American Men from the Long Island area were involved in.

It goes all the way back to the Civil War!

It is a old style monument, with each conflict on a side of the Octogon.

The water is soothing, as one would expect it to be.

I hope you enjoy.

A New Top

In the midst of the Dodger loss, when we still had some hope, I asked my son to buy this top for me.

He and I share Amazon Prime, but for some reason, it will not acknowledge me (trust me, I have tried talking with them twice).

So he did so and even though I was worried about the size (I went with a 3XXX) which was the highest size they had and it is still a bit tight at the waist. I think it is made in Japan or China and yes, I was warned about the size problem.

Nevertheless, it is good enough and I love the softness of the top and the colors of the sleeves.

That's what you get for seeing something advertised somewhere and deciding to check into it (but not via the sponsored link).

I don't buy much in the way of new clothes, so I guess this one is it.

No More Sun, For My Commute

Friday evening we left work about a half hour early.

Thankfully for us, this allowed us to get up to the Santa Clarita Valley, just in time for a spectacular sunset by Pico Canyon.

The flag you see in the photo, flies outside of Camping World, which is next to the first Walmart that my Husband worked for.

The mountain that gives Pico Canyon it's name, is behind that flag. It is pretty dramatic, though not so much in this photo.

Tonight, we set our clocks back 1 hour at 2AM. So we get that extra hour of sleep, that we lost in the Spring. Unfortunately for us, it takes away all sunlight by 5PM.

Yes, I did remember to take care of that at work and now it is up to our engineer on overnight duty, to make sure the automation does what it is supposed to.

In other things, the Full Moon showed up through the clouds, last evening.

It is the full Beaver Moon, for any who care. :-)

Check it out tonight, if you missed it.

Long Island Motor Parkway

This photo of a map, came up in my Facebook feed yesterday morning.

I guess I really needed something to take my mind off the Dodger loss, because I was immediately looking at it and trying to figure out where it was in my "HOOD".

Click the link for some history about the Long Island Motor Parkway (AKA: Vanderbilt Parkway). There are some interesting photos, too.

The Long Island Motor Parkway was built in the early part of the 1900's, when cars were just beginning to be bought by, the mostly wealthy residents of Long Island.

The first 10 mile segment was built in 1908 out to the town of Bethpage and by 1910, it ran all the way to Lake Ronkonkoma.

After all my looking at maps and trying to figure things out, I found this incredible interactive google map, which you can check out, HERE.

When I was on Long Island in October, I took the Long Island Expressway and got off at the Vets Highway exit. That exit, as many of them do, first goes through an intersection, before going to the road you want. Very confusing, but I had gotten used to the one on Sunrise Highway and was prepared for it.

So when we get off, it mentions that the road is called Motor Parkway. Yes, dear readers, I crossed a remnant of that very Long Island Motor Parkway.

I found it kind of cool.

I love forgotten history.

If you spend some time here, enjoy.

And So It Ends...Season Over

In the time it took me to walk down to where I get my van pool (a 10 minute walk), the game was essentially over.

I have nothing to say, except I am very sad.

Post Halloween Recap

So Halloween happened, once again.

What did I end up doing?

I wore my old Jets shirt and made a hair braid.

It was about all the effort I could give it. :-)

My son is being fed all day, from his report at about 7PM.

I laughed, because I figured as much. Those EcoCar3 people know how to treat the birthday boy.

I bought some Chinese food, since all I made for the week was a roasted chicken.

I am sure he will eat the Chinese food, over the rest of the week. (He is not a chicken eater. He prefers it in stir fry).

Work had a party with pizza and fruit and the building gave out cups of coffee.

The van left the area just before 4:30P, so I was home before 6PM and could see the children in their costumes.

The Dodgers are playing tonight and that gives angst to the evening. Sigh..Go Dodgers!

Hope your Halloween was a happy one.