FaceTiming

So this is my new life.

I get to see my son, if I am lucky, on Sundays.

We have managed to make it work, but it is never easy, time wise.

He has a busy life and so I tend to figure I can get him toward evening. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't.

This week it ended up being early morning, our prime time to work out in the yard, before the heat becomes intolerable.

It also ended up being my normal Church time, which I had given up for the yard work.

You see where this is going...

So we made our Son our priority and got to spend a bit of time talking to him on Facebook.

FaceTime seems to be better then Skype used to be, so that is a plus. (you need to have your browser on Chrome, to use it, btw)

His house mate gave me the tour of the entire house and I got to see the different locations where my Son has his stuff.

His room is coming along nicely and his closet is full of stuff.

I love his new bedding and asked if it was nice and comfy, he said it was fine.

Toward the end of the conversation, I asked if he wanted to join us on our train trip across Canada. He thought that was a great idea and so we added him on.

That should be pretty cool.

Mississippi, I Miss You

My Water Post For Today.

It has been 3 years since I visited New Orleans and the Mississippi River.

I thought I would return with a photo at the wider part of the river, just before it flows into the Delta and the Gulf of Mexico.

The bridge in the photo is US-90 and you see it often in NCIS New Orleans.

The big muddy...I hope you enjoy.

Household Hazardous Waste To The Rescue

Being I live in California, I am unaware if other states take part in things like this.

We have had Hazardous Waste events for decades and for the most part, it is usually batteries and an occasional printer or computer part.

Since my Son left this house, earlier in the month, we have lots of electronic waste.

I couldn't wait for the next event and being we usually have one around April, I did not expect to get rid of this stuff for a while.

Step up Canyon Country and give this poor Mom a hand with cleaning up 2 rooms.

They had an event on Saturday and we totally filled the trunk of our Saturn with e-waste that my Son left behind.

Some of this stuff had been hanging around for upwards of 20 years, in his room no less.

Glad to see it gone.

Hoping To See My Magic Son

It has been several weeks since we became a 2 person (and a cat) household.

We are holding up fairly well, but we still are having problems figuring out how much food to buy at the store and what to cook.

It has been almost 4 weeks since we have seen this man, our Magic son.

I asked him if he is available this weekend, to catch up and maybe skype with our Son in Michigan.

He told me that he would like that and I hope the Gods are with me, in this.

I miss them both.

In the case of my Magic Son, he has been working on a movie for several weeks, called The Detective.

It is always something with him.

The Full Buck Moon

For some in this world there will be a blood Moon eclipse today.

For us in North America, it won't show up at all.

We just get our normal full moon.

There will be live streams set up on the Internet, if you wish to check it out.

I think I will be content with my buck moon, since I work for a living.

Enjoy it if you find it.

Born To Love Wild

My Nephew's wife is a writer.

I follow her blog (she only occasionally blogs) but she tweets constantly and I follow her there.

So when she announced that she was one of 8 authors in an anthology called Born to Love Wild, I had to get it into my iPad.

It cost me $3.99, but I figured it would be worth it with 8 different stories inside.

Of course this means that some of the stories are short, but you get what you pay for.

Andie's story takes place at a Nuclear Power Plant, with the lead female character being a Mechanical Engineer Intern.

My nephew is a Mechanical Engineer and so is his Dad...so I guess, write what you know. :-)

The authors had a release party on Monday and since I knew Andie, I decided to support her.

It ended up being a fun day, answering questions of people I had never heard of.

At the end of the day, I found out I was the winner of 4 ebooks by one of the authors Traci Douglass.

She emailed me links to the free books and I am now happily reading the first one.

I still have 6 stories in the anthology to read, so for the next week or so, I think I am set.

I read on the van in the morning and evening, this time of year. Winter time I sleep in the dark. :-)

If you are interested in spending $3.99, here is the link to Born to Love Wild.

Hanging At The Buena Vista Gate

My normal pick up point is the infamous Alameda Gate, at the front of the Disney Lot.

Lots of Dwarfs in attendance...and such.

On Monday they asked me if I could walk to the Buena Vista Gate instead.

It was hot as blazes, so I had no problem walking on the shady side of the street by the hospital and told them yes.

When I got to the gate, I did manage to find a shady spot to wait at and watched the world go by.

That is the ABC building to the right side of the photo, above the gate.

The sound stage is obviously right inside and if you look close, you can see our current black van parked there.

It is also very park like around that area, for the staff to walk through.

A definite change of pace.

2 New Cars For The EcoCar3 Family

The first thing the EcoCar3 members did, when they got to Michigan, was buy a new car.

My Son took a week to get things together, but he is now the proud owner of a Chevy Cruz.

His friend from EcoCar3 also got herself into a new car. It is an Equinox and personally, I LOVE red the color.

Good luck to them both and enjoy your cars.

Swans Island, Maine

My Water Post For Today.

My friend from Maine has been visiting Swans Island, on the coast. The weather was perfect and she got some spectacular photos of the area.

I knew as soon as I saw them, that I was going to get one for a water post.

I have only been to Maine one time and it truly is a beautiful area of the world.

I hope you enjoy the water and the reflections in the water.

Italian Wedding Soup

Those last 2 weeks before my Son left, brought much food from places I had no idea about.

One day a roasted chicken arrived. My Son ate most of it and left us the carcass.

I decided to make broth with it.

Yes, the weather is getting hotter, but I decided to make Italian Wedding Soup with it.

No matter what, my office is usually VERY cold toward afternoon, so I can eat it there.

I got up very early on Saturday and got it going.

I even did the tiny meatballs and escarole (though I kept that out of the finished product).

For my bowl, I added it in...since Hubby is not into such things.

It came out great.

Make a pot of soup, with chicken broth, celery, carrots and onions. Feel free to either cut them up to stay in, or keep them large for throwing out, after they boil for about an hour.

I added about a cup of carrot juice to the broth, I like that additional flavor.

I made meatballs using a lb of meat, a cup of panko bread crumbs, 2 eggs, parsley and grated cheese.

I formed them into small balls and fried them in a fry pan for a few minutes a side.

They then go into the soup and finish cooking.

Feel free to add a half lb of pasta (orzo, acini di pepe, stars, etc)

Then throw in the spinach, escarole, or what you want, in the way of greens.

Don't forget to add pepper and parsley, toward the end

Cook for about 15 minutes and serve with cheese on top of the soup.

Seriously healthy and so good.

Sunday Morning's effort.

Pizza, with sausage and olives.

What the heck, I needed to get rid of some cheese that I had in the house.

It probably needed about 2 minutes less baking, but it looks great and with Trader Joe's dough, super easy.

Baked on a pizza screen, which does not need preheating.

A Super Dooper Luxury Van

Our van pool was given the opportunity to ride in a luxury van for 2 weeks.

We were good with that and so a week ago Friday, we received our upgraded luxury black van.

Problem one is that there is almost no room to move within the van.

They have cool tray tables in the center, that hold your drinks and have a place to put personal stuff, to keep it out of the way.

But that takes that very important aisle, that allows you to get in and out.

It also had a DVD player and a TV, so that on long trips you can watch movies and such.

Our basic commute right now is a half hour, at best.

Oh well, not worth it, for the most part.

The only thing I can see it being useful to us, would be if there was a fire that we were driving toward.

Up to date information would be something we would actually watch.

Otherwise, this van is filled with ABC employees and me a Public TV employee. I think the last thing we want to see is more TV. :-)

The final problem is that if we vote for this van, it will increase our monthly payment.

We have no idea how much, but I don't think we are into this possibility.

It has been an interesting week though. Something just a little different.

A Bit Of Uncluttering

My Husband and I have not had a whole lot of time to move furniture, but after cleaning the rug in my Son's old room, we did manage to move some of the furniture on Sunday evening.

First off, the sewing machine has been moved back to the "Craft" room. This was its location for the first 10 years of its life at the Angel House.

We also moved the keyboard into that room. Hopefully, I might have time to play it occasionally. :-)

This opened up a substantial amount of room in The dining room.

Thus, we then had room to move the filing cabinet, over to the dining room, to join my old desk from Oswego (which is now holding the printer).

I added my lap top on top of the filing cabinet and now have a new location for working from home, if needed.

We are not even close to done, but at least there is some new space, to make the rooms look a bit less crowded.

Update On Makenna

This is just a quick update on our cat, Makenna.

After several weeks of hiding, throwing up and all around not acting normal, things have gotten...well, normal.

Here she is sleeping on the ottoman, waiting for her late dinner.

A perfectly normal thing for her to do.

We are both so happy to have this happening once, again.

Day One & Two, At GM

My Son and the two other CSULA Graduates spent their first day at GM, going over all the HR stuff and being given phones, to carry around with them.

I innocently asked him if he got to meet his boss yet, or knows his hours. He told me, no, they were at the "Ren Cen" or Renaissance Center, which is that tall skyscraper in Downtown Detroit, that you see in any photo.

I was immediately impressed and asked if he took any photos.

He told me he had been there before and took some artsy stuff, at that time.

He nicely sent me a few photos and I give you a look at one of them, here on my blog.

Tuesday's report lets me know that he will be working whatever time he wants at the Proving Grounds, so he and his housemate will commute together 7A to 4P. A good idea, imho, to save some money on gas.

His new boss bought him lunch and he found out that he will be working on engines that some of the other EcoCar Team Members (from years past) are working on, too.

He is quite jazzed about that.

The funniest part of this whole thing is he now goes to bed at 10P.

This is my son who stayed up til 2AM every night. HA!

An Update On My Edith Stein Icon

She looks weird at this juncture, but you can see her coming out of the white gesso, which is what is on the piece of wood I am painting on.

I finished her gold nimbus and painted the red halo around it.

It was time for the Roskrish (which means chaos). It is the darkest coat of paint and all the others will lighten them up.

It always looks a bit on the funky side, when you see a big green face. :-)

Amazingly, the brown veil gets its first coat in shades of blue. I think similar to how St. Serra's robes were at the start.

Hopefully, I will work on her some more in August, just before the workshop.

Bridges And Docks

My Water Post For Today.

I always love the docks at Bridgeport.

They are strictly for the residents only, so I take photos of them from the land.

No ducks or coots to look at, just the water plantings and the water itself.

I hope you enjoy.

Out In To The Danger Zone

How did the concert go, I am sure is on everyone's mind.

It was a great show and worth our time to attend.

The night started out with Christopher Cross and he did:

All Right

Never Be The Same

Sailing

Arthur's Theme

Ride Like The Wind (With Michael McDonald)

Up next was Kenny Loggins, and I had several songs I wanted and he definitely delivered.

Danny's Song

Return To Pooh Corner

This Is It (with Michael McDonald)

Conviction Of The Heart

Celebrate Me Home

I'm Alright

Danger Zone (click THIS link to hear it)

Footloose

Finally Michael McDonald came out after the final break.

Sweet Freedom

I keep Forgetting

Just Strong Enough

On My Own

I Can Let Go Now

What A Fool Believes (With Kenny Loggins)

Minute By Minute (with everyone)

I admit that I expected Taking it to the Streets as the end song, but they must have been going over, because Minute by Minute was it for us.

I had told my Husband that we needed to get moving during the Doobie Brothers song, because that would be Michael's last song. I ended up being correct.

We got in a bathroom break and made it back to our bus in time. Home at midnight.

Yacht Rockers

Tonight's the night.

My Hubby and I are going to the Hollywood Bowl to see Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross.

I have tickets all over the place, if anyone wants some. :-)

I am really looking forward to hearing "Ride Like The Wind" (which hopefully Michael McDonald will sit in on).

I am also hoping for Kenny Loggin's famous song, "Danger Zone" and the more folksy "House on Pooh Corner".

We will see if I get my wishes.

New Things Coming To The 5th Floor

We are currently bursting at the seams, in regard to space.

One of the things that is being built, is an area for a 3rd control area, or switcher area...or something.

It has been set up in half of our maintenance shop.

Talk about losing a lot of space and the back way to get into our tape library.

It does look interesting and I can't wait to see what they end up doing with this set up...but wow.

Happy Anniversary! (2018)

I found this photo in my box of wedding proofs. I don't believe it was used anywhere and so you, dear readers, are probably the first ones (after my Husband and I), who are seeing it.

This was the Second Wedding in 1990, but we both still looked pretty good.

Making a baby does that to people, I guess. Having a child in your life, ages one beyond belief. I am sure we can all agree about that. lol

38 years today and it is our first one since we became empty nesters.

We have had quite a bit of practice, in this situation, on the front end of our relationship.

I am sure we will adjust to life without our Son around the house, this time around.

First Glimpse Of My Son's Room

My Son has arrived and is building his Ikea furniture, while waiting for the remainder of his life to arrive.

I have never seen this set of drawers before, but it looks pretty good.

So does his table, as a matter of fact.

Remember that he will have something like 4 monitors on that desk, when they arrive from California.

He says that the room is a bit on the warm side. I finally figured out that his room faces the south side of the house. He grew up in a room on the east side. That makes quite a difference, weather wise.

The Return Of Shetland

Shetland has returned to my station.

I Mentioned it back when we stopped airing the first 3 seasons, just over a year ago.

Being that there are only 6 episodes to a series, there is no way you can continue to air a show. Especially while waiting for the new season to arrive.

By the time we in America receive any programming, it has probably been over a year since they recorded the season.

As a matter of fact, they were talking about Season 5 in an interview I just read. We are airing Season 4 right now.

That aside, I again want to mention that the program is quite a different from other shows out there.

It takes place on the Shetland Islands, above Scotland and actually near Norway.

Not your normal location for a program.

If you find it, I highly recommend it.

The Golden Gate Bridge: It Never Gets Old

My Water Post For Today.

Several years ago, we were visiting the craft fair in Santa Barbara and came upon an artist who takes photographs and makes them look like paintings.

This one spoke to both my Husband and I.

It will be perfect for our Son, when he finally moves out of our house.

Thank goodness I found it at this very important time.

It is now on its way to Michigan, to hang in his room

A wonderful memory of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I hope you enjoy.

A Final Dinner At Grand Panda

We decided to have a final dinner at my Son's favorite restaurant on Saturday evening.

The guest list was totally in his hands and almost everyone who was invited, showed up.

We had lots of laughs with people who he either went through JROTC with or college with.

Many memories were recounted and the food was good, too.

All we need to do now, is get him to the airport this evening. :-)

The Movers Have Come And Gone

Here is the final collection of my Son's personal life, sitting on the floor of his room this past 4th of July.

The two of them had just taken apart his drafting table and were taking a painting of his initials off the closet wall.

Since the movers had to box everything, all his possessions were just placed on the floor.

If you wondered how long the move took, it was just under 3 hours.

I was quite impressed.

By the way, they got out just before the heat really settled in.

Our house held an 80 degree temperature, on it's way to a 120 degree day.

The second photo is of his room, after the movers left and after my Husband had done a first round with the vacuum cleaner.

He told me he ultimately vacuumed the room 3 times, to get the dust out. (It is still dusty, btw)

My Son gets to spend 2 nights in the den and then, he is gone.

Bye Piggy

The movers are supposed to turn up either today, or shortly thereafter.

Hopefully before July 9th, since my Son leaves the night of the 8th.

One of the things my Son brought up, was the fact that there is a bit of a hole in the back of his pig.

It was news to me, that "Piggy" was leaving for Michigan.

No matter, I quickly fixed the small hole and piggy is ready to roll, once again.

Safe travels, Piggy.

Some Of My Paintings Are Leaving Me

As many of you know, I oil painted for maybe 12 years. I think 1988 to 1999.

Add in the one I did in Oswego and you get Angel's full creative output.

As my Son gets ready to leave, I ask if he needs any paintings and he basically said no, he doesn't have room.

As it ends up, his housemates, who have a huge rest of the house to decorate, do need some things for their walls.

So my Son sends them photos and they made their selections.

These 5 paintings are leaving my closet and moving to Michigan.

I think there were some good choices, in the bunch.

The Sacramento Delta, tops the list. With it's reflection in the water, it always is hard to figure out which way is up.

San Francisco Bay, from Point Bonita Lighthouse. Easier to paint, then the one of the bridge itself, that I attempted so many years ago.

Cactus in the desert. My Son adores the desert.

A beautiful Japanese gate in the Tillman Water Reclamation area of Sepulveda Basin.

Some flowers (a really early work that is not even dated).

4th Of July (2018)

Yes, it is another 4th of July, here at the Angel House.

Our last one with our Son.

He leaves on Sunday night for his new job and life.

So we will be thankful for the gift of his presence this holiday and enjoy the fireworks (either on TV or outside).

Hope your day goes well.

A Bad Week For Makenna

It has been a bit of a weird week at the Angel House.

On Wednesday evening Makenna threw up. Not a weird thing and I just cleaned it up and moved on.

Though she slept under the love seat, in her cat bed (which is unusual).

On Thursday morning, she threw up again and was once again laying in the cat bed, looking not quite right.

So I called our vet and got her in for that afternoon.

My Son and my Husband managed to get her into the carrier and off she went.

Next thing I know the vet is calling me and informing me to check all our cat food cans, to see if Fish is mentioned on the label.

I said no, we feed her Fancy Feast's chicken, beef and turkey and giblets.

It ends up that 2 out of the the 3 cans of food, contain fish.

We checked some of the other cans, when we went food shopping and have 2 new varieties to feed her, along with the turkey and giblets.

How weird is that?

From what I can tell on the Internet, the formula was changed not too long ago and sometimes the fish gives some cats digestive problems.

I guess my cat is one of them.

She seems much better (this is Sunday that I am writing this) and the Angel House has returned to what we consider normal...though several hundred dollars lighter. Sigh...

Another Sunset At Richardson Bay

My Water Post For Today.

This one is a throwback all the way to 2006.

We visited San Francisco for a day or so and stayed in one of my favorite places, Richardson Bay in Marin CA.

I showed off this sunset at the time, but found this photo and decided it was worthy of a post of its own.

That bridge off to the right brings you north to places like Larkspur, where you can get a ferry to San Francisco.

I love how deep the colors are and I hope you enjoy.

Social Media Day (2018)

Yes, I am a day late with this post, but better late than never.

June 30th of every year is Social Media Day and being I consider myself a part of Social Media, I normally celebrate it.

I wore my Media shirt from the NAB on Thursday, in anticipation of Saturday and unfortunately for me and for 5 members of the Capitol Gazette, there was a target suddenly placed on every member of the media.

If you have not heard, they were killed by an irate reader.

As soon as I heard about this tragic occurrence, I was thinking that I was so happy I was not wearing my KCET tee shirt that day.

Then I looked down at what I was wearing.

Uh oh...and I have to walk down the street to get to my Disney Van pick up point in a few hours?

Let me just say that it was not my favorite walk...and yes, I wondered if we would have guards at our place of business, starting on Friday (we didn't).

In spite of all that, we people in the Media and Journalists in general, will move forward...cause that's what we do.