My Son Has Returned To Michigan

Happy Last Day of 2019. See you in the New Year.

On Sunday evening, we put my Son and his girlfriend onto the Van Nuys Flyaway bus.

We ended up spending 13 days with him, though no real time with his girlfriend.

She was visiting her family and friends, so for the most part, I understand. But it would have been nice to talk more than a few moments.

Oh well, she is shy...but they are so cute together. I hope things work out for the two of them.

We are already making possible plans for a summer meet up in Detroit...so that may happen and if it does, maybe we will spend more time with her.

Otherwise, there is a September wedding we will (hopefully) all be attending. He seems to be pretty sure about that, too.

It was a nice holiday and I am so glad they came to visit.

Pots & Pots & Pots

My Water Post For Today.

I had to get an orchid pot and potting soil the other day and so I went to a landscape and garden shop known as Green Thumb.

I was almost the only one shopping in the back, on the day after Christmas.

There were lots of fountains around, to entice the shoppers.

I took photos of several, but this one was really a nice one.

Water flowing from pot to pot to pot.

It is pretty cool to watch.

I hope you enjoy.

My Advent Ladder

There is nothing quite so wondrous, in my home, than my Swedish Advent Ladder.

In Sweden, they put them into their windows, for the month of December.

Each candle signifies one of the 4 weeks of Advent with the top candle standing for Christmas Day.

I have had this for decades and I truly love it, even though I am not Swedish.

It is the first thing I take out at the holiday and set up.

Traditions that I did not inherit or marry into, but that have embraced and made mine.

A Sunset At The End Of December

This was Thursday evening's sunset.

It was taken in front of my home, in Santa Clarita.

We were going out for a Starbuck's coffee to drink with our dinner.

After we got coffee, we drove home and the sun was still setting and I got a photo on top of one of our local streets.

Not something that usually happens, 2 sunsets within about 15 minutes of each other.

That one got posted on Facebook, but I really like the palm trees in this one.

Enjoy.

My Great Niece At 8 Months

I couldn't resist this photo of my Great Niece at Christmas.

She is 8 months old and has learned to crawl.

Her Mom will try to get video of her and it usually ends up with her face or hand on the camera. It is very funny.

It has been a pleasure to watch her grow, via a photo sharing app called Cluster.

The best part of my day, especially these last 6 horrid months of work.

Love that baby.

Chip & Dip Bowls And A First Reflection On "Retirement"

It is not even a week yet, but I thought I would reflect on not having to work anymore (unless something intrigues me).

So far, the best part has been not waking up in the middle of the night and worrying about problems at work.

That became an almost weekly occurrence, as the months came closer to the end.

Being I hardly knew how to do my boss's job, made it a challenge, to teach it to others.

I have no clue how things are going in that regard, but it is not my problem anymore.

Waking up at 7AM has made my life so much better. I loved when I changed my alarm, on that last day of work.

I sleep better, though my body still likes an afternoon nap, if it can get one.

The cat keeps to her normal routine, which means she totally ignores us all afternoon. See Hubby, it wasn't just about you. :-)

Of course, I have my Son this week, so it is not a normal week...but so far, so good.

Check out these going away presents from my department. Steely Dan record chip and dip bowls!

I also got concert a gift card and dinner on them, for Saugus Cafe.

Nice people, who I will truly miss.

Happy Holidays (2019)

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

Our card this year, paid tribute to the only real vacation I managed to get. Our cruise to Alaska.

I know you are probably tired of it, but when you have worked your behind off for the past 6 months after your boss retired from work, it was the only thing that kept me sane.

The photos on the top are the ones from Alaska, with a photo of the young adults, playing a game after a 7.1 earthquake up in Ridgecrest. I think they felt it was safer to be at "Moms" house.

Bottom row is Hubby and I at Knott's Berry Farm, me with Big Bird, Hubby and I at Steely Dan at the Santa Barbara Bowl and Makenna sleeping.

I hope Santa brought you something that made your life happy and the food was delicious.

The First Night Of Hanukkah

Today is the third night of Hanukkah, but it was the first night, that made my holiday.

My Son invited 2 of his friends over, to play computer games together.

So we had them for the better part of the afternoon and evening.

To my quiet house, it brought so much joy and remembrances of days past.

While they played, my Husband and I prepared a Hanukkah meal.

It wasn't fussy, just some steaks on the BBQ and potato pancakes to go along with it.

I made matzoh ball soup for the 2nd night, btw.

It is nice to get a few days in, before the Italian Catholic half of this family goes to it. :-)

Yes, fish on the agenda, for Tuesday night.

It is just not the holiday, without shrimp, squid and this year, octopus.

Turkey for Wednesday.

We will not starve.

San Pedro Harbor

My Water Post For Today.

My hope for the new year is more interesting water posts, since I am my own person and not tied to work anymore.

We will see if that pans out.

For now, here is a photo we took from our cruise ship, when we set sail last year, for our journey to Alaska.

It has been on my mind quite a bit these last few weeks, especially as we are getting ready for our January cruise.

I love the wake of the boat that is just out of the frame, on the left.

I hope you enjoy.

12 Pups Of Christmas

Last summer our Magic "Son" spent a month shooting a movie for (what we thought was) The Hallmark Channel.

It was called the 12 puppies of Christmas and he sent us photos on Facebook all the time, showing off those puppies.

We couldn't wait to see it. Golden Retriever Puppies, what is cuter than that?

We got to watch it last night on Ion TV and not being an expert on cheesy holiday fare, I thought it came out pretty good.

The dogs made the movie, in my opinion.

It is not Oscar worthy, but it made this "American Mother" proud.

You go "Son". His IMDB Page.

The End Of My Work Life And A Party

So the day passed. The last one, for me.

We didn't get everything done that we wanted, but 4:30PM came and we finally had to bail.

My car was filled with my family and off we went with all my broadcast life, in the trunk.

I also got presents from many people and 2 plants. I am overwhelmed with happiness and sadness at the same time.

We had dinner at El Coyote Restaurant in Hollywood.

As a matter of fact, the area of town where I started my career over 40 years ago.

Since it was a part of town that I was quite familiar with, I drove.

It was very busy, traffic wise, as rush hour was just starting when we got there.

Glad we left when we did.

There were 14 of us. My family of 4, 2 Programmers, 3 Traffic people, 2 Production managers, Our chief Engineer, 1 Producer and 1 Website manager (aka the man in charge of buying our lottery tickets). Darn we never did win that prize.

Drinks, Mexican Food and good company.

Lots of people very sad to see me go.

I am going to miss them all.

My Life Is Back To Normal...At Least For The Next 2 Weeks

As I probably mentioned, my Son is home for the Holidays.

Tuesday evening was our first evening as a family and it was nice to get back to our old life.

The cat was on the ottoman, my Son was in the new rocking chair and my Husband and I were in our new couch seats.

It was so normal, that my Husband went over to my Son to tell him something.

I captured it in a photo.

You can't get any more normal than that.

The Pointe Holiday Decorations (2019)

Well, the best thing I can say about the decorations is that they are definitely Gold.

I have had years that are so much worse then this one...that I actually kind of like it.

Still lots of dead branches, instead of trees, but that seems to be the way they are going now days.

I loved the trees we used to have.

This is the last one I will see, so oh well, it doesn't matter anymore to me.

Happy Holiday's from The Pointe.

PMG Socal's Highland Park Bowl Photos

I already talked about the party last week at the Highland Park Bowl, but I thought I would show off a few photos that had me in them.

The photographer took thousands of photos, but I seem to have only turned up in a few.

I am good with that.

This first photo was taken the minute we walked in the door.

We did the best we could, the people in our car. Main Programmer Dwayne, Programmer Cara, our newest Traffic Specialist Dan and Me.

The second photo is Team "Fauda".

We had quite a group, including Alexis, Henry, Riena (not sure of the spelling), Juan (strangling me) Carl, Carla and Kyle.

Kyle has my position at PBS SoCal, so it was funny that he and I were on the same team. Most of the others are in Content Development and Digital.

A good time was had by all.

Fall Trees At Church

I was going to post this on Sunday, but a police pursuit got in my way.

I saw these lovely trees in the parking lot of St. Kateri Church on 12/8.

I thought their orange color was so wonderful and so I took a photo.

Winter will be here before you know it, which somewhat depresses me.

I am glad that we still have a few trees giving us the color of Fall.

Belmont Lake In The Fall

My Water Post For Today.

Belmont Lake is always something I see, when I visit my Sister's House.

It is immediately adjacent to the Southern Parkway, one of 3 east-west roads on Long Island.

The Fall is always the best time to see it and this photo was taken in October of 2017.

A beautiful lake and a beautiful time.

Can't beat it.

I hope you enjoy.

Police Pursuit

We went out to mail a few letters and then get my Son's car washed before he comes to town.

We were heading home after the car wash. It was just after 5PM and had just started to get dark.

All of a sudden a patrol car with no lights or sirens on, passes me by on the right. Nothing to see here, I think.

Next thing I know another comes up with lights and siren and the first one turns on his and they pull all the way over to the right.

I figured it was a motorist in trouble and continued driving as did everyone else.

Next thing we know the cop who was 2nd in line grabs an officer and with the patrol car door open he starts to approach a car in front of the one we were by.

He parks and they open both doors, guns drawn!

A third car comes and he also opens his door with gun drawn. Now I am the first car, right behind them while there is a stand off for about a minute or so.

There is nowhere to go! What if they open fire?

They at this time, have a person with their hands up. I relax and just watch them handcuff her and place her into the patrol car.

Another minute or so and we can move over to the left and leave the area.

Thank goodness!

Photo taken by someone behind us. Posted on Facebook...great.

You can read about it a little, HERE.

The New Tree (2019)

I thought I would give you a closer look at our Christmas tree.

The best part of the tree is the fact that it is much narrower than our old one.

It fits in a little space and yet it is still 6 feet tall, so it is not dwarfed by the bay window.

It does not take all the ornaments, especially since we have lost the first 3 branches to the cat.

A compromise that works for the angel house.

We are extremely happy with it.

Lucille

An Aquafit friend of mine passed away last week.

Lucille was (at the time) almost 94 years old, the last time I saw her in class.

Things started going downhill in the summer and she could not return to the pool.

I kept hoping she would last until I could manage to get over to see her, but life did not go that way.

I will be going to her Funeral Mass today.

She was a wonderful person and an inspiration to us all.

Aquafit class way into her 90's, it was quite an impressive feat.

I will miss you terribly, Lucille. Godspeed to you.

You can read her Obit, HERE.

Picture is from the 2018 St. Clare Fish Fry.

Highland Park Bowl

We had our Holiday Party at the Highland Park Bowl on Wednesday.

I hadn't bowled since college and it showed.

But we all had a great time, doing a bowling "Game".

Each round made us do different things, like bowling through a person's legs, bowling with your opposite hand, bowling a ball 2 sizes smaller that normal or bowling with your hand behind your back.

I was on the Fauda Team, which gave me a laugh, since I am trying to download the show (for Link TV) from a hard drive this week and not succeeding.

Next week for sure...lol

We had pizza, chicken wings, salad, fruit, sorbet, cookies and other things I do not remember.

50 gifts were also given out. The grand prize was a $2,500 credit on a Princess Cruise. My lead Programmer won that.

I received a $25 Gift Card from Starbucks. Very cool.

I also got called up to the mic to show me off and let the staff know I am leaving after 39 years.

A nice start to the end for me.

7 more days of work and I am done!

Sesame Street Stamps

It's that time of the year.

I had to mail a gift to my Great Niece on Saturday and so we got some "holiday" stamps.

At the same time, I got the stamp I really wanted, the Sesame Street Stamps celebrating 50 years on PBS.

I think they look just fabulous.

Kudos to the designer.

A Sweet Ride

He has been talking about getting a new car for at least a year or so.

Being he works per deim, I really did not think he would be able to swing it.

On Friday, he proved me wrong. My "Other" Son, AKA my "Magic Son" bought himself a brand new car.

He surprised us on Friday when we showed up for an impromptu dinner at a new place for us, Love Ramen.

It is black, a 2019 and a Honda.

It has lots of space in the back for all his equipment and he can take down the back seats and make even more space.

I think it will work well for him.

My Sons, they are all growing up nicely.

Los Angeles Holidays (From Back In 2012)

My Water Post For Today.

Since it is the Holiday Season, I thought I would go back to 2012, when my Husband and I walked around Downtown L.A.

We saw so many displays and (of course) fountains around town.

I have several that I used before, but this view was not used.

So here it is.

California Plaza just above Angel's Flight which is by Pershing Square.

It was a lovely display.

I wonder if he and I will get to that area of the world, after I retire in 2 WEEKS!

Something to plan for.

I hope you enjoy.

Self Feeding The Cat

Call us old fashioned...we like to feed our cat.

It is the most interaction we get with her, in a day.

Due to the fact that my Husband and I will be transitioning to a new lifestyle, we thought it was prudent to start to give her the afternoon feedings automatically.

So last week, on Black Friday, I bought a self feeder.

It came on Wednesday and I set it up on Thursday.

I wasn't sure about the amount to feed her, so I set it for 2 servings.

It ends up that is not the amount we feed her, so I adjusted it on Saturday to 3 servings.

She is getting used to it, after a fashion, but she is still a bit confused.

We have it here in our family room, so we can watch her get fed.

Me & Makenna

My Husband took this photo.

I had no idea he was taking it and I was surprised to see it.

What a look on my face and what a look on Makenna's face.

I wonder what the cat is thinking?

Too funny!

Spider Plants

I have many Spider Plants in my home.

One day about 6 months ago, I realized that I had something like 20 baby spiders growing in my window.

I was going to throw them all out, when I decided to plant them into a plastic container I use for bring lunch to work.

Whoever made it, would stay.

Well, almost everyone made it and as a matter of fact, the plants grew so much, that I had to buy a new pot for them.

It looks spectacular up on my bay window.

Now a friend informed me he wants a Spider Plant.

So, instead of throwing out the new shoots, I will let them grow again.

I thought I was past "birthin' babies". :-)

Stuck In Traffic AGAIN!

This was us, after waiting an hour and 15 minutes to get through the Newhall Pass.

I really wanted to bail on the Van Pool, but didn't want to spend $12 for the ticket.

In total, it took 2 hours to get past all this and then drive the remainder of the trip.

BTW, it was 2 big rig trucks that collided at 3AM. You can see the crane just ahead of us, on the far right.

Thanks guys for making my last few work days memorable...not.

15 days to go!

Outside Lights That Are Different This Year

I know this is not a great photograph, but there is no way to get a picture at night, without the reflections.

It is a special year, in my little town of Saugus.

You could feel something, even at the very start of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Houses have the front door light or garage light shining blue.

I had wanted to get blue lights for my door light, but that just wasn't happening at Lowe's.

So instead, we bought a little string of blue lights and hung them around half my window in the front.

If you look close, you can see the Saugus Strong sign placed in the window.

We care, we are Saugus Strong.

Holidays (2019)

I did manage to get the house decorated, which makes me extremely happy.

It usually takes me the week to do right.

I want to point out that this is our new tree, all decorated. I thought it came out lovely.

I chose a different position this year, because of the change in the couch.

There is no room on the other side of the fireplace.

So this works out just fine.

Water In The River

My Water Post For Today.

I don't know how much rain the City of Los Angeles got, but it usually doesn't take too much to make the L.A. River flow.

This photo is from 9 years ago, when we got some rain in December.

Cat Faces on the side and waves in the water.

It is a dangerous river, right at this point...but beautiful.

I hope you enjoy.

A New Collar

After 3 days without her collar, my Husband and I finally broke down and bought her a new one.

We got her tag engraved and everything.

We knew we would find the collar at some point, but being it had not turned up and we were getting worried about that, we went ahead with our task.

After lunch I went looking for her, but she seemed to disappear.

All her normal haunts were empty, yet when I used cat food to get her to come to me, she came out of the den.

Now I had just checked the den not 5 minutes prior, so I knew she must have a new hiding place.

So after I put the new collar on her, she once again disappeared.

That told me that when I finally found her, I was going to find the collar, too.

Yep, I was exactly right.

There behind the old love seat that we placed in the den, was my cat and the missing collar.

Well now she has 2 of them.