The Huell Howser Kickstarter Campaign

2 weeks ago we began a Kickstarter campaign to raise some money, to help offset the costs we have of preserving Huell Howser episodes.

We have been ingesting many of his very ancient shows, over the past 6 months and airing them.

Ratings have been high and viewers are loving them...but as the years pass, more tapes are found to not have captions, or we need to go back to older versions of shows and fix them up. As a nice gesture, I have been giving a new air copy to Chapman, so that they do not come up against this problem again, at least in regard to the current show I am working on.

It is part of my job and we do absorb those costs, but it would be nice to have a budget to cover some of them.

That's where the Kickstarter Campaign comes in.

So far, in two weeks we have raised almost $10,000 toward a $25,000 goal. The campaign has 2 weeks to go.

On Tuesday, Luis Fuerte, Huell's cameraman, came by the station to sign a few books and he got shown the campaign.

I got a photo of the creator of the campaign, Luis and the head of fundraising, checking it out.

It was good to see them. Oh and yes, I used a tiny bit of my degree from Oswego, to give advice to the campaign manager.

Week 4 Talks

Our communication with my Son this week, ended up in the middle of our outdoor time. My Husband was mowing the lawn and I was up on the hill again, trimming the pine trees. When he contacted us, we were ready for a break, but we don't look particularly wonderful in the corner of this photo. :-)

On Friday we lost our communication with the sprinklers and lights and pond. It is making our lives a misery.

On top of that, we lost our connection to the printer, so we can't print anything.

So my Son spent part of our time, connected to our computer, to troubleshoot the situation. It failed and so I am back to trying to figure things out. Not fun at all.

He and his housemate were going to be driving to his friend's house to work on another friend's car after we talked. This seems to be what they do in their spare time, work on cars, drive cars, help each other etc... lol

When I think of my Dad, I remember him working 6 days a week and then on the 7th day, he worked on our cars (unfortunately, to try to fix them). It must have been a horrid thing for him, but he kept us going.

Back to my Son. He seems to be settling in nicely.

The next group that GM is interested in interviewing, have been arriving in Michigan and they will be getting together with the ones who are settled in. I believe 4 people will be interviewing from the EcoCar3 Team. I love the closeness of this group of young adults.

In his house this week, he will be making homemade sauce for his housemates and asked me for the ingredients. I have it here on my blog, which I sent his way.

My Son does well, with cooking and they take advantage of his talent.

Paycheck #2 comes this week. Let's see if he got the deductions corrected.

Seal Rocks

My Water Post For Today.

Let's go back 12 years, to July 2006.

We took a trip to San Francisco, after picking up my son from JROTC Camp.

We went to a place called The Cliff House and right by that building, are these rock formations.

They are called Seal Rocks and they sit right at lands end.

Nothing but the Pacific Ocean out there.

I hope you enjoy.

Last Call For Jerry's Ice Cream Shoppe...Come And Get It!

It was a bittersweet moment, when we joined the line in Desoto Pharmacy on Saturday.

It took a good half hour to get to the front of the line and before we got there, we found out that there was no vanilla, chocolate or hot fudge left in the store.

We soldiered on and when we got to the front of the line, there were some cool flavors left to choose from.

I personally went with butter pecan and (I think) the chocolate dipped strawberry. No matter what, it was great.

They served the ice cream in one use banana split dishes and so it looked very festive and made clean up for them, easy.

Seeing Bruce and Eric again was a major plus to the afternoon.

We had not seen the two of them since the Hollywood Bowl, I believe.

They asked about Justin and how he was doing and Bruce updated us on his job at AARP. He is really enjoying it.

We also saw Mitch's cousin and she updated us on the whole pharmacy situation.

Beth also mentioned that the final closing will be on Jerry's date of death, 7 years ago.

It ends up that they were made an offer they could not refuse and so they took it. None of us is getting any younger, so I think that was a part of it.

A sad thing to have to see happen, but I am glad that I got over there one more time.

A Summer Fire Sunset

Thank goodness, we don't have any fires near us right now.

But there is one burning down in the Orange County/Riverside/Lake Elsinore area and I guess the smoke is coming up our way.

All I know is that the sun was this huge orange ball last night.

Truly beautiful and worth the few moments it took, to capture it.

Still Adjusting To Life Without Our Son

We empty nesters went to Grand Panda for the first time since our Son left.

Our problem is: We don't know how much food to buy anymore.

When we went there, we got plenty of food, since my Son would eat the leftovers for most of the week.

My Husband and I rarely ate any of that.

So we decided to get soup, as usual and just 2 entreés.

The thing is, we didn't have the variety we are used to and now we have way too much in the way of leftovers, to eat at home.

It is a sad state of affairs.

Miss that kid.

Desoto Pharmacy Is Closing

My Husband found this letter on Facebook yesterday, in regard to his cousin's Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe.

August 8, 2018

All of us at DeSoto Pharmacy would like to thank you for your many years of support of an independent pharmacy.

In the world of health care, specifically the pharmacy industry, the model has changed dramatically. While we have been able to navigate in this new world, the time is right for us to make a change. After exploring all the possible options, our prescription department will be transferred to CVS Pharmacy. Our last day of business will be Tuesday, August 21, 2018.

During these last few weeks, we will conduct business as usual. We welcome you to come in to see us, refill your prescriptions, take advantage of close-out sale items or come in for an ice cream treat.

Thank you again for 60 years of allowing us to serve as your neighborhood pharmacy. It has been our privilege.

To say the least, we are all heartbroken, here at the angel house.

It was a great business and will be sorely missed.

Week Three In Michigan

It was the start of week three, for my Son in Michigan.

We managed to talk on Saturday evening and the big discussion was his 1st paycheck.

He got the money, but he didn't get his deductions right and so no Federal Taxes were taken out.

Hopefully, that will get fixed by the next check...other wise there is going to be a very mad Government. :-)

BTW: He only gets a check twice a month.

Twice a year, I get 3 paychecks a month and I must say, I would totally miss it if it ever goes away.

That money is going toward our vacation trip, which is coming up soon.

But I digress...back to my Son and his life.

On Sunday, he and his housemate were going to race the Camero that his housemate bought earlier in the year.

He told us on Monday that it was a long day, but they had a good time. No winners or losers.

In other things, I find their adventures in food, a totally interesting experience. Last Saturday he made sliced pork loin that he pan fried on the stove.

Who knew? lol

His life seems to be settling in just fine.

Grilled Shrimp With Coconut Rice Salad

From Cooks Country, comes this recipe for BBQ Shrimp with Coconut Rice Salad.

We have been having Shirmp on a Skewer for the past 2 weeks and it works out real well, for a calm Weekend dinner.

This recipe intrigues me and so I made it on Sunday.

Mango is great and I love coconut, too.

My Husband, not so much and so I figure he will not eat it at all.

Grilled Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Ingredients

1 ½ cups long-grain white rice (Uncooked)
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons canned coconut milk
1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 3 tablespoons juice (2 limes)
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 scallions, sliced thin
2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 ½ pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed

Instructions

1. Line rimmed baking sheet with clean dish towel. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large saucepan. Add rice and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until just tender, 12 to 14 minutes. Drain rice, rinse under cold water until cool, and drain again; transfer to prepared sheet.

2. Whisk 1/4 cup oil, coconut milk, lime zest and juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons dressing to small bowl and set aside. Add mango, scallions, jalapeños, mint, and rice to remaining dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to platter.

3. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels, toss with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and season with salt and pepper. Thread shrimp onto four 12-inch metal skewers. Grill shrimp over hot fire until lightly charred and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Slide shrimp off skewers onto rice and drizzle with reserved dressing.

Serve.

A Sunset By The Quality Inn

My Water Post For Today.

A new generation of Oswego Students will be coming to the city by the lake, in about 2 more weeks.

It brings me back to the week of my graduation, when I stayed at the Quality Inn on the harbor.

I am always so lucky to see sunsets in Oswego and it makes me feel at peace with the world, when I get to revisit one.

I hope you enjoy.

Make It So, Once More

Sir Patrick Stewart has announced that he will reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard on a new Star Trek Series to be seen on CBS All Access.

Quoted from Entertainment Weekly.

“I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course,” Stewart said. “It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over.” Stewart added that now, in particular, seems like a good time to bring back the character, who exemplified calm, moral, reasoned leadership. “During these past years, it has been humbling to hear many stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership,” he said. “I feel I’m ready to return to him for the same reason – to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times. I look forward to working with our brilliant creative team as we endeavor to bring a fresh, unexpected and pertinent story to life once more."

Angel speaking now.
I can't wait.

Termites

The other day we were cleaning out our den and moved a few boxes from in front of our window.

We found stuff on the floor behind where these boxes were, that looked like pencil shavings and I immediately thought of termites.

I contacted a person who works in construction and has a column in our local paper. He gave me a recommendation of a company he uses for these situations.

We called and got good news and bad news.

Yes, it is termites but they are only in this tiny area of the window wall.

So he gave me two estimates and we decided to go with the $380 local eradication, instead of totally tenting the house.

I would rather save the tenting for a time we might be selling the house, rather then a tiny area that needs work.

It is my first time dealing with termites and I pray this gets rid of them.

More Water, More Grass

To try to get more water on our back lawn, my Husband and I decided to connect to a sprinkler line and add one more sprinkler head, right in the middle of the grass.

We did that once before, on the other side of the lawn and it has done well.

My Husband did warn me that our pressure would drop a bit, but what ended up happening is that lots of pressure has dropped on this station.

We are going to check that out and also be more diligent with watching out for the sprinkler heads getting blocked by grass and greenery.

In spite of all that, I just planted the seeds.

Wish them luck.

11 Emmy Awards

If you remember, we had 45 nominations for Emmy awards this year. The most for any organization.

We ended up winning 11 of those Emmy Awards, which is the most for any organization.

We are pretty pleased with that and as a matter of fact, my Husband and I have viewed almost all these shows.

Which tells you that we like what we are producing now days.

Here is the Press Release from KCET.

The 70th Annual Los Angeles Area Emmy® Award awards for KCET include:

INFORMATIONAL SERIES (MORE THAN 50% REMOTE) SOCAL CONNECTED Vince Beiser, Reporter; Linda Burns, Senior Producer; Dina Demetrius, Producer; Deepa Fernandes, Reporter; Karen Foshay, Executive Producer; Kathy Kasaba, Supervising Producer; Kathryn Keeney Jaeger, Producer; Nic Cha Kim, Reporter; George Lavender, Reporter; Robert J. McDonnell, Supervising Producer; Dennis Nobuya Nishi, Segment Producer; Marie Targonski-O'Brien, Associate Producer; Stephanie O'Neill, Reporter; Lata Pandya, Producer; Val Zavala, Anchor, Producer, Reporter

L.A. LOCAL COLOR ● THE MIGRANT KITCHEN - Alta California” Matthew Crotty, Producer; Juan Devis, Executive Producer; Antonio Diaz, Producer; Stef Ferrari, Producer; Ben Hunter, Producer; Kelly Parker, Producer

CRIME/SOCIAL ISSUES CITY RISING Rita Baghdadi, Producer; Justin Cram, Producer; Matthew Crotty, Co-Producer; Juan Devis, Executive Producer; Kelly Parker, Producer; Jeremiah Hammerling, Producer

CULTURE/HISTORY TENDING THE WILD Matthew Crotty, Producer; Juan Devis, Executive Producer; Stacy Lieberman, Executive Producer; Zoe Montano, Associate Producer; Laura Purdy, Producer; Austin Simons, Producer

FEATURE SEGMENT ● LOST LA - The Green Book” Matthew Crotty, Producer; Juan Devis, Executive Producer; Bill Dotson, Segment Producer; Nathan Masters, Host, Producer; Hugh McHarg, Executive Producer; Zoe Montano, Associate Producer; Kelly Parker, Producer; Catherine Quinlan, Executive Producer

INFORMATION SEGMENT ● SOCAL CONNECTED - The Price of Freedom” Karen Foshay, Producer; George Lavender, Reporter

SHORT PROMO - NEWS/ CITY RISING Launch Promo Dudley Saunders, Producer

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR - PROGRAMMING ● Logan Kibens, LOST LA

OUTSTANDING EDITOR - PROGRAMMING ● Hyunsoo Moon, CITY RISING

CREATIVE TECHNICAL CRAFTS - COMPOSER ● Jose Alejandro Parody, THE MIGRANT KITCHEN

CREATIVE TECHNICAL CRAFTS - SOUND MIXER ● Steve Bucino, TENDING THE WILD

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Photo by Karen Foshay.

Time Off Means Kitty Time

Welcome to August.

Summer is starting to wind down a bit, with our children going back to school, here in Santa Clarita, in about 2 weeks.

I am off again today.

I have 2 appointments and when not involved with all that, I have time for my kitty.

I truly look forward to those moments.

Especially since I see her for only 3 hours a day, if that.

As you can see in this photo, she is indeed doing much better.

Her fur is bright and shiny and she does not look sick.

Maybe she and I will do some hugs today, to bring us joy.