Sing it now! " It Never Rains in California..."

Showers this morning..again. Jack and I played 9 at Santa Rosa yesterday in beautiful weather. We hope to play in a couples tournament over there tomorrow. My Sunflowers are almost to the top of the wall and I figure they grow about an inch a day.

Seattle a week from tomorrow!

Sightseeing

The Valley from a lookout on Hwy 74.San Bernadino or San Jacintos..not sure

I took a drive about 20 miles up Hwy 74 this morning. The road is a twisty,curvy 2 laner that goes into the mountains to Idyllwild and eventually San Diego. The people in the car in front of me (Illinois plates) took the ICY sign seriously and slowed to about 20 miles per hour. Trust me, at a  2000 foot elevation and 75 degrees there is NO ICE. This road would be seriously fun in a sports car and without the Illinoisians (?) in front.

I stopped at the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains National Monument Visitors Center which is where the Wildflower Festival will be held March 6. I thought about taking one of the short trails to see if I could spot any Bighorn sheep but apparently they share their favorite grazing area with rattlesnakes (according to the signs) so I changed my mind.

Off to the pool. It's sunny,warm and nice.

Wildflowers,Double Twizzle and Wind

It was windy yesterday so Jack and I decided to find some wildflowers instead of play golf. This picture is from the Desert Sun...we didn't find too many flowers on our drive out Varner Road toward Sun City. Apparently the wildflowers have headed in the other direction towards Palm Springs.

Still quite windy when we got back home so we settled in to watch some of the Olympics. We both enjoy the ski jumping and slalom events. Jack isn't too keen on ice dancing although he can recognize a Double Twizzle now..heh heh.

The weather this morning is sunny,no wind,so we may be able to get 9 in this afternoon.

Countdown

Olympic Mountains (on a nice day!)

15 days to Seattle. I'm getting excited about my trip and looking forward to watching Madison at her gymnastics and swimming classes, spending some time with Katie, having lunch with my mom and with best friend Denise and catching up with David,where I will also get in some good kitty time with Slater.

56 days until Vegas and approx 70 days until Road Trip 2010.

In the Garden

BeforeAfter

I hate Oleander. It is a waste of good garden space. This before picture was taken last Fall before I hacked the Oleander down and replaced it with Sunflowers,Jasmine a Kangaroo Paw bush and a birdbath. It is the best sunniest spot in the garden and the Oleander was doomed.

I moved the Potato Vine from the shady patio into the Southwest corner of the garden. We'll see how it does. It made it through the cold winters in Kirkland, baked in the sun when I lived on the Northshore Golf Course, and survived the move down here spending three days in the back of a u-haul so it is tough.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Deb and Wanda hit the road for home this morning. After a shaky start (the battery in the motorhome was dead) they took off around 9AM heading north to Seattle. The weather today is dramatically different than yesterday. Clouds,cool and overcast this morning. The forecast looks like sunny and nice in Seattle!

Jack and I watched Tiger Woods announcement on T.V just now and we both agree he seemed sincere. How humiliating to discuss his issues with his mom in the front row!

Happy Hour February 18

Jeff,Colton, Jack and I played 9 at Santa Rosa today in beautiful perfect weather then had a great happy hour at Dick and Sue's.

Deb and Wanda returned from their visit to San Diego and are settled down in our guest room. For those of you who have not been down, or didnt know...we love to have visitors and have the space for you so come on down!

Dinner at the Cliff House

Jack and I had a great dinner last night at the Cliff House in La Quinta.  I had seared Ahi Tuna and Jack had Scallops.There were 14 of us, Jeff and Colton flew down from Seattle, Dan and Terri, Dick (the birthday boy) and Sue,  Dee and Gary,Paul and Dorothy. It's a beautiful restaurant. (The waitress also asked me if I'd ever been told I look like Bette Midler, ha ha,why yes I have in fact,although probably like Bette in her more "robust" years!) I'm working on that by doing water aerobics and walking or bike riding every day.

 Katie and Derek are flying to Vegas in April for a wedding and we have decided to drive over and meet up with them for a couple of nights....so my new countdown is:

21 days until Seattle and 60 days till Vegas!

Sunflowers

My sunflowers are loving this weather! First picture was taken at the end of November and the second picture today!

Happy Valentines Day!

27 years ago today I went into labor,packed a bag and headed for Swedish Hospital (Seattle) where my beautiful red haired Katie was born the next morning (Feb 15). This picture was taken when she was about 2 after she had helped herself to a bowl of chocolate pudding. She thought she was in big trouble but she looked so cute I couldn't get mad.

It was the best Valentines gift I ever received.

One of Those "Oh Sh**!!" Moments

Return From WA (D.C.)

Here are two pictures I borrowed from Brandon's (Uncle B) website. Brandon and Maddy in front of the Washington Monument, and Maddy on a quad. Ton's of snow,they lost power during the most recent storm but  fortunatley had a generator. Madison and Derek flew home yesterday just before they closed the airport in D.C. again.

Here in the Desert we had more rain last night but temps are rising into the upper 70's by the end of the week.

It's Not That I Don't Like to Clean...

Yesterday the manager where I work called and told me to wear old clothes today so I could clean out storage units. Some of these units are so dusty that when you open the door the dust showers down on you. I considered her proposal,reviewed my job description and decided that was not why I was hired...so I quit yesterday! Yay!

Life Returns to Normal After Super Bowl Sunday

We had a great day at Dick and Sue's Super Bowl party. Ate way too much.... there must be some kind of VooDoo in the air that enables us to snack all day long and then still enjoy Dick's chili! It was fun visiting with everyone and watching New Orleans win.

So life returns to normal....me back to work, Jack back on the golf course,the sun shines and I continue my countdown....

9 more work days
29 days until Seattle

Our Weatherman

Leonard the Lizard is hangin' from his wall condo  this morning. He is the best weather predictor. If it's not sunny he doesn't come out.

Rainy Saturday

It's raining again here. Jack and I spent a lazy day reading and watching T.V after a quick trip to Trader Joe's. Jammy pants and sweatshirt day.

It's going to be a good — and possibly even spectacular — year for wildflowers in the Coachella Valley. According to a ranger at Joshua Tree,the wildflowers need two separate rain showers and then warm weather for a Winter bloom. One of the prime viewing spots for wildflowers is not too far from us. There is also a Wildflower Festival scheduled on March 6 at the San Jacinto Visitors Center which sounds like my kind of thing.The prediction is for warmer weather beginning in March. In the meantime, we feel like we're in Seattle watching the rain drizzle down.

This blog site has changed it's format and I can't see anyway to download photos. I'm still looking.

Road Trip to Cabezon

Deb,Wanda and I took a little road trip about 30 miles up to the Desert Hills Outlet stores in Cabezon. I'm not a real high end shopper but I did buy a comfy pair of slippers at Easy Spirit. Golf shirts at Nike for $75?? I don't call that a bargain. It rained hard on our way up and got pretty cold and windy. Stopped at Morongo Casino for lunch and yes I put $20 in a slot machine and wound up with $37 so my slippers were basically free!

Looking forward to the Super Bowl party on Sunday at Dick and Sue's.

Snowbirds Return

This picture is on the 2nd hole at Santa Rosa Country Club. If you hit too far right your ball can bounce onto Frank Sinatra (street). I've done just that a couple of time.


While driving to the store today I noticed more and more out of state licenses...Oregon, Washington, B.C, Minnesota etc. One of our Canadian snowbird neighbors said it had been in the minus 20's in their home Province of Manitoba. Madison and Derek are in Virginia where they had some new snow and a big storm is expected. Madison's uncles built her an igloo in the backyard at Grandpa Ed's house.I'm starting to think about what I will pack for my trip to Seattle and most likely it will not be t shirts and shorts.

Jack and I are playing golf this afternoon at Santa Rosa. It's currently 72 and sunny.

Hello?? Spellcheck??

My coworker and I looked over some of the resumes and applications that came in for my job replacement. We laughed our heads off. Actually I felt sorry for most of the applicants that didn't use spellcheck or attached a really wacko resume. For example:

My Objection (didja mean objective??) is to get a job where I can use my skills as a skin care specialist...Okay so a storage facility is a great place to start I guess!

or...

I have been a manger (manager?) for over three years at blah blah blah... however their resume did not indicate ANY job where they were even remotely close to a manager position...

or...

I want position where I can youse good costumer skills..(Is that like dressing people?) I can be reach at (no phone number listed)

I'd hate to be the one interviewing and selecting out of this batch!