It's Always Something...Different!

I keep a website up to date everyday for my son but the last two days were the most frustrating I have had with computers for a long time. It was sluggish, it was freezing, it was not showing images. I defragmented, I cleaned the disk, I deleted temporary files, I scanned for virus's and such...sweep, sweep, sweep. I called the .com company--no problem on their end. The dsl and enet buttons were looking bright and happy. Was it the computer, was it the wireless, was it the internet, was it the program, was it me????? My grandson said to load what I wanted on another computer and Format. I thought that was too drastic. My spy sweeper said I was protected against 145,679 agents and all was well--we quarantined a few on the way but now no problem. Still no workee--I ran into a friend at the store--she said to disable Norton Security--I tried that and it did help a little. Finally I called my dsl server--I had tried them yesterday but tired of waiting. Previously when it wouldn't work at all I would unplug the power or the enet and all was well. BUT THEY WERE BOTH WORKING. I asked the technician if maybe because they were flickering more than usual, was that the problem? He said No, that just meant they were passing in information. He had me do a few things and then go to Status and Statistics--somewhere no other technician had ever taken me before and my computer was at a speed of 32000--he was shocked and said it should be in the millions. He told me to unplug the power for 1 minute and then go back and check and wow, it had jumped up to 1344000!

Now what is it about this unplugging and plugging? It is the same thing for the Satellite if it messes up. Anyway the very nice man had me write down all the numbers and directions for doing it myself again if it happened. But I know next time it will be something...different!

Farewell to Britzi...

This morning when Bandido and I arrived at Marjorie's house Britzi was not there to greet us. I thought that Marjorie had slept in and then she came out and told us the tragic news that Britzi had died yesterday at 3:15 pm at the Vet's. He was only 6 yrs old--too young to leave us. That is his picture in "Morning Walk" blog. We had taken the dogs with us yesterday morning to the hand carwash place in Chester and after we washed our cars we took a short walk and then had breakfast while the dogs rested in our cars. Britzi appeared fine. But on the way home and the rest of the morning he just could not find a comfortable way to lay and seemed very down. There was no vomiting, etc. but he was not himself. The Vet determined he probably had a tumor and bled to death. Now Marjorie must decide where to bury him or possibly do cremation. She has a big back yard but would need a back hoe to dig a hole deep enough for a big lab. The Vet gave her a couple of days to think about it. Poor Marjorie. We will all miss him--he was a very sweet dog. Bandido would not finish making the walk this morning--without Britzi to compete with, he just gave up and I had to carry him (bad knees). Tonight we went down to investigate the trail that runs behind the Chester Park. It goes by the beautiful Feather River and then branches off into the trees for a long way--we didn't go all the distance so do not know where it ends up. The Park has a wonderful playground for the children, picnic tables, a lot of horse shoe ringers and a co-ed adult group were playing softball. A typical summer evening in a small town. Then we investigated a new little race track at the Snowmobile Park--$20 for 10 minutes for adults and if underage $40 because they have to go through some teaching and training before they can go out into the track--after that it is $18 for 10 minutes for them whenever they come again. The owner says your arms can only take about 10 minutes because of all the turns! And he says he is priced $4 less than most places. It is called Heart-Attack Racing...hmm, well, not for me.

Morning Walk

Six mornings a week Marjorie and I walk at 7 AM--lately it has been 47 degrees at that time so it is very fresh! The other morning a neighbor of Marjorie's came out and took our picture and gave it to us. The hats? We have discovered keeping the sun out of your eyes really is worthwhile...guys don't do it just for looks, who'd have known? 

Rain!

Can you believe, it actually rained and we walked in it this morning and it felt very good. The temperature dropped 15 degrees and the humidity rose 30--feels good and the American flag was retrieved from the front deck and is drying in my bathroom!

My ears are glued to the Israeli-Lebanon situation and I have downloaded more information for my growing portfolio on the mideast crisis and the story of Israel's history. Since I am teaching a lesson this Sunday on the downfall of Israel in 850 BC, it all relates and is interesting to see the way the borders have changed in the last 2800 plus years. It is quite a story but it is so sad what is happening to the civilians...and it will only get worse I am afraid.

The big news is I put a new automatic watering system (actually I had to scan the directions and print them at 200 percent--how can anyone read that small, small print?) onto my front and back faucets and they actually work! I just have to water the trees and bushes I planted and I can actually stand on my decks and handle that with a far reaching hose...yea.

Heat Wave!

I hear there is a heat wave across the nation so I tracked the temperature today--As we went for our walk this morning at 6:30 AM it was 57--As I drove the car in to Hamilton Branch to have the windshield replaced at 9 AM it was 73 degrees--Late in the afternoon I drove into Chester to the bank where it was 94--but as I arrived back home in the trees it was 89 and now at 7:30 in the evening it is 80. My neighbor thinks it is too hot but then his house doesn't have any trees over it (I don't know why the builders cut them all down). Anyway comparing to where the rest of the nation is, it is not bad at all. Of course, it would be nice to have a little rain but I don't see that happening...When we take our walk at 9, it will be plenty cool...I should be dipping in the lake on days like this...hope you all have a cool spot...enjoy.

Oh, Deer! and Wild Daisy time!

I wish I could have seen this. While I was at the dentist, a deer I presume, totally mangled the wire around the crabapple tree and broke off the large, floppy, juicy top. There wasn't so much as a twig left around so I assume he enjoyed it. So why am I planting these things... Mother Nature, on the other hand, grows smashing big daisies in hard, dry dirt on the side of my driveway, while I coax what little color I get in MY gardens with water and food and tender loving care. Don't get me wrong, I love the daisies Mother Nature lends me, though they are a little late this year, they are more profuse, taller and somehow decorated BOTH sides of my driveway--kinda cute, I think though some people look on them as weeds. I say, hey, green is good and with a flower on top, even better.

Meagan's Back!

The two world travelers pose together--Craig off to two years in Brazil and Meagan just back from two years in Hong Kong where she learned Mandarin Chinese and became an expert in Yoga and asian food. She will be attending Tufts University in the fall for her Masters Degree in Food Policy. Matt, her boyfriend, left his job in Hong Kong and will get a new job in Boston--oh, to be a computer expert like Matt and be able to pick and choose where you live!!! Michael, who leaves for Humboldt later this summer, is always a nice companion for Grandma. Melissa, who is attending Lassen College, is always dressed like a model. Tanner and Grandma look like they are off to the dance but instead just going to Church to hear Craig's farewell talk.

Craig's Farewell

The Pulsipher clan and many of Craig's friends gathered Saturday night for homemade taquitoes and all the trimmings. They were all there to wish Craig Pulsipher Bon Voyage as he prepares to leave for Rio De Janeiro for a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His blog which will be kept by his Mom while he is gone is http://calledtoserveinrio.blogspot.com. Brother Tanner and Sister Sarah and Cousins. Sister Kristi and Dad Gary with friends and relatives. Sister Kelly and relatives and friends. Mom Linda and sister Amy and friends. Grandmother Marilyn and sister Joan... Grandfather Frenchie, Dad and uncles and aunt. The little cousins and Sarah enjoy Bandido. Cousin Melissa with Craig--no more putting arms around girls for two years!

PADDLEFISH

This is my nephew Hunter Fuqua with a paddlefish from Intake, Montana. Once a year they let 1000 of them be caught. It used to be catch and release but because of the collapse of the sturgeon stocks in the world there is a big demand for the paddlefish eggs for caviar. Paddlefish are one of the oldest fishes dating their first appearance at 300 to 400 million years ago (50 million years before dinosaurs! If not caught, they can live for around 50 years, can reach 5 ft long and more than 60 pounds. The largest paddlefish on record was caught in Ohio and was 198 pounds! They have been known to travel more than 2000 miles in a river system. There is only one other species as a member of the same family and that is the Chinese paddlefish found in the Yangtze River. Why is this in my blog? Well, because I grew up in Glendive, Montana and actually went fishing in Intake with my father but I had never heard of a paddlefish until last year when my sister Carole was telling me about all her boys coming home to fish for the Paddlefish. Actually they don't fish for them, they hook them with grappling hooks. Now, see you have learned something new---I thought it rather fascinating, myself.

Summer 2006

This is what you have to do to roses here. It is one of the deer's favorite snacks. Along the side of my yard I have some screening bushes started--I will probably be dead by the time they are big enough to screen anything. This is also where I want to create a walk--many times Bandido and I like to avoid the stairs. I realized I didn't show my front yard--there are some things growing there also in the pile of rocks--another mourning garden. Maybe someday the rhododedrons will bloom. Some little critter keeps eating off the buds--they say it is a baby deer who doesn't yet know they are bitter. See my baby Colorado Blue Spruce which will be my Christmas tree with lights (once it is higher than the snow).

My Habitat

Carole wanted to see my yard. As you can see it is more clean than lush with growth. Nothing grows under my trees and I don't know why since the forests are full of bushes growing under trees. Notice my graveyard--that is where all my troubles and sorrows are buried. See the old men trees. Hopefully by midsummer there will be more blooming in my mourning gardens. Matt hauled all the rocks from around the yard and created this with me while I was mourning the loss of John. You can't see but in front of the deck Matt had dug out a flat space for me to make a flagstone patio--hopefully I will do that this summer. Around the sides of the yard are lots of cages of bushes--Michael dug the holes for them. They are very tiny so being protected.

Treasure Mountain

It was a beautiful day and Marjorie and I both needed a day away(she has been caring for her 98 year Mom this week and I have been glued to the computer learning a new program for creating a website) so we drove past Sierraville to Treasure Mountain and attended a Woman's Retreat we had been invited to. The scenery was gorgeous and the food delicious and we had fun "catching up" but decided it is probably too far to drive next year for the few hours we were there. Although we did discover two new Frosty places and lots of quaint shops to explore someday. There is Marjorie in the front row for the closing talk. A young gal named Wendy gave an excellent presentation on the "Language of Love". We both heard things that would have been good to follow when we had husbands... Oh, yes, this week the first butterfly I have seen this year visited my geranium. Just one of the small pleasures of gardening. Unfortunately when I arrived home from Treasure Mountain I saw that a deer had devoured one of my new birch trees. I didn't have the tree caged but had sprayed it regularly with Liquid Fence. So I guess this is one of the frustrations of gardening in the Country Club where the deer are so tame they make their own rules about what they will eat or not.

Living with the Critters

Living with the critters around here is very interesting. I put a garbage bag on my upper deck last night (nine steps up) and this morning saw a mess of garbage all over the steps with raccoon tracks (I think) all over the deck and steps. What I discovered was they don't like lettuce but anything else is evidently very yummy and they don't mind climbing stairs. There went the bulbs I had just planted. Squirrels I would guess had a tasty meal last night after digging at least six of them up. They don't like daffodils but everything else is evidently delicious! At least I deterred one little deer who was eating this Flowering Plum tree--he didn't get a snack last night after I caged the tree! All month I have been working on the yard. Maria and I had gotten many trees and bushes for $3 a piece from Honey Lake Conservation so with Michaels help I have been planting and caging and hoping I will have time to get them established and a watering plan figured out before I need to leave again.

The Daffodils Came Up!

The day before I left for Hurricane Katrina I hurriedly planted daffodils, though it was not nearly cool enough. Lo and behold they came up and announced that winter was over! This is the hammoock Bandido and I like to flop on after our daily walk. Unfortunately, there is a squirrel or two who are trying to destroy it by chewing on it and swinging on it--anyone know something I can spray on it to deter them and not us???? This is the view I see as I gaze up into the trees. It is very quiet and peaceful with just a few birds flitting about. I asked the furnace man why there were not more sail boats here. He said they had tried to have a Regatta here a few years back and there was just not enough wind. Of course, that is what I love, no wind. The lake is like glass right now. I am curious to know which of my perennials will come up this year, since I left on Sept 1 and there was still two months of watering left to do. But here is something strange that has turned up in both the front and back yards. Orange mushrooms, what are they???

Bandido Comes Home!

On the way home from Rancho Santa Fe I stopped in Aliso Viejo to pick up my dog Bandido. My sister Jeanne had come to attend the wedding of her granddaughter Molly and had brought Bandido to me. He had been in Orem, Utah with her for eight months!! He sniffed my blouse and me several times and gave me His Look and then he turns his face away as if to say--"You left me!" and I actually wasn't sure he would go with me--he looked quite content sitting by Jeanne. But when I was ready to go, so was he. As Jeanne said goodbye to him in the car, he watched her for a long time and then the house to see if she was coming back and then finally settled down and was ready to go home. As we rounded the corner to go up the hill to Lake Almanor Country Club some hundreds of miles later and passed the turn to Marjorie and her dog Britzi's house he got really excited and began yowling--and then when we got inside our house and he saw his backyard he was scratching at the door and anxious to go outside and begin exploring. He was home! And I was happy about that! Bandido looks very trim with his new shorter ears and chin hair look. Jeanne did a great job caring for him while I was off to Hurricane Katrina and Rita, for which I am very thankful.

Grandma and Jacob at the San Diego Zoo!

Before leaving for Lake Almanor, Jacob and I were privileged to have a day at the San Diego Zoo which was just a delight. We started off with the trip on the bus and were able to sit on top because it was a gorgeous sunny day. After this we did something unusual, we had a breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon! We spent all day and about the only thing we missed were the eagles and hippos. Jacob is a great companion and I always see the animals in a new light through his eyes. The gorillas were especially playful that day. I couldn't help but reflect how the Zoo had changed over the years. When I arrived in 1956 to teach school, the Zoo was the place to go with a new date or a group of singles on a weekend. It was much smaller and we never took the bus. The monkeys and sea lions were the big attraction. You could easily walk the whole Zoo in a couple of hours... When I took my first son in 1961 he was able to sit with the rabbits and the guinea pigs in the Children's Zoo and they had a baby elephant you could pet. Nothing quite so liberal now. The newest attraction this year is a Habitat setting with several different species together in one area.