The Big Finish!

Well, Christmas is past, I will post about that soon, and I finally FINISHED THE PROJECT FROM HELL!


It is a good feeling to be done with the tile job. Wanted to do that since we moved in 14 years ago (stupid me)! Yesterday I put the finishing touch on by sealing the grout in both bathrooms. Then today, I put all the construction mess away (tools, supplies, garbage, etc.) and re-hung the bathroom door. When I was done, I took a few minutes to reflect on my success.

Tub on left, vanity on right

Nice warm place for your feet while sitting!

The heated floor is wonderful. I am really glad Kim would not let me talk her out of it (although I worked hard at it). The thermostat cycles the floor through warming periods designed to have the floor at a nice warm 82 degrees during the mornings, and at night before bed. Power requirements are low compared to a floor heater. About 1/100th of a typical 1500 watt model. It is really great to walk in on the warm floor barefoot or in socks. Its like a walk on the beach in summer.

The first foot!

Tomorrow we start phase two of Kim's foot surgery saga. An early start leaving the house by 5:30 AM. She will be out of surgery by about 8:30. So, it is back on the couch for her. I hope she can accept the fact that she needs to sit still for a couple of weeks. Last time she sat still, but went crazy and made herself more miserable instead of accepting her plight. We'll see.

It is Xmas break and I am really enjoying having some time to spend with Lucy. Today we actually got outside and shot free throws! It was sunny, and warm with no wind (a rare event for the winter here in the valley). She was awesome shooting about 70% after warming up. We both enjoyed it!

Mom spent the afternoon teaching our Austrian exchange student, Luise, how to tack up and ride a horse. Even Hobo seemed to enjoy the attention. Finally, just as the sun was sinking below the western hills, I adjusted the valves, and changed the oil on dear old "Stalin" the 1965 VW Bug. Running like a top!!

So, it has been a great day, and we will see what the 'morrow brings!

That's All!

Tigers Take the Jamboree!

Well just a quick post to let you know that the girls were victorious at Burney, sweeping away the competition to  win the tournament. As you remember from my last post, the Tigers squeaked out a first game win over the Fall River Bulldogs. They turned out to be the toughest competition the girls faced. That was Lucy's best game of the bunch. She was fourth in scoring, and second in rebounds. For the remaining games she didn't play as much as the Coach got his reserves on the court. Here is a summary of the last two games I wrote for the local paper:

Left to Right: Bailey Holt, Lucy, Emma Briggs, Coach Matt,
 Marissa Wehrman, Anna Roach, Hannah Melzer, Lindsay Compton
Ellie Kibble, Ida Pruitt, Camry Housel 

On Friday evening, the Tigers played the Burney Raiders and won handily 52 – 24 extending the lead continuously throughout the game. The Lady Cat’s defense was stifling, keeping the Raiders solidly in check. Emma Briggs once again led the Tiger attack with 19 points, Ellie Kibble and Camry Housel lit up the scoreboard for 8 points each, while Lindsay Compton tallied 5. Housel pulled down 9 rebounds to lead the Tigers under the boards. Lucy and Marissa Wehrman grabbed 5 ‘bounds each, with Briggs and Ida Pruitt tallying 4 apiece.

The final game was held Saturday morning against an outmatched Big Valley squad. Portola won easily 59 – 21 to take home the trophy. Once again the Tiger’s defense was superb, holding the Cardinals to just one field goal in the first half. Scoring for the Tigers were Briggs with 20, Holt for 11, Housel for 9, and Ida Pruitt with 6. Briggs grabbed 9 rebounds while Wilbanks and Kibble had 5 each, and Marissa Wehrman tallied 4.

Emma Briggs was voted Most Valuable Player on the All-Tournament team. She played superbly with a total of 61 points and 20 rebounds. Other Tigers selected as All-Tournament were Lindsay Compton (9 points and 16 rebounds), Ellie Kibble (20 points and 10 rebounds, and (you guessed it) Lucy Wilbanks (13 points and 18 rebounds). 

I am very proud of my little "skeletron"! I know her big sisters are very proud too! She has worked extremely hard for every bit of this, and I am so happy she is being rewarded for it. My most fervent hope is that she continues to do well, and stays healthy for the rest of the season.

Merry Christmas All!

Thats All!

Tigers Win the Opener!

2000 Burney Champs!

Well, here I sit in the Green Gables Hotel in Burney. It is my fifth, and last, Burney Jamboree Basketball Tournament (Burney Tourney). The first one was in December of 2000. Emily came up here as a freshman JV player, and her Team won the tournament. They were ecstatic.It is bittersweet to be here with Lu. She was only 7 when Em left us. So Small, and innocent. God it hurt!

Emmy

This is my and Lucy's last high school basketball tournament. It has been such fun! Lu has had a very successful basketball career. But before I get too emotional, here's what happened last night against the Fall River Bull Dogs. By the way, the Dogs defeated our girls in the Burney tournament last year.

Lucy and her good friend Bailey Holt did the preliminaries with the the referees at mid court. Lu was selected as one of the captains after the leadership she showed in resolving some early team issues. She and Bailey have been tossing the coin since the Tiger Classic (which I didn't post about due to issues discussed in my last post)

Captains Lucy and Bailey

Portola started out slowly. It looked like they were in a trance for the first quarter, and Fall River looked sharp. Only some good defense kept them in the game as they finished the first quarter down by 13 to 3! The girls finally woke up, outscoring Fall River 29 to 12 in the second quarter. Senior guard Bailey Holt got the Tigers untracked with a looping 3 point bucket, and two field goals; while Sophomore Emma Briggs tore up the key with 12 second stanza points. The Lady Tigers took a 7 point lead to the locker room. Lucy was vicious on the boards pulling down 7 first half rebounds, and tallying three points.

The scoring evened out in the third period, but Fall River's outside shooting started to chip away at the Tiger's lead in the final frame. It took our girls a while to decide to defend against the outside shots. Luckily they were all within the 3-point line, but the Bull Dogs kept snapping at the Tigers heels. A series of crucial turnovers by Portola helped Fall River to pull within 3 points with about 1:30 remaining. The Tigers tightened their defense, but it wasn't enough to prevent a short range jumper that narrowed the lead to one point with 28 seconds left to play. After a timeout, Portola brought the ball in and managed to get it in the hands of their hottest free throw shooter, Emma Briggs, with 8 seconds left. Briggs drained the first toss for the last of her game high 22 points to make the lead an even 2. Her second shot bounced off the rim but Lucy outfought the dogs and pulled down the rebound. Lu held onto the ball under pressure, and with 2 seconds to go, bounced it out to point guard Lindsay Compton who was promptly fouled. Compton missed the charity toss, but it was too late for Fall River, as the Tigers sent them back to the kennel as time ran out on the inbound pass.

Leading the scoring for the Lady Tigers was Emma Briggs with 22 points, followed by Ellie Kibble with 10, Bailey Holt with 9, and Lucy with 7. Compton pulled down 9 rebounds, with Lucy grabbing 8, and Briggs snatching 7.

It was a good start for the girls. They play their second game against the hometown Burney Raiders tonight at 6:00. This is Dad, signing off for now.

That's All

Movin' Too Fast

I have been tardy on my posting lately but for good reason. 'Tis the season! Basketball, Rotary, bathroom tile, Christmas parties, work out at the gym, shopping, medical appointments. I have been sucked into the whirlwind! Not much down time. Wanted to get something posted, but no time for pictures! This is quite a different pace than I experienced last August after leaving the hospital.

However, it is pretty normal. Sometimes (often) we go through pretty long periods like this where it seems that a respite is just over the hill. "If I can just get through next week, things will be calmer....." Then, something new comes onto the calendar, or something happens that was unexpected (but should have been), or it has been on the calendar so long we forgot about it.

Bottom line is that I really don't do well with this kind of schedule. I don't have a lot of control over the calendar, and so my reaction is to get more determined to complete all the tasks that are piled up around me. On Tuesday I managed to get some work done (quite a bit) on the master bath tile job. We have been without a toilet there for nearly a month. I had to get started (remove toilet) and have not been able to devote enough time to make good progress because of other obligations. The good news is I worked until midnight laying tile over the floor heating mat. Got that finished, and only have about 1/4th remaining. Of course, I will still have to install grout, baseboard, toilet, and then seal the grout in both bathrooms!

Today (Thursday) we leave for the Burney basketball tournament. We finish up there late Saturday, then come home and head to the Barkley family Xmas dinner at Tahoe on Sunday. We will spend the night there, and have lunch with Frank and Lucille Monday, then head to Reno for a pre-surgery Dr's appointment for Kim, and be home probably late that evening. Anyone have time for Christmas?

So, if I can just get through this weekend.......NOT!

That's All!

Last trip to Biggs

Well, here I sit in the Gridley Starbucks, sipping a caramel brulee frappachino, and building a video of Lucy's last b'ball tournament in Biggs. Tiny little Biggs is about 6 miles north of Gridley. They host an invitational tournament that Lucy has participated in the last three years. Lots of good memories. The Portola girls always do well here. In addition, for the tournament her sophomore year, Lu won an All Tournament trophy here. It has always been a nice time, with lots of extra curricular shopping and movie viewing in Chico.

I remember coming here for Emily's freshman year in b'ball. Still remember the surprise when all of a sudden she blossomed into a good player. She had been on teams since 3rd grade. Always worked hard, but never particularly excelled or showed any promise. Then all of a sudden, at the first game of the Biggs tournament, she "got coordinated" as Kenny Smith, one of the other Dads told me. She had a wonderful season, and was selected the Teams MVP at the end of the season. Bitter sweet memories.

Mel McGlaughlin poses at his home with the team

The Biggs gym is named after a local man in his eighties named Mel McGlaughlin. He is a local high school sports legend as a player and coach. He started the girls b'ball tourney years ago. He is usually at all the games, and does a free throw exhibition. Last year he made 19 out of 20. Last summer he had some heart problems and had by-pass surgery and a pacemaker implanted. It was a tough summer for him needless to say (I can identify)! He has only been out of the hospital a week or so, and he wasn't at the game. The girls missed him and decided to visit him at his house. He was so pleased, and enjoyed the visit tremendously. He made it to the gym for most of the girls second game.

Lucy has been the epitome of the hard working player. She has busted her but for every improvement she has made, and really has become quite an accomplished player. Her court sense and defense are excellent, and with a little more work, her offense could improve dramatically.

After her long and successful Volleyball season, she (and most of her team mates) have had almost no time to practice, or get conditioned. Yet they played well so far. Their athleticism has pulled them through.

They won their first two games fairly handily. I have made a short video (below) mostly featuring Lucy for your viewing enjoyment. She is number 24 with a long straight pony tail against Pierce, then with the messy bun against Tule Lake. 

The championship game is against Biggs in about three hours. Biggs has an aggressive, talented and well coached team. They whipped us twice last year so maybe we will catch them napping. Regardless, it has been a wonderful weekend for Dad (and Mom too)!

That's All!

Our annual Christmas Tree "Hunt"!

A beautiful drive

Well, with Thanksgiving behind us, today was the day for our annual Christmas tree "hunt". I say hunt, because it usually takes quite a bit of time to find "the right tree" for Kim! We have developed a tradition of sorts over the last several years of making the outing together with our dear friends Dave and "Calamity" Jane Roberti, and their sweet little daughter Kristen.


This year was unique in a couple of ways. First, Momma Kim is on crutches and certainly cannot slog through the snow in search of the perfect tree. Second, we had a new cutting area this year. It was on the Tahoe National Forest, my old district. And third, we have had a ton of early snow this year. In fact, I figured our old cutting area was snowed out anyway, so it was good that we could try a new one.

Jason (Hey-sone), Lucy, and Luise

Last Thursday, on the way back from Dad and Don's house in Oakdale, we decided to check out the new spot above the little town of Sierraville to see if it was still drivable after all the snow. It turned out to be plowed. It is a trail-head for snowmobile riders! Driving along the road looking over the snow covered forest was wonderful. The trees were still covered with snow from the last few storms. We found a few promising spots, and turned around to head home. On the way out we saw a coyote busting through the snow full out to try to get away from us. It was neat watching him run, if we had been hunting he would have been dead meat the snow was so deep. Thinking back on it, I should have noticed how deep and difficult the snow was. Instead, we just kept cruising along enjoying the winter scenery. We saw a small bobcat a few miles further on. It was a very nice drive.

Well, come Sunday it was blue and beautiful in the valley. I managed to  get the driveway and the road plowed from the last 8 to 10 inches of new snow before we headed out for Sierraville to meet up with the Roberti's. It was Kim and I, Lucy, Jason (Hey-sone), and Luise our exchange student from Austria.  Oh yes, and of course the Pointer Sisters, Delta and Remmi!

When we were still dry!

Things went well at first, Beautiful weather, the road was plowed, we made our way up until we got to our spot. I drove about 300 feet above the spot that seemed likely to have some nice trees to cut and turned around. My plan, a good one, was to park up the road so I would not have to climb the steep 15 foot cut-bank where the cutting looked good. Instead, we could easily stroll along the contour and cut our trees as we found them.

Things soon fell apart however. The snow was crotch deep on me, so that was considerably deeper on everyone else (remember that coyote?) We began to slog....even the dogs were making labored progress. After about 100 feet or so I turned to Dave Roberti and said "My wife wanted me to be sure and take some time and make this an "event", looks like it may be more of an ordeal." And so it was! After another 150 feet or so Roberti thought the trees were looking pretty darn good. Kristen picked out a good ol' Charlie Brown tree, and Lucy, Hey-sone, Luise and I struggled on.

I was breaking trail, but seriously I didn't know how long I could keep it up. Lucy fell and filled her boot with snow. Delta and Remmi seemed pretty confused as they were essentially wriggling through the snow on their bellies! They both looked at me like I was supposed to help them, but they were on their own!!

Finally, I decided we needed to make it down to the road and re-group. The four of us tripped and stumbled down the slope to the road. Wow, the solid road felt good beneath my boots. We trudged back to the trucks and found Kim sitting there idling the engine of the truck and reading her book in the warm cozy cab. After a brief celebration of our salvation, I had Lucy start the truck, then hopped on the tailgate as she slowly moved down the road. Dave, Jane, and Kristen were coming down the hill with two trees. I helped Dave get the trees down to the road, and Jane cut up some bread and cheese. Bummer! We forgot the hot chocolate.

Heading down the hill!

Kim was feeling isolated in the cab of the truck, so Lucy pulled a sneak snowball attack and made her feel more involved (not)! I took off down the road to look for the promising spot I had seen earlier. About 300 feet down I spotted a few likely candidates that were probably 2 feet beyond the 100 foot "no cut" zone along the road. So, with my trusty ax I crawled through the snow up the hill to check them out first hand. They looked good, so I called for the kids to bring up the truck, and check out the trees. It was amazing! I could hear them talking and laughing, but even screaming at the top of my lungs, they could not hear me!! I tried the dog whistle to get their attention, but that just got the dogs to come to me. So, I called Dave Roberti on his cell phone and asked  them to move down and check out the trees. The wonders of modern technology!

At the road finally!!

Here they came, finally, and up the hill Lucy, Hey-sone, and Luise struggled. We picked one out of the two candidates, and started chopping. Lucy and Luise each took a turn chopping with the ax. Finally, the tree came down. I stuffed the ax into my belt, and Hey-sone and I dragged the tree down the hill. At the top of the cut slope, with the truck in sight, we decided to go for it straight down the hill. We made it, but plunged into the plow berm at the bottom!

The ax man!

So, we wrestled the tree into the truck, loaded up the dogs, and headed home. Yes, Kim played Christmas carols all the way home. It was great getting back into dry clothes and a warm house. Kim had whipped up some home made turkey soup and It really hit the spot! Little Kristen really hit it off with the Pointer Sisters. They had a great time together while we were cutting, and after we got home.

Overall it was another great outing. a great way to kick off the Christmas season. The only thing missing was Mango and Opie. I am sure if we had had the "Adorable One" and the "Smart One" with us things would have gone even better!

Merry Christmas to All!!

That's All

Owl City!

Head swiveled 180 degrees checking me out!

Not the rock band! Weird deal. Yesterday I started out the back door in the morning and was stopped in my tracks by a very large owl sitting on the deck hand rail, gazing at me curiously through the screen door. I froze so as not to scare it off, slowly backed up, and frantically searched for a camera. I shouldn't have panicked. The bird was very set on staying right where he was. Couldn't find the camera, then I remembered it was in the glove box of the truck. So, I ran and dragged Kim out of the bedroom to see the owl before it took off. It was patiently waiting for us when we returned. I sneaked out the other side of the house, got the camera, and snapped some pictures.

Took this from the driveway

According to our "Birds of North America" field guide, it was a mature big eared owl. They are often confused with Great Horned owls, but I am certain this was a big eared. You can see by the pictures it was a beauty. We have heard owls around the place before, and once a barn owl took up residence out in our barn but didn't stay long. I was hoping it would, to cut down on the bird population in there. Come to think of it, the little birdies were pretty scarce for a few days!

So, Kim is reading up on big eared owls, and it turns out that one of their favorite prey species is domesticated cats! I remember when we moved in to this house, the owner telling us he couldn't keep cats long because the "owls got 'em before they grew out of kitten-hood." I have a difficult time picturing an owl, even a big one, flying off with our cat Lumina. Although she would be a tempting target, as the owl would probably be able to make it through the winter on just the one kill! Cat sirloin.....Nahhh!

The owl finally flew away to a tree just outside our rail fence by the round pen and sat there the rest of the day. Pretty cool! So today I was out plowing the driveway in the driving snow, and I glanced over my shoulder at the truck (didn't want to back the tractor into it) and saw a pile of feathers in the snow with what looked like talons sticking out. I jumped off the tractor to investigate, and sure enough it was an owl. At first I thought it was the same one. Perhaps it had been sick, that would explain its unafraid behavior.

My highly trained barn owl!

However, when I examined it more closely, it was a barn owl! It was quite dead, so I picked it up and headed for the house. I perched it on my gloved hand so it looked like it was sitting there like a falconer's bird. I walked in the house holding it out, and moving like I didn't want to scare it. You should have seen Kim jump off those crutches! We decided to send it in to school, and give it to the biology teacher (Mr. Valle). There is a student who is really into learning taxidermy, and this owl is in perfect condition. Don't know what killed it.

So, we had Owl City around here this weekend. Perhaps it has something to do with the explosion of large rodents we have had this year. Delta killed a rabbit in the wood pile last week, and I have shot a couple of squirrels. We haven't seen these animals around here much, never any squirrels. Must be global warming!!

That's All!

Off to North Section Finals!

Well, volleyball is still with us! Last week the Tigers beat East Nicklaus at home (barely) in 5 games. They played down to their competition as has been their habit, but in fairness, they hadn't played in two weeks because they got a bye on the first round of playoffs. They lost the first game, won the second, lost the third, and had to win the last two in a row to avoid elimination. They won number four with some great contributions from some of the kids that have often not had many opportunities, it was a two point game. Lucy made a couple of great blocks and a hit to score a crucial few points that kept them in game four. In game five the tigers went down 8-4 (in a 15 point game that is often the end of it) when Suzanne Filippini got the serve. Suzie had been really struggling with her serves for most of the second half of the season, but she picked a great time to get it back! She served 10 straight (including at least 4 aces) to get the Tigers to game point!

Happy Tigers!

Really the girls showed a lot of character by coming back to win after being down by 2 to 1. The victory got them a slot against the Los Molinos Bulldogs at Los Molinos (about a 3 hour drive from Portola) last night (Thursday the 18th). Los Mo had whipped the girls twice, and the Tigers had prevailed once (to win the early season tournament) but after the struggle against East Nick it didn't look good for the Lady Tigers. They had made lots of errors (including 5 to 7 missed serves per game) and would definitely have to straighten that out if they were to beat Los Mo in their house.

There was a large home crowd, but it was balanced by a very vocal Tigers rooting section (that be us proud parents). The first game went back and forth point by point with two being the maximum lead until the Tigers edged up by three or so. Final score however was 25-23 PHS! The Bulldogs were shocked, and the Tigers smelled victory.

Buddies!

In game two, it was once again a see-saw contest with the point spread staying within one or two the entire game. The Tigers went up 23-22 and had a chance to get to game point but a miscue brought the Dogs even 23-23. Next play Los Mo pulled ahead to 24-23 and had a shot at the win. The Tigers staved of defeat, and got the serve back at 24-24, then scored two straight including an ace by Ashley Lopez to send the hounds back to their kennel 26-24.

In game 3, you could sense that the momentum was all Tigers as they steadily and inexorably widened the lead. Portola ended up on the long side of a 25-15 score crushing the Bulldogs and advancing to the North Section Championship.

All the girls played very well, and the scoring was more evenly spread than usual with key contributions from Emma Briggs, Anna Roach, Lucy, Suzanne, and Ashley. Lindsay Compton had an excellent game with probably her best kill percentage of the season. Likewise Ellie Kibble set and served extremely well, while adding some well timed kills.

It is a wonderful, but fleeting thing to win a championship game like this. We travel to Red Bluff tomorrow to face Hamilton City in the North Section Championship game. If the girls play with the focus and dedication that the showed last night, they will definitely be in the game. Regardless of that, they won last night, and it is a victory to be savored!!

That's All!

Multi-Tasking

Watching TV with projects all around!

I'm not very good at it...multi-tasking that is. In fact, it drives me crazy, but sometimes you just have to gut it out and do it. For me there is little that is more satisfying than working on a meaty project with single minded focus. My mind turns over the possibilities. "How can I do this job more quickly, with less effort, to a successful conclusion. Sometimes I can totally lose myself in just mowing the lawn. It is enjoyable and rewarding, and sometimes not possible.

Do not flush!

For example, Kim just had foot surgery, and is laid up for six weeks. So, I have to do several jobs at once. I am the nurse, gotta do the house work, take care of the animals, prepare most of the meals, AND still gotta do my projects. I started one of my big ones a day or two before Kim went under the knife. Tiling the bathrooms. I have never laid tile before, but I have been thinking this project through for several years. The old vinyl floors in the bathrooms were in terrible shape (have been since we moved in 14 years ago). Kim and Lucy picked out the tile and we took the truck to Home Depot and purchased all the supplies. I took out Lucy's toilet (stored it conveniently in Maggie's vacant room) and tore out the floor. Kim helped me cut the "Hardy Backer" sub floor reinforcement, and we layed it down. So far so good. Then surgery happened.

The layout

Kim has been very UN-demanding, but still I had to feed her and Lu in between laying out and cutting tile. Every time I got on a roll, I had to switch gears and run an errand, or do some cleaning, maybe feed the horses, walk the dogs (hmmm...Kim sure gets a lot of stuff done around here).

Cutting the Tile

Every new step in the tiling process I would obsess about and plan, read instructions, watch internet "do it yourself" videos (in between cooking, cleaning, and helping Kim "get something done"). Finally, when I couldn't procrastinate any longer, I would plunge in! Every time I found that the step was pretty easy and went reasonably well. After almost two weeks I finished it! Lucy was happy, I was happy (it looks terrific) and Kim was happy.

Oh, I mean I finished about half of it. Got the tiles and supplies to do the master bath too. You would think that I would have it sorta down by now but....  We're gonna put in a heated tile floor, and now I have another step to learn about and obsess over in between my other duties. Electrical is my weak point. Must have something to do with that experiment I did with a light bulb when I was a kid. Never told anybody, but got lots of compliments on my new hair style. Afros were in in those days.

Finished product!

So, I'm thinking about it....really. The big step is yanking the toilet out. Then you are committed. it's get it done or you have to go out in the laundry room. Well, I am too busy with my other tasks (including a bit of chukar hunting) to overcome the inertia of procrastination easily. Maybe next week!


That's all!

Wood for Woody

The wood train!

A very nice thing happened to Kim and I this weekend. While I was away at a Christian Men's retreat with my three brothers a huge load of wood was delivered and stacked in my woodshed. The shed is now full with approximately 5 and 1/2 cords. This is more than enough to make it through the winter. As a Rotarian, I have participated in community service many times. Beautification of the Loyalton Main Street, irrigating the city park, clean up along highway 49 to name a couple. However, this last weekend I was the recipient of the volunteer service. So here's the story.

Kevin Maneuvers his trailer

After my month long stay in the hospital last July, I came home weak as a kitten. While my recovery has been rapid (if I do say so myself) I have been in no condition to undertake the annual task of filling the woodshed for the winter. My old Homelite chain saw (about 32 years old) weighs so much it was beyond my prescribed lifting limit even if I had the physical stamina to attempt wood cutting. There was no way I could do it, and it was obvious to my friends in the Portola Rotary club.

President Hi-Ho and
President Ann

They put together a little project to supply my winter wood. One Rotarian, Bill Tantau, had cleared some trees from his property and had logs available to cut and process into firewood. My non-Rotarian friend (current District Ranger of the Sierraville Ranger District) Quentin Youngblood pitched in with Bill and others to cut the logs into rounds. Then over the next several weeks, Rotarians and others pecked away at the huge pile of rounds and split it into stove wood.

Last weekend I was out of town as I mentioned, but the Portola club invited my club (Loyalton) to help deliver and stack the wood. So, at around 9:00 am a fleet of pickups (Three plus a dump trailer) came rumbling down France Road to our driveway. The Presidents of both Loyalton (Hi-Ho) and Portola (Ann Taylor) led the charge. They quickly organized all the worker bees, while Kevin LaPlant expertly guided his huge dump trailer into position by the cavernously empty wood shed. He dumped the load (pardon the expression) and they all set to work. They used the old "bucket brigade" method to move the wood from the dumped pile, or the pickup bed, into the woodshed. Incidentally this is the same method hotshot crews use to move fire-line debris away from the freshly constructed line....I'm just sayin!

The "Bucket Brigade".

The work crew included Dave Gentry, Steve Clifton, Ralph and Ann Taylor, and Kevin LaPlant from Portola with Hi-Ho (Marie Silver), and Slack Jaw (Jeff Torrason) on the team from Loyalton. Of course Lucy and Kim pitched in to help as well. It took a while for Lucy to get the sleep out of her eyes, but she worked her tail off with the rest of them. It wan't too long before the crew was finished, and the formerly vacuous woodshed crammed with fuel for our winter fire.

The Crew minus Dave and Ralph

What a gift! Having the wood to get through the winter voluntarily donated along with all the labor (except for loading the stove and lighting the match) was wonderful, and greatly appreciated. However, perhaps even more appreciated is the knowledge that there are friends out there ready to help me and my family when we need it. Pretty awesome!

That's All!

Dog Days

Well, it is getting to be that time of year again. The time when leaves start to turn, a chill fills the air, and across the valley the sound of shotguns can be heard through the early morning stillness. Time to hunt! I look forward to this all year long. Having two German short-hairs I know they look forward to it as well. I decided to switch from Labradors to pointing dogs about 5 years ago after a Chukar hunt with Kim's cousin Jim. Jim had a German wire-haired pointer (looks kind of like a shaggy Terrier) named Penny. Penny put on a show to remember that day. She pointed about 10 birds. She was so steady that Jim started calling us from almost a quarter mile away to share the wealth and get the birds up. I was so impressed (and tired of running screaming after my Labs) that I decided then and there to get a pointer.

Delta perched like a cat

I started shopping, and Kim soon vetoed the idea of a German wire-hair. "They are too ugly!" she said. "If your going to get a new dog, get a pretty one!" I shouldn't have been surprised, since that is they primary criterion she has insisted on in all of our car purchases since we have been married. What the instrument panel looked like, and the paint job were always more important than performance or reliability. I can't complain. We've driven some nice cars! She encouraged me to look at short-hairs since they were so "beautiful."

I bought Delta, a beautiful chocolate brown short-hair, about two months later. She was a bit more difficult to train than my labs, but I just love the pointer's energy and instincts. Their pointing is an out growth of their stalking instinct. They look like a cat when the spot or smell birds. They get more and more cautions the closer, or stronger the scent gets (opposite of a Lab). I have watched Delta freeze and fix on a couple of tweety birds on our back fence, taking a cautious step about once every 2 or 3 minutes moving lower and lower the closer she gets, finally freezing in place in a "Mexican standoff". The whole process might take 15 minutes before the birds get tired of playing and take off!

Remmy's first point

Kim couldn't pass up the "cuuuute little puppy" a couple of years ago, and brought home a second short-hair. We named her Remington (Remmy for short). She is smaller and lighter colored than Delta. She is also a talented stalker/pointer. Remmy also brings a bonus. Short-hairs are not renowned for retrieving, but it is not unusual. However, Delta does not retrieve. She exuberantly delivers the "coup de grace" whether it is needed or not, then quickly drops the bird and gets back to hunting. That is why I was so pleased when Remmy turned out to be a fantastic and steady retriever. She has made some fantastic retrieves saving me lots of effort, and bringing birds I never would have been able to find.

The "Pointer Sisters"

Kim and I walk the dogs almost daily. We go up into the hills to the west of the house and usually traverse between 2.5 and 5 miles. The dogs thrive on it. Besides being good for me and my wife, the dogs get in shape, and practice their skills. I made a video of Remmy in semi stalk mode, unfortunately I can't get it to upload. I will work on it, perhaps it is too large. I made the video on one of our walks, and the "Pointer Sisters" were after a flock of starlings. The never catch any, but they never give up either.

Nothing like California Chukar!

Chukar season opened last weekend here in California, so now is the big payoff for me, and the dogs. Hunting these wily birds is much more about watching the dogs do their thing than getting meat for the table. But don't get me wrong...I love eating Chukar.

That's All!

Stalin

No this is not another of my rants on history. Stalin is my little 1965 VW Beetle. Okay, I guess I need to explain, here is the long version.

Me and the "Smart One"

I bought the car about 10 years ago for Viola to use as her high school transportation. I hauled it home on a trailer with a blown engine, and the original engine disassembled in a box. Viola helped me overhaul the original 1300 cc engine (we fly-cut the heads, and bought larger cylinder barrels to increase the displacement to about 1500) and otherwise fix the little car up. She named it "Ariel" after the Little Mermaid from the Disney movie. Not sure why, but it was kind of cute.

Ariel burned a valve and ruined a cylinder over the course of the next few years (it was my fault not Viola's). However, she limped along until the exhaust smoke got too bad, and the power just wasn't there any more. (Of course power is a relative term in the case of a 1965 VW Bug.) Finally I yanked out the engine again, and did a top overhaul, replacing the pistons, cylinder barrels, and overhauling the heads.  Voila! (as Maggie would say) the little car once again ran like a champ, and became Maggie's high school transportation.

Cute little Stalin

Well, Moe (in her teen quest for identity) decided to rename the car....Stalin. Now I am sure that both Hitler and Stalin are rolling over in their graves about this one. Stalin would be tremendously insulted having his name used on a vehicle whose design and manufacture were commissioned by Adolf Hitler, and Hitler I am sure would be incensed by having his automotive achievement named after his arch enemy. So it is a good thing they are both long dead, otherwise Mango might end up in Lubyanka prison, or be arrested by the Gestapo. So, go figure! Maggie can explain herself in a comment to this post.

The thing I like most about the car is that I can fix just about anything that goes wrong with it. I purchased a book on fixing and maintaining VWs almost 40 years ago called "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, With Step by Step Instructions for the Complete Idiot!" Since I am not an idiot, I rarely have to read all the instructions, well most of the time anyway. Okay, Okay, occasionally I can skip some of the instructions!

So, about the time school was getting out last June, the voltage regulator went on the fritz, and I ordered a new one. I replaced the regulator, and everything looked good for a few days. Then the same problem started again. Okay, a freak deal, probably got a bad regulator (can't return electronic parts!) So I ordered a second regulator. Voila! (Like that Mango?) It was fixed again. This time it only lasted a short drive!! So I went to the local parts house to have them check the battery. I desperately hoped it was the problem. Battery was good. However, I did notice that the generator was hotter than the rest of the engine, and that melted solder was dripping out of it! Hmmm maybe the generator is bad? (Duh!)

Sweet little engine

Yep, the generator was practically seized up! So I ordered a new generator (hoping the regulator hadn't been fried like an egg as it is bolted to the top of the generator).

Finally, the generator arrived, the sun was shining and I was full of hope. Changing out the generator was a lot more involved, but I managed to get it done working at a leisurely pace for about 4 hours. The engine started immediately when I was done, and the red light (indicating no charge to the battery) was on! Arrrrgh!! I double checked the installation, wire connectors, and belt tension....still no charge. So, I either got a newly rebuilt generator that doesn't work, or (most likely) I fried that (second) new voltage regulator. I am going with the latter and ordered a new regulator today over the internet (the only place I can find parts).

Very frustrating to say the least. I said I could fix anything on this car, I didn't say I could do it quickly and easily. Perhaps I should have read all the instructions after all!! I should have the new part in a week or so.

To be continued...

That's All!

Rotary Week

Well, we are back from a week of Rotary in Bellevue, Washington. It was my first serious training on the way to taking on the District Governor's role (District 5190) for the 2012-2013 year. (For non-Rotarians, that is July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013). It is a very big deal, and Kim will also play a major role as my sidekick (of course we have been sidekicks for nearly 37 years now :) . It will be a lot of work and responsibility, and I wouldn't have taken it on without Kim's commitment.

A reception at a local art gallery.

Any who, the first three days were classroom training called GNATS. That stands for Governor Nominee Advanced Training Seminar. It was very informative, but the best part was meeting my fellow Governor Nominees from our Zone (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and some of British Columbia!) There were 24 Governor Nominees (DGNs) there. It was very well done, and I know it will greatly aid me in getting organized for this important task. The training started Tuesday, and ended on Thursday.

 

However, that wasn't the end. The Zone Institute (a big, hairy conference for all the aforementioned Rotary Districts) ran from Friday through Sunday noon. This is a huge annual affair designed for current and upcoming District Governors and other district level leaders. It was amazingly well done with the theme "Around Our World". The daily programs and presentations were international, with different countries featured. The focus was on service Rotary can and is performing around the world, and was quite inspiring. It really renewed our sense of the "hugeness" of Rotary, and the potential for changing the world in a positive way, one project at a time. 

Arms spread, palms up!

Jon and Martha Greene "Out of Africa!"

The social side was very enjoyable too. Lots of good food and company, nightly receptions, and offsite gatherings. Thursday night was the formal dinner.  (Remember my tuxedo story?) The folks took the theme to great lengths. Upon registration, we were issued "boarding passes" and the Sargent at Arms were dressed up as TSA employees. I was "wanded" as you can see in the photo.


Then on Saturday night international garb was encouraged. Kim was incredibly beautiful in a dress her sister purchased in China, and I wore my new suit. It turned out to be more of a costume party, so I could have worn the funky "kimono" looking robe thing that Kim bought me at the local thrift store. I was comfortable in my suit though, and just told people I was dressed as an African businessman.

Kim and I with
RI President Ray Klingsmith

After brunch on Sunday, we met with Kim's cousin Steve Barkley. He and his wife Sally live close to Bellvue in the town of Woodinville. He gave us the grand tour taking us to Snoqualmie Falls, and around the greater Seattle area including lunch at a Thai restaurant. Steve then took us to visit the grave site of one of Kim's great grandfathers. Captain John "Jack" Fenn. (Her Daddy's first name was Fenn.) Jack was a sea captain and sailed up the coast bringing supplies and gold seekers to the Klondike. After a very busy day, we got back to the hotel at about 7:30 and just crashed.

Snoqualmie Falls

Captain Jack's Headstone

The trip home Monday was uneventful, and we got back to the house about 3:30 in the afternoon. All the animals were glad to see us (as was Lucy). After unpacking and cleaning out all the spoiled food from the refrigerator, we kicked back and relaxed. On Tuesday, I vegged out all day reading my book by the fire (cold and rainy weather outside). After more than 7 days straight of interacting with people I needed some "recharge time". So, I am back at it now, and yesterday put a new generator in the old '65 VW Beetle. But I'll save that for the next post!

That's all!

Taking it Easy

Well, I better get with it because now my "adorable" daughter in Belgium is putting on the pressure. Seems pretty hum-drum around here lately. Especially after all the excitement around the Los Molinos tournament. However, it is about to pick up again starting this coming Tuesday with the beginning of the Governor Nominee Advanced Training Seminar (GNATS) up in Bellvue Washington. Kim and I are pretty excited to get started on our biggest, most exciting (and scariest) Rotary adventure yet.

The Horse Whisperer studying!

We fly out Monday, so late last week we packed our bags. Wanted to get everything organized because we are spending the weekend at the River's Edge RV park in beautiful Clio (only 15+ minutes from the house). It is a Rotary camp out, and we are having a ball! Kim is relaxing in the trailer reading about horse training methods (really). We just got back from a 3 mile plus walk, and I am feeling like I got a good workout.

I have been doing better and better lately. Walking pretty serious mileage (3-4 mi) everyday. ALSO, last Wednesday, I went and loaded and unloaded a cord of fire wood (no cutting or splitting thank goodness). The best news was that I was able to get out of bed the next day without much difficulty. In contrast, in August I was layed up for a couple of days because I barbecued, sold hoagie sandwiches, and went to a wedding all in one week. Seems like a piece of cake now!

Our home away from home.

So last night we had a delicious dinner graciously provided by Gail "Virus" Ellingwood, and Dan "X-man" Greenway. Some folks didn't show so were were "pinch hitters". Probably more like "pinch eaters"! Anyway, after dinner, we sat around the campfire telling stories and sipping a little wine. Very little in my case :( . Lucy is spending the weekend in Sutter with "Hay-sone" so since there is nobody at home, I ran in to feed the menagerie this morning, then got back just in time for breakfast. Kim prepared breakfast burritos for everyone, and we pretty much finished it all off!

Tonight is barbecue night. Kind of a potluck deal where everyone contributes. We are grilling corn on the cob. If you've never done this you should some day. It is my favorite way to prepare corn OTC. Just leave the husks on and throw it over the coals. Turn it regularly, and when the husks are pretty burned looking, take it off. Let it cool (so you don't burn yourself) then shuck the corn and enjoy ;) .

Moe calls this my
 "Captain Morgan"  pose!

We will head out of here on Sunday morning and put the finishing touches on our packing. Then on Monday it's off to GNATS! I will give you a full report on our experiences there later. By the way, I got my Tux back from the shop and tried it on. Kind of weird for me, getting so formal and dressy, but I guess that's the drill some of the time!

So for now, just sitting here relaxing and enjoying the last of the summer weather. Beautiful clear sky, no wind, and about 80 degrees F. Life is good!

That's All!

Road Warrior

What a week! I think I set a record for miles driven over Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Here's how it went.

Wednesday afternoon I was dispatched to be in Lake Isabella, with my incident management team, on Thursday at noon. The Canyon Fire was about 5,000 acres and growing so I was expecting to be gone at least 10 days. It is an 8 and 1/2 hour drive, so I spent the rest of Wednesday finishing up some projects I was working on, and preparing for the trip. This would be my first deployment with my Team  since last year (I missed two earlier this year due to my surgery). I was excited as usual, but also a little bummed about leaving Kim and Lucy. The Los Molinos Volleyball tournament (Lucy's last!) was scheduled for Friday and Saturday. My road time started with a trip to Reno Wednesday evening to pick up a rental pick-up. I needed to leave at least two hours before the rental agency opened up on Thursday morning, so had to make the round trip. By the time I was packed and loaded it was nearly midnight.

So, I hit the road at 4:45 the next morning and headed south. It was a long day behind the wheel, and when I got to Lake Isabella it looked like the fire had "laid down", as they in firefighter slang, and we might not be needed after all. So, we waited until about 19:00 (that's 7:00 PM for you non-military time types). We were standing around chatting wondering what our fate would be when someone next to me said "What do you think they will decide?" My friend replied: "They'll probably say 'Thanks for coming!'"  Not one minute later, here comes the Forest Supervisor and as she walks by, she says "Thanks for coming guys!" So much for a 10 day assignment. After dinner, I curled up across the front seat of my rented truck (to cheap to find a motel, and too lazy to screw with my tent) and went to sleep.

Friday morning I headed for home. I left at a more civilized time (8:00) and settled in for the long drive. Since Kim was in Los Molinos for Lucy"s volleyball tournament, she couldn't pick me up in Reno after turning in my rental. So it was emergency plan "B". Kim remembered that our good friend Dr. Chris Stanton worked in Reno. She called Laura (his wife) and arranged for him to pick me up at 19:00 (you should remember what time that is but you can cheat by checking the previous reference above) at the Reno airport. Since he drives a Prius, and I had the rental pick-up stuffed with all my needs for a ten days assignment away from home, I drove on home to empty the truck prior to turning it in. After changing clothes I left home and drove back to Reno to await my ride to come back to home (sounds twisted doesn't it?). Got home (for the second time) at about 21:00 (thanks Chris!!) and went to bed buzzing from so much time on the road.

Saturday morning, I awoke at 6:00, showered, and hit the road for Los Molinos (only a 3 hour drive). With luck I could catch most of the second day's games. Turned out I could have slept in because Lu's first game was at 8:30. No way I could make that without Scotty to "beam" me down there! Their second contest wasn't until 12:00! Oh well, I got to see a few JV games while I waited. Finally, it was game time and they crushed the other Team (Biggs HS) in about 20 minutes....next game scheduled for 14:30 (work on it, you can figure it out).

A happy Lucy!

Without going into too much detail, Portola won the championship! They beat the hosting high school, Los Molinos, in three games! I was very proud (as were the girls) since Los Molinos had defeated them in two straight on Friday, and won the first game of the championship match to boot. It was very close with all the girls contributing. Lucy did some great work at the net including smashing an "overpass" into the back corner for a big point in game three. The three game match went 22-25, 25-20, and 15-13! The girls were ecstatic. I have never seen Lucy so happy and excited.

Then it was a 3 hour drive back to the Sierra Valley. I crawled into the sack at about 00:30. Are you getting the hang of military time yet? It was a long road trip, but in the end, I was very fortunate to witness one of Lucy's high school  high points. That is, after all, what being a Dad is all about! I am a lucky man!!

That's All!