Dogs

Bailey and Zoe

Dogs have been a part of the family for quite some time.  Gail grew up with dogs but I did not.  Shortly after Valerie was born, they family took a vote on whether or not to get a dog.  Valerie couldn't even talk yet, but she voted for the dog. 

The first dog was Bailey, a Cocker Spaniel.  He was conceived accidentally when one of Gail's friends left her dog in heat outside.  I affectionately called him butthead.  He wasn't real bright. 

Gail, on the other hand, is very bright and good at training dogs.  As long as she was holding treats in her hand, Bailey would do most anything.  She even made him a performing dog as attested to by the entry into Maria's 4th Grade Talent Show.  He was probably not the dog she would have picked, but he was a dog.

The second dog in the picture is Zoe, an Australian Shepherd rescue dog.  He came about because as Bailey was getting old, I asked her if she wanted another dog.  Before I knew it, she had found one and was training her as well. 

Professor Henry Jones Jr,
i.e., Indy

Bailey passed away in May, 2004.  Zoe in 2013.  She talked me into another dog about 6 months later.  Indy is an "All American Black Dog", i.e., a Lab mutt.  She's trained him well, although he probably gets away with more than the other two did.  You know how it is with the baby of the family. 

From Mother to Daughter II

Maria's daughter just turned two years old today.  For her birthday, we passed down a memento from her Grandmother.

When Gail was little, her father made her a cradle for her doll.  As she grew, her parents stashed it away and when Maria was two years old, passed the doll cradle down to her.

Now, years later, Maria's daughter turned two, so we pulled out the cradle from storage, cleaned it up, gave it a new coat of varnish, and made her a quilt that matches a quilt Deanne gave her when she was born.  By that evening, it once again had a doll inhabiting the cradle and was being taken care of by her "Mommy". 

From Mother to Daughter

Long ago, when Gail was growing up, her parents gave her a small rocking chair.  As a young child, she played with the chair, first sitting in the chair then using it for her dolls and other stuffed animals.

When Maria was a year old, Gail's parents found the chair, cleaned it up, and presented it to Maria for a Christmas or Birthday gift.  She followed in her mother's footsteps, sitting in it and then using it for her dolls and other stuffed animals. 

A year ago, we took it down out of the attic, cleaned it up, and gave it to Maria's daughter.  It sits proudly in their living room, and is used daily for sitting and displaying dolls and stuffed animals. 

It's held up this long, so maybe in another thirty years or so, it will be used by another generation.  Only time will tell. 

Summer Vacation 2003 - Washington, Oregon, Northern California

As the kids were growing up, we made it a point to take summer vacations, and given the number of people, it was usually a road trip.  We frequently traveled long distances, so we had plenty of time in the car.  One popular activity was keeping a journal of our trips.  I found this while cleaning out some boxes late last year.  It contains our road trip to Oregon.

I apologize for the lack of resolution in some of the pictures, the scanner had difficulties with some colors.  And I made the images pretty big so that there's a chance you can read them. 

This was also the trip where one of my favorite pictures was taken. 

Spontaneity

The other night, Gail was looking at her e-mail after work and saw that the Pacific Science Center was having an opening night showing of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 at 10pm.  She asked me if I was interested, and of course I said yes.  However, I reminded her that it was a Thursday night and she had to get up tomorrow at 5:30am for school, so it would probably affect her more. She bought tickets while I went to choir. 

After I got home, we got in the car and drove downtown.  Of course there was a line for seats, and we were near the back of the line.  I noticed that there were a number of Millennials in the crowd and most were of the nerdy variety.  I kept track as we were filtering into the theater, and based on my observation, we were the oldest in the theater. 

As for my opinion, it was just as good as the first.  It was very difficult to not sing along with the soundtrack, but very easy to laugh at the lines along with the rest of the attendees.  We got a richer experience than most, since we actually lived through the music the first time around. 

As for the picture, it was foggy when we came out around 1am, and the Space Needle was glowing.  I thought it looked pretty cool. 

To My Valentine - Sunset

Last year, Valentine's weekend synced up with President's Day so Gail had a couple of days off.  We decided to go someplace warm, and visit a few National Parks, so we flew into Albuquerque and spent a long weekend.

We arrived mid-afternoon and hadn't planned much for that day.  On the way to the hotel, we noticed an advertisement for the Sandia Peak tramway.  Having nothing else planned, we decided to spend Valentine's Eve watching the sunset from the top of the Sandia Mountains.

What we really didn't know is that at the top of the tramway is a ski area, which still had snow.  We only brought light jackets because we really didn't expect to see much snow this trip.  So, cold and shivering, we wandered around the top of the mountain until the sunset.  We had a much better weather than in Hawaii and got some really bad quality photos with our iPhones.

Warm or cold, I will go just about anywhere to be with my lovely bride.

To My Valentine - Sunrise

In 2003, I rescued the love of my life from raising the kids and escaped to Hawaii for a week.  I planned it so that we would be on Maui on Valentine's Day.

One of the "bucket list" items people talk about is sunrise over Haleakala, the dormant volcano on Maui.  We figured going on Valentine's Day would make it even more special.

Sunrise in February is about 7am, and the road to the top is about a 90 minute drive.  It's so popular now that they are taking reservations.  We woke up at about 4am to start the drive up the steep, windy road in the dark.  We were not alone, there were many others making the trek as well.  We were all hoping that we could get above the weather and see the sun above the clouds. 

By the time we got to the top, it was cold (over 10,000 feet from sea level), and raining.  We put on our rain gear and took a picture to the east at sunrise.  (Notice the little orange stripe through the raindrops on the lens.)  We also noticed a group of bicyclists strapping on rain gear and getting ready for the ride down the mountain.  (Apparently, that's a thing too!)

On the way down, we stopped and grabbed a bite for breakfast and headed back to the resort for a morning nap.

Among my favorite things in life are the days I get to spend with my lovely wife.  We have spent many Valentine's Days together.  Some with flowers and cards, others on trips, still others with the family.  Looking forward to the Heart-shaped Pizza for supper.

I Love You, Gail. 

Requim for a Tree

Earlier this week, a storm in Northern California blew down a tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  (Drive-Through Tree Felled by Winter Storm)  In 2009, we took a vacation to the Sierra Nevada's and happened to stay at Angel's Camp. 

One of the days, we visited Calaveras Big Trees State Park, and found the famous Drive-Through Tree.  Although you could not drive through the tree anymore, just standing inside the tree was pretty impressive. 

Although cutting a hole through the tree probably hastened it's demise, I don't judge those who did it.  Death is just another part of the cycle of life.  The remains of the tree will decompose and become nutrients to the next generation of Sequoias.  

Jackson Senior-Staff Basketball Game

For the past 19 years, the Jackson High School staff have challenged the Seniors to a basketball game.  They use the proceeds of the admission to fund staff scholarships each year.  It is very well attended, in part because some person had a great idea and used it as the first chance to pass out yearbooks.

The students love the chance to beat the staff, and the staff love the fact that "It gives Seniors the feeling of what it is like to lose to out-of-shape, over-the-hill, completely un-athletic 40-year olds."

The staff had a 12-6 record going into the game, with last year's game being won by the students on a three point buzzer beater.  This year, the staff was down by 1 going into the last three minutes when the students put their A team on the court.  The staff held the students scoreless and sank the clutch free throw to put it away 93-91.

Gail's contribution was 3 minutes at the beginning of the 4th quarter, running around after one of the Seniors that go to our church.  She did touch the ball once this year, and was called for travelling.

20th Anniversary

When we got married in 1984, our honeymoon consisted of driving Gail's car from California where she worked to St. Louis where we were going to live.  We started the honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at the Chancellor Hotel on Union Square.  We did the normal tourist stuff, and after a couple of days, we got in the car and started driving across America.  (stories for future posts)

20 years later, we were living in Seattle and I wanted to do something special for our Anniversary.  We planned on taking a camping trip that weekend to celebrate.  At least, that's what she thought.

Unbeknownst to her, I had gotten a couple of tickets to San Francisco and reservations at the same hotel we honeymooned at, and left this letter on the bed in the morning. 

I’m sorry to break it to you, but we will not be going camping this weekend like we planned.  It was all a ruse to keep you from scheduling anything else.  What we are doing is still a surprise, but I’ll fill you in on some of the details. 

• The kids aren’t coming,
• We’ll be heading to the airport in the afternoon,
• We’ll be returning on Sunday afternoon. 

Susie will be staying with the kids, and she’ll be coming around 1pm to get the briefing.  What I’d like for you to do is the following:

• Pack a suitcase with clothes for a temperate climate.  You’ll need 4 outfits, three casual, and one a little dressier. 
• Pack a camera, jacket, and a day bag (purse, fanny pack, or whatever you wish) and whatever else you think you may need for a weekend away,
• Call Jackie and tell her that she won’t be dog sitting after all,
• Call the neighbors and tell them we won’t be golfing with them,
• Call the Airline and tell them that Susie will be dropping off Deanne,
• Sign the attached form,
• Think of what instructions to tell Susie when she get to our house. 

I’ll be home about the same time as Susie, so if there are other things we have to go over, we can do it then. 

Happy Anniversary  

Needless to say, we had a good weekend.  Even got artwork to furnish the house, but again, that's another story.  

The Love of My Life

On a hot, muggy day in June of 1984, I committed my life to this wonderful woman.  We met in college in the marching band but didn't start dating until senior year.  After we graduated, I moved to St. Louis, Missouri and she moved to Arcata, California, and we started a 2 year long-distance relationship. 

Back in those days, that was not as easy as it is today.  We wrote letters to each other and only were able to talk to each other once per week for an hour or so.  Long distance bills averaged about $100 per month, so talking more often was not feasible. 

I proposed to her on Christmas Eve, 1983, and I have to admit it was the best thing I've done in my life.  I loved this woman back then, and I continue to love her today.  I can't imagine what my life would have turned into if I didn't marry her. 

Thank you, Gail, for saying yes.