Yucky 6-30

Larry had to go by himself on our walk this morning. These two pictures kind of illustrate how I was feeling...ha ha. Some bug is trying to get past my defenses and it makes me cranky when one tries to take hold. I just hung out like a carrot all day...I did get a lot done on my latest afghan project though...when I wasn't napping. Hopefully tomorrow is better, I have shopping to do dang it and as I never get sick anymore it annoys me immensely. AND I don't get to snuggle that baby.

In Ukiah 6-29

This little cutie boy Connor had his Dad drive him over for a visit this evening. He is on the move and was checking out our digs...not even 8 months old yet and he was up our stairs already.




We left the Antioch fairgrounds this morning and are now at the Ukiah Fairgrounds, we traveled about 135 miles is all. Los Angeles may be packed, but at least those drivers know how to merge onto a freeway. Going through Benecia and Santa Rosa today was tedious with the Bozos not paying attention, talking on the phone or just not figuring out that they need to push on the accelerator...damn it!!!!

It was hot and windy when we got here, but has cooled off this evening. The last couple of nights the lows were in the mid-70's and it feels like it might be cooler here tonight.
They are going to be pouring concrete out here about 0700 hours in the morning...woo hoo.

Just up the hill from where the Narasaki picnic was being held is the cemetery where my Mom is buried. I hadn't been there in quite a few years so we stopped by for a look see.

Steven our handsome teenage nephew actually doing a little manual labor...it was a noteworthy event :)

Larry's sister Kathy with her "I'm not taking any crap" face.

Uncle Gene meeting Connor with Larry.

Andrea and her Auntie Kathy.

Will, Ian and Andrea.

Sister's, Auntie Bonnie and Carol Larry's Mom.

Larry's sister Kathy found lots of time to steal Connor.

The two William Eugene's in our family...Larry's Uncle Gene and our son in law Will.

Miracle Cousin Darcy showed up to meet Connor and see Andrea and Ian. She lives close to the park so she and her Fiancee Paul stopped by. She is a hound for babies, and she got there in time to see Connor awake and then he promptly got comfortable and went to sleep. We enjoyed meeting Paul and visiting for a bit and we'll see them in two weeks at their wedding.

Here is the Narasaki Family all together, Kathy, Michael, Brandon, Steven and Hank.

Quick one 6-27

For YOU my five faithful readers I am typing on this hot laptop whilst my forehead feels like a vise is twisting in its center...apparently I am a lightweight when it comes to summer heat. I never get headaches so I either didn't drink enough water, ate too much of the wrong stuff or I should have gone straight to the Margharitas. Consequently, because my Uncles have to have something to read with their morning coffee I am blogging through the pain, but you aren't getting details or pictures until tomorrow....can't make a decision to save my life right now between which pictures to post. This paragraph didn't have enough drama in it...I needed to add icepicks or near death...jeez.

We had a great day, I can say that much...good food, good people and no drama. We had lots of shade and plenty of places to sit so it was all good.

These two pictures are all for now because I knew they were going in. The first is our great-niece Liliana...such a sweet cutie pie and the second is me and Connor who is about a week from being 8 months old. Connor was just waking up when they arrived and Grandpa Larry got his mitts on him first and Connor gave him a big smile and leaned in and gave Larry a kiss...so freaking cute!!!

It is 2100 hours and still 93 outside...it had better cool down some more, I hate sleeping with the a/c on! Where is that cool delta breeze?! AND I hate these urban areas when I can't tell if I just heard gun fire or fire crackers, hmmmm? How nice, Larry just flipped on the scanner...reports of shots fired, lovely...hopefully "they" are wrong.

Hugs to all! ta ta for now.......

More Family 6-26

Staying at a fairgrounds RV park over a weekend…don’t expect sleep or peace and quiet. During the week there is a truck driving school in the parking lot, then on Friday nights they are out there until after midnight rolling around garbage drums for Saturday’s Farmers market. On Saturday at 4:15 A.M. a truck rolls in and for the next hours you get to hear the clang of metal poles being offloaded and set up all over the parking lot for the stands. About 6ish the farmers/vendors start rolling in and setting up…some are quiet, some like to blare their music, it is just crazy. We leave for the day visiting and when we come back the market is all gone and the parking lot is packed with cars for the Saturday night races. VERY NOISY cars going round and round and back firing and who knows what all, they quit at 2200 hours. What can you do…at least it is a relatively safe place with hook ups to stay in the Bay Area…beggars can’t be choosers.


Today we went to the Concord Macy’s furniture department to surprise my Aunt Gretchen. She works there, she was busy with a couple and didn’t see us so we laid low…well we sat on a lovely leather sectional and relaxed until she was finished. She was surprised to see us. We had a nice visit and she took us out to lunch.


Then we drove over to my cousin Darcy’s. She has wanted me to see her place, she has been there about a year and is getting married in a couple of weeks and will be moving to San Jose. She had one of her friends/coworkers there and we all had a really nice visit. Malena is a nice young woman and taking criminal justice courses so it was interesting to get her take on things, plus she was fascinated and had lots of questions about our traveling lifestyle.


Then it was back to Martinez to the Moniz/Narasaki hoard where we hung out until after 9. It was hot today and the drive back to our “place” in Antioch was in the easterly direction so we could see the large full moon rising and it was a lovely orange color. Now we have a nice warm breeze blowing through the trailer listening to the roar of powerful motors and screaming, yelling people….ah, bliss. Had my camera with me all day and didn’t take a single picture, it just happens that way sometimes

Family Gathering 6-25

So this blog will be boring for some, but for Michelle who is in Oregon and can't be here, she will like seeing everyone.

Our nephews Michael (white T shirt), Brandon (black tank) is the one who the picnic is for on Sunday...graduated from UC Davis. Steven is on the couch with the glasses. Auntie Bonnie in the pink, Uncle Gene attached to her shoulder and Larry's Mom Carol in the white tank blouse.

Our oldest nephew David in the dark t-shirt on the couch. Hey gotta watch that lady with the cards!!!

And our brother in law Hank, playing in a corner by himself...his home has been invaded by the Moniz hoard once again. We've had a lot of get togethers over the last couple of decades here! Larry's sister Kathy is over from Maui, but I knew she wouldn't like the two pics I took of her this evening and because I LOVE her so (and she is feeding us) I'll wait until I get a more flattering picture of her to post! You can call me a LOT of things but stupid isn't one of them...ha ha!

Boo hoo 6-24

Tomorrow we hit the road again and I just am not ready…I feel like sitting in the middle of the floor like a two year old with my bottom lip quivering and muttering I don’t want to go, you can’t make me…ha ha, then I would need Larry to give me a hand up off the floor! This three weeks has gone by too fast and other than the highway noise we really like it here. I don’t give it much thought, just keep on keeping on…until Larry mentioned that this is the first we have really relaxed since about April of ’09, over a year ago.

We worked our hind ends off landscaping the front and back yards of the house in Fallon in May last year, finished in June…you can see pics of the lovely work In progress and finished product here in the archives. Larry and I single handedly with shovels and wheelbarrows shoveled about 35 cubic yards of decorative rock and planted plants in dirt as hard as concrete. We were up to Washington then zigging and zagging all over the place with the Grandsons, Larry was out for several weeks on fires and then we decided to sell the house. Got it sold, stuff stuffed in a storage and back on the road, Oregon first, Calif., then New Mexico for two months. Burned up the roads all over the Tularosa area looking for a new home, nada and then back to Northern California and zigging and zagging all over the place again. I forget how much we pack in a year until I look back at pictures, but then we have just always done that, burning up some roadway to somewhere. We get delusional every once in awhile and think maybe we’ll settle down and quit traveling, never leave the county we reside in….we sit with that thought for a minute and then go NAH…not gonna happen! Shoot, just a month ago we were in Chester, Ca getting snowed on and so much has happened since it feels like a year ago instead of a month. Well wasn’t that a nice rant!? Just like a two year old!

Today was laundry day, had to rewash a load...these front loaders have those soap cups that the machines wash the water through and someone's scented laundry soap was still in there or something...my scent free clothes came home reeking. Now I look like an idiot sniffing wash machine soap dispensers before throwing our clothes into one...and you thought our lives might be boring....ha ha!!! We were entertained on the back deck while waiting for our laundry by a hawk that swooped down below the deck for lunch, but came up empty taloned and five kittens came out from all over the place after we sat down on the deck...their Mama hollered and they went a running.

Tomorrow we head for Antioch for a family reunion of sorts. There is a big picnic for our nephew Brandon who graduated from UC Davis and his Mom, Larry’s sister Kathy is out from Hawaii and we haven’t seen her in awhile. Andrea and her family will be there too so we’ll get to snuggle two of our boys. From there we are headed to Ukiah for a week or so and then we haven’t decided…either to Quincy, CA or back to Coarsegold.

Oh, and I forgot these pics of my hair yesterday, Susie reminded me…I was playing with the camera on the computer and drug Larry into one.

Two of our boys 6-24

I stole these pictures off of Andrea's facebook. Look at that little chubby blond hair blue eyed Connor Laberdie cutie leprechaun. With Ian feeding Connor it looks like more giggling than feeding going on there.

These kids learn to be hams at early ages with the digital and phone cameras! Connor and his Mommy Andrea.

day of highlights...:) 6-23

The highlight of my day today was getting my hair highlighted! The tortures we go through in the name of beauty...a plastic cap on my head and a lady with a crochet hook pulling clumps of my hair through the cap...spreading chemicals all over and then putting a plastic bag over the whole thing. Then sitting under a HOT hairdryer to speed up the process for about 4 minutes, which was about 3 minutes too long. I practiced my mental exercises...imagining myself laying in a icy snowbank and it actually helped keep me from feeling like a baking potato. I must say this lady was quick though...highlights, cut and dry all in an hour.

Larry was day four on programming his scanner. It'll hold 10,000 frequencies in any number of configurations but you need a course in how to program it. Larry had to figure out how to trick it to get it to do what he wanted...he had read on a forum that another guy was having as much trouble and the guy knows radios and was a software engineer! Sadly Larry says they are all going to this dynamic memory (whatever that means).

We got in two walks today in spite of the heat and that was our day, rough I know, but someone has to do it.

Starting Over 6-22

Today this blanket I've been working on became these lovely balls. I ripped the whole thing out. I was using one size smaller of a hook because I usually work looser, but not this time and this thing was feeling as cuddly as a pot holder.

So I began again with a larger hook and as you can see below here the newer version is larger and more relaxed and I am much happier with it. After I took the picture of the two together I spent awhile ripping out and rolling balls. It warmed up quicker and hotter today. Larry was on his computer all day and still working on his scanner. A nice day.

Happy First Day of Summer 6-21

Ha, I thought I was done with yarn projects for awhile, but I found a bag of yarn for a small blanket that I forgot about.

When my brain is too tired to think and write I like to knit or crochet.

These Manzanitas caught my eye in the setting sun last night. I love their smooth red surfaces and their sinuous curves. So many people treat them like weeds which is sad because they are a beautiful hardwood and are great to decorate with. I wish I had my mosaic stuff with me, I would do a partial mosaic on one of the cast offs I have seen here in the park as they do their Spring/Summer cleanup.
We had BBQ boneless pork ribs, homemade coleslaw and fresh fruit salad for dinner today, very yummy. Did laundry and went to the post office, but none of our expected mail had arrived, it must be coming by Pony Express.
AND I believe I am to the point where I am going to have to chain my reading glasses around my neck...seems I am needing them for more than just reading...ticks me off when I am still only 25.

This bad boy with his sexy little headdress has been hanging around most all day, so far for all his calling he hasn't attracted a little cutie quail yet.

Happy Father's Day 6-20

Happy Father's Day to all the great Dad's out there; past, present and future.

In these pictures...my Dad Ian with me and my sister Lori with her first birthday cake; and Larry with Michelle and Andrea in April, 1984. Andrea is thinking...could you get that baby off of my hoppity horse and could you send her back where she came from?! Ha ha!

Five Years Ago 6-19

We did our walk this morning, it was chillier today...hard to believe the first day of Summer is Monday. Our big excursion of the week...to Oakhurst where Larry fueled up the truck and we went and got groceries. There was other stuff, a phone call or two, computer file organizing...we are always busy and if we told you what we were really doing we would have to kill you...ha ha!

In June of '05 we camphosted at Cape Lookout State Park in Oregon for a month. I can't believe it has been five years and it was before I started blogging, which was June of '06, so as you didn't get to see these photos, when there is a lull I like to dig them out and share them.

Circles Completed 6-18

A quiet day of finishing projects. Larry was outside all day working on programming his scanner and I finished my last big winter project.

This was my first circular afghan and was fun to make. I get tired of boxes and squares. Circles speak to me of flowing connections and no beginnings or endings. I had hoped to have this finished by Memorial Day to pass on to its new owner in person, but it didn't happen. I am just glad I was able to finish it before summer set in!

These other pictures are of the Gila Cliff dwellings in New Mexico. We were there in April of 06...an amazing culture.