Tuesday Retrospect -- My Son at (3)

When my son was three, I was working in as a data entry clerk

(yes, this was a loooong time ago) ...

one of the benefits was discounted tickets to Disneyland.

We went several times that year ...

 this photo is from the first visit. 

 

He was a special boy then... and is a wonderful man now.

 

Do you have a treasured memory to share?

I would love to hear it.

Holly

 

Feelings about San Diego Wildfires

The more I see of San Diego County fires --- the more I really don't want to ever move back there.  I have a phobia about wildfires... when I was in the Navy, fires onboard ships don't bother me so much ... they can be contained and we were trained to deal with them ... wildfires just keep jumping and expanding.  My fear is rooted from my freshman year of high school.  There was a really big fire in the area just east of where we lived.  That weekend was homecoming weekend for our church; Sunday the sky was all yellowy and a lot of people didn't show up for the homecoming.  The church and our home were close to the edge of the populated areas ... it was a lot of semi-wildness and overgrowth to the east.  At school on Monday, lots of students were missing since they had been evacuated or their parents kept them home.  The district decided to cancel school midway through the day and sent everyone home.  We lived a couple miles from my high school - it was considered within walking distance so I started walking home.  One of my teachers stopped and gave a ride to the corner of our street and dropped me off there.  Walked down the block - no one was home.  Dad was at work and no idea where Mom was.  She didn't leave a note.  I'm pretty uneasy so try to find a neighbor to stay with until Mom comes back.  Knocked on every house on our block --- no one answers other than one son and he was getting ready to leave (on his motorcycle).  Since he didn't have an extra helmet and I wasn't experienced being a passenger on a motorcycle he didn't want to take me with him.  Now I'm really uncomfortable --- so I try to call Dad at work.  One NEVER EVER called my Dad at work .... it had better be a death or an emergency to call him at work.  That didn't work ... the phone lines are out.  I'm now panicking ... so I toss some stuff in a daypack and start walking to my grandparents home in Pacific Beach (about 20 miles away).  Skirted the foot of Mt Helix, got into La Mesa (city) and am chugging away. Probably got close to 8-10 miles on my way when the cops picked me up because it is well after dark, I'm a young girl alone (qbout 13 years old) with a backpack and some of the nearby areas were not the best.  I explained I was on my way to my grandparents because school was closed mid-day due to the fire, none of our neighbors were home and I couldn't reach my parents.  Cops called my grandparents, who came to get me.  Late that night they finally get hold of Mom and tell her I am with them.  Mom comes to get me and she is furious.  I realize now that she was scared since she hadn't known where I was ... but she never seemed to realize just how terrified I was.  When I expressed my fears about the fire over the weekend while several of our neighbors were leaving to stay with friends or relatives ... she discounted my feelings and told me there was nothing to be worried about.  I couldn't understand why she's saying there's nothing to worry about while I'm watching the Boccias, Waterhouses and Mitchells (all adults) pack up and leave the area.  Just didn't make sense.  Then the district cancels school mid-day ... just added to my confusion.  As I said, Mother was furious when she got to my grandparents home.  It was one of the few times that she ever hit me with a belt.  Now I can understand that she lost control because she was so upset over not knowing where I was or what was happening to me.  But -- I was scared and there was no one to ask for help.  Could have gone and stood in the middle of a busy street near the house and begged for rides ... but knew that behavior was completely unacceptable in my family.  Wildfires still terrify me to this very day.   In 2001 (Cedar Fire), had to drive a section of freeway with flames on both sides of the road (and firefighters) to get to work road and another time when DH and I went to check out a car my son wanted to buy - one of the roads we had to drive crossed the path of a wildfire and we saw the fire jump the road.  DH got to see me come completely unglued at that point.    

Nope - the wildfires may outweigh all the wonderful qualities of life in San Diego for me.

Snow in Tucson??

Saw this on the news ... it snowed yesterday in Tucson (Arizona) ...
middle of the desert .. the elevation is about 2400 -ft (713meters).


Really odd weather last year and this all around the world.

OOPS! SHCOOL??

a freshly paved stretch of road near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina -- sad to say, I've personally have seen other road markings with the same mistake in several other places. 

KATHY K'S TOMATO -- SMILES!

Kathy sent a picture of this guy from her garden ... she just added the eyes and mouth.   I like his curly hair!

GO AHEAD, DRINK AND DRIVE ....

Seems to me, that residents of many countries other than the U.S. are quite comfortable leaving a drink that may have been barely touched on the table .... the drink is a relatively minor part of the main activity which is spending time with friends and acquaintances. 

Many Americans, on the other hand, will finish the drink off when they leave, even if they are going to another place and can get another drink there ... the mentality being "don't want to let it go to waste" or "I spent good money on that".

This pattern of thinking is part of the reason behind signs like this ....

http://www.burbia.com/node/4354

FAST TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

Flew back to California for a very busy week the end of September --- spent 4 days with a group of friends up in Petaluma-- we ran all over the place, did a Napa Valley wine train, day trips to San Francisco, Folsem and more ... then did a quick dash down to San Diego to meet up with Chris and take care of some issues with our proprty manager ... took advantage of Disney's free admission for active and retired military, drop by the Maritime Museum, saw just a few friends ...but didn't have the time to lots of others I really REALLY wanted to see (rats!) ...will have to go back soon and try again...

HAPPY 4TH!

Fireworks back home ....

GRINCH

My final tree-lighting at the wonderful, fabulous "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the San Diego Old Globe Theatre ... everyone should go! Such fun!!!

Studio 19 at Spanish Village, San Diego

Student sale weekend (November 2008)-- Andy holds her student glass sale the same weekend as the pottery guild show. This was the last sale that Don could participate in due to the move to Sicily -- I helped out as a cashier/wrapper and general dogsbody. Spanish Village has some interesting craft centers. Lance prepping to blow....Lance and his wife, Kim

MARBLES FOUND A NEW HOME

I let part of my childhood go not long before leaving for Sicily ... this can of marbles has been with me since I was in 5th and 6th grades shooting marbles on the playground. Time to let some other child enjoy them ... Jamie, the son of a co-worker at L3, was the right age --- he was overjoyed to get them.

Steelies, cherries, agates, flags, giants... lots and lots of marbles .... all sorts of colors, patterns and sizes.

Bye childhood ...

ODDS AND ENDS

It's been a bit ... have been dealing with all sorts of details getting ready to go to Sicily as well as some me stuff....

The presidential election is over ... Barrack Obama won by a landslide. He has quite a mess to deal with - of course, no matter who won, there is a mess to deal with. I worked the polls as an assistant precinct inspector - am glad I won't be doing that again anytime in the near future. We had lots of poll watchers (never had that before), a lawyer who was making that rounds that things were being done on the up-and-up (he wanted us to give him a count of how many people had voted -- there were people in line waiting to get their ballots and he wants us to count how many have already come thorough -- sheesh).

The condo has been getting painted the last three days .. dust everywhere and everything I have is in one pile in the middle of the living room. There is more space around the pile for the painters to work with with the pile in the LR than if the pile was in any other room.

Today the place was sprayed -- or at least most of it - so Indy and I had to leave. Indy went to day boarding at the vets (she just loved that - yeah right!) and got her final check-up to go to Sicily. I got my visa pictures taken, took the car to the dealership to get the airbag light dealt with, re-priced all Don's glass at Spanish Village for the student sale tomorrow, picked up my tickets to get my visa, and lots of other bits and pieces.

Am unburying the pile so I can get everything I need to take with me to Houston -- ugh! Things just got tossed into boxes and bags the first day the painters were here because they showed up early. Still have to find someone to replace the laundry room door since the painters accidentally ripped out the screws when masking the floor -- too much damage to just re-screw the hinges.

Got to stop playing and get everything set for the flight ...less than a month 'til Indy and I are off for Sig and less than two weeks before Don and Karen here for Thanksgiving.

JUST VENTING

The last couple of days have not been fun....a client waffled on a condo he wanted to buy...has now lost it. He is also struggling for a loan -- just not fun for either of us.

For me personally, there was a three week delay getting information to join Don in Sig. Don's employer has finally started that process, but I now only have two weeks to get to Houston to submit the forms before my in-laws come for a week visit. Still have to get Indy's medical taken care of before the 2nd, needed the Italian forms for that.

Suspect that I will have to forfeit the airline reservations I have made --- all dependent on when the visa process starts.

LITTLE ITALY FEST 2008

Sweets vendor

Looking down India Street

Details on the Little Italy sign supports...

Sunset over the harbor ... we were in Julian in the morning, Little Italy the later afternoon... off to Olive Garden for dinner..