October 30, 2007
Exterior decorating.
With the inside of the house finally coming into focus, it felt right to start to turn some thought to the outside.
I have hardly noticed that I have a large back yard. It has been a construction dump and weed patch for the past two years, but it could be a demi shangrala with a bit of sweat and smarts.
First off however, it needed grading out to get rid of the slope that prevented the yard from ever being used as a living space... a job for a bloke with a Bobcat.
I have started to plan things out in sketchup. Its from Google, it's free and its totally nuts.
The t&g siding on the side of the "barn" is a wreck, so I plan to loose the window and put a big slider around the back with a small deck. I want to re-side the barn with flat siding and paint it out with a trompe garden (ditto with the fence) blurring the join to make the brain take the illusion for granted. This is going to be fun!
Posted by Barbara at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2007
Bernard Joseph Johnstone. 1926-2007
My Father quietly passed away today at 12.02pm.
I can't write much now, but some lines from Burns my Father often quoted are strong with me now.
(our time) is like the poppies spread,
one moment bloom, then next it's shed.
Or like a snowflake in the river,
one moment white, then gone forever.
(Robert Burns.)
Dad was a great reader of gravestones and said that it reminded him that the time here is fleeting and precious. He told me that when one reads the dates of a persons life we may see 1926-2007, but it is not the dates themselves but the " - " in the middle that is important bit.
Maybe we should take a little time today to think about how to make our own " - " spectacular.
He will always be with me.
Posted by Andrew at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2007
Pull the udder one.
Kids love milk... milk shakes, ice cream, in puddings, on corn flakes.
We just had the chance to see the whole process from grass to glass, up close and personal.
A friend of our uber pal Jeri is the manager of a large dairy farm in Sonoma and we took a bunch of kids to the farm to get a tour and have every question from what is her name, to what the hell is that smell?
The farm is a large one, with 1000 cows (Holstein, Swiss brown and Jerseys) that need milking twice a day. We got to hand feed day old calfs, watch the cows in the milking parlor and the tour was climaxed with the kids being taught to hand milk the spectacularly buxom and placid "Valentine".
Our corn flakes will never be the same again.
Posted by Andrew at 5:53 AM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2006
First day of (big) school.
We got so lucky with we bought the house. Being on the East side of the freeway put Ursula in Marshall Elementry... a dynamite school of only 240 students, giving a class size of about 14.
The principle also recieved a national award last year for her progressive program for the school.
The school is in the hills behind the house, with a million dollar view of the Bay, and she even gets to wear a tartan school uniform (joy of joys). If she gets sweeter I will eat her.
Unless she burns the place down and gets kicked out we are good through 6th grade.
Posted by Andrew at 9:05 AM | Comments (1)
June 13, 2006
'Bout time she got a damn job!
My little girl is getting all growed up.
Friday was pre-school graduation at the Child Development Center. She and her 11 classmates all wore cap and gowns and even got class rings.
This is a good time to thank her teachers; Rhode, LaShawn, Katie, Gloria, Antoinette, Tida and Beverley. They have placed her feet on firm ground and given Ursula structure, knowledge and above all love. We will never forget what you have done, and regard you all as part of our family.
It feels like only yesterday that we were doing the diper and pram routine.
Well done sweetheart, we love you more than you will ever know.
Posted by Andrew at 7:10 PM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2005
Heavy stuff first.
I am in England again, just six months after my last visit.
I wish I could say that my Father is no worse, but sadly I cant. Even the slightest movement, like sitting up, leaves him breathless and a trip to the bathroom takes an hour to plan. If you smoke, and are having trouble stopping, I suggest taking care of a chronic pulmonary disease patient for a few days, watching them drowning in fresh air and see how those cigarettes taste afterwards.
While I am on a rant, let me also say a few words about medical marijuana.
In the past three days, my dad has eaten one bowl of porridge, a cheese sandwich and a slice of quiche. He is a bag of bones. What he needs is to get his appetite in gear so that he can get some nourishment. It is no business of any government to interfere with this, and we will do what ever we need to do to help him. It is an issue of basic humanity and I beg you to support any organisation and vote for any legislation that works to this end.
Im sorry if this blog entry is a downer. I will lighten things up soon, but these are a few things that I needed to get off my chest.
Thanks.
Posted by Andrew at 9:48 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2005
Monsters in Oakland.
Ursula and three of her friends went to the Walt Disney on ice performance last night of Monsters Inc. at the Oakland Coliseum .
It was breathtaking!!
I have been to many Raiders games, and they come nowhere close to the level of noise generated by 20,000 screaming kids.
This was Ursula, 0.25 seconds after seeing Micky Mouse for the first time.
Posted by Andrew at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2005
Chinese New Year
Every year our family get together to celebrate Chinese New Year. For the last 15 years or so, the entire dinner was made by my dad Ray and my step-mom Judy. This year they passed the torch to the next generation, and we willingly accepted it. Jan, Clint and daughter Emilie hosted the party, and the rest of us contributed our share. My dad still made the roast tea duck which was unbelievably tasty, Judy made her famous cucumber dish Pau-Tsai. Jan made steamed pot stickers and chicken in lettuce cups, Shelley made vegetable wraps, then for dessert we had jasmine tea, Judys almond cookies and moon cakes. It was a success and we are already planning our next dinner!
Posted by Barbara at 11:20 PM | Comments (2)