Getting Ready for Christmas

Doing some making & baking to get ready for the holidays. Vanilla candy with pistachios & dried cranberries, 14 doz. spritz cookies, 4 lbs of fantasy fudge, and 1 lb. of chocolate-dipped pretzels.

Why Are Fire Engines Red?

Fire engines are red because.....

2 times 2 equals 4; 4 times 3 equals 12; there are 12 inches in a ruler; Queen Elizabeth was a ruler; Queen Elizabeth was also a boat; boats sail on the sea; the sea has fishes; the fishes have fins; the Finns fought the Russians; Russians are Red; and that's why fire engines are red...'cause they're rushin' all over. And now you know.

Another Dawn

As I awake, my eyes behold yet another dawn.

Happy Holidaze

Dawn on 12/5/10

Another beautiful dawn in Southern California

My B-Day at San Manuel Casino

My daughter took me to San Manuel Casino for my birthday and treated me to dinner at the Serrano (inside restaurant) and some gambling. Had crab legs, shrimp, crab cakes, and several side dishes, then desserts afterwards. Had a great time. She took these pics with her Blackberry phone.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

TRICK OR TREAT

Happy Labor Day!

Cresent Moon

A few pics of a cresent moon hanging in the eastern sky taken at about 4:45 this morning (09/05/10). It was so quiet and still outside, very serene. If you look closely, a few stars can be seen around the moon.

Clouds

Took these pics last weekend when the temps were in the 100's and some storm clouds started to move in. No rain at my house, but parts of my county had small hail, heavy rains, and some flash flooding from the storms.

2 Cats On A Dog Day Afternoon

Caught these two cats, stretched out and kicking back, on the patio during a hot afternoon. Temp was 104 F at about 3:30 PM. The DSH (domestic short hair) silver tiger/tuxedo mix is my cat Tommy. The other cat (DSH siamese/mix) is a stray that I've been feeding for the past 3 years, I call him BigBoy. Couple of "kool kats".

Another Dawn

A few more pics of dawn on Sunday morning, July 18, 2010 at approx. 5:50 AM. Temperature was 82 F at the time and reached 108 F by 3:00 PM.

Dawn on July 17, 2010

Took a few pics of the eastern sky Saturday morning moments before sunrise (approx. 5:50 AM). Temperature was already 76 F and reached 106 F by 2:30 PM.

Father's Day

Father's Day gifts (T-shirts, P.J.'s, and "I (heart) Dad" desk placque) and dad and daughter pic. Daughter bought lunch from one of my fav burger joints, In N Out Burger (it's what a hamburger's all about!) and my son, Bryon, (not pictured) bought dinner from T.G.I. Fridays--sirloin steak, baby back ribs, shrimp, and all the fixin's! Was a great day with my wife, son, and daughter!

Grillin'

Ah yes! The weather is getting warmer and the daylight hours are getting longer. Perfect combination for some outdoor grillin'! (But I'll grill outdoors no matter what time of year it is or what the weather is like!) Put some boneless / skinless pork chops on last weekend...and they sure were good! (I know, I know, just joking about the "skinless" part Heh).

A Puzzle

Have always enjoyed putting puzzles together. Can remember spending weekends with my grandmother as a young boy and "working" on puzzles...munching on various chocolate candies too. And got to stay up as long as I wanted! Here's a pic of a 1,500 piece puzzle that my wife and I recently finished. My son and daughter also had a hand in it :-)

...Over The Rainbows

As the rain began to diminish, the clouds broke up for a few moments and allowed the sun light to filter through, creating a beautiful rainbow. Of course, out came the camera...and quickly. What I didn't expect to see when I downloaded the pics onto my computer was 2 rainbows. If you look to right of the main rainbow (near the palm tree) you can see a part of that second bow.

Haiti Earthquake Relief

Here are some links of reliable

sites if you want to help the relief

efforts in Haiti. As always, beware of

email solicitations and other scams.

Quick Links to Most Popular Organizations
American Red Cross
Doctors Without Borders
Operation USA
Americares
International Medical Corps
OXFAM America
CARE
International Rescue Committee
Partners in Health
Catholic Relief Services
Haitian Ministries
Save the Children
Convoy of Hope
MADRE
UNICEF
Direct Relief International
Mercy Corps
World Vision Int'l

Fungus Among Us

It's pretty rare to see mushrooms growing in our yard, so of course I had to take a few pics.

"Fiery" Sunset

Just happened to have my camera out a few evenings ago and captured a beautiful sunset from the backyard. I didn't have time to set up a tripod so the hills look a little blurred. Anyway, the colors were fantastic. The cloud formation appeared to look like flames, making it seem that the hills were on fire.

JPG Magazine

I recently subscribed to a newsletter put out by JPG Magazine. The magazine and newsletter focus on photography...either digital or analog...taken mostly by amateurs. You can enter your photos in weekly, and I think, monthly challenges or categories. If you like taking pictures, whether your a beginner (like me) or more experienced, you might enjoy checking out their site at http://www.jpgmag.com/

Flowering Succulents

My daughter bought a few succulents to plant around boarders of the yard. As of yet, I have not planted them in their permanent spot, but noticed that one of them (name unknown) bloomed with pretty little reddish-pink flowers in a cluster of about 5. Of course, out came the camera to take a shot. Although not the best photo (I'm still very much a beginner with a digital camera), I think you can see the beauty in these small flowers that bloom and hang upside down.

Delicate "Puffs"

Hello?? Anyone here?? Hmmm...looks likes it's been a while since I was here, judging by my last entry in October. October?? Jeez!! Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!! LOL Well......time to clear out the cobwebs, shake off the dust, and tidy things up a bit. Ahhh, much better. Let's see....where was I? Oh, yes! Time to get back to blogging, for the moment any way. Was sitting on the patio today and noticed some dandelions in the middle of the backyard that were ready to go to seed. They looked like tiny white balloons. First thought was to pluck them out. Then I took notice of their near-perfect shape, untouched by the breeze and still intact. So out came the camera to snap a few pics.