Sweet Treats at Borden's Lafayette

This is the last Borden's ice cream shop; and it's in Lafayette. We had a wonderful snack, and a nice visit with the owner. She told us all about the renovations, and her plans for the future of this Lafayette landmark. More PIX here.

What Can Brown do for You?

The day before Christmas the UPS man was bicycling through the neighborhood making his deliveries. He told me that it is easier to make the deliveries without the big truck. My question: if he's biking the packages to the door, why am I paying a fuel surcharge? 

Fort Stockton Decor

In Fort Stockton putting an old boot on a sink passed for decorating.
I don't think this would do in the rest of Texas. I saw this at the
place we had breakfast last Tuesday. I assume that the other boot is
kept in the other restroom.

Campbell loves Cheetos

Good Bye Myers

The Myers are packing up a leaving for NC today. We will miss them
greatly.

California Winter Wonderland

 

Campbell looking scenic at Venice Beach. This was taken a few weeks ago before the rains. Today we are at home enjoying the rain and the wind -- listening to the new drone on about "Storm Watch".

GTY Volunteer Party

Grace to You had our party to thank our volunteers. Besides the great
fellowship and food, we also were encouraged by John MacArthur.

More great coffee at Intellegentsia

They make the best coffee and espresso drinks. The patio was too
crowded so I got my mocha to go; they even take the time to put
designs in their go-cup mochas. I'm lucky when that green-colored
coffee shop gets my order right.

Piewrecks

Our pie has gone horribly wrong. The crust erupted up through the
custard like some teenage skin disorder. We all laughed, cried, then
Kerry got in the car to brave the crowd at CostCo. Things to be
thankful for: pie did not exlode, pie did not burn, pie was not locked
in oven on self-clean cycle (Cherie Draa style), and most of all
CostCo is open till 8pm.

Veteran's Day

Cooper has been reading about tank battles. At my parent's house he
created a tank seige out of dominos on the kitchen floor.

Thank you to all the verterans who have sacrificed so much.

Coiffure Royale

Kerry and I went to an anniversary celebration for our friend Garrett
Markenson. The event was also a fundraiser for Layne's Legacy - a
foundation that supports families of children with fatal diseases.

The event was black tie, and most people came in their best evening
clothes. We saw some trendy fashions, some tasteful fashions, and some
timeless fashions.

We met some interesting people, including someone who knows my sister
- let's all sing, "It's a Small World."

A different kind of different

I don't know about their teaching or ministry, but according to their
ad: it's a different kind of different, they have a children's
ministry, free breakfast, and casual dress. Who doesn't like a free
breakfast. While they say casual dress, Pastor Derrick and Lady Ilya
Golden's photo is anything but casual - a jacket and a tie. Perhaps
this is Dallas casual.

Twisted Root Burger Co.

After a day of meetings I went in search of dinner. My quest brought
me to a triple D, Dallas joint in the Deep Ellum district. Great
burger and fried green beans. Fun atmosphere and attitude - instead of
a number, they call out a name - they gave me Ace Ventura.

Breakfast at the Griddle Cafe

Cooper was spending the day in Burbank with his grandparents, so we took Campbell on a food and fun adventure. We all started (Cooper included) in Granada Hills for flu jabs, and the traditional after jab snack -- cookies and juice. Then we went to the Griddle Cafe, where we had great parking, and ... no line. Had a great breakfast. Campbell wanted to try our the Venice Skate Park -- many good skaters, but a grand collision in the bowl, made everyone stop. We passed a Faux-gi taco truck trying to get someone to buy their copy-cat food. Coffee break at Intelligentsia, then a snack at the real Kogi truck. Great day. More pix here.

Family Celebration

My mom made a wonderful chicken lunch and got this delicious cake from
Portos to celebrate my birthday. Peaceful day in Burbank with my family.

Red Bull Races

We found a place in the shade. Race starts at 1pm.

LA County Fair

Last week we went of a field trip to the LA County Fair. Here is a link to some pictures from our adventure.

It's only four words

To get so many words wrong in such a small sign takes real work - or a
command of Engrish.

Day out

After church and lunch we all went to the mall. The men found this
photo op near the elevator. Nice time walking the mall.

Kogi Truck Run

After back to school night I checked twitter because I knew that the Kogi truck was going to be in Sherman Oaks. The tweet said that the truck was still there, so we drove as fast as we legally could to Sherman Oaks. We arrived just as they were closing the line -- 8:30. Some lady pushed in and said that she was there before we were, so she grabbed the sign and got behind us. If she had been there before us, it would have be logical for her to step in line in front of us. But logic does not hold for crazed Kogi lovin' people.

After a wait of about an hour, we had some of the best tacos. These are not ordinary tacos, they are Korean fusion tacos, and they are amazing. Only Cooper was disappointed -- he did not agree with his kimchi quesadilla, but is willing to try something else next time,

More PIX are here.

Santa Clarita Sunrise

This was the sunrise this morning; the colors were strange because of the Station Fire in Acton.

Acton Fire

Smoke plume from the Acton fire (Station Fire) as seen from Santa Clarita.

I ate a hot dog

I'm not a hot dog guy, but Fieri said this was the place for dogs so
we went. Kerry, C1, and I had the bald eagle - a fried dog with a
special topping. C2 had a grilled dog. We split one LA Dog - grilled
with bacon, peppers, onions, mayo, and jalapenos. It's the kind of dog
they grill on sidewalk stands throughout the city, except you'd buy
one from here because this place has a county health permit. If you're
in Reseda eat here.

Bicycle built for six

We stopped by Whole Foods after church today - they we celebrating their 5th anniversary in Santa Clarita. Besides all the great samples, they also were giving rides on this contraption. All the Ficketts loaded up and we went on a tour of the parking lot. More fun than we thought we'd have shopping.

Thirty-one years ago

I don't remember too much about my grandma; I remember her laugh, her smile, and her voice. Most of my time with her, that I remember, was spent in her room in a nursing home. I'm glad my boys are able to spend so much time with their grandparents.

I took this picture through the fence of the cemetery.

Burbank View

A quickly stitched panoramic view from the Burbank hills looking towards the Hollywood hills. You can see the airport to the right, and glimpse downtown Los Angeles to the left.

El Centro Memories

About two times a year we venture down to visit friends in El Centro. Generally we go in the Spring and Autumn, the Summer is too hot for a civilized visit. Everytime we are suffering with 90+ in Valencia, I remember that our friends in El Centro are facing 110+. They've adapted to it, our family would just melt.

This truck is part of a larger art installation, "Salvation Mountain". The colors at sunset are amazing, but worth the visit any time (summer excepted).

Missing them

The fam has spent the past fortnight in Lafayette visiting the Pop, Nana, and Mamaw. While they’ve been gone I’ve taken care of some projects around the house. Tomorrow will be my last trip to LAX for a while – I hope. I miss them all , This photo was taken on our last trip to El Centro to visit the Flowers.

Some things never change

Campbell July 2006



Campbell July 2009

Campbell loves chasing the lizards, he's been doing that since he was old enough to chase them.

GTY art

I found this drawing on a white board in the shipping department the
other day. Anyone like to guess who it is and who drew it?

Free food at Chick-fil-a. The boys an I joined Ben and John for
breakfast in Oxnard. Ben had a cow costume everyone else had cow
masks. It was enough that we all had free breakfast. Ben was the only
person in a cow suit - including employees.

Family Secrets

We are back home from our Mammoth holiday. While packing up to go home, I realized that on the whole we are a bit odd in our must haves. We had to take our panini press, and our blender. Chicken is just better when it has been pressed, and our blender's 3 hp of blending power is handy. We needed powdered sugar, and only had regular, so we put it in and made our own.

Note the light bulbs in the photo, they are regular wonderful incandescent light bulbs. When we arrived that fixture and many others had horrible fluorescent bulbs. We did not bring any bulbs with us (they are on the list for next time) so we went to the store and got enough bulbs to make our stay nicer. Yes, before we left we changed them all back.

While the weather holds

We took several smaller hikes today. We hiked again to Lake McLeod (spelling changes for this lake from book to book, and trail marker to trail marker), we hiked up the trail beyond the Inyo Fault, and we hiked along Hot Creek. The road to Devil's Postpile is expected to be opened again on Sunday -- we hope to hike in the valley. More pictures here.

Snow day

After spending the day at Mono Lake we returned to snow. More photos here.

Kerry gets a call

Eddie called Kerry while we stopped for a mountain top snack.

Start of a 4 mile hike

The weather looks like it is going to hold so we are off on a hike to
a view.

Mammoth in June

We started the morning with C2 uneating his breakfast. After taking
him and Kerry back home Campbell an I went for a hike. Cold, snow on
the trail, but no rain yet - that's for this afternoon. More pictures here.

Road snacks

The boys love to stop and get jerky for the ride - we stop at this
place every year.

Breakfast in Chicago

The exibit hall was open from 630-830, then closed till noon. We
decided to go to breakfast. Found this place ok a side steet downtown.
All the food looks good - hope it will taste good too.

GTY Booth at Moody

The call time this morning was 6:30am, booth open, smiles on. John
will be speaking tonight.

Honking at Jay Leno

Driving back from Porto's we saw Jay Leno. I took this while stopped
at a light. When we drove past he honked and waved - I could not drive
the car and take another picture.

Cleaning a Cooper

Cooper got his feet dirty playing at the Flowers' house. Nothing a
bucket and some soap couldn't fix.

Bird Watching

On a lark we decided to go bird watching at Huntingon Gardens. The organized walk started at 8:00, so we had to leave our house at 6:15. Other than the early start, it was a great day. More pictures here.

Short trip coming to an end

Cooper is tired and ready to go home. We've spent the past 27 hours on
a short camping/boating vacation with the neighbors. We need to return
home for Mother's day and church. It's been a great time.

This is the life

Camping at the lake. Enjoying the restful sounds of water laping on
the shore.

Now we are six plus five

For his birthday Campbell wanted a sundae bar at Metella and grandpa's
house.

Morning at the Huntington

We took my mom and the boys to the Huntington for some early morning garden time. I had just been there a few days before to meet with someone to learn how to best display and protect a few old books. It's a great place to spend time.

We love going to the garden anytime, but there is something special about mornings in the garden.  More pictures from our visit here or if you prefer flash here.

Yech in any language

What were they thinking? Clam juice, tomato juice, and beer - it's a
joke drink, right?

An extra "S"

The letter S is frequently overused on signs. This example was found
in Valencia.