Chick-fil-a again

Yum. This time it was all the Myers and the Ficketts. Even Jennifer decided to get a regular - she usually gets grilled. Why bother?

They even serve Southern-style sweet tea.

After lunch we spent the afternoon at the sea, enjoying the sun and sand.

Someone didn't

Well they may have paused as the sign scraped the underside of their car, but I don't think they stopped. This was close to our house so I'm surprized that we didn't hear it.

The city was out within hours of this picture and had it replaced.

How far would you drive for free food?

Ben Myers and I went to Oxnard this morning (100 miles round trip) for a free chicken on a biscuit breakfast. Chick-fil-a was giving away free items to anyone in a cow mask/costume for Cow Appreciation Day. Don't ask how much gas it takes for free food. This is my second time to Chick-fil-a in four days. I like the drive.



Best chicken biscuit in town -- or several towns.


Ben celebrates Cow Appreciation Day in style.



Bill moos for breakfast




So the question is: Will I go back for dinner?

Long Distance Dinner

We decided to escape the heat, so we drove to the sea. Since we were so close we had dinner at the Chick-fil-a in Oxnard. What's a little gas for the perfect chicken sandwich?

Family Time

We stopped by my parent's house for lunch and dessert. While we were there my sister's kids also stopped by. While they were here we called my sister and chatted with her on speakerphone. She loved the time. It was great that we were all able to be together. If you look closely you can see my sister - she's they grey phone.

Rodeo Drive

Saturday we took Elisabeth on a shopping tour of LA. First we had brunch at Swingers, then shopping at The Grove - where she was shocked by the model at A&F. The we went to a store that sells clothing that was used in movies. Then we went to Rodeo Drive where she found a shirt she liked enough to buy. We saw some interesting (weird) people on Rodeo Drive. We went on a short drive through Beverly Hills, then off to Porto's for dinner. We finished the day with a private tour of a desert botanical garden in Valencia. A fun day.

4th of July

Elisabeth (from Norway) experiences the 4th with a croud of Americans at Bridgeport Park. Great food, now the wait for the fireworks.

Something Different

A friend of mine was asked an odd question by one of his neighbors. I could not stop laughing when I heard the actual request. So what I'm asking is that you take some time and then post your most odd/funny/humorous answers to:

My neighbor called and asked to borrow my ____________. The said they needed to _____________ under the ________________.

I'll post the actual request in the new few weeks.

Happy Birdhaday Cooper

My mom checked the spelling of "Cooper" before she left the shop. She did not think she'd need to check anything else.

My guess is the cake writer is not a native English speaker.

BTW - it's not from Porto's; it's from another Burbank bakery.

Rats?

No, roaches. Bummer of a day to be closed by the health department - 106.

How bad must the infestation be to get an ice cream store closed.

People were walking up to the sign to see why the store was closed. Most said what we were thinking - it will be a long time till I get ice cream from that shop.

Free cone day is not till April. They'll surely be clean by then.

Eat

Today's lesson in Sunday school was about Peter's vision from the Lord that all things are good to eat.

In keeping with the lesson we went and had some wonderful non-kosher foods for lunch at Porto's; Cubans know how to slow roast a pig. Mmm.

Valencia's Gator

On our walk this morning to the fake lake, Cooper said, 'look a gator'. Thinking he had spied a large lizard I kept walking. Then Campbell pointed and said the same thing.

Sure enough a gator's head could be clearly near the bird sculpture. But like the lake, it's fake. We think it may have been put there to discourage the geese from eating the plants near the sculpture.

The next question is what should we name it. I like fauxlagator.

I'm open to suggestions.

Canada?

No - this sign is in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn in Valencia. I think icy is not possible.

Arghhhhh!

Quick, I need a bag to breathe into.

Open House

The GTY Canada office is in full swing. People from the neighbourhood and area listeners are stopping by for snacks and fellowship. Stan and Stephanie Broder and Don Green are here.

I will post pictures from my camera later.

Poutine: don't tell your doctor

We had a light supper at a popular chain. I insisted that Kerry try poutine - fries, gravy, and curd cheese. She liked it, but we both agree that you need a note from your doctor if you have it more than four times a year.

Grace Partners and Gardens

Kerry and Mrs. Cotnoir work on getting the Grace Partner mailing.



Kerry and I left the office at about 3:30pm to see if we could get a look at one of the World's finest gardens. We were not disappointed. Everything was amazing. In a few weeks it will be even better!





We found a lilac forest- every color and fragrant.


Verigated.


Kerry takes it in.


Cool


Spiral


Spiky


Delicate

A Time with Friends

This is a library inside an old mill near the Cotnoir's home. The kept some of the old mill works as decor. Dave took us on a walk before dinner to see an area near the river with old mills. The park also had a large collection of unusual modern art.


David explains the hydrodynamics of the the river.


Two lovely ladies hoping for a warm place for dinner.

Canadian Beauty

Not an import, the orginal. His cousins hang out near our house in California.

.
A beautiful garden -- it typifies the region


Kerry noticed the profusion of lilacs. In California there is but one or two types that will grow. Here there are hundreds. We saw whole streets with hedges of them. The heady fragrance is amazing. There is such a range in colours; light pink to dark purple. When you pay $50.00 a bunch at the LA Flower Mart, there must be millions of dollars worth.


The true provincial flower was in a grand showing just down the street from the new GTY office.

Even the dandelions cannot hide the wonder of Spring in Quebec; most every house could have its garden in a show.

Provincial Flower

Officials and others will tell you that the provincial flower of Quebec is the Blue Flag; based on the fields that I've seen I'd say it is the dandelion. I've never seen so many in so many places. When the wind was blowing it looked like it was snowing.

Even in Canada

Even in Canada you can find houses with unusual landscaping choices. I think a yellow sofa would be better with this house.


This house has more typical landscaping.

GTY Canada gets ready for the grand opening

This is the front door of the new GTY Canada office. The new sign has been ordered; will it arrive in time for the grand opening?



Giny oversees the placement of the new landscaping.


Kerry helps unload the plants from Reno Depot.

Time Travel

I must have stepped through a time portal to the past. I have not seen a bank of phones like this in a long time. I think around the corner I will find the buggy whip convention.

Oooo Weather

Now it's like a convection oven hot, dry, and windy. It's 106+!

Had a great test of sanctification when I arrived. After my charmed flight - 37 on the plane, I was first off the plane, my bag was 2nd off the belt, no line for a taxi. That's where it ended. I just paid the driver, got my bag and started walking to the lobby. Arrrrg, my phone. It must have popped off in the cab.

After about an hour on hold with the taxi company, I was able to leave a message.

During this time I was wondering how I was going to survive without text and phone. I was in my room praying that I would find my phone and trust the Lord. I set up my computer and called home. Kerry said that my phone had been found, while I was on the computer with her, the room phone rang, it was Jay. He said that my phone had been found.

The Lord allowed a fine Southern man (Winn) who had lost 2 PDAs to find my phone. He started calling people in my recently called list asking if they knew anyone in town who may have lost a phone. He even called John D who happened to be in Omaha!

I arranged to meet him where he was having dinner - the other side of town. Traffic there was not to bad. Getting back to the hotel took more than an hour.

I'm thankful that disaster is done. Now on to pandemic flu breakfast and anti-terrorist lunch.

Campbell's birthday Metella's birthday and Mother's Day

We celebrated Campbell's birthday, my mom's birthday and Mother's Day today. We had tri-tip, veg, and cake and ice cream. Tried to keep it easy.

We all ejoyed the day. And left the house in better shape than when we came.

New to town

A new place opened in our neighborhood - Red Mango. Wonderful yogurt with fresh toppings. This company pre-dates Pink Berry by 10 years. So this one is the original. We stopped by before they were open and they gave us a huge stack of coupons for free yogurt.

I'm sure this will be on our summer walk route - only 90 cals per serving.

Yum.

Not your father's seminary

I recently met a GTY board member for lunch in Dallas. The easiest place for us to meet was the cafe at DTS. The food was Texas-iszed and good.

They have special parking for their female students; not the best end of town. I understand they are starting to offer MDivs as well as the mission degree that they were offering.

Next? Who knows.

Finding Nemo's Head

I came home from work today and had a huge package that siad it was from Dwight Schrute. Inside the package was the head of our pinata from cinco de Mayo. The head was decorated with pix of Bubba and Mick. I'm thinking I may need to pack it up again and bless someone else with it.

If you are at GTY be sure to ask JGreen to show you the pictures of Nemo's tail.

Before I regift the fish, I'm going to CSI the box.

Results later.