Kramer Nash

Not many have seen the POSTERS that were given to Dick at his retirement party.....They are PRICELESS and I thought I'd share!  Look closely!!

Our good buddy Adam Perez created them - he gets all of the credit! Thanks again Adam!!

I am 'working on' hanging them in the garage. He won't allow them in the house!  I CRACK up when I see them!! CLASSIC!!!

Just occurred to me....

I don't get it.....

Weathermen (and woman) aka meteorologists, have been giving us information about weather for a loooong time now.  Technology in the weather field has increased dramatically over the years with satellites and such.

So, HIS JOB is to give us information about the future of the weather patterns. Period. I understand a weatherman he is not always the GATHERer of the information, only the presenter.....but, we as the public do not have anyone else to blame or complain to, other than the weatherman presenting us with the information.

Anyway, it occurred to me today......here is this guy, doing his job of presenting the weather. That is HIS JOB! Well, when the information is soooooooo incorrect, how is he held accountable? 

I cannot imagine, in any job I have had, that I could still get a paycheck for LYING about my ONE project that is given to me!

What DIDN'T we do?

Dick has known Galen Heatherly for the past 48 YEARS!!!  They were in Indian Guides together, but really connected in High School - 40 years ago!!  Galen, wife Wendy, daughters Danika (21) and Kara (18) have been very supportive and loving to us and we treasure their friendship! Since the girls were home from Whitworth for the week, they all decided to take a mini vacation to SF!! We've been enjoying each other's ANTICS for the past few days, sightseeing, and lovin' the time together!

Galen and Dick played golf at Harding Park on Tuesday while the girls hopped on the cable car, took it down to Union Square, went shopping for SHOES - what else is there to shop for? LOL!

No, did not buy these....just had to take a picture for the PRICEY price!!

Gotta love the GIRLIE shops around Union Square! Zebra floors and pink fur on the walls!

The collection of rings!!! Very cute costume jewelry!! Yup, an Amy and Tiffany store!

We had lunch at Lefty's, rode the elevator of the St. Francis hotel a few times, TRIED to go to the Carnelion Room on the 52 floor of the B of A building but it did not open until 3 pm - NOTE TO SELF!! So, we walked through the financial district, through China Town and caught the cable car back down to The Wharf.  We had an ice cream at Ghiradelli's, drove by the Painted Ladies, Mrs. Doubtfire's house, Taylor's school, Pacific Heights and home again.

We met up with the guys and went to dinner before the Heatherlys caught their cab to WICKED! 

We went to Barney's for dinner. Of course, we had to "Make the sign of the pyramid!" for Wendy's sake! hahaha 

The guys enjoyed their time on the course - as much as they could have anyway....... That is why the idea of golf is unappealing to me - When do you ever hear of GREAT days? hmm, I'll stick to running and swimming! haaha

This morning we drove over the GGB to Sausilito, walked around, saw crabs on the rocks, did some window shopping, looked at SF through the FOG!!! Not a clear day.... :(   But, then drove to Twin Peaks - still foggy, through Castro, down Lombard St and dropped them off at Pier 39 so they could grab some lunch.

Dick and I came home because I had a meeting at the Apple Store and he had to pick Taylor up from school. 

MY APPLE EXPERIENCE

When we purchased the Mac, I signed up for unlimited 'One to One' with the experts.  Make and appointment, sit with your laptop and ask anything you want and you will be taught!!  I LOVE my MAC! One question I had was 'How do I 'clean up' this computer to keep it working at its optimum capacity?'  Window users must defrag, empty, delete, clean-up, etc.... I was never told how to do this with the Mac!  Well, the Mac was designed to take care of all of that ITSELF!!! It is configured to 'JOURNAL' information and keep its own self running clean! OK, I love it! Easy enough!!

The meetings are 50 minutes each and the 'teacher' is so kind and PATIENT!! I learned a few 'short cuts', how to increase my Internet speed, and organized my Mail Boxes! 

I was walking home and met up with Dick, Taylor and Gabby coming home from school! Upon our arrival, The Heatherlys just finished loading their car so we all walked over to the Palace of Fine Arts to wrap up the 'TOUR'.

Now the Heatherly's are making their trek back to Visalia, Taylor and Dick are studying for a Science test and Gabby and I just finished some work in the garden.

Thank you to the Heatherly's for a GREAT time! We enjoyed ALL OF IT! We are so happy our schedules FINALLY matched so we were able to make it all happen!!  Love you guys!

Saying "Come Back Heatherly's!!" in front of our home.

Weekend Wrap Up

Memorial Day Weekend in Santa Cruz!

How many years have these 12 families been meeting in Santa Cruz? 18!!!!

Amazing!

Now, they all have children - even graduating from high school and college!! 3 houses in Aptos, lots of food, drinks, laughter, prayer, sunshine, love, friendships, sharing, and LOVING LIFE!!

Children of the crazy parents!! hahaha

I've come to realize.....I am a beach person! You know those emails that ask, "Beach or Mountains"?  Well, it has been confirmed.....BEACH BEACH BEACH!!!  I realize I really do GAIN energy from the ocean. In the mountains, I feel like I am DRAINED of energy! So, there we have it.....confirmation - the BEACH is where it's at!!  (Thankfully, Dick agrees!)

We had an afternoon FULL of sun on Sunday (after all of the children prayed for it during our 'church service')  Dick rented boogie boards and wet suits for me and Taylor and we played in the waves for 2 hours!! We were able to ride some GREAT ones!!! WOOT WOOT!! 

Dick and the guys (and growing kids) played the annual basketball game and really enjoyed the time together.

Taylor's only complaint was it was toooooooo short of a weekend and that we only get together with this group once a year! 

Our good friends David and Vasi stayed at the house in SF and had a good time with Gabby, Chestnut Street , Union Street and all that the neighborhood had to offer.  Gabby was happy to be treated with 'ROYALTY' and I think David and Vasi got pretty attached to her.

One of the CRAZIEST things that happened was that a Sea Lion lost its way and ended up in our driveway in Santa Cruz!! YIKES!! We called an 'Animal Rescue Team' and a nice lady placed her in a crate and took her to a safe place where they will nurse her back and place her back in the ocean at some point.

Now, we prepare for The Heatherly's arrival to SF!!! They will be with us Monday and Tuesday night for a mini vacation! They will see WICKED tomorrow night - and we know they will enjoy that!! 

I'll post some pics later, for now, I try to keep my eyes open until they arrive.

Starting the day

You may recall the tragedy that I wrote about on Feb. 14 - the car accident in Sonoma with Ryne Spitzer.

His father blogs EVERY DAY giving updates on Ryne, the family, his thoughts, hopes, dreams and most moving - his faith.  I begin every morning by reading his blog, sending prayers for this family and thought perhaps you would be moved and inspired by his blog too.

I realize there are many families in similar situations in the world, this one has crossed our path for a reason. I hope you are able to 'tune in'.

In order to view the blogs, a username and password must be created - I know, ANOTHER ONE? 

To Ryne's page

Thanks!

Sadness

My heart is sad today.

I must attend our dear friend Jay's funeral in a few hours.  Jay and Bea are in our Monday Night Bible Study group. Dick has been with this group for the past 12 years and I have been attending since we've been married! Jay just celebrated his 90th birthday last month!  

I went to the 'viewing' this morning and saw Bea for the first time since his passing.  They were married for 69 years and they loved each other soooooooo much! They are both in GREAT shape, small framed, and have hearts that are sooooo sweet!  Dick would send them Mother's Day and Father's Day cards! They really consider Dick to be their son!  They love him so much!  Bea said, "Half of my heart is gone."  She does not think she will ever have a good day ever again.  They have 2 daughters and they each have families. I told her Jay will continue to live in her heart and the hearts of her family members.  They will continue to see Jay in each of them. We just held each other for a long time.  She was a very lucky lady to have such a wonderful husband for so long - and he was lucky too!!

Jay (and Bea) are good and faithful servants and we know Jay is in a better place, but our hearts are still so sad.  Jay had a stroke 2 weeks ago, ended up in the hospital, was somewhat paralyzed on his right side, was awake, slurred his words, but seemed to understand what we were saying and would respond back.  We saw him the last two days we were in Merced and I am so glad we have that memory.  Even though his mind was affected by the stroke, he was in a 'happy place' and we were able to joke and make him laugh.  He was not in any pain.  He developed pneumonia while in the hospital and passed after a few days.

Jay was a super star on the saxophone! He toured in a band in his youth! Well, a few years ago, he wanted to get a refresher course on the sax! So, every week I would go to their home and we'd play - this would last about 9 months!  I would not accept any money so Bea would always give me some almonds, cake, or perfume because she could not see me come over but leave empty handed.  And, Jay caught on real fast!! Bea began to have back problems and he needed to care for her so we stopped the lessons.  Since the sax was such a big part of Jay's life, the family asked if I would play the sax at the funeral! Uh, I am not a performer, I enjoy TEACHING! My first response of course was, NO.  But, after talking with the pastor, a feeling of HONOR came over me and I accepted the offer. 

Today at 4 pm is the funeral and I'll play How Great Thou Art -  for Jay! I found a good rendition, added a few things to it and I feel pretty good about it all.  Yea, I am not a performer, but I believe we are asked to be in certain situations for a reason.... perhaps the message is in the song I will play... "Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, And then proclaim, "My God how great Thou art!" 

I will play for Jay with all of my heart and soul thanking him for showing me how to be a good and faithful servant.

PART II

The service was standing room only at the Central Pres. Church in Merced, where Bea and Jay were married! It was a beautiful, heartfelt service and I am truly honored to have been a part of it. I was able to tell a funny little story before I played, about Jay's sax lesson, and everyone laughed.  I actually played my peice well and received some of the highest compliments I've ever received before! It was all because of Jay and my love for him, his family and God, I just know it.  The reception afterwards went real well and it was fun to meet some new faces and see some old faces that I have not seen in a loooong time!

Unfortunately, Dick was unable to attend the funeral.  He is the only pitcher for Taylor's baseball team and they had their playoff game in SF at 5:30 today.  He talked to the daughters and they both assured him that Jay would much rather have him their for his son.  Thankfully, a DVD was made - for their grandson in Denmark - so Dick will be able to hear the heartfelt words of this dear friend.  Thank you for keeping this family in your prayers.

Part II - Mother's Day Weekend

On Saturday I had an appointment with Amy's hairstylist to get a cut and color!  Boy, did she CUT!!  I was not really anticipating going THAT short, but it is and I like it.  When Dick picked me up at the airport, he said, "Uh Oh, who is this girlfriend?!!"  LOL  He likes it!!  Jenette is a super sweet lady and simply adores Amy!  She had soooooo many compliments to give, it was really cute!

We hung out at Amy's and felt pretty lazy the rest of the day.

We finally felt energized and went to Seal Beach - one of Amy's favorite stomping grounds - walked around the art galleries, baby shops, had dinner and watched Amy update her LOOPT account while sitting on a bench on the main street. 

We made sure to watch the sunset from the pier - Long Beach skyline in the background.

It was so great just chillin' with each other - a RARE time in history!!  Loved it!!  It was pretty cold by the water - I was not prepared for that so we came home, jumped into pj's and under the warm covers! 

On Sunday, Amy gave me a BEAUTIFUL card that she made on the Kodak Gallery site.  She took one of my favorite pictures of me kissing her when she was about 18 months old and placed that on the front cover.  Inside was a current pic of us - yea, should be of me kissing her again huh? Then she wrote a bunch of lovey dovey stuff!! Yes, MY AMY - lovey stuff!!! Could not believe it!  It is a very special card and I will treasure it always.

We went on a 4 mile run with Jelena in the morning and then met up with Jelena, her parents and future in-laws at the 42nd annual Arts Fair in Sunset Beach. What a gathering!! Lots of ART! Beautiful items - I really like a flower vase, but did not purchase anything - we just ate food that is really bad for us!!!  We ate a hotdog and some kettle corn, and had pizza afterwards at the local YUMMY pizza joint - UGH!!  

Before heading to the pizza joint, we made our way down to the beach to relax, people watch, laugh, tell stories, feel the warmth of the sun and enjoy the sights, sounds and peace that only the beach can give. 

My SoCal Girl!

All of the restaurants are so old, beachy, one of a kind, no chains to be found here - and I like it like that! I have noticed, while in SF too, we do not go to the 'chain' restaurants anymore....well, in SF there aren't many....and the vibe, service and food is waaaaaaaay better on these ma and pop joints! Love it!

We made our way to Amy's church - a little late - but enjoyed the sermon and Mother's Day love that was ABUNDANT here!! I love the people at her church and they LOVE her!!! Maybe that is why I like the church so much! hahaha..... everyone always tells me how they enjoy having her part of their church family and that she adds so much to the group.  It is funny, ever since she has been 2 years old (and some will remember this) when Amy walked in the room, she would announce, "Amy here!" and you'd better take notice!! hahaha...if not, she would come over to you and say it again to your face!! "Amy HERE!"  LOL!! To this day, I think she brings a lot of charisma and spunk into the room when she enters - and it is a delight to watch!

I departed my SoCal paradise and headed to my NorCal paradise on Monday - during Amy's lunch hour and had a big smile on my face. It was a GREAT weekend of caring and sharing and I look forward to doing it again real soon. Oh wait, I need my haircut in about 8 weeks! Better book that flight now!! ;)

Mother's Day Weekend

I flew out of Oakland on Friday - destination Huntington Beach aka Amy's Place! I had a great flight and made friends with a really sweet girl that sells jewelry called Stella & dot through having house parties. We chatted about EVERYTHING and the time FLEW!! ;)

Amy picked me up and showed me her NEW OFFICE! WOW!! Their 'old office' was nice, but the new office takes one entire floor and is so spacious and NEW!  I really cannot believe my little girl works in such a GROWN UP place!! Soooooooooo CORPORATE!!! She LOVES it and her coworkers LOVE her too! It does my heart so good to know that she is right where she should be. 

The weather forecast was calling for cloudy days Sat-Mon so we knew Friday was the BEST day - I told Amy I really wanted to spend the afternoon on the BEACH! So, after checking out her new work environment, we got in the car and she EXCITEDLY announced, "Well, we are not going to the beach! I am taking you on a surprise trip!! Sit back and relax for about 45 minutes!!" My response.... "WHAT? Am I dressed for it?" She answered, "Yup, don't worry!" Then she played Lady Gaga - We're Beautiful and Dirty Rich!! - and said that was my only clue!! It was sooooooo cute to see her sooooooooo excited to give me a surprise!  I could tell that she was about to BURST with anticipation!!  We ended at the Glen Ivy Spa!!  We LOVED it!! What a GREAT surprise!!  Since they were having a 'Mother's Day Weekend Special' all of the spa services were booked....but, there was enough to do without adding any of the 'extras' anyway.  NEXT TIME we will take advantage of them for sure!  Yes, there WILL be a next time! It would be fun to get a bunch of girls together and lounge for the day.  Since it is a 'Spa' no kids are around so it really made it a special oasis!  My heart goes out to Amy and Dick for planning and keeping it a BIG surprise and to Amy's boss Christa who gave Amy the idea!  It was a very special and FUN day!

6th YEAR? and misc stuff....

Yup, 6 years ago, Dick asked me to go out after work, have a margarita and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. He said he asked a bunch of other Malibu co-workers - but no one showed up!! Odd.  We had a good time and began dating shortly after that!  The surprising thing is, yesterday, he confessed..... "I really did not invite others." :-0  He just wanted to see ME!!! Toooooooooo cute!

So, every year, we recall that date, have a few margaritas and eat mexican food! His parents are staying with us in SF at this time because Jane has an appointment to have some injections in her back to relieve her pain. We all enjoyed the day!

Here are a few RANDOM photos from the week:

Gabby 'sunning' herself on the patio - with head on carpet still!! LOL

ROSES - from Dick - Just because he LOOOOOOOOOVES me!! :)  And they smell good too!!

Jane and Bill - and of course their adopted baby - Gabby!

We've had some rainy days here in SF so Gabby needed her raincoat.

This was taken when I forgot her raincoat at Taylor's baseball game on Saturday. Poor thing!

We've been enjoying our run every morning - about 4.5 miles, getting plenty of rest and really enjoying our time in SF this past week. 

On Friday, I'll fly to Huntington Beach to spend the weekend - til Monday - with Amy.  Dick will be in SF with Gary and Kathi Artis! I am sorry to have missed them.  :(  Now that tax season is over, Kathi can finally come out and play!! YEAH!! 

I am reading a little book, "The Purpose of Christmas" by Rick Warren that the Singer family gave us for Christmas.  I read just a few pages a day and let the message sink in. I really enjoy this book and read something today that has been hanging with me that I thought I'd share....

The chapter is on peace. It explains that 'The starting point to peace in your life is understanding conflict.  There are many reasons, but here are two big ones.  The first is our natural self-centeredness. When I want everything my way, and you want it your way, then my agenda clashes with yours.  If neither of us is willing to compromise out of love, sparks fly....." The Bible verse that is short and TO THE POINT that I will try to memorize:

Provers 13:10: "Only by pride cometh contention."

I would not want to give you a cliff hanger.....so, I will let you know the second reason.....

"A second common, but less understood, cause of conflict is expecting others to meet needs in our lives that only God can meet. We make demands of others instead of looking to God."

It is really THAT easy!!  Along with keeping the EGO in check!! Dick and I do a pretty darn good job of keeping our relationship on an even path.  I know the answer is due to our love of God and trying our best to follow Jesus' example.  Yea, we are not perfect but the effort sure is helpful!!