Thursday, March 27, 2008

On the Hill, Jordan Silcox and Frank Cariglio

My youngest son, Jordan, just put his band, On the Hill, on myspace... so I've decided to give them some free advertisement. The music genre is ambient, progressive and rock. The members consists of just my son and his friend Frank. Jordan plays the guitar, drums and base while Frank does the vocals and plays piano. The first song, Scarring Lashes (on the play list), has a long intro but it's my favorite, my next fav is Another Story Told.

Happy Listening !

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Cherry Blossom Time !


Here's a snap of some cherry blossoms on the ranch. I'll be taking more shots of blossoms since it's that time of year but for now this is all I have.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Sunday Morning....

















My husband's daughter-in-law woke me up with a "Happy Easter" text message at 6:08..was I awake....NO, hahaha (it's all about payback). At least she woke me from a crummy dream. I'll have to give her a break since she's three hours ahead of us...but she does know there's a time difference..hummm.

So with nothing better to do I decided to put the clothes I washed last night into the dryer...oh, for Pete's sake....I left an envelope in the pocket of my jeans so now it looks like snow in the washer. Shake, shake, shake..into the dryer and and we'll see what happens.

Deciding to take a stroll outside, in the dark with my camera hoping to get the jump on a cool picture....well, none of that I guess. The full moon was still up but I need a tripod for a decent shot. All I got was a blurry moon. So, around to the back yard, err orchard, I see one lonely Easter Lily!!! So here it is, not such a perfect specimen, but hey I'll take what I can get. Walking down further are all the cherry, plum and some remnants of almonds trees in bloom. I think I'll try some pictures in the sunlight...

So Happy Easter to all !

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Here Comes the Tax Man....












(One, two, three, four, one two)

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

(If you drive a car car) I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk walk) I'll tax your feet

Taxman!

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for
(Ah, ah, Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more
(Ah, ah, Mr. Heath)
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advise for those who die
(Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes
(Taxman!)

'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one, but me
(Taxman!)
Written by Geroge Harrison

What brings this on...By crackie it happens to be TODAY, I went and saw my CPA ...Oh, it just pisses me off I suppose. I have never owed more taxes than already paid, period. BUT, today I do... due to my husbands part time "after retirement" job that put us over the limit to claim other expenses, therefore...with the declining dollar, no refund to spend for vacation..not to mention my stocks suck, I'll be(am)in a real pissy mood. And what about hubby? I told him to quit his "social hour" part time job, it basically nets us close to nothing not to mention suckin up gas to and from the job. Ok, I'm done.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

On Top of Old Smokey...Errr.....

Well, let's just say this is really a blog about the Lick Observatory up on Mt. Hamilton in east San Jose,Ca. I lived in Evergreen, just below this mountain from the time I was born till around four years of age. We lived on a big apricot ranch up Quimby Rd. that leads to the observatory.

While you can't see the area in which I lived, the webcam brings back childhood memories of this mountain. In the evening, my Mom would sit my sister and me on the rim of our old kitchen sink. From there we could look out the window and see the "diamond bracelet" of lights from the city below. Oh yes, the stories we imagined...

Thirty years later... I recall flying around Mt. Hamilton with my first husband in an old Cessna 140 tail dragger shown below. That's him and our first son who is now Capt. in the USAF, who would've thought! We were coming back from Livermore,CA and by the time we flew back to San Jose it was dark with NO lights and NO radio. We radioed ahead to the airport to tell them,I guess back then it wasn't a big deal by the lack of excitement. At one point I swear we were about 200 feet from the mountain side, which I mentioned, and the ex says "no problem". Lastly, have you ever landed in a rickety old plane on an old blacktop runway in the dark? Like I say back in the day....



The last time I was up at Mt. Hamilton was maybe ten years ago... our ranch is gone and now it's part of the big city...

Monday, March 10, 2008

Random Pictures

Click pictures to enlarge...much better details.
Hubby and his 14 y/o Gordon Setter, McKay, back from a mailbox run.
All the mailboxes are buried in snow and have fallen backwards...


















What happens when too much snow falls...
Poor old woodshed.

















Cabinet mountains in the background. Picture taken from our neighbors
property, again...about 2 weeks ago.



















Mt. St. Helens, California. Picture taken in airplane from San Jose
to Seattle.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

The Little Things I Do...

Almost every day I check out the Sicily Scene blog, Orto Botanico live video and my email.

The Sicily Scene blog just takes me away and keeps me from having second thoughts about not visiting Sicily this year.

Orto Botanico has quite a calming effect, trees gently sway, birds and rodents looking for food and nesting materials and an occasional bicycler in the back ground. Not once have I seen a person walk in the round-about.

Of course I can't show you my email but what I look forward to are some of the "property for sale" adds in Sicily, near Cefalu and Trabia. Wow, has real estate soared in the last year. I can remember seeing some pretty dumpy properties going for a song and now they seem to have quadrupled in price.

I've always dreamed of being one of those people, like in the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun", who buys a house and fixes it all up with a little elbow grease and a whole lotta money. Humm, well I'm doing that in Idaho but with a bit more elbow grease and less money. Hopefully, this summer I'll be able to do a before and after on our place. It's actually tarnished my thoughts on buying one of those dilapidated county homes, especially when I ask the sales agents questions. They skirt around the questions like, is there a well,electricity, dirt or paved road, sewer..you know the real necessity stuff. I did receive a video from and agent on places for sale in Caccamo that included some pictures of the beach in Trabia. I guess I'll just have to go and look for myself.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008
















Here's a picture of Cocolalla Lake and that little red circle is just about where I live...of course it's covered in a blanket of snow right now.

















Hubby and I are all set for the snow. Just ordered these snowshoes for hubby today, hopefully, they'll come before the snow melt...with that and if I can make it up in two weeks I'll be happy as a clam. Got a big 30% off from an eBay store. Tubbs must be coming out with a whole new look after being bought out by Atlas...or maybe Tubbs bought Atlas? Oh heck, we need poles.....

Last I heard there was a foot of snow the last 24 hours, which cracks me up cuz everyone thought it was the beginning of the melt off (aka: MUD SEASON). I'd rather fall on my arse in the icy snow than slip in the clay mud. One is a harder landing but the mud gets is nasty and sticks on everything.