Morning on the Lake

It’s morning on the Lake. The campground is quiet. There are a few tenters who have not crawled out of their sleeping bags. The crows are making a racket (like they always do) and the acorn woodpeckers are creating granaries in the trees. There are no boats on the lake as the UCSB rowing team just left. A typical winter morning. For me, it’s the perfect time to look at the peaceful beauty of the place, contemplate my day and enjoy a slice of serenity.

Yesterday there was a group of Airstream trailers wrapping up their weekend party. The silver bullets filled a secluded spot where they could swap stories while camping in the Park. Today they are gone, without leaving a trace they were there. 

 The first flowers of spring are popping out. All is good at the Park.

Red Devil

My latest creation I’ve been calling “Red Devil” for obvious reasons. It’s a combination of 3 different reds—burgundy, cerise and chili—in my favorite zigzag design. I made it with a boy in mind, but frankly, I think boys and girls will like it. It probably will not fit into any decor scheme, but sometimes you just need a bright red blanket. It definitely makes a statement.

Kansas City Barbecue Society

This weekend the Kansas City Barbecue Society is having a competition at the Park. There are over 50 teams vying for the title “best of show.” 

Some have flags or banners that strut their stuff. Some have sponsors but most are “ordinary” folks who like barbecue. The rules of the competition state they have to cook 4 items: ribs, brisket, chicken and pork shoulder/butt. All of the teams have a kitchen. Some have dedicated trailers, others have tents with portable equipment; others have pits that are pulled behind their motor homes—no matter the arrangement, the teams are serious. 

I talked to several of the teams this morning on my walk. All were willing to tell me about their passion for barbecue. Most of the teams participate in 20-30 events during the course of a year. At the park today, the number 1 team in California was competing, and a couple of the folks said they were trying to take away the title. The number 3 team was focused.

No matter who wins, all are having a good time...and the aroma around the campground today is the most amazing smell in the world. 

Mary Poppins Returns

While not “supercalifragilisticexpialidotious” it is pretty good. The first Mary Poppins came out in 1964 and I liked it a lot. Great story based on Travers classic books that I had read as a child. While Disney changed the story a little bit, that was to be expected.  Fast forward half a century and a new Mary Poppins comes to London. The new story takes place 30 years later when she again returns to the same house and family. This Mary Poppins is played by Emily Blunt. Ms. Blunt is good, but her Mary Poppins is a slightly darker version of the magical nanny of the classic story. The children are endearing. Their adventures are fun. And in the end, the problem that Mary came to solve is solved and the family is better off because of her. That’s enough of the spoilers. If you have a chance to see the movie, take it. It’s good clean fun with no 4 letter words, no politics and only a few social statements. 

Divergent

Several years ago we listened to the Divergent trilogy when we were on a road trip. It was interesting and entertaining, even though it portrayed a distopian view of the future. Later the trilogy was made into 3 movies. We saw the first two when they came out, but never got around to seeing the third movie...until 2 days ago. A local store had a sale on the collection so we bought it. Movie 1-Divergent was good. Movie 2-Insurgent was good. Movie 3-Allegiant was bad. The books tied up the loose ends a lot better than the movie did. We were disappointed. It did keep us occupied for 3 nights and then a couple of more days of conversation deconstructing the movies ensued...but the bottom line...Listen to the books, look at movie one and two and forget about movie three.

Ax

It’s an ax...what’s the big deal? Well...do you know how to use an ax? Have you ever used one? Do you own an ax? Have you used an ax recently. This image could have been taken a 1000 years ago or yesterday. I took it yesterday. Somehow a simple ax brings me to the conclude that not everything is wired, online, and electronic. There’s still a need to chop wood and stay warm in our high-tech world.

After the Rain

The rain is over, at least for now. The lake is now boasting 35% full (it was 30% when we got here). That’s a big deal. Today we had a beautiful blue sky day, warm temperatures and no breeze. One of many reasons why we “winter” at the Lake.

This is the way to Harvey’s Cove, which is still free of water...but if we have another week like this one, there might be some puddles in the cove. The Santa Barbara weather-guesser said there might be some more rain on the horizon in about 7 days. We’ll see.

When possible, I like to take pictures of birds. I’m best with “slow” birds — those that sit still for long periods of time — but this egret was not slow. I saw him, aimed the camera and took the picture and then he lifted his great wings and flew away. 

A Blanket for William

Everyone knows I make blankets. This one is for William, a 2 month old baby at the park. His mom and I walk in the morning, and I decided he needed a blanket. I haven’t given it to him yet because it’s been raining. Someday when the rain stops, I will. In the meantime, my little teddy bear is enjoying it.

The Crimes of Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

 

 

 

As Harry Potter fans we needed to see the latest movie in the wizarding world. What a disappointment! We are pretty knowledgeable about the “ins and outs” of the HP Universe. We know the names of the characters and what they do; we know who is evil and who is good...I could go on and on about what we know. But then we get to “The Crimes of Grindelwald” and I have no idea what the movie is about.  I was feeling  lost about 5 minutes into the movie. Halfway through the movie I asked the other DrC if he was making any sense of the movie and he said “no.” If 2 of us are not “getting” the movie, there’s a problem. The movie seems to be a series of special effects without a plot line. To make matters worse, the plot line that Fandango and Wikipedia write about has no relationship to the current movie.  Because we are fans, we will purchase a copy of the movie, turn on subtitles and slowly immerse ourselves  into it, trying to see what we missed. I’ll let you know if/when that happens. In the meantime, avoid the movie. 

*cover photo copied 

A Tale of Two

 

Blanket 1-now at Debbie’s home where she can hug it every day.

Blanket 2 does not have a home now, but will go to SBSK... a new organization that gives blankets to kids in Sacramento. This hot pink zigzag blanket is really warm and cozy.

For years, I crocheted blankets for the Sacramento Project Linus Chapter, but through a series of unfortunate events, that organization is no longer functioning. To take it’s place is Sacramento Blankets for Sacramento Kids. Also a non-profit, charitble organization made up of folks like me who like to make pretty blankets for children in need. I made this blanket with a little girl in mind, because when I was little, pink was my favorite color. I even wanted to get married in a pink wedding dress! 

Joy of Printing

We are camping without a printer. Generally, we don’t need a printer when we camp, so we did not bring one. Today was an exception and a printer was necessary. That meant a trip to the library. And that’s where the adventure in frustration began.    In the past, the library has had a downloadable printer app, but the app has been discontinued because folks took advantage of it. The librarian told me I needed to send myself the documents I wanted to print and collect those docs on one of the in-house computers and print them out. All I needed was my library number.    I say to myself “I can do that” and sit before one of the in-house computers. I type in my library number (which is 20 digits long)  and a window opens on the screen saying “patron does not exist.” Since I’m sitting there, I know I exist. I asked the library aide for help and she gave me a temporary ID and the computer started without a hiccup. When I remember how to access my email account from another computer, I found out I could not download the documents. The documents were formated in an Apple environment and the library is working in a very old PC environment. The two systems do not talk to one another.    Back to the drawing board. I return to my computer and re-save the documents in the universal pdf format and send them to me again. I get online anew and go thru the motions to download the new pdf documents. Everything works fine this time. The old PC system reads the pdf’s and sends them to the printer. I close down the library computer and walk to the printer only to find out that I went to the wrong print program, and nothing was sent to the computer. Back to the drawing board to start all over again. At least I know that the pdf documents are readable by the PC system. This time I ask for the aide to walk me thru the procedure step by step so I won’t make a similar mistake. We follow all the directions, download the pdf documents, send them to the printer with the correct prompt and finally we get the documents printed. What takes 2 minutes to read, took over an hour to accomplish.    I have not had to deal with this type of foolishness for a long time. I completely forgot about online email programs, Apple vs. PC, pdf files, and the complexity of printing from a public system. So while computers have made some things easier, they can still be bulky and reluctant to do what you want them to do when you want them to do it. When all is said and done, that’s the joy of printing.

Hills around the Lake

We are camping in this area, which is inland from Santa Barbara. A landscape of white mountains (Piedro Blanco) 

 ...and a few planted fields amidst a shrinking lake. Right now the fire danger is HIGH as it has not received as much rain as northern California. We are about 18 miles from the city, yet it looks like it’s far far away in the country.  

Legs and Feet

Every table has legs—and those legs have feet. Then there’s this:

This little table gives legs and feet a new meaning...and it gives you an idea about what to do with an old pair of shoes.

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year—2019

We “rung” in 2019 by staying awake till midnight...hey—that’s a big deal for old folks...then we got up early to view the Tournament of Roses Parade on the electric television in our RV. Seeing the Parade is an old family tradition. In 1980 we went to the Rose Parade. It was a memorable day. (We had a “tour” that started with a 2 AM school bus ride from Ojai to Pasadena—we had a boxed breakfast and boxed lunch—at the parade, we had seating on metal folding chairs in a second row far down Colorado Blvd—the crowds were huge—the traffic was a nightmare. That’s when we decided it was better to see the parade from our home.

 BTW—we enjoyed every minute of it.) 

I’m guessing 2019 will prove to be fun as well as challenging. I’m also guessing 2019 will have a few “tricks” that will keep everything interesting. To all I wish you fair winds and calm seas, and a Happy New Year!