Another day in Paradise

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 00:37:10 GMT

Yesterday we went to the Sea Otter

Yesterday Sue and I went to the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Raceway. It is a huge cycling event that has no equal in our area. There are many races, both road and mountain, lots of vendors and events for non-racers. I got this great shot which I like a lot, It is of Kathy Puitt of Luna Chix loosing a close race to Sabrina Jonnier of the Fox Racing team. Jonnier went on to win the event.

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 16:55:36 GMT

Yesterday Tupper Turned Eleven

Eleven years ago a feral cat had kittens and abandoned them under a tree. A nice lady named Edna came along and took them in. She and her daughter hand fed the babies with an eye dropper. When they got old enough to go to new homes Sue came to her house and chose a kitten that was active and reminded her of her old kitty named Ditty.

Tupper has been with us since before Sue and I married. She got part of her ear bit off by another critter, earning her the nickname "Nicky." Her name has nothing to do with kitchenware, it is Shakespearian in origin.

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 19:58:35 GMT

Tierra Bella 2005

Saturday was our club's annual Tierra Bella Century Ride. This is also our biggest fund raiser and is generally a huge deal in our bicycle club. Jim Chaskin and I went out as a reporter-photographer team to cover the event for our club's newsletter. The event was a huge hit!

Sunday was a hectic and not a good day. In the middle of the day I decided to try to take a break from the work I was doing and went for a bike ride. On my way up Kennedy I fell and scraped up my knee pretty bad. Then this morning I fell again on my scooter. That was not nearly as bad as falling on my bike yesterday was. I had a heavy and padded leather jacket on. The jacket absorbed the impact. As far as the accident on my bicycle is concerned, I learned how important it is to check the quick releasees often. The rear release had worked loose. I am lucky my wheel did not come off!

Sat, 09 Apr 2005 00:00:24 GMT

I am so proud of these people!

The young people who work at the Help Desk are fantastic! I really enjoy having them working for me. They are all International students and I have learned a lot about the world, both mine and theirs from them. It is a great experience working with them and I am very happy to have them in my life.

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 21:06:55 GMT

Pixel and the Raccoon

Our older calico cat Tupper has been an indoor/outdoor cat for as long as we have had her. Years ago we got a special cat door for her. It has two flaps, one on the interior wall and one on the exterior, and a tunnel that goes through the wall. The door works great. The two flaps keep the wind from ever blowing it open. It took awhile to teach Tupper to use it. For years she has been able to come and go at any time.

Pixel and Shadow, the two burmese cats, are indoor only cats. Despite watching Tupper use the door every day they have never been able to figure out the cat door. To them it is wall magic. They are cute, but that doesn't always mean smart. So, we just leave it open at night.

Last month, when Shadow, our gray burmese, was sick, I heard a horrible racket, thumping and bumping, coming from the kitchen. Normally, when I heard such a thing, I would roll over and go back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that, once again, it was just the cats playing loudly. It takes two cats to make noise like that. But, I knew Tupper would never play with Pixel and Shadow was too sick to play that loud. So, I got out of bed.

I found Pixel, the brown burmese, in the door of our bedroom nervously looking down the hall. The back half of his little body was poised to make a fast retreat. His head was poking out our bedroom door just far enough to see down the hallway toward the kitchen. When I entered the hallway, and peered down it, I saw this giant raccoon in our kitchen, by the cat food! Obviously raccoons are smarter than burmese cats.

For a split second I looked at the raccoon, and it looked at me, then zoom! It ran out the cat door. Tupper was just sitting in a chair as if this happens all the time. Then, I realized, it probably does! I ran after the raccoon and turned on the back yard flood lights. The raccoon just stood there looking at me as if to say, "what, you got a problem?"

Then, slowly, he started walking away into the night. Pixel went to the door and looked into the darkness. He seemed quite relieved.

We now keep the cat door locked at night! We have never heard the noise again. Now there is a heck of a smudge now on the inside of the interior cat door. I suspect the raccoon tried to make a quick entrance, only to find it blocked.

Wed, 06 Apr 2005 19:25:16 GMT

Little Madison at Owen's Party

Last Saturday was baby day at Owen's party. Sue and I spent a lot of time holding babies. Little Madison loved going over to see the tennis players in the park. Yesterday Madison had her six-month birthday. They went and had pictures taken. Last night we went over to Jeff and Nicole's where we saw my brother-in-law Floyd. Soon he will be returning to Spokane to face the reality of living alone.

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 21:05:11 GMT

Busy weekend

On Saturday we celebrated Owen's first birthday. Owen is a great kid and it was a good party. He has grown so fast. He is starting to walk! He seemed to really enjoy the party and the attention. Jeff and Nicole were also there with Madison and their dog, Zoe.

Looking back, it was quite a week. In the same week I attended my sister's funeral and a one-year-old birthday party. One is sad, the other happy. But, I couldn't help but contrast the two in my head. They are both events where the guest of honor has no idea what exactly is going on.