Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben Kropatch was given the best present anyone could ever receive on their birthday ... a miniature replica of himself created out of old bottles, tape & soda cans. It was incredible!

Your Tour Through Hydesville

Since I couldn't bring you with me on my trip to Hydesville, I took a few pictures so you can atleast imagine what it would be like to drive through my hometown. For the full experience, please adjust your chair and put on your seatbelt ...

Highway 36 Which Leads Into the Town


A River a Few Miles From My Home


Cows That Cover the Fields Along Highway 36


Vacant Lumber Yard (several of these in Humboldt)


Up the Hill - Entering Hydesville




Welcome to the Town of Hydesville


Murrish Market - The Only Store in Town


An Old Friend's Home


My Old Home


Just Kidding ... This is the Home I Grew Up In


A Barn and Pasture Near My Home


And just for fun, we'll stop by The Sow's Ear - an "antique store" in a neighboring town (Fortuna). I don't think anyone has ever been inside the store ... you can't even find the front door!


Thank you for joining me ... I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Photos from Hydesville (more to come!)

An Old Barn Behind My House


Field of Flowers (taken while I was driving)


My Friend's Beautiful Backyard


Highway 36 Amongst the Redwoods

I'm Going on a Trip and Packing My Suitcase

and with me I'm bringing ...

AA Batteries
Bible
Coats
Digital Camera

(did you ever play that game in the car when you were younger?)

Well, I really am going on a trip and packing my suitcase. I leave for Humboldt County tomorrow morning ... I'm going back to my small (pop: 1,200) hometown of Hydesville to attend Lindsey's bridal shower and visit old friends. I wish I could take you ALL with me because it is such a unique place ... beautiful redwoods and a variety of interesting people ... it's like traveling to a foreign country!

Anticipating my trip to Hydesville has made me rather nastalgic these past few weeks. If you know me well, then you would conclude that I am already a nastalgic person (I love reminiscing and retelling stories from my childhood!) - but, this time it was a little out of control ... I went so far as to pull out old home videos and watch them while packing. I guess I'm just blessed to have had such a great childhood and to have grown up in such a great town/environment. They say "you can never go home again" and it's true ... when you return to your "home" it is never the way you remember it, but I know it will be enjoyable nonetheless.

Tikambe

I was looking through some old photos from Michael's trip to
Malawi, Africa and I thought this one was worth sharing.

Frankly speaking, everything’s different now.

There is no going back. No changing your mind.

No choice but to stand up straight,

gather your courage and move toward the ledge.

Avalanche Survival Tips

1. Struggle to stay on top of the snow by

using a freestyle swimming motion.

2. If you are only partially buried, dig your

way out with your hands or by kicking at the snow.

If you have a ski pole, poke through the snow until you feel open air.

3. If you are completely buried, dig a small hole

around you and spit in it. The saliva will fall down,

giving you an idea of which direction is up. Dig up.

Headlines in San Diego

Jael called from Julian where she says it's snowing - only 30 min away!
(she will be on the channel 9 news (KUSI) tonight at 10pm)
I just looked at the local weather report and headlines read ...

MAJOR WINTER STORM ON THE WAY
The coldest storm of the season is coming this weekend

I don't like the "coldest" part of the headline.
Rain and snow are fun ... but "cold" is not as fun.
It may be time to move away to someplace warmer :)

Simon Gets a Bath

I gave Simon a bath this week and thought it was worthy of a picture.

Hooray for Frozen Food!

While sitting at my desk eating a frozen burrito from Trader Joe's, I read the following information and found it to be quite interesting ...

"On this day in 1930, Birds Eye frozen foods debuted on the market in Springfield, Massachusetts. Although his commercial venture in frozen foods was not unprecedented, Clarence Birdseye [the 'father of frozen foods'] was the first to present his product in a truly consumer-friendly package. He was inspired to develop his freeze-drying techniques during his expeditions in and around Labrador, in northeastern Canada, where he observed Eskimos' methods of food preservation. He realized that if foods are frozen quickly enough, ice crystals cannot form, and the foods retain their original flavor and texture. By applying these techniques to meat, fish, vegetables and fruit he enabled his products to reach consumers in a much fresher state. After the initial market tests, Birds Eye frozen foods moved on to nationwide distribution a few years later."

La Jolla Cove

I went to La Jolla Cove with Nicole, Joy, Katie and Ben last night.
We walked the cove for awhile and then sat in The Living Room Coffeehouse for a couple hours while Nicole did a personality test on everyone. We had a lot of fun and it was very relaxing.

Nintendo Choir

If you haven't watched the Nintendo Choir yet, you MUST do so.
It may just change your life.

Last Weekend

Last Friday night, Joy and I went to Point Loma searching for a unique, hole-in-the-wall place to eat dinner. We happened upon Luna Notte's and decided to give it a try. I had an assignment from my nutrition class to try a food I had not eaten before ... so, I tried the veal parmigiana (I know I have had veal before, but I can't remember when or what it tasted like). To be honest, we were not impressed with the restaurant - the food was very expensive, and very bland and the service poor. But, the best part about dinner was making jokes about how I was eating veal with Veale (Joy won't even try veal because of her last name!)

Blurry photo of Luna Notte


After dinner, we found a quiet street to park and stargaze
(we wanted to tryout my new sunroof) The sky was SO beautiful - and we could watch the waves crashing and hear the seals nearby.




We then decided it was time to go to La Jolla to find some ice cream and walk the town. We experienced one of those "special" moments when you pray for a parking spot and instantly one pops up right in front of you ... and when you get out of the car you find the ice cream shop is right in front of the parking space ... it was a miracle! (and the ice cream was delectible) Then we walked the town - we went through a Dr. Seuss gallery and eventually stumbled upon "The Ancient Mariner," a store with the coolest store clerk in all the world (check out his picture!)



The shop sold things pertaining to the sea (mostly ships/boats). He told us that many of the items had been collected by him over the years (rifles from the 1800s and old lanterns from ships). You could tell that he really loved his life ... I love people like that! ... he found so much pleasure in working in his little shop. While we were there, Joy had her eye on a globe (one that she has wanted to buy for years) so she ecstatically made her big purchase and we were on our way home ...
but not before taking our picture in pirate hats.






After our adventures in La Jolla, I had an incredible urge to run through a sprinkler or roll down a big grassy hill (does that ever happen to you?) ... we met Nicole at the park and went searching for a hill. We ran around the park, went down the slide and laughed a lot (we laughed SO hard that Nicole barely made it home with dry pants). However, we were not successful in finding our grassy hill. Oh well - next time.





When we were back in the car, I showed Joy the chapstick I purchased last week - it said it was "for sun and snow" so I thought it would be perfect to wear in our sunny San Diego weather ... I was wrong.