Payback...

The place is coming together. Well, the deck is anyway.
Actually, the couch is due to arrive today. With all of the delays so far though, we'll try not to get too excited until it's actually in place. ***UPDATE: the sofa arrived. Pictures to follow...***


So the deck is shaping up, thanks to the addition of a couple of adirondack chairs and all weather pillows. Since the deck is the biggest "room" in the house it still feels spacious and uncluttered despite the additional furniture.

Nancy seems to have found a new favorite spot too – the chiminea.
I guess the sun heats it and provides her a warm cubby-hole in which to hide/sleep.


Payback Time
A couple of weeks ago Elizabeth ran me through the family gauntlet at her father's 80th birthday party.

This past weekend I returned the "favor" by hauling her out east, to Durham, NC, to meet some of my immediate family. We also attended the 4th annual John P. "Jack" Bond Memorial Golf Tournament in Charlotte– a fund raising event for a professional organization that my father was very instrumental in and supportive of when he was alive. The event was very successful and, mercifully, not 104º like last year.

My second cousin – an admitted golf addict (though not seeking help) – even flew out from his home in Puerto Rico to attend.



(photo courtesy Jasmine Powell – my niece)

Here we are with my mother at Duke Gardens, on the campus of Duke University in Durham.
Elizabeth had to face my mother, sister, niece and nephew, maternal grandmother, great aunt, uncle, second cousin, assorted family friends (including the renowned historian Dr. John Hope Franklin). Not quite the extended family I faced, but daunting none the less. She doesn't look too stressed in the above photo, does she?

Following are an assortment of photos from our walk on Duke's west campus, including Duke Chapel and Duke Gardens...

Missed Opportunities

If it weren't for a certain company's rules – namely a prohibition against photography within their facilities – I might have captured an image that could have put me in the running for a Pulitzer Prize. Evidently, though, you can't take pictures inside a 24 Hour Fitness gym, so Elizabeth's first day ever in a gym went undocumented. And contrary to what she imagined beforehand, people didn't stop, point, laugh, whisper... or in any other way acknowledge her presence. Anyway, it went well. Let's see if she goes again.

That was Sunday.
Saturday we went on a hike out in Western Marin, out past Point Reyes station. The hike was one I have done twice before, once with sunny weather and the other time, well like our weather was Saturday – foggy. That part of Northern California is notorious for it's foggy, overcast weather. It can be sunny all of the way out the Point Reyes peninsula only to be socked in just as you reach the coast. Fortunately it's beautiful terrain regardless of the weather and the fog adds a dramatic edge to the scenery and the feel of the hike.

The hike starts at the end of Pierce Ranch Rd...

... and continues all of the way out to where the land runs out, with the Pacific on one side and the Tomales Bay on the other...

(Google Earth is great)

It's a 10 mile round trip with stunning views (somewhat diminished by the fog) and some visible wild life – in particular the Tule Elk.

Pierce Ranch Rd ends at an old, defunct dairy farm, which also marks the trail head.





Tule Elk through the fog...



Miscellaneous other wildlife...



From this point on it was uphill through sand – making for a tough final mile...


Rewarded for the effort, though, by some nice views...



She wouldn't let me escape this post without posting a picture of myself...


More Tule Elk on on the way back.
A couple of sparring males, locking horns...


And the largest male of the herd, surrounded by his "harem."


And finally on the way home we stopped off at the Marin Cheese Factory for a wedge of mild blue and a split of chardonnay.




Tomorrow is Monday.
Back to work.

Where to begin...

It's been a busy week.

The lead story since the last post has to be Mr. Benson's 80th birthday party in Escondido.

Late breaking news, however, is competing for front page space. Granted it's a fluff piece, but definitely worthy of reporting:

Waiting for us when we returned home from San Diego yesterday was a package from Elizabeth's friend Charlie. It was for Nancy, actually.

It's a Kitty Wig.
Imagine the indignity of a cat being forced to wear an electric blue wig...

You don't have to strain your imagination for too long, unfortunately, because this is what it looks like:



Now I want to make it clear that I don't – in any way – condone this sort of behavior. I simply have a responsibility to report it. To Elizabeth and Charlie this is just about the funniest thing in the world.
I'm not so sure how Nancy feels about it.

Caller ID says we keep getting calls from someone or something called 'PETA'. Anyone know what that might be about?



On to the real story...




More images will be posted shortly, so stay tuned. In the meantime though, here's a sampler set of pix...