'Tis the Season

December 15

From the day we brought the tree home, Ethel has loved sitting under it. I have not caught her climbing it, but she has enjoyed playing with the ornaments.

December 16

I love the view from the Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency. We were there for the ENG holiday party.

December 17

The lunch group goes out to Koki's for dinner.

December 18

The lighted palm trees look much better in real life than they do in this photo. I should do night photos with the big Nikon instead of the little Canon.

December 19

It was a drizzly evening at work, but it was an amazing sunset.

December 20

The cat with the laser eyes and the very dirty slider in the background.

December 21

I just like the way the bottles lined up in the rack.

The End is Near

December 8

Every year since the kids were little we have gotten our Christmas tree at Peltzer Pines. It takes a few years for the trees get big enough to sell, so each year there is an empty area and areas with small trees, trying hard to become big enough to go home with someone like us.

December 9

I am fascinated by candle flames and soft wax.

December 10

No explanation required.

December 11

While Christmas shopping at South Coast Plaza, I saw this bunch of balloons from the second floor. I loved the assortment of colors.

December 12

I was not at work the day before when these were delivered, so this is what greeted me when I arrived. We ordered 30 hurricane candle holders to use as centerpieces for the ENG holiday party that was to be held on the following Sunday.

Decmeber 13

The four of us have been going to Claim Jumper for years after PTA meetings. Cheryl is the only one left in the group who has them any longer. Every once in a while we get together for drinks. This night, we had dinner and exchanged Christmas gifts as well.

December 14

How many families have the Dallas Cowboys star on the top of their Christmas tree? Jim and Steve are huge fans, the rest of us - not so much. It was Steve's idea to put it up there this year. We usually don't have any special star of angel that goes on the top of our tree.

Six Weeks Plus a Day Left

December 1

The cats get along really well. Unfortunately, Ethel is not willing to let us hold her. She runs away every time one of us tries to catch her. About the only time we are able to get her is when she is half asleep.

December 2

See, she doesn't look mean - just shy.

December 3

The golf ball in the bottom of the glass is an indentation on the outside of the bottom. This was a gift to Dennis at the OCSGA Christmas dinner on December 3.

December 4

The instrument panel in my car - boring.

December 5

This is a total experiment. Lucy was chasing the reflection of my watch on the wall and we took a video. I captured this frame from the video, so the quality is not as good as a still photo. She was going crazy trying to get this light. Dennis and I were having so much fun watching her that I was late for work.

December 6

Linda was kind enough to lay out her instruments and let me take this for my photo of the day. She really got into it and arranged everything very neatly, including her gloves.

December 7

I live with a bunch of slobs. This empty water bottle was under the end table for several days. Whoever dropped couldn't be bothered to get in and put it in the recycle can. They make me crazy!

The End is in Sight

November 24

I planted these bulbs years ago and they keep sprouting every year. I occasionally get flowers, but not every year and not every plant. There are freesia and daffodils.

November 25

Erin did not know that there was such a thing as wax beans.

November 26

My Two Peas in a Bucket Over 45 Chatter group has a Secret Santa gift exchange every year and these are the presents I received this year. The plan is to open one each weekend beginning on December 1 and open the last one on Christmas day.

November 27

The new campus at work has nice smoking areas and they are kept very neat and tidy.

November 28

I love our bathtub! It is huge. We got a longer than standard tub so that Dennis could stretch out in it. What we didn't think about is that it could be too long for me. It turns out that a tub can be too long for a person. I end up sliding down until my feet reach the end of the tub and then my head is just barely above water. I need a booster pillow to put at the end to stop me from sliding.

November 29

The fireplace had been natural colored fake brick that was looking pretty ratty. When we painted a few years ago, we decided to make it match the walls. I love the candle holder on the wall above the mantle.

November 30

Another day when I didn't get a photo until the end of the day. I don't know what Lucy was looking at, but I love the contemplative look on her face.

Still Doing It

November 17

Our hope is that Lucy and Ethel will be friends. Sitting on the chair together is a good first step. They chase and wrestle each other and I have also witnessed them grooming one another.

November 18

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we picked out our Christmas tree. We will go back later to cut it down and bring it home. We used to go the minute the farm opened on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, but we got tired of the lines. By the time we get to the farm, there aren't that many left, but we always find a pretty one.

November 19

Ethel's safe place - she has plenty of time to escape if she notices any one of us getting down on our hands and knees to try to get her. One of these days she will want to come to me. I hope it is soon.

November 20

My tendency is to pile things on the counter until I get quite a bit, then put everything away. It is always up to me - no one else ever does the dishes. They can use them, but can't be bothered to clean them and put them away.

November 21

The fountain at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. It was another beautiful day in November that makes me never want to live anywhere other than southern California.

November 22

Tryptophan strikes! Dennis needed to rest his eyes after Thanksgiving dinner. He says he was not asleep and maybe he wasn't in a deep sleep, but he was napping.

November 23

This is at the sixteenth tee at Via Verde and is says 'Carrigan's Alley'. It was put there to honor uncle Pat who played this course a lot. It is a very nice tribute to him.

Almost the Home Stretch

November 10

I spent so much time cleaning the kitchen the day I took this photo. Everything came off the counter top, so I could really scrub it. I even took out the sliding part of the windows so I could wash the outside of them. I washed to floor, too. Natually, it didn't stay this way for very long.

November 11

At this point in time, Ethel had been living with us for a little under two weeks. It took her at least a week to come out of Erin's room. She enjoys free run of the house, but doesn't want people to pick her up. When we do get a chance to grab her, she loves to be petted and scratched and she purrs like crazy. I hope one of these days she will let us get her.

November 12

Lucky me, I have two cell phones. The one on the left is my personal phone the one on the right is the one they gave me for work. Generally, I have my personal phone forwarded to my work phone, so I don't have to carry two of them around with me.

November 13

RATS!

November 14

I have had this plant for years and haven't killed it yet. Lucy has started to jump onto this table and chew on the leaves, so some of them look a little ragged.

November 15

This was considered a beautiful day in Orange County. However, there is a layer of crud on the horizon. My office is on the third floor and this was taken from the end of the hall.

November 16

I like the angle and the lines, but not the dust.

Looking for Inspiration

November 3

...and I was doing so well. I did not miss a day in October.

November 4

I have this candle holder in front of the house and I almost never light any candles in it. Since it is getting dark so early, I have to try harder to do it. It is pretty cool looking.

November 5

I did not understand this sign at the gas station. '3 for $5' and below it 'One or two at regular price' I didn't spend much time sweating over it, though, since I don't drink Red Bull.

November 6

Ethel finally came out of Erin's room and started exploring the house. She is turning into a real love. Once I get her, she cuddles and forces me to pet her by shoving her head under my hand. She and Lucy are exploring each other. So far, there have been no fights and no hissing matches. They do chase each other, but so far no cat cuddles.

November 7

She was watching Lucy from under the dining room table.

November 8

This was a total accident. I was holding the camera in one hand and trying to rearrange something with the other, but somehow hit the shutter button. I love how this turned out. I was standing next to our bed and this view is into the bathroom. The frame has a photos of each of the golf courses we played on our 25th anniversary trip to San Francisco and Half Moon Bay in 2004.

November 9

The people I support do a lot of traveling and sometimes they bring me presents. These came from Taiwan or China, I don't remember, but they are ferocious looking creatures.

79% Complete

October 27

Lucy loves the shower. It is embarrassing how dirty the shower floor is. We have a seat in the corner of the shower and she will sit there while I take my shower. This morning she was very intrigued by the drain.

October 28

After Goofy died, we decided we needed a new cat to keep Lucy company. We went to the animal shelter and met this precious angel. Her name at the shelter was Marianne, to go with her litter mates Ginger, Professor and Gilligan. But since we had Lucy at home, we decided to call her Ethel. Amazingly enough, all five of us agreed on the name without any discussion.

October 29

The leaves are starting to fall off the trees in the front yard. I love all the different colors.

October 30

Jim was Bob's Big Boy for Halloween. He got rave reviews from all of his friends and fellow partiers at the bar.

October 31

We always give out chocolate. It is a must, because that is what I like best. What is the point of having candy that you don't like? There could be leftovers (and we always have leftovers!) and it would be silly to have candy we don't like.

November 1

We had so much fun at the Roxy watching Eric's band play. A lot of people from the neighborhood drove up on a Thursday after work to listen to The Jakes. The traffic at the end of the drive was horrid, but it was worth it to see Eric on stage doing a great job and having such a good time.

November 2

The nice thing about having two active Marine bases nearby was that we didn't get commercial aircraft flying over the house day and night. Ever since the bases closed, more and more flights are routed over our house. I was in the backyard taking this photo. I am very thankful that a new airport at the old El Toro base is not going to happen.