Camping Fun '08!

This past weekend we went on a one-night camping trip with two of our friends. What fun! It was a joy to get out of the city even for a night. Summer still hasn't ended in Los Angeles, so we it was a treat to leave the 100 degree temperature at our home for the cool air at 6,000 feet. The location was beautiful! We spent a good part of the evening around the campfire looking at the stars. We took a hike on Saturday morning and continued to be awed by nature. Other than some noisy neighbors at the campground, it was a perfect trip!

Our campsite.

Campfire cooking.

Brian finds a natural bridge.

Annie takes a break.

Beautiful wildflowers.

I never knew this was only an hour from L.A.

(below) This is why they are called redwood trees. Beautiful!

Good bye, Cricket.

A few weeks ago I saw a cricket in our kitchen. Brian wanted to kill it. In the time it took me to convince Brian that we should try to catch and release the cricket, it smartly hid behind our refrigerator. So, we've been treated to the cricket's song time and again. Having been raised around a lot of crickets I wasn't bothered by it's noise. In fact, ususally I didn't even notice it. This was not the case with Brian. There was a night when we had just settled to go to sleep, and the cricket began it's song. Brian went into the kitchen, shook the fridge a little and said, "You'd better be quiet if you know what's good for you."

--

A few days later we saw the cricket again. This time it had a friend. Brian wasn't quick enough to kill both of them, but one went to meet his maker. The surviving cricket's days were numbered. Last night we were enjoying an episode of "The Office" when I noticed a cricket sitting on the carpet just in front of the t.v. stand. I pointed it out to Brian. He jumped to attention, running to the bathroom for some tissue while singing, "Kill the cricket! Kill the cricket!" in the same vein as Elmer Fud singing about killing Bugs Bunny. I just had to laugh. Brian was determined. Alas, the cricket evaded capture again. After his failed attempt Brian quizzed me on the composer of the song he was singing. I had no idea. It turns out that the piece was written by Wagner and adapted by the Looney Tunes people.

--

Later last night we were getting settled for bed when Brian spotted the cricket in our bedroom. This was one brave cricket! Again, Brian ran for the tissue. He got down on all fours and tried to catch the cricket. Boy, those things can really jump! It took him a few tries, but eventually he prevailed. With the cricket bound on a tissue Brian held up his trophy... and squished it. Yuck! The remains of the cricket were flushed to a watery grave. Rest in peace little friend. You put up a good fight.

--

We'll have to wait and see if there are any more crickets who dare enter our apartment and risk Brian's wrath.

It's been a while...

Did you think we'd dropped off the face of the earth? No, we haven't left for China yet. I got called in for jury duty! What an adventure. I spent seven days on a trial in downtown L.A. It was a law suit because a guy stole another guys recipe for pudding. I kid you not. When you look at the details, it was pretty serious stuff for the original creator of the pudding. In the end he was awarded almost $5 million. (No, I don't get commission.) The legal process was quite fascinating, and in the end I had a great time.

Here's some updates:

---Last Saturday Brian and I ran a race at Big Bear Lake. The elevation was 6,800 feet. I only ran the 5K because of the altitude. Brian was a "big, strong man" and ran the 1/2 marathon. He finished 9th in his age category, I finished 5th in mine. Neither of us finished in our best times, but we did it and had a good time too! Afterwards, we went over to Lake Arrowhead (about 30 minutes away) for lunch. I had to tease Brian as he climbed a staircase. His legs were so sore that he could hardly bend his knees. I thought it was pretty funny to watch. Next on our list, a 10K race at Manhattan Beach in October.

---We've had a big move! Our regular Sunday morning worship moved from a hotel ballroom to an official building. This has been great because the volunteers were getting tired of setting up everything (sound, children's areas, etc.) every week. They'd done this for two years! We are settling nicely into our new building. It has a great grassy play area that the kids enjoy and lots of rooms for meetings and classes.

---Summer still isn't over, dang it! Many people enjoy living in L.A. because of the endless summer. Brian and I are getting quite annoyed. There is absolutely no reason why the temperature should be over 100 degrees in September! But, it is today and will be tomorrow. We were teased with highs of only 88 degrees last week. We were daydreaming the other day about how nice winter will be when we will be able to sleep with layers of blankets. Of course, "winter" here only lasts for two months.... Dang it!

---Back to school time! Brian and I have enrolled part-time in community college. He found a wind ensemble that he is joining on Monday nights. He is quite thrilled to be playing his French horn again in a group. I was looking for a class at the same time and found a table tennis class. After attending last week, I'm not sure that I'll keep going. I wasn't too impressed with the class after the first week. If I don't go back, I won't be too heart-broken. The new season of Heroes starts in a few weeks!

Please e-mail us to let us know how you are doing!