Firewatch......

This is the view from the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California looking South toward Thousand Oaks/North Ranch. It doesn't show up well at a reduced size, but if you click on the photo, it should open at a high resolution. Those little orange things are flames at the base of that icky looking cloud.

Just out of the frame, to the left, is the Simi Valley Reservoir. One of the water sources that the aircrews are lifting water for the drops to fight the area fires. This photo was actually taken about 11:15am today and there were three major blazes within sight distance and another one starting in Burbank. I've been listening to the air traffic, helicopters and that orange and white C-130 that the news shows dropping the red fire retardent. I packed the car with clothes and photo albums and kept the television tuned to the fire coverage. A few times today it looked like the fires were coming under control. Then the wind would change. As of 8:30pm this evening, two of the fires in the San Fernando Valley on the Los Angeles/Ventura County lines were about to merge.

Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. So far, no one has been seriously injured. The firefighters have been working tirelessly and I cannot personally express my gratitude enough, having been way too close to the flames yesterday. (It's much better when I am in control of the fire!)

I talked to most of my family and friends and got info on some other friends who were closer to the action today. Luckily everyone is safe and surprisingly, there is not a great deal of structure damage, less than a dozen buildings for a nearly 17,000 acre wildfire.

Everyone is rather jumpy. I feel much better being a bit more prepared. It's so weird to have the television on so much and really, not much else is getting done. I did get the kitchen floor vaccumned. (Whoo-hoo! I'm sure you will all be waiting with baited breath to see what happens tomorrow!) When we went out to the grocery store today, they were low on bread, milk, bottled water, diapers.....all those things that are necessary in the face of disaster.

Last night, after the adrenaline rush had subsided, I absolutely crashed. I woke at 4:00am to an ominous glow in the South. I kept watching it and when I went outside, the air was strange feeling, thick and too warm. Also, birds and other creatures were moving about as though in daytime. It gave things an even more eerie feeling combined with the orange glow from our bedroom slider window.

We have a marine layer (a/k/a "fog") coming in this evening. That will help the fire lay down.

TO: LAFD, VCFD and all the other departments across the state who have come to help out, we in Moorpark THANK YOU!

~~Mama

HOT In the City....

This shot is from directly behind our home!**

Woke up yesterday morning and realized that it was very warm. Before the sun was up, it was 70 plus degrees. The wind began to come up and it just felt....weird. I had the windows opened for awhile and all the doors open. The breeze was going through the house and then some green leaves started bouncing around. That was some strong wind. I closed thing up and turned on the A/C. Our kitchen and dining area faces the East and when the sun rises above our neighbors house, it gets quite warm. I had closed the blinds and curtains in the kitchen area.

Our neighborhood is very quiet during the day. So, it was very strange for me to hear lots of activity. I started to realize that things were busy while I was talking on the phone to Daddy. Then I moved toward the kitchen window and realized that something looked very, very wrong. I saw the black smoke and hung up on him with a quick "(Insert expletive Here)! Gotta go!!!". I ran out into the driveway to see flames licking over the hill into the backyards of the people on the next block, 200 yards away. I ran back into the house, tossed the kids in the car, grabbed my purse and cell phone and left. There were lookey-loos who were blocking my driveway in their effort to gawk at the flames. I almost pulled a "monster truck" move in my haste to be gone. I called Daddy when I was down the hill to tell him about the fire and then we went over to his office which is about 3 miles from the house. After my heart-rate got back to normal and I had lunch, we saw mostly white smoke in the area and thought it might be safe to return. The sheriffs had blocked all the roads. I sat at the bottom of the hill and watched the firefighters putting out hot spots on the scorched hill just a few feet down from where I knew our place is.

When we were finally able to return to the house, we discovered all structurally spared. I saw that my neighbor was home and so I went to talk to him. I discovered that he had returned to his house about the time I was leaving mine with the kids. S's first thought was to check to see if we were home. Then he saw that some of the flames had started on the hill behind our houses. So, he jumped up on the roof and some other awesome anonymous passer-by jumped on my roof with the hose and started battling the flames which came to within about 20 yards of our place. Mr. Singer, if you read this...YOU TOTALLY ROCK!!!!! Thank you.

I really have to check this "Flame of the South" thing....

~~Mama (She of the Southern Flame)

**Photo Credit: (c) AP

Look Who I Found in My Living Room Today!!!

Jon Bon Jovi (left) and Richie Sambora (right).

The rest of the band is in the kitchen (out of frame) making me breakfast.

Okay, not really. But, that would MAKE MY DAY! No, my LIFETIME. I found a bunch of photos online today while I was listening to the band's new album, "Have a Nice Day". (All of my local friends are rolling their eyes and I can hear them saying...."She's obsessed. We need to do an intervention.") Hey, there could be WORSE things I am obsessed about.

Well, it sort of looks like my living room.

~~Mama [like I have to even sign this one.....]

I Returned Safely

I am pleased to discover that Daddy was able to post something to this blog. Of course, I was highly amused to read it while I was away, too. Sheesh! I never said Z males can't do anything by themselves. They are excellent eaters, sleepers and bread-winners, gamers, football fans and playmates for their children and grand-children. :) Now, the Z females are in a league all their own. We're all a bunch of nutballs. Okay, I don't speak for them, so it's just me that is a nutball.

Anyway, my trip was enlightening, though quick. I was able to visit our newest nephew (he's so cute!) and see our other niece and nephew (we drove in the Incredi-moblie). I saw my friend, L, her daughter, S and her mother, J and everyone looks great. I had a wonderful time, though the visit was too short.

The return trip was fine; uneventful except that I had trouble finding my way home from the smaller of our local airports with the very supremely marked freeways out here and my tired index. Anyway, I'm glad to be home. Sitting on a plane for 4 hours is not much fun. Though I did get almost caught up on my "Outlander" reading (Diana Gabaldon's epic series about time-travel, World War II, Scotland, witch-hunts, the Stuart Uprising and the Revolution in the American Colonies). You can find the books in the Romance section of the bookstore. Yeah, I know, I'm not the romance type, but the historical references throughout the series are fabulous. I'm almost ready for the final book in the series (there are six books) that was released over the weekend.

I didn't bring the camera so the photo above is one I had laying around. It's gives those writing and reading the blog entries something interesting to look at. I originally had posted a photo of Jon Bon Jovi, but I can't figure out how to work it into the subject of my blog. Except that I'm just a nut for the band (and the man---good thing we are both happily married). "Have a Nice Day!"

~~Mama

On the next episode of "Lost"..

A family without it's mother!! How will everyone be fed? Get dressed? FIND ANYTHING!!
Well, never fear faithful viewers, Z males are actually capable of doing things on their own....

Mama arrived safely in New England after both her flights. She hit some turbulence from Rita but otherwise smooth sailing..or flying.. whatever.
The kids and me? We had a great day. I'm finally feeling better after being sick with a serious sore throat for the 2nd time in a month so we got ourselves fed and dressed and on the road. We started with boring errands, but eventually ended up at a local indoor play place. The rest of the day on the left coast was a mixture of lunch, naps, reading and playing. Boy wanted to go to Toys R Us just to "check things out" so we did. As mentioned in previous posts, he is very much into the lego Knights (though I still believe he needs more of the regular blocks.. as I am getting tired of building the now commonplace 3 color buildings).
The day ended in our traditional "Special Movie Night". All in all, the kids were great (as usual) and asked about Mom a lot.
Momma, if you're reading, "We love you!!!"

~~Daddy

Pre-Flight

I'm almost packed and ready to go to New England. When the planes land safely in Atlanta and then again at my final destination Hartford, I'll be ready to handle anything. I don't like flying at all. Especially when my family isn't with me. But, I'm just being anxious and silly. I've got my iPod and several books to occupy me while in-flight. It will be nice to see Mom and Dad and some of the other family. Whomever I can get to see, that is. I'll miss my family very much. Cutie Girl and Big Boy. He has photos at soccer on Saturday. I'm going to miss that and his game. Daddy has been working with him and he looks great!

~~Mama

The Kids Are Alright...

I know this is post #3 in one day. The kids are watching several new episodes of "The Backyardigans" and I figured I needed to post another photo of them. They are just too cute! This photo was taken in Girl's room. I had another great one, but it was too blurry to post. Now, if I could only get Wiggles to keep his mouth closed!

~~Mama

The Front Yard

This is the view to our front door which is off to the right of the photo. Since we have moved in and taken over the yard work, there have never been people more happy to show off "dirt". Boy has helped quite a bit and earned some extra money for more Legos. (Hint to the family: anything with knights and sword in a Lego format, he'll totally love it forever).

The yard is all rain-washed and fresh this morning. It's coming along. It's by no means a perfect, thriving lawn, but we have done all the big stuff by pulling out the ivy and preparing the yard. We water regularly, dig out the weeds here and there, we have pulled all the rotting wood trim around the yard and even tried to revamp the sprinkler system. There's still much to do; rototill, put some fertilizer and grass seed down and then see what comes up. We have rediscovered the citrus trees. We have a lemon, an orange, a guava and there was another citrus tree with our orange. A friend of ours who used to own a nursery couldn't identify the tree. It had huge, gnarly looking spiky thorns. So, I cut that thing out and I think the orange tree is much happier.

Our lemon tree is bursting with new leaves and blossoms. I can't wait to make fresh lemonade with fruit from my own tree. Well, technically, the trees belong to the owners, but I don't think they would mind us using the fruit. You see that rose bush covered with roses? When we moved in it was full of dead branches and only had one or two flowers. I cut the whole thing down and added a bit of water and POOF, beautiful blossoms. You can't see it, but in the back yard, past the gate and the black thing (which is our BBQ) I have another rose bush with deeper pink blossoms.

I never thought I cared much for roses, but now I just love them. I guess it's like that with anything you invest a bit of yourself in. Hmmmm........

~~Mama

A Rainbow Morning

This is a photo of one of my rose bushes this morning with the beautiful raindrops. At 3:45am I was awakened by the dog next door barking his head off. He's normally a quiet pooch, but he was definitely upset. Between his barks, I heard several eerie sounds. One, the yipping of a pack of coyotes cornering some prey. The other, the distant roll of thunder. "Thunder is no big deal" my Nor'Easter family might say, but for SoCal desert Rats, it is a welcome sound. The lightning can be frightening as it tends to touch off wildfires.

Well, I suppose every place has its jewels and it's thorns. Personally, I'd rather brave the wildfires than get buried in a blizzard. Must be my firey nature.

I counted the seconds between lightning and thunder and the storm seemed to be 5 or so miles out.

I stepped outside and breathed in that unique scent of ozone spark in the air. I felt the rumble of the thunder in my belly and I felt very peaceful at that moment. I was thinking forward a little bit to this weekend when I'll be in New England at the Equinox and it will feel quite different.
Then the rain started and I tried to remember what might be laying out in the yard that might have an aversion to being rained on. No small feat at 4:00am, but I managed to stumble out to the garage and find a tarp in my sleepy haze with no glasses on. I covered a few tools that are sitting in the yard and went back to bed. I left the slider open so that I could hear the rain and feel the humid breeze.

Then the morning struck, I was late getting up for my doctors appointment and the traffic was exceptionally awful. When I got to the office, the doctor wasn't even in and neither was his receptionist. So, everyone in the waiting room (about 5 of us) remarked about the weather. It's such a big deal to Californians when it rains. It makes for conversation for hours. One can discuss the multitudes of accidents they pass on a rainy morning. It rains and people lose their minds. That's when we all discover that our tires are way too bald. Thank the gods it doesn't snow here. No one would survive winter.

On my way out of my appointment, I saw a beautiful rainbow. I didn't have my camera, though. So I missed that shot. The traffic was heavy approaching our exit off the Freeway and as I came upon it, my exit was completely blocked! A big rig (tractor trailer for everyone NOT living in California) was laying across the ramp. Sometimes I wonder how they do that? I'd rather not learn about it first-hand.

~~Mama

A Trip to the Dump

Today was "M residents get in for free day" at the local landfill. I know, sounds incredibly exciting and I can understand if many of you turn your computers off at this moment....

There really is a story here, so for you brave souls....We (M&M&N) have been working like mad on the side area of our yard. (NOTE: the photo to the left is NOT of any place in our yard...but, I wish!) We have pulled a bunch of ivy off the fence and cleared a lot of weeds from the more flat areas. There were weeds that were three feet high when we moved in and once they were cut down, they were stubborn to remove completely. They are still a pain in the rear. But, a few minutes here and there with the hoe has been satisfying on many levels; aesthetically, spiritually, ecumenically.....

Okay, so I'm straying from my title here. Today, I loaded up about 15 trash bags full of the weeds and dead leaves and all the other yard junk that has not been able to fit into our Yard Trimmings waste bin (picked up once a week) and also the small dumpster we rented when we first moved in to this place. I hauled it all to the dump and while I was on my way, I had a nice little trip down memory lane....

When I was a youngster (i.e. early teens) living in Windsor, I used to go to the town dump with my Dad on Saturdays. We had a little sticker in the windshield and I always thought it was really funny that we had to stop on a scale before we went in. Like, how do they know exactly how much my Dad and I and the truck weigh versus the trash?? ((Oh, the things that make young grey matter churn.)) I felt very privileged to be helping my Dad at the dump. He's probably reading this laughing his rear-end off! He got slave labor and I was actually ENJOYING IT!! My brother was no dummy. He didn't want anything to do with the dump. Yep, it was bonding day for me and Dad. Seriously though, my Dad and I have a great relationship and it would be okay for him to read this since I told him this story this afternoon when I called him. We do talk about things other than the dump. (I love you, Daddy!!!)

As I'm waiting in the line for my turn to dump, I was trying to imagine what it would look like. Now, really, I have not been to many dumps in my lifetime. When I lived on Staten Island, there was a place near the mall where the seagulls would be in constant flight formation. That, and the putrid, but sweetish, smell always told you where the dump was. I remember going there one time (to that mall) and realizing about the dump and the not going back there for a long while (a year or so) and then returning to find how much the landfill had grown! Yikes! My dad was telling me today about the landfill in the town where I grew up and how high it is now. I had long forgotten, or put out of my mind at least, how much we humans throw away. Today's trip was a sobering reminder. I think everyone should go to the dump once or twice a year (and bring the kids, popcorn and binoculars!) to remind themselves just how wasteful we can be.

I was even at least going to be somewhat environmental but opening the non-biodegradable trash bags and dumping all the leaves, dirt, vines, etc. One of the workers made a point of coming over to stop me from opening the bags and told me to simply the stuff on the pile, bags and all. So, there I was throwing the plastic bags which contained bio-degradable contents onto a large pile of branches which was covering a huge metal desk. As I pitched the last bag, a couple got out of the huge Escalade next to me, (kids in the back watching a DVD. I don't think they had any popcorn, though) and dumped a huge plastic storage tub that looked brand new! They also dumped a very large plastic dog bed and several large rolls of used kitchen floor vinyl.

I wonder, in 10, 000 years, what the archeologists of that day will think about that plastic dog bed. Can that be accurately carbon dated?

~~Mama

Blogging...California Style

This is what our backyard looked like soon after we moved in. It looks better now, but I don't have updated photos and I'm still playing with this blogging thing.

I enjoy that I can jot down some quick (or not so quick) thoughts, add a photo if I wish and be on my way. I really like the fact that I can send a link to family and friends and all they have to do is check back once in awhile rather than complain about the photos being too big or too many or their internet connection being to slow or whatever. I think this was such a great idea to start this (Thanks, J!!).

I am finding that I put a lot of myself here, but that's the point. Besides, though I am very different than some I haven't seen in awhile might realize, I have nothing to hide. Some people who read these blogs, members of my family (or my mother's friends), will perhaps think that I am really off my rocker out here in Southern California (the "land of the fruits and the nuts"). But, hey, I was "strange" before I came to California. My kind of strange is just a bit more acceptable here. . . . .

Girl is 2 now. I have to remark that she is remarkable. Yes, we are biased, but she was talking in complete sentences such as "Daddy, can I have more pizza, please?" before her second birthday. Today she said "Mommy, I dropped my sippy-cup". Of course then she screamed Bloody Hell when I told her that I wasn't going to pick it up because I was driving and it wasn't safe. You would think I was pulling her toenails out by the noise. Oy, sometimes these kids make me nuts. (Yeah, I know Mom, paybacks are a bee-itch.)

I have majorly revamped this week. I felt the need to mentally and emotionally "clean house". I backed off doing Full Moons with this group I have been working with for a year or so.
I also closed the TONL group so that JA and I can revamp it and make it more than a preschool playgroup. TONL wasn't taking off as I had hoped and many people were using it to "check out" homeschooling. That's all great and all, but our kids are approaching the age where we are starting to really teach them more on the academic side, though I am so not interested in being severly structured. Jill has been wonderful about committing to me and this group. She even helped me pick out this totally wacko name...and it's a GREAT play on words.

~~Mama

Halloween is on it's way....

Oh boy, aren't they cute? I found these great Halloween costumes at Kohl's the other day and Himself was in his for two days! Of course, I don't really count these as the costumes they will wear for Hallows. They like to dress up and these were on sale. I like to find costumes in thrift stores, too or scarves and such that they can be creative with. These were a surprise for the price AND quality. Girl got all itchy (see the look on her face?) and the fairy costume was off in like a minute, but she looked cute long enough for me to get this photo done.

This whole blog thing is really interesting. I'm trying to figure out if I want to share it with the family. Maybe I'll try it out on one or two people. It seems to be a great way to share updates on happenings and photos. Yikes.....I'm entering the world of "everyone".

~~Mama

Today I Became a Soccer Mom

Yikes! I'm a Soccer Mom?? NO WAY!!!!

Soccer began today and it was crazy at the fields. Boy's team (The Blue Sharks) was so cute, a scrum of boys buzzing around a ball. He did great, though and while the other team scored one goal and the Sharks, none, he had fun and he looks forward to doing it again.

So, I'm heading to Connecticut on Mabon to support my mother as we say goodbye to Uncle P. A fitting day, the Second Harvest to return my uncle back to the Earth. I'm surprised at my own reactions to this whole affair. Though I don't feel much grief for my Uncle, I am sad that he is gone; more for my mother's sake. I definitely have a different view of death than most people I know, so it probably makes me look very unfeeling. It's the body that is dead, not their lifeforce (you know, the "Force", Luke!). I'm surprised that I feel very compassionate and more supportive of my mother than I have in a long time. (She'll probably read this and choke.) Maybe I've done enough work to realize that some stuff can just be put away; everyone does their thing and is allowed to live their own life. I just hope others remember that about me. . . I've gotten enough "messages" lately to realize that I am in a strong place. I've looked a lot of "stuff" that I need to dump or finally put to rest. Nah, I'm not gonna do my therapy session on HERE, don't worry.

While I'm not keen on flying, you know, to support my mother while she grieves and finds closure just feels the the very right thing to do.

~~Mama

Getting Used to This

Labor Day Weekend, the day when the laborers get a day off...or a good excuse to have a cookout and drink beer....

By the calendar the summer is not yet over, but by the season, it is. The Wheel turned from Summer to Autumn before Labor Day, though by the calendar Autumn doesn't arrive for a few more weeks.

My Uncle Pl died Monday. He was 88 and had lived a full life. I'll miss him, but he is no longer in pain or suffering in any way.

My friend J, is leaving at the end of the month for an exciting move to Ireland. Daddy and I went to Ireland for our honeymoon and we just loved it. When she first told me, I was SO EXCITED!!!! I still am, of course, and now that the word is out that she is leaving, many people are looking to me and asking "how are YOU holding up?". I don't want to answer. I don't want to think about it. J and her family are going to have a fabulous time and I'll do whatever grieving I need to do when they are safely on their way.

~~Mama

The Beginning

I've heard so much about "blogs" in the past few days and a few of my friends have created blogs. One to to document a trip to Texas to support Cindy Sheehan, another to document the devastation on the Gulf Coast. Finally, one of my best friends is working on her blog so that she can keep her loved ones updated as she embarks upon the adventure of a lifetime and moves her clan to Ireland for a few years. Bon Voyage, B-Family!

Yes, I know that clans are a Scottish thing. They're Scottish, so that works.

I thought about it a bit and I think it's a good idea to start one for ourselves. We can put our thoughts here and add some photos and let you all know what we are doing and what the kids are doing and how they are growing. Enjoy!

~~Mama