News and events in our lives from 2007.

10/28/07What a crazy week. When we left the cabin on the 21st, there was a small fire in a community near our cabin. When I checked the situation before going to bed it looked like the fire crews had a handle on it. Monday morning there was another fire in the town next to the town that our cabin is in. The winds were blowing the flames in the direction of our cabin. Chris and I kept a close eye on the reports. Shortly after the first fire started, a second fire started on the mountain. The second fire was about 10 miles to the east of our cabin. The fire crews battled the fire near our cabin all week. They caught a break Tuesday evening when the winds that were driving the fire died down. The fire was nearly contained by Thursday, even though it took them another couple of days to put it completely out. As of today, they were still working on the second fire. We were very fortunate.

We did a lot of work on the weekend of the 21st. We wrapped the repaired section of the house in Tyvek. We also installed the new living room windows and front door. We started to hang the siding, but after it was done I realize I had hung it incorrectly. This past weeked was mostly spend cleaning up the construction debris. Chris painted another section of the house. We made a really excellent spaghetti and meatballs for dinner Saturday night.

10/14/07The weekend started on Friday for me. Chris and I met my mother and Don for Vietnamese food Thursday night. After dinner the dogs and I headed up to the cabin. I had scheduled an inspection of the floor joists for Friday. Friday morning I got up early and installed the insulation in the floor joists. The inspectors showed up about 10:45. We passed inspection. I told the inspector that we were scrambling to get the cabin sealed up. Ordinarily the next inspection would be after the walls are framed and the electrical is roughed in. The inspector told me to go ahead and wrap the house and put up the siding before I call for the next inspection. After the inspector left I laid down the 3/4" tongue and groove subfloor. Chris came up after she got off of work. We went out to dinner in the Lake Arrowhead Village where Chris got awesome tempura shrimp -- we definitely have to go back there.

Saturday morning we started building the walls. We started with the front living room wall. We built from the ends to the window header. Chris and I lifted the wall into place. Once the wall was secure, we set the window header, then built the rest of the wall. With the front wall supporting the weight of the roof, Chris and I removed the temporary 6 x 6 beam that we put up during demo. We had one end supported while I was letting the other end down. The beam tilted. Chris alerted me. I looked up just in time to see it crashing down on my head. I got my hands under it just at it was crushing my skull, and altered it's angle of decent forward of me. Fortunately the bedroom window caught the beam. Oh well, I'll fix that later. Next on the agenda was the east portion of the new wall. First we removed two stacked 2 x 4's from the original corner, and replaced it with a 4 x 4. With the post in place, I set the top and bottom sills, then started setting the studs. I was just about finished when part of the deck that runs down the side of the house gave way under me and Harley. The ground was only about three feet below the beginning of the side deck, so I was more surprised than scared. Poor Harley was more terrified than scared. Fortunatley, neither of us was hurt. We shored up the section of the deck, and continued to work on removing the rotted out floor windows in the east wall. While I was working on the new section on the east wall, Chris took the dogs out for a potty break. They were met by another chocolate lab. Chris called the dogs and the other lab took off with Harley right behind him. I ran down to meet Chris. She had Rita by the collar and was headed for her car. I put Rita back in the court yard, and head back to the back yard to look for Harley. He was no where to be seen. I ran through the neighbor's yard, to the street behind us. I saw Harley and the other dog a couple housed down. Everytime I called for Harley to come, the other dog took off and Harley followed him. I finally caught up to Harley when he stopped for his potty break. Chris drove up as we were walking back and gave us a ride home. I finished up the section of wall I was working on and put plastic on the house in case we got some moisture. We cleaned up and went to dinner in Crestline. After dinner we drove down the mountain and made a run to Home Depot.

Chris discovered that the floor windows under the windows in the living room, were actually sashes out of the same size window in the bedroom. Sunday morning I carefully removed one of the panes of glass. As soon as it was 9:00 we put some bracing on the part of the deck that failed. We bolted some 2 x 8's on either side of the 2 x 8 that failed. We used two more 2 x 8's to make a 4 x 8 beam. We put two 4 x 4 beams across the two beams and used screw jacks to support them. The deck now feels more stable then when we bought the place. With the deck repaired, I put the pane of glass into the bedroom window. With the bedroom window fixed we turned our attention to the openings under living room windows in the east wall. The last thing left to do was to frame in the section that will hold the front door. We got that done without too much trouble. We cleaned up and headed back to Buena Park, both exhausted and one of us had a couple new bumps and bruises.

10/7/07It's been a little while since the last entry. Chris and I have been keeping ourselves very busy. We passed the first inspection and the plan review for the cabin. The contractor poured the foundation last week. This past weekend Chris and I built the floor. I am taking Friday (the 12th) off work and will schedule an inspection of the floor joists. If we pass that inspection, we can start building the walls.

Harley is working out well. He is very affectionate and eager to please, countered with a Lab's natural curiosity for everything. We have started to work with him off leash. Chris and I are attempting to get him to walk with us for short distances (e.g. front door to the car) without running off. I am also trying to teach him not to leave the property or go out into the street. He's doing quite well on both accounts. We are really glad he's not a runner.

9/16/07Thursday afternoon I picked up Harley from the shelter. Unfortunately he picked up a case of kennel cough after we picked him out. I first brought him into the back yard to get familiar with his new home and Rita. He found Simba pretty quick, and didn't seem too interested in him. After a little while outside, I brought him inside. He did pretty good. He only hiked his leg once, to pee on a folding chair in the carrying sack. I think Rem had peed on the chair a couple times. That night he was very restless. I thought maybe he would feel more secure in a cage. I went out the garage to get our folding pen, and Harley bolted past me. He took off running down the street, with me running behind him dressed ONLY IN MY BOXERS! Fortunately he only went to the end of the street before he stopped.

Chris' sister Shawn was in San Diego on business. Chris worked from home in the morning, then met me at my work around noon. We drove down to downtown San Diego and spent a couple hours visiting with Shawn. We wandered around down by the water. It was a really nice day.

Saturday morning Rita and I drove up to the mountains to work on the cabin. Chris took Harley to the vet for a checkup. I started tearing apart the windows and walls around the fireplace. Chris and Harley showed up in the early afternoon. Our real estate agent stopped by to give us some tips on our repairs. I enlisted his help getting a huge beam up the hill, and in position to support the living room ceiling. The contractor stopped by after the real estate agent left to talk about the foundation. After the contractor left, Chris and I muscled the beam into place. I finished most of the demolition. Chris picked up Chinese for dinner. After dinner we cut come plywood and erected a temporary wall in the living room. Afterwards I jumped in the shower and Chris ran down to the video rental store to get a movie. We settled in for the evening. It got cold at night, but fortunately we had two dogs and an electric blanket.

Sunday morning was quite cool. We turned on the heater to take the chill out of the air. We were glad to discover that it works quite well. I made breakfast. Chris did the dishes. After breakfast we finished up the demolition. All that remains of the front of the living room is the fireplace. We left the mountains about noon. We puttered around the house for a little bit, then took the bikes out for a ride. We had an early dinner at Red Lobster. We got a lot done this weekend, but it sure went by quickly.

9/9/07The web site is back up. The hard drive in the old Linux box that ran our web site is failing. I brought up the site on another computer for now. When I get a little more time, I'll try to rebuild the linux box or bring up a new one.

Friday afternoon, I met the San Bernardino Building Inspector at the cabin for a pre-alteration inspection. After that meeting I drove over to the office in Twin Peaks and filed for a building permit. With the permit in hand, I started tearing out the floor around the fireplace. A contractor came out after I had the floor torn up and took a look. Next weekend I will finish shoring up the roof and tearing out the walls around the fireplace. The contractor will come in and prepare to poor the foundation. That is our first inspection, and I have to have the plans drawn up by then. I'm excited about getting the living room finish, but a little nervous as well.

Saturday morning Rita and I headed back to Buena Park. Chris, Rita and I drove down to a shelter in Encinitas, near San Diego, to look at a Lab mix. Unfortunately, the dog hates cats. We stopped at the shelter by our house. The shelter in Encinitas wanted us to bring our dog to meet the other dog. The shelter in Orange County does not allow you to bring dogs into the shelter. We couldn't leave Rita in the car, so one of us had to sit with her while the other one looked at dogs. The place was worse than a circus, so we left with out seeing any dogs. Chris and I went back Sunday. There was only a few people when we got there, so we were able to see two dogs fairly quickly. We visited with a Chocolate Lab that had a lot of personality, and a lot of energy. We also visited with a German Sheppard. The sheppard really wanted to get out of the visiting pen and visit with other dogs. He seemed like the kind of dog that would try to escape. We decided on the Lab. Later we got to see a woman from a local rescue organization interacting with the Lab. The Lab did pretty well with commands, but was so curious that he didn't always hear the command. I told Chris that he must have A.D.D. We think he will end up being a good dog once he gets used to a new home and gets some attention. We have to wait a couple days so they can fix him. Stay tuned. We'll post some pictues one the web site is back up.

8/27/07This past weekend was spent at the cabin again. Friday night after the traffic died down a little, we packed up the car and drove up to the cabin. Traffic was fairly light, and we made it up there in good time. Saturday morning we made a little breakfast. Shortly after breakfast, a guy showed up to jack the mud room. We started by attaching a header to the house. It was notched, and wrapped around the original header with was actually two pieces. After a little bit of demo, we had a support brace under the mud room floor about 12 inches back from the outside wall. The back corner was sagging about 3/4 of an inch and the front corner was sagging about 3 1/2 inches. After he had the mud room level, Chris and I ran to the hardware store for nine bags of cemet mix and a mixing tub. When we got home Doug had cut the pressure treated sill plates and drilled it for "J" anchors. Chris and I started mixing cement two bags at a time, and filling the the hollow blocks of the foundation wall. While we were doing that, Doug removed the old rim joist, and cut the floor joists to accept the new oversized rim joist. After Chris and I were finished filling the bricks, Doug set the sill plate. Next we lifted the new rim joist into place. Doug put some pre-cut 4 x 4's at each end. Next he measured and cut studs, and placed them 16 inches on center. Before removing the bracing, Doug modified some 2 x 4 hangers to work on the old 2 x 3 dimensional floor joists. After everything was nailed into place, Doug cut and hung some structural OSB on the inside of the new cripple wall. I still need to finish the front and back walls of the mud room foundation, hang some T1-11 siding on the outside, and sister some 2 x 6 joists into the existing 2 x 3's. At this point the floor feels much more stable when you walk on it. It was a lot of work The gas was off for most of the day while we were working on the mud room. Chris was not able to cook the pot roast that we had planned on. After we cleaned up, we went out to the Stockade Grub & Whiskey for dinner. We split a rib dinner and a shrimp scampi dinner. The food was pretty good. We will definitely go back there again.

After breakfast Sunday morning, I tried to figure out why the new DSL wasn't working. The configuration was very basic, and appeared to be correct. I took a look at the phone line. The wires looked fine, but we don't have an actual phone number so I couldn't test it. I placed a service call with the DSL provider. I discovered that some of the electrical was not wired correctly, so while I was waiting for the DSL provider to call me back I started looking into the wiring. The black and white wires were not connected consistantly in the circuit breaker box, and some of the plugs were wired backwards. The more I tore into wiring the worse started to look. I finally discovered a point by the breaker box that was wired up back asswards. I ran back to the hardware store for some romex and some hardware. About half way through putting it all back together, the DSL provider called. I asked the guy to call back in 30 minutes. I scrambled to get it all back together. I got it working, but I still have an outlet and a light to connect. The DSL provider called back just as I was wrapping it up, and he got the DSL working. Chris and I got our wireless router working. We left the cabin around 2:15 and got home around 3:30. I mowed the lawns until the mower ran out of gas. I noticed that Chris was looking at dogs. I asked her if she wanted to go to the shelter and see what they had. I was surprise that there were fewer dogs available than I thought there would be. We found a chocolate lab that looked like a winner. We inquired about him and discovered that he had recently been adopted, but returned after only one day because the woman said he wouldn't obey. He obeyed Chris when she told him to sit. He even offered to shake. The shelter had neutered him when he was adopted, so now they wanted $268. That kind of shocked us. We had anticipated something less than that. I was a little concerned about leaving a new dog alone while we work. We decided to wait a little. I think we are going to the shelter again Wednesday night after work and look again.

8/20/07This weekend was a little better. Saturday morning we rode our motorcycles down to Huntington Beach to get hair cuts. When we got home, we put Rita in the Saturn and headed up to the cabin. When we got there, we were greeted by a pile of lumber we ordered for repairs on the mud room. We started by replacing a couple rotted boards on the deck. Chris picked up some lunch while I carried most of the lumber down to the basement. After lunch we finished putting the lumber away. A couple of the pieces were very large. It kind of wore her out. From there I moved on to addressing the kitchen drain that was leaking into the shower stall in the basement. I started by inspecting the pipe in the basement. The drain had a 45 degree angle below where it came through the footer of the first floor. There was a 10 inch section between the 45 degree and a "Y" joint joining it to a pipe that ran into the main stack. The 10" transition pipe was rotted through. I removed a flexible coupling (a.k.a. a Fernco) and twisted the pipes out. That broke the 10" pipe loose and also the vertical pipe going up through the wall. Upstairs on the main floor, I cut a small hole in the wall by the sink. I could see that the pipe was rotted at the threads. I took out the shelf in the cabinet and opened the hole to the studs to give me more room. I could see that the vertical pipe coming up through the floor was also rotted through. I cut out the pipes that went to the sink. Finally I cut the vent pipe just above the "T" fitting. I drew a picture of the whole assembly, labeling all the parts. Chris, Rita and I went to the local hardware store. I was so tired, all I could do was just stand in the isle and stare at the racks. Good sense caused me to find a cleark to help me select what I needed. From the picture he was able to round up all the parts. I wasn't sure of all the angles, so I bought a couple 45 degree fittings and a couple 20 degree fittings. Back at the cabin, I started cutting and dry fitting all the parts. I ended up short one fitting and about 10" of pipe. Chris had to make two trips back to the hardware store. We had the whole thing back together by about 7 PM. A hour later when we tested it, there wasn't a drop of water anywhere. It feels good knowing that we have all new PVC drain from the kitchen sink to the main line in the basement. Sunday morning Rita and I went for a little ride to the bakery in Lake Arrowhead. We bought some fresh cinnamon rolls and a dog treat for breakfast. We stopped for coffee at a coffee shop in Crestline on the way back to the cabin. After breakfast, I started working on cleaning up the electrical breaker box while Chris washed and waxed the kitchen floor. The floor looks 100 times better than before. All in all we got a lot done this weekend. It's nice knowing that there are no leaks. Next weekend we begin leveling and bracing the mud room addition. Once that's done we can pull a permit and fix the living room wall. We're right about where we would like to be times wise. We left the mountains around 11:30. We did a few chores around the house before melting into bed.

8/13/07 What a terrible weekend! We closed escrow on the cabin Thursday. I drove up there Friday after work. I had a car load of stuff to drop off at the cabin and I was meeting the guy from the gas company to turn the gas on. Fortunately all the gas appliances were in working order. The water heater was made in the 60's and will need to be replaced soon. When I got home Friday evening, Rembrandt wasn't looking very good. Chris got home a few minutes after I did, and was sure there was something wrong with him. We took him to our vet. His gums were pale and dry, and his mid-section was swollen. X-rays showed the his spleen was enlarged. The vet also found blood in his abdomen. The vet referred us to a 24 hour pet hospital. We rushed Rem straight to the pet hospital, and left him there for tests in the morning. Saturday morning Chris called the vet to check on Rem. He asked several questions, told Chris what they planned on doing to diagnose the problem, and what the problem likely was. Chris also okayed a blood transfusion because his blood count was really low (15 where it should be 35-37). After breakfast we went up to the cabin. We were both very upset. Chris headed back home around noon, and I stayed behind to finish a few repairs and order some lumber for an upcoming project. On the way to the lumber yard, the doctor at the animal hospital called me. An ultrasound confirmed that there were growths on Rem's spleen. One of the growths had ruptured, which was causing the internal bleeding. The also found growths on his lungs. It was his opinion that Rem had cancer. He believed that even if Rem survived a very expensive surgery to remove his spleen, with chemotherapy he would likely only live three months. Chris and I made the very difficult decision to put Rem down now rather than forcing him to endure a lot of pain and suffering. I raced home to meet Chris, and we went together to say goodbye. Because they had given him blood and steroids, he was perky and alert. In some ways it was a relief to see that he was feeling better for the moment, but in other ways it made it more difficult to do what we knew he had to do. We spent several difficult moments holding him and weeping over him. The end was quick. Chris held Rem in her arms and whispered softly in his ear that she loved him. Chris and I wept bitterly the rest of the night. Sunday morning we had to go back to the cabin, because I left straight from the lumber yard and did not get a chance to close it up. We worked on the cabin a little. I fixed a leaking water pipe in the basement. Chris cleaned the kitchen and put shelf paper in some of the cabinets. Afterwards, we sat on the deck and enjoyed a little shade and a little breeze. Rita finally started to play a little fetch on the deck. It seemed like such a tragedy to Chris and I. Half the reason we bought the cabin was because the dogs love the mountains so much. Poor Rem only got to see it once before we bought it. Rita had not eaten or played since we took Rem to the vet Friday evening. She finally ate a little Sunday night. It's unimaginable how deeply you can love a good dog, and how painful losing him can be. Like any dog, Rem could be a pill once in a while. At the same time he was very protective and very loving toward Chris, Rita and I. He always wanted to be right by our sides. He was a head strong dog, but mostly he was a gentle giant. It's going to be a very long time before Chris and I come to terms with losing our beloved Remmy Boy.

8/6/07We are one step closer to owing a cabin in the mountains. Friday night after work we met the notary to sign the paperwork. Saturday morning we picked up the tire for my motorcycle and drove up the mountain to do the final walk through with the real estate agent. The terms of the sale are "as-is", so there isn't much that we needed to look at. Due to state laws the seller had to install earthquake bracing on the water heater and smoke alarms. The sellers agent asked our agent if he could get the work done. Funny. The other objective was to make sure the sellers hadn't taken anything that was included in the sale, which they had not. We met a couple of the neighbors. The guy building the spec home next door to the east, the elderly man next door to the west who doesn't like dogs (we better get the fence up quick), a guy who's mother owns the house across the street and a guy that lives around the corner. Three of the four guys are contractors. Potentially people that we can use to help us get this place in shape. After the walk through we drove over to the Lake Arrowhead Village. We walked around a bit. Without the dogs we were able to look in a few shops and grab a couple of really good sandwiches at the Belgin Waffle house. After lunch we headed home. We stopped by my friend Price's house, to see his 11 new Golden Retriever puppies. Sunday we went to church and then Dim Sum afterwards. After Dim Sum I put the wheel back on my bike. I had the shop install a Dunlop Elite3 on the back rim and some new bearings. When I took it for a ride, I notice a rattle. Upon further inspection I discovred that someone had replace a missing bolt on one of the muffler heat shields with a lag bolt. Chris and I picked up a new bolt and a 6mm tap to clean up the threads on the strap. I put a drop of blue loctite on the bolt just to be safe. While we were out getting stuff to finish my bike, we stopped by the storage lot where we keep the bus and emptied all the stuff out of it that we can use in the cabin. The back of the Saturn was packed to the ceiling.

7/24/07Chris and I had a nice weekend. The weather was really nice. We took the bikes out Saturday morning for a ride. This was Chris' first time on the freeway. As expected she could feel the freeway surface on her bike, but she did great. We went to Cook's Corner for breakfast. We ate outside on a picnic table under the trees. After breakfast we walked around and looked at all the bikes. The bikes were mostly Harleys, but a few others. There are always some really nice bikes. After that we did a little cruising around the canyon, then over to a large metric dealer to see what they had. We stopped at the Shell station around the corner from our house to top off the tanks. Suddenly her bike decides it doesn't want to start. All we could get out of it was clicking, and every once in a while about a half of a revolution. I figured it was the battery, so we rode my bike to the house to get the car and some jumper cables. Surprisingly it would not start, even with the car. I tried push starting it, and it still wouldn't start. We pulled the battery out of the Buell, and took it to the local motorocycle parts house. They tested it and said it was bad. Unfortunately they did not have a replacement for it. The only place the guy could think of to get one was a Harley-Davidson dealer. Fortunately there was one around the corner from that shop. Unfortunately, the battery at Harley was $81. As expected, Chris' bike started immediately after we put the battery in it. That was really good, because neither of us wanted to push it a mile in 91 degree heat to get it home.

Sunday morning we took the dogs to the beach. As always they enjoyed it. Rita played fetch with a tennis ball and a frisbee for an hour and 45 minutes. At one point she chased the ball a little to far out into the waves. She finally turned back for shore just as a wave was about to break on her. She had me a little worried for a second there. She kept her head above the water and paddled in. The tennis ball floated in on the next wave. We went to the movies after we got home from the beach, and I mowed the lawns after we got home from the movie. That was about as much excitement as the four of us could take for the day.

7/24/07Other than trying to navigate our way through escrow on the cabin, not much is going on. So far escrow appears to be progressing well. Most of the conditions have been met and the loan application has been conditionally approved. We are currently working on arranging home owners insurance. The hurdle that we face now is the fact that the fireplace is in need of repairs. The major carriers want the repairs to be made in a matter of weeks. I was able to obtain a quote from a well know national company. The carrier seems to be pretty lax, so it now looks like insurance may not be a problem at all. I estimate that it will take us about two to three months to remove the fireplace and rebuild the livingroom wall. Of course it could be done sooner if we hired a contractor to do everything, but there's no fun and high cost in that approach. I would rather farm out the work that makes sense (like foundation repair and electrical work) and do the things myself that don't require a high level of skill. Chris and I are handy and have a nice collection of tools. Before I fix the livingroom/fireplace, I want to tackle the addition off the kitchen. It's kind of a bump-out off the kitchen. It was poorly constructed and sagging slightly in one corner. I spoke to a structural guy making repairs on the building that I work in. He inspected the bump-out and he seems to think it will be a fairly simple weekend job. Once the bump out is done, I will take out a permit on the livingroom/fireplace and start work immediately.

We did a little bit of riding this weekend. Chris wasn't feeling 100%, so we kind of just took it easy. We did a little work around the house and took in a movie. Other than that, we just kind of stayed close to home and didn't do much.

7/16/07It was a fairly quiet weekend for us. That was a nice change of pace too. Chris and I did not do a whole lot this weekend. Friday night we went out for sushi. On the way to dinner, Chris was notified that one of the main computers at her work was down. After dinner, she drove into work to try to fix it. She ended up making arrangements to meet a technician in the morning. Saturday monring, while Chris was working on getting the computer up, I was getting my hair cut appointment. I took the scenic route on the way to my hair cut and stopped on the way for breakfast. Chris was home when I got back from my hair cut. Fortunately, the problem was easy to diagnose and repair. The appraisal on the cabin came in Friday night. It looks good, so the only remaining hurdle is approval from underwriting. We did not do much Saturday. We rode or motorcycles to church Saturday night, then went out for pizza afterwards. Sunday morning we did a little work around the house. Chris cleaned and I worked on the yards. Sunday afternoon we went to the movies. We saw "Live Free or Die Hard". We both liked it. Not great, but pretty good.

7/9/07Saddly, it's back to work for Chris and I. We had a really nice week. Busy, but nice. Thursday we took a ride up to Crestline to meet with the real estate agent and take another look at the cabin. When we got home that afternoon, Chris received the certificate from her MSF class in the mail. Friday morning she stopped by the DMV and got the motorcycle endorsement added to her driver's license. Chris is now free to ride without any restrictions. We spent more time on our motorcycles than we did in our cars this weekend. We got the counter offer from the sellers of the cabin Thursday night, and accepted on Friday. Escrow was opened on Friday. The estimated closing is August 10th. This weekend we did a little work around the house and just kind of relaxed.

7/4/07Happy 4th of July! Chris and I hope everybody has a fun day. We are planning on going over to my brother's new house. They told us to bring our swim suits and our dogs. We have both had the week off of work, but we have been running around a lot. The poor dogs are feeling neglected.

This weekend was kind of fun. Saturday morning we suited up and took the motorcycles out for a ride. We stopped for breakfast at Johnny Reb's. After breakfast we headed up the road to Trabuco Canyon. We stopped at Cook's Corner. Cook's is a biker bar from way back. We stopped for a little bit to look around and check out the other bikes. From there we headed up Live Oak Canyon Road to carve a few twisties. Chris is really learning fast. With my fuel gauge below Empty, we headed out of the canyon for some fuel. While we were fueling up, I called my brother and found out they were headed back to their old house to finish moving. We rode up to their old house and visited with them for a little while. After visiting we started to head back home. On the way, we stopped at Orange County Harley Davidson, which is the only authorized Buell dealer in the county we live in. We checked out some Harleys and Buells. Chris picked up some cleaner and a few parts for her Blast. From there we went straight home. In total, we put about 70 miles on our bikes. Other than that, we have been puttering around the house.

We are still negotiating with the sellers on the cabin in the local mountains. We have been going back and forth on the closing date. We're supposed to get their latest counter offer on the 5th. In the meantime our agent had a foundation guy out to look at the fireplace. The quote to remove the fireplace and rebuild the foundation was about what I thought it would cost if I removed the fireplace. We were happy to get that news. Stay tuned......

6/25/07First and foremost Chris passed her motorcycle safety course! She had to go from 6:00 AM to noon on Saturday and Sunday. She has to wait for the school to mail her the DMV for before she can get the motorcycle endorsement added to her license. Now we can get down to riding for fun.

Saturday morning, while Chris was at the MSF class, I packed a few things and rode the motorcycle to the local mountains. The bike ran fantastic. The ride up the mountain was a lot fun. The only down side was that I was concentrating more intently on the road that I would in a car. I was not really able to enjoy the scenery. I looked at a piece of property that was on eBay, then met up with a real estate agent that has showed Chris and me a couple cabins. He showed me an interesting cabin. The price was in our range. The rock fireplace has settled about two or three inches and is leaning away from the house a couple inches at the top. It's a shame. The fireplace is really nice, but fortunately whoever built it did not put in an adequate footing for it. It would expensive to try to save the fireplace. The cabin has some issues, but it's in fairly good shape. There is potential to make some changes to this cabin and make it really nice. For some reason I kind of liked the cabin. Sunday after Chris got out of the MSF class; we put the dogs in the car and drove up to the mountains so she could take a look at it. Chris seemed to see the same potential in the cabin that I did. Of course it goes with out saying that the dogs loved it. Chris and I are considering making an offer on the place.

6/22/07While Chris was at her MSF class last night, I took the opportunity to do some work on my bike. I replaced the foam air filter elements and the fuel line between the petcock and the fuel filter. The original air filter elements were in bad shape. The right side was half gone, and the left side fell apart when I touched it. I cleaned the air filter screens with a little spray cleaner and a finger nail brush. I used the compressor to dry them. I saturated the air filter elements with the same 10w-40 motor oil that I used in the engine and squeezed out the excess oil. A messy job, but I feel better knowing I'm getting proper filtration. After everything was installed, I took the bike around the block. It seemed to run fine. I rode the bike to work this morning and it seems to run smoother than it has since I've owned it. I'm really happy with the way the bike is running. The next thing I'd like to do is flush out the radiator.

Chris did well in her class last night. She said they gave a 50 question exam at the end of the class, and she got all 50 answers correct. Way to go Chris! She has two mornings of riding ahead of her. We're going to do a little riding tonight. I'm sure she will do great.

6/21/07Chris starts the MSF class tonight, working on getting her motorcycle license. She has to attend for five hours tonight, then five hours on Saturday and five more on Sunday morning. We have been riding every night after dinner this week. She's getting more confident on her bike each time we go out. When she passes the class she will get a certificate that she can take to the DMV and they will waive the driving (skills) test. I think she's going to do well.

6/16/07We finally got Chris' motorcycle on the road again. Early Saturday morning we jumped in the car and headed to Cycle City with Chris' wheel and new tire. We got to Cycle City at 8:45, and they open were supposed to open at 9:00. Fortunately for us they opened at 8:50. There was one guy ahead of us. He was there to get a new tire. The owner got a tire mounted for him, then mounted our tire. The price was $15 plus $2 for disposal fee. About half the price of Chaparral where we bought the tire, and he did not need to remove the drive pulley. We were headed back home at 9:15. We stopped at Pep Boys for some CV grease and blue Locktite. I buffed up the axle with a little steel wool, and put a thin layer of grease on it. We assembled the wheel and the axle, put a dab of Locktite on the axle threads and torqued the axle nut to 50 ft lbs. I threaded the drive belt on the pulley and Chris rolled the bike backwards until the belt was completely on the pulley. I took the Blast for a quick ride around the block just to make sure everything was okay. All in all, we made out fairly well on the tire. Not exactly what we wanted, but the bike was back on the road by 10:30. Chris and I suited up and headed to Cycle Parts West. She found a good deal on a helmet that fit her. I used the bungy net that we carry with us to attach the old helmet to my buddy seat. From there, we headed down to Huntington Beach. Surf City. We cruised down PCH for a stretch. We were joined briefly by four Harleys, who followed us for about 1/2 a mile before they broke of. We ended up at Seal Beach Pier, where we walked around and got a snack. By the time we were home, we had gone a little over 50 miles. Chris did great. She is going to do well in her MSF class next week.

6/15/07It looks like Wheel Works forgot to order the tire. I asked a guy at Wheel Works to order a tire for us Tuesday morning. I called them again on Thursday to see if the tire was in. The guy that I had asked to order the tire hemmed and hawwed, and then said the tire wasn't in yet. He said it would probably be in Friday. Chris showed up Friday afternoon and no tire. Another guy tells her that the tire is backordered. When she asks when they ordered the tire he tells her that they ordered it from their supplier on Thursday. Remember that I placed the order Tuesday morning, and called Thursday morning to see if it was in. The guy told Chris the Avon we ordered might be in Saturday. Chris really needs to get some more time on the bike before her MSF class next weekend. We didn't want to take a chance that it wouldn't come in on Saturday, so Chris called around. She found an OEM Dunlop K330 45 miles away in Riverside at Chaparral Motorsports. Not the tire we wanted, but at this point we didn't have any other options if we wanted the bike back together this weekend. The guy in Chaparral's tire department told Chris that they were open until 8:00, and took the last tire for mounting at 7:15. We jumped in the car and braved Friday rush hour traffic. We made it to Chaparral by 5:30. The tire was put aside for us as promised. Unfortunately, the drive belt pulley was too big to fit on their tire machine and they didn't have the tool to remove the pulley. We ended up just buying the tire and we'll get it mounted down here on Saturday morning. Fortunately, I have a tool that will remove the tork bolts on the pulley. With any luck we'll have Chris' bike back together tomorrow at lunch.

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6/13/07The motorcycle that we bought Chris needed a tire when we bought it. The Buell Blast has tires that are unique to the Blast. As you can imagine the tires are not in stock anywhere. The Harley dealer seem to be under the impression that their tires made of gold, because they wanted almost twice the going rate. Chris and I did some research on line and found out that the OEM Dunlop K330 only lasts about 4,000 miles on the Blast. We discovered that Avon makes a tire that appears to last around 7,000 miles, for roughly the same price. I finally found a fair price on an Avon at Wheel Works. This works out good for us, because Wheel Works is not far from our house. Last night (Tuesday) after dinner, Chris and rode our bikes down to Sears and picked up a 1 3/16" socket to remove the axle nut. When we got home, I had her sit on the bike and apply the front and back breaks, while I loosened the axle nut. Because the muffler runs the length of the frame, there is no way to get a jack on the frame. There is a flat spot on the muffler, so we put a piece of the plywood between the floor jack and the muffler and jacked up the bike. Chris held the bike steady while I removed the axle shaft. I moved the tire forward a little and unhooked the drive belt. With the tire out, we positioned a couple 4 x 4's with a 2 x 4 on top under the swing arms and gently let the bike down. We loaded the wheel into my car. If everything works out I will get the new tire mounted Friday afternoon, and we'll have the bike back together Friday evening. Chris and I are having a great time riding and working on our bikes together.

6/11/07Chris is a biker now. Saturday morning while she ran a couple errands, I waited for a FedEx shipment. I passed the time by polishing the chrome on my bike. After the shipment arrived, we headed out to the Murrieta, CA area to pick up her 2001 Buell Blast. We met the owner and got all the paper work. We went straight to the auto club and transferred ownership of the bike. After we got the bike home, Chris practiced starts and stops on our street. After she was a little comfortable on the bike, I got mine out and we rode around our housing tract. We finished our ride on the not so busy side street that runs beside our tract. Sunday morning after church, Chris got the bike out and practiced starts and stops again. When she felt like she was ready for ride, I got the Vulcan out and off we went. We got out on some side streets. We rode about four or five miles to a Mexican restaurant and got a couple taquitos for lunch. After lunch we headed over to a local bike shop. The previous owner took a spill on it. One of the front turn signals was smashed. We decided to buy a pair of after market signals for now. That way if Chris takes a spill on the bike a new signal won't get smashed. On the way home, we stopped at my mother's house to show off, er um, I mean to say "hi". Chris did great. We installed the new turn signal on the Blast, and made a little room in the garage for it. We're going to have to make more room in the garage for her father and Moe's bikes when they come done to visit (hint, hint Moe). We finished the day with a little linguini and home made clam sauce. Chris is picking up riding very quick. I'm so proud of her.

6/8/07We bought Chris a bike! Chris and I did a lot of research online, looking for a good beginner guide. We finally narrowed the selection down to either a Kawasaki Ninja 250 or a Buell Blast P3. We have not been able to find a Ninja below blue book value, but we did find a 2001 Buell that was below blue book value. I went to look at the motorcycle after work today (Friday). It was in pretty good shape and only had 4,000 miles on it. The guy bought it for his wife to learn on. She failed the motorcycle saftey class, and then crashed the bike about a month ago. The left front turn signal is toast, and there are some scrapes on the frame. The poor wife had a nice raspberry on her arm, but was otherwise ok. I found the bike benign. Easy to manuver at high or low speed, brakes very well, impossible to do a wheelie, but decent pick up after about 10 miles. It's a good first bike for a new rider. Chris will probably outgrow it pretty quickly, but it will definitely help her build confidence. We're going to pick it up tomorrow. I already have arranged insurance for it. If we pick up the bike early enough, we can swing by one of the AAA Auto Clubs and transfer ownership. Looks like we'll be riding this weekend. I'm very proud of Chris, and very excited for her.

6/7/07Chris signed up for the Motorcycle Safety Class. The three day class starts next week. When she passes the class, she will have her motorcycle license. We're looking for a good first bike for her. Something small and easy to handle while she learns. Looks like we're starting our own little motorcycle gang. An offer was accepted on the cabin we were looking at, before we made our offer. We went ahead and submitted an offer as a backup offer. It's unlikely that the sale won't go through, but you never know. So we're keeping our eyes open for another one. We're not in a rush to buy something, but we do like escaping to the mountains for a little rest and relaxation. If something decent comes up, with a nice yard for the dogs, we might jump on it.

6/5/07I got the motorcycle running last night. Sunday night I posted a description of the problem on an Internet forum for Kawasaki Vulcans. By Monday morning several people suggested that the problem was caused by a stuck kick stand position sensor. Monday night after dinner, I put the bike back together. Chris held the bike upright while I sprayed the sensor with WD40. I worked the switch a couple times, then fired it up for a test drive. It drove just fine. Problem solved. What would I do with out the Internet?

6/4/07Chris passed the written test for the motorcycle license (and motor vehicle) today. That means she has her permit to learn to ride motorcycles. Way to go Chris!

6/4/07Chris and I had an interesting weekend. The bike started acting sluggish on the way home from work Friday. I stopped at the neighborhood Kawasaki dealer and picked up a fuel filter. I figured that with only 19,000 miles on the bike and three owners, the fuel filter had likely never been changed. I put the filter on the bike, and it indeed looked like the original. After I was finished I ran to a couple NAPA parts stores, looking for a bottle of Sea Foam. With the bike seeming to be running a smoother, I put it away and took Chris to Knott's Berry Farm amusement park for a couple rides and dinner. Saturday morning I hopped on the bike and went to get my hair cut. The bike seemed to be running very well. After the my hair cut, we loaded up the dogs in the car and headed to the local mountains to look at some property. We looked at a couple houses in the city of Crestline. Honestly I was dissappointed. It seemed like there was a lot of debris and trash. The cabins that were in our price range needed a lot of work and were abused. The last cabin that the agent took us to look at was in Lake Arrowhead and we both thought it was very interesting. The cabin was an older cabin, originally built in 1929. It is small, but who ever built or remodeled it did really nice work. Nothing fancy, but solid construction and attention to detail on a budget. It's definitely a cabin and not a house. Chris and I both liked it. Perfect for weekend get aways. It looks like it could comfortably sleep four adults and possibly up to six people if some were kids. Because it's smaller and part of the foundation is rock and cement, it may be difficult to finance. The agent is going to check with a mortgage broker that puts together a lot of loans on cabins in the area. If the mortgage broker thinks that there is a good chance of getting a loan on it, Chris and I are going to make an offer. This could be an ideal place for Chris and I and the dogs (we would need to put up a fence first thing). Sunday we kind of goofed around. We saw Shrek 3, and spent some time with my family. Sunday night my best friend called and wanted to meet for coffee. I hopped on the bike. It started and idled fine, but died every time I let the clutch out. After I got back from meeting him, I took the fuel tank off to see if I could find the problem. Since the bike is new to me, I didn't really know what to look for. I eventually posted something on and Internet forum for this model of bike. This morning there were a couple of replies suggesting that I look at the switch on the kick stand that prevents you from driving with the kick stand down. I'll have to get Chris' help to check it one night this week. Ok so if you pray, say a little prayer about us getting this cabin. If you don't, keep your fingers crossed for us. Thanks!

5/29/07You have to love three day weekends. I know we do. Chris is recovering from her cold. She didn't have a lot of energy this weekend. We took the bike out for a little ride on Saturday. We stopped at a motorcycle shop. Since I've been riding the bike to work, I've been wanting to get a leather jacket. My office is fairly close to the beach, and it can get very cold in the morning. We found a $300 leather jacket, in the clearance rack for $120. It has a removable lining and body armor in the elbows and back. It is made of heavy leather, so it should protect me if I get into an accident. As much as a jacket can anyway. The brakes started squeaking on Saturday, so Sunday I called around looking for pads. I found some at another shop in town. I took the old pads off. They weren't quite down to the replace mark, but I figured while I had them off I would go ahead and replace them. No more squeaking now. Chris and I stopped in at a motorcycle dealer that sold several brands on Sunday. The salesman showed us a little Kawasaki Ninja 250. It was only $3,000 and looked like an ideal bike for Chris to learn on. We are keeping our eye open for a used one, maybe 1 - 3 years old. We did some yard work on Monday. We are starting to get apples, strawberries and blackberries in small quantities. Monday we went to the movies and saw Pirates of the the Caribbean: At World's End. We liked it. The movie did not seem 2 hours and 47 minutes long. The nice thing about three day weekends, is four day work weeks. I'm looking forward to another weekend.

5/18/07We spent the weekend in Big Bear. We left Friday after work, with our two dogs and Rowdy. We got to the cabin around 8:30 PM. We did not do very much this trip. We did take the three dogs to the little tourist shopping area, for a walk. Mostly Chris and I relaxed while Rowdy and Rita played. The dogs did manage to reduce the local squirrel population by two. We're not sure who caught what. We made it back home by about 4:00 PM on Sunday.

5/18/07We have a house guest. My mother and Don are in Iowa for his daughter's wedding. They asked us to watch their Silky Terrier (or is that Silky Terror?) Rowdy. Things have definitely been more lively at our house this week. Rowdy and Rita have become opponents in an almost constant game of chase and play fighting. Rem gets into the action every once in a while, but he's a little too big to keep up. Rowdy has chased the cats away a couple times, and needless to say the cats are really unhappy.

5/14/07Chris and I had another nice weekend. We worked around the house. Chris cleaned and we both did yard work. We worked on the vegetable garden. Weeding mostly, but we put some recycled bricks around the strawberries and blackberry to help keep the grass out. Saturday night we met my brother and his wife at the Spaghetti Bender for dinner. Sunday night my mother and Don came over. Chris and I made dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert. They brought there dogs with them. Their puppy Rowdy had a good time getting our two to chase him. He's pretty fast. One time Rem cut Rowdy off coming out of the kitchen with Rita right on his tail. Rowdy didn't have enough time to stop on the hardwood floor, and ended up crashing into one of the recliners. It didn't seem to phase him. They made several more laps around the house before settling down for a rest. My mother and Don will be in Iowa for a week for his daughter's wedding. They asked us to watch Rowdy while they are gone. This should be interesting.

5/7/07A good part of this weekend took place around the motorcycle we recently bought. Thursday I went to the Auto Club on my lunch hour and started the registration paperwork. I also called a couple insurance agents and got insurance on the bike. Friday after work, I went back to the Auto Club and finished the registration and received the tag. With the bike fully legal, I couldn't resist taking the bike out for a little spin before Chris got home from work. Friday after dinner we stopped at Pep Boys and picked up some oil and a filter. Saturday we took the bike out together to run a few errands. While we were out we stopped at a motorcycle shop to pick up some spark plugs, and because they are not the same size a car plugs, a tool to change them. Saturday afternoon, Chris and I changed the oil and spark plugs. I'm not sure about Chris, but I enjoyed working on the bike with her. Saturday night after church, we stopped at Walmart and picked up some gear oil for the differential. Sunday morning, I topped off the differential. After yard work was done, Chris and I took the bike out again for a little spin. It was a beautiful day. Warm and sunny. We did a little shopping then we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant. We shared a couple taquitos and some carnitas nachos on the patio. I would like to have the local Kawasaki dealer perform a minor service on the bike (including flushing the radiator and change the oil in the differential), and then I will be completely comfortable taking the bike on longer rides.

4/30/07This was another busy weekend for Chris and I. We worked around the house on Saturday. We planted more corn. We are hoping for a big crop this year. Our next door neighbors moved to Ohio this weekend. They had more belongings then they could fit in the trailer. The husband made us a very attractive offer on his motorcycle, a 1995 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500. After much thought, Chris and I took him up on his offer. Sunday morning we got up early and took the dogs hiking. We went to Switzer Falls. This was a new trail for us. A moderate 4.5 mile round trip hike. For most of the hike, there was plenty of shade and water. There was one stretch that was dry and hot, but for the most part it was really nice. As always the dogs loved being out of doors. After we got back, I washed the bike and fixed one of the loose air cleaners. Even though the tags are expired, I couldn't resist taking the bike for a couple spins through the neighborhood. Of course I had to clean out enough of a space in the garage to pull the bike inside. After all the fun and games were done, we cleaned up and went to a going away party for the neighbors at a local restaurant.

4/23/07 This weekend Chris and I wanted to go hiking, but it rained Friday so it was likely to be muddy on the trails. We decided to stay close to home. After doing a little online research earlier this week, I really wanted to try making baos. Friday after work, I picked up some pork and ingredients at the Asian market. I mixed up the marinade, poured it over the meat and put it in the fridge to marinate over night. Saturday morning we roasted the port in the oven. While the meat was in the oven, Chris mixed up some dough. We put the roasted meat in the the fridge, left the dough to rise and met our friends Price and Yvonne for lunch. After lunch we put the baos together and cooked them. We steamed half and baked the other half. Unfortunately we both missed the instruction to let them rise for an hour before cooking. Oh well, they turned out pretty good. We need to tweak the recipe a little. Sunday Chris cleaned the house while I worked on the yards. Chris finished the house work, while I was working on the sprinklers. Together we located and fixed a sprinkler in the back yard that has not worked in quite a while.

4/9/07Sunday morning we got up and packed. We checked out of the hotel, and left our bags with the front desk. We hopped on the California Street cable car and rode it to the financial district. We had a late breakfast of dim sum at Yank Sing's. After breakfast, we made our way to Fisherman's Wharf again. We were both tired and sore from all the walking. We wandered to Pier 33, and waited for the 1:20 ferry to Alcatraz Island. It was kind of crowded, but they have a very interesting audio tour. They give you a little device with headphones and you walk around the prison on a personal guided tour. They have recorded comments from former guards and prisoners. We caught the ferry back, and headed back toward the hotel. On the way back, we stopped one more time in Chinatown for some baos to take home with us. We also stopped for a pizza. The shuttle got us to the airport in plenty of time. Even with a short delay, we arrived at LAX on time. Unfortunately, on time was 10:00 PM. Even more unfortunate was the fact that half the baggage handlers for Alaska Airlines called in sick that day (or that's what the representetive announced over the loud speaker) so it took an hour to get our luggage. It was shortly before midnight before we got home. Check out the slides of our trip.

4/7/07Chris and I have been doing our share of walking. Work on Friday took longer than I thought it would. I didn't get into San Francisco until about 9:00. Chris and I walked down to Chinatown and had dinner at a chinese restaurant. This morning we got up and caught the cable car toward Chinatown for breakfast. We had baked BBQ pork baos and tea. We explored Chinatown in the morning mist. From there we walked up to Coit Tower. After Coit tower, we walked down a staircase, through a really nice neighborhood, and ended up at the west end of the Embarcedaro. We walked west to Fisherman's wharf. We stopped briefly for a rest and a drink, and then went to Ghirardelli Square. That was kind of dissappointing. They are remodeling, and it's mostly closed. From there we walked up Hyde (and by up, I mean UPHILL) to Lombard Street. Then it was back to the hotel for a rest. We went to a Turkish restaurant for dinner, and then a brief stroll after dinner.

4/2/07We had another really nice weekend. Saturday we worked around the house and then made some Moroccan food in the tajine for dinner. We used some of the preserved lemons that we made six weeks ago. We cooked some chicken and couscous to go with it. Sunday we spent some more time in the garden. We cultivated another bed and planted green beans, yellow squash and cucumbers. Sunday night we went to the Newsboys concert. All I can say is, they put on a great show! We had a really good time. And, Friday morning we're headed to San Francisco!

3/26/07Chris and I had a nice weekend. We got together with some of my family to celebrate my grandmother's 99th birthday. We had a really nice Italian dinner. Sunday we went to church and worked around the house. We have a couple spots in the lawn that we needed to replant, and it's time to start working on the garden. We planted corn, strawberries, potatoes and garlic. We will probably do the remainder of the planting next weekend. We have our tickets and reservations for our trip to San Francisco. We can't wait to go.

3/19/07As luck would have it, my employer would like me to go up to our office near San Francisco to do some work on their network. Chris and I discussed the idea of spending the weekend in San Francisco. We decided it was a great idea, so we are putting together the details for a fun get-away weekend.

3/10/07Chris left for her annual conference in Washington D.C. Saturday morning. While she was putting her luggage in the trunk, Rita jumped in and wouldn't get out. We are guessing that she thought we were going an a road trip. It was kind of funny.

3/4/07Chris and I took the dogs hiking Saturday. We hiked Big Santa Anita Canyon and visited the Sturtevant Falls. After the hike we had a nice lunch of roast beef, turkey, cheese and almonds. I think the dogs enjoyed the lunch most of all. Later that night, poor Rem was so sore he had trouble getting up.

2/26/07This weekend was much more relaxed than the one before it. About all we did this weekend was the lawns, plant some onion sets in the garden and make some more preserved lemons. Saturday Chris and I decided to use the remaining lemons from last weekend to make some more preserved lemons. We should have plenty to last us for a while. Saturday night Chris and I made a fantastic meal. We started with some clams steamed in white wine and garlic, served with bread. For dinner we made bacon wrapped filets and fried rice with chinese sausage. Sunday we went to church and relaxed the rest of the day. It was kind of nice not doing much.

2/18/07Chris and I had a very active weekend. We worked most of the day Saturday digging up the ficus stump in our front lawn. It was a lot of work, but we finally fell it. Once it was cut loose, we cut off what was left of the trunk with a chain saw. Even so, what was left of the actual stump (seen in the picture) was at least two hundred pounds. Sunday morning after church, Chris and I used a metal pipe as a lever to get it up out of the hole. Who says you won't use what you learned in school after you graduate? It just goes to show you that Chris and I can acomplish almost anything together. Talk about the perfect wife.

My brother Marc and my sister-in-law Mary gave us a Tajine for Christmas. A tajine is a basically a Moroccan crock pot. Many of the recipes call for preserved lemons. Since we were unable to fine a Moroccan market in the area, we decided to make our own. It's very simple. The lemons should be ready in four to six weeks. I can't wait to try them.

We finished off the weekend with some homemade spaghetti and meatballs. I rolled out some meatballs and then blanched them in a sauce recipe I got off the Rachael Ray show.

1/15/07I finally decided I couldn't take the ficus tree in our front yard any longer. My stepfather Don came over Saturday with is chain saw and we cut it down. It actually came down pretty quickly. It was about 25 feet tall. I think it came down in about an hour. The boys next door came over to help clear the branches. For now the branches are stacked in the driveway. I need to move the the branches, so the disposal company can get a large dumpster in the driveway. I'll try to do that this weekend, so they can deliver the dumpster next week.

1/1/07Chris and I had a busy Christmas this year. We drove up to Oregon with the dogs to spend Christmas with Chris' family. We had a very nice time, but of course the week was up way too quickly.

We used the gift money we received to help pay for a new computer. It was waiting for us when we got home from Oregon. Nothing fancy, just a low end machine from Dell that was on sale. I spent a couple days configuring it to work with our printers and scanner. Now we can print digital photos again.

We spent New Years quietly at home, recovering from the long drive back from Oregon. We ventured out only once to get some dinner and a couple movies. We were in bed shortly before midnight, talking about 2006 and our desires for 2007.

Chris and I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday, and we wish you all a prosperous New Year.

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