X-skiing

Sorry for the lack of posting recently, but I was out of town last week and my computer for work is not working so I could not even respond to simple emails. Last weekend we went to Sequoia NP to check it out and do some cross country skiing before the snow is gone. The weather was great and we only saw two other people out on the trail so it was ice to get away for a while.

As I stated earlier I was out of town in Porterville Ca last week doing a job down there. This job just happens to be in the middle of an orange grove during the peak season. These oranges were just perfect and there is nothing like getting them right off of the tree. They were so good I would have about 4-5 per day.

While getting lunch one day at a Burger King I went into the restroom and was standing at the urinal when two little kids (ages about 4 and 6???) came in. They were saying a bunch of stuff I couldn't understand and then all of a sudden I looked down to the floor drain about 4" from my foot and the little kid on thee other side of the partition was pissing in the drain. That set me off and I started yelling at the kid asking him what in the "heck" he thought he was doing and told him to use the urinal or get out of here. He left rather quickly although I seriously doubt the kid understood any of my ranting. This kind of crap makes me so mad and I was about to tell his mother, but she probably would not have understood either. You never know what is going to happen next and this at least made me laugh intermittently throughout the day.

MMMM.....good

It has been great weather here and this is evidence of spring...I think I may have missed winter.

Mammoth oranges.

Today we too the motorcycle out to the coast and relaxed out on a blanket for a couple hours. It was very windy and I was wishing I was out on the water in a sailboat, but on the shore with my lady is a great way to spend a Sunday.

Out on the slopes

I decided at the beginning of last week to go out skiing for the first time this winter. I called Kevin Schenk up and he wanted to go as well so that is exactly what we did. On Friday I went to Ripon and visited with my grandparents for an hour and a half and then went over to the Schenks. Kevin and I are a lethal combination when we get together and we are constantly doing things that make womenfolk blush and children run in fear. This time was no exception and provided hours of entertainment.

When I got to Kevins he put me to work. Kevin cleans an office once a week and I went over to give him a hand.

Killing it on the slopes.

Sunny morning in the mountains.

Saturday we went up to Dodge Ridge and had a great time. It had snowed about 16” in the previous few days and about 8” overnight so the conditions were great. We got to our usual run and it was ungroomed and perfect powder. This is the way all skiing should be and the best run of the day ended up being the very first one that we went on. Most of the day was spent weaving in and out of trees (not always avoiding them) and just soaking up some good time in the mountains. Time in the hills is a requirement to keep sanity for me and this was just the trip that I needed. It is hard to feel that way today though because my muscles ache like I am 40 or something (no…40 is not the new 28).

Here I am ripping it up on the second run of the day.

After the day on the slopes we drove back to Riptown and I came home to my lovely wife in SJ. Brenda had some volleyball stuff on Saturday so she could not come with, and being the wonderful woman she is, put the thought of going skiing into my head. I have provided pictures and video as usual.

So here is a return to sender we got back in the mail. Inside are cookies and other things we baked and packaged up and sent off to one of our fine young men in the military. We have a kid in our church who joined up and we though we should send him something. Well I guess it did not get there and here it is again.




If you look closely you can see we sent the package on Sept. 24, 2008 and received it back as a return to sender on the Feb. 6, 2008. Great job postal service getting on the ball and delivering valuable packages to our men and women in the service...wait no...you didn't delver the package.

Basketball

Last weekend Myron and Andrea were down and we went out to the coast despite the clouds and chance of rain. We had a great time and went out to this lighthouse as well as looking into the tide pools nearby.


Myron and Andrea in front of the lighthouse. I guess the thing is so old that they will not let people up into it until they redo the structure. They said it would cost about 5 mil, but I think that it could be done for about 1/2 that. Since it is a state historical structure it is going to cost a lot to make sure it is authentic to the time it was built. In this case, making it a historical structure is really impeding peoples ability to fully enjoy the lighthouse (way to go California).

This Saturday we went to the playoffs for Brendas Jr. high team. They were undefeated going into it and won the first game to get a spot in the finals. The team they played was ridiculously good, but the girls did a great job. Unfortunately they did not win, but the had a great run and an even better time playing with their friends.

The girls after the game.

Brenda giving advice at a timeout.

I have another thing that I have to get off of my chest. The state of California has yet to pass a budget and is about 40billion in the hole. The legislature has yet to pass anything, and they continue to take days off and vacations. They have now told us that they are going to give IOU's for tax refunds...WTH. IOU's...that is total Bull and instead of paying them to sit on their butt and do nothing about this situation, we should be sending them IOU,s in lieu of pay. I think if they were getting it up the rear like the rest of California they might actually act. I am now calling for drastic state budget cuts and that all legislature be locked up in Folsom State Pen. until they get the stupid thing passed. If I were to put off doing my job for 3 months I am pretty sure that I would be fired, but without that scare tactic available, the legislature can hold us by the nuts and just laugh about it.

Yes it is that time of year again. The time when I am thankful to live in California and get to rub it in to those of you who live in such places as Minneapolis, Sioux Falls, Chicago and the like. Most of the time, California is kind of hard to love with the traffic, smog, people, idiot Senators/Representatives, and weirdos...but this is the time of year where it is about 75 here and sunny with no clouds. This is a stark contrast to the frigid temperatures of the East/Midwest that most of the people here cannot even fathom. I know how it is out there so I can really appreciate the sun out here.

That is the end of my talking about the weather so for those of you that hate the California mentality and attitude it is safe to read on.

This weekend I had a sailing race...or tried to have a sailing race. The sun and high pressure system that is over us did not produce any wind and we bobbed out in the bay for about 1.5hrs on a race delay and then they thought they would start the race. We knew that there was no wind and the race was going to be boring and slow so we headed in to the harbor.
A day on the bay...even without wind...is better than a day at work.

Today we went on a motorcycle ride out to the coast. We packed a lunch (went to Subway) and went to an overlook and had a picnic. The swells were up (6-8') and there was no wind(of course) so it was a perfect day to sit and read with a great view.

I guess it is springtime here. There were fields and fields of wildflowers everywhere.

Some nice asters.

Our lunch spot was very nice. Your can see the yellow wildflowers on the right.

Another great shot.

There were a few people on the beach, but it is nice to get away from the old grind now and then.

I am so excited about this next week because the world is going to do a 180 from the path of fire and brimstone which is the sole responsibility of George Bush (not the speculator investors that owned 10 houses, put no money down, and had a job that paid $30,000/yr. How could it be these peoples fault??? We need to be told what we can afford and spoon fed everything... I thought that was the governments job) to everyone getting everything they ever wanted and everybody living in Peace. What a great world this will soon be. You may be thinking I am being a bit over the top and I would have thought the same, but by the interviews I have been hearing on TV and radio lately the general public is going to be very disappointed.

I consider myself a realist and know that the world is not going to change that much, but it is the small changes over a long time that will make the difference. I hope that Obama can deliver on just a few of his promises and the Nation will be a better place to live. Good luck Obama and I hope you have figured out a way to walk on water.

To start the first blog of the new year, I thought that I should put this terrific sign that I saw while driving through the central valley.

This Christmas we had a great time visiting family up in the great state of Washington. we left home on the 24th and went to Mt. Vernon to visit my parents for a few days. It is always a good time visiting the parents and we got to see a bunch of snow which is uncommon for that area. The heat went out on our second day there so it is a very good thing that my parents have a wood stove. It is unfortunate that the wood stove is on one end of the house and not in the middle so the heat did not travel out into the rest of the house very well.

Can you believe that my parents still have a rotary phone? I thought these things went out with black and white TV. It still works so I guess it is as good as any other, but you cannot dial out on it because the phone service cannot deal with this archaic technology.

Here is the gift that I lovingly handcrafted for my parents. The windmill is a pattern I made from a picture I took while in Holland. I burned the windmills and the great De Jong name into the wood to make a pretty cool looking sign.

I also made one for my in-laws and put a couple of Model T's on it for my father in-law, who is currently restoring his 3rd one.

Here is the cool new gym and school that my dad helped build/fund/design. It is very big and it is one place where I wish I went to school.

Making dinner in the nice kitchen. Isn't my old man cool.

After my parents house we took their truck and drove to Brenda's parents to visit with their family. Paula and Kevin (along with the associated rugrats) flew in the day before and we got a chance to hang out with them.

Rugrat number one is pictured here...no not the one on the right, that is Brenda...it is Landon on the left.

My in-law's might get the award for the best Christmas present ever. Next time you call here I will be talking on this wonderful piece of "functional art".

There was a Christmas cookie decorating contest when the men were watching Bourne Ultimatum. The winner is on the right. Paula had a great design, but Brenda's snowman with buckteeth and pocket protector was pretty cool.

Speaking of buckteeth... I wish Brenda would brush her teeth more often. She loves to make these fake teeth out of walnuts.

A blistering game of settlers always keeps the blood pumping and is about the only exercise I got all week.

I think Landon loves having his shirt off...a real mans man.

We went out to the Elk feeding grounds before we went sledding. There are so many elk that, to keep them away from the farmers field and away from traffic, they feed them at higher elevations. There were some great bulls that dwarf the bull I got this year.

Look at that guy in the middle and tell me you don't want to have that on your wall and in your freezer.

Brenda's grandfather carved this totem pole and it was given to a family friend after her grandmother moved out of her house. He repainted it and it looks great.

Brenda's sister and brother-in-law...with the rugrats.

Kids being kids.

Brenda and I having a happy new year.