Christmas Caroling

Jack and I went with some of his Cub Scout pack to go Christmas caroling at an assisted living home. The boys sang some Christmas carols and then passed out some Christmas cards that they had made at the November Pack Meeting.

 

Pleiades, Aldebaron and Andromeda

At the cub scout den meeting last week, Brun showed the kids and adults Pleiades (a cluster dominated by hot blue stars), Aldebaron (a large orangish star) and the Andromeda Galaxy (a spiral galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away) through his telescope. It was very cool.

El Jardin, Elk Grove

Continuing our quest to find some different places to eat in Elk Grove, we tried a Mexican restaurant called El Jardin. The food was not very good. Sharon actually said "it was the worst Mexican food in the world." Adding insult to injury, it was pretty expensive for standard Mexican food. We will be adding this restaurant to the list of places where we are not going back.

December 2006 Cub Scout Pack Meeting

Jack and I went to the December meeting of his Cub Scout Pack. The pack had four activity stations for the kids; the boys each made a picture frame, two christmas ornaments and a marshmallow snowman. Over the course of the evening, each of the kids got a chance to talk to Santa.

They finished the evening with a christmas ornament exchange. Each of the kids brought a wrapped ornament. Sitting in a circle, they passed the ornaments around while the music played. When the music stopped, they kept the ornament that they had in their hands.

Moblog December Pack Meeting

Sutter County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks
in Sutter County
NO. 346 Hock Farm - [map] - {39.04858,-121.6332}
NO. 929 Thompson Seedless Grape - [map] - {39.14538,-121.78207}

California Historical Landmark #1013

Site of the First African American Episcopal Church
established on the Pacific Coast
California State Historical Landmark #1013
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This landmark is located at 715 Seventh Street in Sacramento, California. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 35.041 W 121° 29.776.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.




This is the site of the first church building associated with an African American religious congregation on the Pacific Coast. The church was the Methodist Church of Colored People of Sacramento City, formally organized in 1850. In 1851 the congregation was admitted into the African Methodist Episcopal Church, becoming the first African Methodist Episcopal Church on the Pacific Coast. First known as Bethel, the name was later changed to St. Andrews. The original 1850 wooden church building was the site of the first statewide convention of the California Colored Citizens which met November 20-22, 1855.

My Maternal Grandfather

My maternal grandfather, Keith Abbot, was born 99 years ago this month, December 7, 1907. He died in 1970. This picture was taken in 1908 with his mom, Jessamine, grandmother Etta Gillette Curtis, and his great-grandmother Emma Wickes.

I have a number of vivid memories of him, including he and I dove hunting in the Feather River bottom, fishing on a half day boat out of Newport Beach and shooting bottle rockets on the beach at Puertecitos, Mexico.

His mother, my great grandmother Jessamine, lived into her 90s. I can remember visiting her at her home and later a rest home in Southern California.

JibJab 2006 Year in Review

JibJab just released “Nuckin’ Futs”. Its a recap of 2006 set to "Jingle Bells." It includes appearances by Britney Spears, Mel Gibson, Saddam Hussein, George Bush, Brangelina, e-Coli, and more!

read more | digg story

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Kings out of the running

Gavin Maloof: Kings "out of the running" for Iverson

The Kings are no longer in the Allen Iverson sweepstakes, according to team co-owner Gavin Maloof.

'We're officially out of the running,' Maloof said by phone. 'We never got to that point to be in the running. I don't think we got to the point where we were talking or negotiating. It never got to that point.'

2006 CIM Map

I am currently running with a Garmin Forerunner 205. Using data downloaded from the Garmin, I generated the map shown below from my run in the 2006 California International Marathon. The track is color-coded by speed and you can see my speed sliding over the course of the race.

click on the map for a larger copy!

John Frame Birthday

Sharon's Dad, John (Jack) Herbert Frame, died in May. Today would have been his 89 birthday. Sharon organized a trip to the grave and a dinner to celebrate her dad's birthday. We picked up her mom and met Tom and Eric at the cemetery. I was surprised at the number of graves that were decorated with Christmas trees and other holiday decorations. Some of the displays were very elaborate.

Afterwards, we headed to the Macaroni Grill for dinner. Tim and his family joined everyone for dinner.

First Birthday Party

Wading through the crowd at the start of the Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving, we ran into Sandy, a childhood friend of Sharon's. Sharon and Sandy grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the grammar school and high school together.

They invited us to their daughter's first birthday. We spent Saturday afternoon at the party birthday.

Drew Birthday Pics

Between December of 2000 and June of 2001, Drew grew his hair long and has wore it that way over the last five plus years. He recently cut it shorter. You can see the current length in a couple of pictures from his birthday.

 

December Bear Den Meeting

We held the November meeting of Jack's Cub Scout Bear Den at our house. The topic for the den meeting was astronomy and the boys completed all of the requirements for their astronomy belt loop.

We made a 27 foot by 20 foot scale model of the solar system in the driveway using string and sidewalk chalk. Brun came to the meeting and brought his telescope. He showed how to set-up, aim and focus the telescope. Everyone got a chance to look through the telescope at a couple of objects, including the Andromeda Galaxy. The boys spent some time reviewing a number of terms, including planet, star, solar system, galaxy, the Milky Way, black hole, red giant, white dwarf, comet, meteor, moon, asteroid, and universe. They finished the evening watching a 20 minute video on the solar system.

CA Historical Landmark #418

Empire City
California State Historical Landmark #418
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This landmark is located 0.1 miles south of Empire, California on the west side of County Highway J-7 (Santa Fe Avenue). Empire is 5 miles east of Modesto, California on Highway 132 (Yosemite Avenue). There are 4 other California State Historical Landmarks in Stanislaus County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 38.239 W 120° 54.167.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

 

One mile south of this spot is the site of Empire City. Founded 1850 by John G. Marvin. Head of navigation on the Tuolumne River, naval supply depot and 2nd county seat of Stanislaus County. Destroyed by flood in 1861-62.

1850. John S.(?) Marvin, a lawyer from Boston, founded the town of Empire City, on the south bank of the Tuolumne River, just above Crescent City.

June 10, 1854. The first county election was held and Adamsville was selected as the county seat by thirty votes over Empire City.

October 21, 1854. An election was held, which moved the county seat from Adamsville to Empire City, by a margin of 29 votes. Empire City was founded in 1850 and in 1854 had over 200 residents.

May 7, 1855. The first meeting of the County Board of Supervisors was held at Empire City replacing the old County Court of Sessions. Members of the board were: D.B. Gardner, John Newsom and Robert Smith, with R. McGarvey serving as clerk.

December 20, 1855. An election was held moving the county seat from Empire City to La Grange by a vote of 558 to 139. La Grange was a mining town, having more population and wealth.

Winter 1861-1862. The rivers swelled in a horrific flood that inundated many river settlements.

Stanislaus County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks
in Stanislaus County
*NO. 347 Knight's Ferry - [map] - {37.817667,-120.652983}
*NO. 414 La Grange - [map] - {37.663806,-120.460500}
*NO. 415 The Willms Ranch -[map] - {37.800667,-120.645667}
*NO. 418 Empire City - [map] {37.63731,-120.90278}
*NO. 934 Temporary Detention Camps - [map] - {37.501833,-120.857667}

List of California Counties
 

Picture from 2006 CIM

Judy, a friend of Joe and Cindy's that Sharon and I met last spring at Northstar, was working at an aid station for the marathon about the 23 mile mark. She took the picture shown below as I shuffled by.

Christmas Tree 2006

I am curious whether the economics of Christmas lots is changing.

In 2001 and 2002, we picked out trees and had them flocked at a lot on the Jackson Highway. The proprietors said that they had been in business at that location for 20 years. The lot did not appear in 2003.

We switched to the Christmas lot in the Cal Expo parking lot. This lot had more than 100 trees already flocked in a big tent. When we mentioned the other lot, the Cal Expo staff said that they had ran them out of business. We bought trees at Cal Expo in 2003, 2004 and 2005. This year the Cal Expo Christmas tree lot did not appear.

Sharon really wanted another flocked tree. After the marathon and the indoor soccer tournament on Sunday, we ended up going to a lot on Elk Grove Boulevard near old town. They only had three trees already flocked, but one of them was just about right. I picked up the tree on Monday night after work on my way home and we spent the evening decorating it.

Blog about Drew's Music

From And then she woke up:

Blog entry about Drew's Music

I went to a concert in the Nixon. Links and Andrew Heringer played. Links was a lot of fun. The leader singer needs to work on his diction. I think I understood the lyrics for two out of the eight or so songs they played. Their guitarist is incredible. He also played the drum for Andrew Heringer. That man is just amazing. I love his stuff. Flist, listen to him. He is on iTunes. He has two albums out. They are both fantastic and worth the money. The concert was extremely intimate, as the Nixon has only 65 or so seats. They set up the stage to look like their living room. It was wonderful. I had a Firefly moment while watching Andrew play 'I Cannot Remember.' He uses a drobo (I think that's how you spell it?). It either is or is very similar to a slide guitar. It reminded me a lot of Firefly music, that kindof celtic cowboy sound.

Holiday Indoor Tournament

Staggering away from the California International Marathon and back to my car, I headed to Jack's indoor soccer tournament. Starting at 8:30 a.m. in the morning, Jack' team was scheduled to play four games. They won the first game 2 to 1 with Jack scoring the first goal. They tied the second game 2 to 2, won the third game 1 to 0 and lost their fourth game 0 to 1. I got there in time only to see the fourth game.

For each game, the teams were awarded points depending on whether they won, lost or tied and how many goals they scored. Jack's team had the second highest point total for the day and qualified for the championship game. Jack scored the first goal of the game and his team went on to win the tournament championship by a score of 3 to 2.

Each of the kids got a t-shirt proclaiming them the Indoor Under-8 Holiday Tournament Champions. I am sure that Jack will sleep in it for a week!

Holiday Tournament pic 1

Holiday Tournament pic 2

2006 CIM

By nature, I am a pretty competitive person. Nowhere is this manifested more intensively than when I am competing with myself. When I signed up for the California International Marathon, I agonized about how to approach the race. One approach would be to view the marathon as a training run for some larger goals. Alternately, I could attack the race and see what kind of time I was capable of running.

Standing at the starting line, I still was not sure how I was going to run the race. The race provides a number of pacers; these were runners carrying signs for different overall times. For example, one runner had a sign for an overall time of 4 hours, while another had a sign for 3 hours and 45 minutes. These signs were attached to poles and afixed to their backs so that you could see the signs during the race.

As the race started and I settled into the first mile, the pacer with the 3 hours and 45 minute sign was about 300 yards in front of me. The beginning of the race includes a number of downhills. Probably predictably given the stubborn dutchman that I am, I made a decision to catch the group that was running with this pacer on one of the downhills.

I settled into that group and ran with them for more than 10 miles. At that point, my goal was to try and stay with the 3:45 pace group through 13 or 14 miles and then try to hang on for a sub 4 hour marathon.

The group running with this pacer was pretty large, probably more than 75 people. At an aid station after the 10 mile mark, the road narrowed considerably. I wanted to make sure that I got some water. Everyone was getting in everyone else's way and I ended up coming out of the aid station 200 to 300 yards behind the pacer. I made a small effort to catch back up, but realized that to do so would take a lot of energy and backed off.

I rolled through the half marathon in 1 hour and 56 minutes. From the 11th mile to the 19th mile, I lost speed steadily, but was still able to carry a pace of about 9:45.

I really slowed down in mile 20. Larkin met me at mile 21 and ran with me to the finish. I was very glad to see him at that point. I just could not carry any speed at this point. We ran the last five miles in the range of 10:50 to 11:20 per mile. My overall time was 04:13:47.

I was a little disappointed with the overall result, but I am also realistic. I am not 28 years old anymore and, as Sharon keeps saying, I probably did not do enough long (20 miles or more) training runs. I am pleased with the fact that I never stopped running.

The graph shown below shows my times for each mile. Click on the graph for a larger copy!

California International Marathon

At the start of the California International Marathon

2006 Soccer Tournament

Jack's soccer team played in a year-end tournament. The five teams in the tournament had a combined one loss in the regular season. Jack's team lost the first two games by the scores of 0 to 3 and 2 to 4. They then won their second two games by the scores of 5 to 1 and 3 to 0. His team ended the day with two wins and two losses. It turns out that the first two teams to whom they lost were select teams; the kids actually tried out to make the team.

Gainsley's Holiday Party

Donna and I have worked together for almost eight and a half years. Every year, she and Kevin have a holiday party. Due to conflicts and comedy of errors (we actually got a babysitter for the wrong night once), we have never attended.

Leaving Jack with Erin, we finally made it to their party this year. We had a great time. I spent part of the evening playing pool with Terry, Greg and Brian.

CA Historical Landmark #828

Veterans Home of California
California State Historical Landmark #828
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This landmark is located at the southwest corner of California Drive and Highway 29 in Yountville, California. There are 16 other California State Historical Landmarks in Napa County.

 

This home for California's aged and disabled veterans was established in 1884 by Mexican War veterans and members of the Grand Army of the Republic. In January 1897 the Veterans Home Association deeded the home and its 910 acres of land to the State, which has since maintained it.

Gerald Wallace Sighting

I enjoyed watching Gerald Wallace play when he was with the Kings. I swear that I have never seen anyone jump higher than he did [see note at the end of this blog entry]. Bill Simmons mentioned Wallace in his column this week.

ESPN.com: Page 2 : The worst conference in history:

If you made the All-'Player Who Keeps Recklessly Driving to the Basket And Could End Up Suffering a Horrific Injury Some Day' team, Gerald Wallace would have to be the MVP. The dude has no fear.

Indoor Soccer Practice

Jack got his first taste of indoor soccer. His team held a practice and scrimmage at Off the Wall. Although the fall season has ended, the coach has signed the team up for an outdoor tournament on Saturday and an indoor tournament on Sunday.

The tournament on Saturday will be interesting. It matches Under-8 teams from all over Northern California that have similar records. Jack's team went 10 and 0 this fall. On Saturday, they will be facing three other teams that have only one loss between them.

Moblog Indoor Soccer

Kevin Martin goes 1 for 8

After scoring 25.9 points a game through the first 12 games with a 55% field goal percentage, Kevin Martin went 1 for 8 for two points in the Kings victory over the Clippers. The Clippers worked to keep the ball out of Martin's hands and were running two players at him every time he touched the ball. It will be interesting to see how he does over the next couple of games.

Drew's 22nd Birthday!

It is difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that Drew is a senior in college; more often than I would care to admit, I call Jack by saying Drew...

Happy 22nd Birthday! Drew

iPod will hold all the world's TV

One Google exec is predicting the iPod will lead a further media transformation of similar magnitude in the coming decade. "In 12 years, why not an iPod that can carry any video ever produced?"

read more | digg story

Morgan, the Conqueror

As I started putting the pictures for this year's Christmas Card, I was not completely satisfied with the pictures I had taken of Morgan. I dropped her a note asking if she had any pictures that I could use on the Christmas Card; she sent the picture shown below.

When I got back from Saturday's trip to Southern California, Sharon and Jack announced that their new favorite song was Morgan, the Conqueror. It is now one of the songs on Jack's iPod playlist. As I listen to the song, this picture keeps popping in my head!

2006 Feed the Hungry Maps

Using the garmin, I generated topo and aerial maps for Thanksgiving day's Run to Feed the Hungry.

click on the map to see a larger copy!

Avoid the loony Zune

Avoid the loony Zune

My Grandmother's Funeral

Up before 5 a.m., I caught a 7 a.m. flight from Sacramento to Ontario. I rented a car and drove to the La Verne Cemetery for my maternal grandmother's funeral. After the graveside service, my sisters and I visited our mother who is in a skilled nursing facility in Glendora.

From there, we drove to the home of one of my uncles in San Dimas. He and his wife hosted a lunch for everyone after the service. In addition to my two sisters and I, the group include my two uncles and their wives [Spencer, Sally, Rod and Carol], five first cousins [Kathy, Ray, Jill, Jana and Judy], my first cousin's children [seven kids] and three or four other friends of the family.

I eventually headed back to the airport and took a 3:45 p.m. flight back to Sacramento. Sharon, Jack and I ended the day having dinner at Mikuni's in Elk Grove.

Starting Decorating for Xmas

I spent most of the day dragging boxes of Christmas decorations back from storage and then putting up the outside lights. I got about half the outside lights up.

While Sharon went out to dinner with Sandy, Laura and Liz, Jack and I watched most of the Kings versus Seattle Supersonics basketball game. Kevin Martin scored a career high 35 points as the Kings beat the Supersonics by the score of 109 to 100.

Thanksgiving 2006

After the Run to Feed the Hungry, we stopped by Brun and Kim's for a short visit.

From there, we headed to Sharon's parents for Thanksgiving dinner. The group included her brother Tom's family (Tom, Becky, and Eric), her brother Tim's family (Tim, Kathy, Erin and Eileen), her mom (Rosemary), a friend of the family (Jim), Sharon, Jack and I.

Tom barbecued a turkey on the Weber, while Sharon roasted three ducks. The kids had a great time playing hockey after dinner.

Thankgiving Hockey

2006 Run to Feed the Hungry

For the third year in a row (2004, 2005), Sharon, Jack and I ran the Run to Feed the Hungry. With me shadowing him, Jack ran a 1:04:18 10k for an average pace of 10:22 per mile. This improved on his personal best for the distance by almost 5 minutes. It is the fifth 10k that Jack has run.

Moblog Run Feed Hungry

2006 Kings versus Jazz

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Utah Jazz basketball game. When we divided up the Kings tickets, I never expected that the Utah Jazz would have the best record in the NBA. The Jazz entered Arco Arena with a league leading record of 10 wins and 1 loss.

This is probably the most disencouraging game that I can remember attending in at least fifteen years. After leading by 18 points at halftime and by as many as 21 in the third quarter, the Kings unraveled and lost by a score of 110 to 101.

Carlos Boozer was huge for the Jazz. He had 32 points on 14 for 20 from the field and 13 rebounds. Bibby played only three minutes in the second half before leaving the game for good with a thigh contusion.

Through three quarters, the Kings offense actually looked a little better. After having only 10 assists in the whole game on Sunday, the Kings had 10 assists in the first half. The game also included a spectacular left-handed dunk by Ronnie Price over Carlos Boozer.

Moblog Kings Game

Sutter's Fort Historical Park

Jack and I spent a couple of hours at Sutter's Fort and the State Indian Museum. Afterwards, we met Sharon for a late lunch at Cafe Vinoteca.

California Historical Landmark #991

State Indian Museum
California State Historical Landmark #991
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located at 2618 'K' Street, Sacramento, California. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 34.370 W 121° 28.291.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.




The State Indian Museum was built fifty years ago as California's first state-run museum devoted to Indian cultures. It continues to serve the same purpose today, displaying an updated (1984) major exhibit on California's Indian peoples.

California Historical Landmark #525

Sutter's Fort
California State Historical Landmark #525
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located in Sutter's Fort State Historic Park at 27th and L Streets, Sacramento, California. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 34.316 W 121° 28.268.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.


 
John Augustus Sutter, born of Swiss parents in Germany, arrived in New York in July 1834 and in California in July 1839. He founded the fort in 1839 to protect 'New Helvetia,' his 76-square-mile Mexican land grant. Of the original fort, the two-story central building, made of adobe and oak, remains, the fort's outer walls and rooms, which had disappeared by the 1860s, were reconstructed after the State acquired the property in 1890.

CA Historical Landmark #564

Site of Yount's Blockhouse
California State Historical Landmark #564
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This landmark is located at the northeast corner of Cook Road and Yount Mill Road, 1 mile north of Yountville, California. There are 16 other California State Historical Landmarks in Napa County.

 

In this vicinity stood the log block-house constructed in 1836 by George Calvert Yount, pioneer settler in Napa County. Nearby was his adobe house, built in 1837, and across the bridge were his grist and saw mills, erected before 1845. Born in North Carolina in 1794, Yount was a trapper, rancher, and miller, he became grantee of the Rancho Caymus and La Jota. He died at Yountville in 1865.

t-shirt concept

Inspired by the Adventures of Andrew Heringer video, one of Drew's fan suggested this for a t-shirt.

Nimbus Hatchery

Sharon took Jack and one of the kids from his school and cub scout den to the Nimbus Hatchery.

Edith (Pugh) Abbott

My maternal grandmother, Edith [Pugh] Abbott, passed away on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at San Dimas, CA where she was a resident for 53 years. She was 97 years old and died peacefully of natural causes. She is survived by her three children Spencer and Roderick Abbott, Joyce Heringer, eight grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

Grave side services will be held at the La Verne, CA Cemetery on North B Street at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 25th, 2006.

Edith was born on March 19, 1909 in Shedd Oregon, which is near Corvallis, to Earnest A. Pugh and Etta Mae Maxwell Pugh. The Pugh families were farmers in the Willamette valley where Edith was raised on the farm that remains in the family, now owned by her nephew Rich Chandler.

The Pugh family published an extensive Pugh Family History book in 2002 which starts with the Pugh family that immigrated to America from Wales in the 18th century. Her great grandfather Francis Pugh and his wife Ruth Jessup Pugh came across the Oregon Trail in 1847 from Iowa to the Willamette Valley. The family has traced over 821 descendants spread primarily over Oregon, Washington and California. So Edith is of true pioneer stock. Horses and horsemanship were a major part of her life while growing up on the farm. She rode her horse to high school and rode in horsemanship competition in college while attending Oregon State University. Edith was very intelligent and was able to enter college at the age of 16. She met Keith Abbott at Oregon State where they both graduated from college. Her father loved to use horses on the farm so much that he was one of the last farmers to use gasoline powered farm equipment in place of horses. She either had a horse or continued to ride horses until her 60’s.

Edith worked as a teacher after college until marrying Keith Abbott. They lived in Gonzales, CA where they started their family of three children and then moved to Azusa, CA in 1942 where they lived on an orange ranch and Edith again was a teacher in the local grammar school. This was during WWII and since Keith had a heart murmur he was not accepted into the military. They used the orange ranch to create a mini-farm with horses for Edith, a goat for Roderick, a herd of pigs for Spencer to manage, chickens, rabbits and a cow that Joyce and Keith milked twice a day. We had customers come from all over to buy the farm products that were hard to get during the war. Edith and the family were involved in the local 4-H club for many years as the mini-farm was a plentiful supply for animal projects.

Now that we were in Southern California, we were able to enjoy the Gillette family gatherings at the Laurelette Ranch in San Dimas and the Laurel Clan Thanksgiving dinner gatherings with all of Keith’s side of the family. Also, the Pugh family has an annual picnic that Edith was able to attend those again in later years.

After the war, the family moved to Covina, CA where Keith and Edith bought an orchard spraying business and five acres of orange orchard from which they operated the spraying business. Keith managed the outside business and the labor crews while Edith did the book keeping and the payroll. By the late 1950’s the orchards in Los Angeles county were nearly all replaced by housing developments so the spray business was closed out, all the spray rigs sold and they developed the 5 acre property on the corner of Arrow Hwy and Glendora Ave into automotive service commercial buildings and a service station which Spencer manages as a partner with Edith.

The family joined the First Presbyterian Church of Covina in 1942. Edith was active in Woman’s Association and Bible Study groups in the church for 50 years.

Keith was an avid outdoor sportsman, fishing and hunting, and Edith enjoyed it as well so when he retired he and Edith spent much of the summer months with their travel trailer and small boat in the Northwest, fishing and visiting the Pugh family relatives. They spent much of the winter months in Baja, in a little fishing village of Puertecitos, about 150 miles south of Mexicali, on the gulf side of Baja. The fishing was great and Edith began to collect seashells. After some time she became a serious expert and it subsequently became a serious hobby for her.

She joined the Southern California Malacologist Society and after Keith passed away in 1970, this was a major part of her life and she traveled around the world to countries such as Madagascar, Indonesia and Australia collecting seashells with the Shell Society. She spent nearly 20 years volunteering time with the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History classifying and sorting seashells. Edith discovered a new species of seashell that has been named after her. She became such and expert that the Japanese government paid the cost for her and the curator of the LA Museum to travel to Japan to classify and sort seashells for them.

Edith was a wonderful wife and mother and friend to her descendants and a great number of people. She had a positive attitude that never quit. We will remember her always as a kind, loving and very capable, intelligent person.

2006 Kings versus Spurs

After spending the afternoon visiting her mom and Janie, Sharon went to the Sacramento Kings versus San Antonio Spurs game with her brother Tim. With the Kings leading 54 to 48 with a minute to go in the second quarter, the Spurs scored 8 points to take a 56 to 54 lead at halftime. This stretched into a 16 to 3 run during the third quarter. The Kings trailed by as much as 17 points and never got closer than 8 points; they lost by the score of 108 to 99.

Jack and I watched the game in high definition. As I noted on opening night, the Kings offense is pathetic. They continue to rely on individual players breaking down the defense or making an outside shot. The Kings only had 10 assists!

Duncan methodically picked the Kings apart. He had 35 points on 13 of 17 shooting and had 14 rebounds.

Link to Andrew Heringer!

I stumbled across a link to the video of Drew at the radio station in Oregon in September on a Japanese web site!

(?? )?????????????????? ?????

Try as I might, I have not been able to get a coherent translation of the text...

3rd Grade: Art Lesson B

Sharon spent Thursday afternoon working as the Art Docent for Jack's class. The lesson plan looked at how artists include trees in a landscape paintings, sometimes making the trees the focal point of the composition. The class looked at Autumn Landscape by Alfred Sisley [shown below], October by Willard Leroy Metcalf and Tree With Crows by Caspar David Friedrich. Each of these paintings were of trees in fall.



For their art project, the kids created a fall tree.

Liz for Dinner

Liz came for dinner. Sharon served corn flake chicken.

November Pack Meeting

Jack and I went to the November Meeting of his cub scout pack. As their activity, the kids made Christmas cards to pass out when they go caroling next month. Jack got a number of awards, including his religious emblem square knot, a two year service pin and his trophy from the raingutter regatta last in October.

EPIC Venti Meeting

Debbie, Kristen, Frank, Judy and I spent Wednesday and Thursday at the Epic Venti Meeting. This is a user meeting for the largest customers of the Epic software. The meeting was held in Yountville at the historic Vintage 1870 complex. I stayed at the Vintage Inn. The group dinner on Wednesday night was at Hurley's.

Groezinger Wine Cellars

Groezinger Wine Cellars
National Register of Historic Places #1982002219
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This historic place is located at 6525 Washington Street in Yountville, the county of Napa, California.


Formerly the Groezinger Winery, the Vintage 1870 complex was originally built in the year 1870 by German-born vintner Gottlieb Groezinger. One of the largest facilities of its day, the Groezinger Winery and family home occupied more than half of the 23-acre Groezinger Estate. It included a massive brick winery, a brandy distillery, a steam power plant, creamery, brick stables and barns, and a two-story estate mansion (now Compadres Mexican Bar & Grill) to the north of the property. The property was sold by the Groezinger family in 1889, but remained an operating winery under successive owners until 1955.

In 1966, the old winery, abandoned and in disrepair, was scheduled to be torn down for the $30,000 sum that its antique bricks would bring on the salvage market. Instead, a group of local business people purchased the 23-acre Groezinger Estate and began the initial conversion and restoration that would be the property's second incarnation. Hosting a handful of specialty shops and two small cafes, the buildings were reopened in 1967 as the Vintage 1870 specialty shop complex. Over the past 30 years, and under subsequent ownership, the buildings have undergone continuing restoration.

California Historical Landmark #693

Grave of George C. Yount
California State Historical Landmark #693
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This landmark is located in the George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery at the corner of Lincoln and Jackson Streets in Yountville, California. There are 16 other California State Historical Landmarks in Napa County.

 


George Calvert Yount (1794-1865) was the first United States citizen to be ceded a Spanish land grant in Napa Valley (1836). Skilled hunter, frontiersman, craftsman, and farmer, he was the true embodiment of all the finest qualities of an advancing civilization blending with the existing primitive culture. Friend to all, this kindly host of Caymus Rancho encouraged sturdy American pioneers to establish ranches in this area, so it was well populated before the gold rush.

Napa County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks in Napa County
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}
*NO. 359 Old Bale Mill - [map] - {38.541336,-122.509498}
*NO. 547 Chiles Mill - [map] - {38.53519,-122.33731}
*NO. 561 Schramsburg - [map] - {38.550197,-122.538048}
*NO. 563 Charles Krug Winery - [map] - {38.518238,-122.482248}
NO. 564 George Yount Blockhouse - [map] - {38.42114,-122.36988}
*NO. 682 Site of York's Cabin, Calistoga - [map] - {38.575100,-122.580642}
NO. 683 Site of Hudson Cabin, Calistoga - [map] - {38.575355,-122.580353}
NO. 684 Sam Brannan Store, Calistoga - [map] - {38.58285,-122.577133}
NO. 685 Sam Brannan Cottage, Calistoga - [map] -{38.57892,-122.58053}
NO. 686 Site of Kelsey House, Calistoga - [map] - {38.565513,-122.564392}
*NO. 687 Napa Valley Railroad Depot, Calistoga - [map] - {38.57987,-122.57828}
NO. 693 Grave of George C. Yount - [map] {38.40887,-122.36812}
*NO. 710 Robert Louis Stevenson State Park - [map] - {38.65358,-122.60432}
*NO. 814 Beringer Brothers Winery - [map] - {38.5105,-122.480933}
NO. 828 Veterans Home of California - [map] {38.39714,-122.35971}
*NO. 878 First Presbyterian Church Building - [map] - {38.29657,-122.28689}
*NO. 939 Litto's Hubcap Ranch - [map] - {38.63662,-122.45315}

List of California Counties

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2006 Soccer Party

We went to Jack's end of the season soccer party at Roundtable. When the coach gave Jack his trophy, he talked about the fact that no one is more competitive on the field than Jack. One of my five goals for 2006 has been to channel that competitiveness for good.

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Blog Review of Unfold

From Jonathan in NYC: Notes from all over:

Review of Unfold by Andrew Heringer

"I was introduced to Heringer by my brother, mainly because Heringer attends the same college as my brother. Heringer's music is part jazz, part pop, part singer-songwriter, and part rock. Think John Mayer meets Billy Joel (because Heringer is adept at both piano and guitar) meets Dave Matthews Band (not as hard rock as DMB, but its the willingness to use nonconventional rock instruments such as violin and sax that counts). My impulses tell me that he's going to be huge someday, but music is such a tough business, you never know. Still, he's just as talented (or perhaps more so) than anything that's on any Adult Alternative radio station out there (think Alice, SF people). If you like rock or AC, check out Heringer. Also, on iTunes."

Light of Christ Emblem

During the first half of the year, Jack's cub scout den individually worked on the requirements for their Light of Christ religious emblem. At the end of 5:00 p.m. Mass, the boys and their parents were called up to the front by the Priest and presented with the award.

During the service, the boys carried up the offering. It was very endearing to see the boys all in their uniforms going up to the front as a group.

Dinner and a Movie

Sharon and Liz went out to dinner at Mikuni's and then to the Crest Theater to see Shortbus.

2006 Soccer Season Game 10

Jack played in his eighth and final soccer game of the season. It was wet and rained throughout most of the game. He played forward in the first period, goalie in the third period and forward in the fourth period.

The other team scored two quick goals at the beginning of the game. This has been a pattern this year; Jack's team would fall behind early. Jack scored the first goal for his team. One of his teammates made a strong crossing pass and Jack stuck it in the top of the net. His team scored one more goal in the first half to tie the score at 2 to 2 at halftime.

Jack actually got to handle the ball two or three times at goalie in the third quarter which made him happy. In the fourth quarter, Jack scored again. He also had a couple of other strong shots that were wide. Jack just missed stretching to get his foot on another strong cross that would have pushed the ball into an open goal.

This is probably the best game that Jack has played since the beginning of the season. He was very mobile. He finally looks like he has recovered from the mid-season injury.

Jack's team won by a score of 7 to 3. For the season, his team had 10 wins and no losses. This is the second year that we have played with this coach. Over the last two seasons, the team has 19 wins and 1 loss. They are scheduled to play in a tournament in early December that is designed to match teams with similar records. It is going to be interesting to see how they do.

In his third season of soccer, he scored 7 goals [1-2-0-0-0-1-1-2] in the eight games.

2006 Soccer Game 10 Pic 1

Overnight Guest

Noel spent Friday night with us. Sharon made a great dinner of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and green beans. Noel contributed a couple of bottles of wine, including a great Savannah-Chanelle 2002 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

Nov Bear Den Meeting

Jack and I went to the November meeting of his cub scout den. The theme was cub scout shipbuilders. In addition to silly sea questions and anchors story, they worked on a number of achievements for their bear badge. The achievements included: 22d - a coil rope game; 22b - knots (square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half hitches and a slip knot); 9b - make a snack for the den meeting; and 15b - play the sink the ship game.

Moblog Nov Den Meeting

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