Fire Season, Already?

Last fire season and all the past fire seasons I would watch the devastation that fires had brought to the environment and people's lives on the news. California wildfires have a mind of their own and each year claim thousands of acres of land.

This year the "Station" fire has marked the beginning of fire season in California. Just last night the fire that has been raging for a week nearly doubled in size, in one night. Two brave fireman have lost their lives and due to these talented fireman, prior to last night, no structures were lost.

What makes this year's fire season so prevalent is that wildfires are now our worst fear. We live in a beautiful, lush canyon that hasn't burned in over 20 years. Our landlord spends most of the year clearing his/our land and has a full grey water tank at the top of our hill top. Wildfires are a hush-hush around here, thoughts of them bring negative energy to our humble hippy town. Regardless, people are prepared for the worst possible outcome: a fire knocking at your front door.

While I try to keep the fires in my unconscious I am preparing for a disaster we could face in the future. This morning I called our renter's insurance to increase our liability and I gave our landlord our emergency numbers (sorry dad, now Ralph has your numbers) in case they can't get a hold of us when we are not home or out of town. We are currently accepting any other volunteers that will be here to water down our hill top if those nasty fires come'a knock'n.

I Love This Camera Setting

Okay, Dayna, don't laugh.
I love taking pictures and regret not taking any photography classes in high school or college. I have photoshop but never loaded on my computer to play with. I'm purely jealous of my sister-in-law, Dayna, and my cousin-in-law, Ashlee because they have "an eye" for taking great pictures and then using photoshop to make their pictures brilliant. But I recently have been playing with the macro setting on our little Canon camera. Tucker calls me a wannabe, and maybe I am.

Give the Cutie Some Youtube Hits!

My friend Marsha's son is the biggest ham. Sean just turned two and has been doing various baby modeling gigs like Gymboree and H&M, but now he's added actor to his resume. I love, love, love this commercial. It is the cleverest Huggies commercial that I've ever seen. You've probably seen it several times on tv. So, check this commercial out people and give this cutie the youtube hits he deserves!

Click and watch!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1SKVYomUHM

And He Didn't Even Supervise?

Let me start from the beginning.

Italians have a gene that can be traced back generations. Those who hold this gene hold an uncontrollable ability to supervise any activity anywhere you may be. We make sure the job is being done the way we want the job to be done, we point out the disgraceful mistakes that are ensuing, we tell others how something should be done rather than doing it ourselves, we have to control situations whether it's our business or not, and have no shame to burst with over excitement when someone disagrees on how a job should be done.

What I witnessed on Monday was a once and a lifetime experience.

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's on Monday because they needed the bathroom drains fixed. Grandpa walked Tucker through the upstairs bathrooms, carefully examining each move Tucker made. Brendan, Tucker's apprentice, showed up to assist in the projects. After the bathrooms were successfully fixed, Tuck asked if the Doc needed anything else. He led the plumber and his apprentice to the kitchen where he expressed his dislike for the faucet (it is quiet old and quiet ugly, you see, along with the Italian/Sicilian gene is the gene that makes you save everything and never buy unnecessary items). So, the obedient plumbers went to Osh and after several phone calls to the waiting few came back with a faucet that they found on clearance (big props to them on the sale item). They installed a beautiful goose neck faucet but something peculiar happened, a once in a lifetime experience.

The shocker of the day...

Grandpa wasn't hanging over the boys watching their handywork, nor telling how to do it, he wasn't even in the kitchen! Instead he was on his chair with the O'Rielly Factor blaring. Either his old age has brought peace and compromise to this gene (which I doubt) or Grandpa trusts Tucker and B to do small kitchen cosmetics free of supervision.

The girls sat outside and relaxed on the patio.

Grandma, Aunt Paula, and I enjoyed the afternoon talking, reading and admiring the garden. Every year when Aunt Paula comes from Holland she replants

several

flowers on the brick patio. It always looks beautiful. I love how she fixed the old fountain by planing some colorful leafy plants to

spruce it up again. Who am I kidding, I did some work too. I used WD-40 to make the screen and glass door slide more easily.

The best part of the day...

He likes it!

How does your garden grow?

sun...water...care...chicken poop fertilizer

Weekend Wedding

Mr. Neil Esposito gained a Mrs. this weekend in Dana Point at the Chart House restaurant. It was a beautiful ceremony in the sun, set atop a bluff overlooking the harbor and ocean. We are so excited for the two of them who are sure to have a lifetime of happiness together.

Cute as a Button, Crazy as a Lunatic

Our new kitten, Luna, has proven to be a real charmer on her outward appearance. She purs no matter who's petting her, she thinks we all need a bath, and kindly gives Roman a chance to squeeze her while holding her upside down walking around saying "kitty-cat, kitty-cat." But behind closed doors those beady eyes and pin needle claws can cause havoc to anything in her path. We are frequently woken in the middle of the night by violent slashes of kitty claws running across our bodies leaving our chests and legs bleeding. My hands and feet are torn up and my throat so dry from saying "no" throughout the day. Through all the suffering we are going through I always forgive her because (besides Mo) she is the best kitty cuddler around.

How to Catch a Squirrel

1.


2.


3.

For a long time we blamed Peter Rabbit for the decimating of our vegetable garden. Everything from our sunflowers, to the zucchini, and the tomatoes had been devoured as a scrumptious treat to the cute critter. Until one morning we found scraggly Mr. Squirrel doing his daily rounds in our garden.

Don't call PETA on us. The trap is simply a cage that, when caught, we could use to transport Mr. Squirrel to a happy, lush grassland down the canyon far from our garden. Now how to get rid of the brilliant Blue Jays who steal the nuts from the inside of the cage?

Happy Hump Day from Point Dume

What better way to spend the middle of the week as staycationers than to go explore your own neighborhood.

We have the ambitious goal to do everything and visit everywhere that our own backyard has to offer while we live here. So, we traveled down the canyon to Point Dume. I've been hiking above Point Dume in the mountain tops to get a beautiful view of the coastline from afar but nothing is as beautiful as being right on the coast.

Mommy-to-Be Shower

Kimberly Funk is expecting baby Ryken Gary Funk on September 16th. What a way to celebrate other than with your closest girlfriends and family. We are so excited for Kim and Dustin and can't wait to meet Ryken in person.

Lots of gifts and a cute cake, too!

Final Letters for July

Micheal Jackson,
Sorry dude! It looks like everyone's just out to profit from you after all. I still feel sorry for your children even after your death. Cool songs that will get me through a fun night doesn't make up for the alleged child molestation charges against you and the accounts you suffered as a child.

Farrah Fawcett,
You are beautiful, brave and strong. Thank you for being a rock in the cancer fight that we still suffer from here on earth.

DOW,
Please keep raising. I heard that you are the highest percentage July increase since 2002. Something has got to pull us out of this economic crisis and we can't rely it in the hands of people who just keep complaining about the President of the United States' job performance.

Ramon Cortines,
I dislike you now more than ever. I dislike knowing that I don't have a classroom to go back to in September. I feel overpowered by a large bureaucratic business that you call a school district. I know I will survive because I have a wonderful husband, friends and family that pick me up after a bad day. Does your personal chauffeur do that for you?

Lovingly and Sincerely,
Sitting in a Tree

PS:
Happy Birthday Garrett! We love you! I'm sorry I still can't get the Japan/US time zones right:( Just move back soon so we can just say "happy birthday" in person.