I almost forgot

It was because I was so busy I didn't see them.
At the Thanksgiving Feast in the community center, besides the entertainers on the stage, there were activities for the kids in the lobby.
There was face painting by some really talented folks.
Also there were balloon artists working hard to keep up so everyone who wanted had something.

Sarge mentioned something the other day about koobecaf (aka FF [guess the first eff]).
He was splaining why he continues to go there.
I pretty much have the same excuse.
There are some people I would never hear from if it wasn't there.
There are still others who I only hear from via text.
Still others come at me from all directions.
I sometimes pass a little news along there.
But usually it is here first.
Then I just post a link on F/B.

There is a distinct possibility that this month may surpass August of 2014 for the number of pageviews of the blog.
It all depends upon just how many visit today.
What makes it truly interesting is there is one less day this month than in August 2014.

yes, there's news

But wait . . . there's more

I bet some of you thought we were done talking about Thanksgiving?
The balance of the weekend was pretty special, too.
My friend and I rose early Friday to we could drive further south to Clovis and join my sister, brother and other family members for the traditional post Thanksgiving breakfast.
Yes, there was bacon.

Traffic in that direction was relatively light and we arrived at 9:00am to a fresh pot of coffee.
Introductions were made and the visiting commenced.
We caught up with everyone as they arrived for the meal.
I much prefer greeting folks one at a time as they arrive, rather than being the last one there.

The best part about the weekend so far had been being able to avoid watching any pro football games.
That is until the Nebraska Cornhuskers played the Pittsburgh Steelers Iowa Hawkeyes [at first glance it is virtually, and almost literally, impossible to tell those two teams apart].
Go ahead and ask me what I think about football.
I'll tell you, "I don't care!"
I will check a college game occasionally.
But in the overall scheme of things it really doesn't matter.
Maybe, some day, if the showboating, bragging, boasting, and all of the other ego driven antics go away, I may regain an interest.
But watching kids play soccer, even four on four with no goalie, is a lot more entertaining.

After the nieces and my brother's family departed, the afternoon was for naps.
Then we had leftover turkey, stuffing, and the like for dinner.
Meals in the family are all about the conversation.
Food is a bonus and always good.

Saturday was for the return north.
First we had to visit with one more niece, who had to work on Friday.
Then is was . . .


. . .  back to reality.

Everyone and their cousin was on that road.
I have come to the conclusion there are three major types of drivers.
Two of those I can do without.
There are the reckless (wreckful?) ones and the cautious ones.
Bother are dangerous.
I think the cautious ones are worse because they're harder to spot.
They're the ones who wait until they are all the way onto the highway before they even try to get up to speed and insist upon going absolutely no faster than the speed limit, even if it means it will take them ten minutes to pass a semi while ten thousand other drivers line up behind them.
The third type are those I call safe drivers.
You don't even notice them.
Although sometimes they can become impatient and appear to become Me Firsters.

So it took a bit longer to get back to Elk Grove.
The weather had some effect.
It started out clear and sunny but about 50 miles into the journey is was raining steadily.
The journey went without incident.

Saturday night it was pizza for dinner.
A movie (vcr tape) on the TV was shown [and there was some frustration with a certain tablet].
Then a good night sleep because there would be more driving on Sunday morning.
Someone had to be home by Sunday afternoon.

there's still more

More of the best Thanksgiving ever

It meant rising a little after Oh Dark Thirty and addressing the issue of the cold air, but we were going to help cook somewhere around a bazillion turkeys, make stuffing, mash some potatoes, cook some corn, make some gravy, and break bread  . . . er, biscuits [they came attached 12 to a package].

After stopping at Starbuck's to pick up everyone's favorite warm morning beverage we headed back to the community center in South Sacramento.
We were there by 6:15.
Someone else had the donuts and still someone else had pork buns.
Nobody would go hungry unless it was on purpose.

So it was cooking turkeys in this trailer . . .

. . . and prepping food in the kitchen.

All to eventually find its way to these tables.

Each guest would be seated by a host or hostess and have their food and drink served by wait staff, who went to the serving line where plates were filled.

The guests were also entertained by a musician, a magician, and an animal act while they were eating.
The idea is to make this Thanksgiving, and every one for the previous 20 years memorable for all who participate.
Nobody was to feel like they had been to a soup kitchen.

For three hours there was seldom an empty seat.
Everything was packed up and everyone was finished and on their way home by 3:30.

Oh . . .  and the weather was perfect.

more about the weekend tomorrow

Best Thanksgiving ever

So, there I was* [or here I am, as the case may be] wondering how Thanksgiving could be better than spending the day with family.

This year was a little change-up.
Tuesday, immediately after the Lions Club meeting, just as the rain began to fall lightly, I drove south to Northern California (aka Sacramento).
The rain became intense in places.
I might have reconsidered my departure if I had known.
However, the storm had yet to reach Northern California.

I stayed with a friend in Elk Grove.
Wednesday morning we ran around gathering up last minute items for Thursdays feast.
About three o'clock in the afternoon we joined up with about 20 others to organize and set up the venue.
Tables were set with tablecloths, centerpieces, and cutlery [I almost wrote silverware, but it was plastic . . .   really nice plastic].
Serving tables for drinks, salads, the main course, and dessert were set up.
The kitchen crew got all of their stations set up.
Then we all had pizza and went home.
It was to be an early start on Thanksgiving morning.
We'd be assisting about 100 others serve 800 to 1200 community members.
The doors would open at 11:00am.

more tomorrow

*SJC

Road trip

Those of you who've visited here may have concluded by now that I'm not at home this weekend.
Maybe by Monday I will be able to sit down at the PC to write a blog post that doesn't frustrate me.

Friday cat

via GIPHY
Limited capabilities here . . .okay?

Yes!!!

What I was gonna do

Is post a commentary about tje difficulty of posting here using the smartphone, but i already did it on koobecaf.
Also, if you visited here yesterday,  you got some inkling of my frustration.
So, this morning it's the tablet and not much better.

So instead I stole this from a koobecaf post.

Oops!

All I have is the smartphone 

So this all there is

Oh . . .

Wait!

It rained

Sarge was ten.

I wasn't.
Fifty-three years ago was probably one of the most memorable days in my life.

My ship was returning from deployment in the Western Pacific.
We were probably one day short of landfall at Sandy Eggo [why do I wanna say gritty waffles?].
It was still early, because I remember it was about time for a change of watch.
The first word we got about Kennedy being shot was through the "back door."
A Radioman called up CIC and asked if we'd heard about it.
It was just a few moments until it was announced to the entire ship over the 1MC.

It was really quiet after that  . . . all day!
There was a prayer service in the unused hangar in the aft superstructure.
Beyond that there wasn't much else.

When we did reach port, there was not much celebration of our arrival [except by the winners of the anchor pool].
Thanksgiving on the ship was pretty subdued in 1963.

it sucked

Monday update

Saturday was the first opportunity in awhile to visit a couple of friends in San Jose.
They happen to be members of a Lions Club, too.
Suzie was the main organizer for a feed the hungry project.
Her husband, Bobby, got to wear the shirt.

it says, stop hunger now
that's the organization name

Anyhow, there were about 40-50 Lions and LEO Club members at a church hall, assembly food packets for shipment overseas.

I shot some video but it isn't available at the moment.

The packets consisted of soy, vegetables (dehydrated), and rice.
Each packet, when water is added, will feed six people.
The packets are weighed, sealed, and labeled.
Then they are packed 36 to a box, loaded onto a truck and sent to a warehouse and added to other shipments to fill a cargo container.
The container is then loaded onto a ship and delivered to a country where hunger is a serious problem

The project organizers said there are 40 million fewer hungry people since they started.
They did not take all of the credit for that statistic.

Saturday morning we arrived at 10am and were given instruction on the procedure.
Over $2900 had been raised by local Lions Clubs to pay for the food being packed and shipped.
The fellow in charge told us one of his measures for success at these events was the lack of waste created.
In other words, don't spill.
Two hours had been allotted for packing 10,000 packages.
Fifty minutes after we started there was no more food to be packed.
They didn't say if that was any kind of record.
There was waste to speak of, either.

It was great to see old friends and also to do something worthwhile.

Then I got to have a nice visit with my oldest* sister.
We went to an authentic Mexican restaurant where I consumed a super burrito and half a basket of chips and salsa [without any help].
It wasn't Burrito Bandito but it was still a lot of food.
Feeding the hungry will help the appetite immensely.

*previous visitors to this blog will remember I have two sisters, both at least ten years my junior

Church

Heard this live [on the radio] the other evening



Yeah, not that kind of church

Saturday

we're all a little off on Saturday

Friday's cat

No, I'm not going to talk about the election.

won't judge anyone who does, either

I dunno, it just happens

The post I wrote for yesterday somehow ended up being scheduled instead of posted.
It wasn't until noon I discovered the error.
I just went back and changed the scheduled post time instead of automatically posting it.

I changed it to the instance I woke the second time.
That was when Sebastian let me know under no uncertain terms he wanted out.

Most evenings he spends the entire night outside, coming in sometime around 6am [or later should I have the opportunity to sleep in].
However, there was a distinct chill in the air late Tuesday and he avoided going outside, choosing instead to curl up in various places around the house until I went to bed.
He then followed me and curled up on top of the covers.

I should have known it was not going to end in my favor.
The li'l shit had been inside all day Tuesday because:

1. he sleeps all day
2. it had rained and was wet outide
3. I had left and there was nobody to let him out until almost 7:30pm

By then he'd decided his fur coat wasn't warm enough for him to go out.

At 4am he got restless and jumped down from the bed and roamed to the front of the house.
It wasn't long before instinct told him he had some business to take care of outside.
That's when I actually rose from my slumber long enough to open the door for him.

Fortunately I was able to go back to sleep when I lay down again.

An hour later my phone started vibrating.
It sure is a good thing I retired so I can take naps in the afternoon.

sleep's for sissies

This is dedicated to . . .

. . . pick someone special.
They know who they are.

missing Leon Russell, too

The end of the walk

What it is about fall colors?

. . . particularly when they can be contrasted with the green we have here after the first rains.

same tree

Then I got bored and started messing with the camera.

First I let the camera do the settings automatically.

Then I pulled a trick on the camera because I really have no other way to change the settings.

I suppose I could've used Photoshop?

teasing the camera is easier

That walk

There were many sights to distract one during the walk along the river.
This tree, in particular caught my attention.

There was another picture I would have liked to have taken, but the silly woodpecker would not cooperate and remained just out of view of the camera.

wildlife . . .   bah

A walk in the park

So . . .  it rained here early Saturday.
Cooled off, it did, too!
Something suggested that a walk would be nice.
Picked down by the river, I did [the old AF Sarge is a bad influence -- now I'm channeling Yoda].

A lot fewer folks go to the park and walk along the river on cool wet days in November.
I won't tell what they're missing.
But I can show you.

I would like to tell you the riparian habitat is pristine, but there are homes on the bluff across the river from the park.

That's not all I saw.
But it's fun to stretch these posts over a few days to make you suffer my job as blog host easier.

more tomorrow

Maybe you noticed

I didn't post about Veterans Day yesterday.
Fridays are reserved for cats.
Seriously, I appreciate our veterans*.
I even believe we should celebrate our vets.
I just don't think it is totally proper that the anniversary of the ending of World War One, known as Remembrance Day to many, and previously known as Armistice Day in this country, should have been preempted to become a broad spectrum acknowledgement.
Veterans deserve their own day.
It needn't be a holiday, though it would be nice.
The end of The Great War, The War to End All Wars, should have no other things piggy backed on it.
Veterans should have their own day, not shared with any other event.
That's so we can celebrate and show appreciation for those who have served us and still survive.
August needs a holiday.

*I am one so I have a vested interest

Friday's cat

The li'l soandso likes his privacy on occasion.

And he found a great place.

Yes, he's in there

 Now he has to find a new hideout,

You can almost hear him cursing me.

Ubiquitous

Is life really so short that we can't get by without the ever present cell phone?

Really?
I know I have reached a stage where it seems like I have to have mine in hand all of the time.
At one point it was a necessity.

Today, not so much.
I purposely leave it in the car when I attend a meeting.
(I'll admit, however, to having it on stun vibrate during certain playoff games)
It's actually a refreshing break, knowing that I am unavailable periodically.
Those who know me well don't interrupt anyway.

OTOH, it's nice to be able to be in touch with family with whom we would not otherwise have much contact [and to be able to ignore them if we wish when their views don't agree with ours].

If you came here expecting to find my views on the recent election, I will leave it at I was disappointed with the outcome.
It would also have disappointed me if the other candidate had won as well.
Neither floated my boat.
But then it's been that way for a number of election cycles now.
Here's a possible solution [the link is in the first word - Here's].

back to cats, dinners, and flowers tomorrow

Now How we got Sebastian

PHG thought she had included a picture.

I like all the extra page views

So!
Where were we?
I know I didn't do a cat post last week . . .    just a slight oversight.
Besides bats rhymes.

The closest thing to profound all week was Wednesday . . .   and maybe Thursday.
Sunday was cryptic.

The Canadians are still second place in the audience category and the pageviews are still up for no apparent reason.
Thank you, whoever you are.

Sunday was the breakfast at the Senior Center.
We served almost 200 and risked running out of almost everything.
It has been a long time since we had that many attend.
The weather was rainy but it didn't stop folks from showing up.

Then there was the issue of the end of daylight saving.
Why do they insist on calling it that?
It's nothing more than daylight rearranging.
In this case putting more at the beginning of the day when everyone wants to sleep instead of leaving it where it is more useful.
What clown's legacy is that?

I told Sebastian we could sleep an extra hour.
He ignored me.
So we were wide awake at 4:30am, much too early to start preparing for the breakfast.
In fact he is still waking at 4:30 each morning.

Did I mention it rained Saturday night and Sunday morning?
The mountains, Shasta and Lassen are blanketed with snow.
Nice!

I will get around to the rest of the story eventually.

cryptic is all you're getting for now

Monday Nothing to update

Too busy this morning to write a post.

tomorrow   . . . maybe

It ain't all French toast and scrambled eggs

Say what?


There's suddenly much interest in this blog  . . . and it isn't the Russians and Ukrainians. 
It is the folks from the Great White North . . .   you know, Canadia [spelled that way on purpose] 

Hmmmmm!

Another untitled post

Yeah . . .

I know, both seasons are too long

As Buck woulda said, "From the usual source."

almost over

That was something, huh?

So, when I got home last night, I watched the last two innings of the World Series.
Yes, I am happy the Cubs won.
108 years is way too long to wait.

I would not have been totally disappointed if the Indians had won.
They've had a long dry spell, too.

I would've been much happier had the Giants been playing the Red Sox.
No, I did not have a bet.

The real disappointment for me is that MLB (major league baseball [no caps is on purpose]) thinks it is a necessity to inflict us with the game all the way past Halloween.
The season should be over by mid September.
I know I would probably enjoy the game a lot more.
And the players would probably not wear down quite so much.

Oh, and nobody should have to wear an anorak to a ball game, particularly the players.

I think we need a constitutional amendment that says, ". . . if the major sports want to maintain their monopoly, they must arrange a definite break between their individual seasons . . .  such that there is no conflict in any of their schedules . . ."
What do ya think?

rhetorical question

Fun weekend

Before I do anything else I have to acknowledge that, of late, the posts here have been long on promise and short on delivery . . .   kind of like a certain major activity* occurring as this is being written.

That said, I now have to acknowledge that the viewer traffic has suddenly shown an increase, so much so that what earlier had appeared to be a so-so page view month ended up being the second highest total ever for this blog.
The totals are nothing to brag about, as the page view total since startup is only now reaching 100k.

Now to finally catch up on the weekend antics.
I left here Friday because I didn't want to even try to go all the way to Half Moon Bay on the same day.
There is the issue of Bay Area traffic at the end of that journey and there was also some question as to the weather conditions.
Driving at a leisurely pace is also much more conducive to being relaxed.
As it was, the rain was hit and miss throughout the day on Friday, mostly miss.

Saturday turned out to be a relatively nice day.
There was a little ground fog at the start.
Traffic was light to medium in terms urban folks might understand, heavy if one is rural.

Upon reach the Bay I drove a circuitous route over roads and streets I hadn't seen in a long, long time.
Some landmarks were still recognizable.
I tried to drive past the home where I lived when I first started at the college [my parents home, yes. Thank you!], but the fire department had the street blocked.
I am only guessing it was a natural gas leak.
Further on, in the downtown, the cops had the main street blocked for some pre-Halloween event.

Then I proceeded to Half Moon Bay for the reunion.
There are only three ways, on the ground, into HMB.
All are, for the most part, two-lane roads.
Two of those aren't really practical because of the distances involved.
The most direct route is California Highway 92, which winds it's way between Upper and Lower Crystal Springs Reservoirs, then up to a summit and down the other side to HMB.
The one major drawback to that relatively short drive is everyone and their cousin who has not yet bought their pumpkin for Halloween is going to one of the pumpkin farms along that road to do just that.
Traffic was slow, to say the least.
The fog was still hanging over the bay but slowly making its way seaward.
The predicted storm was giving us a break.
The next step, of course, was to track down the former schoolmates.
Where was the bar?
I found a couple of them in a sports bar at Princeton by the Pillar Point Harbor.
(this location is just a little inland from Maverick's, where the big surf occurs and the surfing competition occurs)
The closest to any competition this day was a brief demonstration of pool skills by one of our group.
From the billiard table we moved to the VFW Hall for no-host beverages, conversation, and reminiscing . . .
. . . and some photos were taken.

From there we walked across the street to Mezza Luna for dinner, where, fortunately, there was no microphone and nobody made any speeches.

Seating was a little more formal at dinner.

there's almost always someone who moves

this time it was Ron Asti

someone tell Rod Meyer his shirt is on backwards

There were 41 attendees, counting caregivers wives and significant others.
It appears that a number of our group have aged well.
We seem to want to do this more often.
I would venture a good time was had by all.

The festivities continued well into the evening, but not quite the next day.
Egress from HMB was hampered by precipitation, which at time seemed like a bucket had been turned upside down.
The upside was there was little traffic in the area of the pumpkin farms, some of which resembled small lakes with orange buoys floating in them.

I got over the summit in time to miss an accident that had the entire road shut down and traffic backed up for miles.

The rain eased up about 1:30pm and was intermittent after that.


*I will let you decide if I mean the World Series, which, in my mind, should have concluded over a month ago; or the General Election and its accompanying campaign.

You had one thing to do this morning

Write a blog post.
Did you get it done?
Guess!
You're pathetic!

I bet your den is a mess, too!
Ya think?

Well, you'd better get started on that as soon as you get back from the dentist.

yeah

 right