Things are just falling apart

. . . on this blog.

There is so much going that's different now that I haven't been able to get my head around writing blog posts for about the last two weeks.
That's not a bad thing.

Two weeks ago today was my last day living in Anderson.
On Valentines Day I left Sebastian in charge and headed south.
It was, hopefully, the last time I would make the 163 mile drive alone.

There were loads of preparations to be made for the arrival of other family members and friends from far and wide.
MB's coworkers, daughter in law, and sister in law were dealing with the important wedding stuff.

Ooh!
Squirrel!!!

(He;s on the fence by the pool)

But I digress . . .
We felt it our duty to help entertain visiting family before the main events and afterward.
The guest room was still available on Wednesday night, but I shuffled off to a nearby hotel on Thursday and Friday.
We dealt with some unsettled weather conditions whilst preparing to feed the masses [of family members] after the simple reception at the church fellowship hall.

Friday night was much simpler.
We [all of the immediate family present . . .  about 40 of us] went out to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
It is interesting bringing together two separate and disparate groups whose only commonality are the couple getting married.

wait, there's more

Still no pics

We, MNBF [hereinafter referred to as My Bride and subsequently, MB] and I, have been up and down the roads from the northern end of the Central Coast, to Northern California, then even further to the North State, where I used to live.
I can affirm that spring seems to be on its way.
Many of the trees in the I-5 corridor of the Sacramento Valley have blossoms.
Those that do not are budding.
All of the streams are in full flow and the Sacramento River probably can't handle a lot more.

Possibly, when we get caught up, now that we're home, I or My Bride will have a tale or two . . .   maybe with pictures.

There will still be a road trip or more to settle things up north.

the drive isn't nearly as bad

as when traveling alone

Have I been remiss?

I think not.
In fact it's rather remarkable that there've been any posts here since last Saturday (a week ago yesterday).
Maybe, but only maybe, it will get back on track come Monday.
About as much as I can tell you so far is I have been sleeping later, each morning the past week, than I have in a long time.

Fridat cat

Some were incognito

. . .didn't want to be recognized.

I know the crazy one too well.

Word of the day

Thanks to the Old Air Force Sarge:

Sparse - what posts are on some blogs;

Just another picture

The weather is really crappy.
We don't care.
😊

Just a picture

Yesterday

Today is . . .

Well, it's pretty awesome.
I am humbled by the words in posts of the past two days.
I may even come up with a response . . .  probably nothing more than, "Thank you."
Then I will continue to try to do my best.

The odds are that if there are any post over the next week it will be mostly pictures.
Then, probably very few of those.
We shall see.

Friday cat has been pre-empted

Sometimes . . .
I want to scream.
Then I remind myself I am a patient man by reading what others say,
The Internet and technology in general has not been kind this morning.
Hence, this post by MNBF is much later than planned.


Skip is a wonderful, compassionate, caring man. He puts the best construct on everyone's actions (except, perhaps, other drivers on the highway 😉). He wants to do for me and take care of me. It is a whole change of gears from where my life has been and I'm having a hard time accepting it.
I have a really hard time accepting help. People offer help and even when I am struggling to get things done, I decline the offer. Can I learn to let myself be on the receiving end of things? I
I took a huge step this past week. A family member offered a wedding gift of someone to clean my house and someone to clean up my yard. Though it was difficult and I felt like I was wimping out and failing in my responsibilities, I did it.
You know, it was kinda nice. Maybe I could even get used to that sort of thing. But this was service that was paid for. It's different than accepting help as a free gift.
The thing is, I love to do for others. I get that others may enjoy doing for me. It's just really hard to be on the receiving end. Skip wants to give. Can I learn to receive?
Marriage is giving and taking. As much as  I want to take care of him. he wants to take care of me. Can I learn not to be so self-sufficient and allow him that pleasure?
I love this man with all my heart. Tomorrow we will say I do and begin a whole new adventure together. I am beyond excited for this next chapter and for our life together. I pray God gives me the grace to receive all that Skip wants to give and that our time together on this earth is blessed to His glory.
   
There may be a post tomorrow.

don't count on it

More from MNBF

Surprise, surprise . . .
Time is short, but she still has time to surprise me.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?" Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

I am not good at accepting help. I never have been. Some would call it being independent but I don't think I feel like I have to be or even want to be independent. If I had to describe myself I would probably say I am self-sufficient. That is something I have had to be - or felt like I had to be - since at least junior high.
I always felt like I had to be responsible ("felt" may be the operative word here). Perhaps it was just oldest child syndrome. Why is it that oldest children seem to assume the weight of taking care of everyone else?
Not to get too side-tracked, but here is a list of characteristics typical of an oldest child:

1.     High achievers
2.     Good leaders
3.     Conscientious
4.     Self-sufficient
5.     Perfectionists
6.     Eager to please
7.     Have high expectations of themselves
8.     Feel responsible for the welfare and harmony of the family
9.     Low self-esteem (because they can’t live up to expectations)
10.     Sensitive
11.     In need of constant assurance

If you know me, you know that this list pretty much describes me to a T. If you don't know me then this is a glimpse. Either way, did you notice #4? Self-sufficient.
This is something I've thought a lot about in the last couple months. Having been alone for the last couple years, I've gotten used to not having anyone to lean on. Even before that, because of circumstances, I was usually the one being leaned on. I had to be responsible, maybe because of strengths and weaknesses, maybe because I am too ocd to let go of things, and later because of illness.
Skip was visiting before Christmas and I had brought totes of decorations in from the shed to get the house ready for the holiday. Once everything was out and the house looked appropriately festive, it was time to put all the totes back in the shed. Skip was here and helping. I don't remember what I was doing - I think I was trying to get a heavy tote sideways through the back door - Skip said, "I can help you with that. You don't have to do it all alone."
Whether it was the words he spoke, the tenderness in his voice, or that he put his arms around me as he said it, I dissolved into tears. All the years of trying to take care of myself and everyone else, being a caretaker for Gary and then being alone, still feeling responsible for everyone else - it all seemed to be in that box of Christmas stuff and he told me I didn't have to do it alone.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow." In two days I am going to marry this man who wants to be there to lift me when I fall and help carry the load. The question is, can I learn to share the load I've held on to so tightly for such a long time? More on that tomorrow . . . . 

getting a little dusty at times, it is

Really . . . it's that soon?

So, I am on the road this morning.
I am also hoping it will be dry in Elk Grove on Saturday.
Also, I am praying for the folks living in the flood plain of the Feather River.
Another Pacific storm is expected tonight or early tomorrow.
We've been warned it could dump as much as the equivalent of 6-8 inches of rain in the watershed that feeds Lake Oroville.
That cannot help the situation.

Our own dam on the Sacramento is Shasta Dam.
It looks like this.

source: SCSO

Yeah, 70,000cfs total.
It's supposed to come out of the front of that dam, when it's not coming through the power house.

Downstream, at Anderson, it's like this . . .

source: Lyn Brophy

source: Lyn Brophy

. . . and Anderson River Park looks like this.

source: KRCRTV

source: KRCRTV

Beyond the next two days I have no idea what will appear here.
I suppose there may be some wedding pics.
Maybe there will even be one of those ginormous family pics [in the sense that the family is ginormous, not that the picture is ginormous].
I am going to have to write down all of the names and remember the faces that go with them.
We shall see as this begins.

change is good

Where were we?

I would guess that the regular reader of this blog knows how enamored I am of driving, particularly how it affects my mood . . .   right?

I was asked last week to drive the Lions Clubs International Guests, in this case a Past President and his wife, to the airport after all the official festivities had been come to a close.
That meant, of course, that I would be driving a stretch of freeway with which I have become most familiar in the past six months.
The biggest difference, besides having VIP passengers, is that MNBF would be along as well and I would be driving her car, which is larger than mine, as it is an crossover vehicle.

To help out, we loaded my car with our belongings so there was plenty of room for our guests things [international visitors always return home with more than they bring].

The day was beautiful.
We had a break in the weather on Saturday that continued into Sunday.
It was a perfect Chamber of Commerce day, 70 degrees and a light breeze with unlimited visibility in all directions.

I was afraid it would all be spoiled by the 151 mile drive* among the most annoying people on earth.
I was also afraid it might change our guests mind about the nice people in the North State because I can be quite vocal with my opinions about other drivers [MNBF, PHG, and GS, before them, can tell you how well I point out other's flaws].
Fortunately I no longer use the language I honed in the Navy.

There was no rush because we got on the road well ahead of schedule.
In that respect the convention was outstanding.
All events started and ended in the periods allotted.
Sunday was even early.

Traffic was light and we caught the green at most of the signals before getting on the freeway.
I was really enjoying driving the car, which will have to be given a name.
The driver sits higher than in my car, which has a name, but I don't use it because it's stupid.

There wasn't any interference in gaining the freeway [nobody got in the way].
That was good and it stayed that way.
There was only one point where I might have lost it.
Somewhere about a third of the way down, I spied a vehicle starting to merge onto the road.
There was a vehicle in the passing lane on my left, which was in no hurry to pass, so I could not change lanes.
To my relief the merging vehicle slowed enough for me to get by without changing my speed.
The rest of the journey south passed without incident.
It was, perhaps, the best drive ever over that stretch of highway.

I wish I could say the same for the return trip.
I will say that the return wasn't as bad as others over that route.

Don't ask me to tell you about the convention.
I no longer find them all that interesting, except for getting to see so many friends again.
And the ranks of friends has at least doubled because MNBF knows folks I don't.
That, and it's fun to people watch.
Probably almost as much fun as people watching at an airport.

My only complaint about the convention is the food could have been served hot.
I'm happy each of us opted for only a couple of meals and we went out [to C.R. Gibbs at the Best Western] for other meals, which were outstanding, mostly because of the company we had, but the food was good, too.

rumor has it there'll be a guest post soon

*yes that's really close to the same distance as from my house to MNBF's (the best part is that Sacramento Airport is north of Sacramento). Redding is ten miles further north than my place and MNBF is about ten miles south of Sac . . . then there's that distance between the airport and Sac.

Somebody asked . . .

Where's Oroville?

This is one of those times I will give a straight answer [instead of saying something like. "In San Francisco Bay."].

No!
I will show you . . . 

. . . on a map.

Gee!
Even Elk Grove is on this map.

your geography lesson for the day

Monday update

It has rained here a lot.
Dry now.

More rain to come.

This has us concerned because so many friends are affected.

credit: LA Times

A damaged spillway with eroded hillside is seen in an aerial photo taken over the Oroville Dam in Oroville .
Story here.

Still no pictures

At least there aren't any from the convention.

So, I stole a couple from the Sarge's koobecaf page.

Some conventions are like that.

particularly when there's campaigning

If I only did what I am supposed to

What?
Do you think I mean watch where I leave prepositions?

Usually I do.

No, I mean write blog posts in a timely manner.
Isn't happening, folks.
Because there is so much to do and so little time.

Someone is keeping track so I don't have to.
I was informed yesterday that there were 189 hours [that was at around 5pm].

It seems that nearly everybody here at this convention [which is interfering with our preparations] knows and was something to say about it.

That's nice.

I would be posting pictures from the convention, but that torch on Thursday is really the only thing worth seeing.
Tomorrow, MNBF have been recruited to drive the main guest to the Sacramento Airport.
I hope it stops raininf by then.
It did clear a little on Friday for awhile, but started again at about 3pm.

th-th-that's all folks

Friday cat

better late than never

So there I was

This year is the 100th Anniversary of The International Association of Lions Clubs.
This  morning I found myself in charge of the torch that symbolizes the passage to the next 100 years.

I couldn't pass up an opportunity t mug for the camera.

Now it's my turn

I'm at a convention [well, the preliminaries . . .   the convention doesn't actually start until tomorrow, but the folks who're running the show had meetings to attend yesterday and today].
I the overall scheme, my presence would not be missed.
I have no tasks that someone else can't handle.
I am the perfect definition of a supernumerary.

Speaking of super, did anyone watch the game on Sunday?
I have already spewed enough about my thoughts elsewhere.
Like another recent major event in this country [that takes place every four years], it is over.
There's nothing to see here, folks, move along.

don't touch anything that isn't yours.

The worst thing

Winter weather is not my favorite.
Not because it's cold, windy, wet, or otherwise.
It's about how it screws up Sebastian's routine.

If he has his druthers, it is to be outside . . .  particularly in the day time . . . even until as late as ten o'clock in the evening.
He does, however, prefer eating indoors.

The current weather systems have pretty much driven him inside.
But, there are those moments when he insists upon going out and trying things on for size.
He's usually good for about 15 minutes to a half an hour,
That wouldn't be too awful, but for the fact that many days he wants out at 4am and is quite vocal about it.

This week he is kinda fending for himself since I'm at the Lions Convention, helping at the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference, and getting ready for a wedding.

probably pictures only for the rest of the week

Sure happy it's Tuesday

Wet and windy

It is what it is!

Tax time today, too . . .  probably the earliest I will have ever been ready.
Definitely the earliest I have ever had an appointment.

countdown continues

Monday update

See . . .   I actually DO cook!
It appears MNBF raised her phone just in time to catch me flipping some French Toast.

That was how the day started.
Afterward we went back to the house.
We talked some plans and took a little nap.
Then, at around 3pm or so, we drove to Costco [because Costco's never busy on a Sunday afternoon, right?].
It seems most of the community was occupied elsewhere [and a number of my blogging friends are extremely happy this morning because what looked like a blowout turned out otherwise].

(No, I did not watch. I did, however, periodically see koobecaf posts from others who were emotionally involved.
My boycott avoidance of NFL will probably remain in place until such time as the league does a complete attitude adjustment.
I shall probably refrain from watch most college football, too, for much the same reason.
I found I had a lot more free time on weekends this year.)

We had no trouble finding a parking space near the entrance and were in and out of the store in minutes.
Then we went to TJ's (Trader Joe's) for a loaf of bread [I know, right? Nobody goes there for just a loaf of bread . . .  we did].
There was some left over prime rib from Saturday's.
TJ's was even less busy than Costco.

No, I wouldn't have made the drive to just go to TJ's.
The timing of the trip coincided with the arrival of another major Pacific Storm.
Lots and lots of wind.
The rain is yet to come.

Just in time for the Lions Clubs' California State Convention in Redding.
Blogging may be just a little sporadic over the next week since I have some involvement with the host committee for the convention.
MNBF will be there, too.

first Monday update in awhile, huh?

Last chance on a first Sunday

If everything goes according to plan over the next two weeks, I will find it too far to drive on Sunday mornings to go break eggs and burn french toast.
It has been a long run.
There are only a couple of things I've done longer.
Others didn"t require rising at Oh Dark Thirty on a perfectly good day for sleeping in.

So if you happen to be in the neighborhood of the Frontier Senior Center in Anderson this morning,
drop by between 8 and 10 [yeah the sign says 11, but the volunteers really appreciate when they can slough off the last hour].

who's smiling now

Humbled

Another guest post . . .

As I drive up highway 5 toward Skip’s, I am incredibly humbled.
I am humbled by the majesty of God’s creation.
For the most part the drive is flat. But on the right I pass the Sutter Buttes which stand bold and strong in the middle of the flatland. Off a ways on the left are rolling foothills with the occasional mountain peeking over the top. Currently those mountains are covered in snow and are an amazing backdrop to the dark hills in front of them.
Driving farther north I see Mt. Lassen to the east and even more snow covered mountain peaks to the west. It is beautiful and makes the 163 miles enjoyable.
At various points on the route the highway crosses the Sacramento River. I have read that Highway 5 actually crosses the river 7 times between Sacramento and Redding. There is a beautiful park along the river near Skip’s home where we have walked. It is so peaceful.
I especially marvel at the wonder of God’s creation when I see Mt. Shasta. At over 14,000 feet, the white snow covered peak towers above the skyline. It truly is magnificent. When it is clear I can see it at about the halfway point of my trip which is amazing.
Of course, I love seeing Mt. Shasta but not just because it is beautiful. It’s because it is telling me that I am that much closer to my destination - that it will not be long before I am with my love instead of missing him.
Where Skip lives is a beautiful part of the country. Mountains, trees, sun, water. It is more like living in the country than the city.
More than that, it is the place he calls home. It is where he has connections, where he has friends. It has been his home for almost 44 years.
What I find the most humbling of all is that he is willing to leave all of this to be with me. I cannot help but worry a little that he will miss his old home, his old friends, and the groups he has been a part of.
Yes, I know he has made this choice and leaves it behind willingly. That is what is so incredibly humbling about it. I am awed and honored and yes, humbled, by the love that would lead him to make that choice.
When I leave Skip’s, Mt. Shasta is just as beautiful in the rear view mirror but the view brings a much different feeling. It is the ache that comes from knowing that we will not be together for at least a few days or a week.
That the day of the wedding is getting closer and closer means the time apart will soon come to an end. The lonely drives up and down highway 5 that both of us have made these past months will also be a thing of the past.
As the day of the wedding approaches, I am humbled and awed that Skip would choose to leave behind a place so beautiful, a place he loves, to love me and to spend his life with me in a new place. To God be the glory!

As I read this I found there must have been some dust in the room, also it was difficult to swallow.
I have driven that same route on many, many occasions.
I've even posted photos of the scenery.
I never ceases to amaze and fascinate me.
MNBF says she is humbled . . .  well, that works two ways and I know there is more than just two people involved in this glorious tale that's evolving.

two weeks and it's nothing
to do with Spring Training

Friday cat

What ever happened to . . .

. . . Bill the cat?

story here

first full squad workout in two weeks

Further temptation

Will it never stop?
So after yesterday's post, this I saw.

[yeah, Yoda  . . .deal with it]

I guess I'm like a dog with a bone when it comes to some topics.
I'm not sure whether the topic is koobecaf or civility.

Then there's this . . .

Who doesn't smile when they see Jimmy Durante?

. . . or Linda Rondstat?

Two weeks until the position players report for Spring Training

Temptation

I mentioned it yesterday.

The temptation that occurs isn't to respond to or make political posts.
It's more to comment upon or write posts pointing out the irony when those who write political posts lament the negative responses they receive and how negative they feel the atmosphere on koobecaf has become.

My inner devil wants me to jump up and down and scream, "You #*ck*ng 1d10t!"
My training over the past 14 years has shown me that I don't have to act on my first, or any, thought.
In fact, I should suppress most of those thoughts and not ever let them see the light of day.

The only reason I even mentioned temptation is because it was so overwhelming and might have manifested in some other manner.

Meanwhile . . .