Things to do this Summer

Make use of the lemon tree in our backyard.....

And make strawberry lemonade to drink on warm summer nights!

Shaken Up

The 7.2 earthquake on Easter was very scary. In California you get used to earthquakes and they're a little exciting but this one passed the exciting stage and went straight to 'oh shit!'. I usually don't feel earthquakes unless I am sitting perfectly still and I was in the backyard with Jeff and my in laws doing demo and the whole yard was moving up and down and there was a really loud roar and it just seemed to go on and on....it was the largest earthquake I ever felt and was actually very scary ( all I could think of was 'please God, let my $400k home that I haven't moved in to yet survive this!). I was home sick the next couple of days and laying on the couch I could feel every aftershock. There were probably 3 or 4 good ones (over 4.0) everyday for the first couple of weeks and now they are just every few days. We had a 5.1 a few weeks ago which happened while I was at work (which is on the 11th floor of a highrise downtown) and because our building is on rollers we really feel it. I enjoy watching people who are not used to quakes, usually transplants from the midwest or the south who think a quake is the scariest thing but don't think twice about tornadoes or hurricanes that happen several times a year. A few minutes ago we just had a 5.7. The first thing you hear is a rumble and then you hear the closet doors and windows rattle and then comes the shaking. This one started little and just when I thought it was going to be another little after shock it got stronger and louder. Not the gentle rolling type, the jerky kind which gets your heart beating a little faster wondering when it is going to stop. Jeff's main concern was our new flatscreen. "The TV is fine!" says Jeff....

Check out how many earthquakes we've had just today (6/14)!

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/Quakes/quakes_all.html

I'm too lazy to count but since midnight last night we've probably had about 100 in the area, 15 or so that were significant. As a science nerd I know that all these little quakes are good. They release a little more pressure from those behemoth tectonic plates and lessen worries about the 'big one' a little bit more. But, that's just a part of living in beautiful California! I never have to shovel snow or de-ice my car, we don't have bugs, humidity is rare and we don't even know what a tornado watch is. I can be in the mountains in an hour, the desert in an hour and th beach in 10 minutes. Bad weather is an overcast day. I can handle a little shake every now and then!

A Nice Blog About Steve

One of Steve's friends wrote a post on her blog about Steve. I thought she really captured what Steve was all about.

http://candidcow.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-music-died-reprise.html

The Month of May

May had a rough start with the passing of my Uncle Steve. The housewarming/birthday party the first weekend of May was more or less cancelled once we learned that my Uncle was in his final hours. It was nice that my brother was in town so we could be together with my Grandma and Mike to support each other by sharing memories and telling funny stories. Seeing my 90 year old Grandmother distraught was heartbreaking. Steve had just been in San Diego in March for my Grandma's birthday and he was fine. I now cherish that I was able to see him when he was here, because I had no idea it would be the last time. The next few days went by slowly, I kept checking the Helping Hands Website for updates and waiting for the dreaded phone call. It finally came about 20 minutes after he passed the evening of May 5th. It has now been almost a month and tomorrow would have been his 55th birthday. I leave tomorrow morning with Jeff to head north to Santa Maria for his memorial service and celebration of life in San Luis Obispo. I look forward to seeing long lost relatives and loved one as well as meeting some of the people whose lives Steve had touched over the years. Family is the best cure for sadness and I know Steve would not want us to be sad but to carry on his legacy of charity and music. He left some big shoes to fill...

The Month of May also included Mothers Day. We had Jeff's mom and sister over for the afternoon and spent the day sipping on Mimosas, playing Rockband and enjoying each others company. It's been fun having people over who have seen the before and after on the house. It was quite the makeover. It's amazing what a little elbow grease and paint can do for a place!

For Memorial Day weekend we headed north to Redondo Beach for a long weekend with John and Goldie. We hadn't been up there since last summer and we really missed it! Redondo is such a neat city. G&J live walking distance to shops, restaurants and bars and the beach is just a short drive away. As is tradition, we were greeted upon our arrival with a cocktail. And also as is tradition we were so excited to see each other that we stayed up way too late and had way too many cocktails. Saturday was a little rough, but we managed to get ourselves up and headed to Hollywood. We drove thru the hills of the Hollywoodland neighborhood and got ourselves as close to the Hollywood sign as one can get. The sign is literally in the backyard of these peoples homes! The houses up there are fabulous with views of downtown LA but the crazy winding roads were a little much for us. That and the $2 million plus price tags....After our Hollywood Sign adventure we headed to downtown Hollywood to play tourist. We ducked in to the famous Roosevelt Hotel and had a cocktail, looked for stars on the walk of fame and ended back at the Roosevelt for dinner and more cocktails. Hollywood on a Saturday night is bananas. Lets just say the people watching was extraordinary! After dinner John drove us to the Smoke House which is by Warners Brothers Studios and Forest Lawn Cemetery (home to Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson) to listen to some live big band music and have a nightcap. The place reeks of old Hollywood and I would love to go back there for dinner some time.

So tomorrow I head north for a week in Santa Maria. The week may start on a somber note with the memorial service but the next weekend will be filled with fun and laughter as all my girls get together for Rosa's baby shower! We are expecting 60 people!!! It's been fun planning and shopping for this joyous event. I hope it goes off without a hitch and mama-to-be has a fun time. I can't believe that in just 6 short weeks a little baby girl will be a part of our group. I can't wait to meet her.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Hotel_(Hollywood)

http://www.smokehouse1946.com/RestaurantHistory.html

http://www.seeing-stars.com/buried2/ForestLawnHollywood1.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redondo_Beach,_California