K-Ville Pear Festival

This weekend was the annual Pear Festival in our area.  K-Ville is the pear capitol of the US, with acres and acres of pear orchards surrounding the town.  So every year there is the big Festival complete with Pear Queen and a substantial parade. 

Max marched with the K-Ville High School Band. Although he couldn’t play his bass (which is NOT a marching instrument) he did carry the banner along with the piano player.  The band played “25 or 6 to 4” by the band, Chicago and marched well, near the front of the parade.  A couple of times, I thought the parade was almost over and crossed to the other side, only to have more contestants come down the street!  Lots of antique cars and a whole herd of antique tractors! Yes, you read that right---there must have been 25 old tractors being cheered on by the large crowd! Definitely not your usual parade---this is an agricultural area, so I guess one has to expect it.

There were lots of stands set up selling everything from jewelry to wood carvings, soap, lots of food with that Pear theme---pies, ice cream, smoothies and turnovers.  I had a marvelous pear/apricot smoothie that was nothing but ice blended with fruit pulp---no dairy and no added sugar!  YUM!  AND I managed to get one of my favs---an enormous frozen banana with nuts! 

All in all, it was a fun time with local bands and businesses setting up raffles, etc.  The weather was perfect for it as well---dry and warm!  Old planes and helicopters did flyovers as well.  Lots of fun!

Just one of those days…

Yup, it was just one of those days---thank goodness they are few and far between.  It started out early---up at 5:30 and off with Max to get him to school by 7:20 (although I usually get him there by 7:10).  We were running later and ended up pulling into the back school lot (by the band room door) by 7:15.  After he left the car and ran up the sidewalk to the building, I checked my rear view mirror and since there was nothing back there, I started to back up.  Well, that lot is pretty small and because there is always a truck parked in the space closest to the building, I usually just pull in at an angle and drop him off, then back into a space and drive out of the lot (there’s only room to park on one side).  Well I backed up and bang---it was like I hit a wall.  Actually it was  the back of a Toyota truck that had pulled into a space right behind where I’d pulled in.  I couldn’t see it through my inside mirror, but there it was in my outside one.  My car was dented in the back door (truck lid) but I can still open and close it.  The truck’s bumper was still fine, from what I could see---although the lady insisted that the bumper needed to be replaced.  I couldn’t see even a dent in it…however, I’ll have to probably replace my back door on my PT.  If it can be repaired well enough, I’ll go with that, but I’ll have to check it out.

Well, although I was upset, I went on to Curves and later to tennis (where I played rather well) before going home and calling my insurance agent.  She said not to worry---they wouldn’t do anything until they heard from the lady.  So, we wait and see.  Tomorrow, I’ll take some pics of it all…

Max had soccer practice after school and was supposed to catch the Transit bus which drops him only a couple of miles from our house, but he got on the wrong bus and ended up in the town on the OTHER side of K-Ville!  He called and I had to go all the way there to get him.  So, an hour later, we finally got home!  Thank goodness Hubby was home and could get the dinner together for us upon our arrival.

Hope tomorrow brings me better luck---it can’t be anything but better…

BOOKSHOP MANIFESTO

Here is something that was handed to us at our booth at the Bluegrass Festival by the bookstore that sponsored our booth.  Hope you love it as much as I:

   BOOKSHOP MANIFESTO

We believe in the book.  We believe in quieting the noise and listening to the stories.  We believe in traveling far and wide between paper pages.  We believe in touching the words, scribbling in the margins and dogging the ears.  We believe in surrounding ourselves with books long finished and books not yet read; in revisiting our younger selves each time we pull from the shelf old favorites.

We believe in 5 year olds inking their names in big letters on the fly leaf.  We believe in becoming someone else for 400 pages.  We believe in turning off the screens and unplugging the network once in a while.  We believe in meeting the author, reading the footnotes, looking up words and checking the references.  We believe in holding our children on our laps and turning the pages together.

We believe in standing shoulder to shoulder in comfortable silence with our fellow citizens before a good shelf of books; be believe in the aisles of a good bookstore.

We believe that together, readers, writer, books, and bookstores can work magic.

Save the world.  Buy a book.

(Thanks to Gallery Bookshop, Mendocino, CA)

 

With that said, I shall be making only about 2 or 3 (at most) blog entries in the next month or so as I need to concentrate on getting a manuscript ready to sell.  I’ll keep you informed as to its progress and things here at home through FB and here when I can.  Thanks for your patience!  Have a great day!

BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL 2010

Yesterday was the 5th Annual Bluegrass Festival and my 4th time at the Lake County Writers’ Group booth.  We set up at 7 a.m. and tore down around 6 p.m.  A long day, but the weather was bright and sunny with only a hint of a breeze, so the weather was perfect.  Besides our booth, there was everything from tie-dye to hats to jewelry to crafty stuff.  Tons of food and this cute little stand helped quench our thirst.  The unending music ranged from old fashioned picking to yodeling to county with lots of banjoes, mandolins, and fiddles.  Our local Konocti Fiddlers Club was there (with a lot of fiddle players that are also in the Youth Orchestra with Max) and many other duos, trios and huge groups.  At the Anderson Marsh State Park, where the event is held, there is a big old house that is the park center with a huge covered front porch. For the Festival, three or four spinning wheels were going at all times and small clumps of musicians could be found in various places practicing and tuning up.  Our local radio station presented the music live, so those who didn’t want to come in person could still hear it all.

However, I spent most of my time sitting (or standing) behind my book display and talking to people about the books written by local artists.  All in all, it was a great day for everyone! 

Pre-Labor Day BBQ

We celebrated Labor Day a day early this year.  After Sunday Judo practice, the Judo kids and families came back to our house for an impromptu BBQ.  There was lots of great food (we provided the burgers and dogs and they brought most of the rest of it---except for my zucchini bread!) and conversation while the kids swam and jumped on the trampoline.  Max and E spent most of their time playing pool in the garage or shooting the BB gun at the archery targets.  All in all, it was small, but fun get-together on a perfect sunny afternoon!

School starts tomorrow for Max and E!  Oh boy!!!

SOCCER NEWS

Max just had his first soccer match on Tuesday and it ended in a 2-2 tie.  They played hard and well and he was exhausted at the end.  Everyone had fun and did a fine job.  The audience was enthusiastic and quite loud.

Then, at practice on Wed. afternoon, during a sprinting exercise, Max stepped into a hole and damaged his ankle.  They laid him on the field with an icepack and his foot elevated.  He managed to limp into the team picture before we left for home. He’s #16!

So, all day yesterday he lay around or practiced walking on crutches.  His ankle is still swollen, but by the end of the day, it had quit hurting as much.  We’re hoping he’ll be able to play on their first day of school game on Tuesday (after Labor Day), but don’t want to rush him into it if he isn’t really healed well!  He’ll have a little break with no Thursday game next week---their next one is on the following Tuesday.  So, keep good thoughts for his healing and we’ll just have to take it one day at a time!

Garden Rich!

Our garden has gone bonkers again!  We’re sneaking zucchinis into open vehicles and all but leaving them on strangers’ doorsteps.  They are threatening to take over our property.  But, as you can see, we managed to capture one oversized one and I let Max wrestle it to the ground and choke it out! Voila, stuffed zucchini!   We also have those unusual looking alien-spaceship-shaped pattypan squash too (see the pic above).  Boy are they delicious and cute too.  Our corn looks like it is an alien species too as the ears are enormous looking but really mostly stalk.  They are still developing inside.  Our little acorn squashes are yellow this year (a different species, I think) and the pumpkins are still on the vine, ripening for Halloween time.  The tomatoes are mostly still green and developing but promise to be ready in a week or so, we think.  We are getting the occasional yellow Italian pear tomato now.  YUM!  The new background on my space at Spaces is our blooming trumpet vine, which is in full bloom and bursting in health! Now, if I could only figure out a way to get some of our produce to you all through the computer…. 

WHAT A SIGHT!

As I came over the hill on my way to tune yesterday, I saw about eight of these in flight in our little valley here in Lake County.  You see, because of the heavy marine layer over in Napa county in the early part of the day, they come over to Lake Co. where the skies are clear and sunny!  I counted 9 this morning---some of them up and others almost up. It’s weird to look UP and see them from the bottom! At any rate, it was a great way to start the day!  Hope today and the weekend is good for all of you.

ZUCCHINI RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Wow!  Just tried out yet another zucchini recipe that turned out GREAT.  So here it is in detail:

                                              ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE BARS

 

Beat 3 eggs and add 1 c. oil.  Then slowly add 2 cups of sugar and beat.  Blend in 2 c. grated zucchini. 

In another bowl, combine 2-1/4 c. flour, 1/2 c. cocoa and 1 t. baking soda.

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, then stir in 1 T. white vinegar.  At this point, I add a cup of chopped nuts.

Put in 9 X 13 ungreased pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

You can SEE the chunks of zucchini!

These are SO easy to make and yummy even without frosting---almost more of a cake than a brownie in texture.  There are so many wonderful ways to use zucchini---and it’s a good thing, ‘cause we got tons of them!

Here is a cute pic of a very friendly cat that kept me company at a tuning last week---here’s Bunkie: 

Betty White wins another Emmy!

WOW!  She won another Emmy for her hosting on SNL!  That makes 5 that she’s won.  I’ve always been a fan of hers and loved to watch her play Password---what a pro!  Of course, back in those days, she was married to Alan Ludden. I couldn’t stop laughing at her Sue Ann Nivens role in “Mary Tyler Moore Show” or Rose in “Golden Girls.”  So glad to see her back in the acting saddle with her new show “Hot in Cleveland.”  I hope I’m half as active as she when I’m 88! Way to go Betty!

Pixar: Monsters, Inc. - hilarious movie outtakes (HQ)

Enjoy this clip of the out-takes of the Monsters Inc. movie from 2001---love the song and the laughs!

Soccer has begun!

(He’s the tall one in the light shirt and dark shorts 3rd from the right.)  Yes, Soccer season is upon us again!  Max went to tryouts and they were glad to welcome him aboard.  It’s quite a new experience for him this year, since he and one other former 8th grader are the only white kids on the team! K-Ville is really quite an agricultural area, what with it being the pear capital and all, that most of the school is made up of migrant Mexicans.  So, with so many GREAT soccer players, there aren’t many white guys around!

Right away they started calling him “German” and (his favorite) “Rambo.” He is about the biggest player they have and he loves all their attention!  Will get better pictures as the season progresses…

Their first game is the 31st of August, even though school doesn’t start for them until the day AFTER Labor Day!  Last night’s practice was quite interesting as the fire department decided to do a controlled burn right across the street from their practice field! Luckily the wind didn’t carry too much smoke to interrupt the practice!

WE’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER ROOM…

Yup.  Max’s room is definitely getting too small.  As you can see in the corner, he acquired a new Bass over the weekend!  His room is so small I couldn’t stand back any further to get it all in the picture!  In fact, I was standing in the hall, leaning around the corner to get that one! 

He found this 3/4 size bass (believe it or not, it is NOT full sized—the body is a little narrower and the neck isn’t as long or wide) for just the right price, which included the carrying bag.  He had saved all but$15 of the price, so I scraped up the last bit for him.  Because he paid in cash, the owner gave it to him as if without the tax.  It sounds almost as big as a full sized one---pros use them as practice basses because they are easier to lug around.  This one is a big larger than the usual 3/4 sized one.  Here is a comparison of a full sized one (the red one) and his new one:    

So, he is in 7th heaven now with his own upright (which he can bow too!).  Will let you know what name he decided to bestow upon it (the red one which belongs to the school, I understand, is named “Rosie”).  What would YOU name it???

The Old Bale Mill

I recently was down working in the Napa Valley and made a stop at one of my favorite places on my way back---The Old Bale Mill.  I love the old giant wheel and the surrounding wilderness and remoteness of the old mill. If you look closely, you can just see the wheel in the center of the picture---   Also, I love the stone ground corn meal I can get there---it makes the best cornbread!  I have never found anything to equal it, and believe me, I’ve looked.  The Mill isn’t grinding often during the winter months and only on weekends now during the summer, so I have to time my trips just right to get there when they’re open.  The time to really visit it is during The Old Bale Days two-day event usually in the fall, where they run tours and have outside events and stands depicting the old-tyme equipment and a working blacksmith, etc.  People are dressed in costume of the old days which makes it seem more authentic. 

After reading the engraved sign, I was surprised that the Mill was as old as it is. It is, by far, the largest Mill wheel I’ve ever seen and so fascinating to watch the corn and wheat ground the old fashioned way! They used to sell the corn meal, but the State health officials made them quit, do to the “less than sanitary” method of the grinding (i.e. open windows, no sterilization, etc.).  However, if one makes a donation, one can still obtain the freshly ground corn meal and use it at your own risk.  YUMMY!