South Bay Soliloquy

The cake is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

2011-06-22T23:39:00.002-04:00

Get yourself some bananas.
Forget to eat them for about a week.
Then make this cake.
You will not regret it.
Unless you don't like bananas.
If that is the case, I cannot help you.

She's alive! And she's eating tacos

2011-02-06T17:14:00.006-05:00

OK. I have been a lazy blogger bum. Only not so much.
I have been blogging busily at work for the Mom Blog there.
You can read more by clicking here.

And if you are craving tacos, try this slow-cooker recipe for carnitas.
It's about as easy as they come.

Mint - it's not just for mojitos!

2010-09-04T14:30:00.003-04:00

I love fresh mint. I think it is an unexpected flavor in a lot of dishes.
Not to mention how good it is in a mojito.

But in a pesto?
Sure! Why the heck not?

Paired with another favorite herb, mint-cilantro pesto is a nice addition to my sauce repertoire. It's easy, bright, versatile.
Try it on pasta, meat, veggies. Hmmm... maybe even swirled into a summer veggie soup.

Work, sleep, eat, work, sleep, eat

2010-07-02T14:05:00.005-04:00

This is just the start of the dish. Looks good, huh?
Click through on the recipe to see the final product.

It has been an intense couple of weeks. Ben was supposed to have his surgery at the end of June, but then he got the croup and a sinus infection, so that was put off until early next week.
So there has been little energy for blogging.
The Man was also sick with a sinus/cold thing. It was not a fun couple of weeks.
Things seem to be improving though. Thank goodness.
Of course we had to eat through all of this, so at least I can glean a food post from the past couple of weeks!
The dish is called steak bun. But it does not involve any buns. In this case the bun in question refers to rice noodles.
I love the subscription my sister got me for Eating Well magazine. They also have a good website.
The dish for this post is from that. Of course I had to add my own touches.
It was a cool, fairly light dish. The steak made it very satisfying as a dinner and the base of the noodle salad was perfect at the end of a hot day.

OK. There is it. As for Ben and life and all the rest of it, I will work on being better about posting updates.
In the meantime, enjoy the food!

Stick-to-your-ribs ribs

2010-06-12T17:26:00.004-04:00

I made some ribs.
They are really, REALLY tasty.
You should try them.

I bet this is my shortest blog post ever.

OK. Go eat.

Round Robin: Garden Portraits

2010-06-05T10:11:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I participated in the Round Robin Photo Challenge.
For you Robins who have not been here since my last challenge from April of 2009, I was a little busy being pregnant and having the most wonderful baby ever.

Now that the dust has settled and we are all finding our footing together (and now that he sleeps eight to 10 hours a night), I want to get back into doing some of my favorite things, including participating in the photo challenges.

It is nice to be back here.

That said, when it came time to pick a garden for the Garden Portraits challenge, I did not look far. I went to my own garden. Or lack thereof.

We are in the process of redoing the yards, front and back, so there isn't much there. But one thing that is left, and that I love, is the bear's breeches.

Maybe I just like it because of the name. Anyway, the plant is pretty cool these days. It used to just be a messy tangle of big leaves. Then suddenly, after years of not blooming, it flowered.
And they are pretty cool blooms.

Once I got my regular shots, I decided to play with the iPhone app, Hipstamatic.
All shots are taken with the John S. lens and the Dreampop flash. I used three different "films."

The next two are with the Ina's 1969 "film." This has been my favorite of the film options so far. But there are some others I have not tried yet since I have not bought all the paks.

These next two are take with the Alfred's Infrared "film." Pretty cool, old-school film look.

These last two were taken using the Blackey's "film." It is very contrasty, which I like. Though I don't think it really works with this subject.

Anyway, as I said, it is nice to be back in the land of the Robins. If you want to see who else played along on this challenge, go to the Round Robin site and check them out.

So it's not exactly soup season, but...

2010-06-03T15:40:00.003-04:00

Soup is one of my favorite meals.

My mom always made great soups when I was a kid, and I love making soup now.

There are so many easy and flavorful combinations.

A favorite of mine involves tomato, red peppers and bacon. It's hard to go wrong with bacon, right?

The bacon-y tomato and red pepper soup also has a touch of richness from goat cheese and gets a little thickening from beans.

All in all, a very good soup no matter what the season.

With a salad or a sandwich on the side, this makes for a very satisfying dinner.

----

By the way... I do plan on blogging about something other than food.

Hopefully soon.

It's just been busy with work and baby and, well, all this cooking!

A night out - and paying for it later

2010-05-25T17:17:00.004-04:00

I went out after work Saturday.
A friend was having a few other women to her house for wine and conversation. And food. Of course, food.
I had seen a recipe on the Whole Foods blog that looked like a good dish for just such an occasion.
It was girly enough, but still had some substance and nice strong flavors.

Of course, me being me, I could not leave well enough alone.

But my version of the fig and goat cheese tart with arugula salad came out so good, I don't think anyone minded my changes.

The only draw back to the evening was that I stayed out way later than my new normal bedtime of 9:30 p.m. and had a couple busy days after that. I don't think I really caught up on that lost sleep all weekend, making me one tired mama today.

Babies do not care that you stumbled into bed at almost midnight. When they want to be fed at 5:30, they really do not care.

My crock pot is my new best friend

2010-05-17T11:09:00.004-04:00

And so are all those ingredients at the market that are already in some state of being prepared for me.
Sure, some of these pre-prepped ingredients might cost a little more. But sometimes the cost is minimal compared to the time saved.

Crock-pot braised short ribs with mushrooms and carrots get an easy assist from pre-sliced mushrooms and canned tomatoes.

After a little experimenting, I got this simple dish down perfectly. There is minimal prep for the main course. Chop an onion and smash some garlic. The rest is just a matter of dropping stuff into a crock pot and turning it on.

I get everything assembled and in the fridge the night before, then before I head out for work I start the slow cooker.

My day is much better when I know that such a fabulous dinner will be waiting for me when I get home.

It ain't easy being cheesy

2010-04-24T00:07:00.005-04:00

Of all the things I have ever cooked, I have never made macaroni and cheese from scratch.
I am not sure how this happened.
I think somewhere in my brain I thought it was difficult.
Oh, how wrong I have been.
I was going to make mushroom-sage bread pudding for a work potluck, but that would have meant going to the store on the way home from work on a recent rainy and blustery day.
I took a mental inventory of the items in my pantry and fridge and realized that I had a lot of cheese and a bag of pasta.
Yeah, I can make something with that.
A quick online check of mac n cheese recipes and I tossed all the stuff together to come up with a potluck hit: jalapeno mac and cheese and cheese and cheese.
The recipe, as written, has three kinds of cheese. The one I made for the potluck had more like six kinds of cheese because I had a four-cheese blend instead of the cheddar in the recipe.
Either way, this will be YUM!
I will be making this more often, though not all the time since there really is a lot of cheese and butter in this.
But definitely it will be my first choice for the next potluck.
Anyone planning a potluck anytime soon?

Baby pictures

2010-04-07T11:15:00.003-04:00

We have been wanting to get some really nice pictures taken of Ben, and I just happen to know a great photographer for such things.
Finally his schedule and our schedule meshed and we had Kevin Sullivan from Captured Youth come to the house for a little photo shoot a couple weekends ago.
I work with Kevin, so I already knew what a talented photographer he is. But after looking at his portfolio of baby and kid shots, I knew he would deliver some beautiful photos of Ben.
And he more than delivered.
I was so blown away when I saw these yesterday. And after the death Monday of my sweet Lucy cat, I needed something to lift my spirits.
This worked. The photos made me so happy that I almost cried again!
This is what happens when the emotions are already right at the surface, I guess.
Anyway, as a taster of what we can expect to see when we get the 97 proofs (how to choose?), we got a lovely slide show with music to share with friends and family.
We had such a great experience with Kevin, and the photos are stunning.
I am already thinking that we might need to have him come back for another session when Ben turns 1.

I lost a friend yesterday

2010-04-06T13:01:00.003-04:00

Lucy, my friend and family member for 19 years, has gone on to her kitty reward.
Instead of rehashing it here, it is really just too sad for me right now, I will link to the post I did for work.
And I will say that she was really just a freaking awesome cat.
I love the others as well, but Lucy was really special.

Last night's supper

2010-04-04T19:52:00.003-04:00

As a kid I was not thrilled with the idea of eating lamb.
As an adult, I have a new appreciation for it.
Especially for the little tiny chops that some call lamb "lollipops."
They cook fast and are very tender.

I did them last night in a blend of smoked paprika and garlic that came out really good.

I will call my experiment "grilled lamb chops with smoked paprika and garlic". Very inventive, I know.

You know the deal... click on the name of the dish to get to the recipe.

And, as always, enjoy.

Easter Sunday fun day

2010-04-04T19:27:00.004-04:00

We had a low-key Easter, including attending an egg hunt at the park in our neighborhood.
There were plastics eggs as far as the eye could see... well, as far as little kid eyes could see anyway.

My nephew collected some Easter goodies (Ben is guarding them) and we got out of the house on a nice, though slightly chilly morning.

Ben is making great progress in the growing up department. He is holding the head up with minimal wobbling and he is close to sitting up without help.

It's hard to believe he will be 4 months old in just a couple weeks.

We are having fun watching his little changes that seem to happen on a daily basis.

I hope everyone had a nice an Easter as we did.

Back to blogging about food

2010-03-30T23:58:00.001-04:00

I have been cooking up a storm since having Ben. But there has been very little time for blogging.
Tonight we fix that.
Instead of waiting to post this (and then it never happens), I am posting right after dinner.

I give you... salmon with arugula and warm lentil salad.

This was awesome!

Manfriend even said he could make a meal out of just the lentils.

So this will be a good one to add to the regular rotation.

When good boobs go bad

2010-03-24T11:37:00.001-04:00

Yup, my boobs. They went bad.
Well, not really bad, just lazy.

I had so much trouble breastfeeding that I just had to write about it.

A Ben update

2010-03-23T17:20:00.003-04:00

I left off before Ben had the VCUG, which is basically an X-ray of his bladder, etc.
They filled his bladder with dye then took pictures to see if the dye was backing up into the kidneys, which would be a reflux condition.
Turns out it was not doing that.
The urologist we had been seeing now thinks it is a UPJ obstruction.
But since he doesn't know and, by his own admission, he does not treat many patients as young as Ben, we are moving on.
We have an appointment next week at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
I am hoping for a more understanding doctor there.
I also am hoping that they can be more specific in what the problem is and how we treat it.
Since they deal only with kids and parents, maybe they have better bedside manner than the urologist we have been seeing.
Anyway, I have the tests and reports that we have so far (two ultrasounds, the VCUG and the renal scan) for Ben.
Other than the apparent kidney problem, Ben is doing great.
He is smiling and chatting all the time. He sleeps 8, 9 or 10 hours a night and wakes up smiley and happy.
Going back to work was very hard on me, but three weeks back into it and things are improving.
It just makes me appreciate the time with Ben even more.

Professional blogger

2010-03-23T17:18:00.002-04:00

Well, not really.
I am not part of the Mom Blog at my work.
Technically this is not my job. I am not getting paid extra for it.
But it will be fun to contribute on occasion.
My first post: Talking about being an old mom.

Next up I will be writing about my boobs. Fun.

And the news is not great

2010-02-25T14:21:00.002-05:00

So it turns out that Ben most likely needs surgery.
The pediatric urologist here in Torrance wants to refer him to a more special specialist at UCLA.

But first we need a test called a VCUG, to be done here in Torrance next week.

I did some research on the guy at UCLA. He apparently has done a lot to advance minimally invasive surgery in infants and children. So at least that is good.

But the results of the renal scan from last week show that there definitely is fluid backing up into the kidneys. If left untreated, it could cause permanent damage to the kidneys.

At least the VCUG will be quick and will not require Ben to be sedated.

I just wish there was a way to speed up this timeline. We were told Monday that he needed the VCUG, but the first opening is March 4.

We have to wait for the insurance company to OK the referral to the doctor at UCLA. That can take a week, so we probably will not get confirmation on that until next week. Then we will have to see how long it will take to get an appointment with him. Then there will be whatever tests he wants to do on Ben.

And damn me for switching from the PPO to the HMO to save a few bucks on insurance.

Having to wait for referrals is just one more thing slowing down the process of getting Ben treated.

And I go back to work in two weeks.

You really wish there was no need for oxygen masks that small

2010-02-17T20:54:00.009-05:00

I did great when they did all the vital sign checks.
I didn't even flinch when it took two nurses several minutes to put in an IV.
I was stoic as they wheeled us from the prep area down to nuclear medicine.
I made sure to ask my questions rationally when the anesthesiologist came in to the room.

But when they put that little oxygen mask on my 2-month-old, I lost it.

We were up early today. Ben's big day. The renal scan.

We had to be to the hospital by 6 a.m. to check him in and start the pre-procedure prep.
He was right on time, waking up at 4:45, giving me plenty of time to give him some water (all he was allowed to have after a 2 a.m. feeding) and giving me time to make myself some tea and breakfast.

We got to Torrance Memorial and got him signed in and up to the short stay area. Once there they weighed and measured him so they could make sure to give him the proper amount of anesthesia later.

They put the tiniest little baby blood pressure cuff on him. It looked like something from a child's toy set. But when they did not have the proper adapter for the machine to read it, they switched to a child's cuff on his leg.

Through all this, though he had to have been hungry, Ben was a champ. He even managed to charm every nurse who came in to help prep him.

When it was time for the IV to be put in they took us to pediatrics. After trying one hand, then a foot to no avail, the first nurse brought in another nurse who was able to get the IV on his left hand. He screamed, of course. But all in all he was quite good the nurses assured us.

So good, so sweet, so strong they kept saying.

Then it was back to the first room.

Finally, shortly after 8 a.m., they came to take us downstairs to nuclear medicine where Ben was laid out on a full size bed while the anesthesiologist explained what he would be doing. We asked our few questions.

And then they put that mask on him and told us it was time for us to go to the waiting room. It had never occurred to me that they would put an oxygen mask on him.

It had never occurred to me that they even made oxygen masks that small. It is just not something one really thinks about in the normal course of a day.

But there it was. A little mask on my big baby, who suddenly seemed like such a tiny baby.

After some more kisses, we left Ben there and went to the waiting room. Me, Nick, my mom... waiting. I had a book with me, but it was impossible to think of anything but Ben.

About an hour later the anesthesiologist came in to tell us that the procedure had gone well and that Ben was fine. He was being moved to post-anesthesia recovery.

A few minutes later we were allowed in to see him. Me, Nick and my mom checked on him, but the area was too small for us all, so I was the only one allowed to wait with him until he was awake.

Several minutes later he started moving the arms and legs, slowly waking up. The eyes fluttered open, the arms were windmilling and the mouth was making the hungry face. But there were no cries.

We needed cries before we could go back upstairs where they would continue to monitor Ben.

Finally, we got the appropriate number of cries and little noises out of him and we were wheeled back up to short stay where we would be for another 90 minutes or so while we fed him and they checked his vitals often.

He ate well and was able to keep it down. Finally, 6 hours after we got there, we were able to leave the hospital and take Ben home with the instructions to change the diaper often and make sure to give him a good cleaning. We were told to wear gloves.

Because our baby will have radioactive pee for the next 24 hours.

And with that, we left to make the short drive home.

By the time we got there our happy, smiling baby was back, wanting to be fed again. The only sign that he had been to the hospital was the little ID band around one wrist and the blue bandage where they had removed the IV.

When it comes to a baby, making tough choices gets tougher

2010-02-16T23:50:00.008-05:00

If anyone would have told me that I could fall so totally, completely, head-over-heels in love with a guy in just two months, I would say they were crazy.

But it has happened.

Of course the guy in question is my sweet little bug, Ben.

It was two months ago today that I met Ben, and it did not even take two seconds to love him, let alone two months.

It was love at first sight.

Not that this has been all peaches and cream. We have had our ups and downs these past two months. But all in all, the ups are far greater than the downs.

Ben is a sweet-natured baby. He can look serious and contemplative, but when his little face breaks into a grin that grows wider and wider until his whole face smiles... I melt.

So it seems so unfair that we now are dealing with a medical issue. It seems so unfair that any baby would have to deal with any medical issue, but it is especially rough when it is your own.

When I was pregnant with Ben one of the doctors found something on the ultrasound: There was some extra fluid in Ben's kidneys. We were told that it would most likely clear up and resolve itself before he was born. But I still had ultrasound after ultrasound to monitor it.

And right up to just before he was born, the fluid was still there.

We then were told that most likely it would resolve itself soon after he was born.

When he was just a day old, Ben had an ultrasound of his own. The fluid was still there.

At that point we could only wait and check it again when he was a month old. And there it was, the fluid was still there after a month.

So now we get to the point where we are referred to a specialist.

At this point it still does not seem to concern the doctors terribly and so we don't worry about it too much, but we make the appointment to see the pediatric urologist.

We are told that what Ben has is called hydronephrosis. Basically there is a blockage somewhere along the urinary system. It can be anywhere from the kidney, down the ureters, at the bladder, etc. Whatever it is, it is causing the fluid to build up in the kidneys.

This could be a problem because it can lead to permanent kidney damage if it does not resolve spontaneously or if it is not treated.

The verdict from the urologist is that Ben needs a more comprehensive test. The ultrasound shows that there is a fluid build up, but it cannot show where the blockage is or how serious it is.

And until those things are known, they cannot treat him. So we have an appointment tomorrow to have a test done.

A test that scares us more than we like. It is called a Mag 3 lasix renogram.

What it means for Ben is that they will have to put in an IV and a bladder catheter then inject him with a radioisotope. A camera will then track the isotope along the path from kidney to ureters to bladder until they can see where the system is backed up.

Yes, radio as in radioactive. According to the doctor and the research I did, the exposure is less than a regular x-ray. Sorry, but this does not make me feel better.

And in order to do this test he has to be completely still for about an hour. And the only way to make sure a 2-month-old stays completely still is to sedate him. Again, this does not make me feel better.

But we were told by more than one doctor that this test will give us the most complete picture of what is going on with Ben. So we will be there tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. to get him signed in.

We will watch as they put in an IV. We will wait while our baby goes through something that the doctors say is fairly routine, but that for us is the complete opposite of routine.

And what then? Well, that depends on what they find. There are different treatments for different things based on where the blockage is and how severe it is.

It is easy when the doctor tells me they need to do some test or procedure on me. No big deal.

But when it comes to a baby, that is a whole other story. He has no say in it. We have to make the right decision for him. We can only take the information we get from the various doctors and try to do what is best for Ben.

So please, whatever it is you do for luck or divine intervention, please do that for Ben. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, rub some worry beads... We will take all the good thoughts we can get.

Congratulations... It's Ben!

2009-12-18T14:49:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been a busy few months.

Obviously I have not been busy blogging.

But I have good reason: I have been preparing for the arrival of new family member.

On Dec. 16, 2009 at 1:02 p.m. we welcomed our sweet little Benjamin into the family.

Ben was a whopping 10 pounds, 2 ounces at birth and measured 21 inches long.

He arrived in the world with a hearty holler and a full head of hair.

Mom and dad have been having fun getting to know Ben these past couple days.

We are still in the hospital, but hope to be home in a day or two.

For anyone who has been looking for pictures on Facebook, I tried to post there, but the hospital's free wi-fi does not include access to Facebook for some reason.

As for me, I am doing OK. Since the baby was so big there was a little extra effort needed in the c-section to get him out of there. So I am sore and bruised, but improving.

After a day and a half of bed rest I am now able to get up and walk around the hall, pushing Ben in his bassinet. We look like a sad case, but it is helping to be up and moving a few times a day.

Dad has been a great help with the diapers since I have been useless in that area. I am not even allowed to pick Ben up yet. I have to have people bring him to me.

We are all rooming in together in one very small room that is jammed with my bed, a roll-away torture bed for Dad and Ben's little bassinet. Not to mention all the various chairs, IV stands and our junk from home.

We have happily welcomed family and friends to visit in between feedings, naps, all the various poking and prodding.

I will try to post more photos later here and on Facebook once we are home, but no promises on when since we might be just a little busy getting acquainted with sweet Ben.

Thank you all for the congratulations and good wishes. It is nice to have so many people thinking good thoughts for us as we start this new adventure.

The "fun" snack

2009-10-27T14:46:00.003-04:00

We started our childbirth classes last week.

As part of the deal, each couple is supposed to sign up to bring a snack.

Each week there should be a "healthy" snack and a "fun" snack.

Me being me, I signed up for a "fun" snack.

I was torn between a proven winner, oatmeal-pecan shortbread, and a new recipe.

Because I like to try new things, the unknown won out.

The choice? Another shortbread.

Lemon-cornmeal shortbread.

And despite the slight unexpected extra crunch from the medium-grind cornmeal, this was quite successful. The flavor was perfect. The only change I will make next time is to use a finer cornmeal. Or maybe even try a corn flour.

Anyway, there was not much of it left by the end of the snack break. And when the teacher/nurse asked the class if there were any questions, one expectant dad asked "Can I get the recipe for those cookies?"

I call that a success.

More baby pictures

2009-09-29T19:34:00.005-04:00

These are from week 26 of gestation.
I am a little behind on posting, as I am now nearing week 28.

Here is a little profile.

This is a lovely shot of the baby's spine.

And here is a foot. Which the doctor said looked big.
Hahaha. Of course it has big feet!

The doctor also said that the baby's head was in the 94th percentile for size and that at 26 weeks the baby was measuring at the size of a baby at 28 weeks.

So, this could end up being a very big kid if it keeps growing at that pace.

Other baby news, well really mommy news:
I passed the glucose test, which means I am NOT developing gestational diabetes.
I have, however, become mildly anemic since the last round of blood tests. This just means I need more iron, which can be fixed with one little pill a day.

The baby does have some dilation in the kidney, which means there is fluid there that should not be.
The perinatalogist said that in most cases this clears up before delivery. In the cases where it does not, there are some different treatments for it.

I am trying not to worry too much about that now, and just hoping it does indeed clear up before delivery.

Anyway, it means I will be going back to the perinatalogist in November for another ultrasound.

As the doctor put it, "I am looking forward to seeing how big that baby is by then!"

A well-planned week

2009-09-15T00:32:00.005-04:00

After a successful first attempt at planning more than one dinner at a time, I decided to try it again.

This time with five dinners.

The week is laid out in front of me, I just hope those dinners sound good on the days I am supposed to make them.

I have my menus.

I made my list.

I went to the market.

I am set for the week, Monday-Friday.

I figure after five days of working and five nights of cooking, I get to go out on to dinner on Saturday.

First up: Monday dinner of pan-roasted pork tenderloin, steamed asparagus and lemon spaghetti.

It was a very good start to the week, and yielded leftovers for Tuesday lunches.

While I was getting stuff ready for Monday dinner, I also managed to get a head start on Tuesday and Wednesday dinners.

I wonder how long I can keep up with this. So far, it has been a fun change.

And I can already tell I am going to spend less since I am not going to the market every day, impulse buying stuff.

It's a lifestyle change

2009-09-09T19:43:00.003-04:00

I will admit it: I am bad at meal-planning.

I tend to decide what I want to make for dinner on the way home from work and go to the grocery store on an almost daily basis.

This needs to stop. I know once the kid comes (and even before then as I get too tired) that going shopping every day will be out of the question.

So this week I tried my hand at meal-planning.

But I started small, with just three nights. It seemed to work OK. But it will be a big adjustment for me.

Night 1: Caesar salad (dressing made without raw eggs) with grilled shrimp and avocado; garlic toast

Night 2: Herb-grilled chicken with herb-yogurt sauce, above, (click on name for recipe)

Night 3: Grilled steaks, grilled Yukon gold potatoes and another little Caesar salad (this is for tonight)

It has worked out OK, this meal-planning thing. I went to the store one time for three meals.

What a novel idea.

Making progress

2009-09-07T14:21:00.002-04:00

Much activity has been happening around the house in anticipation of the baby's arrival.
Sure, that is not until December, but the time is flying and I want to see progress!
Today, I see progress.
I have been able to help with some of the work, the lighter stuff.
But today the chores are painting and new flooring. These are chores I cannot do.
So Manfriend and a helper are working in the other room while I sit on the couch and blog.
In my defense, I did clean a bathroom and put away four baskets of laundry this morning.

So... What is next for me today?
Not sure.
I think I am at a point where there is not much I can do until they finish.

The room they are working on was a bedroom that I previously had used as storage and a cat space.
That stuff is all in the garage now and we are reclaiming that room for human use.
It will be a tight fit, but that room will be an office and guest room so that what is now the office and guest room can become the nursery.

I know, why not just make that first room the nursery?

It's smaller and it is right off the garage, so I do not like it for a nursery.

Plus the bigger room is already painted the perfect color blue to go with the bedding.

Oh... speaking of the bedding... UPS lost the box with the bedding while the box with all the other little things (lamps, blankets, sheets) showed up fine.
So they put a tracer on it, but it never turned up.

The company I ordered it from assured me they have more of that bedding and will resend a set out to me. I am going to call them Tuesday to make sure.
I am so paranoid that since it has been on clearance that it will not be available.

Anyway... that is my life these days: working, working on the house and stalking my UPS box.

Oh, and watching the belly get bigger by the day.

A work in progress

2009-09-02T20:11:00.003-04:00

I have avoided taking belly pictures until now. Really, until now there was no belly to speak of.
But it seems like I woke up one day and there it was!
Last week I was in my regular jeans.
This week I can feel the early stages of the pregnant lady waddle.
I am sure my life in high heels will be coming to an end very soon.

Anyway, here it is, the 23-week belly.

Now that there is really something to see, I will try to post updates as the girth gets girthier.

21-week baby update

2009-08-17T20:54:00.003-04:00

Today was another doctor's appointment.
This was just one of the routine ones I get to go for once a month.
No ultrasound. Bummer.

All is well with me and the smudge.

Good, strong baby heartbeat. My blood pressure is good.
All is well.

The only blip on my radar was the fact that I AM getting bigger in the belly, but I was down almost a pound from my ultrasound visit just a few weeks ago.

The doctor said not to worry about this, that I will go up here and down there.

I am attributing my recent tiny weight loss to a continued diet minus booze, with far less junk and with far more lean proteins and veggies (when I can stomach them).

Plus there was last weekend's cleaning binge. I count that as exercise!

So, all is well in baby land.

I go back for a blood glucose test in a month along with a regular check up. In about 5 weeks I get another ultrasound. Yay!

Getting tarted up

2009-08-17T19:42:00.005-04:00

So one of the many things I am trying to do as I get ready for baby is to organize just about everything.
I have cleaned out drawers and cabinets.
I have filled the recycle bins, been to the Goodwill with donations and started a yard-sale pile.

In this process, I found stacks and stacks of magazines. Cooking magazines.
The plan when I get those is to go through them and rip out just the recipes I might actually make.
One day last week was spent doing just that.
I was a little behind on this, and had some magazines going back to 2006. Oops!

One of the good things that came out of this endeavor was that I found a recipe for what looked like a very delicious raspberry tart.

Of course, not one to leave things well enough alone, I made some modifications to the dish. More chocolate? Yes, please!

So I have what I renamed Chocolate, cream and raspberry tart on almond shortbread crust.

The dessert was a bit labor intensive with its different layers, but none of it was particularly complicated.

And it was a big, very big, hit with the group. There was even enough left for the manfriend and I to enjoy some for dessert that night.

I am looking forward to making this again and again. And to experimenting with different versions of it.

Meanwhile, in baby news...

2009-08-04T12:40:00.006-04:00

I had another ultrasound and some other tests done last week.
Results of the tests came in yesterday, and everything looks great!
Here are a couple "baby pictures" from the day.

The kid would not give a good profile like last time, but was happy to give a nice face-front shot.
Which, when rotated like this to get the best look at it, is a little scary!

(Click on the pictures to see them larger.)

Someone pointed out that it looks like the kid is flipping the bird.

Yep. My kid!

So, I am now 19 weeks along. For those unfamiliar, this means I am about halfway through my 40 weeks of gestation.

Falls under the category: Sucks to be you

2009-08-04T12:13:00.007-04:00

I am a bit behind on posting, as usual.

But I did want to post some pictures from last weekend.

Manfriend and I were driving on Pacific Coast Highway at Hawthorne Boulevard when he did a doubletake.

We had to turn the car around to make sure what we thought we saw was really what we saw.

Yup.

A car had driven up a wire.

How in the heck does this happen?

The tow truck driver said he had seen a lot of weird accidents, but this was a first for him.

We wondered: How did it happen? How did the person get out of the car without it tipping over on its side? How were they going to get that thing off the wire?

There was no sticking around to find out though. We had tacos waiting for us for lunch. So we were left to wonder.

(By the way, we saw no ambulances, so I am hoping this means the person was just shaken up and not seriously hurt.)

That old familiar feeling

2009-07-20T20:13:00.003-04:00

I recently had my 4-month prego checkup. Things are progressing nicely.

I was a little surprised (but relieved) that I had not gained any weight yet.

The belly is definitely changing shape, but I am trying to be careful about what I am eating so I can keep the weight gain to a healthy level.

But it has been weeks and weeks of not wanting anything but cereal or cheese and crackers.

But about a week or so ago it hit me: I am hungry again! Finally!

This is a very good thing.

I still am eating fairly small meals, but at least they are real food and not just shredded wheat.

The other good thing about this is that I can get back to the food blogging.

Over there now... Sweet-spicy peanut slaw.

I am also making some all-day ribs that have been brined for 6 hours and been roasting for 2-3 hours with a dry spice rub. I will then grill them to get some crispness.

Yum. I am so excited to eat again!

So what have I been up to?

2009-06-25T13:53:00.006-04:00

Now that most people who had been reading this blog on a regular basis have probably given up on it... I have news!

I am knocked up, y'all!

Yup. Bun in the oven, in a family way, with child.

Originally my due date was pegged at Jan. 1, 2010. But after yesterday's ultrasound I was told that I am either due earlier or I am going to deliver a 13-pound baby.

Soooo... the due date was revised to Dec. 24.

It has been an interesting couple of months since I found out I am pregnant. There has been the nausea, the fatigue, the worry, the excitement, the gotta-pee-every-10-minutes... All the normal stuff.

The doctor yesterday - a perinatal specialist because I am considered an old mom - said everything looks excellent.

It is a very exciting time and I am looking forward to (most of) it.

So, now you know where I have been: too tired to blog.

I also have been too queasy and tired to cook, but that is starting to get a little better. So maybe the food blog will resume soon, too.

In the meantime, I hope to be here more. And not posting only about baby stuff, though that may be the bulk of it.

Here is a video if the little bugger (no, we have not decided yet if we will find out the gender). Or if it is slow to play for you here and you really, REALLY want to see it, click here to watch it on YouTube.

Getting older and getting over it

2009-05-07T10:26:00.003-04:00

I remember when I was the young one in most groups.
Colleagues and friends were older.
Somehow though, this has changed.
I have become one of the older people in most situations.
Which is fine.
I can impart the years of wisdom I have accumulated along the way to my ripe old age of 38.

I can laugh now when I think back to 21, 25, 30... They all seemed like such milestones. But really, they were just mile markers along a journey more significant than just a few numbers.

There have been bumps and detours on the journey, but really the scenic route along those winding roads is so much better than spending the whole time on the freeway.

You know you want some

2009-04-14T02:35:00.002-04:00

Chocolate-caramel crackers.

Really, do I need to say anything else?

Go check it out.

Afternoon in the Garden - dive 34

2009-04-13T20:14:00.007-04:00

The Garden Spot, Anacapa, Channel Islands, Calif. (from the Spectre)
April 5, 2009
Logged dive: No. 34
Max depth: 40 feet
Bottomtime: 30 minutes

This was the last dive of the day.
The captain, and most of the people on the boat, had been hoping to get to another spot popular with the sea lions.
But it was too choppy there.

Again, no sea lion paradise for me. But that is OK. This was a nice spot, too.
We did see a couple sea lions, again though they were on their way someplace else and did not stop to play.

This was a pretty uneventful dive. More stars, urchins, sheephead and garibaldi.
And a lot of kelp.

We hung out for a while, fed some more fish and then headed back while we still had plenty of air.
Mostly we got cold. The idea of a hot shower and a cold beer was enticing.
When MF gave the thumbs up sign to head back to the surface, I was fine with that.

All in all, it was a good day. It ended better than it started.
I would go back here again, but there are new places I want to try before that happens.

So, here are the last of the pictures from the Anacapa trip.

Four more dives under the weight belt.

MF and I are hoping to do some Orange County beach diving soon. Maybe in the next few weeks.

Conditions are improving - dive 33

2009-04-13T14:46:00.030-04:00

Cat Cove, Anacapa, Channel Islands, Calif. (from the Spectre)
April 5, 2009
Logged dive: No. 33
Max depth: 30 feet
Bottomtime: 40 minutes

By the time we got to the site, things were definitely improving.
The sun was out, the wind was down and my stomach was settled.

The water at this site was flat, like a lake, and bright clear blue.

Of course it was still cold. No amount of telling myself it would be warm worked.

But this time I did not care.

Manfriend had fixed his mask, broken on the last dive, with some wire. We were ready to dive.

We submerged and headed toward the kelp bed. The kelp was thick but not unmanageable here.

Among the usual stars, urchins, etc., we saw this limpet. They are crazy looking. I really find them fascinating.

As we found the rockier area, another diver picked up a rock. As soon as he did this, a sheephead started stalking him.

The diver looked around and found what he wanted... a sea urchin. He used the rock to break it open, instigating a feeding frenzy.

This picture is one of my favorites: two big sheephead fish going head to head for some sea urchin. It looks like they slammed heads and exploded. The debris is just the sea urchin flesh.

Those fish pick an urchin clean in seconds. The diver opened a couple more for them. The whole time we were looking out for urchins, the big ol' sheephead was there.
Below is a little video of the feeding frenzy.

We also saw some sea lions here, but they were cruising through pretty fast and not inclined to play.

We surfaced near the boat into the perfect conditions. A couple other divers are seen at the back of the boat.

Before heading back to the boat I got a picture of the manfriend. The face says it all. That was a great dive.

Swimming in the Goldfish Bowl - dive 32

2009-04-13T14:21:00.007-04:00

Goldfish Bowl, Anacapa, Channel Islands, Calif. (from the Spectre)

April 5, 2009

Logged dive: No. 32

Max depth: 40 feet

Bottomtime: 20 minutes

We should call this the dive that almost didn't happen and probably should not have happened.

After the dive at Rat Rock left me queasy I puked a couple times, but felt like I would be OK for this dive. Conditions at the site looked better.

The area was more sheltered and the surface, while not totally flat, looked much calmer than at Rat Rock.

We got back into our gear and waited our turn to take the giant stride off the boat and into the water.

I was in before Manfriend, starting my leisurely surface swim back toward the anchor line.

MF jumped in and popped to the surface ... with his mask in his hand.

Hmmm... that mask should be on his face.

The buckle on one side had broken, leaving the strap hanging, unattached.

We quickly consulted at the surface. I was going to head back to the boat with him, but he said I should find a new buddy for this dive and he would head back and see if he could repair the mask for the next dive.

I checked with some people in the water. They were part of a beginner class, but they had finished their skills on the earlier dive and this dive was just going to be a dive.

There was another certified diver tagging along since his girlfriend was in the class. The instructor paired us up as buddies and off we went, me and Joel, my new dive buddy.

We descended into about 40 feet of water. I was trying to keep an eye on where Joel was while making sure to give him good space to explore. Visibility was probably about 15-20 feet here, but a little murky.

It seemed like only a few minutes that we had been down there when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was MF. He had a mask on, but it was not his.

Cool. We could dive. I motioned to him that I was following Joel, my buddy. He motioned back OK and then indicated that he really could not see with the mask.

See, MF has what they call an optical mask. It's not a true match to his prescription glasses, but it is a lot better than a regular mask. So unless he was within a couple feet of something, he could not see too well.

We tried to do the dive this way, but again, it was not going well.

Joel was off here and there, with no apparent regard for where I was. MF was there, but not seeing clearly. And my queasiness was sneaking back in.

The area was a little rocky, a little kelpy. There were fish such as garibaldi and sheephead here, as well as the usual starfish and urchins. Plus more sea cucumbers.
But I was too distracted to really enjoy what is probably a very nice site. I did not get too many pictures here.

I found Joel and indicated to him that MF and I were going up, but that he should stay with the class. After a couple tries at this he got it.

MF and I returned to the surface and made the swim back to the boat.

Really, not a good dive at all.

It turns out he had borrowed the mask from one of the desk hands. But that was not going to work for the next two dives.

Another deck hand took a look at the mask and offered up some wire to make a crude repair.

That seemed to work. So, set for the next dive, we headed to the galley to try to get warm and to get some lunch.

I was freezing after this dive. I just could not get warm.

I tried some food, which helped my temp and my nausea. Then we went back out on deck where the Spectre has fashioned a basic hot tub. We could not get in with our wetsuits on (and since we wanted to try the last two dives we did not want to take them off).

But we could put our hands in the warm water. This helped warm me up a lot. I also took off my dive boots and got some sun on my feet, which helped.

Once everyone was back on the boat, we were off, headed to the third dive site.

Anacapa adventure - dive 31

2009-04-13T12:58:00.024-04:00

View from our room at the Holiday Inn Express at Ventura Harbor

Finally, about a week later, I am getting the Anacapa dives in writing. I should have done it last Monday, but I was... Well, I was doing something. I can't really remember right now.

So, here's how it goes...

We are in the process of having furloughs at work. I have to take five days off between April and June. I wasted no time. I took the first Saturday in June (normally a work day).

The plan was to find a dive boat for Sunday, then spend Saturday night wherever the boat was.

I picked the Spectre, out of Ventura Harbor. It was going to Anacapa, a new trip for me. Manfriend had been there before, but was up to it again since it had been a while.

We got everything packed and ready early Saturday afternoon and headed up the 405 to the 101. It was a clear, sunny day with a bit of wind. It looked perfect.

After getting to Ventura we went directly to the harbor to check out the boat and decide if we wanted to sleep on board. The boat was scheduled to leave at 7 Sunday morning.

It looked like the boat was not back from that day's trip, so we went to take a look at the beach area.

After that little detour, we went back to the harbor and found the boat.

This is six of the bunks in a very small space.
They were very short and narrow.

This was our bunk. Since we didn't plan on sleeping there,
we only took one. But this is considered a double. We used it
mostly for storage, though MF did rest there at the start of the trip.
Once you are wet though, there is no going below deck. After the
first dive we did not see it again until we were
headed back at the end of the trip.

We took one look at the cramped bunk spaces - the bunks were about 6'2" long and MF is 6'9" long - and decided to stow some towels and other stuff on one to reserve it for the next day, but that we would be better off getting a room at the nearby Holiday Inn Express at the harbor.

To save some time the next morning we did set our dive gear on deck.

We had dinner that night at Winchester Grill in downtown Ventura, then headed back to the harbor to a restaurant called Margarita Villa for, what else, margaritas.

Soon enough it was time to sleep... early. We wanted to be back over at the boat by no later than 6:30. It was a quick 5-minute drive from the hotel.

Sunday morning came quickly and soon enough we were back on the boat.

The ride from Ventura to Anacapa is only about an hour and 20 minutes. It was a pretty smooth ride, though a little wind had kicked up overnight.

You can barely make out Anacapa in the distance as we set out.

The captain took us around to the back side of the island first, but the current and wind were too strong there, so he headed back toward the front side, stopping at the northern end of the island at a site called Rat Rock.

Rat Rock, Anacapa, Channel Islands, Calif. (from the Spectre)

April 5, 2009

Logged dive: No. 31

Max depth: 80 feet

Bottomtime: 35 minutes

There was an advanced open water class on the boat, and one of the dives they were required to do was a deep dive. The captain said this site was about 40 feet to one side and down to about 100 feet to the other.

The surface was very choppy. We jumped in and headed to the anchor line to descend.

I was holding onto my memories of the great dives we had in November at Santa Barbara Island, but this was not to be the same.

We chose to go to the deep side for a bit, then head back to a shallower area.

The divemaster had said that while it was choppy at the surface, it should be OK once we descended. It was not. It was still fairly surgey. Plus I had a lot of problems with my mask fogging up, which made it tough to see. I kept having to tip my head down to let water in the top of the mask then tip my head back to clear the water out to defog it.

All in all, it made for a nice little case of vertigo.

I was determined to tough it out as long as I could, but the foggy mask was too much after a while. It was actually worse than the surge. If I could have at least seen clearly, I would have been OK, I think.

Anyway, other than the surge and fog, the site was rather nice. There was a rocky reef area in the shallower side of the dive area. There were urchins, big starfish and vibrant purple and orange nudibranchs.

And there were sea cucumbers everywhere. I did not get a lot of pictures here since I was having trouble seeing. Really, I am surprised I got anything clear at all.

There was little kelp in this area, mostly it was the rocky tail of the island stretching under the surface to form the reef.

After struggling a bit and being very cold, MF and I gave each other the thumbs-up sign indicating we should head back to the surface.

We surfaced not too far from the boat and waited our turn behind another group of divers to get to the swim step, all the while bobbing and bouncing with the chop of the water.

By the time we got back on the boat, was definitely queasy. Not good.

After shedding my gear at my station, I headed to the bow of the boat to get some sun and catch my breath. MF brought me some water. I was starting to feel a bit better.

But then the puke came. Yup. Nice.

But it did help. I figured I would be OK by the time we reached the next dive site.

Next post... dive 2 for this trip.

Pantry diving

2009-04-08T21:36:00.002-04:00

I did a little culinary experimentation Monday night and came up with a winner.

A cool little cous cous dish that can be a great addition to a salad or work as a side dish for grilled meat.

I liked it. MF liked it. A couple lucky people at work got some samples, and they liked it.

Yup. A winner.

Go check it out: cool cous cous with edamame (and toasted almonds!)

Round Robin: By the Numbers

2009-04-04T02:28:00.004-04:00

It's another photo challenge over at Round Robin.
Since this one was my idea, I guess I have to participate, right?
The topic is "By the Numbers."
Head over to Round Robin to see who else played.

Most of these were taken on the recent seafood-eating excursion to the Redondo Beach pier.
Who knew there were so many numbers involved in eating seafood?

Your orders, 01401 and 18387 will be ready in 20-30 minutes.
(And hammers are available in the beer department.)

Speaking of the beer department... Carta Blanca... 1 quart for each of us.

Hammers. For a mere $3 deposit each.

Our finest table coverings were recent editions of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

I saw some numbers here in a few fonts I liked.
Not that I know what it says. But it sure looks cool

And the number that started it all. Nothing to do with seafood here.

This was taken at the parking garage at work.

It was one of the first pictures I took with the new camera, a Canon G9, that I got back in October 2008.

'Tis all.

Hope to see y'all back here soon with some cool underwater photos from my dives at Anacapa!

Feeling crabby ... in a good way

2009-04-02T00:21:00.021-04:00

Things have been crazy here when it comes to the manfriend. He has been working like crazy. It's been tough with his schedule and my schedule to try to find time just to hang out and do something chill.

We finally had a chance Sunday, a very beautiful day, to get out and get some fresh air and some fresh food. Seafood!

We headed down to Redondo Beach to get some grub at Quality Seafood on the pier. (For locals, this is on the side near the international boardwalk, the Fun Factory, etc.) MF stood in line and picked out a couple crabs for us and had them steamed.

I did my thing with the bivalves and got us an assortment of clams and mussels, also steamed.

While we waited for the food to be ready, we grabbed a couple beers, some lemon and a little cup of butter for dipping. Then we copped a spot at one of the many outdoor tables. It was busy, but not too crowded. Some days you have to wait a while to find a spot.

We spread out of fancy newsprint tablecloth and then it was about time for our clam and mussel appetizer to be ready.

Yes, hammers are indeed available in the beer department - for a mere $3 per hammer deposit.

The assortment I got was black mussels, some manila clams and some larger top neck clams.
We inhaled those pretty quickly, washed down with some cold Carta Blancas.

Next up was the main event: the crab.
This is a labor intensive meal.
The crab is cooked whole and served whole.

Which means dismantling it before eating.
I joked that it is a defense mechanism for the crab.
If they are going to be that tasty, they have to be a pain in the ass to eat to try to deter people from wanting them. It did not deter us in the least.

We cracked and whacked - with the hammers we got for a $3 deposit each - our way through the poor crustaceans.
The poor tasty crustaceans.

It was a lovely day to sit outside (in the shade, mind you) and enjoy the people watching, the food, and in an odd way even the roving mariachi band.

Tea time

2009-04-01T00:46:00.002-04:00

The article is up online. CLICK HERE to read it.

There are four recipes and lots of pretty, pretty pictures by a real photographer, not just me with my point and shoot.

Almost tea time

2009-03-18T12:50:00.005-04:00

After having so much fun writing the travel article about one of my dive trips, I decided to try my hand at writing an article for the food section.

Since I have put on many tea parties over the years, I thought it would be fun to write about that. My take on it will be how to put on a beautiful tea party while also keeping it simple.

In the past I would roast the chicken for the chicken salad sandwiches. I would make a roast beef for the roast beef sandwiches. I would make scones and a cake for dessert. One time I even made my own lemon curd and clotted cream. The only thing I never did was bake the bread for the sandwiches.

For the recipes in the story, I took advantage of the great precooked things my favorite grocery stores have to offer. The food was still delicious and beautiful, but I saved myself hours of cooking time and a lot of mess.

And, since I want this to be extra pretty for the paper, I also took advantage of having a professional photographer available to do the photos. We got to set up in the beautiful back yard at the home of the paper's garden expert.

I also got to use some of the lovely dishes I have collected over the years. Some I found at antique shops, some on eBay and some were my grandmother's. It was nice to be able to use them all to make a fun, eclectic set for the food.

It was a warm lovely day and the photographer from work, Leonard Ortiz, did a beautiful job.

But those are not the photos you get to see here. You are stuck with mine.

Once the article is published (scheduled for April 2), I will share his far superior work.

I did get to help him, be sort of the photographer's assistant, during the shoot. Which was fun and educational. I learned a few tricks about lighting.

And the recipes that have lived in my head for years? No recipes for now. Sorry. Those also will go up once they have been published in the paper.

But really... how cute are these little desserts canapes?

Making excuses

2009-03-18T12:43:00.003-04:00

I was chastised the other day for not paying more attention to this blog recently. By my mom.
Yeah, yeah... I know!

Here is the thing: I used to blog in the morning. I would get up, make tea, get my photos ready and blog.

But these days I have not really had a morning. My work schedule has changed a bit. It was a good change, since it means getting home earlier (in time for dinner before 9 p.m.). But it also means going in earlier.

I now leave the house right about the time I used to sit down to blog.

So I just need to get myself acclimated to this personal time change. And I need to learn how to blog at night apparently.

Or get up at 6 a.m.

Yeah... funny. That is so not happening.

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Light Moves

2009-02-21T01:35:00.012-05:00

I went in on another Round Robin Challenge

(head there to see who else played).

The idea for this challenge is:

Take a picture that shows the quality of the light.

By that I mean the hues of a sunset, water reflected on water,

refracted light, something interesting with light.

I have to confess that mostly I relied on stuff I had already shot.

So let's start with that, then I will give you my new shot at the end.

And here we go:

St. Thomas sunset

Port of Long Beach
a little on the grainy and seedy side

Pepto-Bismol port sunset

Fifty-fifty
sea and sky

Water, light, magic

Shadow play

Moonfright

The water's fine

Just under the surface

I've been on that blimp
(and on that bridge)

-------

Can you tell I like sunsets?
And water...

-------

So I really do need to get back into the habit of
taking pictures, pictures, pictures.

I was really good for a while.
I do carry the camera at all times.

But usually everything is such a rush.
Rush to get to work.
Rush at work.
Rush to get home.

Note to self: Slow down. Look at things.

Take more pictures.

A glimpse below the surface

2009-02-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

I had seen a mention on another Web site about a new IMAX movie at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. It is called "Under the Sea 3D."

I mentioned it to Manfriend and we watched the movie trailer.

We decided to see if there were any showings Monday since we both had the day off work. We were in luck. We got two tickets online to the 1:30 show.

(Note on the tickets - The fine print on the tickets says parking is $6. It is really $8 now. The guy at the entrance said they raised the price at the start of the year. This reminds me now that I was going to call the Science Center to let them know they need to update their Web site.)

We had some computer chaos in getting our print-at-home tickets printed, so we were running later than we hoped. By the time we go there a long line had formed. So our seats were not the best.

Next time we need to leave earlier so we can get seats in the middle. I think it will make a big difference.

But, as for the movie...

This is a 40-minute 3D film that focuses on aquatic life in the waters off Papua New Guinea, as well as Cape Catastrophe and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

You get your obligatory great white shark and sea lions and sting rays. But there are some other, more interesting creatures, too.

Some highlights:

Sea dragons
Sea snakes - the creepiest, but really beautiful. And the 3D was good here.
Juvenile catfish swimming in a wave over the ocean floor - MF loved this scene.
Frog fish - crazy-looking creatures
Potato cod - just a big prehistoric-looking fish. 3D was good here, too.
Garden eels - this scene was mesmerizing for me.

MF really liked the 3D graphics. Even down to the titles and credits, the 3D graphics were good. I think with seats more in the middle they would have been even better.

The movie was narrated by Jim Carrey. At first I was worried he would be, well, Jim Carrey. But it was a pretty subdued narration with only a couple lame, family friendly jokes in there.
The main thing I noticed about the narration was that it was slightly preachy in parts, talking about global warming.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is an important issue.

But yeah, it was a little preachy. Maybe they figure since the audience is mostly kids they can get them to start thinking about the issue early. Which is not a bad thing, I suppose.

And really, it could have been a lot preachier.

I did like that even though the movie is geared to kids (yeah, yeah... but the adults were enthralled, too) the filmmakers did a decent job of making it realistic but not too scary.

They showed the mating process of cuttlefish. Not anything too graphic or nasty.
And they also showed things eating other things. Again, not too graphic, but part of the cycle of life.

Of course, when they showed the great white shark and then the cute sea lion puppies and said "The sea lion needs to be ever-vigilant about the great white" I was thinking "Noooooo... they can't show a baby sea lion being eaten."

And they did not. Which is good. Because a lot of little kids would have been traumatized. Not to mention the nightmares I would have had.

As for the theater experience... Well, I would have preferred fewer kids. Maybe going on a school holiday in the first weekend the movie was open was a mistake on my part.

The place was crawling with kids. And the showing was sold-out. So we were cheek by jowl in that theater.

Kids were standing in seats trying to reach out and grab 3D fish as they swam by; they were yelling out "Shark!!!" when one appeared onscreen; they constantly asked questions.

I was hoping for a more peaceful experience. I think a child-free showing would be extremely popular.

All in all though, it was worth the price of admission, the drive to downtown and the masses and masses of kids.

And I think I want to go again. Maybe in a month or so. And get good seats. Maybe an evening show. Maybe after the kids have all gone to bed.

If you want to know more about the film, including some cool behind-the-scenes footage, check out the movie's Web site.

And a couple newspaper reviews with differing opinions:

New York Times review - mostly positive

San Francisco Chronicle review - more harsh

Mmmm... cupcakes

2009-02-13T19:01:00.001-05:00

I did make cupcakes this week, but I want to work on that recipe a little more before I post it.

In the meantime, I can recommend these peanut mini cupcakes made by a colleague.

He posted it on his own food blog, Tofu Fighting, which I have added to the food files section of my links.

Getting paid to dive

2009-02-11T20:38:00.000-05:00

Way back in November manfriend and I went on a boat diving trip to one of the Channel Islands.
We both took a lot of pictures and I wrote a lot of words.

And this weekend it was the cover story in the Orange County Register's Travel section.

You can read the story by clicking here. There are 30 photos in the slide show there, all of which were posted here first back in November.

The layout appears below.

Yay! It was a lot of fun to write about these dives. I guess it is fun to write about something that is so enjoyable.

Next up: I may try my hand at writing a food article.

$1,600 would have bought a lot of shoes

2009-02-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I have officially done my part to stimulate the economy in this past week or so.

It started out nice enough.

Manfriend and I went for a Monday afternoon dive at Redondo before he had to go to work for a late shift. I forgot the o-ring for the camera, so the only picture is from the parking lot.
But the dive was nice. Conditions were totally flat, visibility was decent.

We saw a couple baby horn sharks (no sign of mama shark... whew!) and a traffic-cone orange anemone like nothing I have seen there on any previous dive.

When we got home, MF had to get to work so I cleaned the gear then got cleaned up myself for a quiet night of leftovers.

But I heard water running. I checked the sinks. Nothing. I checked the hose outside where I was cleaning the gear. Nothing. I checked the shower. It sounded like water running in the wall, but no water was coming out of the faucet.

This cannot be good.

Finally, I called MF. He asked about the water heater.

It never even occurred to me to check the water heater.

I went outside to go around to the side of the house where the water heater is, and before I got there I knew that was the problem.

Water was streaming down the driveway from the side of the house. It was all flooded on the walkway.

I got over there and turned off the water going into the water heater and that seemed to stop the waterfall.

It was late. Any solution would have to wait until morning.

Since MF had worked late that night, he was not going to work until later in the day, so he was able to help me check things out in the daylight.

Yeah. It was bad.

Calling a few places, I found out that it would be about $1,000 to have someone come out and install a water heater. But, if we did it we could get save almost $500.

Lucky for me MF is pretty handy to have around the house.

Also lucky for me (yes this will sound weird), my car was in the shop. This was lucky because it meant I had a rental. It was a little Kia Rondo. It looked tiny when I picked it up at the rental place. Turns out the back seats fold all the way flat and you can fit a water heater back there.

So we got it home and dragged it to the side of the house. After only one more trip to Home Depot for the proper valves, we had it installed.

That was the first $560 of the week. Oh, and I had to use a vacation day to stay home to do that and deal with the car in the shop.

Plus it looks like the valve is a little leaky, which is what likely caused the top of the thing to rust out over time. So I still need to get a plumber out to fix that.

Then came the car repair stuff. There were some seals and hoses and whatnots that needed to be replaced. The car, with 85,000 miles on it, still runs great. And since I drive about 80 miles a day to and from work, I need to keep it that way.

So, another $400. Thank goodness I don't have a car payment.

Then the car repair guy told me I needed new tires. I was afraid of that.

Since I had already taken a day off to deal with the water heater, I decided to wait a week on the tires. I was worried all week that I would have a flat or a blowout on the freeway. I get paranoid like that sometimes.

I called a few places and checked with Costco and found a good deal at Ocean Tires in Hermosa Beach. I took the car in Monday and got the thing four new shoes.

$534.

Is that it? Please, let that be it. At least for the next six months.

Oh wait, I almost forgot about the money I spent on the car rental.

$100.

Now, let's add it all up...

$1,594.

Yep. That's my part for the economy.

Craving, satisfied

2009-02-09T18:37:00.000-05:00

I finally gave in to my recent scallop craving.
And man, am I glad I did.
I made a lovely appetizer last night of seared scallops in lemon-shallot sauce.

I think I have a new favorite preparation for scallops.
And the best part: It was so easy!

Round Robin: Not of this season

2009-01-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

My paltry contribution to the Round Robin Photo Challenge: Not of this Season.

I am not sure where exactly he found it since I did not decorate for Christmas. But George turned up with a candy cane. Well AFTER Christmas.

I don't think he was really eating it. I think it was a toy for him.

Give me a sign

2009-01-23T02:05:00.000-05:00

I don't know why, but some guy in Twentynine Palms has a thing for signs.

And now, so do I.

They are from roadside motels and bars and such around the Joshua Tree / Twentynine Palms area. He has them all over his yard. The lot they are on is huge. It is surrounded by a large fence (through and over which these were taken).

They are just awesome. I am glad someone feels compelled to save them, such as they are.

It is probably a good thing I moved to the city. Because if I had a big ol' piece of dirt in the desert, I might also need to fill it up with signs.

Take a right at highway 62

2009-01-21T11:07:00.000-05:00

I know I am dragging this out. But I took so many pictures of my day and a half in the desert.
It really is too big for one post.
Plus, there are sort of themes to them.
So you get this post and then one final post. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow will wrap it all up.

This post will be some shots of the general landscape of the Joshua Tree / Twentynine Palms area.

I know some of my regular readers are very familiar with this, but I also know that they still enjoy the strange, singular profile of a Joshua tree, which is much like a snowflake in that no two are alike.

So, fasten your seatbelts. Let's go for a drive.

The road from Desert Hot Springs back to highway 62 to take me through Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree into Twentynine Palms. Yep, that is snow on those distant mountains. But that is not where I was going. This was heading west to get me to the road that would eventually take me east to 29.

This is a bleak-looking stretch of road from Joshua Tree to Twentynine Palms. Bail bonds office included. The court building for the area is not too much farther down the road.

Welcome to... Well, really, to what seems like a smaller and smaller town every time I go there.

This is heading down into the main part of town. See what I mean about small town?

But the drive-in is still there! Good thing, too. Without that there really would not be much to do unless you are somehow connected to the Marine Corps base out there.

I do not know why, but I like these kinds of windmills. I think it is something about the pattern and shape of them. But when I see one, I want to take a picture. Luckily there was a beautiful sunset going on when I happened upon this one at the Schoolhouse Museum in Twentynine Palms.

End of day one, Sunday. As I was driving back to the hotel after dinner, I saw this huge, bright moon coming up over the hills. When I got back, I grabbed the camera and the tripod.

This was the best I came up with after taking about 50 shots. Not bad. I'll keep that one.

The next day I made a couple spots in town then started to head home. I took the long way, through Joshua Tree National Park. Here are a few snaps from that drive.

Joshua trees are bizarre and alien things. This one seems to have cracked under the pressure of its own weight. Which is not uncommon. Some of the older trees have dozens of bits branching out from them.

Joshua trees in an area that burned at least a couple years ago. This is pretty much what it looked like when I was through here a couple summers ago.

This is the road to the Split Rock picnic / day-use area. The park is popular with rock climbers. Not these little boulders, but there are some nice sheer rock faces in several areas that draw people who look like little bugs climbing up the side.

There is a spot called Keys View. It is a little drive off the main road through the park, but I figured with the wind that day, it might be nice and clear. This is about the best I have seen it. That is looking down into Coachella Valley, onto Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, etc.

Looking a little to the west, there is Mt. San Jacinto.

Driving back down Keys View Road to the main park road before heading into Joshua Tree and back to the big city. This area was thick with some of the bigger Joshua trees I saw that day.

And finally, all the way back down highway 62 to the 10 freeway, west to Los Angeles.

This is the point where I feel like I have left the desert.

So, that is it. I had a lot of pictures, but really, they were rocks and Joshua trees. A lot of rocks and a lot of Joshua trees. It is a strange place, a place I did not appreciate as a kid. But a place that calls me back once or twice a year.

Because while I love where I live now, the desert is still home to some degree.

Crazy desert genius

2009-01-20T01:09:00.000-05:00

I grew up in the desert. So I can speak from experience about the crazy genius that can only come from too much exposure to sun and cactus.

A prime example of this is Cabot's Adobe Pueblo.

Check out the Web site. Read the history of the place. I think you will agree with me.

In the meantime, pictures...

On the I-10 freeway, just before the turnoff to State Highway 62.

From here on the photos are from Cabot's Adobe Pueblo in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.

Click on the link above to find out more.

It is an odd place. Sort of the dream of Hearst Castle meets a shack in the desert.

Cabot Yerxa was a genius. Cabot Yerxa maybe was a little crazy.

But Cabot Yerxa had a dream and a vision. And he saw both to fruition.

For that, he is a man to be admired.

I remember coming to this place as a child, my father bringing me here.

I did not appreciate it then the way I appreciate it now.

Just like I did not appreciate my father then the way I appreciate him now. Now that he is gone.

From him I learned that sometimes it is OK to be different. From him I learned to appreciate Monty Python. And from him I learned a little piece of desert history that many people probably drive by everyday without even seeing.

And that those are not bad lessons to learn.

Here's to embracing the crazy genius in us all.

Desert sojourn

2009-01-16T23:54:00.000-05:00

I am trying to plan my (gasp!!) 20-year high school reunion and figured a good way to get inspired and to get information on possible venues was to take a quick trip out to Twentynine Palms.
I left Sunday morning, planning on returning Monday afternoon.
There were a few places I had in mind for my stay. At the top of the list was Roughley Manor.
My 10-year reunion was here, and while I did not stay here then (all booked up!), I figured I could give it a try now. And see if they still did parties like that.
Turns out they don't.
But I was still very happy to be staying here.
The original part of the house is to the side of this. It was a small homestead that was added onto to create the beautiful stone house.

There is a separate entrance to the office area, which is in the old part of the house. This is the main entry. There are a few bedrooms upstairs.

There is a nice great room where breakfast is served. They also put out cookies or dessert and tea service in the afternoons. There is a sitting area, piano and fireplace. For a rather large room, it is very cozy.

A pair of great horned owls lives in the big tree out front. I wish the eyes had not gone screwy here. But he was high up in the tree, so I was just glad to see him at all. The other one was in a darker, higher spot.

Once I was checked in, I headed to my room to drop off my stuff before heading out for a little walk.

It was a good size room, with a big, fluffy bed. The bed was rather high, even for someone tall like me. But it was the kind of bed you sink into easily. Everything about the room was immaculate.

There was a little dining area and kitchenette with mini-fridge and microwave. There also was coffee and tea service provided if you wanted to make your own in the room.
The TV had satellite hookup and a VCR. They had a tape library in the main house.
There also was wireless Internet access.

I was in what they call the Pool Room. So there were French doors from my room right out onto the pool area. No one else used the pool the one day I was there. I don't think the pool was heated. But the hot tub was. Since no one else was interested, it was like having my own private retreat under the stars. Later that night I enjoyed a soak, watching the stars and having a beer.

That little building at the end of the pool was my room. I was a little worried about noise from the pool, but there was none. Now, if I was staying there in the summer, I may want a room farther from the pool since more people would be likely to use it then.

After I got settled in my room, I took my camera and wandered around the grounds. The property is several acres. There are a lot of little outdoor sitting areas all around the grounds. It was a perfect clear day, about 65-70 degrees.

This is the tower of an old windmill. The engine and windmill were damaged in a storm, so they were removed at some point.

There also is an old water tower on the grounds. Behind that you can see a couple of the out buildings. These buildings are all guest rooms.

These are more of the guest rooms. The one above is a building of three rooms.
The buildings look rustic from the outside, but the rooms are all done up very nicely.
There is one on the far end of that building that had all the drapes open. Being nosy I of course peeked in since no one was staying there. It was quite nice, all done in a pretty black and white color scheme. If I stay here again, I may request that room.

The three pictures above are of what is called the Museum Building. Apparently the original owners built is as part art gallery, part art studio. It now is divided into a couple guest rooms.
I did not get a look at those. But the inn's Web site has a lot of good photos of all the rooms.

Next to the Museum Building is an old pool/reservoir. This has not been used in quite a while as a swimming pool. But I guess they do still use it to hold water for irrigation around the grounds.

I find this thing fascinating. It is solid. The steps lead up to the edge, which is about a foot thick. I was not sure what I would find when I climbed the steps and looked inside.

Ha! More steps. I guess that was how you got in and out if you were using your reservoir as a swimming pool back in the day.

Of course, being nosy, I had to go all the way in. The angles in here where even more interesting. I also loved the colors and the dilapidated look of it.

By the way, the pool is about 6 feet deep. The top of my head just reached the top of the wall.

Just a couple more shots, below of the lovely steps inside the pool. These rank right up there with some of my favorite photos that I have ever taken.

I know it is not always at the top of everyone's list of vacation destinations, but if you happen to be going to Twentynine Palms and need a place to stay, this is a great place to try.

The owners, Jan and Gary Peters, are great hosts. And they run a top-rate place.

Oh yeah... and there was breakfast. Pecan-praline French toast with fresh berries. And it was divine.

Stay tuned for ... A funky stop on the way to Twentynine Palms, plus a drive through Joshua Tree National Park.

Chicken soup for my soul

2009-01-08T12:37:00.000-05:00

I eat soup all year long, but it is especially nice in winter to be able to reach into the freezer and grab a handy portion of homemade soup. They are good for taking to work for lunch. They are great when you get home and don't want to cook but cannot face another takeout meal.

And, for me anyway, making a big pot of soup is the same as making a small pot of soup.

So I stocked up a bit a couple days ago by making a shortcut chicken and rice soup.

It looks and tastes like you were cooking all day. But I had this done in just over an hour, including the time to take the chicken off the bones.

And I swear, I have been doing stuff besides cooking. I'm just lazy about the blogging. It goes in cycles. I will recycle myself soon!

One last bite of the holidays

2008-12-31T12:07:00.000-05:00

Here it is, the last of the cookie recipes.

That only took a week.

These have white chocolate instead of real chocolate. But they were still quite popular with the work crowd, the family crowd and the friend crowd.

They were tiny, but packed with lots of flavor.

I may just have to break out this recipe for cookies with white chocolate, cranberries and macadamias even when it is not Christmas.

Going green

2008-12-29T12:44:00.001-05:00

I am still catching up with recipes from the past week or so.

There is still another cookie recipe to post, but I wanted to get some real food posts done.

So here is a great recipe for chile verde that I made on Christmas Eve. I wanted chile and usually make a red chili with beans and ground beef. But this version with green chiles, tomatillos, pork and potatoes sounded like a nice change.

Wrap some up in a tortilla with some rice and cheese and you have a delicious burrito. Or just eat it from the bowl like a stew.

It was perfect for the cold snap we had last week, and it makes great leftovers to go in the freezer for later.

So I made a huge pot of it!

No tough cookies here

2008-12-24T12:09:00.000-05:00

Monday was a very busy and productive day for me.
I think I did in one day what usually takes me three or four days to accomplish.

I cleaned house and made "Sunday dinner" and baked cookies. Four kinds of cookies.

It was an excellent day for it, cold and rainy and gray.

Once my cleaning was done I went to the market to stock up on the essentials: butter, flour, brown sugar, nuts and chocolate.

I have two of the cookie selections posted already over at the food blog. These are both pretty easy, but tasty and definite crowd-pleasers:

Oatmeal-pecan shortbread with chocolate

Oatmeal-fruit bars

Huh. I just realized the oatmeal-oatmeal thing.

But the shortbread does not seem like an oatmeal cookie. The oats just give it a nice texture and a little nuttier flavor.

And I have posted the shortbread recipe here and on the food blog before, but since I fancied them up with chocolate, I figured they deserve another mention here.

The oatmeal fruit bars? Those are all about the oats. My favorite part of those is the crumbly oaty part. Yum. Maybe the butter in there has something to do with that.

OK. I have some chores and errands today. But at some point I will post the other cookies on the food blog and flag them here.

Bacon, eggs and pasta. Perfect!

2008-12-19T12:22:00.000-05:00

I have recently taken a liking to spaghetti carbonara.

Why had I never had this before?

I am not sure. But now that I know how good it is, and really pretty easy, I will make it a lot.

My version of spaghetti carbonara is made up of small bits of several other recipes. And it is awesome: rich and creamy and so satisfying.

Enjoy!

Happy, happy birthday...

2008-12-18T12:49:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Sissy
Happy birthday to you!!!!!

That's for my awesome sister.

I hope you have a great day. See you Sunday!

Last year at this time

2008-12-18T12:43:00.000-05:00

I decided to see if I posted on this date last year.

I did.

It was a happy post about doing adopt a family for the holidays.

I am a little sad that I did not do adopt a family this year. I decided that with the unstable job situation, the economy and all that I needed to scale back on stuff.

The shopping for specific people was fun, but I tended to get carried away and spend more than I planned.

Instead, I am just doing a few small things this year:

--I put a big bag of food in the food bank donation bin at work.
--I bought a couple pounds of coffee to at Starbucks to be sent to the troops in Iraq
--I have not yet done this, but have plans to go buy $50 worth of toys Monday to donate to Toys for Tots.

It is not much in the grand scheme of things. But it is something, I think.

Because I know that even with my own worries, I am pretty darned lucky.

Concert clips

2008-12-16T22:31:00.000-05:00

Juts a quick post to add a couple video clips from Sunday night's concert, Night 2 of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas.

You will tell from the videos that it was really not at all acoustic.

First up:

Franz Ferdinand singing "Take Me Out."

Next is The Killers singing "Human."

That is all.

KROQ's not even close to acoustic Christmas

2008-12-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

I am not much of a concert goer. The last concert I went to was New Year's Eve a few years back when the manfriend won tickets to a Gnarls Barkley/Flaming Lips show at USC's Galen Center, which is the fairly small arena where they have basketball games and the like.

But this year I was in the mood to see some live music. And I was able to score a couple tickets to KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas.

The popular Los Angeles radio station puts on a couple shows that benefit Para los Ninos, a children's charity.

The venue, the Gibson, is fairly small with just over 6,000 seats. Ticket sales are tightly regulated by the station and Ticketmaster to try to keep brokers from getting a bunch and then selling them at huge markups.

So when they went on sale Thursday evening, I was not holding my breath that I would get any.

It was a pleasant surprise when I was able to get two, albeit for not-so-great seats. But the venue was small and the acoustics were good.

The other fun thing was that Kim, my friend from work, also got a ticket. Since she bought one seat, she was able to get a spot in a lower section and closer to the stage.

We made a plan for her to meet at my house and then she, MF and I would go up to Universal City (about 30 miles from my place) together.

We got there, parked and then found the Gibson. It is next to Universal Studios and the retail/restaurant complex known as Universal Citywalk. Since we had some time, we stopped at a restaurant and had a couple drinks before going to the show.

Once we had a happy little buzz going, we wandered back to the theater and checked out the scene outside. There was a large stage where KROQ DJs were interviewing some of the musicians. There also were people passing out beads, glow sticks and a heavily tattooed elf handing out candy canes.

Really. I just have no words for
this picture. The elf, the giant, the tattoos...

Would you like some candy, big boy?

This is MF, all 6'9" of him, with the candy cane elf. The poor elf. His initial reaction to seeing me, 6' tall, and MF was to jump back a bit in shock. But he was a good sport about having his picture taken with someone twice his height.

We also stopped to get shirts and more refreshments. By this point we had missed the opening act, Vampire Weekend. I don't think any of us were that bummed since none of us had really heard of the band before. Though I may check them out online later to see what I missed.

The first band we saw was Snow Patrol. Normally I can take or leave this when I hear it on the radio. But they did sound better live than I would have imagined.

Of course, the situation for taking photos was not ideal. But I gave it a go.

Up next was Scott Weiland. We watched for a couple songs then Kim and I, via text, decided to take a break.

Franz Ferdinand came out next. I have always liked them because they are upbeat and catchy. I had never entertained the idea of seeing them live though. But they were good. The crowd had been fairly tame up to that point, but they got more people on their feet. This set was one of the highlights for me.

KROQ pretty much always throws in an unbilled performance. The surprise guest for our show: Kanye West. It seemed like an odd fit to me (and not usually what I listen to), but he had the crowd bouncing.

Paramore, the only group with any estrogen, came on after Kanye.

Yeah, they were not my favorite. They have a couple songs on the radio that are OK, but not at all my favorite. We listened to a couple songs, but this was another good time for a break.

Another band about which I am ambivalent is Death Cab for Cutie. I mean, other than thinking they have a fairly dumb band name, I don't pay too much attention to the music when it comes on the radio. I don't change the station, but I don't sing along either.

Seems they had a decent following at this show though, several people were up, dancing along to the music. I liked the guy's green beanie.

The camera pretty much did what it wanted in the conditions of constantly moving musicians, erratic lighting and me being far away from the action.

Here is one of my nice blur shots. What is it? Who knows.

Finally, it was time for the Killers. Kim was very excited about the chance to see this band. With good reason. They came out with a song from their new album, but then gave a really good mix of stuff from their older discs. And the crowd was really into it.

I had seen them years ago on SNL and I was not sure about how they would be live, based on that. They were great live. They sounded really good. This and Franz Ferdinand were the highlights for me.

The last band up was The Cure, a band that was very popular way back in my high school days in the late 80's. I was wondering if they would make me feel young again or old.

They made me feel kind of old.

Don't get me wrong, they sounded great. Robert Smith can still deliver, which he did with the lovely "Pictures of You" right up front. But the vibe was much more mellow.

And we all were fading. So we decided to leave before the end of the show. Kim told me earlier today that she heard they played for two hours. There was no way I was going to make it two hours and then drive home.

So yeah, maybe I am old.

But all in all, it was a great evening. We got back to my place and I capped my night with a bourbon and dropped into a lovely deep sleep at about 1 a.m.

Currying flavor

2008-12-11T02:30:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make this roasted cauliflower with curry the other day.

I ended up creating a whole meal around it.

It's easy and it's tasty. Which is a tough combination to beat.

The curry is not strong here. But if it is not your thing, just make the recipe without the curry.

It's still good.

Starting over, in a way

2008-12-11T02:13:00.000-05:00

So I started my new job last week.
It's not really like a whole new job since I work at the same place, just in a different department now.
But it has left me zapped of any creativity and energy.
The first week was watching other people work basically.
Most of the stuff I did in my last job doesn't not apply in the new job. It's all new software to do the work and all new ways of thinking about things.

I have felt displaced without a real workstation of my own. I got tired of waiting for "them" to come move my computer, so I did it myself over the weekend.

But I still have no phone at the new desk. I still feel unsettled. I am still learning the people and the new dynamic after three years of being so at ease with the people in my old department.

And I have felt pretty useless at my job. Which I hate.

I like to be busy. I like to fill the day so the day goes faster.

I know that as I get better with the new processes, it will get better in general.

I had a little "aha" moment tonight. After wondering all day if I had done the right thing and wondering if I would get this and be able to do the most basic things, I had the "aha" moment.

I can do this. It will become second nature.

Just like the process in the old job, this stuff will sink into my skull and become second nature.

Now if only I could get a phone.

Just say no to rugs

2008-12-09T11:51:00.000-05:00

I saw this van at a neighbor's house the other day.

I guess they were able to kick their rug habit.

Me? I kicked my rug habit years ago.

Getting stuffed

2008-12-02T12:37:00.000-05:00

I'm finally starting to get back in the swing of things at home.

That includes cooking.

I've made a few yummy things that I want to put over on the food blog.

I'm starting with zucchini stuffed with ricotta and manchego cheeses.

Enjoy.

28, 29, 30 - addendum

2008-11-29T02:20:00.000-05:00

I was trying to post these last two videos in the previous entry.

It was taking too long. Maybe I had too many other photos and videos in there already.

This is a little video above is of the crazy yellow-fin snappers at Coki Beach during our last beach dive.

They were literally on our fins and in our faces.

This is what happens when people feed the fish.

Really, it's amusing.

I took a moment toward the end of our beach dive at Coki to look up and check out how the light was filtering through the water.

When I did, I saw this guy swimming at the surface.

It did not take him long to swim deeper, coming within about 1o feet of me. Then he meandered leisurely on his way.

OK. That is all for the addendum.

28, 29, 30

2008-11-29T00:42:00.000-05:00

OK. Wrapping it up, boss.

These are photos, videos and details from the last three dives of the St. Thomas trip.

We did our two boat dives, then, wanting to see the Coki Beach area by day after the night dive the previous evening, we talked Peter into giving us a couple full tanks to do a quick spin around Coki.

Before the dive we hung out with one of the beach cats.

Then off to the first site.

Grassy Cay, St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 14, 2008
Logged dive: No. 28
Max depth: 65 feet
Bottomtime: 52 minutes

Below is a video snippet of manfriend's macho back roll.

And then the second site.

Lovongo Cay, St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 14, 2008
Logged dive: No. 29
Max depth: 55 feet
Bottomtime: 50 minutes

And finally Coki to finish off the trip.

Coki Beach, St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 14, 2008
Logged dive: No. 30
Max depth: 45 feet
Bottomtime: 35 minutes

From here on out I get lazy. You just get a photo blog. Captions, if I write them will be under the photos. And there are a couple little videos in there.

So really, you should keep reading.

We actually saw these dolphins later into the second dive. But I wanted to post them toward the top here to make sure people stuck around long enough to see them. Manfriend took the photo. I was too in awe to collect myself enough to use the camera. Plus these babies were cruising by pretty fast.
They were also far away, but he got a decent shot.

MF, who is fascinated by anemones, took the two photos above.

This is MF's picture of an eel that I spotted tucked into a crevice.

I like this shot of coral, also by MF. Something about the grayness of it is so nice.

From here down are my shots. They will not all have captions.

This is a detail of a sea fan. I like the lacy look of them.

On the beach dive from Coki, we were followed, quite closely, by a large group of yellow-fin snappers. Turns out they get fed by the snuba people and the snorklers and some divers. So they did not just really, really like us. They were moochers.

What IS it? So fascinating.

This video is of a tube worm swaying with the current. They look like plants or flowers until you get too close and they WHOOSH! pull themselves back into their tubes.

That is the tube some sort of tube worm retracts back into.

My eel picture.

Yes, another.

Stop light parrot fish. Love these guys.

Again, what the heck IS it?

My two brains. I liked the contrasting colors of these brain corals. A meeting of the minds.

Here is the turtle from the Coki dive. I looked up, just to see what the light looked like, and saw him swimming over head. As I shot the video, he swam deeper, coming down just to the side of me. This is some really nice footage.

This guy runs a daquiri stand at Coki Beach. He was quite friendly and made a mean daquiri. He said this concoction, the Island Girl, was the specialty. It had strawberries, pineapple, mango, banana and rum. Maybe some other stuff. But once I heard rum I really stopped listening and just said "Yes, please!"

And yeah, it was awesome. This was my end-of-diving treat.

Now, even though I have been home for more than a week, it is just about time to bring this blog back to reality.

One more post, probably tomorrow, of some here-and-there shots around the island.

I don't think I blinked the entire time

2008-11-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

I have been dragging this out for far too long now.

I can blame part of it on work and the holiday and on not wanting to be tied to the computer every spare minute.

But enough is enough. I need to finish the vacation blogging. So, I will do this post to log in the last dive we did Nov. 13 and then another post to log in the three dives we did Nov. 14.

And maybe I will do one last post of just the other non-dive photos that are interesting.
So, three more posts?

OK. The plan is to be done with this by the end of the day tomorrow so I don't go into my weekend with it. Besides, I have some food to blog about, too.

Now, let's get on with it.

Here are the details on my first night dive.

Coki Beach, St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 13, 2008
Logged dive: No. 27
Max depth: 55 feet
Bottomtime: 50 minutes

As I said, this was my first night dive. I really did not have any idea what to expect.

Even after the manfriend told me about the night dives he had done, I was still totally in the dark, so to speak.

We got to Coki Beach just before dusk and waited for Peter to get there.

By the time we got all our gear ready and Peter went over the dive plan and explained a bit about night diving to me, the sun was gone and we were ready to get in the water.

This was the easiest beach entry I've done. There is basically no surf here.

Peter explained that we would drop down and swim out over the sand for a couple minutes. Then we would start to see bits of coral where the reef started.

We would swim along the edge of the reef for a bit, heading toward Coral World.

When it was time to turn around, we would come back over the reef, back to the sand and make our exit back at the beach.

Peter gave us flashlights to use.

Wow, it really was dark!

I had thought about taking mostly video on this dive, but soon realized that it was not really going to work out unless I had a large dedicated light on the camera.

I did take a snippet of it, below, just to give an idea of what it was like.

After that I switched to photo mode.

This is an octopus, curled up in the sand. Anytime I had seen them during the day they were tucked into rocky areas.

This is a very long-limbed anemone. It was using those crazy limbs to reach out and reel in some of those tiny blue fish.

This one did not seem to be doing the same kind of business as the longer-limbed one.

We passed what looks like the base of a table sitting in the sand.

As with most things that end up on the ocean floor, something has made a home in it. This looks to be an arrow crab or something similar.

Also sitting in the sand was this guy, below.

He headed out after I took a couple pictures.

Peter took my camera and followed him to get a couple more pictures.

And then he was off again, fleeing the crazy humanfish with their crazy flashing things.

After a while, not that long really, it became too much to try to work the flashlight and the camera and really pay attention.

So I gave up on the photos.

I really wanted to just see everything that was happening.

And man, was it creepy! Awesome, but creepy.

In addition to the critters above, we saw a spotted eel sliding through the water looking for a good place in some rocks. They are so cool but also so odd that they are a little frightening.

There were several fish, but they seemed to be more in slow motion at night than during the day.

When we hit the support pipes that come down into the water from Coral World, we turned around and headed back over the reef.

Finally, back over the sand to the beach. Amazing. We surfaced in exactly the same spot where we had descended. I wonder how many times Peter has done that dive?

Once we had our fins off and were exiting the water, Peter asked me how it was, my first night dive.

"It was so cool and so creepy! I don't think I blinked the whole time!"

Diving St. Thomas (still!)

2008-11-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Wreck of the Gen. Rogers, off of St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 13, 2008
Logged dive: No. 25
Max depth: 64 feet
Bottomtime: 45 minutes

The day was overcast and dark with clouds, but the diving must go on.
We headed out on the boat from Coki Beach to a site Peter said might not be the best visibility because of the weather and because it was a wreck in the channel between a couple islands. So the bottom was very sandy which could make for some siltiness.

It shows up as backscatter in the photos and some video.
The swim to the wreck was littered with tires that had been dropped in an effort to form reefs. But Peter said they were not the best thing since the chemicals in them leeched into the water.
Nice. I guess they had been there a while though since corals and sponges were already attaching themselves.

Once we got to the ship, it was nice to see that it was not huge. Just big enough to be a good home for a nice variety of fish, etc.

I took a few photos, but mostly worked video here.

The shot below is one the manfriend took of a crazy, creepy wormy thing.

It freaks me out, but I love it.

That is me, below, doing the safety stop on the anchor line at the end of the dive. Taken by MF, of course.

Next dive...

Mingo, off of St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 13, 2008
Logged dive: No. 26
Max depth: 55 feet
Bottomtime: 45 minutes

This area is made up of several small reefs dotting the ocean floor. There is a lot of coral, sponges and reef fish.

We saw a lot here. There was a turtle, a couple jellies, an octopus and a funny little crab.
Some of that is in the video.

MF took the shot below at the start of the dive.

Below is another shot by MF. I tried to get a shot of something similar on a previous dive, but could not get anything nearly this nice.

Puffer guy, below, by MF.

Glowing little shrimp thing, below, by MF.

Here is the crab, below. I took this shot. It has much more blue in it that I wanted. But at least it is nice and clear.

The thing below looked like a light pole or something. Stuff was growing on it, living under it. This shot below and the next two after that are mine.

This guy was living under the pole. I like the spots and the pouty, pissed-off look on his face.

Here he is again. I wonder why I think of all the fish as "he."

I find the sponges pretty interesting, too. There are so many colors and shapes and sizes of them.

This one had a little shrimpy guy living in it.

This looked like some sort of avant garde vase.

OK. They will keep coming for a little while longer.

I still have four more dives to document. If not for anyone reading this, then at least for my own record.

Dive day No.2 - St. Thomas UPDATED

2008-11-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

I forgot my dive log today, so even though I have time after work tonight to blog a little more, I can't do a complete post with the depth and time stuff.

So for now I will just post some pictures from the dives of Nov. 11.

I will update later with the dive details for those who care about such things.

That day we went to two sites: Cow Rock and Little St. James.

**UPDATED WITH DIVE INFO**

Cow Rock, off of St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 11, 2008
Logged dive: No. 23
Max depth: 39 feet
Bottomtime: 50 minutes

Little St. James, off of St. Thomas, USVI
Nov. 11, 2008
Logged dive: No. 24
Max depth: 42 feet
Bottomtime: 48 minutes

This is Coki Beach. That white dome is Coral World.

Coki Beach, looking the other way. A few locals were happy to point out that this water is the Atlantic ...

but that if you go back past where the dive company is set up ...

and cross the street, the Caribbean is only a few hundred feet away, past this lovely catering truck that is a local hang out.

Anyway... We got on the boat. This time there was me, manfriend, another couple and a solo dude on the boat for the two dives.

We had Peter and Derek again leading the way.

As we headed out with St. Thomas on one side and a small uninhabited island on the other, Peter abruptly brought the boat to a stop.

"Well look at that!" he said.

"Deer!"

Indeed, it was a deer. He said he has seen that once or twice before. Apparently the deer swim from one island to the other.
I had no idea there were deer in the Caribbean. I also had no idea they could swim like that.

This is Cow Rock, the first dive site of the day.

This is Little St. James, the second dive site of the day.

A few interesting things we saw at these sites:

Sunken power boat at Little St. James.
That is a shot of the other diver couple that I took.

That is MF and me, taken by Peter with MF's camera.

I was just fascinated by the turtles. They looked so laid-back
and not in any rush. Just swimmin'.

The rest are various fish, sponges, plants and even a funny little shrimp.

Parrot fish

Sponge

Pipe fish

Tiny yellow fishies the size of my pinky finger

Parrot fish

Octopus!

Big stripey guy

Just hanging out, under a ledge

I saw a few of these on all the dives we did.
They were always hiding. So this is the best shot
I could get and I was happy to get it.

More yellow guys. Under a ledge.

Hello, yellow guys. These are called grunts.

Having a snack

Loved the spots!

Fish friends. Hanging out.

The undersea landscape

Tiny fish in a sponge

It's like the best aquarium ever.

'Nother tiny fish in a sponge

Inside a sponge

When these guys get agitated, the spiny fin stands straight up.

Odd-looking sponge

Pretty! It was far away. The camera's zoom works pretty well.

More spots

Tiny shrimp. Is that redundant?

Stoplight parrot fish

Just odd. Patterns, colors, textures. Just odd. And fascinating.

Pipe fish!

Blue tang

Stoplight parrot fish

Blue tang, catching a snack

Sponges

I like the worms. Those things that look all flowery
are worms that quickly retract into themselves when people get too close.

Manfish

MF's picture of a lobster

MF's picture of the shrimp

Under the sea

2008-11-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos the manfriend took the first day of diving in St. Thomas.

People on Coki Beach getting ready to do snuba. Snuba is basically snorkeling, but you are hooked up to a long hose that is hooked up to air. So you can breathe underwater, no snorkel required.
I have never done it. But I do wonder how they keep all those hoses from becoming one giant knot underwater.

Me on the first dive. Notice the empty camera housing. After the first one I got leaked, I wanted to test this one without the camera. Just in case. This one worked out just fine.

This is Peter of Coki Beach Dive Club between dives. The first day was just me and MF on the boat with Peter and another divemaster, Derek.

This was the turtle on the first dive. Since I had no camera, I was glad MF got a shot. The turtle did not stick around long.

Mmmmm... lobster. I think I had his cousin for dinner a few nights later.

A school of small blue tang passing through. I like these shots a lot.

Some of that crazy, pretty, textural pattern that I dig.

A beautiful pair of angel fish. I didn't see a lot of these, so I am really glad MF got such a good photo of them.

I hope you all don't get sick of these types of pictures. I have a lot more!

St. Thomas - 1st dive day (logged dives 21 and 22)

2008-11-19T01:48:00.000-05:00

OK. I am still waiting to get copies of photos from the manfriend.

But in the meantime, I need to get moving on this whole blogging thing before it gets too far out of my recent memory.

We flew from LAX to Boston on the red eye then on to St. Thomas, getting there mid-afternoon on Nov. 10.

The first night was spent at the Marriot at Frenchman's Reef, which is a huge hotel/resort/timeshare complex.

The view of Charlotte Amalie from the room at the Marriot.

The view overlooking the main pool as a
Royal Caribbean ship heads of of Charlotte Amalie.

Sunset from the Marriott.

We were pretty exhausted, and after some free rum punch we were also tipsy. With pretty much no sleep on the plane, I fell asleep by about 8 p.m. that night.

The next day we got up and went into town to have breakfast at place called the Delly Deck. MF had yummy blueberry pancakes.

After that we headed to Coki Beach to meet with Peter of the Coki Beach Dive Club for the first of our four days of diving.

MF took photos on the first dive. Once I get those I will post the good ones. For now, here are just a few and the details of the first two dives:

Calf Rock, off of St. Thomas, USVI

Nov. 10, 2008

Logged dive: No. 21

Max depth: 40 feet

Bottomtime: 50 minutes

Apparently, according to Peter, visibility had not been great in the few days before we got there.

It was only about 40 feet.

Um. Yeah.

Seemed pretty good to me.

Though the boat can take out six divers, MF and I were the only ones that afternoon. We had Peter along with Derek, a new divemaster learning the dive sites.

We saw lots of sponges and reef fish and coral.

I was worried about the new housing leaking, so I took it down on the first dive without the camera in it to make sure it was really water tight.

Anyway, while we were on this dive we saw a nurse shark sleeping under a dark ledge.

There also was a hawksbill turtle. MF may have got a picture of it, but it was not inclined to stick around and pose.

It was a nice, easy first dive with a lot to see.

We then had short boat ride to the next spot.

Stragglers, off of St. Thomas, USVI

Nov. 10, 2008

Logged dive: No. 22

Max depth: 30 feet

Bottomtime: 60 minutes

So after the first dive it looked like the camera housing was going to be OK, so I took a few pictures on the second dive of the day.

I love the textures and patterns of the various corals and sponges and various strange living things underwater.

This looked like a reverse starfish. Not quite sure what it was. But it was interesting.

Our dives were in the afternoon, which meant by the time we were done, we could check into Bluebeard's Beach Club, where we would be spending five nights.

This is the same place I stayed in July, so I did not take too many new pictures of this place.

Click on this link of you want to see pictures of the place from July.

The room this time was a studio type on one level. There was one large room with a sofa/dining table area and a bedroom area. We had a kitchen with mini fridge, stovetop and microwave. We didn't cook anything, but made use of the toaster for bagels and the fridge for our supply of beers, milk and juice.

The sun was starting to set just after we checked in, so we took a quick dip.

MF does the sunset float.

What a beautiful sunset. I took this one from in the water.

After our swim, we got ready and went to dinner and rum punch at Iggies at Bolongo Beach Club.

So, that was pretty much the first full day in St. Thomas: diving, eating and rum punch.
It was a good start to a great week.

I will have much more to post on this, but this is it for now. I still need to get through more photos and even some underwater video. Woo hoo!

Not quite home

2008-11-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

It's my last night in St. Thomas.
Most of the week was spent without Internet access.
It was so nice.

I went diving four days while I was here for a total of 10 dives. I took hundreds of pictures. Many will not be good. But the handful that are will be great.

I will have much to blog about when I get home.
But for now, a little more relaxing while I can.

Harbor lights at night

2008-11-04T18:02:00.001-05:00

This post is just to get in a few of the shots I took as the dive boat came back into Long Beach on Saturday evening.

I liked the way the sea wall made a dividing line between the water and the sky.

Looking back toward the mouth of the harbor.

The sunset was amazing that day and the whole port just glowed.

This is the Gerald Desmond Bridge. Poor thing. It is not as famous as its neighbor, the Vincent Thomas, which is one of my favorite bridges.

Normally this bridge doesn't do much for me visually. But seeing it from this angle for the first time, I had a new appreciation for it.

Cranes and cargo ships operate around the clock at the Port of Long Beach, the second-busiest port in the country.

Someone once told me that George Lucas modeled the walker things in Star Wars on cranes like these. I am not sure that is true, but I can see why it might be.

One of the old port buildings very close to Queen's Wharf, where we docked. Some of the buildings of downtown Long Beach are in the background.

11/01/08 - Dive boat to Santa Barbara Island - third dive

2008-11-03T22:36:00.000-05:00

Arch Point off of Santa Barbara Island, Calif. (Channel Islands)
Nov. 1, 2008
Logged dive: No. 20
Max depth: 60 feet
Bottomtime: 35 minutes

This was the last dive of the trip.
No sea lion rookery.
Boooooooooooooooo!

Conditions were not good apparently. So it was better to be safe.
Still, I really wanted to play with those sea puppies.

But all was not lost, we saw a frisky little sea lion at the end of the dive.

Read on to find out more about him.

Me, heading down the anchor line.

Me again, clearing the pressure in my ears.

Once we got to the bottom, there were large sandy areas dotted here and there with rocks that were home to coral, stars, brittle stars, sea urchins and anemones - all in multiple sizes and colors.

A shot of some coral with a plant growing in the middle of it.

Star surrounded by brittle stars.

More stars, more colors.

There was an angel shark just hanging out in the sand not too far from the end of the anchor line.

Same angel shark from a different angle. When we swam back by this way about 10 minutes later, it was gone.

My gauge. Here we are at just above 60 feet. The red hand shows the max depth of the dive at that point, just over 60 feet.

Visibility here was not as good as the first dive, but it was still really good. Far better than the second dive.

Another star. I love the texture on this one.

I am not sure what this is. MF said maybe a welk of some kind. I liked the shape of it, so I took a picture.

Here is just a pile of the brittle stars. They were everywhere here, all over the rocks and all over everything else. MF said he got a little creeped out thinking about them just covering everything.

Another creepy crawler.

There was what looked to be an old lobster trap. It had become home to a few urchins inside and some more brittle stars hanging around outside. I really like this shot.

At this point, MF took the camera and got some really nice shots of some anemones. The series is below.

Finally, it was time to head back to the boat. The water was colder here and we were getting low on air, so I was about ready.

Another diver, heading up the anchor line after doing a safety stop. That dark blob above him is the boat.

We came up the anchor line after a safety stop of our own then headed toward the back of the boat. As we got almost to the swim step to get out of the water... SEA LION!!

One fun little guy wanting to play.

I was so happy, I forgot to take pictures at first. But he kept coming back around to play, swimming and spinning.

They are soooooo fast! It was hard to get any photos of him up close.

At this point, we hung out at the surface, just using our masks and snorkels to keep our faces in the water and watch him.

I was trying to get the camera to work, but the reaction time was too slow for the speedy sea puppy.

Just when I thought I had a good shot, the little fellow darted up and away!

This one is my favorite. Just the tail and bubbles. That was pretty much what I kept seeing of this guy. He was so cute.

Finally, he took off. We waited a few more minutes to see if he would come back, but he did not.

So we got back on the boat.

It was good to finally get out of all the wet gear that we leave on between dives while the boat moves from site to site. It was good to get into dry clothes and have some lunch.

Now, just a 6-hour boat ride back to Long Beach. Perfect time for a nap.

11/01/08 - Dive boat to Santa Barbara Island - second dive

2008-11-03T22:11:00.000-05:00

North of Three Sisters off of Santa Barbara Island, Calif. (Channel Islands)
Nov. 1, 2008
Logged dive: No. 19
Max depth: 42 feet
Bottomtime: 35 minutes

Between Santa Barbara and Sutil islands are three rock formations, the Three Sisters.

This was the second dive spot for the day.
The divemaster pointed out some kelp beds off to the side toward Santa Barbara Island.
Since kelp usually provides good cover for lots of fish, we headed that way.

Visibility on this dive was no where near as good as the first.

We saw a lot of kelp. There were some fish there. But really, it was just a lot of kelp.
And the visibility was not at all good. At one point I stopped to take a picture and when I looked up, MF was gone. I could see only about 10 feet in any direction, and it was all kelp.

After a split second of WTF??? panic, I settled down and swam a short distance in the direction he had been heading. I remembered the dive training that said to look for a minute then surface if you don't find your buddy.
Luckily, I didn't have to search long. In the moment it felt like a long time, but really, it probably was only about 20 seconds before MF came swimming back my way.
He had a worried look on his face, but it probably nothing like the look I am sure was on my face.

I definitely do not like that feeling. We stuck much closer after that as we turned back to head to the boat.

MF took a picture of me in the kelp.

This is a shot of what is basically like the root ball of some kelp.

On the way back to the boat we saw a jellyfish. There was another one farther away at the surface. MF said they looked dead since they were not really pushing through the water the way jellies move. Mostly they were just floating along with whatever current there was.

A shot of the boat as we swam back to get onboard and head to the next site.

Really, the name of the boat sums up the trip.

11/01/08 - Dive boat to Santa Barbara Island - first dive

2008-11-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

South of Sutil Island off of Santa Barbara Island, Calif. (Channel Islands)
Nov. 1, 2008
Logged dive: No. 18
Max depth: 80 feet
Bottomtime: 40 minutes

We had stopped at another site, but it was decided that the current was too strong there, so the boat moved to this site.

The divemaster gave some information on the site and then people were off.
MF and I got geared up and headed down the anchor line.
We went the way the divemaster suggested and found our way to the edge of a sea wall that dropped down to a little more than 100 feet. We did not dive quite that deep.
We got down to about 80 feet then headed up and did most of the dive between 50 and 60 feet.

The water was such a beautiful dark blue and visibility was amazing. From up around 60 feet I could see other divers at the bottom and the outline of a large ray. As tempting as it was to head down to see it, I stayed where I was.

There were some fish, but the real attraction was the sea wall. It was covered in all sorts of life, most of it small. The starfish below had legs thinner than my fingers. The other long, worm-like things in that picture are actually the legs of brittle stars. They are cool and creepy and just attach themselves to everything.

Here is the leg of a brittle star poking out from a hiding place. Creepy, but cool!

There were some giant stars clinging to things, then this tiny little guy. I am not sure what that is he is holding onto, but it was about the size of a grapefruit.

In addition to the stars, there was an abundance of sea urchins. Big, small, black, purple and red.

Here is another one of those brittle stars. They are just fascinating.

I took so many more pictures here, but not too many came out.

Since the underwater housing for my new camera is a leaker, I was using MF's camera, which does a pretty good job.

OK. One dive down, two to go!

How best to do this...

2008-11-03T21:17:00.001-05:00

I have several photos from this weekend's dive trip to Santa Barbara Island aboard the Great Escape.
I was thinking of just doing one long post, but that might be too much for one post.
So the plan now is to do one post for each of the three dives.
But first, some pictures from before the dives.

We got to the boat a little past 8 Friday night. The boat was to leave the dock at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, getting us to the island around 7 a.m. with dives starting shortly after that.

The boat, the Great Escape, accommodates 32 people. There are some staterooms, which basically are a couple bunks behind a door. They are no more comfortable than the regular bunks, but you have a bit more room and privacy.

We did not get a stateroom though, they were all booked.

So we took our chances with the bunks, getting a middle spot at the back of the boat.

Good to know there is an escape hatch. Though I am not sure how anyone would actually fit through it.

This was our bunk. It was neither spacious nor comfortable.

There was another double bunk above us and a lower bunk, basically on the floor, below us.

There was a bench on either side of the boat where tanks waited for divers, 32 spots in all. It got a little tight in those areas when everyone was trying to get geared up all at the same time.

So after boarding Friday night, we left to get some dinner in Long Beach, then came back for a 10:45 briefing. After that we had a beer at a bar nearby.

Since it was Halloween, there were people in all sorts of costumes at a party in the restaurant. It was quite entertaining.

Then we went back to try to get to sleep.

It was not a restful night, but I managed to get a little sleep.

I was up early, one of the first ones up. I had taken some seasickness pills the night before and felt like they were wearing off a bit. So I headed up to deck to get some air.

I also got some pictures as we approached the island.

Santa Barbara Island from the bow of the boat.

That is part of Santa Barbara Island on the left and Sutil Island on the right and below.

The crew had put out some breads and English muffins to make toast. I had a little bit to eat and some tea so I was not diving on an empty stomach.

Manfriend was up soon after that.

Then it was time to dive.

More to come...

Cookie break

2008-10-29T02:07:00.000-04:00

I made some cookies Monday night to take to work Tuesday.

They were sooooo good.

Double chocolate with nuts.

You should try them.

My first dive at Marineland

2008-10-28T16:57:00.000-04:00

I remember going to Marineland of the Pacific as a kid.
Being from the desert, the idea of a place that was all about the ocean was so cool.
I think the best time I had there was when I was in junior high and we had a field trip.
One of the things we got to do was the swim-through reef attraction.
I was so impressed that we were swimming with sharks.
OK, so they were tiny leopard sharks. But still. It was pretty cool in my book.

Marineland, located on an amazing piece of real estate on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, was open from 1954 to 1987. The park was part entertainment, part education with shows put on with whales and dolphins.
It was like SeaWorld, only before there was a SeaWorld.
And in my young mind, Marineland was better than SeaWorld.

Sadly, poor attendance and declining revenue led to the sale to the owners of SeaWorld in late 1986. The new owners vowed to keep the park open, but that did not happen and Marineland's stars, whales Corky and Orky, were transported south to SeaWorld in San Diego.

The site remained for several years, playing host to movie shoots and even the MTV Beach House one summer. Up until 1995, the park's signature tower loomed over the property and up until 2004, the Catalina Room was still open for wedding receptions and parties.

Finally, in 2006, all remaining structures were demolished.
In 2007, work began on what will be the Terranea Resort. The resort will feature a hotel and several casitas, as well as a spa and other amenities.

Through all the changes, the site, called Long Point, has been a haven for divers.

On Sunday, after visiting on a few occasions to talk to the divers who are there pretty much every week, I finally made my first dive at Marineland.

Old Marineland (Long Point / Terranea Resort), Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif.
Oct. 26, 2008
Logged dive: No. 17
In with: 2400 psi
Out with: 500 psi
Max depth: 40 feet
Bottomtime: 35 minutes

We got to the Terranea gates at about 8 a.m. Public beach access had been located further down the road, but has now been moved.

We followed some other people to the parking area. They had parked there a week earlier.
The guard came by and hassled us for a while about parking there.
Finally he gave up.

While we waited for more divers to show up, we checked out conditions at a spot known as "the point."

There would be a few minutes when it looked ideal, then a few minutes where it looked downright dangerous. It seemed very unpredictable to me, plus the entry involved climbing around on large slimy rocks. That may be a little advanced for me at this point.

So I was relieved when the general consensus was to dive from the cove to the other side of the property.

The group included Manfriend's pal who goes by the dive name of Psycho Solo Diver. His post on the day is here. We also had a few other people in the group, including Reverend Al.

Once everyone was suited up, we headed down the trail/dirt road to the cove and its rocky access to the water.

After pairing up with dive buddies (mine was MF), we all got in the water and surface swam toward what is called the 120 reef. The entry was pretty uneventful. Excellent.

As soon as we descended I could tell this would be nothing like diving Redondo. There was a ton of stuff to see on the reef: urchins, starfish and sun stars, fish, sea cucumbers... and the kelp!

The kelp was so thick here. It was kind of eerie and cool the way the it got darker and lighter with the thickness of the kelp.

We were doing fine, seeing some neat stuff when MF and I lost the group. No worries, we found them again.

Oh wait, we lost them again. Those guys dive here pretty much every week, so maybe they cruise through faster than I wanted to go. It felt like they were going fast. I wanted to explore and take photos. And since MF was staying with me, I think that is how we lost them.

MF and I decided at this point to surface to get an idea of where we were. Then we reset our course and, since I was running low on air, started back toward the cove.

We did a little surface swim/crawl over some kelp before submerging again.
Once we dropped down again, we headed toward the cove.

We came up in about 10 feet of water and caught our breath. Soon, the others started surfacing.
I got to where I could stand and took off one fin. Then I moved a little closer to shore to take off the other fin.

Before I could do that, I got tossed a little by a swell. MF was already out of the water. He came back to grab the one fin I had removed while Reverend Al helped me out with the other fin.

After that, it was an easy walk out of the water, picking my way back across the rocks to get to the trail.

I think I am going to look into getting some new spring type straps for my fins. They are apparently much easier to get on and off.

With everyone out of the water, we trekked back up the hill to shed our gear and debrief.

We debriefed with chicken that I brought and sausages Psycho brought. Oh yeah, and some beers.

It was a great day and I look forward to diving here again.

The only downer for the day was that the underwater housing for my camera was leaking just the tiniest bit. Just a couple drops of water in the housing. The same thing happened last week at Redondo. I thought maybe it was a fluke. I was very careful with cleaning and checking the seal this time. Still, the leak. At least the camera is OK.

So I called Canon and they told me to send it to their service center in Illinios. Which means I will not have my camera housing for this weekend's dive with the sea lions or, most likely, for my vacation.

MF said I could use his again. But still, it's a bummer to get a new toy only to have it be broken.