I admit

I am a total techno-dinosaur. I don't need the latest and greatest technology, I just need stuff that works. When I tried to get a cell phone without a camera they laughed at me. Really.
I realized last week that my Sony Clie (personal digital assistant) is so old that my contact management software no longer supports it. My cell phone is on the verge of conking out, but my contract isn't up until September. That gives me some time to do some research.
I've decided to bite the bullet and get a phone that will combine the phone and PDA, plus get e-mail, etc. Now what to get? Iphone? Blackberry? Touchscreen or buttons? I am so confused. If anyone has any advice I'm all ears.

Rafting on the Middle Fork of the American River

Pat and I took a day trip today rafting on the American River with son, Matt, who's on his third season as a white water rafting guide. I have to admit, I was nervous. After all, our lives were in the hands of our dopey 22 year old son. I have to give Matt great kudos. He was very professional, gave good coaching tips and we came out unscathed. We had a blast!
This is a class 4 trip, which means the worst rapids are class 4, which I THINK are the highest rapids that novices are allowed to go through. This pic of Pat is right before we set into the river.
We had a talk about safety - like what to do if/when you get ejected from the boat, then set in the river. Matt gave us some great coaching, we practiced rowing and then, heads up! There's a class 3 rapid about 30 seconds around the bend.
We rafted 17 miles down the river, had a great lunch about 2/3 the way down and a cold beer at the end. Pat did catch some air at one point and I thought he was going in, but he stayed in the boat. The water was warmer than we anticipated. So early in the season, we figured it'd be frigid. The weather was great - high 70s and the sunblock did the trick.
All in all, a great day. We want to go back and take some of the other kids with us. It's nice to be able to recreate with your children at this kind of a level and not only survive, but have fun!

The Pursuit of Truth in the Company of Friends

That's the motto of Cowell College at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where my Kristen graduated today. What an epic day!
There were no parking snafus, we took a shuttle bus very close to
where the ceremony was to take place and the weather was cooperative for an outdoor graduation.
Our friends Vicky and Bob got there before us and secured seats in the third row. Since Kristen was in the first row, she was about 20' from us. None of us have EVER had such great seats at a graduation.
Instead of the traditional Pomp and Circumstance, they had bagpipers, which was both nice and disappointing at the same time. Disappointing because it broke with graduation tradition, but good for me because it didn't start the waterworks going. I can be in the car, by myself, and if I hear this tune by Sir Edward Elgar, I start crying. I can't help it. I have to say, I was very good today. Got a little teary a couple of times, but was not the total weeping basket case I thought I would be.
Kristen was so close that we could talk - albeit mouthing words and sign language, but we could communicate. Before she got up to get her diploma she asked me if she should take her sunglasses off. Yes, for the pictures.
They had a nice reception for the grads and families in the Cowell College quad, which has about a 180' view of the pacific ocean. It was glorious.
Epic day. Four down, two to go.

More Chickens

I visited our girls today and did some housekeeping for them. Here is some video I took of them. (Hey, I actually figured out how to insert video into my blog! Click on the arrow on the lower left of the picture.) I raked out their house, put the droppings and pine shavings in the compost bin, fed and watered and rearranged the top of the pen. We had it on backwards. Duh. They've been with us for eight days now and are settled in just fine. They've grown a lot, too. They are really getting pretty and you can see how they will look when they are grown up.
Lucy was nuffing around and scaring them a bit, but Mom and I figured rather than keep her away from them, it would be best for them to get used to each other. We sat back there and watched them for a while and Lucy was pretty good and the birds were mellow. While she was laying outside of their pen watching them, they ate and pecked around. It is really is quite peaceful watching the chickens do their thing.

Schultze!

My beloved Jeopardy was pre-empted tonight by the NBA playoffs or finals or whatever. Yawn. I'm home alone with Lucy. Pat's working and Wa went up to Southpark.
I popped in one of my favorite movies, Schultze gets the blues. It's a German movie that won 10 International film awards. It's a slow movie with English subtitles. Okay, it's REALLY slow, but I love it all the same.
It's the story of Schultze and his two buddies, Jurgen and Manfred who get early retirement from the salt mine. Schultze is bored out of his mind and finds some Cajun music on the radio late one night. He picks up his accordian and learns to play it. He later plays it in the music festival in his town. This part of the movie is very Sons of Norwayesque.
This movie makes me laugh - it makes me cry. A nice tale of the human spirit. Schultze is one cool dude.

Lucy meets the hens

Lucy doesn't quite know what to think of the chickens and visa versa. I think they'll get used to each other. Lucy doesn't bark at them or otherwise hassle them, I think she's just curious.