Watching Weather and Counting Down

Although the winter started on the dry side, it's making up for lost time by sending wave after wave of warm and cold rainstorms across the Pacific through the "storm gate." Most rainstorms drop from a few hundredths to several tenths of an inch of rain. The current storm arriving tonight is expected to drop up to three inches!

The reason we are watching it so carefully is that the freeway sometimes floods between home and the airport, and we don't want to miss that nice Hawaiian Air Lines flight on Sunday morning! (The airline maintains a flight tracker: just plug "Sacramento" into the departure city slot.)

The Sacramento International Airport's "conditions" report is my new favorite web site; we're fortunate that, even if our flight is delayed, we have no connecting flights to worry about! Now, I need to find a similar web site that will report conditions on I-5. The California Highway Patrol maintains an Incident Report web site that is pretty-much real-time, so hope that will work for us. You may need to change the city to "Sacramento".

So far, the meteorologists are predicting a window between storms Saturday night - Sunday morning. I hope they're right! Weather information updated hourly or more often is available at the Weather Underground. Use the text box at the top of the screen to type in the zip code of the place you need information about. (For Hawaii, 96734 will work for Kailua, and 96814 for Honolulu. For Sacramento use 95831 or 95814.)

Haven't let any of this slow down my packing schedule ...

Sweet Distraction

The Sacramento Blood Source called to say they are critically short of blood this week, so I went in to donate a pint this afternoon. I try to do this every eight weeks, and I'm glad I picked today! This yard-high "gingerbread" house was standing on the donation floor, adding a touch of whimsy to an otherwise pretty sterile environment. My phlebotomist also decorated my elbow wrap with a "bow" made of contrasting wrap!

Blood donations immediately benefit those who need plasma or red blood cells. I began donating blood when I couldn't afford monetary contributions, and have continued pretty much every couple of months since then - I'm a 5-gallon donor now! Besides, they feed you pretty well afterward: today there was stew, doughnuts, cheese, fruit, and all the soft drinks and juice you could want! (Donors are required to spend at least ten minutes in the refreshment center before leaving!) They were also giving away Baskin-Robbins coupons today - "a pint for a pint." French Vanilla ice cream should go pretty well with the Christmas apple pie, I think.

Christmas 2005

Christmas Day. The family dynamic was very different this year, our first without Patrick in residence. So, do we put up a stocking for him? Do we wait to open gifts till he gets here? (Yes, and yes.)

All in all, this year's gifts reflected the kids' growing maturity and the trend toward giving gift cards instead of "stuff." As my sister-in-law once said, "you know it fits, and the color's always right."

This year, Christmas came in the midst of a rainstorm. Although it was merely overcast in the morning, by lunch time it had started to drizzle and it has continued all afternoon. It would have been the perfect day for a roaring fire because the rain would have washed the air pretty well, but it's not cold! Although the sun's been down for an hour, instead of being in the 40s , it's closer to 60 degrees, and we've been opening the windows off and on to release the heat from the kitchen.

We are grateful we were able to share the holiday together, and we look forward to the adventures that are in store for the New Year!

Perfect Little Pine Tree

Christmas Eve. This morning I went for a longer walk than usual, to work off those cookies I made a couple days ago. On the way back, I took a picture of this pine tree that sits in the middle of the bike path - the picture doesn't do it full justice, because in "person", it's a perfectly-shaped pine tree. However, in this photo, it almost looks like there's a Christmas star at the top ... and I promise my phone's camera has NO editing ability whatsoever!

Wrapped up the Christmas shopping today (comes from not having any days off this past week) and got an unexpected treat: after a solid week of rainy, foggy, overcast weather, the sun came out, and it felt like a spring day! We opened all the windows and the sliding patio door, and were comfortable in shorts and t-shirts for several hours. Sure doesn't feel like the middle of winter!

It's Cookie Time Again!

There's something about Christmas that begs for cookies. Yesterday I made chocolate chip cookies and date bars. This evening, I planned to make spritz cookies, but real life intervened: no lemon extract, and the amount of flour in the recipe was inaccurate. The dough was so stiff, I couldn't squeeze it through the holes in the cookie press. So, I activated "Plan B" and rolled the dough into little balls and smashed them flat with a glass dipped in sugar. Not exactly what I planned, but they taste ok...

The thing is, holidays are all about food! I joined Weight Watchers in May, and have disposed of 35 lbs so far. It's been difficult to pass up all the goodies, and I have not been entirely successful, but I'm proud that today I was able to sit across from the counter where staff placed mucho goodies at work and only take two cookies! Tomorrow is my weigh-in, so I've got to stay honest until lunchtime, at least! During the holidays, I'll be happy if I don't gain any weight, and after the holidays, I'll get back on track to lose the remaining 65 lbs I need to shed.

Christmas Timing

I think I outsmarted myself this year.

I always take the week after Thanksgiving off to do Christmas cards, prepare packages that need to be mailed, and make small gifts for library staff, and bake. This year, I took off the week before Thanksgiving. Not only was it too soon to be thinking about Christmas, but Fall was a long time coming and it was too warm! So, I didn't actually get around to any of the above, and went back to work with nothing done. And the weather changed on Thanksgiving Day, bringing freezing temperatures and a nice winter rain storm.

Now, since Christmas occurs on Sunday this year, and my work-week is Tuesday - Saturday, I am having to scramble on my lunch hours and after work to complete what should have been done weeks ago! I'm taking notes for next year.

Tropical Splendor

Received these gorgeous tropical exotics today from my brother's family. They arrived in mint condition, lovingly packed by the staff of The Picket Fence Florist in my home town of Kailua, Hawaii. I couldn't believe the size of the anthuriums, and the orchids and gingers survived the packing and unpacking without a blemish. Now, when I play my Hawaiian music albums, it will really feel like home!

It's been cold here (30s -50s) this past week, and although there's been no rain recently, we're supposed to have dense morning fog all week. Definitely room for a bright spot of flowers! Mahalo, Dave and Lea!

Desktop Self Defense

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an all-day workshop on computer safety and security called "Desktop Self Defense". It was sponsored by InfoPeople, an organization devoted to helping libraries with computer technology and training. The workshop covered things we could do to help defend our pcs from viruses and e-mail worms, information on how to recognize scams, spam and phishing, and also on how to create and use free "throwaway" e-mail accounts to spare our "real" account from becoming the recipient of too much spam.

Each InfoPeople course comes with "bookmarks" - a list of web resources used or featured in the workshop. This workshop provided us with a great collection of free web resources that I highly recommend for everyone who uses the Internet at home! Among its several dozen resources, it includes links to free programs you can download to protect your computer against spyware and adware, a free firewall, and a link to information about downloading and installing the Firefox browser.

Although I didn't learn too much that was totally new to me, it was very useful to hear the horror stories of the participants, and to be able to ask questions and hear tips and comparisons for the sites and downloads I'd only read about. I'm just glad we haven't yet (knock on wood) had any major run-ins with some of the malicious stuff that's out there. Now, armed with this new information, I have taken steps to secure my li'l pc.

O Christmas Tree

We drove to Davis Ranch again this year to get our tree, and we found a fat little Douglas fir we thought would work in the space we have. Here's the "before" picture...

... and here's the "after" picture, complete with decorated daughter. This year, she trimmed the trunk and bottom branches so it would fit in the stand, then lit and decorated the tree pretty much by herself!

The stage is set. All that's required now is for Santa to do his stuff!

My two kids, Patrick and Laurel - I'm proud of them both! It's difficult to re-think my parental role for kids old enought to make their own ways - I see now that I need to encourage them to learn to manage their own affairs before they fledge. 

Library Tourguide to Blogs and Technology

Saw a reference to this blog on the CALIX mailing list today, and thought it would be a perfect place to send people for a simple explanation of the new technologies that are appearing in conversations and in the libraries.

Sandra Stewart, Senior Librarian at the Tully Community Branch of the San Jose Library, says, "I wrote this for my colleagues who ask questions about blogs, plug-ins and things like that."

Wish I'd thought of it first!

Okay, it's cold!

On the news tonight, we heard there is a freeze warning for 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. in Sacramento, and the temperature is expected to dip into the upper 20s for the first time in years! We brought the lemon tree and ti plant indoors and wrapped the water pipe where it enters the house. The news guys also suggested we leave one faucet dripping a little, because moving water is harder to freeze. Marty filled big pots with water in case the pipe does freeze, so we can heat them on the stove and pour the warm water on the pipe to thaw it.

Here's a little weather sticker I keep on my home page, so I can keep track of what's going on. It is displaying the current weather conditions here, and updates every hour. If you click through to the Weather Underground, you can type in any city or zip code to get the current weather and forecast for that area.

Knitting Basket

This morning Sacramento Public Library had its annual all-staff holiday meeting, formerly known as the "Cookie Meeting." Staff from all 27 branches come to Central Library to recognize retirees and new staff, eat cookies, and raffle items as a fund-raiser for the local Salvation Army. This year, the raffle funds were split between the Salvation Army an a Katrina libraries' relief fund.

Last year, we instituted branch gift baskets instead of hundreds of individual raffle items as a way to expedite the raffle part of the meeting. It was so successful that they did it again this year - and I was the lucky winner of what seems to have been the most-coveted basket: the Knitting Basket. It contains a collection of luscious yarns which include several balls (some can be seen at the front of the basket) of yarn hand-spun by one of our bookmobile librarians. It also contains knitting needles and crochet hooks, instructions for same, a pattern book and a pattern-a-day calendar!

Nice additional touches include a scarf, a pair of doilies, a cute tape measure in a "sheep" skin, and knitting needle point protectors in the shape of Christmas stockings. I'm looking forward to a warm fuzzy winter of knitting pleasure!

Fall Fashion, Sacramento Style

Found this photo on my camera yesterday as I was reviewing our Thanksgiving photos. This is a nearby street that captured my imagination with its array of green, orange, and red trees. I took the photo after a walk with my walking-buddy Alison, since it's near her new halfplex in an area I wouldn't otherwise frequent.

Our weather has been unseasonably warm for the past couple of weeks, but yesterday the clouds gathered and today it rained in the first "winter storm" of the season. I'm glad I remembered where I stashed my fleece booties, because I think those warm days are gone for the forseeable future!

Before and After (Thanksgiving Dinner)

Not to say we pigged out or anything, but here's what was left on the platter after we ate our Thanksgiving dinner. [Just kidding!]

Actually, we have two huge containers of leftover turkey (and stuffing and cranberry chutney and apple pie.) Tomorrow I'm going to bag, seal and freeze about half of what's left, and the bones are in the crockpot as I write this.

CRC Library - Monday Night

View of the library's reference area

For nearly two semesters I've been doing "adjunct" work as a reference librarian at the Cosumnes River Community College library. This is where Patrick is going to school.

Since last January, I've been working approximately two Mondays a month from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. It's been an interesting learning experience, because most of the regular librarians have gone home by 6 p.m., leaving inexperienced me to run the show for the evening and close the library at 9:00.

The service philosophy is far different from that of the public libraries where I've worked for the past 30 years. (OMG!! has it been that long?) I've learned a lot about how the library and the instructors cooperate to help the students get through their research and writing projects.

It's me!

Having fun with my phone - and practicing for when we visit Hawaii. My intention is to be able to post photos to the web for Lisa's family while we are there. I notice the camera lens is very wide-angled, so we have to factor that into any photos we take. Also, the resolution is pretty small ...

Here's a photo Laurel took of me the day we stopped at Coco's for lunch. It's really easy to do, and the phone can actually store a fair number of photos. It's better for close-ups, though, than for scenic shots.

Next big get-together is Thanksgiving - we got a 24lb turkey, and will be having Pat over for dinner. I'm making an apple pie, cranberry chutney, and, as long as the oven is hot, I thought I'd throw in a few autumn breads: cranberry, pumpkin, maybe some apple scones if there are any apples left from making the pie. Yum!

Florin Road in Fall

One of the most glorious sights in Sacramento in the Fall is the triple line of Liquidambar trees along the sides and median of a mile or so of Florin Road near where we live. This photo doesn't even come close to showing how red and gold and orange and yellow they all are because the camera on my cell phone is rather limited in its abilities. Marty and I went driving around last Sunday all the way up to Placerville looking for colorful foliage, only to realize after getting back that the best show was practically in our back yard!

Election Reflections

California's special election yesterday was covered by the evening newscasts just as though it were a presidential or gubernatorial election. The governor mounted a $50 million special election to get the people's backing for state budgeting reforms that the legislature was balking at implementing. Of the eight initiatives, not one passed! As one spokesperson for the coalition of unions said, the people clearly were opposed to the whole idea.

I tend to vote "no" on all initiatives on general principle, because I believe that such ballot-box lawmaking is by definition serving only the interests of special groups who draft the initiatives, and is never thought through well enough to anticipate its ripple effect. It almost always means the state has to pay millions of dollars for overseeing the provisions, which money the state doesn't have. When it becomes obvious that the state can't continue to fund the programs the initiatives create, a whole new crop of propositions is drafted for the next election. What a continuous loop! What loopy legislators we have in this great state of ours, who refuse to deal with the difficult issues and instead allow them to be handled by initiatives! Why even bother to elect representatives to the state government?

Winter Wood and Lemons

We ordered a third of a cord of wood for our winter supply - and Pocket Firewood came through with a truckload this morning and dumped it in the parking lot. Pat came over, and the four of us made short work of stacking the wood on our patio. It seems like less than last year. Actually, that's good, as we were gratuitously burning last year's supply well into spring just so we would not haveto store any over the summer (spiders).

The Meyer lemon tree has twice as much fruit as last year, so I think sometime over the winter I will have to prune and repot it. Unless I can take over the area outside the fence as we did at the old apartment, I think all my plants will have to be in pots. The yard is so shady, I have to move the plants around to catch the few rays of sun that manage to filter in through the pines surrounding us.

We've noticed lots of active bird life recently - owls, hummingbirds, scrub jays, and various migrating species like geese and miscellaneous songbirds. The hummingbirds will stay year-round, and so we've started keeping a hummingbird feeder in the patio area. Several times a day, but particularly in late afternoon, the tiny hummingbirds come to check it out.

Internet Librarian 2005

I spent four days last week in Monterey attending the Internet Librarian 2005 conference. Sunday, I took Amtrak's Coast Starlight from Sacramento, and arrived in Monterey around noon. After getting my room, I took a walk to Cannery Row - about a 3-mile round trip from the hotel - and visited some of the neat shops there. In the evening, I attended a Demo Derby ("how my library did it better") at Monterey Public Library.

The remaining three days were full of meetings, keynote speeches, and quick meals on the run. I tried to pick meetings that were relevant to the work I do at Sacramento Public, but it was hard to choose between very good topics in the four "tracks".

The big ideas that underscored the tracks I attended were:

• Interoperability - information now flows from sources to users via a variety of carriers: in-person, by (cell)phone, by e-mail, via the web. Libraries that don't understand how the next generation expects to get information and who insist on delivering materials and services only by traditional means will die.
• Collaboration via "social software" - tools and services like blogs, RSS, wikis, Flickr, IM and del.icio.us are basically mainstream, and need to be included in library services for us to remain credible.
• MP3 players are becoming more common among library users, and they are being used for much more than music: photos, documents, e-books.

Next step is summarizing the sessions, routing my summary, and making links to the presentations available to the librarians in Sacramento Public. There are also "IL05" links in both del.icio.us and Flickr - just type that string into the search box to get notes, comments, and photos of the conference, most created live, during the sessions!

It's halloween- here's our dessert - 'dead fingers' cookies!

Riding the rails 2 monterey

"Honolulu, I am coming back again"

Hawaii ... Cazimero's song "Honolulu, I am coming back again" is the theme I keep hearing in my mind. I am SO looking forward to visiting home again in January with my daughter and her friend.

I set up a mobile blog so I could send photos from our vacation to the web via my cell phone and have them be like instant postcards for family and friends. I'll start taking photos as we begin preparing for our trip and will be able to keep a daily journal once there. It will probably be expensive ... but I think the result will be worth it!

Starting over in a new school year

This summer has been eventful all around - Pat and Laurel had a good time in Cleveland, and Marty and I had a very quiet two weeks. On his return, Patrick announced he and some friends were sharing an apartment, and he moved out the very next day! He's started classes at Cosumnes River Community College, quit his job at Round Table Pizza, and picked up a new position at Big 5 Sporting Goods for 21 hours a week. It's a much better job for his circumstances, since he no longer has to work until the wee hours, and he also has weekends off!

Marty and I have been going through his old bedroom and tossing around ideas for its use, now that it is empty. We think we'll keep the bed in case we need a guest bedroom, toss the hutch but keep the computer desk to use as a table for sewing, crafts, etc. I think I'll move my family history files up there to make space in the dining room for dining room stuff, and Marty has moved some of his work files in there too. After we move the furniture around, it will be fun to "decorate"!

I joined Weight Watchers in May, and have lost about 24 lbs since then. I still have a long way to go, and I have to renew my commitment every Friday in order to stay on track. But I will stay on track! I just need to set a new goal to see me through the end of the year - if I can lose another 20 lbs by January 1, I'll be almost halfway to my goal weight.

Fledglings

Patrick and Laurel departed for Cleveland this morning. This is the first time either of them has traveled without adult supervision. Patrick, newly turned 18 as of yesterday, is posing as the adult in this adventure.

It was wrenching to watch them make their way through airport security and continue on to the gate without pausing for a single backward glance - but I felt proud that they have the confidence to travel so far on a trip that involves a layover and change of planes. I know they will have a vacation they will remember forever!

Over the edge

California has a reputation for being the land of nuts and fruitcakes. I've always leaned toward the side of tolerance until two days ago. There was a blurb in the Sacramento Bee about a bill passed by the state assembly that would limit the size of any textbook used in any California school to fewer than 200 pages in length, because students learn better from shorter texts, and anyway, a lot of information is online nowadays.

Jackie Goldberg, Assembly Education Committee Chairperson, wrote Assembly Bill 756, which passed with a vote of 42 to 33. The Bee editorialized with a stinging satire (free login required.)

Add this to the one about criminalizing the declawing of cats and one could get the impression that there's nothing bigger to worry about in this great state! I'm so disgusted I could spit nails!

Ashland, Oregon

Laurel is going with her class tomorrow by bus to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare festival. They leave from school tomorrow at about 10 a.m., and will arrive in Ashland about 5 hours later. They'll be staying in a dorm at one of the nearby universities and attending workshops and plays for the next 2 days, and then they'll be returning late Monday evening.

Knee tale part two

It's been about five weeks since I had the doc check my knee. I've had two visits to the physical therapist and have been doing a set of six exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knee. Bike riding is on the list of exercises, though the therapist didn't ask me to do it. However, I think I'll have the bike tuned-up, and start riding in the park since the weather is so nice. On the whole, I believe the knee is getting better, but it has not been a linear trip. I have one more visit to the therapist next week, and if it's not significantly better after that, I will probably be sent for an MRI to re-evaluate the original diagnosis.

On a different note, I heard via the grapevine today that our townhouse condo conversion project is "dead as a dodo." Haven't heard why, but we had been wondering why the buyer never actually filed the application to convert with the city Planning Dept. We are speculating that there must be either some fatal flaw in the construction (cracked slab?) or that the cost to bring the buildings up to code is prohibitively expensive. At any rate, this means that we will NOT have to move again this summer!! (Big sigh of relief!)

Please, Knees!

For the last several weeks, my right knee has been bothering me off and on, and for the last week, mostly on. Today, I went to see a doctor, who believes it is an inflammation of the tendon that connects my quadriceps muscle to my leg near the kneecap. He referred me to a physical therapist, who explained that the condition is 100% curable - it will just take a while. She gave me twice-daily exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee. Ice and ibuprofen are also recommended as long as the knee hurts, and I am to avoid squatting, climbing (stairs and hills) and anything else that makes them hurt. I start the exercises tonight!

Flickr

Came across this site in a library journal, and did a double-take when I saw the red jellies on the front page - it's so much like the photo I took in Monterey last November!!! The site is a photo-sharing site called Flickr.

Viva Las Vegas!

Visited Las Vegas with Marty for the very first time over the past weekend - had two full days of hiking up and down the "Strip," ducking into some of the major hotels just to see how they executed their themes: Luxor, the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, and others. I was awestruck by the Venetian, which has an incredible outdoors-but-indoors feeling! But now that I've been, I have no urgent wish to return. It's so focused on gambling and is very smoky everywhere. Hucksters accost passers-by from every doorway - but if you're not willing to spend money, you're toast.

While in Vegas, I also visited my cousin, whom I haven't seen in over 30 years, and her son and grandson (what a cutie!) She took me to visit the Rainbow Library, a branch in the Las Vegas/Clark County Library District. Marty doesn't think visiting libraries is very interesting - I, on the other hand, find them immensely so, and brought back lots of good ideas to share at work.

I flew back to Sackatomatoes Tuesday morning to go back to work, but Marty stayed on till Thursday to attend a conference on state lotteries.

He's published!

The book, Online Gaming Law, that Marty wrote with Professor I. Nelson Rose has finally been published by Mary Ann Liebert. We received copies yesterday in the mail. They've been working on it for about 2 years - one writing it, and the next revising it with the Liebert editor. Hard to explain the feeling that holding the final product in your hands brings!

Finally did it! We tossed the big papa chair and replaced it with a clean and light-looking La-Z-Boy rocker-recliner in light blue. Since it occupies much less space than the monolith it replaced, our living room looks much bigger now!!

Well, last night, the dashboard "charge" light came on again right after I filled the gas tank. I cancelled my night out with the "girls" because I didn't fancy being caught in that part of town after dark. Today, Marty took the car back to the service station and they replaced the new generator with a new new generator. No charge - to our pocketbook, that is.

Some of the library employees plan to meet once a month to knit or do other needle arts the the Fox and Goose pub. We used to meet at the library, but somehow the pub has a better cachet - something about that justaposition of knitting and beer... Guess I'll have to wait till next month.

Well, I'm almost finished getting signed, sealed, and delivered to the Los Rios Community College district. I went yesterday to Kaiser for my TB test, then to the bank to retrieve my Social Security card, and finally to the Police Dept. for my "live scan" fingerprinting session. Tomorrow I get my TB test read and deliver all the paperwork to the Human Resources Department, thereby officially becoming an adjunct faculty member, entitled to be paid for work I do in the community college libraries. Let the adventure begin!

Today was a trying day. It started when we got off the Freeway at I-5 and J St. Crews are digging up the streets in that area, installing sewers and electrical lines for the light rail. It didn't look like we would be able to turn into the library's driveway, so we drove around the block and Marty let me out at the corner of 8th and I. I was balancing my way along the curb so as to avoid stepping into the mud when my shoe slipped and I fell on my hands and knees on the edge of the sidewalk - one muddy knee, but no injury, thank goodness.

Driving home, the electrical system in the car failed and it stalled about halfway home. Luckily, Marty was able to coast to an off-ramp, but had to walk about 1/2 mile to the nearest phone to call AAA. By the time he got back to the car, AAA had been and gone, leaving a note on the windshield, "we came, but you weren't here. You're supposed to stay with the car." So Marty walked all the way back to the phone and called again - tried to convince the dispatcher that he needed help, that he was not at the car, that he needed 10 minutes to walk back to the car, and that the tow truck needed to wait for him to walk back there. The second tow truck operator did connect with Marty, and towed the car to the service station. The alternator was replaced, and now all is well again.

Did my first shift at Cosumnes River College last night, and found that it was mostly like working in a public library with the addition of some college-related housekeeping. We need to be able to locate books put on reserve by the instructors, find information about the students' records, and show them how to load their student access card with funds so they can retrieve their print jobs.

At home, the hummingbirds have finally discovered the feeder we put up last fall - this morning we took it down to change the syrup, and a distinctly annoyed hummingbird buzzed up and down the glass door looking for it. Up close, they are fearless, and from 4 feet away they sound like BIG cockroaches!

We've also noticed a plethora of other birds around our apartment: a woodpecker looking for bugs on the redwood outside the front windows, an owl hooting and hunting at night, geese flying and honking, and scrub jays flashing blue up and down the shrubs and trees.

Super-squirrel found the chestnuts we placed on the shed roof, and I notice he's been digging in my potted plants on the patio!!

Received a Dell Axim X50 pocket PC for Christmas, and have been having fun looking for software for it. All pocket PCs and Palms do calendars, contacts, and to-do lists; the fun is in the customization and software applications you can add or tweak. I found some useful downloads at Handango that I'm trying now, and I've also been able to copy photos I take with the digital camera and turn them into wallpaper on the Axim! Right now, my wallpaper is the red jellies I snapped at the Monterey Aquarium last November. The Axim also has wi-fi capabilities, so I can surf the net and check my e-mail at work using the library's wi-fi signal without having to connect to a cable or phone line!

Picking up this blog again after letting it languish for a couple of years. Changes coming down the pike, so wanted a way to share news with friends and family more often than by the news page on the Owens' Outpost.

This will be a place for me to post my thoughts about developments with the Southwood Townhomes condo conversion as well as news of the family as it happens.