March Rain Brings March Flowers!

Compared to the 2004/2005 deluge, this year's rains haven't been very impressive. But looking around, this average rain is doing the job!








While the flowers in our yard are loving the rain, the State Street Steelheads are basking in the rain, too ;-)

CROP Walk 2006 Report

Cecil and I put up directional signs early in the morning and were rewarded with beautiful island views, snow in the distant mountains, and golden poppies and lupines growing along the path.


Unfortunately - for the first time in over twenty-five years - it rained on our walkers! Fortunately, it didn't rain for long and everyone was welcomed back with prizes, food, and music!

To see all of my pictures of CROP Walk 2006, just click on CROP Walk 2006 Report just below the date.

Help Fight Hunger by supporting the CROP Walk

I have been involved with the CROP Walk, a fundraiser to address the root causes of hunger, provide disaster relief, and support local Ventura food pantries, for nearly twenty-five years. I have served as coordinator of the Ventura CROP Walk since 2003 and ask for your support in 2006. An easy way to do this is to go to the CROP Walk online sponsorship site via the Kintera secure payment page and make a donation with your credit or debit card. Although the walk is this weekend, I can collect donations for a few more weeks. This is not only a great way to rally our community to help people who can use help from others, but it's a fun way for people in our city to get together and walk through our beautiful town!
Except for strollers and wheelchairs, we don't allow wheels to be used. "We walk because they walk" is the theme, but we don't discriminate against who walks!
Besides walking to raise funds, we also encourage everyone to bring canned food. This is used locally by Project Understanding and Catholic Charities.
We celebrate at the the end of the walk - the fact that most of us don't have to walk around town if we don't want to, the fact that we will have raised somewhere between $26,000.00 and $30,000.00 to feed hungry people, build wells and water purification systems, AND provide aid to victims of hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, and other disasters. As our walkers return, they will be welcomed with refreshing snacks and fun music!

February: Mid-Spring in These Parts

It may be snowing in many places, but here in Ventura, we have had blooming narcissus (mostly Paperwhites) since Thanksgiving and big yellow daffodils, blue Dutch irises, and various colors of hyacinths since January. But real Spring in SoCal doesn't arrive until the first tulips begin to bloom in the front yard, and that began to happen duriing the past two weeks, . . .

Buddy Guy, Oh, Yeah!

Tom and I spent last weekend in L.A. with Craig and Renee and had such a great time! They had given us tickets to see Buddy Guy at the Hollywood House of Blues for Christmas, so we planned a mini-vacation around the show. Stayed at the Wilshire Grand and got to relax, walk around Hollywood and Downtown, and then got to enjoy an AWESOMELY good show. Oh baby, Buddy can play the blues! (Or, since life is a Cabaret these days, Ooooh jah!)
We took the Metro train to Hollywood and walked around like real tourists - Craig discovered that his fist is the same size as John Wayne's :-)As we walked along Hollywood Blvd. toward a quieter section of the area, we happened upon Don Knott's star - he had passed away the night before and people had left candles, flowers, notes, and gifts. It was definitely a poignant moment that night.


After a walk and lunch at The Pantry, almost 24 hours had passed since we left home - and it was time to go home with The Blues still running through our heads and souls!