We had a merry but definitely NOT WHITE Christmas! The ski area and snow play area are brown and not open for business, a big bad news for our area actually for the entire Sierras. The number of calls that I have had asking "How much snow do you have?" WELL, last year we had FEET of the white stuff and the ski area opened on Thanksgiving weekend! So I have to ask the caller, "How much RAIN have you had?" I hate to embarrass them, but there is a bit of "cause and effect" involved in putting SNOW on the mountains. A few of the ski areas are open with man-made snow, but it is a bit like skiing on a carpet down the middle of the run. Our area has TWO watersheds which it straddles so taking water from one and making snow that will melt and go into the other is never going to be approved by the powers that be!
Our guests at The Rivers Resort are resorting to their favorite summer and fall activities with the addition of the ice skating just down the road at Long Barn. I doubt that they are sun-bathing on the beach at Pinecrest, but I did see a couple of youngsters with fishing poles in hand ready to give the fish a run for their dinner!
May the weather change SOON so we get some skiers in January, but even with a name like WEATHERS I have no control over the weather, don't know anyone who even claims to!! May the NEW YEAR be awesome for you and yours and do call and schedule a stay at THE RIVERS RESORT in lovely Strawberry CA, population 164, elevation 5,280 feet - the Mile High HAMLET!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
All that we need is some snow to make the season MERRY! The rum balls are made, the cards in the mail, the presents still to be wrapped but not bad for the 10th of the month of December!! The tree is table-sized and artificial, but the lights stay on every year with no work or replacing bulbs, and no needles to vacuum up from the carpets!
The choir sounds pretty good and with some "angelic help" we should do OK next Sunday - December 18th at 10:30 at the Sonora United Methodist Church. Our Christmas party is tomorrow - the 11th seems a bit early - but it is always a kick to see who gets the spoof gift of the year and gets "stuck with it!" and who has that AWESOME gift stolen away. Stealing at a church function? What's with that? One year Pastor tom opened a stuffed cloth FISH with lures and dry flies in its mouth. He hasn't fished for several years now, but at one time he tied his own flies! Didn't Jesus say, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!"?
We are praying for snow. After the heaviest snow fall year in decades last year, we have none at this point. Dodge Ridge Ski Area opened for Thanksgiving last year and Halloween the year before! If you know how to do a SNOW DANCE, please be my guest and send photos. I will post them!!
The choir sounds pretty good and with some "angelic help" we should do OK next Sunday - December 18th at 10:30 at the Sonora United Methodist Church. Our Christmas party is tomorrow - the 11th seems a bit early - but it is always a kick to see who gets the spoof gift of the year and gets "stuck with it!" and who has that AWESOME gift stolen away. Stealing at a church function? What's with that? One year Pastor tom opened a stuffed cloth FISH with lures and dry flies in its mouth. He hasn't fished for several years now, but at one time he tied his own flies! Didn't Jesus say, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!"?
We are praying for snow. After the heaviest snow fall year in decades last year, we have none at this point. Dodge Ridge Ski Area opened for Thanksgiving last year and Halloween the year before! If you know how to do a SNOW DANCE, please be my guest and send photos. I will post them!!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
It is DECEMBER?!
The lovely Indian Summer is getting "old" - the winds last week blew ALMOST all the leaves from the trees, as well as quite a few branches, whole trees, and anything that wasn't tied down or put away!! The water system for the county took a hit when a large flume was destroyed by falling trees - so the conserve water sign is flashing!! I do hope that they are able to repair/replace the flume quickly, like before the skiiers arrive just before Christmas!!
Several homes and ONE dentist's office also interacted with falling timber. The employees of the dentist's office had just stepped away from the patient as the tree dropped through the roof just a few feet away from the startled young lady in the chair!! All escaped without a scratch and now believe in Guardian Angels!! I am praying for Guardian Angels helping the PG&E crews trying to restore POWER, some of the trees were 3-4 feet in diameter and fell right into the power poles, blocking roads and making us all thankful for the lack of injuries!!
I washed my car this morning hoping it would trigger some wet weather, it usually works! The last time the vacuumer "found" the ring of keys that I had been looking for going on two weeks. AND I HAD LOOKED UNDER THE SEATS!! Nothing was lost this time, so nothing was found, but the Forester looks pretty and shiney until the next drive down a gravel road!
I am still busy writing the annual Christmas Cards to folks that I don't have email or Facebook for. Being "as old as dirt" I still do have lots of those folks and some only hear from me at Christmas. When we received the annual "book" from a penpal in Australia I knew it must be going on Christmas time! She writes awesome prose about all their trips, family members, workmates, and home projects. She also hand crafts the annual CARD! This year it was one with folded papers inserted into the space she had cut in the card stock. It is nice to know there are OTHER hyper-active people in this world.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and to all a good-night!
Several homes and ONE dentist's office also interacted with falling timber. The employees of the dentist's office had just stepped away from the patient as the tree dropped through the roof just a few feet away from the startled young lady in the chair!! All escaped without a scratch and now believe in Guardian Angels!! I am praying for Guardian Angels helping the PG&E crews trying to restore POWER, some of the trees were 3-4 feet in diameter and fell right into the power poles, blocking roads and making us all thankful for the lack of injuries!!
I washed my car this morning hoping it would trigger some wet weather, it usually works! The last time the vacuumer "found" the ring of keys that I had been looking for going on two weeks. AND I HAD LOOKED UNDER THE SEATS!! Nothing was lost this time, so nothing was found, but the Forester looks pretty and shiney until the next drive down a gravel road!
I am still busy writing the annual Christmas Cards to folks that I don't have email or Facebook for. Being "as old as dirt" I still do have lots of those folks and some only hear from me at Christmas. When we received the annual "book" from a penpal in Australia I knew it must be going on Christmas time! She writes awesome prose about all their trips, family members, workmates, and home projects. She also hand crafts the annual CARD! This year it was one with folded papers inserted into the space she had cut in the card stock. It is nice to know there are OTHER hyper-active people in this world.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and to all a good-night!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
I was considering the subject of the menu for our Free Thanksgiving Dinner at The Sonora United Methodist Church from 1 to 4 on Thanksgiving Day - which is a week from THIS Thursday. We will no doubt have the traditional dishes - turkey, dressing (I avoid stuffing my turkeys and just pour copious amounts of the flavorful turkey juice laced with the flavors of the vegies, herbs and turkey, plus the sauteed onion and celery of course, over the dried bread cubes!) We will probably need four to five big birds. I asked #1 son if he could provide some from the flock of wild turkeys that eat the bugs in his grass each evening. He said that he would have to have a license and didn't know when "turkey season" started, so I guess we will have the normal "store-bought" turkey. Good thing that those Pilgrims didn't need a license or a season, they would have STARVED. They were thankful for all that GOD provided each day, as we should be. It should NOT take a Presidential or Federal LAW to make us be thankful.
I read that the Pilgrims probably had a variety of wild birds, anything that they could snare or knock out of the sky with their blunderbusses. Also perhaps venison and seafoods - clams or lobster, oysters, or other mussels - were included in that first feast. We will undoubtably include corn as one of our vegies, and I know of yams and sweet tators and a green bean casserole on the list. Our congregation is so generous and willing to help out with this endeavor. GOD BLESS THEM!!
In the seven years that we have been a'doing this we have met some lovely people, fed some homeless folks who really get their fill of turkey that week - the local A/G church does a dinner out by the Coffee Store on the corner the night BEFORE Thanksgiving Day. Theirs is on disposable plates and with plastic table ware; ours is on china with real silverware - we are very thankful for the NEW Dishwasher!!
The first year with 27 guests swelled to over a hundred two years ago. Last year was a bit under a hundred, so don't know what to expect a week from Thursday. Last year my prayer was enough food for the number that came and enough guests to eat the food that GOD provided! My prayer was answered!! We have experienced divine multiplication at other times and in other places, GOD is capable! Come and enjoy the companionship and the food if you are in SONORA on Thanksgiving.
I read that the Pilgrims probably had a variety of wild birds, anything that they could snare or knock out of the sky with their blunderbusses. Also perhaps venison and seafoods - clams or lobster, oysters, or other mussels - were included in that first feast. We will undoubtably include corn as one of our vegies, and I know of yams and sweet tators and a green bean casserole on the list. Our congregation is so generous and willing to help out with this endeavor. GOD BLESS THEM!!
In the seven years that we have been a'doing this we have met some lovely people, fed some homeless folks who really get their fill of turkey that week - the local A/G church does a dinner out by the Coffee Store on the corner the night BEFORE Thanksgiving Day. Theirs is on disposable plates and with plastic table ware; ours is on china with real silverware - we are very thankful for the NEW Dishwasher!!
The first year with 27 guests swelled to over a hundred two years ago. Last year was a bit under a hundred, so don't know what to expect a week from Thursday. Last year my prayer was enough food for the number that came and enough guests to eat the food that GOD provided! My prayer was answered!! We have experienced divine multiplication at other times and in other places, GOD is capable! Come and enjoy the companionship and the food if you are in SONORA on Thanksgiving.
Monday, November 7, 2011
SNOW
Just as the leaves reached their PEAK of color, the snows came! I tried to take a photo today only to discover that my camera had dead batteries! (:-(
The six inches on Thursday night had melted in by Sunday morning when just four inches carpeted Strawberry in white again. By this morning - MONDAY - there was very little to be found. The garbage truck even made it up the hill to the dumpster - he did have the chains on though as I am sure that Old Strawberry Road was hazardous.
I love living where there is a change of seasons - it gets the "juices" flowing anticipating the change and then when it actually happens it is with a sense of relief that we don't have to WAIT. I was never good at waiting!
I remember the Christmas when a HEAVY smallish box sat wrapped for a month before Christmas; it was a gift from my husband and we had only been married for a couple of years. He delighted in picqueing my curiousity. By the time that Christmas morning had arrived I was READY for that sense of relief and instead of a brick, I found four place settings of our silver pattern. I felt like a queen and we still use that silver some fifty years later, but not every day as it has to be hand-washed to preserve the patina - that tarnish in the deep grooves that adds to the beauty of silver. I doubt if anyone bothers with any flatware that cannot be washed in the dishwasher in this day and age - unless they happen to have a MAID!
It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, perhaps that can be said of spending money on things that you only use occasionally. Is it better to have pretty, and pricey things, to use sparingly or to have less to care for and protect so you have less to worry about caring for, and less for your offspring to off-load when you are gone. If everyone felt that way there would be no market for second homes in the mountains, boats for those fishing trips, airplanes to take the family on vacations that would have been impossible / memories that would not have been made.
Snow comes when it comes; life is an adventure; your memories are the only things that make life interesting when you can no longer go for the adventures. My MountainMartha is philosophical today, perhaps because TWO old friends are in hospital and life is short. ENJOY!
The six inches on Thursday night had melted in by Sunday morning when just four inches carpeted Strawberry in white again. By this morning - MONDAY - there was very little to be found. The garbage truck even made it up the hill to the dumpster - he did have the chains on though as I am sure that Old Strawberry Road was hazardous.
I love living where there is a change of seasons - it gets the "juices" flowing anticipating the change and then when it actually happens it is with a sense of relief that we don't have to WAIT. I was never good at waiting!
I remember the Christmas when a HEAVY smallish box sat wrapped for a month before Christmas; it was a gift from my husband and we had only been married for a couple of years. He delighted in picqueing my curiousity. By the time that Christmas morning had arrived I was READY for that sense of relief and instead of a brick, I found four place settings of our silver pattern. I felt like a queen and we still use that silver some fifty years later, but not every day as it has to be hand-washed to preserve the patina - that tarnish in the deep grooves that adds to the beauty of silver. I doubt if anyone bothers with any flatware that cannot be washed in the dishwasher in this day and age - unless they happen to have a MAID!
It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, perhaps that can be said of spending money on things that you only use occasionally. Is it better to have pretty, and pricey things, to use sparingly or to have less to care for and protect so you have less to worry about caring for, and less for your offspring to off-load when you are gone. If everyone felt that way there would be no market for second homes in the mountains, boats for those fishing trips, airplanes to take the family on vacations that would have been impossible / memories that would not have been made.
Snow comes when it comes; life is an adventure; your memories are the only things that make life interesting when you can no longer go for the adventures. My MountainMartha is philosophical today, perhaps because TWO old friends are in hospital and life is short. ENJOY!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Autumn Leaves are on the trees
The trees in SONORA are gorgeous! The town tree is the pistachio and its autumn colors are breathtaking! Of the multiple trees lining Mono Way there can be all shades of green, yellow, red and brown ON THE SAME TREE! I understand that the aspens and willows on the SONORA PASS are awesome as well. The fishermen had good fishing this weekend, the housekeeper is working hard to get cabins ready for incoming guests, but there is always room for more at this time of the year.
The Real Estate Market is still "putsing along" - I have heard that is what Model As used to do! I wasn't around during THEIR era!! The solds in a full month are about equal to what we used to have in a WEEK! If you haven't found your dream home YET, you better move on it - down turns never last forever and interest rates can only go UP, can't get much lower. Use those savings dollars for REAL property, always a good investment - as long as you buy low and sell HIGH! Only GOD can make more dirt; the Fed can only print money!!
The Real Estate Market is still "putsing along" - I have heard that is what Model As used to do! I wasn't around during THEIR era!! The solds in a full month are about equal to what we used to have in a WEEK! If you haven't found your dream home YET, you better move on it - down turns never last forever and interest rates can only go UP, can't get much lower. Use those savings dollars for REAL property, always a good investment - as long as you buy low and sell HIGH! Only GOD can make more dirt; the Fed can only print money!!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
TECHNOLOGY
I have just finished changing my password for the third time in order to access MY OWN BLOG!
Is it a bug? Is it a virus? Am I really that FORGETFUL? Somehow GOOGLE even changed my NAME, as well as the password at least once. I also have a business account that I need to access monthly, but have to change my password at least every 45 days. Does that get frustrating trying to remember the various passwords that I have used on that account! You can't use the same password a second time - the program says in no uncertain terms "that password has been used previously, choose another!" Yet, there are people who routinely use a 25 to 35 digit password to access their brokerage account, or their bank account with nary a thought of some one or some COMPUTER in the sky figuring it out and hacking into their account. So how did GOOGLE change my NAME without someone hacking into my account?
As a REALTOR I deal with technology a lot. I hate to think of the "olden days" when the listings were picked up at the Board of Realtors office weekly and copied and dispersed in each office. The local REALTOR in STRAWBERRY used to have a book of his own with photos, to-scale drawings of the property, and its location on a map of the town so his customers could let their fingers do the walking before he put the key in HIS ignition. Even in the old days gas wasn't cheap as a percentage of income!!
I can remember my mom saying that a tank of gas was cheap entertainment - we were a one car family so except for a walk to the corner grocery she was a "shut-in" while Dad drove the car to work. His work day precluded taking public transportation as the bus service, even in Denver CO, was not available when he got off. So not only was it cheap entertainment, it was a chance to talk, see a different angle on her world, and possibly we children MIGHT go to sleep in the backseat - to be carried to our beds with no fuss.
My husband, in doing pre-marital counseling, suggests a car ride with a full tank of gas when communication problems are the problem of the day. Of course, you have to leave the radio off and communicate, remembering all the loveable things about each other that caused you to want to get married in the first place. Hard to do with children fighting in the back seats for attention. Maybe a babysitter AND a full tank of gas in the car!
BACK to Technology - has it replaced communication, has it replaced intimacy, has it replaced awareness, has it replaced common sense? A friend was telling me this morning before church of her research into "electromagnetic hyper-sensitivity" She said that we live surrounded by wi-fi, radio signals, TV signals, pagers, microwave signals, all sorts of "dirty airwaves!" SOME people are super sensitive to these polluters, just as some are super sensitive to germs, stress, or addictive substances/behaviors. Could you turn off your technology-centered life? Do you require your vacation destination to have all the comforts of home as well as its technology? Do you ever feel a NEED for a less stressful life. (see my last blog!) Call the Rivers Resort and book a stay AWAY!! Of course we do know where your AT&T cellphone will work, we even know of a couple of places with wi-fi, but we are proud to say that THE Rivers Resort is not one of them YET.
Is it a bug? Is it a virus? Am I really that FORGETFUL? Somehow GOOGLE even changed my NAME, as well as the password at least once. I also have a business account that I need to access monthly, but have to change my password at least every 45 days. Does that get frustrating trying to remember the various passwords that I have used on that account! You can't use the same password a second time - the program says in no uncertain terms "that password has been used previously, choose another!" Yet, there are people who routinely use a 25 to 35 digit password to access their brokerage account, or their bank account with nary a thought of some one or some COMPUTER in the sky figuring it out and hacking into their account. So how did GOOGLE change my NAME without someone hacking into my account?
As a REALTOR I deal with technology a lot. I hate to think of the "olden days" when the listings were picked up at the Board of Realtors office weekly and copied and dispersed in each office. The local REALTOR in STRAWBERRY used to have a book of his own with photos, to-scale drawings of the property, and its location on a map of the town so his customers could let their fingers do the walking before he put the key in HIS ignition. Even in the old days gas wasn't cheap as a percentage of income!!
I can remember my mom saying that a tank of gas was cheap entertainment - we were a one car family so except for a walk to the corner grocery she was a "shut-in" while Dad drove the car to work. His work day precluded taking public transportation as the bus service, even in Denver CO, was not available when he got off. So not only was it cheap entertainment, it was a chance to talk, see a different angle on her world, and possibly we children MIGHT go to sleep in the backseat - to be carried to our beds with no fuss.
My husband, in doing pre-marital counseling, suggests a car ride with a full tank of gas when communication problems are the problem of the day. Of course, you have to leave the radio off and communicate, remembering all the loveable things about each other that caused you to want to get married in the first place. Hard to do with children fighting in the back seats for attention. Maybe a babysitter AND a full tank of gas in the car!
BACK to Technology - has it replaced communication, has it replaced intimacy, has it replaced awareness, has it replaced common sense? A friend was telling me this morning before church of her research into "electromagnetic hyper-sensitivity" She said that we live surrounded by wi-fi, radio signals, TV signals, pagers, microwave signals, all sorts of "dirty airwaves!" SOME people are super sensitive to these polluters, just as some are super sensitive to germs, stress, or addictive substances/behaviors. Could you turn off your technology-centered life? Do you require your vacation destination to have all the comforts of home as well as its technology? Do you ever feel a NEED for a less stressful life. (see my last blog!) Call the Rivers Resort and book a stay AWAY!! Of course we do know where your AT&T cellphone will work, we even know of a couple of places with wi-fi, but we are proud to say that THE Rivers Resort is not one of them YET.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
ROUTINE is good
The old western song "Back in the Saddle again..." comes to mind as we attempt to make order out of chaos. Of course a girl sitting in the saddle backwards with the message "Some days I don't know if I am coming or going!" sums up my life quite nicely. It was a much needed two week vacation in Colorado full of old friends, renewing family relationships, enjoying the scenery from the California Zephyr, and crocheting up a storm - two baby blankies, a summer top, a dozen kitchen cloths, and reading two books. Even on vacation I am a work-aholic!! Tom just shakes his head, but after 50 years of marriage, he is good at it!!
My helper in Strawberry waited until my return to tell me of their move to Louisiana as her husband had a job there and they were offered a family-owned home for a rediculously low rent. I told her that I would have jumped at the oppertunity also!! I will miss Dodie; she did an awesome job while we were gone. So it is back into training new employees mode! I have often acknowledged that I have been a "teacher without a classroom" for my entire life - Sunday School starting at 14, Bible Studies starting at 32, boss since 1979 with a constantly changing cast / set of students, Cub Scouts, 4H Foods, even piano for the three years we lived in the mountains above Denver!! No retirement package waiting for me from my teaching, but having listened to my sister trying to get a disability retirement from her school district - PRAISE GOD that I missed out on the politics of classroom teaching/ retiring.
Our church was happy to see us return; the preachers that Tom had lined up came, preached, prayed and the WORD was heard, but the normal routine is good too! Choir has started practicing; love those faithful singers - it is such a blessing to sing together and we have such a variety of talents. We even enjoyed some new banners for the weekend of 9/11 thanks to a crafty church member - we will use them again on Veteran's Day weekend in November. The Ministerial Association in our county sponsored a celebration on 9/11 at the fairgrounds - packed house, much prayer, great music, God bless America. The events of 9/11 brought our nation to its knees, but too soon it was back to the "normal routine." In this case maybe routine was NOT GOOD!
My helper in Strawberry waited until my return to tell me of their move to Louisiana as her husband had a job there and they were offered a family-owned home for a rediculously low rent. I told her that I would have jumped at the oppertunity also!! I will miss Dodie; she did an awesome job while we were gone. So it is back into training new employees mode! I have often acknowledged that I have been a "teacher without a classroom" for my entire life - Sunday School starting at 14, Bible Studies starting at 32, boss since 1979 with a constantly changing cast / set of students, Cub Scouts, 4H Foods, even piano for the three years we lived in the mountains above Denver!! No retirement package waiting for me from my teaching, but having listened to my sister trying to get a disability retirement from her school district - PRAISE GOD that I missed out on the politics of classroom teaching/ retiring.
Our church was happy to see us return; the preachers that Tom had lined up came, preached, prayed and the WORD was heard, but the normal routine is good too! Choir has started practicing; love those faithful singers - it is such a blessing to sing together and we have such a variety of talents. We even enjoyed some new banners for the weekend of 9/11 thanks to a crafty church member - we will use them again on Veteran's Day weekend in November. The Ministerial Association in our county sponsored a celebration on 9/11 at the fairgrounds - packed house, much prayer, great music, God bless America. The events of 9/11 brought our nation to its knees, but too soon it was back to the "normal routine." In this case maybe routine was NOT GOOD!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
TIME marches on!
Time...a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a year... pretty soon you have a lifetime! "What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visiteth him?" David, who wrote many of the poems that are in our Bible in the Book of Psalms really had a point. We are but a glimmer on the spectrum of TIME, but to us each day can SEEM like forever!
We have lost several friends in the past couple of months. It seems that my husband, the pastor, barely recovers his equilibrium from counseling one grieving family and another comes along!! My time this summer has FLOWN by; it seems like a very busy time and at the RESORT we have also experienced loss. Our long time clients are at "that age" as well. Time...loss...gain...life. We all need to re-think our priorities from time to time and this month has been one of stress, and needed shuffling of schedules in order to try to "be everything to everybody" - to do everything that NEEDED doing,
to cross all the "t" s and dot all of the "i" s.
Maybe it was the 50th Anniversary back in February; or possibly the 50th High School Reunion at the end of the month, but my nostalgia is getting all mixed up with my sense of certainty. My focus on surviving TODAY is mixed with my certainty that Life does go on; my focus on what is true, good, honorable, necessary is mixed with my need to LOVE and be LOVED, to feel and experience all the aspects of LIFE each day.
May your day be blessed with a positive focus; may your LIFE be full of Love!!
We have lost several friends in the past couple of months. It seems that my husband, the pastor, barely recovers his equilibrium from counseling one grieving family and another comes along!! My time this summer has FLOWN by; it seems like a very busy time and at the RESORT we have also experienced loss. Our long time clients are at "that age" as well. Time...loss...gain...life. We all need to re-think our priorities from time to time and this month has been one of stress, and needed shuffling of schedules in order to try to "be everything to everybody" - to do everything that NEEDED doing,
to cross all the "t" s and dot all of the "i" s.
Maybe it was the 50th Anniversary back in February; or possibly the 50th High School Reunion at the end of the month, but my nostalgia is getting all mixed up with my sense of certainty. My focus on surviving TODAY is mixed with my certainty that Life does go on; my focus on what is true, good, honorable, necessary is mixed with my need to LOVE and be LOVED, to feel and experience all the aspects of LIFE each day.
May your day be blessed with a positive focus; may your LIFE be full of Love!!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
WAIT A MINUTE!!
I just spotted a "news item" regarding cereals that we are NOT eating anymore and two of MY PERSONAL FAVORITES were on the list. Did anyone ask ME! NO. I took one survey in my entire computerized life and subsequently had more spam than at a Spam Sculpting Convention!! So when I say that no one "asked me" what I am saying is that I did NOT volunteer to take their survey knowing that they would SELL my email address and possibly leave "malware" and "cookies" in my computer. You can't be too careful these days!! WAIT A MINUTE!
So how can Cheerios and Rice Crispies lose their following after all these years?! Maybe the advent of commercially made Rice Crispie bars so no one melts the marshmallows with the margarine, adds the Rice Crispie cereal and pats it into the greased pan to be scarfed by the hungry hordes after school. Do we even SEE those hungry hordes after school? Well, not if they have soccor practice, band practice, homework club until Mom or Dad gets off work, no hungry hordes in most homes. NO WONDER the old favorites are in decline; the lifestyle that encouraged healthy snacks, like an apple a day to keep the doctor away, has been replaced by vending machines or afterschool clubs. WAIT A MINUTE!
Then there was the adding of sugar to Cheerios - I even bought a box of cinnamon roll Cheerios! They are so sweet that I mix them with 2/3 regular unsweetened Cheerios, and my husband will not touch them even then. It amazes how addicting sugar and salt can be. We have a vending machine in my office at the Realty - I never eat candy or salted peanuts except about 4 PM when I am holding down the "up desk" at the office! Is boredom the cause or effect of our current epidemic of diabetes?!! WAIT A MINUTE - it is a WASTE to put waste on your waist!
So in the midst of a recession HOW can "new movies" post the astronomical returns on "opening weekend" when everyone is out of work?! Would people sooner watch a two hour movie than clip coupons for money saving at the supermarket? I read a piece by an emergency room doctor regarding the "poor uninsured patients" who arrive with the fanciest cell phone, high dollar tatoos, professionally done nails, name brand clothing, and an attitude that they somehow "deserve" to have their medical problems treated at no expense to them! WAIT A MINUTE perhaps we have a culture problem rather than a financial problem.
The discussion this morning was about the "underemployed" - those people who are working shorter hours, but who are still working, attempting to make a living. A former Russian exchange student who has emigrated here, although on the East Coast, and is working THREE JOBS. How HARD is that!! I bet that she doesn't use the emergency room for her health care - how would she possibly squeeze a visit into her schedule when the wait is three to four hours in most locations unless you are bleeding on the floor!! WAIT A MINUTE maybe those unemployment numbers are not accurate?
We decided that as REALTORS we too are under employed - the requirement used to be twenty listings to call yourself a "full-time Realtor" and in order to assure yourself of a "living wage" an escrow closing each week was considered minimum. It just hasn't been "like that" for several years now. Although I am sure that there are SOME REALTORS who manage not to be "underemployed" by working the REO - bank owned properties - for the banks. WAIT A MINUTE - they are working!
So perhaps I have the solution to most of our problems - WAIT A MINUTE - don't be coerced into thinking that the world has come to an end because of a Stock Market decline - crash is too harsh a word since it is after all GAMBLING! Whether the problem is attitudes - financial, physical, or relational - often times just waiting a minute for the smoke to settle will go a long way towards solving the problem. My second most favorite Bible verse is II Timothy 1:7 - "GOD has not given a spirit of FEAR, but of love, peace and a sound mind!" I think that I will meditate on that for a few minutes. FEAR is not of GOD, just wait a minute and feel the LOVE.
So how can Cheerios and Rice Crispies lose their following after all these years?! Maybe the advent of commercially made Rice Crispie bars so no one melts the marshmallows with the margarine, adds the Rice Crispie cereal and pats it into the greased pan to be scarfed by the hungry hordes after school. Do we even SEE those hungry hordes after school? Well, not if they have soccor practice, band practice, homework club until Mom or Dad gets off work, no hungry hordes in most homes. NO WONDER the old favorites are in decline; the lifestyle that encouraged healthy snacks, like an apple a day to keep the doctor away, has been replaced by vending machines or afterschool clubs. WAIT A MINUTE!
Then there was the adding of sugar to Cheerios - I even bought a box of cinnamon roll Cheerios! They are so sweet that I mix them with 2/3 regular unsweetened Cheerios, and my husband will not touch them even then. It amazes how addicting sugar and salt can be. We have a vending machine in my office at the Realty - I never eat candy or salted peanuts except about 4 PM when I am holding down the "up desk" at the office! Is boredom the cause or effect of our current epidemic of diabetes?!! WAIT A MINUTE - it is a WASTE to put waste on your waist!
So in the midst of a recession HOW can "new movies" post the astronomical returns on "opening weekend" when everyone is out of work?! Would people sooner watch a two hour movie than clip coupons for money saving at the supermarket? I read a piece by an emergency room doctor regarding the "poor uninsured patients" who arrive with the fanciest cell phone, high dollar tatoos, professionally done nails, name brand clothing, and an attitude that they somehow "deserve" to have their medical problems treated at no expense to them! WAIT A MINUTE perhaps we have a culture problem rather than a financial problem.
The discussion this morning was about the "underemployed" - those people who are working shorter hours, but who are still working, attempting to make a living. A former Russian exchange student who has emigrated here, although on the East Coast, and is working THREE JOBS. How HARD is that!! I bet that she doesn't use the emergency room for her health care - how would she possibly squeeze a visit into her schedule when the wait is three to four hours in most locations unless you are bleeding on the floor!! WAIT A MINUTE maybe those unemployment numbers are not accurate?
We decided that as REALTORS we too are under employed - the requirement used to be twenty listings to call yourself a "full-time Realtor" and in order to assure yourself of a "living wage" an escrow closing each week was considered minimum. It just hasn't been "like that" for several years now. Although I am sure that there are SOME REALTORS who manage not to be "underemployed" by working the REO - bank owned properties - for the banks. WAIT A MINUTE - they are working!
So perhaps I have the solution to most of our problems - WAIT A MINUTE - don't be coerced into thinking that the world has come to an end because of a Stock Market decline - crash is too harsh a word since it is after all GAMBLING! Whether the problem is attitudes - financial, physical, or relational - often times just waiting a minute for the smoke to settle will go a long way towards solving the problem. My second most favorite Bible verse is II Timothy 1:7 - "GOD has not given a spirit of FEAR, but of love, peace and a sound mind!" I think that I will meditate on that for a few minutes. FEAR is not of GOD, just wait a minute and feel the LOVE.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
SUMMERTIME and the livin' is easy...
I enjoyed an afternoon last Saturday lazing around the pool in Strawberry with the grandkids! One of our RESORT guests commented that they didn't see me doing that often! Hey, even workaholics have to work at being good grandmas!!
AND this Sunday it will be a trip to the Big Trees State Park with a church group and again, the grandkids!! Love the alternating HOT and cool weather pattern. There isn't much to dislike about California weather, especially in the Central Sierras!!
I spoke with a friend in San Francisco and he would love some of our warmth - it was in the 50s and he was COLD! I spoke to my sister in Denver CO and she is just not sure whether it is summer or winter, the weather has been bouncing around so much. Dad, out on the Kansas border says that the corn is really growing with the over 100 degree weather they have been having. The trainer whose instruction we enjoyed on Tuesday regarding the REAL Living web site said that her home in Iowa was toasting'also! Popcorn in the fields at 115 degrees!!
I actually wore a shawl today to avoid the chill of the air conditioner at the Realty office. Nice breeze in the crepe myrtle blooming bright pink outside the window! It is easy to see why we feel blessed to live in Tuolumne County!
AND this Sunday it will be a trip to the Big Trees State Park with a church group and again, the grandkids!! Love the alternating HOT and cool weather pattern. There isn't much to dislike about California weather, especially in the Central Sierras!!
I spoke with a friend in San Francisco and he would love some of our warmth - it was in the 50s and he was COLD! I spoke to my sister in Denver CO and she is just not sure whether it is summer or winter, the weather has been bouncing around so much. Dad, out on the Kansas border says that the corn is really growing with the over 100 degree weather they have been having. The trainer whose instruction we enjoyed on Tuesday regarding the REAL Living web site said that her home in Iowa was toasting'also! Popcorn in the fields at 115 degrees!!
I actually wore a shawl today to avoid the chill of the air conditioner at the Realty office. Nice breeze in the crepe myrtle blooming bright pink outside the window! It is easy to see why we feel blessed to live in Tuolumne County!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
MOUNTAIN TIME
Mountain time is a difficult concept to wrap your mind around! It means different things in each situation be it repairmen arriving on time, or at least calling to say that they have been detained, OR possibly just the amount of time that it takes to order and receive delivery on various items not available locally. The workman who is also a fishermen we learn to work around. If it is mandatory that the work be done immediately, you call the worker who is NOT a fisherman. If you aren't in a rush, you can add it to the "I'll get around to it" person's list. Afterall, he just might be the BEST person for the job.
I am sure that in the city people have many choices to make regarding workmen; professional or not, full-time or a retired "jack of all trades" there is room for all types in this world. It must be very confusing for a city person who knows nothing about "mountain time!" You would think that a REALTOR
would clue you in as to who to call when, but would you believe that even in OUR profession it is NOT allowed! You can get in big trouble for steering a client to a particular supplier, vender, even inspector so we have to give more than one reference so the client has to make a choice!! Oh, for the good ol' days!!
So how does one learn to deal with "mountain time" when you NEED something done immediately? Do you bribe, cajol, beg, threaten, or DO IT YOURSELF? Unfortunately, it often comes down to the latter!! You would think that in a recession / depression people would be HUNGRY for work, especially if you have the reputation of paying on time or promptly; aha, don't forget about "mountain time!" The BBQ is a higher priority, pointing the finger at a supplier is an "easy out!" Doesn't EVERYONE deserve a Holiday?
I am sure that in the city people have many choices to make regarding workmen; professional or not, full-time or a retired "jack of all trades" there is room for all types in this world. It must be very confusing for a city person who knows nothing about "mountain time!" You would think that a REALTOR
would clue you in as to who to call when, but would you believe that even in OUR profession it is NOT allowed! You can get in big trouble for steering a client to a particular supplier, vender, even inspector so we have to give more than one reference so the client has to make a choice!! Oh, for the good ol' days!!
So how does one learn to deal with "mountain time" when you NEED something done immediately? Do you bribe, cajol, beg, threaten, or DO IT YOURSELF? Unfortunately, it often comes down to the latter!! You would think that in a recession / depression people would be HUNGRY for work, especially if you have the reputation of paying on time or promptly; aha, don't forget about "mountain time!" The BBQ is a higher priority, pointing the finger at a supplier is an "easy out!" Doesn't EVERYONE deserve a Holiday?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
SUMMER?!
After the winter comes SPRING, usually! This year it was skipped, we went from snow to summer. The wildflowers are gorgeous after our very WET winter, not many blossoms on the lilacs as they were hit by frost, ditto for the dogwoods at OUR elevation, but the lupine are glorious and I would guess that the SUMMER wildflowers will be as well!
The swimming pool at The Rivers Resort has NEVER opened this late; we missed Father's Day, and certainly missed Memorial Day!! The government-required retrofits, the paint that had to be applied at above 50 degrees, the tile that had delaminated from three places had to be reattached, grouted, and sealed. NOW the new-three-years-ago heater has a malfunction; the water is 54 degrees warmed by Mr. Sun only, since we filled it last week when it was the temperature of "snow melt" i.e. 42 degrees! It only takes a couple of days once that new heater gets going. So I have been praying for "divine intervention!" The local pool guy is checking to see which part we need, and I certainly HOPE that he has it in stock!! THAT would be an answer to my prayers.
So would a couple of new listings or a couple of buyers ready to put their names on the dotted line ... keep me in mind for your Real Estate needs. We get the job done and the phone rings in my pocket wherever I am!!
The swimming pool at The Rivers Resort has NEVER opened this late; we missed Father's Day, and certainly missed Memorial Day!! The government-required retrofits, the paint that had to be applied at above 50 degrees, the tile that had delaminated from three places had to be reattached, grouted, and sealed. NOW the new-three-years-ago heater has a malfunction; the water is 54 degrees warmed by Mr. Sun only, since we filled it last week when it was the temperature of "snow melt" i.e. 42 degrees! It only takes a couple of days once that new heater gets going. So I have been praying for "divine intervention!" The local pool guy is checking to see which part we need, and I certainly HOPE that he has it in stock!! THAT would be an answer to my prayers.
So would a couple of new listings or a couple of buyers ready to put their names on the dotted line ... keep me in mind for your Real Estate needs. We get the job done and the phone rings in my pocket wherever I am!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
SUMMER??
Oh where, oh where has our SUMMER gone? Oh where, oh where can it be?
We've cleaned all the decks, put table cloths on, even painted the pool to be filled.
THEN IT BLEW and it HAILED and we knew summer'd FAILED. BRRRR!
But we all know that if you don't care for the weather today, you must just be patient, it too will change. Those sun spots have a way of traveling all this way and "messin' with us!" We have plenty of water in the lakes and the river, the fish have been planted and all the cabins have had their Spring Cleaning and are ready for you. Call 1800.514.6777 if you need to get away from it all and replenish your spirit at THE RIVERS RESORT.
On another note! The National Association of REALTORS is advertising this SATURDAY the 4th of June as OPEN HOUSE DAY!! Yours truly will be having not one, not two, but THREE OPEN HOUSES that day. HOPE to see you at one of them - Tinnin Road off Wards Ferry Rd in Sonora from 10-noon, Tanager Drive in Strawberry from 2 - 4 and home base - UNIT #1 at The Rivers Resort from 4 - 6 PM. I guess that I had better pack a lunch!! Cookies will be available and some hot cider!! Let me know if those hours / that day doesn't work for you and we will make other arrangements to show you property
We've cleaned all the decks, put table cloths on, even painted the pool to be filled.
THEN IT BLEW and it HAILED and we knew summer'd FAILED. BRRRR!
But we all know that if you don't care for the weather today, you must just be patient, it too will change. Those sun spots have a way of traveling all this way and "messin' with us!" We have plenty of water in the lakes and the river, the fish have been planted and all the cabins have had their Spring Cleaning and are ready for you. Call 1800.514.6777 if you need to get away from it all and replenish your spirit at THE RIVERS RESORT.
On another note! The National Association of REALTORS is advertising this SATURDAY the 4th of June as OPEN HOUSE DAY!! Yours truly will be having not one, not two, but THREE OPEN HOUSES that day. HOPE to see you at one of them - Tinnin Road off Wards Ferry Rd in Sonora from 10-noon, Tanager Drive in Strawberry from 2 - 4 and home base - UNIT #1 at The Rivers Resort from 4 - 6 PM. I guess that I had better pack a lunch!! Cookies will be available and some hot cider!! Let me know if those hours / that day doesn't work for you and we will make other arrangements to show you property
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Spring!!
Spring has sprung, the grass is "riz"
Where last year's careless driver IS! - Burma Shave signs from LONG AGO in a slower, less harried time!
Just 32 years ago when we arrived with our caravan of two pickups and one UHaul to begin our "adventure" in Strawberry CA running an Inn in the Central Sierras with a river running past, a school bus coming for the three children, and LOTS of weekend guests it WAS a slower, less harried time!! We had no cell phones, no dish TV, people took TWO WEEK vacations. The local cabin owners used their cabin in the mountains at least once a month, even in the winter!! The locals would NEVER have considered driving to SONORA, 32 miles away, for thrice weekly baseball or soccer practices. We made our own entertainment, learned to find our way around our woods, threw rocks or sticks in the river, and welcomed DAD home from work in San Jose EVERY DAY.
I had a notepad that someone gave me as a joke - "When my ship comes in, I will probably be at the airport!" That was DAD's daily grind; commuting to his job in Silicon Valley. Seven years of trying to keep the Inn afloat and helping to raise three children (and countless "adult children" better known as EMPLOYEES!) When he finally gave up the "commute" after two engine failures, an in flight fire, passing a kidney stone as he began his landing sequence into San Jose, he then spent six years trying to find "his niche" in the mountains. Bartender lasted one winter, the computer science professor at Columbia College lasted nearly three years, and his own computer services company which kept him very busy for over 15 years!!
I do find it amazing that we survived the experience. But I also try not to think of it too often - makes me TIRED all over again! And at my age it takes longer to recover when you get TIRED!
BUT I am never too tired to help you find YOUR niche in our beautiful area. Zap me an email - address at the top of this post - and we will collaborate on your real estate needs. All the comforts of HOME here in Tuolumne County and nature in your back yard - we can even recommend "deer resistant" plants!! THEY LOVE ROSES - don't we all?! But deer avoid garlic, so surround your roses with garlic and spray a bit of soapy garlic water on those bushes so the aphids won't like them either!!
We have some local Master Gardeners who will happily share their expertise in all aspects of gardening from ROCKS to fountains, ground cover to ornamentals, and you will meet some great people as well! Several are members of our church in downtown Sonora - so I won't be available for Real Estate on Sunday mornings; I direct the choir!
Where last year's careless driver IS! - Burma Shave signs from LONG AGO in a slower, less harried time!
Just 32 years ago when we arrived with our caravan of two pickups and one UHaul to begin our "adventure" in Strawberry CA running an Inn in the Central Sierras with a river running past, a school bus coming for the three children, and LOTS of weekend guests it WAS a slower, less harried time!! We had no cell phones, no dish TV, people took TWO WEEK vacations. The local cabin owners used their cabin in the mountains at least once a month, even in the winter!! The locals would NEVER have considered driving to SONORA, 32 miles away, for thrice weekly baseball or soccer practices. We made our own entertainment, learned to find our way around our woods, threw rocks or sticks in the river, and welcomed DAD home from work in San Jose EVERY DAY.
I had a notepad that someone gave me as a joke - "When my ship comes in, I will probably be at the airport!" That was DAD's daily grind; commuting to his job in Silicon Valley. Seven years of trying to keep the Inn afloat and helping to raise three children (and countless "adult children" better known as EMPLOYEES!) When he finally gave up the "commute" after two engine failures, an in flight fire, passing a kidney stone as he began his landing sequence into San Jose, he then spent six years trying to find "his niche" in the mountains. Bartender lasted one winter, the computer science professor at Columbia College lasted nearly three years, and his own computer services company which kept him very busy for over 15 years!!
I do find it amazing that we survived the experience. But I also try not to think of it too often - makes me TIRED all over again! And at my age it takes longer to recover when you get TIRED!
BUT I am never too tired to help you find YOUR niche in our beautiful area. Zap me an email - address at the top of this post - and we will collaborate on your real estate needs. All the comforts of HOME here in Tuolumne County and nature in your back yard - we can even recommend "deer resistant" plants!! THEY LOVE ROSES - don't we all?! But deer avoid garlic, so surround your roses with garlic and spray a bit of soapy garlic water on those bushes so the aphids won't like them either!!
We have some local Master Gardeners who will happily share their expertise in all aspects of gardening from ROCKS to fountains, ground cover to ornamentals, and you will meet some great people as well! Several are members of our church in downtown Sonora - so I won't be available for Real Estate on Sunday mornings; I direct the choir!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
SPRING has finally come!
After a wet and stormy winter, spring has finally arrived. The PLUM TREE will be in full blossom this weekend. The fishermen have arrived for the opening day of fishing season. The Housekeepers at the Resort have begun SPRING CLEANING and soon the two feet of snow in the bottom of the swimming pool will be melted so we can begin the Spring Cleaning, painting, and filling of the pool. OPENING is planned for the third week of JUNE, much later than normal but how often do we get such a bountiful winter in the SNOW Department?!
The Real Estate Listings are popping up (but I could always help you with another one! Be sure and call 209.770.3168 the phone that rings in my pocket unless I am in church or a doctor's office!), the fallen trees are being cut into firewood, the tulips in Twain Harte are even blooming after the fantastic show of daffodils thanks to the "Twain Harte Garden Club."
Dodge Ridge - dodgeridge.com - had their last ski day on Easter Sunday, as did Leland High Sierra Snow Play - snowplay.com - though there is definately still plenty of snow in those areas. The visitors just were no longer interested - other activities on their schedules.
The eighth graders are talking year-end trips; graduation dresses are being purchased in between ball games and taking the infamous STAR tests required by the State of CA, or possibly the Federal Government. (Who invited them into the education of our children and grandchildren?) Follow the money just like every OTHER aspect of our lives in this great Republic!! Oh well, not everything can be PERFECT on such a glorious Spring Day! Halleluia!
The Real Estate Listings are popping up (but I could always help you with another one! Be sure and call 209.770.3168 the phone that rings in my pocket unless I am in church or a doctor's office!), the fallen trees are being cut into firewood, the tulips in Twain Harte are even blooming after the fantastic show of daffodils thanks to the "Twain Harte Garden Club."
Dodge Ridge - dodgeridge.com - had their last ski day on Easter Sunday, as did Leland High Sierra Snow Play - snowplay.com - though there is definately still plenty of snow in those areas. The visitors just were no longer interested - other activities on their schedules.
The eighth graders are talking year-end trips; graduation dresses are being purchased in between ball games and taking the infamous STAR tests required by the State of CA, or possibly the Federal Government. (Who invited them into the education of our children and grandchildren?) Follow the money just like every OTHER aspect of our lives in this great Republic!! Oh well, not everything can be PERFECT on such a glorious Spring Day! Halleluia!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
HAPPY EASTER!!
The Easter Bunny had better wear his rain slicker! Scattered showers today and tomorrow and into Monday! April showers bring May flowers, but in the high country the snow will have to melt FIRST! We still have hills of snow where it slides off the metal roof of the cabins in the Resort. ROADS ARE CLEAR though, so a SPRING drive to the nearby mountains is a possibility. The road to Beardsley Reservoir is open. The gate on 108 has been moved to Eagle Meadows Road and I saw the CalTrans snowblower being taken up 108 to start on the annual clearing of the highway above the closure point!!
CalTrans usually TRIES to get the hiway opened to Kennedy Meadows by the opening of fishing season, but that is a week from today!? It will depend on the amount of debris on the roadway, especially on the grade between the Vista Point and the Clark Fork turnoff! Land slides slow them down; land slides don't go through the blower without creating damage!! Those CalTrans guys really worked hard this winter and all of us appreciate their efforts.
I still have a problem with the fence on the new bridge railings over the So Fork of the Stanislaus; the rails are ugly when visible and are effectively a snow fence in the winter. One local saw a mother hoisting her toddler up on the snow so that he "could see the river" not aware that there was only a railing under that snow - a railing which a toddler could easily fall through!!
I have a BIGGER problem since the inspector told me that they were retrofitting ALL the bridges over rivers in the State with these "bicyclist protection" railings! Wouldn't a couple of signs saying "bicyclists walk your bikes across the bridge" be cheaper and about as efficient without creating the illusion of safety when covered in snow!!?
The WORLD has gone insane and the STATE of California is a leader in the epidemic!
MARANATHA!!
CalTrans usually TRIES to get the hiway opened to Kennedy Meadows by the opening of fishing season, but that is a week from today!? It will depend on the amount of debris on the roadway, especially on the grade between the Vista Point and the Clark Fork turnoff! Land slides slow them down; land slides don't go through the blower without creating damage!! Those CalTrans guys really worked hard this winter and all of us appreciate their efforts.
I still have a problem with the fence on the new bridge railings over the So Fork of the Stanislaus; the rails are ugly when visible and are effectively a snow fence in the winter. One local saw a mother hoisting her toddler up on the snow so that he "could see the river" not aware that there was only a railing under that snow - a railing which a toddler could easily fall through!!
I have a BIGGER problem since the inspector told me that they were retrofitting ALL the bridges over rivers in the State with these "bicyclist protection" railings! Wouldn't a couple of signs saying "bicyclists walk your bikes across the bridge" be cheaper and about as efficient without creating the illusion of safety when covered in snow!!?
The WORLD has gone insane and the STATE of California is a leader in the epidemic!
MARANATHA!!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
SPRING is HERE!
Dodge Ridge is still open for skiing; Leland Snow Play is still open for tubing; the Rivers Resort is offering MID WEEK RATES for the month of April. Ignore those Spring flowers and the whole gardening scene and get in some more SNOW PLAY! We won't have this much snow for another thirty YEARS!
The roads are clear; no chains required just now. Take advantage and get "away from it all!" Relax, play and enjoy the snow! You won't regret time spent with your family. No one ever says on their death bed "I wish that I had spent more time at the OFFICE!"
I had an interesting exchange with our son regarding some elderly friends - "Oh! they are playing the 'you first,' 'no, you first' like people do at a doorway! " in regard to dying! It made me think...maybe that is what death is - A DOORWAY! So before you hit that "doorway" enjoy your family time at The Rivers Resort in beautiful Strawberry.
AND, if you want to MOVE to the lovely and varied Tuolumne County - I am the Realtor to help you find YOUR PLACE. I have lived in this area for thirty-two years, I know my way around! Call me at 1800.514.6777 and we will get to work for you, making the transition to 'paradise on earth' - good schools, no smog, smaller crowds to deal with!!
The roads are clear; no chains required just now. Take advantage and get "away from it all!" Relax, play and enjoy the snow! You won't regret time spent with your family. No one ever says on their death bed "I wish that I had spent more time at the OFFICE!"
I had an interesting exchange with our son regarding some elderly friends - "Oh! they are playing the 'you first,' 'no, you first' like people do at a doorway! " in regard to dying! It made me think...maybe that is what death is - A DOORWAY! So before you hit that "doorway" enjoy your family time at The Rivers Resort in beautiful Strawberry.
AND, if you want to MOVE to the lovely and varied Tuolumne County - I am the Realtor to help you find YOUR PLACE. I have lived in this area for thirty-two years, I know my way around! Call me at 1800.514.6777 and we will get to work for you, making the transition to 'paradise on earth' - good schools, no smog, smaller crowds to deal with!!
Friday, March 25, 2011
The snowiest winter in memory?!
Some of the "newbies" are asking if this has been the winter for the record books. Not really! Do check out the photos on Martha Weathers' FACEBOOK page! Pretty amazing!
About twenty years ago we had had very little weather, just enough to keep the ski area open and even they had been in the snow MOVING business - from the roads in the Pinecrest Campgrounds into a dump truck to take it to the ski area and spread around! Creative and necessary at least until MARCH.
The snow started falling and didn't stop until mid-April. The ski area could have offered skiing into JUNE, but unfortunately ski season only lasts until the trees and daffodils start to bloom in The Valley (that is the San Joaquin Valley for those of you in other states!) All thoughts of winter sports cease when the Spring Little League, Spring Soccer, and gardening begin!! The Cal Trans crews began the "Spring task" of opening Sonora Pass at least as far as Kennedy Meadows for the fishermen anxious to cast their lines into the high and cold rivers on the "OPENING DAY!"
The opening of fishing season in the rivers is normally the last Saturday of April, but I had a call just last week asking how the river was? I said that the river was cold and high since we had had over two feet of snow at that point. "OH," said the fisherman on the other end of the line, "well, is there ice on Pinecrest Lake, can I fish there?" after I had explained that fishing on the river was not allowed until the last Saturday of April. I wish that I had a video of that intrepid fisherman wading through two feet of snow to try to catch one of the wiley trout in the depths of Pinecrest Lake, especially since we were expecting wind gusts to 50 MPH!! That would make a wind chill of ten below zero!!
We took a drive through western CO and eastern UT in January and came upon twenty or more hardy fishermen drilling holes in the ice of a large lake so they could enjoy an ice fishing contest!! I guess that it is all in your "mindset" whether fishing is a summer only sport or something to enjoy all year long!? I prefer to set my mind on a good book by a crackling fire and avoid the windchill!
My son was remembering the winter when the snow from the roof of The Strawberry Inn was in such a large pile that you could have washed the dining room windows on the river side of the building by walking on the top of the snow, and the downstairs rooms were dark as a cave until you turned on the electric lights!
Memories are made of this! Hope that you are making GREAT MEMORIES this fine day where ever you are setting your mind.
About twenty years ago we had had very little weather, just enough to keep the ski area open and even they had been in the snow MOVING business - from the roads in the Pinecrest Campgrounds into a dump truck to take it to the ski area and spread around! Creative and necessary at least until MARCH.
The snow started falling and didn't stop until mid-April. The ski area could have offered skiing into JUNE, but unfortunately ski season only lasts until the trees and daffodils start to bloom in The Valley (that is the San Joaquin Valley for those of you in other states!) All thoughts of winter sports cease when the Spring Little League, Spring Soccer, and gardening begin!! The Cal Trans crews began the "Spring task" of opening Sonora Pass at least as far as Kennedy Meadows for the fishermen anxious to cast their lines into the high and cold rivers on the "OPENING DAY!"
The opening of fishing season in the rivers is normally the last Saturday of April, but I had a call just last week asking how the river was? I said that the river was cold and high since we had had over two feet of snow at that point. "OH," said the fisherman on the other end of the line, "well, is there ice on Pinecrest Lake, can I fish there?" after I had explained that fishing on the river was not allowed until the last Saturday of April. I wish that I had a video of that intrepid fisherman wading through two feet of snow to try to catch one of the wiley trout in the depths of Pinecrest Lake, especially since we were expecting wind gusts to 50 MPH!! That would make a wind chill of ten below zero!!
We took a drive through western CO and eastern UT in January and came upon twenty or more hardy fishermen drilling holes in the ice of a large lake so they could enjoy an ice fishing contest!! I guess that it is all in your "mindset" whether fishing is a summer only sport or something to enjoy all year long!? I prefer to set my mind on a good book by a crackling fire and avoid the windchill!
My son was remembering the winter when the snow from the roof of The Strawberry Inn was in such a large pile that you could have washed the dining room windows on the river side of the building by walking on the top of the snow, and the downstairs rooms were dark as a cave until you turned on the electric lights!
Memories are made of this! Hope that you are making GREAT MEMORIES this fine day where ever you are setting your mind.
Monday, March 7, 2011
CONFUSION reigns!
Mother Nature is not sure if it is WINTER or SPRING! We had rain, corn snow, sunshine today, and all in three hours! The skiing was fantastic according to the locals - 6 inches of new snow on top of all the old stuff that has been here since Thanksgiving. No wind to speak of but a coolness belaying the fact that it is March after all and Spring is just around the corner.
I overhead the grand daughters talking on Saturday about what they were going to WEAR at 8th grade graduation! "Of course we will have gowns covering it during the ceremony, but we will look nice afterwards!" GOWNS for 8th grade; we called it CONTINUATION in Denver when we were that age; we were EXPECTED to continue with our education! The Graduation event is June 2nd and here locally 8th grade graduation is big stuff with a dance afterwards and even a trip to Washington DC for a number of them, and some 7th graders get to go on that trip also. It doesn't seem possible that those cute little babies are lovely young ladies now!
Life is sometimes like our weather today - confused. Are we in the prime of life or the beginning of the end?! Some days it is easy to find the sun, sometimes you have to have patience. Come August we will be wishing for moisture, rain or anything to quench our thirst for variety in the weather department!
"One Day at a Time, sweet Jesus, one day at a time!" - old Jazz spiritual! We must be thankful for each day - the present is a gift!
I overhead the grand daughters talking on Saturday about what they were going to WEAR at 8th grade graduation! "Of course we will have gowns covering it during the ceremony, but we will look nice afterwards!" GOWNS for 8th grade; we called it CONTINUATION in Denver when we were that age; we were EXPECTED to continue with our education! The Graduation event is June 2nd and here locally 8th grade graduation is big stuff with a dance afterwards and even a trip to Washington DC for a number of them, and some 7th graders get to go on that trip also. It doesn't seem possible that those cute little babies are lovely young ladies now!
Life is sometimes like our weather today - confused. Are we in the prime of life or the beginning of the end?! Some days it is easy to find the sun, sometimes you have to have patience. Come August we will be wishing for moisture, rain or anything to quench our thirst for variety in the weather department!
"One Day at a Time, sweet Jesus, one day at a time!" - old Jazz spiritual! We must be thankful for each day - the present is a gift!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Let it SNOW, let it SNOW, let it SNOW!
Someone has been singing that old SNOW song!! We received FOUR FEET last weekend and another TWO FEET of powder this weekend!! The skiiers are ecstatic and the plow operators are planning their vacations to Tahiti or any place warm and without SNOW! It always amazes me the way that humans and even doggies become children again when in the snow. Our old German Shepherd - Elke-Dog was her name - became a pup again when presented with fresh snow. She would leap to the top of a slope, yipping up a storm, and slither down on her back, head first, feet in the air as if she were a pup rather than an elderly, arthritic, 14 year old DOG!
I am not quite that "crazy" - I haven't slid down a hill in quite a while. Too afraid that I will "break something!" Even the skiing, which we did a LOT of not that many years ago, has lost its allure. But it is fun to watch others enjoy what we enjoyed so often!
I did receive several compliments on my ski outfit last weekend. I wore it to shovel snow!! I had designed and stitched it many years ago for a skiing vacation. And it was a YOUNG person doing the complimenting; that made my day! So I guess that I am not "an old dog yet!" when I can get a charge out of a compliment that reminds me of my "younger days!"
Live each day so you never have to look back with regret.
I am not quite that "crazy" - I haven't slid down a hill in quite a while. Too afraid that I will "break something!" Even the skiing, which we did a LOT of not that many years ago, has lost its allure. But it is fun to watch others enjoy what we enjoyed so often!
I did receive several compliments on my ski outfit last weekend. I wore it to shovel snow!! I had designed and stitched it many years ago for a skiing vacation. And it was a YOUNG person doing the complimenting; that made my day! So I guess that I am not "an old dog yet!" when I can get a charge out of a compliment that reminds me of my "younger days!"
Live each day so you never have to look back with regret.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS!
Having driven through 16 states - 7037 miles in a month - I can attest to the fact that the MOST POLITE drivers on the Interstates are in the states of TN and VA! Not once did I notice a vehicle entering the traffice without someone making a SPACE for them! Big rig drivers in all states drive like that, but not all vehicle drivers. We have a BEAUTIFUL and varied country; but there is NO PLACE like HOME! Coming over Carson Pass on a snowy Sunday afternoon, we felt like SINGING!!
We need more of that beautiful white fluffy stuff called SNOW in Strawberry, but winter is not over yet. The ski area - Dodge Ridge - still has plenty and the grooming crew does such a good job of spreading it around! The instructors are famous for their skill in all the various age groups.
Leland High Sierra Snow Play has that "magic" tow to get you back to the top of their beautifully groomed runs for the tubes. It is SUCH FUN to go whizzing down the hill; go in for a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate. It sure beats "suicide hill" along the side of the road where you take your life in your hands just getting out of your car as the traffic goes whizzing by. AND don't even think about parking in the "NO PARKING" areas at Little Sweden - the State can use the money from the ticket that you will get, but it seems a good way to ruin a trip to the mountains!
We need more of that beautiful white fluffy stuff called SNOW in Strawberry, but winter is not over yet. The ski area - Dodge Ridge - still has plenty and the grooming crew does such a good job of spreading it around! The instructors are famous for their skill in all the various age groups.
Leland High Sierra Snow Play has that "magic" tow to get you back to the top of their beautifully groomed runs for the tubes. It is SUCH FUN to go whizzing down the hill; go in for a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate. It sure beats "suicide hill" along the side of the road where you take your life in your hands just getting out of your car as the traffic goes whizzing by. AND don't even think about parking in the "NO PARKING" areas at Little Sweden - the State can use the money from the ticket that you will get, but it seems a good way to ruin a trip to the mountains!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
AWESOME weather
I just checked the weekly weather forecast and we are due for an AWESOME weekend of clear and sunny, but freezing at night so that the ski slopes can be groomed!! After several weekends of stormy weather this is GREAT NEWS! So leave the de-decorating for some evening, and come up and enjoy the great weather in the mountains!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
SNOW!!!
Do we have SNOW?! Go to the Dodge Ridge website and check out their snow report! The New Years Weekend was very eventful at The Rivers Resort; the Chinese Christian group from the Bay Area were AWESOME - they were so accepting of ALL that nature / man sent their way! Dodie and Mark were the BEST help that we could have hoped for and son Tom and his heavy duty shop vacuum made quick work of the overflowing sink!!
Lots of space for you and YOUR group for the weekend of January 7/8 give us a call. We promise we will make things work out for you and yours at The Rivers Resort 1800.514.6777, leave your name and number and we will get right back at you.
Lots of space for you and YOUR group for the weekend of January 7/8 give us a call. We promise we will make things work out for you and yours at The Rivers Resort 1800.514.6777, leave your name and number and we will get right back at you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)