From BobBIE, a trio of orchids. Stunning!
From Mom, some beautiful sunflowers in a hula-skirt vase!
And from my son, a bunch of alstromeria!
I feel very spoiled being surrounded by such beauty!
It was a wonderful birthday!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Birthday Blooms!
I was the lucky recipient of flowers on my birthday this week!
From BobBIE, a trio of orchids. Stunning!
From Mom, some beautiful sunflowers in a hula-skirt vase!
And from my son, a bunch of alstromeria!
I feel very spoiled being surrounded by such beauty!
It was a wonderful birthday!
From BobBIE, a trio of orchids. Stunning!
From Mom, some beautiful sunflowers in a hula-skirt vase!
And from my son, a bunch of alstromeria!
I feel very spoiled being surrounded by such beauty!
It was a wonderful birthday!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
In My Little Town
I was so excited when my friend C. asked me to go to see Paul Simon in my little town, at our wonderful Santa Barbara Bowl. Yes, THE legendary Paul Simon.
What a terrific show! The opener was The Secret Sisters, a sister duo from Somewhere-or-Other, Alabama. They played acoustic guitar and sang amazing harmonies on old-timey country songs, plus some of their own. They had very sweet voices. It was a pleasure to hear them!
Mr. Simon took the stage without delay with his 8-man back-up band. What a fun, fun show! He played songs from his entire repertoire, from "The Sound of Silence" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" to his '70s music, like "Kodachrome," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and "Mother and Child Reunion," on to the Graceland era, "Graceland" and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," through to songs from his newest album called So Beautiful or So What, along with covers, including songs by Junior Walker, Chet Atkins and the Beatles! The arrangements were creative, and familiar songs were performed in new ways. I like his new stuff, too. Here is the setlist.
I was amazed at the number of guitars that he used. Every number, a different guitar would be brought to him. His band was really talented. It was a lot of fun to watch each of them.
The concert was energetic and lively. It was a wonderful show. They played for more than two hours! Not bad for a 70-year-old geezer, huh?
Here are some photos from up in Section E:
Many, many thanks to my friend C!!!
I don't want to piss off the Copyright gods, so I'll be a good girl and not upload the video I took. Next time you see me, ask me to see it. I will leave you with this, though. He performed at Ground Zero on the 9/11 anniversary last month.
What a terrific show! The opener was The Secret Sisters, a sister duo from Somewhere-or-Other, Alabama. They played acoustic guitar and sang amazing harmonies on old-timey country songs, plus some of their own. They had very sweet voices. It was a pleasure to hear them!
Mr. Simon took the stage without delay with his 8-man back-up band. What a fun, fun show! He played songs from his entire repertoire, from "The Sound of Silence" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" to his '70s music, like "Kodachrome," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and "Mother and Child Reunion," on to the Graceland era, "Graceland" and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," through to songs from his newest album called So Beautiful or So What, along with covers, including songs by Junior Walker, Chet Atkins and the Beatles! The arrangements were creative, and familiar songs were performed in new ways. I like his new stuff, too. Here is the setlist.
I was amazed at the number of guitars that he used. Every number, a different guitar would be brought to him. His band was really talented. It was a lot of fun to watch each of them.
The concert was energetic and lively. It was a wonderful show. They played for more than two hours! Not bad for a 70-year-old geezer, huh?
Here are some photos from up in Section E:
Many, many thanks to my friend C!!!
I don't want to piss off the Copyright gods, so I'll be a good girl and not upload the video I took. Next time you see me, ask me to see it. I will leave you with this, though. He performed at Ground Zero on the 9/11 anniversary last month.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Dead(ly) Creatures
Wednesday. No work to do. Perfectly -- and I mean perfectly -- clear. A trail called to me. It was my favorite trail: Rattlesnake Canyon. I wanted to go all the way up to Gibraltar Road.
From Santa Babara Hikes: "This trail doesn't necessarily mean you will encounter a rattlesnake! That is just the name of the canyon."
From Great Outdoors.com: "Indeed, you will be much more likely to see other hikers rather than rattlesnakes as this single-track trail snakes its way upcanyon."
From Hike SoCal.com: "Rattlesnake Canyon Trail is serpentine, but otherwise far more inviting than its name suggests."
From Wikipedia: "Rattlesnake Canyon stretches from Skofield Park into the Santa Ynez mountains. Its name comes from its serpentine shape and curves, not rattlesnake occupation."
Yeah. Right.
When I got to the top of the trail at Gibraltar Road, I stood enjoying the magnificent views. I was able to see Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and San Miguel Islands! Spectacular. After I took a couple photos, I turned around to go across the road to get in the shade to look at my photos. As I turned around, I found this guy slowly crossing the road!
I couldn't believe it... it was high noon on a record-breaking hot day (95ºF), and there he was, moseyin' along!
The still photo I took was taken with such haste (I was in a rush to get some video) that I didn't get his full tail in the shot, but you can enlarge it to see the rest of him real good! I think he is a Western Rattlesnake.
On down the trail, not too far from the top, I saw this. I think the circle of life is fascinating. And I found out beetles are strong li'l creatures!
I didn't take too many pictures during the hike because I wanted to push myself. I kept a good pace. I felt good afterwards! Next spring, I'll go back and stop and smell the wildflowers.
From Santa Babara Hikes: "This trail doesn't necessarily mean you will encounter a rattlesnake! That is just the name of the canyon."
From Great Outdoors.com: "Indeed, you will be much more likely to see other hikers rather than rattlesnakes as this single-track trail snakes its way upcanyon."
From Hike SoCal.com: "Rattlesnake Canyon Trail is serpentine, but otherwise far more inviting than its name suggests."
From Wikipedia: "Rattlesnake Canyon stretches from Skofield Park into the Santa Ynez mountains. Its name comes from its serpentine shape and curves, not rattlesnake occupation."
Yeah. Right.
When I got to the top of the trail at Gibraltar Road, I stood enjoying the magnificent views. I was able to see Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and San Miguel Islands! Spectacular. After I took a couple photos, I turned around to go across the road to get in the shade to look at my photos. As I turned around, I found this guy slowly crossing the road!
I couldn't believe it... it was high noon on a record-breaking hot day (95ºF), and there he was, moseyin' along!
The still photo I took was taken with such haste (I was in a rush to get some video) that I didn't get his full tail in the shot, but you can enlarge it to see the rest of him real good! I think he is a Western Rattlesnake.
On down the trail, not too far from the top, I saw this. I think the circle of life is fascinating. And I found out beetles are strong li'l creatures!
I didn't take too many pictures during the hike because I wanted to push myself. I kept a good pace. I felt good afterwards! Next spring, I'll go back and stop and smell the wildflowers.
 |
| The reward! |
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
You are precious, Rachel.
I've been working with a sweet, sweet man. Mr. L had a stroke, and was quite impaired in both his language comprehension and his expression. I had worked with him a couple weeks before he suffered a second stroke. While he was in the hospital, they discovered he has lung cancer. He's on Hospice now.
His wife, also a sweet, sweet person, wanted me to come back and work with him. Of course, a patient on Hospice isn't expected to be rehabilitatable, so my role will be limited. But I hope that I can offer some suggestions on communication to his family.
I saw him today for the first time since he came home from the hospital on Hospice. His expressive language is marked by both semantic and phonemic paraphasias. A semantic paraphasia is substituting a word that means something similar, like substituting "table" for "chair." Phonemic paraphasias are sound-alike words. For example, he named "coffee table" as "taco bell." Some of the same sounds, a little mixed up. He'll also use neologisms, where anything goes. His comprehension is even worse now, so communicating is very difficult. He'll say things that just don't make sense, but he doesn't understand that he doesn't make sense. Of course, question-and-answer to try to discern his meaning doesn't work well. Occasionally, he can say something "right." His daughter said he can still tell his wife how beautiful she is. They recently celebrated their 65th anniversary!
He is depressed and quite discouraged, but still very sweet.
My favorite mix-up today was i showed him a line drawing of one of these:
I asked him to name it and he said, "Shoe Flight." It touched my heart, and I shared the origin of my nickname with his daughter. I got the nickname "Shoe" when I was learning to say new words. When my dad tried to teach me the name of that thing, I said, "Shoe Ball!"
Anyway, one thing he was consistent about: he kept calling me Rachel! At least three times he called me Rachel as plain as could be. I asked his daughter, any Rachels in the family? Nope, no idea where he got that.
He was grateful for my attempts to help, but he kept calling himself "Stupid." I told him that I don't like that word and it isn't allowed. At the end of the session as I said my goodbye and gave him a hug, he came out perfectly with, "You are precious." I'll keep that in my heart. ♥
His wife, also a sweet, sweet person, wanted me to come back and work with him. Of course, a patient on Hospice isn't expected to be rehabilitatable, so my role will be limited. But I hope that I can offer some suggestions on communication to his family.
I saw him today for the first time since he came home from the hospital on Hospice. His expressive language is marked by both semantic and phonemic paraphasias. A semantic paraphasia is substituting a word that means something similar, like substituting "table" for "chair." Phonemic paraphasias are sound-alike words. For example, he named "coffee table" as "taco bell." Some of the same sounds, a little mixed up. He'll also use neologisms, where anything goes. His comprehension is even worse now, so communicating is very difficult. He'll say things that just don't make sense, but he doesn't understand that he doesn't make sense. Of course, question-and-answer to try to discern his meaning doesn't work well. Occasionally, he can say something "right." His daughter said he can still tell his wife how beautiful she is. They recently celebrated their 65th anniversary!
He is depressed and quite discouraged, but still very sweet.
My favorite mix-up today was i showed him a line drawing of one of these:
I asked him to name it and he said, "Shoe Flight." It touched my heart, and I shared the origin of my nickname with his daughter. I got the nickname "Shoe" when I was learning to say new words. When my dad tried to teach me the name of that thing, I said, "Shoe Ball!"
Anyway, one thing he was consistent about: he kept calling me Rachel! At least three times he called me Rachel as plain as could be. I asked his daughter, any Rachels in the family? Nope, no idea where he got that.
He was grateful for my attempts to help, but he kept calling himself "Stupid." I told him that I don't like that word and it isn't allowed. At the end of the session as I said my goodbye and gave him a hug, he came out perfectly with, "You are precious." I'll keep that in my heart. ♥
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Weekend in Paradise
You know what I love about Santa Barbara?
I love that you can have a gnarly mountain hike in the back-country one day and a relaxing time, soaking in the rays at the beach, the next day! It was a spectacularly beautiful weekend!
Here are pictures from the trailhead of my hike yesterday. It was down, down, down about 2.5 miles, and then --ulp!-- up, up, up again. Good hike. My buns feel it today!
We hiked down the north side, away from the ocean.
And today, beach day! It was fun to see some marine mammals. Here is a video of them. The first bit is of some dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). They were very active and splashy. I think they were having a feeding frenzy. I wish I had had my regular camera with me. But I took video on my iPhone anyway. You can't see them very well, but I really enjoyed watching them! You'll be able to recognize the species in the second bit. And you can see the cruise ship that is parked nearby! Yay cruise ships!
I love that you can have a gnarly mountain hike in the back-country one day and a relaxing time, soaking in the rays at the beach, the next day! It was a spectacularly beautiful weekend!
Here are pictures from the trailhead of my hike yesterday. It was down, down, down about 2.5 miles, and then --ulp!-- up, up, up again. Good hike. My buns feel it today!
We hiked down the north side, away from the ocean.
 |
| View of Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands. |
 |
| View of the Dick Smith Wilderness |
And today, beach day! It was fun to see some marine mammals. Here is a video of them. The first bit is of some dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). They were very active and splashy. I think they were having a feeding frenzy. I wish I had had my regular camera with me. But I took video on my iPhone anyway. You can't see them very well, but I really enjoyed watching them! You'll be able to recognize the species in the second bit. And you can see the cruise ship that is parked nearby! Yay cruise ships!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Just Joshing!
Joshua Tree! Another of America's treasures, and I got to enjoy it again last weekend. I hadn't been for a couple years, so when I had a free weekend, I jumped at the chance!
The beginning of the trip was a little rough, literally. At about 4:00pm, the car shuddered a little. What the....? I looked at my dash and noticed the "Check Engine" light had gone on. Oh, no! I immediately pulled off the freeway to Middle of Nowhere, California. I asked around for a mechanic, and was pointed to a garage with really friendly folks.
By the time I got there, it was 30 minutes before closing, and they were full o' cars to tend to. But when they heard my predicament, Phillip came out to help right away. A sensor that relies on oil pressure had been triggered. Phillip checked the oil: nothing showing. He asked about when I had my oil changed. Just a couple months ago. Any leaks? Not that I know of.
He put oil in, and it took 3 and a half quarts. Its capacity is 4 and a half quarts. He put it on the rack. No leaks. Conclusion: at my last oil "change," no oil had been replaced!
Thank goodness the consequences weren't worse! And amazing that it lasted this long! I've been driving all over the Southwest with no oil!
Relieved, I hit the road again, and had spent only an hour getting the car repaired. The sun was setting as I zoomed into Twentynine Palms, so I headed on into the park.
I pulled into a campground to wait till dark so I could star-gaze for a few minutes. A group of four young men retured to their campground, made a fire, and turned on--what else?--U2's Joshua Tree. Perfect! I listened to my favey album from my favey band and gazed up for a while, thoroughly enjoying my first evening.
The following morning, I headed back. Two roadrunners and a jack-rabbit later, I was hiking.
I walked around Skull Rock, through the Hidden Valley, up Ryan Mountain, over to Arch Rock, passed by Cap Rock and trekked to Forty-Nine Palms Oasis. I figured I hiked about 9-10 miles all told. I was TIRED by the end!
I used my very cool Urbanspoon app to find a wonderful Thai restaurant in the nearby town of Joshua Tree. Wonderful, yummy dinner! My day was complete!
Here are pictures!
I love the dikes through the monzogranite.
What are you waiting for? Get on Interstate 10 and get to Joshua Tree!
The beginning of the trip was a little rough, literally. At about 4:00pm, the car shuddered a little. What the....? I looked at my dash and noticed the "Check Engine" light had gone on. Oh, no! I immediately pulled off the freeway to Middle of Nowhere, California. I asked around for a mechanic, and was pointed to a garage with really friendly folks.
By the time I got there, it was 30 minutes before closing, and they were full o' cars to tend to. But when they heard my predicament, Phillip came out to help right away. A sensor that relies on oil pressure had been triggered. Phillip checked the oil: nothing showing. He asked about when I had my oil changed. Just a couple months ago. Any leaks? Not that I know of.
Thank goodness the consequences weren't worse! And amazing that it lasted this long! I've been driving all over the Southwest with no oil!
Relieved, I hit the road again, and had spent only an hour getting the car repaired. The sun was setting as I zoomed into Twentynine Palms, so I headed on into the park.
I pulled into a campground to wait till dark so I could star-gaze for a few minutes. A group of four young men retured to their campground, made a fire, and turned on--what else?--U2's Joshua Tree. Perfect! I listened to my favey album from my favey band and gazed up for a while, thoroughly enjoying my first evening.
The following morning, I headed back. Two roadrunners and a jack-rabbit later, I was hiking.
I walked around Skull Rock, through the Hidden Valley, up Ryan Mountain, over to Arch Rock, passed by Cap Rock and trekked to Forty-Nine Palms Oasis. I figured I hiked about 9-10 miles all told. I was TIRED by the end!
I used my very cool Urbanspoon app to find a wonderful Thai restaurant in the nearby town of Joshua Tree. Wonderful, yummy dinner! My day was complete!
Here are pictures!
 |
| Look carefull in the middle: Mr. Roadrunner! |
 |
| I love the tenacity of life! |
 |
| Live Oak picnic area. Here grows a big oak tree in the middle of the desert! It bore lots of huge acorns, which the birds loved. |
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| The bigger they come, the harder they fall. |
 |
| Forty-Nine Palms Oasis |
 |
| A pool at the Oasis |
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| The Fiftieth Palm trying hard! |
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| A fire burned the trunks of these palms but they are healthy. |
 |
| Climbers enjoy these rocks! |
 |
| Made it! The elevation gain was 1100 feet. Nice hike! |
I love the dikes through the monzogranite.
What are you waiting for? Get on Interstate 10 and get to Joshua Tree!
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