Here is a sample of Naomi's first foray into nature photography. This photo session started over the weekend and included taking photos during a walk of our neighborhood with one of her uncles.
Showing posts with label Around the Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Around the Home. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Is "Fashiony" a Word?
Ryan: Mom can I wear this to bed?
Mom: Yes, I guess that's okay.
Ryan: I like it. I think it's "fashiony."
Ryan was referring to wearing a white t-shirt under his pajama top.
Mom: Yes, I guess that's okay.
Ryan: I like it. I think it's "fashiony."
Ryan was referring to wearing a white t-shirt under his pajama top.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Let it Snow!
What an odd sight this morning seeing cars driving down Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek with snow piled on their roofs. Here's a photo of one of these cars.
Okay, the picture quality is not too great, but there were several cars that drove by with about two inches of accumulated snow on their roofs. A couple cars had snow covering their back window as if this were a red badge of courage. I'm sure the drivers of these cars could not see anything out the back.
We still have some vegetables growing in our back yard that we have covered. The next storm is due in on Wednesday or Thursday.
It's only appropriate that the Japanese Word of the Day on our blog is "yuki" which means snow!
Let's end this entry with a little Vienna Teng.
The Last Snowfall lyrics
If this were the last snowfall
No more halos on evergreen
If this were the last glimpse of winter
What would these eyes see?
If this were the last slow curling
Of your fingers in my palm
If this were the last I felt you breathing
How would I carry on?
This is not the last snowfall
Not our last embrace
But if I were that kind of grateful
What would I try to say?
Okay, the picture quality is not too great, but there were several cars that drove by with about two inches of accumulated snow on their roofs. A couple cars had snow covering their back window as if this were a red badge of courage. I'm sure the drivers of these cars could not see anything out the back.We still have some vegetables growing in our back yard that we have covered. The next storm is due in on Wednesday or Thursday.
It's only appropriate that the Japanese Word of the Day on our blog is "yuki" which means snow!
Let's end this entry with a little Vienna Teng.
The Last Snowfall lyrics
If this were the last snowfall
No more halos on evergreen
If this were the last glimpse of winter
What would these eyes see?
If this were the last slow curling
Of your fingers in my palm
If this were the last I felt you breathing
How would I carry on?
This is not the last snowfall
Not our last embrace
But if I were that kind of grateful
What would I try to say?
Sunday, November 22, 2009
2009 Pictures of Autumn
We have kept a busy schedule during this 2009 autumn season. The weather has cooperated for the most part. Not much rain and moderate temperatures.
Starting from the upper left: Ryan as a construction worker helping to clean up the back yard; Ethan with friends Ben (wearing Cal sweat shirt) and Cal at Chabot Observatory school field trip; the three kids with their pumpkin carvings under the gazebo; Ethan at Karate belt test; Ethan as clone trooper, Ryan as an army man and Naomi as a witch; Ethan and Naomi with Auntie Betty and Uncle Alden; Naomi as "Jupiter" in School House Rock musical at school; Ethan with Den Leader Louis and Nate on Scouting for Food; and Naomi in group photo after piano recital.
Starting from the upper left: Ryan as a construction worker helping to clean up the back yard; Ethan with friends Ben (wearing Cal sweat shirt) and Cal at Chabot Observatory school field trip; the three kids with their pumpkin carvings under the gazebo; Ethan at Karate belt test; Ethan as clone trooper, Ryan as an army man and Naomi as a witch; Ethan and Naomi with Auntie Betty and Uncle Alden; Naomi as "Jupiter" in School House Rock musical at school; Ethan with Den Leader Louis and Nate on Scouting for Food; and Naomi in group photo after piano recital.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Those Darn Raccoons!
We have raccoons tearing up our lawn. This is a new experience for us - one that's been ongoing for a couple of weeks now. Our neighbors actually saw them one evening. She said it looked like a mom and maybe two or three little ones.
They have visited us three or four times now, each time digging up the same part of the lawn. We understand that they are just foraging for food. This happens in the fall when all of the hills are dry and brown, and lawns are not.
We sent an email to Gary Bogue, a newspaper columnist with our local paper, who has assembled a pamphlet on tips for dealing with raccoons. We've added a link to Gary's web site to the Links section of this blog for anyone interested.
We've tried leaving the outdoor light on near where they've been digging. We were told that we could kill the grubs in the lawn that they are after, but we haven't done this yet. We changed the time when the sprinklers come on hoping that they would find the wetter than normal lawn to not be to their liking. Who are we kidding, these are animals that will forage through almost anything. We probably really should turn off the water and dry out the lawn. We'll see what happens.
They have visited us three or four times now, each time digging up the same part of the lawn. We understand that they are just foraging for food. This happens in the fall when all of the hills are dry and brown, and lawns are not.
We sent an email to Gary Bogue, a newspaper columnist with our local paper, who has assembled a pamphlet on tips for dealing with raccoons. We've added a link to Gary's web site to the Links section of this blog for anyone interested.
We've tried leaving the outdoor light on near where they've been digging. We were told that we could kill the grubs in the lawn that they are after, but we haven't done this yet. We changed the time when the sprinklers come on hoping that they would find the wetter than normal lawn to not be to their liking. Who are we kidding, these are animals that will forage through almost anything. We probably really should turn off the water and dry out the lawn. We'll see what happens.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Daylight Saving Time
This year, changing from Daylight Saving Time back to Standard Time occurred on the first Sunday in November instead of on the last Sunday in October. The impact for us was that instead of darkness falling a little after 5pm on Halloween, darkness fell after 6pm. This meant that trick-or-treating at least for our kids started a little later than in past years.
The following is a video that was shot at about 2am of our auto-setting clock running forward to adjust backwards by one hour.
Daylight Savings Time
Video sent by CEmoto
The following is a video that was shot at about 2am of our auto-setting clock running forward to adjust backwards by one hour.
Daylight Savings Time
Video sent by CEmoto
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Neighbors 1
As was stated in the previous posting, this week was Spirit Week for the swim team. The final event was last night. It was the pasta feed. Almost every type of pasta one could imagine was on display. It was a potluck with all of the dishes lined up on a long series of tables as if they were being prepared for a parade. Of course, this is bound to happen with a potluck by a swim team of over 160 kids and their families.
Anyway, let's get to the story about neighbors...
I walked to the club after work so we wouldn't have two cars to take to our home which is no more than about 10 minutes away by foot. Ryan, threw a wrench into our plans to drive home together when he took up my not too serious comment to walk home by saying, "Yes, Dad, I want to walk home. Let's go."
So we were on our way to walk home, when we heard squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak behind us. It was Naomi. She wanted to walk home too. A few minutes later mom and Ethan rolled by when we were trying to cross the street. We continued on our way.
An older man appeared about 100 yards down the street. He was wearing a red 49ers cap. He waved to us when we were nearer. We said the obligatory "hellos" as we started to pass, but this time I decided to say, "Hey, kids, say hello to the nice man. Look, Ryan, I think he wants to give you a high five." They proceeded to low five one another.
This started the following conversation:
Me: We're just returning from a pasta feed at the swim club.
Man: What, did you say that you were down at the field.
Me: No, we were at a pasta feed. You know, down at the swim club.
Man: Oh, the swim club. That's a great place. A great place for kids. You know, we grew up in the club too.
Man: Did you see all the cars down the street last weekend? I think they had the big meet at Woodlands (the swim club on the Walnut Creek side of Citrus Avenue).
Me: That was the Woodlands Invitational.
Man: We swam in that too. Woodlands was not in our league though. Or should I say that we were not in their league. They were very good. Much more competitive. This was over 40 years ago.
Me: It's still the same. Woodlands is still much more competitive, but now we're in the same league.
Man: We've lived in the same place now for 43 years. I'm 84 years old.
Me: Maybe if I'm lucky one of these I'll make it to 84.
Man: We live right down this street at XXXX San Gabriel. Things have changed quite a bit around here. Back then, they only let certain people live here. It was quite different.
Man: My wife is not doing too well. She almost had renal failure. She's suppose to be going in for an operation. My daughters will be here to help out. Can you believe that she might not be able to get a new kidney because she is too old? I think that this might be it for her. She has diabetes too.
Me: I'm sorry for that.
Man: How long have you lived here?
Me: We've lived here now for almost seven years.
Man: You're an old timer now, aren't you (laughing)?
Me: No, you're the real old timer (laughing).
Man: Yes, in more ways than one (laughing).
Me: We live around the corner on Joshua Woods.
Ryan: Can we go now, Dad?
Me: What's your name, anyway?
Man: My name's Gene. Gene XXXXXXXX. What's yours?
Me: Casey. Casey Emoto.
Gene: Casey? What's that Moto?
Me: Emoto.
Gene: What's your name (gesturing to Ryan)?
Ryan: My name's Ryan.
Gene: What was that?
Me: His name is Ryan.
Gene: That's a great name. Give me a high five (they proceed to give one another a low five). What's your name (gesturing to Naomi)?
Naomi: My name's Naomi.
Gene: That's a beautiful name.
Ryan: Let's go Dad (tugging on my arm).
Me: Okay, okay. Okay, Gene, nice talking with you. Hopefully we'll see you around.
Gene: Yes, take care.
Anyway, let's get to the story about neighbors...
I walked to the club after work so we wouldn't have two cars to take to our home which is no more than about 10 minutes away by foot. Ryan, threw a wrench into our plans to drive home together when he took up my not too serious comment to walk home by saying, "Yes, Dad, I want to walk home. Let's go."
So we were on our way to walk home, when we heard squeak, squeak. Squeak, squeak behind us. It was Naomi. She wanted to walk home too. A few minutes later mom and Ethan rolled by when we were trying to cross the street. We continued on our way.
An older man appeared about 100 yards down the street. He was wearing a red 49ers cap. He waved to us when we were nearer. We said the obligatory "hellos" as we started to pass, but this time I decided to say, "Hey, kids, say hello to the nice man. Look, Ryan, I think he wants to give you a high five." They proceeded to low five one another.
This started the following conversation:
Me: We're just returning from a pasta feed at the swim club.
Man: What, did you say that you were down at the field.
Me: No, we were at a pasta feed. You know, down at the swim club.
Man: Oh, the swim club. That's a great place. A great place for kids. You know, we grew up in the club too.
Man: Did you see all the cars down the street last weekend? I think they had the big meet at Woodlands (the swim club on the Walnut Creek side of Citrus Avenue).
Me: That was the Woodlands Invitational.
Man: We swam in that too. Woodlands was not in our league though. Or should I say that we were not in their league. They were very good. Much more competitive. This was over 40 years ago.
Me: It's still the same. Woodlands is still much more competitive, but now we're in the same league.
Man: We've lived in the same place now for 43 years. I'm 84 years old.
Me: Maybe if I'm lucky one of these I'll make it to 84.
Man: We live right down this street at XXXX San Gabriel. Things have changed quite a bit around here. Back then, they only let certain people live here. It was quite different.
Man: My wife is not doing too well. She almost had renal failure. She's suppose to be going in for an operation. My daughters will be here to help out. Can you believe that she might not be able to get a new kidney because she is too old? I think that this might be it for her. She has diabetes too.
Me: I'm sorry for that.
Man: How long have you lived here?
Me: We've lived here now for almost seven years.
Man: You're an old timer now, aren't you (laughing)?
Me: No, you're the real old timer (laughing).
Man: Yes, in more ways than one (laughing).
Me: We live around the corner on Joshua Woods.
Ryan: Can we go now, Dad?
Me: What's your name, anyway?
Man: My name's Gene. Gene XXXXXXXX. What's yours?
Me: Casey. Casey Emoto.
Gene: Casey? What's that Moto?
Me: Emoto.
Gene: What's your name (gesturing to Ryan)?
Ryan: My name's Ryan.
Gene: What was that?
Me: His name is Ryan.
Gene: That's a great name. Give me a high five (they proceed to give one another a low five). What's your name (gesturing to Naomi)?
Naomi: My name's Naomi.
Gene: That's a beautiful name.
Ryan: Let's go Dad (tugging on my arm).
Me: Okay, okay. Okay, Gene, nice talking with you. Hopefully we'll see you around.
Gene: Yes, take care.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A Little Visitor
You never know what you'll find in your garden. Today, Dorothy came back into the house with a little friend on her shoulder - a young praying mantis. Check out these photos.
We're happy to report that the praying mantis was returned to the garden.
We're happy to report that the praying mantis was returned to the garden.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
A Day with the Kids
With Dorothy out with the flu, I was charged with watching the kids.
Up and At'em - wake up the two older ones for school and go take a shower...out of shower and washed, but kids are still on bed (Ethan) or in bed (Naomi)...play "throw the clothes" with kids to motivate them to get dressed...Ethan out to eat a quick breakfast of cereal, milk and breakfast bar...Naomi joins the breakfast roundtable
quick wash up and brush up...get vitamins on the way out the door...Ryan wakes to catch us leaving; I take him crying to Mom...arrive by foot at school; we talk about the phrase "friend or foe"...hug goodbye with kids; Naomi and Ethan hug each other too...back home again
Ryan's Tumbling Class - class of about a dozen kids...Ryan's in the parent participation class...actually that's a good name for the class since I think I participated more in the warm ups than did Ryan (his idea of stretching is to bounce around like a pinball)...teacher says, "why is it that the kids perform better when the dads are around?"...I ask him if he wants his snack (a granola bar); his answer is "no"
Shopping for Printer Cartridges - we make a Staples stop...Ryan asks, "why are we here?" about every 2 minutes...we buy our cartridges and leave...when in the car, Ryan asks for the granola bar and asks, "why are we leaving?"...anyway, I learned that Ryan's favorite word is "why?"
Pick Up Ethan at School - we take the stroller to pick up Ethan before lunch...before we head out Ryan manages to grab a rice cracker snack to take with him...I tell him that he has to share with Ethan...we arrive at the school and Ryan asks, "where's Ethan?"...I tell him that we're a little early...actally we're the only ones in the courtyard area wich surprises me; I thought there would be a few parents milling about, but not a soul and it's only 10 minutes early...we go and sit on the bench by the giant pine tree...Ryan surprises me with this zinger, "Dada, why is there poo-poo in the tree?"...I had no idea what he meant until I look up... the tree has large dark brown, cylindrical pine cones in clusters...oh, what must go through the mind of a nearly 3-year old...Ethan comes out with his class, gives his teacher a leg hug and runs to us... we walk home with Ryan holding onto his rice crackers (he does share them with Ethan when we get home)
Make Lunch for the Kids - play with the kids...check work email and phone messages at work and make some phone calls...make lunch from leftovers...continue to play with kids and keep each other occupied
Pick Up Naomi at School - Take Ryan to school hoping that he falls asleep...success, he nods off in the stroller just as we're arriving at the school...Naomi turns the corner walking with Katrina just like the last time I picked her up (they must be best friends)...this time she spots me and seems to say something like, "there's my dad over there" as she shoots me a sideways glance...Naomi is very chatty talking about the gross boys...we arrive home and Ethan and mom are playing Labyrinth
Take Naomi to Choir Practice - Ethan and I take Naomi to choir practice...we get there right on time, but again I realize that "on time" is actually early...Ethan and I wait in the car for the 75 minutes...I do some work and read about 25 pages of "Totto-chan" by Testuko Kuroyanagi...Ethan works on homework that is due on Friday (he gets to where he is about two-thirds complete)
Shop and Pick Up Dinner on the Way Home - we get take-out at a Chinese restaurant that we've never visited before...we also shop for milk and ham as requested by Dorothy and on impluse buy jello, salami and a couple other items...stand in the 15 or less items behind someone who has well over 30 items (I think they were counting the 10 yogurts as one item)...finally we're home for dinner, washing up, baths and bed time to get ready for a new day
Up and At'em - wake up the two older ones for school and go take a shower...out of shower and washed, but kids are still on bed (Ethan) or in bed (Naomi)...play "throw the clothes" with kids to motivate them to get dressed...Ethan out to eat a quick breakfast of cereal, milk and breakfast bar...Naomi joins the breakfast roundtable
quick wash up and brush up...get vitamins on the way out the door...Ryan wakes to catch us leaving; I take him crying to Mom...arrive by foot at school; we talk about the phrase "friend or foe"...hug goodbye with kids; Naomi and Ethan hug each other too...back home again
Ryan's Tumbling Class - class of about a dozen kids...Ryan's in the parent participation class...actually that's a good name for the class since I think I participated more in the warm ups than did Ryan (his idea of stretching is to bounce around like a pinball)...teacher says, "why is it that the kids perform better when the dads are around?"...I ask him if he wants his snack (a granola bar); his answer is "no"
Shopping for Printer Cartridges - we make a Staples stop...Ryan asks, "why are we here?" about every 2 minutes...we buy our cartridges and leave...when in the car, Ryan asks for the granola bar and asks, "why are we leaving?"...anyway, I learned that Ryan's favorite word is "why?"
Pick Up Ethan at School - we take the stroller to pick up Ethan before lunch...before we head out Ryan manages to grab a rice cracker snack to take with him...I tell him that he has to share with Ethan...we arrive at the school and Ryan asks, "where's Ethan?"...I tell him that we're a little early...actally we're the only ones in the courtyard area wich surprises me; I thought there would be a few parents milling about, but not a soul and it's only 10 minutes early...we go and sit on the bench by the giant pine tree...Ryan surprises me with this zinger, "Dada, why is there poo-poo in the tree?"...I had no idea what he meant until I look up... the tree has large dark brown, cylindrical pine cones in clusters...oh, what must go through the mind of a nearly 3-year old...Ethan comes out with his class, gives his teacher a leg hug and runs to us... we walk home with Ryan holding onto his rice crackers (he does share them with Ethan when we get home)
Make Lunch for the Kids - play with the kids...check work email and phone messages at work and make some phone calls...make lunch from leftovers...continue to play with kids and keep each other occupied
Pick Up Naomi at School - Take Ryan to school hoping that he falls asleep...success, he nods off in the stroller just as we're arriving at the school...Naomi turns the corner walking with Katrina just like the last time I picked her up (they must be best friends)...this time she spots me and seems to say something like, "there's my dad over there" as she shoots me a sideways glance...Naomi is very chatty talking about the gross boys...we arrive home and Ethan and mom are playing Labyrinth
Take Naomi to Choir Practice - Ethan and I take Naomi to choir practice...we get there right on time, but again I realize that "on time" is actually early...Ethan and I wait in the car for the 75 minutes...I do some work and read about 25 pages of "Totto-chan" by Testuko Kuroyanagi...Ethan works on homework that is due on Friday (he gets to where he is about two-thirds complete)
Shop and Pick Up Dinner on the Way Home - we get take-out at a Chinese restaurant that we've never visited before...we also shop for milk and ham as requested by Dorothy and on impluse buy jello, salami and a couple other items...stand in the 15 or less items behind someone who has well over 30 items (I think they were counting the 10 yogurts as one item)...finally we're home for dinner, washing up, baths and bed time to get ready for a new day
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Back Yard Wonders
You just never know what you'll find in your own backyard. We found a praying mantis one weekend recently when we were pruning one of our trees. It was about three inches in length and was a yellowish-brown color, not the usual green color that we are accustomed to seeing. After we finished with the tree, we put the praying mantis back on the tree and watched it climb out of sight. Here's a photo of the mantis looking back at us seemingly saying, "so long."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)