ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER SUNSET

We made it to the coast about 5 minutes before sunset. There's no
better way to conclude the daylight hours.

GOT FIRST AID?

It wasn't too encouraging to see this sign posted halfway through our
Sunday hike.

VIEW FROM THE TRAILHEAD

QUIET PLACES

Sunday's hike was well worth it. The scenery was much more impressive
than we expected it to be. It proved to be a great way to forget about
work and the other stresses in life.

THE HAPPY COUPLE

She thinks I'm the greatest thing in the world, which, of course, I am.

COOL STUFF

On our way back from the Grotto, which was less than impressive, we
found this cool cave of sorts.

WATCH YOUR STEP

We hiked to the Grotto Sunday afternoon in the Santa Monica mountains.
As you can see it wasn't exactly groomed trail the while way. Donna
ended up with a little black and blue.

TIS THE SEASON

The Christmas tree went up today. Yes, it's an artificial tree.... we
couldn't find a seven foot palm tree.

GIVING THANKS

Marty, a co-worker of ours, invited us over for Thanksgiving day. A
friend of hers, Phi (Phillipe - sitting at the head of the table), is
a chef in Santa Barbara and he created quite a feast. The turkey was
stuffed with oranges, lemons and garlic cloves which added an
interesting flavor. Despite the culinary masterpiece, and despite the
fact that my mother and my wife don't think they're good cooks, I
would have preferred their Thanksgiving food, but when you live
thousands of miles from family, you take what you can get. We had a
nice day and appreciated the invite from Marty. All in all, we have a
lot to give thanks for.

HAPPIEST IN THE KITCHEN

Donna was thrilled to get into the kitchen. I love being there because
of all the food - Donna loves being there because of the oven,
KitchenAid and assorted ingredients. She wipped up pupmkin cheesecake,
caramel cake and pecan bars to take to the Thanksgiving gathering we
went to.

WINTER HAS ARRIVED

ALL GOOD THINGS TO THOSE WHO WAIT

What better way to conclude a long ride than with a wet asada burrito.
Donna skipped the 'wet' part and opted for chicken instead of steak,
but I still love her anyway.

THE QUEEN OF ENDURANCE

We got out for a big ride today. Right about the time I was ready to
collapse, Donna suggested that we go even further. I thought she was
kidding at first. Then I remembered she just starts getting warmed up
after two hours of riding.

DINNER TIME

Donna was ashamed to be eating a whole chicken that she got for $1.99
(notice the poster at right) so she obscured my view with the help of
a napkin.

... yes, I'm kidding... she didn't really get it for $1.99

RIDE TIME

I got out for a mid-day ride with a friend from work. The seven mile
climb was well worth it for the seven mile descent. He used to race
motorcycles so he's very comfortable with speed and he schooled me on
the hair-raising, white-nuckle downhill. By the time I got to the
bottom I was thankful to not have dirt and rocks imbedded in a nasty
wound.

SATURDAY SUNSET

I went to the beach today to watch the sunset and in the process of
doing so took a moment to feel sorry for all you folks with snow on
the ground.

ME AND MY MOPHIE

I love my iPhone 3G but activate the 3G network, push data and GPS and
the thing goes through the battery like poop through a goose. I
finally broke down and bought the Mophie Juice Pack, an attachable
external battery that keeps the phone charged for as long as three
times the normal lifespan. Life is good.

GEARS, GOOD

My ego suffered defeat to my legs, who won the battle to get multiple
gears on my Karate Monkey. It seemed wrong to convert the singlespeed
to a geared bike but the climbs will be so much easier.

HARBOR VIEW

We explored the Ventura waterfront on our ride today. This is the area
we're thinking of moving to after the new year.

RIDING INTO A NEW CLIMATE

The Santa Ana winds were moving all sorts of heat to Ventura County
today. It was around 90 degrees when we started and probably in the
mid 70's by time we concluded the ride. Thank goodness the sea breeze
started to prevail over the Santa Ana winds.

THINGS ARE BACK TO NORMAL

After a weekend alone last weekend while Donna was in New Hampshire,
it was nice to have this Sunday together. Donna sat while she tried to
absorb her morning dose of coffee, questioning my sanity for
suggesting a bike ride on a day when we're both so tired.

DARN GUARD RAIL!

They installed a guard rail on one of my favorite trails, which now
completely rules out the possibility of drifting off the trail and off
a 200 foot drop. What fun is that!

DONNA'S LONG LEGS

One of the great things about Donna's long legs is that they force her
to buy 19" Mtn bikes, the same size frame I ride. Since she's out of
town I raised the seatpost a few inches on her OnOne Inbred and took
it for a spin. The thing climbs like a monkey on meth. I gotta get me
one.

POOR LITTLE GUY

This poor little guy bounced off our glass sliding door. I thought his
legs were broken. I watched for a while feeling so bad. As soon as I
left I think mom picked him up and got him back to the nest.

ONE TOUGH DUDE

I have yet to meet this little guy face to face, but our nephew out in
New Hampshire I've been told looks like a little angel when he smiles.
If that's the case I'd have to say Donna didn't really capture his
true essence when she snapped this photo. Doesn't he look like a
rapper! Watch out Eminem!

DONNA'S ABSENCE PART I

Walk into our house right now and it's very apparent that Donna has
been out of town for a few days. I guess the ferries that always wash
the dishes when I'm not looking went to New Hampshire with her. Of
course the home will all be in order before she gets home Monday night.

DONNA'S ABSENCE PART II

Oddly enough I've discovered the recyclable items don't march out to
the recycling bin on their own. The boxes aren't self flattening and
the cans aren't self crushing.

DONNA'S ABSENCE PART III

The debris I left on the dining room table is, for whatever reason,
still sitting on the dining room table, right where I left it.

DONNA'S ABSENCE PART IV

And let's not forget about the garbage that it well overdue to be
taken out.

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I KNEW IT ALL

I picked up an iPhone book since it was on sale and I've been learning
all sorts of new things.

I FOUND SOMETHING NEW

Turns out when you rotate the iPhone while in calculator mode, it
turns into this.

ROAD RIDE I

I had to stop for this panoramic photo during this morning's road
ride. Plus, it was a great excuse for a break.

NO FREE WI-FI??

It still floors me that Starbuck's doesn't offer free wi-fi. How much
can Internet access and a wireless router cost? I spent a while
helping my sister converting her resume to a PDF.

ROAD RIDE II

I really missed my riding partner this morning. My pace was off and
the scenery isn't nearly as pretty without her in it.

I WANT MY NEPHEW'S TOYS

I don't know if he would share.

THE CUTEST NIECE EVER

I don't know that this photo does her justice but our niece is the
cutest little girl you've ever seen.

FALL AT LAST

What better place to showcase Donna's photographic skills than right
here on this blog. She shot this is New Hampshire on Friday. I think
the photo would look a lot better with her in it, but she's not as
inclined to point the camera at herself as I am.

JEALOUSY

Donna's flight from Santa Barbara to Manchester left her with enough
time for a cheesesteak during her layover in Philadelphia! I'm sooo
jealous! It's like getting a slice of pizza in New York!

RARE OCCASION

After dropping Donna at the Santa Barbara airport for a 6 am flight, I
stopped at Starbuck's for a decaf latte. I can't believe how many
people are here at this hour... I'd rather have the extra sleep myself.

ELECTION DAY

We voted today, as any responsible American should. We got there at
just the right time and only endured a 5 minute wait, if that.

A PINCH OF FALL COLOR

Southern Caliornia is known for many things but fall color us not one
of them. At a garden in Thousand Oaks we spotted a few leaves that,
with the help of some late-day golden light, appeared to be quite
colorful.

A NEW VANTAGE POINT

I love these flowers but they're really hard to photograph. Today I
found a vantage point that I've never really seen before and thought
it came out well. For whatever reason it kind if reminds me of a
dragon from this angle.

TINY CREATURE

Donna spotted this baby snail slithering up the bedroom window this
morning. It had to be a baby - it was no larger than my thumbnail.

MISERY

I went for a run this morning and discovered, for the 1,000th time,
that it is not a 'natural' human activity.

RARE RAINY DAY

There's no blue sky in sight today and there's water falling from the
sky!

AHHH, THE WEEKEND IS HERE

I'm really enjoying Saturday mornings. It's a bummer that Donna has to
work in the afternoons but she's been making us a wonderful breakfast
every Saturday morning - golden brown egg whites over sliced tomato,
1/2 slice of light cheese, Canadian bacon and a whole wheat English
muffin. It tastes great and only has 4 points.