Let It Snow

Taking out the trash,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

I had the day off but the kids had school. Or so we thought.

And then there was snow.

Since the snow gear was still out we geared up and headed outside.

First thing. Time to take out the trash. Thank goodness I had an assistant.

Sledding ,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Once the chores were done it was time for fun, which translated into me pulling Parker and Piper down and up the road.

Soon, it was time to find something less exhausting for me.

Hair Club for Snowmen,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Time to build a snowman!

The kids started small but we soon went bigger...at least closer to Piper's size. The kids gathered the snow. Frankie (unwittingly) provided the arms and hair. And I assembled the final product.

The hardest part...keeping Frankie from running away with one of the arms.

Snowmen,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

The best part...the smile on Parker's face.

Still Standing

Still Standing,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

Next day, the house and -- more importantly -- the Taj-ma-sheds are still standing. The fire is still a good ways off. Hopefully the winds will cooperate and keep the fire moving away from our house, rather than right towards it.

Not Again

Yes, it seems to be a sad annual ritual. Another wildfire. This time resulting in evacuation...our second since moving into hour house.

An enhancement since the Crown Fire evacuation...at about 4am this morning we got an automated call warning us of the impending danger and the need to prepare for evacuation. I guess this happens for anyone with a landline. (So my friends, any of you who have ditched the landline and rely solely on your cell service...you need to look into registering your cell phone so you will be included in any emergency announcements delivered via phone.)

Not sure if this is a bright side...but that Station fire actually started a few days ago and I had been preparing for this moment. I've been driving around with some stuff in the back of my and Chris' cars. Plus, I've had a bunch of other stuff stacked by the front door. Within an hour or so of the call, our cars were packed. Me and the kids were off to Thommy & Geoffrey's house while Chris and Frankie stayed behind to tend to any loose ends -- clearing any debris near the house that he never got to, moving equipment, etc.

Of course, all the while I'm fretting about Chris and Frankie's safety until I see this post on face book -- ''Frankie enjoys a steak and Stella on a smokey afternoon.'' Yeah, this fire is much different from the Crown Fire where I left the house with flames licking over the nearby hill tops.

So, knowing that Chris and Frankie were safe, it made it much easier for me to create a normal experience for the kids -- which means bathtime! But where? Yup, the bar sink makes a perfect bath for Piper. Talk about a multi-tasker.

Like Grandfather

Like Grandfather,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

We took Chris' Mom and Father out to dinner at Vincent Hill to celebrate his mother's birthday. As you can guess, the food (and, of course, the company) was wonderful. The part I'll remember most is Parker imitating his Grandpa Jim. (Yes, even down to the cigarette.) Priceless.

25 Cent Mustache

25 Cent Mustache,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

That's right. For only a quarter, you can easily alter your appearance with this awesome mustache. Something of this quality normally takes weeks to cultivate but if you act now you can get one for yourself in a matter of seconds at Albertsons. Quantities are limited so act now!

Hate to say it...

...but I told you so.

Not you specifically, though.

Maybe about a year ago, Thommy and I were heading to my place when we say these guys trying to drive up this hill. Now this hill is steep. Really steep. But you can imagine the dumb asses who were daring each other to do it, can't you?

Thommy and I had to pull over and watch the stupidity. We felt that any moment something terrible was going to happen.

Well, I guess we were wrong. Things didn't go wrong in moments...rather in months. The car overturned near the base of the mountain after rolling downhill 500+ feet, leaving a trail of glass and debris down the mountain.

Yup...YARD SALE!

Believe it or not, the occupants walked away with scratches and bruises.

That's right...the gene pool lives to continue on.

Another Snow Day

Another snow day on the ranch, which means Parker couldn't wait to go outside and taste it for himself. He'll need to wait a bit longer to get a good bowlful to eat in front of the TV. Then again, we have the two satellite dishes, which prove to be great snow collectors. All I have to do now it wait for either the TV or internet connection to fail to let me know there's been enough build up.

2008, A look back

Well, it looks like I hit my resolution of out blogging 2007. With 163 entries, I even out blogged 2006! Currently, I also seem to be on track to out blog 2008. ROCK ON!

I did end 2008 heavier than I started it...but then I am pregnant. At a current weight of 188 , I guess the important thing is to end 2009 considerably lighter than how I started it.

I would say a few highlights from last year would include:

• Burns Night: Nothing better then having your baby rocking out in a bar!
• Pouring the Slab: The stalled shed project takes off again!
• The Road Ahead: New year, new job!
• What's Wrong With This Picture?: This maybe more of a lowlight but one can't forget the car accident Parker and I had last year that total the Saturn.
• Happy Birthday, Paarrrrker!: Parker turns 3!
• New Car: With the totaled car comes the new car.
• Death Valley Birthdaze: Parker's first camping trip and he loved it!
• Project Garden: Parker's garden was a total success -- providing pounds of delicious tomatoes, herbs (some of which are still hanging in there even after our recent bout of snow!), and even a couple of pumpkins!
• Welcome Dean: Dean joins the Trillo household. I can't believe how small he used to be!
• Go Baby, Go!: Official confirmation that Parker would soon have a little sibling!
• Baby's First Scan: Our first look at Piper!
• It's Time!: Parker ditches the diapers
• Morro Bay: Great family get-away to Morro Bay. Hopefully, it will become an annual tradition.
• Palin and Clinton on SNL: This isn't Trillo related but you've gotta love Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.
• Halloween 2008: How could Halloween NOT be a highlight, especially with Parker dressed as Woody.
• Yes We Can!: I was obsessed with the entire campaign but the most important thing is that the right man -- Barack Obama -- was elected as President.
• Snow Days: Everyone (at least hear in Acton) will be talking about the show of 2008 for years. It was totally awesome! Glad to have been stuck at home rather than stuck unable to get home (like Chris...but that worked to his advantage as he was able to NOT miss any work)
• Sledding: And of course, Tahoe is always a highlight.

Snow Day #3

Finally! Visible dirt thanks to our neighbor. But Parker brought his shovel anyway to help the clearing process along. Looks like Chris will try to come home tonight. Hopefully, there's enough of the white stuff around for him and Parker to play around in.

In the meantime, we get in our last snow ball fights and snow angels...just in case. Lucky for Momma, she's a much better aim than lil' P.

Snow Day #2

Wow! Who needs to go to Tahoe for the holidays when you've got this much snow at home?! And I thought we had a lot of snow yesterday! But that won't stop Frankie and his fetch fetish. Nor will that keep Parker from eating the snow.


Then again, maybe it's time for a little intervention for ol' Parker. Especially when he wanted a bowl of it after our first morning outing. Actually, it was three bowls of the cold stuff. Of course, by the third bowl, his interest was waning as he start to bring out the power tools to address the remaining snow.


So in the afternoon I figured I'd get a better idea of our situation and take a walk to the mail box to the mail. Normal, the just under one mile round trip takes about 30 minutes. However, we hit the two hour mark and we hadn't even reached the mailbox. Yes, the snow was deep in places but the main culprit was Parker who...yes...couldn't resist all the snow and insisted on carrying gigantic snowballs to eat on the way. Midway through our neighbor's property, he eventually set down his snowball, converting it to what he called his snow chair.

I tried to abort the mission but Parker would hear nothing of it. So we continued forward only to discover that while "neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow would stop the mail" the postal services didn't consider the laziness of their contractors who they hire to work our rural route.

Luckily for us, though, our 18 year old neighbor stopped by on his ATV to drop his friend off at the main road and offered us a ride back. So, while I had a tinge of worry about riding an off-road vehicle in the snow while 30+ weeks pregnant, I also knew I didn't want to take another 2 hours to trudge back up to our house. So go ahead a close your eyes to image the three of us. Parker in the front and I'm bring up the rear. Not to mention Frankie keep up with us on foot.

One other piece of luck, we saw another neighbor who offered to plow our road, allowing the snow to melt away faster and giving Chris a fighting chance to make it home. (Oh, I didn't mention this but Chris has been rained/snowed out since Monday. Luckily, Andy and Page have been gracious hosts, allowing him to stay with them for the week.)

BTW, you know it's a good day for Frankie when he contently crashes out.

Snow Day #1

So, while Monday proved to be a sopping wet day, today it was cold enough to turn that moisture into full-fledged snow and not just a dusting, either. I thought the snow would eventually stop coming down mid-day...like it's always done in the past but it just kept coming and coming and coming. Looks like today won't be the only day we get snowed in.

Hi-O! It's back!

So next time you come and visit us here in the North 40, take a detour over to Lancaster and check out the musical road. It's over on Avenue G. If you turn off your radio and set your cruise control to 55, you'll hear the road sing the William Tell Overture. Yes, that's the Lone Ranger theme song.

I guess it use to be in a different location but the road sounds kept the neighbors up. The city got rid of it but now it's back by popular demand...just in a different location.

Now, it's about as in tune as a junior high school orchestra but every video I've seen seems to end in giggles so I think we can still deem it a success. I have a feeling if drives enough ''traffic'' to the area, we just may see more of these musical roads in the AV.

$1.99

I just have to put it out there...I paid $1.99 for gas today (and at Shell, not at a discount or cash only place).

To Homeowner

I've had this note hanging on my fridge for years now.

To Homeowner,
Thank you for the use of your bathroom and your patio. You have a very nice house. I hope we did not inconvenience you.
Thank you for letting us protect your property.
Capt. George Trejo
Los Angeles Fire Dept.
Strike Team 1001

Yes, that's a thank you note from the firemen who protected our house when during the Crown Valley Fire in 2004. Go figure. (I would have thought it should be the other way around.) I guess they had to break in to use the restroom -- I can't figure out how they did it, though, because noting was actually broken. And I guess they hung out it the backyard -- benefits of being one of the few houses in the neighborhood with a pool.

Anyway, it's a very sweet and funny souvenir from the Crown Valley Fire...if there could be one.

On a related note, I just Googled Capt. Trejo and see that he just retired in August of this year. We wish you all the best Capt. Trejo and thank YOU for protecting our property.

Silver Lining in a Billowing Cloud of Smoke

Several fires hit the region. Luckily, our house is not in the midst of the action. Plus, we're upwind so air quality is pretty good.

The one good thing...at least for the Trillos...when it comes to fire season is that it forces us to examine everything around us and decide what's important. What would you take if you had to evacuate your home? Here's the criteria (based on my experience when I had to evacuate in, I think it was, 2004):

• You have 15 minutes
• Only one person is available to load the car
• It has to all fit in one (smallest) car
• Don't forget to leave room for passengers (including pets)

For us, as with most of you, it's pictures (especially the ones that haven't been digitally backed up -- which being the older ones are probably even more special -- I definitely need to make that a priority To Do for 2009) and computers.

We've actually had these items stacked by our front door throughout the weekend. But now, they're now in the back of my car just in case a fire broke out while we were at work. I'm sure Frankie and Dean would be saved but can I expect a fireman to save my wedding photos?

We're Baaaaack!

Yes, back to vote at what I call the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Polling Place. I joke but actually I like voting here because this place because it has so much character. Thank goodness, though, I vote in broad daylight.

Parker Appleseed

Aimee headed over to north county to go apple picking with me and Parker. Surprisingly, there are a lot of fruit farms near us. The big crop out here apprears to be cherries, which is now unfortunately out of season. However, peaches and apples are also plentify.

So we took a little drive over to Little Rock and started picking. Most of the low hanging fruit was gone but he had our arm extender...aka "Parker...to help us get the jewels that were out of reach. We just needed to make sure he picked the ripe fruit...not the cute little ones.

All in all, the trip was successful and I made a yummy pie out of all the fruit we picked. BONUS!

BTW, I found this recipe on Food Network's site. It was easy and delicious! The only tweak I did was use a mix of apples and pears.

DOUBLE CRUSTED CHEDDAR APPLE PIE

Prep Time: 1 hr 45 min
Cook Tim 35 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 1 (9-inch) pie

CHEDDAR DOUGH:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cubed
4 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
4 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated fine and chilled well
2 egg yolks beaten lightly with 1/3 cup cold water
Milk

FILLING:
3 pounds (about 8) McIntosh apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Make the dough: In a food processor combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until it resembles very coarse meal. Add the Cheddar and pulse until it again resembles coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the yolk mixture, tossing with a fork until it forms a dough. Add more cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Form the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disc, and dust with flour. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Roll out half the dough 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Fit it into a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate and trim the edge, leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Chill the shell and the remaining dough while making the filling.
Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel, core, and cut the apples into eighths. In a large bowl toss together the apples, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the salt, and the lemon juice until the mixture is combined well. Transfer the filling to the shell and dot it with the butter.

Roll out the remaining dough into a 13- by 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the crust lightly with the milk and cut slits in it with a sharp knife to form steam vents. Bake the pie on a large baking sheet in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake the pie for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender.