Final SAG Blog 2009

I want to thank my sons for coming to the SAG Awards Show. they helped out a lot and we really enjoyed spending time together.

I was able to give them tasks to do that were pretty interesting such as Jake accompanying Brad Pitt and Angelina as they worked the red carpet. I can't remember what all Kevin did but he did some useful and interesting things as well.

Anyway, it was great to have the boys together for a two or three days.

SAG Saturday Evening and Sunday Morning

So here we are in Sunny Southern California with a 10% chance of rain and it rains most of the day. We finally got a glimps of sun though and here are a couple of pictures. Above is a view of the front of the Shrine complex from 32nd Street with the West Parking Lot in the foreground.

Below is the Red Carpet under construction.



And then we have a view of the back through the East Parking lot also from 32nd Street.

Then Sunday morning on the Red Carpet.


Chris and I have worked together for a lot of years. We agreed that we should press on into our old age and retirement. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy being at the show but it has been great. It helped that the sun finally came out and Sunday was a beautiful day.


All pictures were taken with my Blackberry Pearl. Not bad if I say so myself.

SAG Award Show, 2009

I'm back in Southern California by popular demand (I must be popular. they paid my way plus expenses).

I was due to fly out of Louisville at 0605 this morning. I was there on time, but the first officer apparently wasn't feeling well so they had to get a replacement. We didn't board the plane 'til about 0630 and didn't actually lift off 'til 0740. The plane was one of those itty bitty cute things that I can't stand up straight in. I was seated in a seat next to the window on one side and a guy about Jake's size on the other. Not my most favorite flight in memory.

We finally got to Houston at 0945 local time for a flight to LAX leaving at 1015. So my leisurely breakfast plans for Houston went down the tubes. The good part of the day was now upon me as the plane from Houston to LA was a 767 and seemed absolutely spacious even in the economy class section where I was seated.

Got to LA at about 1100 (local time) and it took 'til 1230 to get a car from Hertz even with a reservation.

Jake called and was in the area so we had lunch together at Baja Fresh because there is very little decent Mexican food in Kentucky.

The weather was typically fabulous. Even now with it being dark outside the temperature is 73 degrees.

I ran a few errands. Took my tux and some shirts to the laundry/dry cleaners so they would be clean and pressed for use here. Took my shoes to old Pappy down at the 7th and fig Market Place where he's had a shoe shine stand since the complex was built. Stopped by the temple grounds and picked up some supplies that are available there and not in Kentucky. The nearest Distribution Center to Louisville is in St. Louis I think. I know mail order is available but I seem to prefer in person shopping.

This Saturday and Sunday, my sons, Jacob and Kevin are going to join me at the Shrine Auditorium to help me with the show. Jake's wife, Meredith will probably spend some time with us on Saturday and then we'll all do dinner somewhere.

This should be a fun week. Cathy didn't come because she's holding down our duties as missionaries plus she didn't want to be stuck in a hotel in south Los Angeles day and night for seven days. She's a pretty smart girl.

If something else interesting happens, I'll post it. Didn't bring my camera. Maybe next year.

Field Trip To Madison, Indiana

It was Saturday morning and we had to decide betrween staying home and working on the house or taking a field trip up the Ohio to Madison, Indiana. Obviously we opted for the field trip but I still painted the master bathroom after we got home.

Our first stop was "Falls of the Ohio" State Park in Jeffersonville where we see that the falls are kind of like Idaho Falls... not very awesome. But there was a nice view of downtown Louisville across the river from us.



These are the "Falls"



Then we drove north on the Indiana side of the river and spotted another park called Cliffty Falls Park just before we got to Madison. we drove up into the park and I think these must be the "Cliffty Falls." They are mostly frozen but some water is falling. It was scenic and interesting. There's a lodge there too but I don't see us going back and spending a night any time soon.



Then we arrived in historic Madison. We've been here before and even brought Jake and Meredith up while they were here, but it is a pretty cute town originally settled in 1809. We think Jefferson was president then meaning Madison was on deck so I don't know if it was named for President James Madison or not.



Also in Madison is the basically world renowned Mundts Candy Store which Cathy had heard of from the Food Network or The Food Channel or some such place where culinary artists ply their trade. They were very nice ladies and the store was, in fact, very cute. we had ice cream and they took our picture for us. It was a great finish to a fun trip. Then we drove home and, as I said earlier, I painted the master bathroom. Looks good too. When it's totally done, I'll post a picture or two.

License Plate (At last)

I knew that when I bought my truck back in August I wanted to get a personalized plate that had "34M30" on it. And Kentucky has embraced personalized plates more than any state I know. We have, if I counted correctly, well over fifty possible types of license plates.

I selected the "Fallen Officers Trust" as my preferred format.

My project began when I bought the truck. The dealer said they could only sign me up for a normal plate and that when I got that, I could apply for a personalized plate. Then the dealer got our address wrong and mail sent to us regarding our vehicle, including registration related mail, went to the bogus address. I got that straightened out but we never received our license plates for the truck.

My temporary plates were good until November so in November I contacted the State of Kentucky about my plates and was told they were sent to the dealer. I called the dealer and they said they had them. They assumed I knew that I had to get them from the dealer.

So I got my plate (they only issue rear plates in Kentucky (no photo red light tickets for Kentuckians), and went down and ordered my 34M30 plate. It was supposed to be ready in December so I called and a guy said yes it's here but if you wait 'til January you won't have to pay registration for 2008 which I would have to do if I got it in December.

Part of the process when ordering license plates is that they come to the main county office in downtown Louisville and if you want to pick them up at your neighborhood, more-convenient office, you call them and they send it to the office of your choice. So in January I call to have the plate sent to my preferred location and they tell me it's not in yet. I said it was in last month, how come it's not in this month? Anyway, this is getting boring and you can see from the picture that I finally got the plate and I'm a happy customer.

January Ramblings

After the holidays ended and my smashing birthday celebration faded into the rear view, January...

Well it's the coldest it's been in five years here. I was driving to Costco along Covered Bridge Road and noticed just how cold it really is.





If you look carefully, you may notice that these waterfalls are frozen solid. It's a fairly substantial creek and I was actually awe struck. I had to park about a hundred yards away and was dressed warmly including hat and gloves, but by the time I got back to my truck I was beginning to think I'd better not touch my ears lest they break off. They say the temperature is around five Fahrenheit with a windchill factor a little south of zero.

One of the odd things here is it doesn't like to snow. We've had some very mild flurries but no real snow despite the cold temperatures. They have a thing here called "winter mix" which is frozen rain. Not snow or hail... frozen raindrops. Little ice crystals that scatter themselves all over until it gets warm enough for them to melt. I'm told we'll get an occasional covering of snow, sometimes up to six inches, but not often.

VISITING THE SISTERS IN BEATTYVILLE
About a week ago, Elder McClelland, our Financial Genius at the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission (he's a Senior missionary here with his wife from Bear Lake, Idaho area). handed me a copy of a natural gas utility bill from our apartment (trailer really) out in Beattyville, Kentucky. The bill was for just shy of $400 and he thought that was a tad steep.

I called Beattyville and it turned out to be two Sister Missionaries. They live in a rented trailer and it's not very well insulated they said. I discussed strategies and wondered if they might find a better place to live, etc. They said there wasn't much to choose from.

I thought it might be fun to drive out there and take a look so last Friday (a week ago), Sister Partridge and I hit the road.

Well shortening a long story, the Sisters love their little trailer. they have it fixed up real cute and it's close to the little chapel there in Beattyville. Plus, there really doesn't seem to be any better possibilities. So they're trying and we're going to leave them be. They are Sisters Oliphant (left) from eastern Washington state and Sister Peacock from middle of nowhere, Nevada.



We were somewhat amused to find that beattyville has it's own claim to fame... "The Home of the Wolly Worm Festival" that we unfortunately missed out on.

Back home, driving toward the setting sun, two days ago, on River Road approaching downtown Louisville, I thought these made good photos. The water in the foreground is the Ohio River.