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Live Video From The Fabulous Wireless Webcam!!!

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Live Video From The Second Fabulous Wireless Webcam!!!

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Saturday, January 29, 2005
8:36 AM

Hummingbird Cam

We discovered last weekend that we have a hummingbird nest on one of the arbors outside our kitchen window. The mother bird has been very busy gathering little bits of fuzz to line the inside of the nest. (The nest is close to where our dryer vents so she's sort of recycling our clothes!)

Last weekend when I took a closer look, she hadn't laid any eggs, but when I checked this morning, there were two tiny white eggs in the nest. She keeps coming and going, but spends a lot of time on her eggs.

So that we can share Mama Bird with everyone, I've moved the live webcam to the window sill and focused it as best I could on the nest. Hopefully you can see her. And hopefully there will be little soon! (I read on the internet that it can take anywhere from 12 to 22 days for the eggs to hatch, so it will be a couple of weeks. . .)

It seems to take a little longer to load the camera. Let me know if you have any problems!

Here is a still picture of her:

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005
8:34 AM

Happy Birthday Mark!!

Yes, today is Mark's Birthday. Yay!!

Please post a comment to wish him a Happy Birthday!!

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Friday, January 21, 2005
8:07 AM

Ignorance is Bliss

We love where we live - the neighborhood, our house, our neighbors. It's a great location, great weather, all that and more. In an effort to be good little homeowners we have started attending meetings of the Homeowners' Association (and by we, I mean Mark). Big mistake. Now we know all sorts of things (weird, sad, disturbing, and downright scary) that we wish we didn't know. Trust, me, ignorance is bliss.

Weird:
None of our houses have addresses with the number 4 in them. No 4, 14, 24, etc. Period. Why, you ask?? Because apparently the number 4 is a big no-no in the world of Feng-Shui. Yes, Feng-Shui dictated our addresses. The builder wanted to make sure not to scare off any potential buyers, so all addresses are non-4 numbers. Let me say it again, our builder designed the entire scheme of street numbering based on principles of Feng-Shui!!!

We don't think there are any 13s either, but at least that makes sense!

Sad:
Right before you get to our houses, there is an assisted living facility. One of our neighbors near the front of our complex had an Alzheimer's patient wander into her house not knowing where he was. Very sad. Apparently a bit more assistance is needed in some cases.

Disturbing:
2-3 cars parked in driveways or on the street have been broken into. (Ok, one actually wasn't locked so the thief just opened the door and took her purse. Perhaps that's not hugely surprising. Not sure why she left her purse in an unlocked car overnight.) But it has happened to others (cars broken into, not purses stolen). One guy had a bunch of travelers checks stolen out of his car (but, again, you have to wonder why in the world he left them in his car.)

Downright scary:
One Friday evening, the woman who lives in the house closest to the entry to the complex was home with her young kids (hubby was at a sporting event). She was expecting friends, so had left the front door unlocked. She was upstairs and heard someone come in and start yelling. She looked down from the top of the stairs and saw a guy dressed only in a pair of pants (no shirt, shoes, etc.), who was covered in tatoos and, more importantly, blood, standing in her entry way. He insisted that she call his brother for him. She told him that if he left the house she would call (Good thinking on her part). He did and she did, but when she reached his brother, the brother said "Hang up and call 911. You might be in danger." (Like she hadn't already figured that out from the mostly unclothed, bloody stranger standing in her house). Bloody guy flees, which results in a several hour police search for him with helicopters and dogs. Ultimately they found him. He apparently has serious mental problems and had, immediately prior to coming into our neighborhood, tried to see his ex-girlfriend who works at the aforementioned assisted living facility.

Doesn't our neighborhood sound great? Again, we wish we didn't know. But there are some valuable lessons everyone can learn from:

1. Keep your house locked (duh)
2. Keep your car locked (duh again).
3. Keep your purse (and travelers checks) in the house.
5. Don't leave your wife at home alone to go to sporting events.
6. Try not to buy a home near an assisted living facility, especially if the employees have crazy ex-boyfriends who cut themselves (ok, that one is a bit esoteric, but still applicable).

Doesn't it sound great?? Come visit!

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Friday, January 14, 2005
8:52 AM

Happy Birthday Dana and Kristin!!

Today is my cousin Dana's birthday and my niece Kristin's birthday! Everyone please wish them both a Happy Birthday!!

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Wednesday, January 12, 2005
1:46 PM

Up A Creek

Hello all! Long time no post. Unfortunately I've been sick for about two weeks now and just can't shake this cold/cough. But I finally mustered up enough energy to update.

As you may have seen on the various webcams, we have been overcome with rain for the past couple of weeks (today is the first sun we've seen in a while). We received record rainfall here in SoCal, but I'm sure you've read about it given all the horrible accidents (hills sliding onto houses, roads washing out, etc.)

Perhaps the most eventful for those in our neck of the woods was yesterday. Dad & Barbara called first thing in the morning because they were under a voluntary evacuation order. Turns out the San Juan Creek that runs behind their house rose to record levels (from 1 foot deep to 20 in some places!). The water was so powerful that it ripped away about 1000 feet of the concrete walls and the authorities were afraid that the houses next to the creek would flood.

Here's a pic for you:

See the little dark grey strip to the left of the creek's concrete walls? That is the bike path down to the beach. Shows you how big the missing piece is. Luckily for those of you coming to visit who love that walk, the damage was north of the folks so the path to the beach should be ok.

The location of that picture is probably about 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile from the folks house. Pretty scary. But all is well. Water is going down. Colleen & Terry came and got grandma and everyone is fine.

Meanwhile, many visitors coming this month! From my family: Auntie Lois and cousins Dana & Erin. From Mark's: his Great Aunts Ann and Fran. And one of our friends who now lives in Spain will be staying with us. And naturally EVERYONE will be here at the same time!! Should be a lot of fun seeing everyone.

Not much else to report. Just working and trying to get healthy.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

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