Category: <span>Just Plain Fun</span>

Published August 28, 2008 by

The One That Got Away


This is the cape we made an offer on, sight unseen. It’s a quaint little home, built in the 50s, out in the Sunshine area of Deer Isle Maine. The owners thought our offer of $90k was way too low (starting at $139k and lowered to $125k when we got interested). They countered high, so we waited to see it.

The property is beautiful, near some nice ledge and it is a short distance from the Eggemoggin Reach and swimming, as well as the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. We had hoped to make it a vacation home and rental for students / faculty / boaters.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Travel

Deer Isle Eggemoggin Reach Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Maine Sunshine

Published August 28, 2008 by

The World’s Smallest Bookstore


So, we met some new friends in Sedgwick Me — Joanne and Doug. They told us that Pushcart Press, the world’s smallest bookstore, is in the building at the back of what was once Donny and Eleanor’s garage and auto dealership. We stopped by to check it out. The Pushcart Prize is a prestigious literary project, pioneered by Bill Henderson over 30 years ago. As it turns out, Mr. Henderson is now a resident of Sedgwick, where I once served as Postmaster and our family wintered for a year before moving up to Blue Hill. From the PP website:

The Pushcart Prize – Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is the most honored literary project in America.

… Read the rest

Books • Literature Family • Friends Travel

Maine Pushcart Press Sedgwick

Published August 27, 2008 by

Blog Clog Resolved


I’m sure you’ve all been wondering why the blog posts have dried up. In fact, I’m just sitting down to answer the backlog of thousands of email messages. We are winding up our trip to Maine and are finally relaxing on the shore of Allamoosook Lake. Emma is in a canoe, Denise is sitting in her Adirondack chair with a needlepoint and I’m doing what I like to do to unwind… writing. So, here are a few shots of the view from the lodge and a preview of posts to come.

There is a very picturesque island out in front of the lodge and it appears to have a camp with a dock out into the lake.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Travel Uncategorized

Allmoosook Maine Travel

Published August 12, 2008 by

Krazy Kitsch


Hey, kids! Let’s have a sock hop at the Salisbury’s pad! I bought each one of these albums at the same yard sale for 25¢ apiece — much less than the original owners paid. They threw in the album stand for free! The entire display goes well with our entertainment center, don’t you think?

Bo had the Box Tops album, when he was in the sixth grade. The Fontaine Sisters and Herman’s Hermits were before our time.… Read the rest

Just Plain Fun Music Uncategorized

albums dance LPs music Records retro

Published August 7, 2008 by

Krazy Kitsch


I’d like to introduce a new feature to our tens of thousands of readers. Krazy Kitsch serves to provide you with a virtual tour of our Home on Piety Hill, which Denise is transforming into a varitable museum of off beat, kitcshy kollectibles and questionable art, furniture, kitchen utensils and, well, just about everything else. Now, mind you, some items will not actually be kitschy at all, but we’ll use that as a sort of catch-all label for just about anything we think is cool. Here’s a good definition of kitsch from Wikipedia:

A term of German or Yiddish origin that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an existing style.

… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Just Plain Fun Uncategorized Wacky • Weird

ballerina paint by number

Published August 3, 2008 by

Young Love


Okay, so I’ve been a little nostalgic lately and I scanned some old photographs of our family. When Denise and I began dating, she had long blonde hair… naturally blonde. I had long hair, too.

Denise also bought a brand new Landcruiser FJ40, which I loved to drive and she snapped this photo, as we drove by the 76 station at the corner of Painter Avenue and Lambert Road in Whittier.

In the Spring of 1974, after Denise graduated from Sierra High School, we drove north to pick up Denise’s brother at UC Davis and brought him home. We stopped in one of our favorite destinations from our desert days, Virginia City NV, and I took this photo of Denise.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Travel Uncategorized

Bo Denise hippies Landcruiser Virginia City

Published July 10, 2008 by

One Year Later


This is Denise about one year after we were married on this day, July 10, 1976. Yes, that’s 32 years of marital bliss (not 31, Sam). This photo was actually taken the day before Sam was born on September 5, 1977. I remember this day – It was hot, I took time off work for the birth and we went to walk around the Mission San Juan Capistrano and I caught Denise in front of this big, beautiful Bouganville.

Happy Anniversary Denise!… Read the rest

Family • Friends Uncategorized

anniversary Denise pregnant

Published July 9, 2008 by

Meet Baby Bailey

Family • Friends

baby

Published July 8, 2008 by

Carnitas!


Did I ever tell you that Denise can make excellent tamales and carnitas? ¿No? Well, then… About the time Denise and I started getting serious, she worked at a deli and meat market, owned by Jess (Mexican) and Julianne (Polish). So, while I was off surfing every single day during the summer of 1974 (I couldn’t get a job, because I wouldn’t cut my hair — Idiot), Denise (Anglo) learned how to make carnitas, tamales, tortillas, menudo, peirogi, golumki and fresh/smoked kielbasa. Yes, she was always good in the kitchen, but this experience turned her into a serious culinarian.

Denise is not threatened by others, with more sophisticated or advanced skills.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Food Uncategorized

carnitas Coca Cola golumki peirogi pupusas tamales tortillas

Published June 29, 2008 by

Emma Is On Her Way


Emma just completed her first semester at Sacramento State University with a Big Four Point Oh! She’s pursuing a degree in design — leaning toward architecture. This was confirmed to Emma on her latest visit to Chicago, the birthplace of the modern skyscraper, as well as home to the Prairie School and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Emma’s strength, I think, is in photography. She has always had a good eye for an interesting composition and Photoshop is the logical extension for the skills she learned in the dark room years ago. Here we see two Photoshop projects and the final example is a graphic design assignment using Adobe InDesign.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Family • Friends Uncategorized

Adobe architecture Frank Lloyd Wright graphic design InDesign Photoshop Quark

Published June 8, 2008 by

Will Bo and Denise Be Grandparents Next Year?

Well, it’s official! Camille is pregnant, Sean is glowing and the Bailey and Salisbury families, here and across The Pond, are very excited.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Uncategorized

Published March 31, 2007 by

Fun is always in style (FIAIS)

Fun Is Always In StylJF has a blog and it’s totally boss! Comments are switched to “on” and the posts so far are fab.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Just Plain Fun Uncategorized

Published March 1, 2007 by

African Friends and Money Matters by David Maranz

African Friends and Money MattersIf you ever decide to take a trip to Africa, you need to buy and read this book! If you hope to make friends you will keep in touch with, it’s an absolute necessity. In the West, the minute a friend asks for money, things get weird and the friendship probably won’t last long. In Africa, if there is no exchange of money or resources involved, things will get weird and the friendship probably won’t last long. East is east and west is west and there will be no meeting of the minds on the issue of money (and a lot of other customs) without help from someone like David Maranz, a linguist working in Africa since 1975.… Read the rest

Christianity • Religion Church • Ecclesiology Humor Travel

Published February 12, 2007 by

The US Didn’t Even Make the Top Ten

Linfen ChinaI suppose the United States will have to work hard to catch up to these nations, mostly socialist atheist materialist, leading the way in fouling our nest (some of the same nations that scold us for not signing on to the Kyoto Accords).

Here they are:
1. Chernobyl, Ukraine
2. Dzerzhinsk, Russia
3. Haina, Dominican Republic
4. Kabwe, Zambia
5. La Oroya, Peru
6. Linfen, China
7. Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan
8. Norilsk, Russia
9. Ranipet, India
10. Rudnaya Pristan, Russia

Jen Phillips at The Smithsonian slaps America-bashing, awareness raising, eco-prudes with a bit of common sense:

It’s great that there are no North American cities on the list, but it also poses a question: even if the United States does get its emissions under control, will it even matter in the light of pollution from rapidly industrializing nations like China?… Read the rest

Humor

Published February 10, 2007 by

Home Decor Coup

I had another living room epiphany last week. But, before I go on and you get all excited and ask me to come work my interior design magic on your place, remember that I only do this for pleasure… no silver will cross the table.

We looked into putting an insert into our fireplace, but new regulations made it prohibtive, both in cost and efficiency. So, I sat gazing at the center of our living room, the locus of fellowship in our home and thought, “now what?” Should we put a large flower arrangement in front of it? Or, pile up a bunch of candles inside the fireplace, like the hipsters in Rocklin do?… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Just Plain Fun Technology Uncategorized

Published January 25, 2007 by

Camille Doing What She Does Best

Okay, I can finally announce it! Camille has just been promoted to manager and she “broke the record for the quickest promotion” to manager in her firm’s history. There’s no CPA following her name, but that’s a mere formality.

What some may not know is that Camille developed many of her management skills as a young girl in her home, neighborhood and school under the able mentorship of her mother.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Uncategorized

Published November 18, 2006 by

The Mission, So Far

Pastor Steve has been busy here in Nevada County. We’ve been to prayer meetings, a youth meeting and even a Reformation Bible Conference, where Pastor Steve met Dr. Henry Krabbendam. Pastor Steve attended a pastors prayer meeting and spoke at a sports awards banquet for William Jessup University. He’s taught us some African praise songs. And, he’s working on a mission for Bo to come to Uganda. The indications so far point to May 2007, if the Lord wills.… Read the rest

Christianity • Religion Family • Friends Religion Uncategorized

Published October 30, 2006 by

Farewell NYC


On Tuesday, Denise and I said farewell to New York and flew out of La Guardia at 4PM. By 1 AM, we were back in Nevada City and I arrived at work in Camptonville by 7:30 AM on Tuesday. What a great time to be alive and who can deny that the United States is one of the best places on the planet to live?

The last morning in Brooklyn, we decided to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was chilly. On the Manhattan side, we looked around and thought we would see if anything piqued our interest. If so, we’d just take a train back to our apartment.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Travel Uncategorized

Published October 17, 2006 by

Maine Catchup

Sedgwick ME Post OfficeBoy, have we been going ever since we flew into Manchester NH! We’ve been looking at land, while squeezing in visits with friends, whoopie pies, red snappy hot dogs and some haddock, followed by pie at Helen’s! Our friends, the Websters, have been great hosts. I’ve published a few photos here.… Read the rest

Food Travel

Published September 4, 2006 by

Sierra Buttes Rock!

Sierra Buttes From Haskell Peak Yesterday, Denise and I took a day trip up above Sierra City. We found this nice spot overlooking the Sierra Buttes from Haskell Peak — I whipped out my PowerBook and fired it up. And… which one of my dozens of random desktop photos do you suppose came up on the monitor? Yep! A shot of the Buttes from the other side, which I took back in 1978! Those are some impressive rocks!

Later, we took a stroll on the Sand Pond Interpretive Nature Trail, which was lovely and then, on a lark, drove home through Sierraville via Highway 89.… Read the rest

Food Travel Uncategorized

Published August 19, 2006 by

Road Blog @ Panera Bread

I found a blogger’s home away from home at Panera Bread and it’s habit-forming. Denise likes to do her shopping in Rocklin and I like to spend time with Denise, so we drive down, she drops me off at Panera and she does her thing, while I do mine. Then, we usually get a bite to eat at a taqueria or barbecue joint.

Denise and I learned to love Panera when we visited Emma in Chapel Hill. Because it was overcast or raining the entire time we were there and Emma worked all day, Denise and I spent a considerable amount of time in the comfortable environs that are Panera, catching up on email, eBaying, blogging or just chatting over a hot, caffeinated beverage.… Read the rest

Blogging Food Technology Travel Uncategorized

Published August 5, 2006 by

We Trusted Them With Our Children

Child molestation cases involving Catholic priests have been all over the news since the 1990s, pointing to serious sexual abuse among the clergy of all faiths and denominations. What makes this such a powerful story is the fact that priests had built a solid reputation as trustworthy advocates for children over the years. When someone my age thinks of children and priests, we are immediately reminded of Father Flanagan and Boy’s Town. But, that has all been undone now. A relative few clergy betrayed that trust and robbed so many children of their sexual innocence, plunging the Roman Catholic church into one of the most costly and devastating crises in its entire history.… Read the rest

Christianity • Religion Education Media Religion Wacky • Weird

Published July 12, 2006 by

Photography by "Many Others"


Today, I received my copy of the new 77s DVD Collection, featuring seven official music videos by my favorite band, The Seventy Sevens, as well as another disk of “live bootleg” concert footage going back to 1982!

It was just like Christmas in July, as Sean and Emma watched me excitedly tearing the cellophane off the case. They were also very understanding and patient as I rushed to the DVD player and cued up the first video, Mercy Mercy, which I had seen years ago. It was just as I remembered it. I was at a number of the featured concerts and, though they were 20 years ago, it was as if I had seen them just yesterday.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Film Just Plain Fun Music Uncategorized

Published June 25, 2006 by

A Letter From Our Daughter

Yes, it’s true. Denise and I have other children. Besides our children in the US, we have two more families in Uganda. I met their fathers on my first trip there in 2000. Since that time, we have kept in touch and helped them with tuition for their education. In Uganda, education is valued very highly and private school can be a real advantage.

Shammah is about 10 years old and, though we have never met, she loves us dearly and we love her. She is the oldest and has three little brothers. Her letters and photographs portray her as a smart, confident and patient young lady.… Read the rest

Family • Friends Uncategorized

Published June 10, 2006 by

Denny’s VW

66vwbugsunroof-012Write Fink! has been blogging about old VWs and it conjured up a few memories of — believe it or not — young romance. When I met Denise (she was 17 and I was 18), she had a blue 1966 Volkswagen Beetle much like the one in the photo. Technically, it was Brian, Denise, and Diane’s VW, but when Brian was off to school Denise had seniority and it would eventually be handed down to Diane. My heart still thumps when I think of Denise, long blonde hair blowing through the window, leaning into a turn, cranking the wheel with her left hand, while down-shifting with her right, and depressing the clutch with her Dr.… Read the rest

Art • Design • Culture Family • Friends