Splash Again!

It's Thursday so I'm at Splash letting the girls have a fun day.
They'll go to the library after that for their weekly kids program. My
back is much better today, but I'm still being very careful. This is
the worst it has been in many years.

Right now we are still waiting to hear if the sellers of our house
have got the house they made an offer on. It's scary how we all get
coonected and dependent upon each other in this process. One house
gets in trouble and we are all affected.

I'll be surprised at this point if we get moved in August. I sure hope
so. Two of the families involved have teachers who have to go back to
work in September.

Our new house is redoing the swimming pool. It will be finished in the
middle of August. That will make quite a difference in the backyard.

Alaskan Wildflowers

One thing I really enjoyed about Alaska was the hanging baskets of
flowers everywhere we went. I heard folks were encouraged to use
hanging baskets to keep nonnative plants from taking over. Seems to
work.

I was just looking thru some old photos and came across this one I
took with my iPhone.

Aviary

This is the aviary. It's not much to look at, but they've raised a lot
of parakeets here. There are probably 30 birds left. We'll have to get
rid of them. I really don't want to bother with them. We will turn
this into a large dog kennel to keep the dogs in when we have company
or leave for a while. We'll have to see how they interact with the
chickens first of all.

Chickens

This is the chicken coop. It's fair sized. It goes farther back than
it appears in this photo. There's a second pen for chicks too. Baby
chickens that is. LOL

The have one Plymouth rock hen, three white leghorn hens, and two
Americanas, one of which is the rooster. The rooster is about 7 years
old. He's outlived all the other chickens by far.

Pool

The pool on the house we are buying is being completly restored
because the owner left it empty for a couple of monthes and it cracked
quite a bit. They take a jackhammer to it and that is the stage of
restoration that it is now.

I've never left my pool empty more than a day of two. They can
actually pop out of the ground if left empty. Wouldn't that be fun?

Chicken

I brought out some clay and made a chicken. Seemed like a good thing
to do while my back was bad

Back Out

Arghh, I helped someone move some stuff and I threw out my back big time. It was horrible trying to get to church this morning and do the service. I never take medicine before I speak, but I had to this morning and I could really feel the affect of it. Anyway, we skipped going out to lunch and went straight home and I stayed in my lounge chair all day with heating pads and meds. I'm starting to get a bit more flexible. Hope another day's rest will take care of it.

Connie is going to work a bit late tomorrow to make sure I get off to a good start and then Nurse Elizabeth will take care of daddy. She really can. She can cook pretty well and so my meals are covered. Elizabeth has always had a very nurturing side to her and she really shines when someone needs help.

Almost time to turn in. I think I'll go read a book until I fall asleep.

Are chickens better bird-pets than parrots?

Wow, this ought to tick off Corky big time!

Are chickens better bird-pets than parrots? Let's hear from you. I'll get you started:

1. Chickens can be kept outside unlike parrots, which are tropical birds that are usually kept indoors.
2. Chickens can be kept outside or inside! You can get bantams that grow to be about the size of a parrot, and can keep them in a cage the size of a rabbit hutch.
3. Chickens are omnivorous and can eat whatever you eat; parrots can't.
4. Chickens lay eggs which you can eat; parrots don't do that.
5. Parrots have very loud voices and shrieks; chickens don't.
6. Neither chickens nor parrots can be potty-trained very well, but chickens produce enough poop to be used in your garden.
7. Parrots are expensive to buy; chickens start at $1.99 per chick.
8. Parrots can bite really really hard! Chickens can only peck, and they can't hold on with their beaks like parrots can. 9. Chickens will even perch on your arm, just like a parrot.

Send in your other ideas. No offense to parrots! All in good fun.

Splash Scooters

I'm at Splash with Liz & Mayra today. I'm trying to take them every
Thursday because that is the day our La Mirada library has their Kids
program. We think today is a magic show. The library is next to Splash
so we save gas too! I like that.

Anyway, the city has these neat scooters that the police use to go
around the grounds and keep a nice safe presence here. Splash is a
very family orriented place. Since Splash is in the same area as our
police station, they have immediate access thru a side gate. You don't
see any bad types of influences here. As usual, the city planned this
out very carefully.

iPhone screenshots

The iPhone finally does screenshots. Here are some of my new apps I've
downloaded.

Chicken barn

Found this today at a local feed store. Might get it when we move. The
one there is probably not worth trying to fix up. This will hold 6
hens. Thought we were going to see some chicks but they were all out
of them. Getting more on Friday. Liz wants to see some.

Fruit Trees

We got to take my mom, sisters and family to see the house we bought
today. While they went through the house, the owner of the house took
me on a tour of the outside, especially the 27 fruit trees. I'll do
my best to remember what they were.

Several different types of

avocados

Lemons

Limes

Cherimoyas from Hawaii

Navel oranges

Figs

Several types of guavas

Loquats

Kumquats

Both types of persimmons

Bananas

Apricots

Plums

Apples

I think that was it. We will be doing a lot of canning, baking and
drying of fruit I think.

Bob Rockhill

Sent from my iPhone.

IPhone 2.0

Finally got my DSL fixed. Earthlink has the worst tech help and
service I have ever seen.

So once I was back online I upgraded my iphone to 2.0. I installed a
lot of free apps and a couple of games for Elizabeth. The games are
incredible. They look better than a DS game. Unfortunately, with my
Menieres Syndrome I can't play racing games. I get nauseated almost
immediately. I'm impressed by the firs apps to come out. Can't wait to
see what's coming.

Bob Rockhill

Sent from my iPhone.

I'm in chicken mode

Yesterday I took Elizabeth out to lunch. On the way back we went to a
local craft store and saw so much chicken stuff, I started laughing
because we kept calling our new house the chicken house because it has
a chicken coop. Saw this hen and thot I'd try to make. Ceramic one.

We got it!

Well, our agent met with their agent and then there was a conference
call and tonight I signed the papers for the new house. I'm told it is
now official.

We first looked at this house in May, but it was quite a bit out of
our range. They dropped the price about $50,000. They are paying our
closing costs and they are replastering the pool and putting in a new
deck as well as a new fence. Those the main reasons we didn't up for
the house in the beginning. Now all our objections have been taken
care of.

There's an aviary we will turn into a kennel. That will keep the dogs
from destroying the yard when we are away. We will keep the chickens.
There are about 6 of them according to Liz. I only saw 4. This should
be fun. Looking forward to the changes.

Bob Rockhill

Sent from my iPhone.

Front yard

Side of house

Over 25 fruit trees

Greenacres

We like having chickens

Pool

Backyard

Hrass area and aviary in the back

Sun room looking into kitchen

The house is large and airy. Lots of windows everywhere. It really is
designed to catch the breezes we so enjoy in la mirada.

Big livingroom windows

Looking downstairs

Attic storage

Other kid bedroom

Upstairs bedroom for kids

Upstairs hallway

Balcony of latest house

The Chicken House

Well, we made another offer on a house today. I think this is the 5th offer we've made. This is by far the largest house we've looked at. It is huge with a 3 car garage, 5 bedrooms, 2 on the bottom floor. It has a sun room, attic storage, large rooms, huge windows with great cross ventilation and A/C as well. The house is traditional, not as fancy and modern as most we've been looking at, but we just haven't been able to get into any of these. This house is by far the best investment as its size alone will send it way up once the market turns around. We'd never even be able to think about a house like this if the market weren't so awful right now.

This house is a La Mirada, zoned for horses area. These few houses that can have horses have huge backyards. They are much more rustic, meant for animals. This house only has chickens, which we personally really like. I had chickens when I was a kid and so did Connie. It's nice having those fresh eggs every morning. The house also has an aviary for parakeets. We aren't very interested in having that, but we might turn it into a large dog kennel. It is plenty big, certainly bigger than the kennels and dog runs we've thought about in every other place. Also nothing for the dogs to bark at here! It's so big.

In the back yard there is a pool that needs some work. And a few other things, mostly some cleaning up. But it will be great for having a vegetable garden. It has over 25 fruit trees! Yum. So, at least the grocery bill will go down.We made a serious offer today. Hoping they will take it.

Fireworks Get Us Again

We had our annual fight with fireworks and Aslan last night. He did
better than usual. Didn't destroy the bathroom like before. We know
better now. However, eventhough we drugged him pretty well, he broke
the gate to his kennel. I think this is # 3 for him. Guess we'll be
shopping for a new one today. They don't seem to make any that are
stronger than him.

4th of July

We are at the park getting ready to eat. Connie, Liz and her friend
Mayra walked off to buy some grub. Lots of local non-profits sell food
here. I should check into how our church or school could do it next
year. They must make good money I imagine.

La Mirada does such a good job at community events. There are thossnds
here but the park is 91 acres, so it isn't crowded. They have police
patrolling on horseback, segways, and bikes. There's a very good live
band as well. They have games set up for the kids like 3 legged races,
wiffle ball, and sack races. Then, of Cousy will be a great fireworks
show. It's always good. I don't think La Mirada does anything that
isn't good, sometimes. They plan so well.

Elizabeth at park

I took Elizabeth to a park near the house we are currently looking at
buying. She was happy because it has swings. It has two play areas,
one for toddlers and one for bigger kids. It is .3 miles from the new
house.

Kitchen

I like the kitchen. It has the stove in the middle. Connie liked the
double oven. Lots of counter space! Finally I can use my green thumb.

Front of latest house

This house has a 3 car garage. I could have one section for a ceramics
studio. Yes! It has 220 in the garage somewhere so I can fire up the
kiln.

The house is 5 bedroom, so we have a place for mom if she ever needs
it. That bedroom has an attached bathroom, which she'll like.

It has a gorgeous backyard with a gazeebo with built in barbeque and
sound system. Also a balcony off the master bedroom.

It has a good sized room I'll use as an office. The kitchen has the
widest counters I've ever seen. Its a good sized living room with a
formal dining room on one side and a kitchen eating space on the other
side.

Almost no grass so I can cut the lawn myself. Mostly just plants along
the side. Has one lemon tree and I think an orange tree.

View from home

Still looking for a new home. This is the fanciest yet, but also the
most beautiful. Has a view of Catalina island on a clear day. Once a
year. LOL

He's Off!

The eagle has begun to soar. Zack left at about 2:30 yesterday with Sargent Torres. They were off to do his run, his last qualifying event-an 8 minute mile- and then they were going to the Raddison for the night and he will ship out today or tomorrow. The hardest part is that we will have no contact with him in boot camp. He can write us letters but that is all for a few weeks and then he'll be allowed a 5 minute call on Sundays, but I don't think every Sunday.

Zack seemed mostly excited and a bit nervous. He was excited about the physical part, but then he saw some stuff on TV about the Marines and got cold feet for a while, but I think he'll be fine. He is pretty much into competition. Much more so than I was. I think that will give him extra umphh. He always does great if there is a contest of some kind and usually will win.

So, no news on him for a while I guess. Pretty quiet here now. We'll keep you posted.

Bob