History And Murals Of Santa Paula, CA

Today my neighbor Jean and I drove up to Santa Paula, CA to check out the sculptures and murals around the old town district. We parked at the old train depot and started our walk around town. Santa Paula, CA is located in the Heritage Valley in Ventura County. It is a small farming town dating back to the 1890s.

Our first top was to check out the sculptures of 2 motorcycle officers who bravely road all over town the night the St. Francis Dam collapsed up-river in the Santa Clarita Valley. The wall of water was heading straight for Santa Paula and the officers went from house to house warning people of the danger that was heading their way.

We then checked out the Migrant Farm Workers memorial.

We then started to find the murals that are painted on the sides of the old buildings that depict the history of Santa Paula.

On our way back to the car, we came upon a huge fig tree near the train depot and then we looked down the tracks that headed for home.

Friday At Towsley

Today was a beautiful day in SoCal. We've been in the middle of a winter heatwave so I thought I'd take advantage of it and take my dog Hiker on a hike to Towsley Canyon here in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Towsley is across the valley from us and is one of my very favorite spots to hike and take photos. We had not been there for quite a while.

Approaching the burned oak tree just past the Ed Davis Park

As us you can see it was a gorgeous day

Approaching The Narrows

There was actually a little bit of water in the creek. We took a rest in The Narrows.

Heading back down the canyon

I Will Return When I Have Something Interesting To Add

I May Have Changed My Mind

I may have changed my mind about deleting this blog.

For several years, I posted every day...sharing what Hiker and I were up to.

I'm thinking about keeping the blog online, but only post to it when Hiker and I have a special day to share, like a great walk, or a nice hike. Or I'll share day trips I make with friends with information and pictures.

It won't be an "every day" blog, but I'll still be here.

Hugs,

Kay

Thank You

I have decided to stop posting to this blog and eventually I will delete it. I post the same blog every day on Facebook if you are on FB you can read it there.

I want to thank everyone who has been following me on this blog for so many years.

I hope you will continue to follow my other blogs and please leave your comments.

Here are the links to them:

Kay's Fotoblog

Take A Hike

Picturesque Vasquez Rocks

4GottenFotos

Rainy Day

There are some mornings that I feel I could just lay in bed all day because the sheets, pillow and covers feel soooooo good. But Hiker and I got up just before 8 am.

I awoke early in the morning to the sound of light rain but when we got up it had stopped raining. It started again around 8:30, it started raining again and the wind started kicking up as they had predicted it would.

By 12:45 my personal weather station was showing .80” of rain at my house. The wind was gusting up to 18 mph. This rain should help grow the grass seeds I planted last Wednesday.

Since it was raining, we staying inside all day. I did some laundry. Hiker slept.

Sleepy Saturday

Didn’t really do anything today. We got up around 8 am, had some breakfast, did a load of laundry. Started out as a “partly cloudy” day but by late afternoon, it was getting very cloudy. Supposedly there is a good sized storm coming in later tonight and tomorrow.

Watched a TV movie on The Hallmark Channel and then decided to watch a movie on Netflix. I picked one called “Cat. 8” which was a 2013 TV movie about a solar flare that was created by a government weapon and it hits the earth causing all kinds of problems. It also causes all of the satellites to lose power and start falling to earth and destroying everything.

Still no rain, but then they did say it would hit tonight sometime.

Short Hike Today

Went on a dog walk with Jean and her 3 dogs this morning. It was starting to feel pretty warm by the time we finished our walk.

Decided to give myself a haircut this morning. My hair was getting to a point where it was driving me crazy.

By 11:30 am it was already 80° and very breezy. Almost felt like a day in late spring. They are still telling us that we are going to get a pretty good rain storm this Sunday.

After lunch, Hiker and I drove up to Vasquez Rocks and hiked around a little. There was a sign at the entrance that a film crew was in the park, but I didn’t see any cameras or anything, so I don’t know where they were filming. They film a lot of movies, TV shows and commercials up there.

Was in the 70’s here again today with a mostly cloudy sky.

Got Out For A Short Afternoon Walk

Hiker and I got up early this morning because the Puronics Technician was coming between 9-10 am to service my whole-house water filter. He arrived right at 9 am. I love it when people arrive when they say they will. Very nice middle-aged gentleman named Gregg. He was finished flushing out the carbon and refilling the tank in about 45 minutes. He told me I’m ready for another 3 years, maybe more if I wanted to go longer, but they do recommend to have it done every 3 years.

Hiker did her job while he was here…barking and snarling at him through the patio slider. She was protecting me and her home from the “strange man”. He told me he was a dog lover and has 2 dogs of his own.

Was a beautiful day here in SoCal. Blue sky, bright sunshine and 80° at noon according to my personal weather station on my patio.

After lunch, Hiker and I drove over to Central Park in Saugus for a short walk. I told her that I was going to let her decide where our walk would go. I just followed along behind her, holding on to her leash. We walked almost a mile when she decided she wanted to head back to the car, so I just followed along. I figured she might be getting tired or maybe her hip was starting to bother her a little bit.

I’ve been having trouble sending photos to Facebook from my iPhone lately. I sent one from the park when we were walking and I noticed it hadn’t shown up on my FB page when I got home. I’ve had that happen before and I have to resend the photo. I might have to go back to using Instagram to send them to FB.

Here is the photo:

Yard Work Day

Got up early this morning because Jean wanted me to go over to her house as she had more questions about her new iPhone and her new laptop.

After we got finished, Hiker and I came home. I paid a couple of bills and ran weekly scans on my computers then settled down to have lunch and watch “The Young And The Restless”.

After lunch, I went outside and put the new grass seed on the bare spots in my yard and then covered them with fertilizer. Today was a “no watering” day, but I turned it on for just a few minutes to get the fertilizer wet so it would go down in to the seeds. I’ll have to make sure my lawn guys don’t run their mower and blowers over the newly seeded area on Saturday.

I was pooped after working in the yard.

It was overcast here all day but it got up to 81° here today.

Tomorrow morning, I have a technician coming to the house between 9 am and 10 am to service my whole-house water filter. I hope he arrives on time. I hate waiting for service people.

High Voltage

Mild and sunny this morning when Hiker and I got out of bed. Had a little bit of breakfast and then I headed over to the Home Depot to pick up some steer manure and grass seed to repair the bare spots in my lawn. I looked at Lowes yesterday and they only had organic manure and the least expensive was $13 for a small bag. I got 3 large bags of regular old steer manure at Home Depot for less than $4. They were having their parking lot repaved so I had to maneuver all around the area to find a place close enough to park near the garden area so I could load my car.

Last night was warmer than it has been. Around 8 pm last night, Hiker wanted to go outside and lay on the patio. I had the slider open a little and I started to hear a strange sound. Hiker perked up and started looking around. I realized it was the sound of a frog or toad croaking. Never did see it, but it must be a big one from the sound of its croak.

I met with DeDee, Linda and Jane (three of my widowed friends) for lunch at Rattler’s BBQ today. While I was waiting for them to arrive, I noticed a helicopter flying over very low with a cable hanging down and then I noticed there was a man at the end of the cable. Seems they have been working on the high voltage towers all week and they put the workers on top of the towers by flying them there with the helicopter. Those guys must be really brave. First they are working with high voltage on a very high tower and they dangle from a cable from the helicopter going to and from the top of the tower. Amazing.

Was a very beautiful day here today. In the low 70’s with a very blue sky. We might get some rain on Sunday. 

Nice, Sunny Day

Took Hiker on a dog walk with Jean and her dogs this morning for the first time in over a week. She did very well. Didn’t seem to have any problems with her hip. We decided not to have a play date for the dogs because I still want Hiker to rest and she plays so rough with the other dogs that I worry that she will pull the muscle again.

I went out to run some errands this morning. Had to put gas in the car after our long drive out to the Indian Museum yesterday. I also had a $10 gift coupon from Kohl’s that they sent me for my birthday last week, but I didn’t see anything I really wanted. The coupon is good until January 31^st, but I’m not going to worry if I don’t use it because I’m not going to settle for something I don’t really want just to use it.

I also had plans to go to Lowes to pick up a small bag of grass seed and some fertilizer to fix the patches of lawn that died, but they didn’t have any inexpensive bags of fertilizer. All they had was organic stuff and it’s very expensive. So I’ll just head over to Home Depot later this week to pick some up. They usually have exactly what I want.

Was a beautiful day today. Thought About taking Hiker over to the park, but since I had her walking this morning, I didn’t want to over-do her exercise while she may still be healing from her muscle injury.

My brother Ron called me from northern California and said it was nice and sunny up there to also. They say we “may” have a chance of rain this weekend.

A Trip To The Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park

It was in the 30s here this morning, but I’m not complaining. I’d much rather be here in SoCal than back east in all of that snow, ice and flooding.

The big, black clouds that were in our sky late yesterday afternoon blew over quickly and by the time it was dark, the full moon was shining brightly.

My neighbor Jean and I headed up to the Antelope Valley around 10 am to visit the AV Indian Museum. I’ve been wanting to visit this place for quite a while. It is way out in the middle of nowhere. Seemed like we drove for miles after we got off the freeway. But it as well worth it. Very interesting place and great scenery for photos. I will be posting those as soon as I get them uploaded to my computer.

On the way home, we stopped in Agua Dulce to have lunch at the Sweet Water Café. I heard they changed owners and I found the food not as good and the service a lot slower than it used to be.

Hiker was glad to see me when I got home. After she greeted me, she went outside to lie in the sun.

Hiker Seems Better

Hiker is finally starting to act more like her old self. Last night she kept getting up on the sofa next to me while I was watching TV. She wanted to play and have me scratch her belly. She also came to bed with me right away instead of hanging out in the front bedroom by herself.

This morning we were in the bedroom when I was making the bed. She actually went to the steps and sniffed them, so I went over to them and “talked” to her about them. She actually tried to go up them to get onto the bed. She was a little nervous about it, but she made it. However, she didn’t want to come back down them. Instead, she jumped off the bed, which is what I really don’t want her to do. But I praised her and loved on her and told her how good she was and how brave she was to go up the stairs. Maybe eventually she’ll use them.

It was mostly cloudy here this morning when we got up. I made some eggs for breakfast then did some laundry.

We never did get the rain that the predicted. In fact, the sun was out most of the day and it was actually a nice day outside.

Hope the weather is nice tomorrow so my neighbor Jean and I can go to the Antelope Valley Indian Museum.

I Was A "Techie" Today

Hiker was acting strange again last night. She didn’t come to bed until about 3 am. Ever since she did whatever she did when she jumped off my bed and started screaming last week, she has not acted like herself. She seems more skittish than before. I think she needs a “dog whisperer”.

We got out of bed around 6 am. Jean wanted me to come over and help her set up her new laptop and to set her up on iTunes and iCloud so she can save her photos from her new iPhone 6. We were over there for 4 hours. For some reason I was having all kinds of trouble getting things to work on her new computer. Never had these kinds of problems when I set up my iTunes and iClouds 5 years ago. I guess they could have changed things in the past 5 years and that could have been part of the problem.

I finally got her photos to show on her iCloud but there are still some other problems I need to work out on it.

It got up to 73° here today, but still felt chilly for some reason. It was mostly cloudy so that could have been the reason. They say we might get some rain tomorrow, but if we do, it won’t be much. Hoping Sunday is a nice day because Jean and I are planning on driving out the Antelope Valley Indian Museum that day.

Clean House Day

Had trouble dragging my lazy butt out of bed this morning. Finally got up around 8 am.

I needed to go get my lotto tickets. I had considered walking down to the store by myself because I still don’t want to take Hiker on any long walks until after this weekend. I noticed that she cried a little bit last night when she finally came in and jumped up on the bed. The pet steps I ordered for her arrived today, so I hope I can get her to learn how to use them. So far she wants nothing to do with them. She has actually jumped over them to get on or off the bed.

Anyway, as I said, I had thought about walking down to the store alone. It’s almost 2 miles down there and back. But then Hiker looked at me with those brown eyes and I know how much she loves to ride in the car, so I lifted her into the car and we drove down to the store to buy them.

When we got home, I lifted her out of the car and what does that little stinker do? She turned around and got right back into the car. I have taught her to jump up to the floor of the car first and then jump up into the seat and that was what she did. I guess she wanted to go for another ride since she’s been cooped up in the house for almost a week, except for going outside to go potty.

I finally got around to doing the housework I’ve been putting off all week. Mopped all of my hard floors and vacuumed the carpet.

Hiker kept wanting me to go out into the back yard with her, so we went out there for a little while. She kept wanting me to play ball with her, but I’m still nervous about her running too much. Although this morning, when I sprayed her with some flea killer/repellant, when I was done, she ran around the house like a crazy dog.

It Was A "Do Nothing" Day

Today was pretty much a “do nothing” day. We got up. We had breakfast.

I went over to Sam’s Club this morning for just a few things, but those few things cost me over $100.00 because a couple of them were a little more “high priced” items.

It was dark and cloudy when we got up and when I headed over to Sam’s, but later in the morning the sun came out and it was actually in the low 70s here.

I was somewhat surprised when we actually got some rain yesterday because they kept saying on the news that we would have clouds but probably no rain.

Hiker seems to be getting better each day. She doesn’t cry at all now when she jumps up on the sofa or bed. I ordered some pet steps for her on Amazon and I’m going to try to teach her how to use them to get on and off the bed. My bed is 25” high and when she jumps down from the bed, I’m always afraid she’s going to reinjure herself or break something. I just hope when she runs out of the anti-inflammatory pills that they pain won’t come right back.

Ever since the night she jumped off the bed and hurt herself, she seems a little afraid to go in and get up on the bed. She uses to always go to bed before I did. Now she is not coming to bed until after I’m asleep.

I think she’s getting cabin fever. I went out into the back yard with her and she started running around in circles along the perimeter of the yard like a turbo dog, so it seems her hip muscle is not hurting her much right now.

It's Raining!

Today was Tuesday, so that meant lunch with my widowed girlfriends. It was very cool and cloudy all morning. My brother Ron in northern California emailed that it was raining up there and I was hoping we’d get some down here.

Met the girls at Red Robin for lunch and when I left the restaurant, it was pouring down rain.

I’m trying to get my whole house water filter serviced. The company who manufactures it called me and left a voicemail yesterday wanting to make an appointment to service it this Friday, but I promised Jean I’d help Jean with her new laptop this Friday. I thought the price they quoted me was a little high so I called the company who serviced it 3 years ago. They told me that they no longer service the filter I have, but that since they did it 3 years ago, they would check with their technicians and see if any of them would be willing to come and do it. They are supposed to call me back today.

In the meantime, I emailed the manufacturer and asked if they could come down any on their price as I’m a senior citizen and need a break. They lowered it another $25, but it’s still higher than I was hoping for. I’m waiting to hear from the company here in town that serviced it last time to see if they will do it. If not, I’ll have to contact the manufacturer to make an appointment with them.

Hiker still whimpers a little now and then, if she moves the “wrong” way. If she’s still doing that this weekend, I’ll probably take her back up to the vet to have them do x-rays. But Hiker is still jumping and running around, playing with her toys, trying to get me to play. She wants me to throw a toy for her so she can chase it, but I won’t do it because I’m afraid she’ll hurt herself more.

Cloudy, Gloomy, But No Rain

Hiker and I got out of bed at 6 am this morning. We had some breakfast and then we headed over to Jean’s house because Jean wanted me to teach her a few things on her new iPhone. She is not very tech savvy about some devices but I think she is starting to understand how it all works.

She wanted me to help her set up an iTunes account and an iCloud account, but her old laptop has Windows Vista so it would not let me download and install iTunes on it. You have to have Windows 7 or higher. So she decided to go online and buy a new laptop on Best Buy, which she is going to pick up at our local store when they have it ready for her and Friday I will once again go over to her house to help her again.

It was very cloudy all day today. Was hoping for some rain, but haven’t got any when I sent this. My brother Ron said it was raining a lot up in northern California.

I made Hiker stay in the house except when she had to go to the bathroom because I’m want her hip to heal.

I spent the day going through my 4 laptops, checking all of my email address books to make sure they all match and to delete people I no longer keep in touch with. After the nasty email I received from that b***h yesterday, I want to make sure that I don’t have anyone on my daily email blog list that told me to take them off.

My Birthday

Well Hiker is resting very quietly today. She is not crying, but I can tell she doesn’t feel well because she acts like she doesn’t know what she wants to do…go outside, stay in, sit near me, stay in the other room.

I didn’t sleep well last night worrying about her. She was in the front bedroom on the futon when I went to bed. She didn’t follow me into my bedroom as she usually does, but sometime during the night, she did come in and she did jump up onto the bed and sleep with me the rest of the night. I have no idea when she came in and I have no idea if she cried when she jumped onto the bed.

So today was my birthday, and I’d like to thank everyone who sent me a birthday email or sent me a birthday message on Facebook. I could not believe how many there were. I received a cute little birthday video in an email, but there was no name attached to it, so I had no idea who to thank for it. It said it was from “your friends”, so to whoever sent it to me…Thanks!

Got three birthday calls. My friend Marla Benedict called from Oklahoma, then my friend Karren Meggitt called from Idaho and my brother Ron called me from northern California.

I am so lucky to have my family and so many friends.