World Steel Challenge Piru CA 2010

This was our fourth year at Piru CA where Mr C shot in the World Steel Challenge. The range is located about 15 minutes Northwest of Magic Mountain, half-way between Lake Piru and the town of Piru. As usual it was hot, dry, and dusty, a far cry from what we are used to here on Whidbey Island so we both were feeling quite wilted from the heat, but we made it through. Thank goodness for air conditioned vehicles and hotel rooms.
Every year at the event I have said "next year I will shoot this match" But when the time came around I chickened out. Next year I do intend on shooting and will certainly have to put in some practice time before doing so.
We enjoyed re-connecting with friends from past years, making new friends, and watching the best in the world compete.
The pictures in the slide show of our squad members, 'on the move' are taken as they shoot 'Outer limits' not one of the most liked stages by many competitors.

THIS TIME WE ARE GOING FOR SURE

Last week at this time, we were ready to leave for California, but there was a major glitch in our plans, but to day we are ready. I did make use of my down time last week, and managed to get some yard work done and a few chores around the house which need attending to.
I checked the weather for Piru, where we will be spending two days outdoors at the range, and it will be in the high 90's, better than 118 + degrees it has been in past years. Mr C is competing in the World Steel Challenge match.

A NICE WEEKEND WITH A RANT THROWN IN

First comes the nice part. Early Saturday morning we drove the freeway and took the first of two ferry rides to get to the range in Silverdale where we had a good, but warm day shooting a fun steel match. After the match we enjoyed dinner with friends at one of our favorite restaurants in the area, then around 5pm we went to another friend's home where a block party was in progress.

Here, under the shade of a very large tree, was more food and beverages set out to enjoy. I especially liked the wonderful very cold margaritas, which certainly hit the spot on this very hot day. I drank one or two, or was that three, who was counting ? and felt quite relaxed *grin* Thank goodness we had taken our RV and parked it in the yard, so we did not have to make the long drive home.

The neighbors had built the stage specially for the band, which played for our entertainment until about 9:45pm.

This morning, Sunday, I was up early and strolled down to the dock, where I sat on a bench to enjoy the tranquility of the morning, before the first boats pulling water skiers made noise. The photo is taken looking back up to wards the house.

The water lilies growing near the dock were starting to come out. They sure are pretty.

There were many dragonflies flitting here and there, and one happened to stop and hover right in front of me, almost as though posing for the camera.

RANT TIME
When we left Silverdale this morning, we decided to drive to Port Townsend and try to get on the ferry there, instead of driving to catch the Kingston ferry then more driving on the busy freeway to catch the Mukilteo Ferry back to the island. We knew that most people make reservations for the crossing, but we also knew that they do leave a little room for standby travelers, so we crossed our fingers and hoped to get on one of the crossings at Port Townsend.
As we approached the ferry dock at Port Townsend, traveling in the lane designated for ferry traffic only, we saw one of the ferry personnel sitting on a bicycle by the curb, in the little bit of shade offered by a planter full of flowers hanging from a lamp post. He sure had a surly look on his face as he motioned us forward so he could speak to us, telling us in a snappish voice, that we may be on the 3:45 ferry or the 5: 45 one, and to pull forward behind the vehicle in front of us. As we moved forward, Mr C and I looked at each other and commented on his demeanor.
Anyhow, we sat there in the heat and waited, then as the ferry finally approached the dock, the gentleman in the vehicle directly in front of us, stepped out of his vehicle obviously with the intention of speaking to the SFW who was approaching on his bicycle. As the SFW came abreast of the open window on my side of the RV the gentleman waiting spoke to the SFW who completely ignored him and went on down the road and onto the dock. Mr C and I were outraged at SFW's rudeness and called to the gentleman who had tried to speak to SFW. All the gentleman wanted to ask, was how likely was the possibility of making the next ferry. We said to him that earlier on, we had not been impressed with the SFW's behavior, so the gentleman, not knowing which, or if he would be on a ferry anytime soon, decided to pull out of the ferry line, drive back the way he had already come, to return home by a longer route.
By this time the ferry had docked so we were able to pull forward, pay our fare and pull onto the dock to wait in the standby lane. Gee! guess who, with a surly face, was there impatiently motioning us forward to park as close as possible to the vehicle in front. This time I knew Mr C had had enough of the jerk as he climbed out of our RV to confront the SFW. Mr C asked the SFW his name, and the SFW put out his hand expecting a handshake. I chuckled to myself when Mr C did not offer his hand in return, instead explaining very firmly how displeased we were at the treatment the gentleman in front of us received from SFW Of course, SFW tried to make good with an apology, but he was apologising to the wrong people. I did not hear the rest of the ahem! conversation between my honey and SFW but I know Mr C certainly got his point across.
Then as we waited for the next ferry, we wondered if we had really ticked the SFW off and he would retaliate by not boarding us on the ferry There is a sign on the dock which states something like,vehicles may not be loaded in order etc. etc. Anyhow, all worked out as we did manage to get on the next ferry and make it back to our home, and we do have the name of SFW, so we just may make a phone call to the Washington State Ferry authorities, to lodge a complaint on this SFW who needs to work on his people skills. Dang it anyway, we, the taxpayers, are paying his exorbitant wages, so a little respect and customer service, is certainly not much to ask for.

WHEN YOU ARE HANDED LEMONS,

YOU MAKE LEMONADE!!!!!!
Yesterday I dragged suitcases upstairs, sorted clothing and toiletries ready to go into the suitcases, and knew I had everything ready for our trip to California today.
This morning early I had to make a quick run into the grocery store, and when i came back Mr C walked toward me down the hallway and said "I have bad news" my heart dropped, fearing I was going to hear something about family or friends, instead he said that we are supposed to be in California next week, not this week.
Well to make it a short version of the story, Mr C got on the phone, and good fortune smiled on us, and we have seats on the plane for next week, (better seats then before) changed the shuttle taking us to Sea tac to next week, changed the rental car reservation, and called the hotel to check on the days they have us booked. We are really puzzled why the hotel did not question the dates we had booked (11th through 15th) as they offered a group rate to all the folks involved in the Steel Challenge match being held for the week of 18th through 22nd. Duh!
Anyhow the lemons are being made into lemonade, and I will spend time in my garden catching up on chores.

MONDAY HUMOR

Cartoons for twisted animal people.

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

A TASTE OF SUMMER DURING THE LONG DREARY WINTER MONTHS.

My favorite local supermarket, has both yellow and white sweet corn on sale, three for $1. I bought 18 ears of corn this morning, and wrapped two to a package, in butcher's wrapping paper.

18 ears of corn, neatly stacked in the freezer.
I like to cook corn in the microwave then eat it slathered in light butter, salt and white pepper. How do you cook and serve your sweet corn?

SWEET YESTERDAY, SWEETER TODAY

When I arrived home today I found a box on the counter addressed to me. Immediately I thought this has to be some mistake, as I had not ordered anything. There was no return address on the label, so full of curiosity I cut open the tape holding the box together.
Imagine my surprise and delight when I found I had won a So Easy Pantry Makeover Kit from the Almond Board of California, and celebrity chef, Ellie Krieger.
Included in the kit, is a reusable shopping bag, a set of space-saving storage containers, labels and a marker, a bag of of almonds and two snack tins to hold some of them, another bag of sliced almonds, and a wonderful Ellie Krieger cookbook.
I finally remembered I had entered the Almond Board's sweepstakes sometime last April and had forgotten about it. I do so love these unexpected surprises, perhaps I should buy a lotto ticket today.

LIFE IS SO SWEET WHEN...............

You are sitting on the front step very early in the morning, and you feel something at your feet. You look down and there is one of the semi-tame rabbits taking a little nip of the fabric of your robe, and giving it three or four quick little tugs to get your attention. You really have to see this to appreciate the humor of the situation. Our couple of semi-tame bunnies are used to me taking out a piece of bread for them in the morning, and this time I did not have any with me,so rabbit was letting me know he/she was ready for it's treat.

Life is sweet when you have a breakfast of juicy fruits, a piece of whole grain cranberry and walnut toast, smothered in peanut butter and manuka honey, from New Zealand.

It is made even sweeter, when you can cut a bouquet of flowers to enjoy in your home.
The icing on the cake is when you have someone in your life, to share all the sweetness and adventures with, as I do. Check out some of our ummm! adventures of the past week or so HERE

Yes indeed, there is much to be thankful for.

YOU THINK THIS IS A MESS NOW

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT TWO DAYS AGO.

I have a plan you see! Our front deck gets all the afternoon sun, and to think of sitting out there late in the day is madness, we would be cooked to a crisp in no time flat.
Our carport is large enough to house two vehicles, and as we only park one in there,
( mainly because there was too much junk) I have decided to take a large part of the left back corner and turn it into an outdoor room of sorts.
I spent most of the weekend getting rid of a whole lot of junk, reorganizing my gardening supplies and relocating some of them in the pump house, that is until I get a gardening shed. There is a story behind the pump house too. When I opened the door, I was confronted by water all over the concrete floor, I hated to go tell Mr C , as we have had nothing but mishaps this past month. First we had a flood in the basement, then a tire on our minivan blew out when we were on the freeway, now a leak in one of the tanks storing water in the pump house. Sheesh!
Anyhow the pump house dilemma was mostly taken care of, there is still a small leak to be fixed, some of my gardening tools and pots are now in the pump house, and more things to go in there when the other leak is repaired. We still need to get the large logs of firewood, sitting in front of the carport, split and stacked, and find a home for some of the other things under the carport, then I can begin to create the outdoor living room.
I have a lovely outdoor rug, one of those which can be hosed down to clean it, to place on the concrete floor, some chairs, a large old cooler I can cover with a colorful piece of outdoor cloth, then use the cooler/table to store cushions etc. in, and to put finishing touches to the whole area, I will place potted plants here and there.
I will keep you updated on my progress with a post now and again. I plan on taking my time with this project, as I have discovered I am not as young as I thought I was, at least that is what my sore, tired body is telling me this morning. *grin*

IT FEELS SO GOOD THIS MORNING

A fog had rolled in this morning, bringing relief from the heat.

THIS 'N' THAT

Not a whole lot going on around here. I have been wandering around outside at 6am this morning, coffee in hand and looking at what is happening in my garden. The temperatures are nice and cool this early, the juvenile bald eagle sitting in the top of a tree across the pasture from our place, is screeching for attention from his parents. It seems the parents leave their young alone for a while to encourage the youngsters to go search out food for themselves.
As I wandered our yard, our little semi-tame bunny came hopping up to me, and followed me all around knowing I would eventually go back indoors to fetch a piece of bread for it. When I finally placed half a stale hot dog bun on the front steps, the bunny picked it up and hopped over under one of our vehicles to enjoy the treat.
Mr C and I are off to Silverdale today, to shoot in a Fun Steel Match. I really enjoy going to this particular club to meet all our friends, then after the match several of us go to a local restaurant for a meal.
Well, all of you have a nice weekend, and stay out of the heat, and drink plenty of water.

A quick trip before the mad rush of the 4th of July celebrations.

Friday morning we drove East across Snoqualmie Pass to Ellensburg, and from there South to Yakima, and then East a bit more to Moxee, WA. and the Sun Valley Gun Club's range. How nice it was to find some sunshine. We planned on shooting the match on Saturday and heading back home right after the match, so as to avoid most of the crush of 4th of July traffic.

Mr C enjoying a cool soda while sitting on a bench on the skeet shooting range, just in front of where we parked our RV for the night.

Looking back from the clubhouse towards our RV.

One of the resident birds in the clubhouse, Angel, as the bird is named, is supposed to have quite a vocabulary, but did not utter a word all the time we were there. There was another little cockatiel who also talks, but also did not have anything to say, but it sure could wolf whistle at the ladies. I thought is so cute when I went over to the bird's cage and it would whistle at me.

The clubhouse, one of the nicest we have come across in our travels to different ranges, is surrounded by groomed irrigated lawns, another feature which is unusual when it comes to shooting facilities.

A view of the clubhouse from near where we parked the RV.

There is a very nice view from the second story of the clubhouse.

Looking out across the valley you see orchards, wheat, or some such crop and also lots of dry scrub land which is not irrigated. If it wasn't for the irrigation, all this land would be dry semi-desert.

Two of the youngest shooters who happened to be on our squad. These lads were very good competitors. One of the boys had trouble with his gun, he calmly dealt with the problem, then went about the business of finishing the string. A sure sign he had listened very carefully to the lessons of his father, and followed through.

"Shooter ready." ...... buzz, (from timer) bam, bam, bam,bam, bam.

We had a wonderful time at the match, made some new friends, and were back on the island around 7:70 pm last evening.

GREEDY SQUIRREL

WHERE ON EARTH IS IT?

Mr C has just upgraded my PC to Windows 7, and so far I am liking it. I have a bee in my bonnet about changing the header on my garden blog, but to create a new one I need to find the CD and download a program that was previously on the computer before Windows 7. Hmmmm perhaps it is in one of my desk drawers.
Well two hours later, four drawers have been emptied of their contents, old papers shredded, other things rubber banded or in ziplock baggies, a bag of rubbish to put in the garbage, and still no CD.
The CD was used a couple of years ago to install the program, so it could be anywhere. Here I was patting myself on the back for being organized, I guess I am not as smart as I thought I was!!
Well, now I have started searching for the elusive CD I may as well re-organize the whole room, I know the darn thing will turn up when I least expect it. Now where is the CD? I searched all over the place and could not locate it. BUT I do have four lovely neat drawers, I can find anything in at a glance *grin*

REFLECTIONS

It wasn't until I removed my sun glasses, as I sat in the boat at Banks Lake,that I noticed how lovely the reflections were on the mirrored surface of the water.

BANKS LAKE TRIP - PART 2

We had been at the resort just a short time, and I was in the RV setting things in order for our stay, when the most delicious aroma wafted in through the open window.
I had to go and investigate who was cooking something so mouthwatering.

Wayne & son Mike, our neighbors, had their dinner on the grill, and what a dinner it was going to be.

Drool, just look at those humongous steaks, slobber! excuse me while I wipe my chin.

Mike, watching over dinner to make sure it is done to perfection.

This is our little RV. Mr C calls it our 'land yacht'

Camp is all set up, and we ready to enjoy some fishing, relaxing and good times with our Fishin' Club friends.

Looking through the back window of the RV

We love this camping spot, as we are able to pull our boat up right onto the beach, and tie it to a tree right behind the RV. It is so convenient when loading and unloading our fishing gear, snacks and cooler, before and after a days outing.

Looking down the beach towards the docks and office/tackle shop.

A view of our campsite from outside the log boom.

The office/tackle shop where you can equip yourself for a days fishing, buy the basic groceries, an ice cream bar, gas up your boat, buy some clothing, and much more.

I can hear the guys saying "so much stuff, so little time!"

I always check out the clothing, and this time I bought a nice top, which just happened to be on the clearance rack.

Three lovely ladies in the office/tackle shop always ready to answer any questions and help in any way to ensure your stay at the resort is a happy one.

Mr C on his way back to our campsite with a tub of night crawlers in hand. I release any we don't use into my garden, when we return home.

Banks Lake trip - part one

Come along with us as we travel to Banks Lake Washington. We left early Thursday June 10th on a cool rainy morning. We were hoping to find some sunshine in eastern Washington, and Saturday dawned bright with not a cloud in sight. It was a lovely day in the mid 70'sF and after all the cold wet dreary days, we have had to endure here on Whidbey Island, the warmth felt so good.
The slide show starts on the western side of the Cascade Range as we started our drive over the North Cascade highway Our six and a half hour drive took us through lush wooded areas, up over the Cascades where there was still a lot of snow, through miles and miles of sagebrush covered land, past orchards and a lot of other varied terrain. At times we drove alongside raging rivers, through heavy downpours, then into the sunshine, and back into rain, but it was clear by the time we reached our destination.
The photos were taken as we drove along, so some of them are not the best, but I hope you enjoy the slide show anyway.

Steel Challenge, Ephrata

We finally found some sunshine over in Ephrata on Saturday, when we were there to compete in the WA State Steel Challenge match. Of course, our trip didn't go without some drama, which almost seems to be the norm for us. Check it out HERE

The Super Squad
This is what we called ourselves. Six super people, having a super time.

John shooting 'outer limits'

Stacey stepping out on 'outer limits'

Keewee leaving the first shooter's box on 'outer limits.
This is not one of my favorite stages.

Debra as she leaves the first shooter's box on 'outer limits'


Teresa shooting 'outer limits.

One two three steps and Mr C will be in the second shooter's box on 'Outer limits'

John being timed by Debra.

Mr C knocking paint of the steel targets.

Stacey has a good firm grip

Teresa waiting for the buzzer so she can commence firing.

John sending some lead down range.

Debra with her sweet shooting revolver.

John taking a little break.

I thought I hadn't shot all that well, but it was enough to come home with an award for Top Lady in rimfire and 19th overall. Mr C was 2nd in rimfire Optics and was Top Senior. Debra was second in rimfire iron. So our 'super squad' did quite well.

Keewee


Patrick


Mr C

John