Archive for December, 2009

Ocean Panorama at Point Vicente

Yesterday, while we were taking our walk along the path at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, I imaged several adjacent, overlapping views of the horizon from south to northwest. I ’stitched’ the images into a single panoramic image. Click on the small panorama below to open in the image viewer. Use the scroll bars in the image viewer to scan across the image.

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Visiting Point Vicente

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Today, we went for a walk along the cliffs at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. It was an absolutely beautiful, clear day. We saw Santa Barbara Island, pelicans, Catalina Island and a couple of fin whales spouting offshore. We almost had the place to ourselves except for a few whale watchers up on the observation deck. Bear always enjoys the walk and she did today, too.

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Mom’s Christmas Amaryllis

This past October, we were in the Phoenix, Arizona area getting ready to head home after a nice vacation. We stopped at a Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of travel items when I spotted a stack of amaryllis bulbs in boxes - you know, the early Christmas gift package. I bought one to bring home and give to my Mom to grow for the holidays.

Today, we went for a visit and saw the results of her efforts. Click on this image to enlarge.

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Good Visibility Indicator

isthmus-mainland.jpgVerna and I like to visit the area around Point Vicente, especially when the visibility is good. We like to look across the channel towards Catalina Island and up and down the coastline when you can actually see them.

A quick way to check whether the visibility is good enough, is to visit the Catalina Two Harbors Webcam. On the sidebar next to the image of the harbor there is a list of points to zoom on. I clicked on the “Ship Rock” zoom select to get the image on the right. In this image, not only can you see the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the mainland, but you can also see the mountains beyond. Click on the image to see a larger version.

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Crock Pot Roast

pot-roast.jpgThis morning we got up and spent a few moments in the kitchen chopping veggies and getting a three-pound beef tenderloin roast ready for the crock pot. We turned it on and let it go all day until time to get the roast out to rest and make the gravy.

Bottom line: this was an AWESOME way to prepare a medium-sized beef roast. The roast, itself, was cooked to perfection, virtually falling apart as I carved servings out of it. The vegetables were tender and flavorful and Verna’s gravy was the best in the world.

I am the luckiest man on the planet. Click on the split image above to see the roast before and after the crock pot treatment.

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Rainy Weekend

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Wow. It poured a couple of times today. We have a little flooding on the patio, so when the Princess has to go out, we use the front lawn. I had the umbrella, but the rain didn’t seem to bother her - which is strange ’cause she hates water.

Anyhow, I made a panoramic image of the street as a wave of showers was passing through. Click on the image above to see the full-sized panorama.

Given the nasty weather, it’s a good thing we’re having comfort food later.

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Two Roses

Today I added some Orange Unique roses to the vase where the Vendella roses are still fresh. Very nice. Click on the image below to enlarge.

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