The flames of the Sand Fire light up the smoke coming over the hill behind our home. It looks really close, but is actually a large hill away. Bags are packed and we are waiting for an evacuation order. None so far.

When we woke up today, the sunlight was an eerie orange. At Oakridge Mobile Home Park, we had all seen this before when the park burned down in 2008. By the afternoon, the residents were getting pretty edgy. Many of us packed bags and prepared for an evacuation order. Luckily, by the evening, the sky…

There is a rather large and beautiful cemetery tucked away in the San Fernando Valley, not too far from where we live. We have always heard that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are buried there along with several other stars. With the help of the Internet and the built in GPS on our phones, we…

Being home for a week between APSI’s, Ron and I went on a little adventure. We visited the historic Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. While it is a fun place to see, we really went to have dinner with old friends, Mary Ellen and Skip.

My third summer workshop was held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Yet again, a wonderful group of teachers. Some were brand new teachers and some were “seasoned” veterans. I picked up some new ideas. These workshops are exhausting, but fun to teach.

I had a large, friendly group of teachers to work with at Texas Christian University. The weather was fairly hot and humid, but we stayed cool indoors.