Ojai - Ventura Sister Trip and Dad's Memorial Trip

 

    Yesterday, May 21 2022, Lisa and I took a trip in memory of our dad who passed away on July 30, 2013.

    We took this same route in September of 2013 in order for the two of us to do something special to say goodbye to our daddy, that post is here.

    My mom and dad were really big on road trips, just taking off with all of us kids bundled up in the back seat and seeing where the road would take us. I don't believe there was ever a plan, but maybe mom and dad did plan things and just didn't tell us, we just went with the flow because we had utter and complete trust in them and their ability to always make sure we were safe. 

    I want to remember this trip and to post it to my blog in case (God forbid) that I end up with Alzheimer's which does run in our family. Having it here means my kids and my sister will have access to it and maybe they will read me these words and show me these pictures and for a brief moment I will be me again...Alicia, the documenter of her life!

    Unlike my mom and dad, Lisa and I had a plan. We took Highway CA-33 which is a winding road through the Los Padres National Forest that reaches an elevation of  7,510'. When we took the trip shortly after dad passed away, the whole trip was so beautiful because everything was lush and green and flowering. We went again a few years later and everything was dry and brown and it made us sad. I was hoping that this trip would be better and it was! Just take a look at these gorgeous photos.

Los Padres National Forest Highway CA-33

Clouds coming over the mountains

View of the cloud cover and the mountains

My beautiful sister, my partner in crime - Lisa

Obligatory Selfie! As you can tell, it was very windy!

Happy to see flowering plants!

Downtown Ojai - We just came up and over that mountain!

    Once over the mountain we had to make a pit stop as one normally does on a long road trip, we stopped in at a local Vons Grocery Store, did our business and then ogled the aisles of wine they had, quite an expensive selection. Needless to say we did not buy any there, but the day was young!

    There was a cute little liquor store in the same shopping center and Lisa snapped a picture of the name of the store, we thought it was pretty unique! Attitude Adjustment Shoppe. We didn't stop in but plan to do so next time. 

Attitude Adjustment Shoppe 

    Just by luck we happened to find a craft store in the same shopping center. It was just the cutest store and they had so many great things for crafting and art journaling plus they had ready made items you could give or purchase for yourself. I really wanted this beautiful hand  that was carved out of wood and painted red with several Zentangle patterns on it, but it was a bit above my price range for what I wanted to spend for the day. Now I regret not buying it.

    We met a very nice art journaling instructor by the name of Carolynne who was there that day for a 3-series Art Journaling Class held on Saturday. When we told her that unfortunately we were from out of town she offered to do a special class for my sister and I on another Saturday if we wanted to drive back to Ojai. While we were there it sounded doable, however on the drive back we realized that is was a long, long way away to make the trip just to take a 3-hour Art Journaling class, but we would try to find a place in Bakersfield that offers the same thing. Sorry Carolynne, I would have loved to take the class with you, you were so sweet and gracious.

     I did buy quite a few things at this shop, they were very reasonably priced and had some items that I've not been able to find at our craft stores in Bakersfield. I will do a separate post with those items.

    From there we headed to downtown Ojai to do some sightseeing and shopping. Here's some pictures from this location, it was beautiful, cool and overcast with a slight breeze and everyone was so happy and friendly, we had a great time!

Loved this hand-painted tile on the side of a building and had to take a picture with it.

There was just beauty everywhere, Lisa in front of a fountain.

Cute little shop. I want to make a string of beads list this one.

We had to do some Wine Tasting of course. Lisa had the 2021 Syrah Rose and I tried the 2020 Roussanne, both we good, but not good enough to buy a bottle.

It was a lovely place to just sit and unwind and catch up with each other.

My pretty sister and her wine. I know she will hate her hair in the picture, but it was windy!

After our little wine tasting while we were still relaxed we did some walking around and headed into the little shops on the street. 

    Lisa and I pitched in to buy our mom this beautiful hand-crafted necklace. We know she's going to love it just because it's red!

Detail on the hand crocheted flowers with seed beads in the center.

    I'm going to do a separate post also for our time that we spent in Ventura for lunch there, so stay tuned for part two. 

Death of a Tree, Actually Two Trees

 Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast.

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray.

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair.

Upon whose bosom snow has Lain; 

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree.

by Joyce Kilmer

     Love this poem! But I have to beg God's forgiveness in that he is not the only one that can make a tree; my mom and dad were also able to make trees, not only one but four...and this weekend unfortunately I had to witness the death of two of them.

     It's with great sadness that I tell this story, but it had to be done. You see, I'm making several home repairs, maintenance and remodeling. One of the things I am doing is having a new fence installed.

     The old fence had seen better days. It had been built by my mom and dad and the years were showing up on the old gal. Windstorms, weather, rusting hinges and the fact that a car drove through the fence a few years ago were causing it to sag and I was fearful that the next good windstorm would carry it away.

     My fence guys, Bob and Danny showed me how the roots were exposed and had already cracked the existing cement slab the fence rested on and the roots were heading towards the sewer system. The decision was made before they could build the fence for me to contact a tree removal company. 

     Last Saturday, my gardener Ernesto had his crew come out and take down the two trees in question. The other two were a different species that did not grow the same way as the two coming down. They told me the separate names but I didn't write it down, all I know is that all four are non-fruit bearing pistachio trees.

     My dad was a farmer and my mom tells the story of one year at Easter, my dad took us and some friends to a beautiful spot he had found out on the ranch where we could spend the day playing underneath the Pistachio and Almond trees and the adults could hide the eggs. Mom and Dad saw the little trees growing wild near the fields so they brought them home and planted them. That was between 22 to 25 years ago, so you can imagine how big they are now. Last year I had them trimmed so this year they just blossomed. Here's a photo of the trees.

     One tree was growing inside the fence, that's the one at the far right next to the blue shed (which my mom and dad also built themselves and I'm hoping to give it a face-lift as well, stay tuned), the other is growing outside of the fence. You can see how full and lush they are, and that fence is at least 6 feet tall so they had to be at least 36 feet tall!

     This photo is a little grainy, but you can see the concrete underneath already in pieces. This was causing the inside chain link fence to bend and loosen which then loosened the wooded slats, some of the are even missing, as you can see.

     Those trees held so many memories of my dad barbequing for us all and the shade they provided year round, I could feel my dad frowning at me from Heaven, but I'm sure he would have done the same thing. I thought about digging out the parts of the root that were causing the damage but several tree removal services that came out to give me quotes assured me the trees would die. There was no other choice. 

     So my gardener Oscar gave me the lowest quote and he showed up on Saturday and I was shocked to learn that he had not brought a cherry picker or a bucket truck which is how I assumed they would take the trees down, start from the top and cut down. 

     Nope, what they did was to use a chain saw starting at the bottom, letting the trees just crash down onto the street! I don't know how they estimated which way the trees would fall or how they knew they would not hit my neighbors fence across the street, but they brought the trees down successfully. 

     Once the tree was down they quickly cut all the branches off, hurrying as it was blocking the street, then they cut the trunk into pieces that were just barely small enough for them to physically lift! Once all that was done, they use a stump grinder like the one shown below, to remove the the stump and grind the roots. And bing-bang in about 3 hours those trees were gone!

   Here's a picture my sister Lisa took from her car parked across the street. You can see the remaining two trees on the right of the picture and you can see how badly the fence looks from this angle and how badly the house needs to be painted but never fear, that's next on the list!

     Voila! Trees are gone! As sad as I am that the trees had to go it looks so much nicer now! Now I'm just waiting for my fence guys to put up the new fence and I'll share a nice new picture!

     Slowly but sure we are giving this old house a facelift. The house was actually built in 1957 and while it's had some fixes here and there, it's not had any actual major remodeling. Cross your fingers I like the end result.

Memory of Going to Work with my Dad and Penny Candy

I just saw a post on Facebook that reminded me of my dad, here's the post...

When I was little we lived on the outskirts of a teeny-tiny little town by the name of Harquhala, Arizona. My dad worked as a ranch foreman for a company there and sometimes he would take me to work with him.

My dad in his Romaine lettuce fields

I loved going to work with my dad! Just being with him and having him give me little jobs to do made me feel so grown up and loved. 

One of the best things I liked is that all his workers knew me and every time they saw me they would give me money. Not a lot of money, a nickel here, a dime there, maybe a quarter once in a while...but by the end of the day I felt like Rockefeller (I'm sure at that time I didn't even know who that was).

Sometimes in a day I would have a whole dollar or more in change. My dad would take me to the only store in this little town. It was probably called Harquahala Market, I don't really remember. What I do remember is that they had penny candy at that time. PENNY CANDY! Rows and rows of penny candy and with a dollar in change I could get 100 pieces of candy! 100 PIECES!

I was in hog heaven! I would fill up a little brown paper bag with all the goodies. It was a great time and a great memory of a day spent with my dad. I sure miss him!

Love you dad!

Faux Caldo de Papa with Cauliflower - Low Carb Style

Don't you love my multi-lingual title, a little French, a little Spanish, and some English! I'm weird, I know. It's the little things that I find amusing!

So Faux means imitation, fake or false. Caldo is Spanish for Soup. De Papa is of Potato. Be sure you pay attention, there will be a pop quiz! With Cauliflower is the English part and that is pretty self explanatory. So this is a post about how to make an imitation potato soup using cauliflower.

My dad who passed away in July of 2013 was famous for his Caldo de Papa. If we were sick, he made Caldo de Papa. If we were cold, he made Caldo de Papa. If we were pregnant, he made Caldo de Papa. We had to only hint that we wanted his Caldo de Papa and he would make it. It was delicious. Hot and spicy with the jalapenos he used and creamy and cheese with the Monterey Jack Cheese he used. Oh how I miss him!

Last night I got home from work a little later than usual as I stopped to do some Christmas Shopping and no one was home waiting for me and I was cold so I checked the fridge and saw that I had a lot of diced up cauliflower as I had planned to make CauliMash for Thanksgiving and I never did. I remembered that I had made low carb cauliflower soup before using my dad's recipe but I couldn't find the recipe and didn't realize that I had done a post last year in October, see that one HERE for a different version.

So I winged it!

Here's the basics: I'm calling 4 servings since I ate two bowls full and have about the same amount left for dinner tonight. Per bowl and using the website Calorie Count I estimate 2.2 carbs per serving.

2 cups of diced or riced cauliflower
Olive Oil
1 Diced Jalapeno, seeds and all
1 small can of Chicken Stock
1 cup of Half and Half Creamer
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

In a soup pan add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the cauliflower. Saute the cauliflower until it's about half way done. I had to add a few tablespoons of water and cover it with a lid as it was browning more than I wanted. But you're the Master of your own Kitchen, so you do it your way!

I then added the diced jalapeno and stirred it around for a minute or so to let it soften a bit. Add the can of Chicken stock, or your own homemade stock, you choose. Add the Half and Half, Salt and Pepper and let it come to a boil, cover and lower the heat and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once in a while. Throw in the cheese and continue to stir until it's melted and it's thickened a bit.

You could at this point puree it using an immersion hand-held blender and I may do that with the leftovers just for a different texture, but I left it as is so I could have the chunkiness I remember of my dad's soup.

I wish I had thought to cook some bacon to add as a topping, but you can certainly do that if you like.

It was warm and soothing and it was almost like daddy was there with me, and knowing how he liked to be in the kitchen all the time I'm sure he was :)

Now writing this I remember when my sister and I were little we had an Easy Bake Oven and we'd bake cakes using random ingredients we found in the kitchen. Lord knows what we used, but daddy always ate them and said they were delicious and I'm sure he would have had a big bowl of this soup as well!

Ok, pop quiz time! For 25 points, what does CALDO mean? Go!

Shadows of My Dad

Today I cried at work.

I hadn't cried at work since my dad passed away in July of 2013.

See, this man called me at work. He was one of our clients and he speaks only Spanish. He is a trucker and was involved in an accident.  He was calling me because he didn't know if he should report it to the police. I asked him what exactly happened.

He said he was driving along, minding his own business, just putting in another day at work when a tire came off of a car. I don't know if the tire actually came off the wheel or if it fell from the bed of a truck...I don't know all the details, he just said a tire came off the other vehicle and rolled underneath his truck-tractor causing quite a bit of damage to his truck.

He said he was there with the other party and the other party didn't want to call the police. I told him to call the police. He said the other party wouldn't let him and said he thought there was something fishy about the other party, like maybe he was on drugs or something. The other party didn't speak Spanish and my client didn't speak English very well so it was also a communication issue.

My client asked me to call the highway patrol for him. I told him he had to call and he said, “You don’t understand, I can’t call, he won’t let me, he’s watching every number I dial, and I’m on Hwy 58 and” …and then he stopped talking. So I asked him if he wanted me to conference the CHP in and nothing, I could hear talking but he wasn’t talking to me and then the phone call dropped.

So what do I do? I’m imagining all kinds of horrible things; the other party has a gun to his head, or stabbed him, or ran him over with his car or took him hostage! These things can and do happen all the time.

So I called 911 and they transferred me to the CHP and I spoke to someone there and explained what had happened and she pretty much said “Yeah and what do you want me to do about it?” I was stunned! “Ummm, I want you to help him!” She said the driver has to call them and report this, I said “But the other party WON’T LET HIM!” She wanted to know if I knew where he was, what road, what highway? I told her I didn't, but thanks to caller ID I have his name and phone number and you guys can call him and she said no they can’t. That is not what they do, the driver has to call in and report it himself and I told her “So he could be getting murdered right now and you can’t do anything?” She said no, there is nothing we can do.

She told me to call him back and tell him to call them. I told her “Thanks for nothing”, hung up and called the insured and he didn't answer. I called the insured a couple more times throughout the day and no answer; I left him a voice mail and no response! I still don’t know what happened.

I told a co-worker about it and she said, “Oh well it was up to him to call the CHP, not to call you, what are you supposed to do? You did more than I would have done, I wouldn't even have called the CHP like you did.” I told her that I thought of my dad and how when he first came to this country he didn't understand English well, let alone speak it and in memory of my dad I try to help people that have language issues like that so that no one will take advantage of them, and then I told her I had to go before I started crying and then I cried. I miss my daddy.

   

My Childhood Talent

When I was a little girl I had an amazing talent that astounded all the relatives that would hear me.

It was such an amazing talent that many times they offered me money to perform, much to the dismay of my parents who didn't feel my talent warranted all this fame.

More than likely my parents were scared to be blamed for my ability to perform this talent so well at such a young age. Where did I learn this talent from? Was it from my dad? My Mom?

We lived out in the country on the ranch my dad worked at. I was the oldest child and therefore had no older sibling to help me cultivate this talent.

I’m sure by now you are wondering what this amazing talent of mine was? Do I still have this talent? Do I still perform for relatives? Do I still perform for money? Ok, that question looks as bad in writing as it sounded in my head!

My amazing talent??? Was it singing? Yodeling? Playing an instrument?

Nope, Nope and Nope! It was my ability to curse in Spanish with a smattering of curse words in English thrown in just for fun.

Family and friends were stunned and mesmerized by how I was able to curse in fluent Spanish. I don’t know where I learned these words, but they were doozy's!

And not only did I know these words in Spanish but I had this knack of stringing them all together in one fluid sentence, without hesitation, without tripping over the words. Boy howdy did I impress my relatives! Is it any wonder they offered me money? And this was in the days of penny candy when with 50 cents I could buy 50 pieces of candy!!! And I did love my candy in those days!

You can understand now how my parents probably felt and why they were dismayed, because definitely I had to be learning these words from one of them as I wasn't even school age yet!

You've all seen that fabulous movie A Christmas Story right? I know I watch it several times each holiday season and love it!

There's a part in the movie where little Ralphie lets out with a swear word and his mother is stunned and wants to know "where did you hear that word?" Well as Ralphie said about his dad, "Now, I had heard that word at least ten times a day from my old man. He worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium; a master." And then they wash his mouth out with soap!

Love that movie, and I can probably guess where I learned all my swear words too, my old man!

This post was inspired by the novel J by Howard Jacobson, about a world where collective memory has vanished and the past is a dangerous country, not to be talked about or visited. As a member of the online book club From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book for review purposes. 



 

Potato Soup Fakeout - Low Carb Cauliflower Soup

I'm so ready for Fall already! Ready for football and hot chocolate, for reading while wrapped in a blanket, for soups and sweaters and cold misty mornings!

Unfortunately, Fall is not accommodating me this year! So I'm having to continue with Fall like things even though it's in the 90's outside and I have to turn on the air conditioning just to give me Fall-like conditions!

Earlier today it was a bit chilly in my office. I was having lunch at my desk, a cold Asian Chicken Salad. It wasn't what I wanted, even though it was delicious; what I was really craving was my daddy's Caldo de Papa, Potato Soup!

He made the best Potato Soup ever! He used potatoes, of course; and tomato and jalapenos and lots and lots of cheese! It was warm and soothing and very, very spicy...that was the best part. He taught me how to make it several times, but in one ear...out the other. Fortunately my sister wrote it down for me.

I realized when I got home today, that I had all the ingredients. I had gone grocery shopping yesterday and my cupboards were fair to bursting with all sorts of goodies! So I dragged out my recipe book and started gathering supplies.

I took half a head of cauliflower and cut it up into florets. I diced up one Roma tomato and one Jalapeno, being careful to remove the seeds. I didn't have any fresh cheddar cheese to shred so I took out the handy pre-shredded bag of Cheddar that my son uses to make Quesadillas with and got to work!

With some Olive Oil in the pan I browned the cauliflower for about ten minutes judging the softness by crushing some of the bigger pieces with the spoon. When it was almost tender I added the diced tomatoes and jalapenos and cooked those all together for about five minutes or so.

Then I added about two and a half cups of water. My dad used to add milk, but milk would ruin the low-carb aspect of this dish so I used water and then added just a splash of heavy whipping cream, about a 1/2 cup. You could also use half and half or if you have a super fast metabolism and you can eat anything you want then you can use regular milk and I will envy you forever!

I let that simmer for a bit until it came to a boil then I added salt and pepper to taste. I had to add salt again later and I still think it could have used more but I'm a salt-fanatic, so don't go by me! While it simmered I did the dishes and put things away and found that I had some Monterey Jack Cheese so I cut that into small cubes and added it to the now boiling pot along with about a cup of the shredded Cheddar Cheese, just cause I'm crazy like that!

Now of course you need to wait for it to boil again and then check it for salt and pepper. (This is where I added more salt, don't be like me...watch your salt intake!)

Look how beautiful all those veggies look together! The cauliflower is crisp-tender and the jalapenos have given just a bit of heat to the broth. The cheese thickens the soup almost like a chowder and you don't have to use flour as a thickening agent. And the tomatoes? Well they just give it a pretty little pop of color!

Then you serve it in a pretty bowl. I tossed in some bacon bits as a garnish and it did this weird thing when I did. I created a different color and made almost a flower in the middle. Do you see that or is it just me? Maybe I need to quit drinking wine while I cook?

Well regardless, it was very, very good. Not as good as the soup my dad made, but he would have been proud and would have smiled at me and said "Muy bien Chaparra" (Very good Shorty), and then he would have eaten a big bowl of it, probably adding several shots of Tabasco!

 

The Goddess of Small Victories, Cesar Chavez and Crunchy Mexican Rice!

     "Damn it to hell, Kurt! Set the table!" 
     "Don't swear like that, Adele. And don't get so agitated. this is not a formal dinner." 
     I stuck my tongue out at his back. I set the table and looked at it critically: no silver, no fine porcelain. The secondhand bride had not merited an elaborate trousseau.
     He stayed planted by the window.
     "Where are they? Did you tell them six o'clock?"
     "They had to bring Russell to the station first."
     "I'm wondering when I should put the souffle in the oven."
     "You should  have planned a simpler menu."
     "Albert Einstein is coming to dinner! Of course I'm going the whole nine yards!"

     This is a post inspired by the book The Goddess of Small Victories by Yannick Grannec, a novel about brilliant mathematician Kurt Godel as told from his ex-cabaret dancer wife's perspective. Join my online book group, From Left to Write on October 16th as we discuss The Goddess of Small Victories. As a member I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

   

Kurt Gödel and his wife, Adele.
Photograph by Oskar Morgenstern,
courtesy of the Archives of the
 Institute for Advanced Study.

     In the excerpt above from the book we find Adele, the wife of the famous mathematician Kurt Godel preparing to host a dinner for Albert Einstein!

     Can you just imagine that? Having dinner with Albert Einstein? Not only having dinner but hosting a dinner and doing all the cooking yourself?

     It's just mind boggling to me. I've never before had to make a dinner for a famous person. I've never before had to make a dinner for anyone other than family and friends.

     I do remember when I was dating my now ex-husband that I invited him over so that I could cook him a traditional Mexican meal. He requested Enchiladas, Rice and Beans. I think that is probably more traditional to Caucasians that visit Mexican restaurants but as Mexicans that's not a normal dish that we eat all the time, at least not in my family.

     But I tried. I don't remember if I made a homemade enchilada sauce or if I used a canned one. I think I probably just used the red chile powder that my mom would poo-poo as not authentic, but the enchiladas were ok. What I really didn't get right was the rice. I don't think I had ever made Mexican rice by myself prior to that time, I always just watch my mom and stirred the pot when it was needed.

     My rice was disgusting! It was crunchy and under-cooked. It wasn't the beautiful orangy color that Mexican rice is supposed to be. Mine was more the color of dried blood. But to give credit to my then boyfriend and future husband/ex-husband, he ate it and said it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. I guess that's the reason I married him.

Photo Credit - The Kitchn

     This started me to thinking about who I would invite to dinner if I could have dinner with just one person living or dead, and family and loved ones were not allowed.

     So many people came to mind. Mother Teresa was first, Elvis came to mind too. I thought about John F. Kennedy and Joan Rivers, but then I remembered that a long time ago when I was a teenager my dad took us on a summer vacation trip to visit his mother and father in Santa Maria, California.

     At that time we lived about 350 miles away from them, so that was a pretty long car trip for us. My sister and I usually took a book to read and when we got bored we terrorized our little brother Freddie who sat in the middle of us in the backseat.

Photo Credit - bio.

     I remember on this trip that I took a library book, a biography of Cesar Chavez, labor leader and farm worker advocate and founder of the UFW, United Farm Workers. It was a very interesting book and I was learning a lot about Cesar Chavez and his movement to unionize farm workers to provide better working conditions and fair wages, especially since Mr. Chavez believed in justice through non-violence.

     I remember asking my dad about Cesar Chavez. My dad at that time was a farm foreman and was in the thick of dealing with the UFW. He scoffed when I mentioned how I admired Mr. Chavez for his justice through non-violence and named several things that had improved under his leadership like clean water and bathrooms for the farm workers. Breaks and lunch hours.

     My dad in the meantime, like many other farmers and farm foremen had been dealing with the violence of the UFW during the picketing and rioting of the Huelgas (Strikes) and the strong arm tactics of the thugs that were the hired guns for the UFW. What my dad was telling me, what he had seen and experienced was totally different than what I was reading in the book.

     I think it would be so interesting to sit down to dinner and talk with Cesar Chavez. I do believe in my heart that he did want to change things and to do it without violence. I also believe that he did many good things and brought about change and gave a voice to many.

     It would be even more interesting to sit down with Mr. Chavez and my dad and listen to both of them talking about their experiences and what they saw and how they viewed the Farm Labor Movement. One thing I do know is that if I had both of these gentlemen over to dinner and I was in charge of making the meal I definitely would not make Enchiladas, Crunchy Rice and Beans!