photoblog

Slowly but steadily...

What was started has to be finished and add to that the old Tamil adage "erumbu oora kallum theiyum" which translates to "as the ants keep walking even stones smoothen", the ant that is yours truly got to work.

The house is finally done on the inside except for closets. We have none. So for now we are still living out of piles of clothes on the floor and in garbage bags or suitcases. 

As for the outside of the house is concerned, we are still waiting for a sewer tube to be replaced. Don't even get me started on the changing city requirements! 10 years ago we installed this thing brand new with ABS pipe because that was the "code"! Now we did not touch anything connected to this sewer cleanout but the new "code" is PVC! So we have to change that clean out tube before we can get a final permit. That said, changing that tube means the area is going to be dug out. So no point landscaping there.

The front of the house looked like a garbage dump for the most part of the last 5 months. Finally three weeks ago we decided to have things cleaned out one garbage container at a time. Proud to present.. 

That last picture makes it look like we are getting there.. truth is we are still far away from getting this area done. 

It actually looks like this..

Also built a stone barrier on the front, after the drunk guy crashed his car at that corner! It was more strenous to get those stones put them on the cart in home depot, transfer them from cart to car, then car to make that wall. Just a lot of manual labor, but the end result was worth it. 

Can always use them as "before" pictures! Going to work on this one hour a day and see how far I can take this with some help from the little one. She has been my one true helper in all of this! 

The backyard is 90% done. Got some help from my neighbors to get the Gazebo standing and finally finished the entire assembly over the long weekend. 

Time is the key! Have the patience. Just don't have the time.

Cannot wait for retirement! Hope it comes sooner than later.

The little one and her Violin

Last week was a busy week. We also had the little one doing her summer recital as part of Galina Andre's music school. It was in a nice theater in downtown San Jose. 

She has improved a lot, now that she plays the violin every day in school. Before she was only taking lessons once a week and practicing twice a week. Now that it is a daily thing, she has more confidence and we can see the transformation from a shy hesitant kid to someone who goes for it!

She made me very proud. I am sure there will be videos from the music school.. I took a few videos of the final group perfromances and they are below.

Glad she likes the school and glad she loves to play! Makes my day to watch her practice on her own without me having to sit there and turn pages on the notebook or be the stand for no reason!

Let's see what one more year will bring!

Elephant Seal outlook - Point Reyes day trip

Last weekend, our plan was to go see the super bloom of flowers that is moving north over the California hillsides. This thing was so huge it was visible from space, per reports from the missus!

We went on a day trip with the cousins to do multiple things.. Have a trip with family after a long time, go see the elephant seals at Point Reyes and catch the flowers on the hillsides. We did all three..  

The view from the elephant seal lookout trail was amazing. You could see the seals nursing pups and the visibility was great. 

you can see the seals basking in the bottom of the picture.. thousands of them! 

Here is a slideshow of the views from the trail in HDR..

There was a fourth thing that was on the cards.. Take a picture of San in the fields of flowers.. Call it the DDLJ Kajol shot if you will.. I had to work with winds that could knock you over (my cap flew off in the wind and had to be retrieved!) and it was difficult to hold the camera steady. It was bright and sunny, but you want to understand the concept of wind chill, you should visit Point Reyes! 

The photos in a sea of flowers with the sea in the background were not a roaring success, but it got a "satisfactory" grade! 

A slide show of the seals and the seal colony.

And a few videos .. some timelapse of the waves at the lookout and others of the seals and their noises!

Strongly recommend this for a day trip in early May! 

Next time I should go with a nice jacket!