Welcome to 2009

Post Michelle's departure Ranch adventures continued.  One very memorable day we headed out to Santa Fe and went to see the "Fashion in Film: Period Costumes for the Screen" Exhibition.  It was fantastic.  Showed costumes from some really well known movies including Dangerous Liaisons (pic on left) and Out of Africa.  It was interesting to hear that, for some movies, they do sometimes use antique fabrics for part of the design and also often make two versions of the same costume so if one gets damaged they have a backup. Given how intricate some of the designs are it's all rather impressive.  

After the exhibition we took mum to Madrid.  I think I've mentioned this long ago as a place we went to when I was living on the ranch.  It is where the movie Wildhogs was filmed.  It's a quirky little town and has a great bar/saloon that has the most interesting characters.  It's a bikers destination as well so you see a lot of motorcyclists on any given day.  It was fun.  

As promised in the last post....Xmas pic on the right, me, mum, Michelle and Brice.  As always a beautiful table setting and outstanding 

food. Here's a nice shot of Karen and mum too....I'm sure they won't thank me for posting it!

I flew back via Denver, some delays but at least I had my laptop and free wi-fi.  Stayed in San Jose as I didn't land until 1115pm and it seemed pointless to drive an hour to Santa Cruz to turn around and come back at 645am.  The economy continues to bite and most vendors are taking pay cuts to keep contracts.  Everyone is sharing the pain but I still feel very fortunate - I have a job and I don't have a mortgage or dependents.  I am quite focused on saving as I think I will buy a house here within the next year or two depending on how the job prospects roll out.  Cisco continues to offer me opportunities and I love my job and the people I work with.  

Apart from the bike I have decided to take up another "hobby"...well I am thinking about it. I've found a shooting range that does clay bird shooting and think I'd like to try that (I tried it on the Ranch a while back and thought it was fun).  I enjoy shooting (no, not hunting, definitely not hunting).  So when it starts to get a little warmer I am going to go out for a half day and see if I like it.  You walk a course so it also means I get some exercise.  We shall see, the other alternative is to take up archery again.  I will figure it out.

It's Saturday and I have woken up today with a minor head cold having slept 15hrs..guess my body wants to fight it off as much as my mind does.  I'm tucked up at home, heating on and not doing much - although my fridge is bare so I am eventually going to have to venture out!