A HORSE IS A HORSE...

The Gonzales Ranch continues to grow and change on a regular basis...

Summer (the pig) had a pleasant; peaceful 8 months on the ranch and grew to nearly 300 lbs. She became so heavy that her poor little legs developed shin splints and had difficulty walking. We had hoped to keep her around a little longer since we have barely put a dent in Hogzilla's contribution to the meat freezer. Alas, Summer has joined Hogzilla in pig heaven and we will soon be bursting with a two year supply of pork.

Not even two weeks have passed and we had to put another four legged creature in the stall...

So, last Saturday Victor woke me up at 6 a.m. to take a shower and to jump into the car with Evan, Aislyn and Allisa. We drove an hour and a half to Little Rock. There we stopped at one of Victor's co-worker's home... It is more like a ranch...

This ranch had various animals: cats; dogs; a rooster and about 7 or 8 horses.

The purpose of the trip was to "look" at horses and then later decide if we were really ready for a horse. With that said, we have talked about getting a horse for a long time. Victor knows that I really enjoy horse back riding and every trip we take we squeeze in some riding.

The kids were permitted to ride one of the horses. Victor's friend told us that the horse they were riding was for sale for $2000.... "I don't think so!" I thought to myself.

As were getting ready to leave, Victor's friend showed us another horse that had been given to him. A four year old Thorough Bread racing horse. He offered the horse to us and said that we could borrow his trailer to take her home that day. She also came with papers. He asked his wife to bring the papers out and reiterated that we could have her at no cost. We were stunned!!!!! Victor looked at me and asked if I would like her.

Well, of course! She is absolutely beautiful and you can't beat the price for this kind of horse.

So, we have a horse. Her name is Creole Spice. We call her Spice for short.

She loves apples and I give her one in the morning before work and one in the afternoon when I get home. She eats 4 lbs of oats; barley and hay in the morning and in the afternoon. She eats like a horse!!!!!!

She has a great personality and loves to be with the family. When I exercise her she wants to get really close to me and often times will walk behind me with her head over my shoulder. Instant bonding! :)

We will definitely send pictures!

HOMEWORK - Spanish

Well, I did all my homework for Spanish last night. It took me 3 hours and it's not due until September 1st. (I didn't figure that out until after I was done).

All my homework is done on-line and is computer graded immediately; except for free style writing that has to be graded by the instructor. I have six sentences that I composed last night that still need to be graded... :) So far I have an "A" in the class!!!!!!!

Any way, while I was doing my homework on-line Victor was sitting next to me on the couch and was listening to the audio portion with me and was watching me as I answered the questions in Spanish. I had already spent 2 hours speaking in Spanish and writing in Spanish that I continued speaking to Victor in Spanish while I was doing my work.

The look on Victor's face was funny. He knew that I understood Spanish and he knew that I could speak Spanish - usually commands to my children. He did not expect me to ask him questions in Spanish having to do with the homework. I was asking him if I had heard the on-line instructor correctly and had I answered the questions correctly. He answered me in English... :)

Once he figured out that I was speaking to him in Spanish the shock went away and he actually enjoyed the brief conversation in Spanish. It may take me a while to feel comfortable speaking Spanish with my classmates - but it came naturally with Victor. How funny!

I have Spanish class again tonight. Before Spanish Victor and I have a guitar class together. Should be very interesting.

Spanish 01

Last night was my Spanish 01 class. I have this class two nights a week (T and Th).

I didn't learn too much in terms of new information... I already know the alphabet and I can count to 100...

I can ask the time; ask you your name; and ask your how you are doing...

I also know how to say hello and good bye...

In our house, Spanish is used when our kids are in trouble:

Sit down!
Go Away!
Be quiet!
Come here!

Most of the students in the class did not purchase their books yet - so we didn't have the first lesson we should have and we didn't get homework assigned. We do have an exam next Thursday on the first three chapters!

The homework was 1) buy the books and 2) logon and register with the on-line workbook 3) know how to spell your name in Spanish (both first and last names) 4) know how to say your phone number in Spanish

All very easy.

The instructor loves to speak in Spanish - so only half the class understood what he was talking about and about a quarter of that half understood every word. I was in the 1/2 that understood the gist and laughed when appropriate.

This will be a fun and a challenging class once we get going.

Ventura College Symphony Orchestra

I had mentioned in a previous blog that I had enrolled in school and was going to begin taking classes to finish up my AA so that I could transfer to Channel Islands to complete my BA and get my teaching credentials. With that said...

First day of school was last night. This class is Beginning Orchestra - Wind Instruments. When I registered for the class I imagined that I would be in a room with just woodwind instruments...

I arrived at the campus an hour early to pick up my parking permit and to get the lay of the land. I found my classroom 30 minutes prior to the beginning of class (7:00 p.m. - 9:50 p.m.).

I opened the door - peaked in and then slowly backed out. I thought I was in the wrong place. There were already several people in the classroom. My ears were ringing with the sounds of scales coming from Cellos; violins; Basses; a French Horn; a Flute and an Oboe. I stood in the hall for about 10 minutes and then decided to open the door again. This time my heart was racing. Talk about first day jitters... A lady sitting at a table spotted me and invited me in stating that they don't bite - they only nibble - and then she smiled. I thought "okay... this isn't so bad".

She asked me to sign in and indicate what instrument I play. I don't remember the conversation - but I remember disclosing that I hadn't played in 25 years. She had a slightly worried look and then handed me 6 pieces of music for Clarinet - 2nd part and then directed me to the first seat in the clarinet section.

I looked over the music. Two pieces by Mendolssohn - one is a symphony the other is a piano concerto. There were two other Concertos - don't remember who the composers are. There is a Jane Eyre Suite (absolutely beautiful) and one other piece that we didn't get to.

The first 30 minutes were introductions and attendance - nice way to calm my nerves.

There was a gentleman about the same age as dad who sat next to me. Very interesting man. He asked me about my music back ground. I revealed the lack of practice over the past several years and begged him not to listen to me. Inside I was terrified that I would be discovered as a fraud. I had been looking at the music and couldn't remember the fingering for any of the notes. The symphony clarinet part was written for an A clarinet and I had to transpose the notes in my head - that was a nightmare. I bailed out a couple times on the conductor who wanted to hear my sound and I pled with him - explaining that I was having difficulty getting any air through my instrument. He laughed and skipped over me.

Later in the evening he asked me how I was doing; reassuring me that the strength in my mouth would return in no time and encouraged me to practice every day. He then asked me if my mouth hurt. I told him no, but my thumb hurt from holding the instrument. The whole orchestra laughed.

My partner - the older man - told me that I have a beautiful sound when I play and that I needed to play a little louder. He also went up to the conductor (the instructor) and told him that I play beautifully...

At one point during rehersal I magically remembered my fingering and began to feel elation. I also felt a little euphoric... it was odd and at one point I thought I was going to burst into tears.

I guess I didn't realize how much I loved to play the clarinet and how much I missed it.

I had been asked by several members of the church to audition for the Ventura Orchestra and I had always told them no because I hadn't played in so long. Even though this is not the Ventura Orchestra, this is a start. I think I finally figured out what I want to do when I grow up.

We have two concerts this term:

October 24, 2009
December 12, 2009

THE FAIR HAS COME AND GONE

Well the last day of the fair was yesterday.

In the past, the final weekend of the fair would have been my biggest entry day. With the lack of sleep Friday morning and the late night Friday night I could not bring myself to crawl out of bed and cut all the fresh flowers in my yard and get to the fair grounds before 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

Floriculture entries are my best entries every year and I usually get blue ribbons and $ premium awards. Even with that knowledge I still could not get out of bed.

However, there are still two entrants that I have not spotlighted. Myself and Alex.

ALEX - KICKING AND SCREAMING

Alex has been disappointed every year that he has not been a part of the Gonzales Family frenzy before the fair. This year I made a point to have him participate. He was not happy in the beginning and grumbled the whole 12 hours we spent in the kitchen baking. He entered 8 baked items and two craft items:

BAKED ITEMS:

• Toffee cookies - 2nd place - red ribbon
• Pecan Pie - 1st place - blue ribbon - THIS IS FANTASTIC! Especially for a non-baker
• Pumpkin Pie - 1st place - blue ribbon
• Zucchini Bread - 1st place - blue ribbon & BEST OF CLASS!! HOLY COW!!!! Who knew?!?!?!
• Oatmeal cookies - 2nd place - red ribbon
• Rice Krispie treats - 1st place - blue ribbon
• Peanut Butter cookies - 2nd place - red ribbon
• Chocolate Brownie bites - 1st place - blue ribbon

63% of his entries were outstanding and the two hardest recipies he did the best on.

Alex was astonished. Victor and I were very proud of him.

CRAFT ITEMS:

both from scout camp

• Weaved basket - 2nd place - red ribbon
• Weaved chair seat - 3rd place - white ribbon

Mesa High Achiever

We received a letter from the Principal and Superintendent of Mesa Union School:

Dear Student and Parents:

Your child Allisa Gonzales demonstrated outstanding achievement during the 2008/09 school year by scoring an Advanced level on California Standards tests (CST) in both English Language Arts and Math. We want to congratulate you and your child for their status as a "Mesa High Achiever." We know that academic excellence is the result of students, families, and teachers working together to take advantage of all available educational opportunities. We wanted to celebrate your accomplishments during the past school year and encourage you to continue your successful efforts in the coming 2009/10 school year. While we believe that every Mesa student has the ability and opportunity to go on to great academic success in high school, college, and beyond, we think your child is clearly on the path to success at the best colleges and universities in the world.

Sincerely,

John Puglisis, PhD Marilyn Renger
Superintendent Principal

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Last night Victor and I stayed up until 12 watching a marathon of Eureka episodes on SYFY to catch us before the new episode this evening.

A rerun came on after that and it was one that Evan really liked and he asked if he could stay up and watch it before he went to bed. We told Evan that was fine, he just needed to make sure that everything was locked up and that he turned everything off before he went to bed. Aislyn joined Evan in the living room to watch the show.

At about 1 a.m. we hear several quick raps on our bedroom door and the voice of one of our children saying something about Victor's Red Dodge Ram. Victor and I quickly dressed and went outside to see what they were talking about... dun DUN DUN

As we are walking out the front door Evan and Aislyn explain everything that had transpired before they knocked on our door:

• They heard a noise outside the front room window - a bang of sorts - Aislyn's eyes are enormous
• They heard another loud noise further out in the street
• Then... the truck alarm goes off
• They look outside they don't see anything
• They turn on the hall light
• They go to Grandma's room
• Grandma goes to the front room and turns on the outside lights
• Grandma goes outside
• Evan and Aislyn come and knock on the door

Victor and I discover that the rear driver-side window has been knocked out.

I call 9-1-1

At the end of the street we see several figures - one on a cell phone. At the other end a car starts up and drives down to these dark figures and picks them up. They drive by - Victor already has a flashlight and shines it on the car to see the people and to get the license plate number. Victor yells the number out to me and then instructs me to get his cell phone, wallet and the keys to the Durango.

Victor leaves and follows the teal coloured car

A sheriff shows up and inspects the truck; asks where Victor is - I of course explain that my husband has gone after the suspects in my car. Within minutes dispatch is coming over his speakers explaining that the supsects are being pursued by a man in a silver dodge durango and that he is giving each change in direction as it happens.

The sheriff smiles at me and asks "Is that your husband?" I said "Yes" with a big grin on my face. He tells me that he will be right back and takes off in the direction the one man pursuit is taking place.

An hour and a half later...

My husband has returned home. Two sheriffs have arrived and the suspects have disappeared (Victor didn't want to run the red lights). The sheriffs stated that in this case it would have been fine to run the red lights.

They tell us that there were 5 other cars broken into before ours and that they have been trying to catch these guys all night. Victor came the closest to catching them.

Victor had his brand new golf clubs in the back seat of his truck. We are certain that is what they were after. Unfortunately for them the Gonzales family moves very quickly and they were caught off guard and got nothing. In their haste they also left behind the crow bar that they used to smash the windows. We got a close enough look at them that we know that they did not have any gloves on their hands and that the crow bar has finger prints! :) They are so busted!

This morning we discovered that they had broken into two other cars on our street.

I have had 3 hours of sleep. Does anyone have any tooth picks?