Spring 2008

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We had an excellent board meeting this evening for Alethia Academy. The event was held at my house which I enjoy immensely. Plenty of cigars, pipes, beer, wine, and food to meet everyone’s desires. The school year is coming to an end and we are preparing for the 2008-2009 school year. I smoked a tasty Te Amo perfeco this evening followed by a Sancho Panza torpedo which was really excellent.

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Ross and Susie came over the other night. We had molé for dinner and then had the opportunity to smoke cigars on the patio. I had a Romeo y Julieta Viejo which I had high expectations, but sadly I was a bit disappointed. It was a nice evening nonetheless.

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A year ago I found some seeds on the ground which I planted. I have done this a few times, but never have I been as successful as with my Gazania ringens which I found either in Tucson or San Carlos (I can’t remember). I had no idea what I was growing up until today when my sister’s friend was able to identity the flower. It is really nice looking and is doing quite nicely.

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Ben and his father and I went shooting last Wednesday. We had a very nice time and had perfect weather which we are accustomed to. I practiced with Ben’s .22 revolvers quite a bit and then spent some time using Ben’s father’s .40 Beretta pistol. I liked it quite a lot and the laser sight was a plus. I’m not sure if I prefer it to Ben’s glock or not.

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my old Gap ads

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San Carlos 2008

Yunuen and I went to San Carlos early Tuesday morning with her parents and our friends from Minnesota Earl and Dee. We stayed at the Hotel Armida in Guaymas. We chose this location due to the limited options – we didn’t have the necessary 5 days before arrival to book a condo at Condominiums Pilar. Guyamas isn’t too far from San Carlos and is nice in itself, but it was disappointing not to stay on the beach.

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We went on a beautiful sunset cruise on Tuesday evening which I booked through Gary’s Dive Shop. Gary is a really nice guy and we enjoy using his shop. The cruise was excellent and the free margaritas were a plus! The scenery was incredible and the price was only $25/person for a couple hours. We saw a lot of jellyfish, sea lions, and thousands of pelicans.

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On Wednesday we toured San Carlos and then ended up spending most of the day on the beach. I collected about about 50 pounds of really nice looking rocks which will be turned into a sweet home decoration. Yunuen made fun of me, but as usual, she will love the decoration it turns in to. The water was a bit cold, so we look forward to going back in a few months when the water temp will be in the 90s.

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We ate at La Cobacha restaurant in Guaymas today before departing. We have been here before with Matt, Dana, Aaron, Christina, and Liam on a previous visit and like it quite a lot for their seafood. I ordered red snapper and a couple marlin tacos which was all very good. Dee ordered shrimp wrapped in bacon. Yun and her mom both ordered shrimp cocktail and Earl and Yun’s father ordered red snapper as wel (all 3 of us had it prepared different ways).

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The highlight of the trip was the acquisition of 9 new Te Amo cigars (all different sizes and styles). I am intending to smoke one in a few minutes!

 

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Jay in Korea ’99

 

 

I found a picture of my cousin Jay Giraud in Korea in 1999.

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Feijoada and cigars!

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Winter is clearly over – it was hot today. Yun and I had lunch at the Adams’ house with Dave, Vivi, Jason, and Kelly. Vivi made an excellent Brazilian dish ‘Feijoada’. It was really good and one of those meals you can keep eating until you feel sick. Thus far I have yet to have a Brazilian dish I do not like.

There is a Brazilian restaurant named Riosabor Brazil Steakhouse in Phoenix that we have discussed visiting as soon as time permits. I’m ready for San Carlos myself.

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To top it off, Dave had some sweet La Flor Dominicana cigars to compliment lunch (see my cigar log for review)! I enjoyed it immensely as did Yunuen and Vivi!

 

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Dave and Vivi recently bought another dog named Jack to keep their other dog company during the day. It’s still a bit nervous with its new environment – so getting a picture wasn’t easy.

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Winter in Afghanistan?

Finally got a photo of Liam in Afghanistan – at least that’s where I think he is, but the snow leads me to wonder…

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La Roca

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Dave, Vivi, Yun and I traveled south this afternoon to have lunch at La Roca. This remains one of my favorite places to eat in Nogales. I had chili rellenos and it was really tasty. We shopped around a bit and then went to another place for coffee. The traffic back into the US was busy as usual despite passports being required to re-enter the country. I would have thought that new expectation would have reduced traffic exponentially, but sadly it hasn’t.

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We walked past this little girl who had pretty green eyes, so I asked the father if I could take a picture. If we ever have a girl, she might end up with blue eyes given the color of mine and its genetic appearance in Yun’s family.

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Ping Pong

Aaron invited a bunch of guys over to his house tonight to play some ping pong. He has a pretty sweet set up in his garage which has me wanting to do something similar with mine. The fluorescent lighting is much nicer than my single 100 watt bulb. Ping pong is a lot of fun.

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Jeff was given a trainer paddle so he would be able to keep up with Aaron and Paul.

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Soil Sample

      I met with Ben and Luke this morning for our book group to complete our study of Noll’s ‘Scandal of the Evangelical Mind’. Despite the scandal of the author’s attributing a particular chronology of human history to a 19th century sect, the book is an interesting read. We’ve chosen David Well’s ‘Above All Earthly Powers’ as our next work.

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I only had a little time for back yard activity today (and with temperatures in the mid-70s); however, I was able to take some soil samples where I intend to plant the gardenias. Saddly I found my ‘soil’ is high in alkaline, so I need to find a way to increase the acidity. I am intending to plant the gardenias near the east wall in the backyard, which I am told is not an ideal place for them (the wall is possibly responsible for the high alkaline).

There are a few ways to lowering the soil’s pH. If your soil needs to be more acidic, sulfur may be used to lower the pH if it is available. To reduce the soil pH by 1.0 point, you can mix in 1.2 oz of ground rock sulfur per square yard if the soil is sandy, or 3.6 oz per square yard for all other soils. I am told the sulfur should be thoroughly mixed into the soil before planting. Sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and especially peat moss, will lower the soil pH apparently.


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Pasta machine!!

Yunuén and I read an article in Critique magazine a number of months back that planted the seed of pasta making as a fun thing to do together. We happened to be in a store recently that had one, so we bought it for a reasonable price (along with some great wine!). It turned into hours of fun! I cannot recommend buying one of these things highly enough. It was really fun to create something from scratch which is so common, but it is also an extraordinary yumlicious meal that is ridiculously cheap to make. If it weren’t for the time commitment (it doesn’t take long really – it’s just hard to stop), we would be eating pasta every night.

We made various sorts of fettucini (wheat and spinach), as well as spaghetti. Yun even made the sauces from scratch – both were incredibly good, but the fettucini sauce was the best I have ever tasted!

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