Trial & Crime Watching and Travel

I love traveling, but coming home and trying to catch up on everything that has gone on with the trial and crime watching that I do is sometimes frustrating. Apparently there were a few things happening with the cases that I've been watching during the time I was out and about enjoying the sightseeing and traveling. So, here we go:

• Mario Lozano; I mentioned in my post last night that I'd gotten an email from VINELink that he'd been moved from the El Dorado County Jail. Well, I still don't have any further information on where he's been taken. I'm still working on it and will post his current location when I find out.

• Rex Archer; The local paper, The Appeal Democrat had a little blurb in their "Mid-Valley Briefs" section that says the preliminary hearing had been postponed. Here's what the paper said:

Archer hearing postponed

A preliminary hearing for Earnest Rex Archer, a former Yuba County Board of Supervisors candidate charged with child molestation, was postponed Friday until June 12.

Unavailability of witnesses caused the continuation, according to the Yuba County District Attorney's Office.

Archer has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for comment on the case and answered an e-mail Friday with a "no comment."

• Drew Peterson; Drew's lawyer, Joel Brodsky is working hard trying to get the weapons charges stemming from that "too short" automatic weapon that Drew had dismissed. They filed motions yesterday for the dismissal of charges and the state has 14 days to respond. The preliminary hearing for the charges has been set for June 30th. The lawyers are also trying to get the judge to modify Drew's bond so that he can travel outside Illinois while he's out on bond from the weapons charges. Ok.. I have to wonder where Drew is planning on traveling.....
  
  The Grand Jury heard testimony this week from Stacy's aunt, Candace Aiken and from the 22 year old tanning salon girl, Kimberly Matuska, that Drew has apparently been "wooing". Neither one of them would talk about what they said before the Grand Jury, of course. I can understand them calling the aunt, because she knew both Stacy and Drew before Stacy disappeared and can testify to what she knew of both Stacy and Drew and their relationship. But this 22 year old "girlfriend" of Drew's? What can she testify to? How "sweet" Drew's been to her? Oh.. Yeah.. She did admit that Drew gave her a cell phone and showed it to the investigators. Of course the cell phone has GPS on it, I suppose so Drew can find out where his new girlfriend is whenever he wants. The girl was quoted in one article claiming that "at one point he (Drew) told her he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her". Geez... I think this girl has had her 15 minutes of fame now and can go back to her tanning salon.
  
  Oh yeah, there was also a news item about the investigators taking the bathtub that Kathleen Savio died in. They're saying that it's a "key piece" of evidence. Lets see, Kathleen died in that bathtub more than 4 years ago now I think. I doubt if there is any real evidence left in it. No blood, no DNA or anything else that can be proven to be part of her death. The only thing I can see for speculations sake is that it would be good for demonstrative purposes during a trial for her murder.
  

• Cesar Laurean; He's still in Mexico awaiting extradition, but law enforcement have released a lot of court documents relating to the murder of Maria Lauterbach. Go here and check out the list of documents. One news site details some phone calls and such from the Laurean home the day he took off for Mexico. Another one writes about how Cesar was researching things in Mexico before he left. Things like buying property and finding jobs in Mexico. I couldn't find anything in the articles about how the extradition process is going, so we wait.

• Les hauts de la Garenne; I haven't followed this one in the news, but have been following it with the posts by Donchais on Sprocket's blog, Trials & Tribulations. From what Donchais posted while I was gone, there's been an arrest, more bones and teeth found along with other things in the excavations of the cellars. Kudos to Donchais for providing excellent coverage of the Jersey Abuse scandal.

I'm sure there are more news items that I've missed posting about here (or even reading about!) but I do need to get busy and get my stuff unpacked, clothes into the washer and spend some "quality" time with the 2 felines I share my home with. They are most insistent that I not be out of their sight right now. lol... So, I'll leave you all for now with a funny picture.....


more cat pictures

Travels ~ Fort Hunter Liggett and Beyond ~ Day 1

On Tuesday we headed south to spend a few days at Fort Hunter Liggett and to wander the area around there up and down the coast. This was one of the Army posts that my Stepdad had been stationed at years ago, and he wanted to see how much it had changed since then. Fort Hunter Liggett isn't exactly on a major highway. It's about 18 miles or so off Highway 101, so it was an interesting drive through the hills, farms and ranches to get there. When we arrived at the fort, we checked in at the housing office and got the key to our room. We were delighted to find that they had put us in one of the "tower" rooms at the Hacienda. (If you follow the Fort Hunter Liggett link above, you'll find a short history of the area and of the Hacienda itself.)

This is a photo of The Hacienda, or the "Milpitas Ranch House" built by William Randolph Hearst. The architect was Julia Morgan and she also was the architect for Hearst's Castle in San Simeon. In the photo above, the portion of the building on the right was a restaurant up until recently. The center portion in that view is the Hacienda Bar and the part over on the left is the Commander's Quarters.
The Hacienda - The tower on the right is where we stayed. Behind the two large windows on the 1st floor. The building is beautifully restored and maintained and a lot of the original details of the building that were designed by Julia Morgan are still there. Our room was large, occupying half of the ground floor of the tower, with a queen size bed, a sitting area, table and chairs and a private bathroom and shower. We also had a refrigerator and microwave oven. They brought in a roll-away bed for us, since there were 3 of us staying. The first night was horrible though. The roll-away bed they brought in was one of the most uncomfortable beds I'd ever slept on. The mattress was so worn out that I could feel every spring in it. The next day they brought a different roll-away in and it was 100% better.

Across the street from the Hacienda is a huge building that is being used as the Fire Department. I didn't know until I'd gotten home that the building is also has a "history". Again, the link above for Fort Hunter Ligget gives a little of the story. The building is known as "The Tin Barn" and was originally constructed in San Francisco for the 1915 Pan Pacific Exposition and was purchased after the Exposition by the ranch owner before Hearst. It was shipped by rail to King City and then brought to the ranch by horse and wagons. I wish now that I'd pointed my camera that direction and gotten a shot... lol

Every evening the lawn area outside our room had visitors. Cottontail rabbits feasted on the lawn and weren't shy at all. I had them come quite close to me as I sat there enjoying the evenings. Once the sun went down, though, they were gone.

Just down the road from the Hacienda is the Mission San Antonio de Padua. Naturally we had to go check it out. This mission was the third founded by Father Junipero Serra in California. It's still an active mission, although the only people we saw there that day were a few other folks like us wandering around admiring the buildings and grounds and a docent in the museum/gift shop.
Mission San Antonio de Padua (To the left of the chapel)
The central fountain and gardens at Mission San Antonio de Padua are beautiful. Very peaceful and very well maintained with a large variety of trees and flowers. The roses were gorgeous with many varieties and colors and all covered with blooms. When we entered the gardens, we were greeted by a mama cat and 2 or 3 kittens.
I found 2 of the Mission cats playing in a tree in the gardens and had to take their portrait.

Later on, we headed back out to King City for dinner. The only dining opportunities for visitors on the fort are a snack bar called the Cable Cafe and another snack bar at the bowling alley. We decided we wanted something a little more substantial, so made the drive and found a restaurant called V's Diner. If you find yourself in King City some day at meal time, I highly recommend that restaurant. Good food and plenty of it! When we headed back onto the fort, we chatted with the guard at the gate for a few minutes about the area. And he "got me". We'd told him that we'd gone into King City for dinner and he asked us if we'd gone to the "Scottish" restaurant. My mom and I looked at each other and then told him that we hadn't seen a Scottish restaurant on the end of town where V's Diner is. The fellow had a very sly grin when he told us to be sure and stop at "McDonalds" next time we went into King City. Funny guy... lol, he had us giggling all the way back to the Hacienda from the gate. And for the rest of the trip, we referred to McDonalds as "The Scottish Restaurant".

Note: I added a bit of the history of the Hacienda to a later post from our trip if you're interested. The place has an interesting story to tell. Click here for the post with the history of the Hacienda.

Home Again..

I'm back home again and have a bunch of pictures to upload from the trip down the coast with my parents and have a few stories to tell. Will most likely start uploading and writing tomorrow. Right now I'm pretty tired. But, as a tease, I'll tell you that I've got photos from a couple of missions, Hearst Castle, some elephant seals, some kittens and more.

I got an email about Mario Lozano being "released" from the El Dorado County Jail while I was gone. It arrived on 5/27, but it didn't tell me where he'd been taken. I'm working on that and will post as soon as I have some information to report.

Loading... Loading....

Having worked for an architectural firm and been to numerous construction job sites, I have seen a lot of equipment arriving and departing. I have never seen a piece of equipment being loaded onto a truck like this one! I have to admit, the guy on this Bobcat is pretty talented! lol.. I couldn't resist posting it...

Bobcat Loads Itself onto Truck - Watch more free videos

More Wind.... Ugh!

Today is Day 3 of north winds. The weatherman said that we wouldn't have as much wind today, it was supposedly going to die down last night. I wish he'd told the wind that it wasn't supposed to blow today! As I look out my window here, the trees are bending and blowing in the wind pretty much the same as they did for the last 2 days. The strange part of it is that the wind is blowing a lot here in the valley, drying out the plants, making people miserable with their allergies and all, but up in the mountains the weather is very different. I got a call from my trucker friend and he reported that it was snowing up in Truckee! Yep! Snow! According to the weather websites some of that snow is actually supposed to stick to the ground.. Weird.

I keep checking the El Dorado County Sheriff's website where they show the inmates, and according to that page, Mario Lozano is still there. I've signed up on another website to receive an email when he is moved or his status changes. I haven't heard from them yet, so apparently Mario is still sitting in the El Dorado County Jail. I would have thought the state would have picked him up by now.

Other trial/crime news has been sort of interesting the last couple of days. Drew Peterson got arrested for a weapons violation, and Stacy is still missing. Phil Spector's date for the 2nd go around of his murder trial has been set for September 29th. And I finally found some "references" to the Rex Archer thing.. Sort of. Apparently there were Federal search warrants served on a local doctor who is running for a political office and the comments section of the local newspaper became quite a debate with Rex airing his dissatisfaction with the local paper and airing some of his legal woes (pertaining to his arrest a while back on child molestation charges.).

Postings here are going to be somewhat sporadic over the next week or so because I'm not going to be as close to my computer as usual. (I wish I had a laptop in addition to the desktop I have! lol) This weekend I'm going to be going back and forth from my house to my daughter's house because I'm "watching" the kids (2 teens and a 4 year old!) while my daughter and her husband "get away" for a couple of days by themselves. Then next week, I am going to be the driver for my Mom and Stepdad on a trip down the coast. But after the trip south, I should have some good photos to post (for those who are interested! lol)

Tuesday Thoughts...

That kitty looks very satisfied with life. It reminds me of my daughter's cat, Snuggles. Now Snuggles is an old cat, kind of scrawny and a little battered looking. My daughter lives across the street from me, but Snuggles has decided that he likes my yard. Almost every time I go outside, to water the lawn, to pull weeds or do anything, Snuggles is lounging about in the shade under the trees or bushes. He'll greet me with a "meow", then just ignore me unless I'm setting the sprinkler too close to his spot. Then he'll go and find another shady spot to lounge in. Thank goodness my two cats, Runt and Squeak don't seem to mind him being here.


This is my Runt. He's about 12 years old or so. He's been with me since he was about 3 weeks old. Some good friends of mine had a "mama" cat that had just had a litter of kittens and they couldn't keep her or the babies. They asked if I'd take them until the kittens were old enough to be weaned and adopted out. I did and thoroughly enjoyed having a room full of kittens running around. We eventually found homes for all the kitties, including the Mom. Runt stayed with me. He was the runt of the litter but grew up to be the biggest one. He's my "buddy". He follows me around the house and yard and talks to me.. He loves hanging about just being "company".

This is Squeak... She's my "auction cat". Back when I lived and worked in Sacramento, I used to go to estate auctions with my Mom and Stepdad. One of the auctions I went to had a lovely print of a kitten up for bid and I went after it, and got it. Then the auctioneer, Gene Paine, decided that since there were cat people in the building that day, he'd "auction" off a cat that had been dumped at the home of one of the workers at the auction. They were kind enough to loan me a carrier, give me a bag of food and some medicine that Squeak needed for her ears. She earned her name because she squeaks instead of meows. She's my "guard cat". If anything threatens me, whether it be a bird, another cat or animal, she's right there hissing and scratching to send them packing.

One of these days I need to take some new pictures of them...

Mario Lozano Sentencing ~ Updated x 2

Well, the Mountain Democrat finally has an article about the sentencing hearing last Friday. With a picture of Mario! I am guessing that the photo was taken while Mario was reading his statement. All I can read on the paper's site is "The man who shot and killed his former girlfriend with a shotgun was sentenced Friday to 50 years to life. Mar... Read More". But at least they put the picture on the lead page...

I am glad that I don't depend on this little newspaper for my news. The sentencing was Friday and I guess they don't put news like this in their Saturday or Sunday papers... They waited until Monday to print it.

As far as I can tell from the El Dorado Sheriff's Office Inmate Information pages, Mario is still at the jail there and hasn't been moved yet. I have a hunch that the California Department of Corrections will be picking him up today and taking him to start processing him into the prison system.

Update:
Thanks to "Anonymous", we have a copy of the article that the Mountain Democrat ran in their paper today. And I'm going to do a "no-no"... I am going to copy and paste it here..

By Eric Laughlin | Democrat staff writer | May 18, 2008 14:27

The man who shot and killed his former girlfriend with a shotgun was sentenced Friday to 50 years to life.

Mario H. Lozano’s arm began to twitch as Superior Court Judge Daniel B. Proud formally handed down the sentence that will likely translate into life behind bars.

Lozano, 60, showed no emotion minutes before that, when victim Kacie Barron’s brother Pat and two others read statements in open court.

“I feel empty and am full of rage,” Pat Barron said. “I don’t know how I stayed in my seat during this trial.”

He concluded his statement by glaring at Lozano and saying, “I hope you meet the love of your life in prison.”

Pat Barron’s wife Sharon then stepped up and said to the convicted killer: “Why couldn’t you have just handled rejection like a man and left Kacie alone and gone on your way?” She finished by telling Lozano she hopes he burns in hell.

Lozano was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury last month. He shot and killed 40-year-old Kacie Barron, of Placerville, in July 2006, following an argument outside of her Placerville travel trailer. Barron sustained two gunshot wounds, to her stomach and face.

After her family and friends had their say, Lozano angered them by reading a remorseless eight-page statement that lasted 15 minutes. Some of Kacie Barron’s supporters, including Pat, left the courtroom minutes into the statement.

“I have had no prior rap sheet,” Lozano told the packed courtroom. “My main goal in life has been to pursue a life of happiness. My life has been a gift. I have lived on 17 different islands and 30 different countries. I have built multi-million dollar homes for people you may have seen on television.” He concluded his statement by saying the thing he was proudest of is his two sons.

He made no mention of being sorry for the killing, but instead blamed methamphetamine for ruining Kacie Barron’s life.

Judge Proud then proceeded to sentencing by telling Lozano he didn’t hear one word of remorse in the lengthy statement. Proud gave the Hawaiian native 25 to life for the first-degree murder conviction and another 25 to life for the special firearm-use allegation.

Outside the courtroom many supporters said they were disgusted by Lozano’s long-winded statement.

“It was totally all about him,” Pat Barron said. “He couldn’t care less about anybody else.”

Prosecutor Dale Gomes said a lot of what Lozano said, including him owning a home in Kauai, was untrue.

“He’s delusional,” Gomes said. “This is a guy who has leeched off of everyone he’s come across his whole life.”

After the hearing Lozano was whisked out of the courtroom by sheriff’s officials. He was then returned to the El Dorado County Jail where he will await transfer to a state prison.

So now we wait for word on where they send him for processing into the system, and then we wait to find out where he gets to live out his days. I hope they don't send him to an "easy" prison. Maybe Pelican Bay?

2nd Update
Thanks again to Anonymous, we have the other picture that the Mountain Democrat had in their article about the sentencing hearing. Here it is, this is the Barron family and Prosecutor Dale Gomes (I think):

L to R, Kacie's Mom, Annie Walker, Brother Pat Barron holding Kacie's 2nd grade picture (the one he held in Mario's face), Pat's wife Sharon (Kacie introduced them), Stepdad Doug Walker in background and Dale Gomes. Small Update: Pat and Sharon are wearing t-shirts from the 2nd Annual Kacie's Ride for Hope to End Domestic Violence.

PEOPLE vs MARIO LOZANO (Sentencing)

May 16, 2008. El Dorado Co. Superior Court. People vs. Mario Lozano.Case # P06CRF0427

I arrived at the courthouse with Val Duncan about 3:20. Today I'm wearing the tee shirt that says: What Part of Thou Shalt Not Didn't You Understand? .GOD But for today I trimmed about 4" off my beard so people can read my shirt. Pat and Sharon are both wearing the 2nd Annual Kacie's Ride for Hope tee shirts. I see almost everyone that previously attended plus several new faces. We almost filled the courtroom today. Gomes is talking to us telling us that we will have an opportunity to speak in court. I am requesting copies of the letters read and will post them later. I will try to get a copy of the court transcript even if I have to buy it to also post Mario's statement...

3:35 Judge Keller enters. This is the time and place of judgment and sentencing for Mario Lozano.

The judge read a probationary report and addressed Gomes and Atwell about statements to be read. He states that Mario Lozano has been found guilty of murder in the first degree. He then opens the floor for us to read our letters. I am asking Pat and Sharon for copies of their letters to post later. I want to get the sentence posted tonight.

Pat begins by showing several family pictures including Kacie at different times of her life. The first one is Kacie's 2nd grade class picture. He shows it to us and states this is how he remembers his sister. He steps over and pushes the picture in Mario's face and retreated as the sheriffs were scrambling toward him. His last picture was of a recent family gathering and Kacie's missing. There's something wrong with this picture, he says. Then he read his letter.

Sharon then read her letter and while she was reading, Pat quietly got up and walked out of the courtroom.

Then I read my letter.

Atwell requests if they can have one of Mario's hands uncuffed so he can read his letter. The court complied.

Mario read his letter. About six pages! He got up on a soapbox and began tooting his own horn for about 30 minutes. He went on about not having a rap sheet... no criminal record... how hard he worked... building custom homes in the islands... he built his own home there, free and clear... had a boat and how many nautical miles he traveled, how many places he'd been to, how he had planned to sail more... he had a good family life, two sons... he's a patient man and the length of his beard testifies to that... he just wanted to help Kacie realize her dreams, he sent her money for that purpose... he never lived with her and never planned to... blah blah blah. When he ran he wasn't hiding out with two sixguns in his hands, his intention was to arrange meetings with a lawyer and his son to sign everything he owned into his son's name to prevent the court from seizing everything to auction and cover court expenses and restitution... yadda yadda... and he had to bring up the problem of methamphetamine and wahh wahh waahhh. The bottom line was this: his only regret was leaving the island to come here! He closed with: he felt he had paid enough money to this community and that was his last word!
Yes, he did close with that was his last word!
His letter was a testimony of his pride and selfishness! We were shaking our heads wondering what his statements had to do with killing Kacie or her survivor's grief. We often looked at each other in confusion or disgust like "what the .... ?" He read it so fast the court recorder had to stop him three times and ask him to slow down.

Judge Keller addressed Mario and commented on the fact that there was not one word of remorse for his action. He then pronounced sentence:

On count 1 of first degree murder, 25 to life.
Special circumstances for discharging a firearm, 25 to life.
To run consecutively totaling 50 to life with no possible parole before 50 years and no possible time off.
On count 2 of auto theft, 2 years to run concurrent.
parole stipulations would run for 5 years.

He has 60 days to file an appeal and will not be allowed to file for appeal after that.

So there you have it, minimum 50 years.
Part of my statement was that at first I was dissapointed the death penalty would not apply. But after thinking about it, I realized that death would be the kindest sentence for Mario allowing him an escape from the memory of what he did. An escape Kacie's family and friends can't have.

Here's the sentence, I'll post more details later.
Gene.

UPDATE 5/25/2008

I have contacted the court recorder and will have a copy of the transcript for the May 16, 2008 sentencing in about 3 weeks. I could get it for 1/4 of the cost if I wait over 2 months. I don't want to wait that long for you readers to hear Mario's boasting and lies about himself. So check back later when I get it posted.

Chaplain Limeygene.

Summer? In May?

Well, we had our first 100 degree day yesterday and it looks like we'll be having a few more of them over the next few days. According to one of the online weather sites we're supposed to hit 104 degrees today. I don't think I'll be doing much of anything outside today. I'm sure glad that my landlord got the new air conditioner installed before the heat hit.

Today is the sentencing hearing for Mario Lozano. My brother has said that he will be at the hearing and hopefully we'll hear soon after what the judge has decided. If I remember correctly the hearing is at 3pm this afternoon.

According to the local paper, The Appeal Democrat, there was another accident on one of the 2 lane highways around here. And another fatality. A man in a pickup truck crossed into the oncoming lane and slammed head-on into a Hummer. The man in the pickup died and the woman in the Hummer suffered major injuries. There was a third car, a silver Honda, involved in the accident as well, but the driver of that vehicle only suffered minor injuries. According to the article, they don't know yet why the driver of the pickup crossed into the opposing lane. I'm wondering if the guy in the pickup was another of those idiot drivers in a hurry and was trying to pass the Honda....

Interesting Warning Sign...

Hmm.. Would you consider going near a tiger cage if there were a sign posted saying what this one says at the bottom?

Other stuff:
Today my landlord is installing a new air conditioning/heating unit.. Just in time too, since the weatherman is saying that it's going to hit 100 degrees sometime this week... So far this morning it's been nice. Yesterday's high winds are gone and we have a lovely breeze blowing. All the windows are open today... lol, at least so far today.

Another interesting image I found this morning is this one:

It was taken on May 3rd this year when the volcano named Chaitén in Chile erupted after a 9000 year silence. The National Geographic website has more images and information about the eruption. Just look at the lightning in the ash cloud... Incredible!

Windy Monday.....

I got woke up early this morning by the lovely sound of the venetian blinds slapping against the window sill. We've got a strong north wind blowing today, so now all the windows on the north side of the house are closed. And, naturally, with the north wind, we've got lots of dirt and pollen in the air and my allergies are kicking up. I am tired of sneezing.

At least out here in Meridian we don't have the problems that Marysville has. The Appeal Democrat is reporting in their "Breaking News" that the winds are kicking up a fire on the northern edge of the city of Marysville. PG&E are also reporting numerous power outages around Yuba and Sutter Counties. So far so good out here in Meridian, I haven't seen the power blink yet, but if the winds keep up, I'm sure I will. If it doesn't go out completely that is. One thing that Meridian has to it's advantage though is the presence of a PG&E maintenance facility here in town. We usually get our power back fairly quickly if something goes down/out that affects the whole town.

In trial watching news, as usual, I spent some time this weekend lurking and posting on the In Session Message boards and am amazed at how some folks can come up with off-the-wall theories that have no basis in fact, no evidence, nothing at all that can justify their ideas. Then, this morning when I looked at the icanhazcheezeburger.com website I found this image that perfectly fits some of those folks.



In other words, don't confuse me with facts! Don't tell me how my whodunit idea won't fit the evidence. I CAN'T HEAR YOU, so I'll just continue posting my own ideas and to heck with facts! lol...

Today is Monday the 12th of May... Mario Lozano's sentencing is this Friday, the 16th. Counting today, he has 5 days until he knows how long he gets to stay locked up for murdering Kacie Barron. And 4 months from tomorrow it will be time for Kacie's Ride For Hope to End Domestic Violence.

Impatient Driver Rant

I logged on to the website for my local paper, the Appeal Democrat, this morning and found yet another accident caused by an impatient driver on the front page. An impatient idiot tried to pass an Amtrak bus on Highway 70 and managed to involve himself, the bus, two vans and two other cars in a pile-up. One woman from San Jose was killed in the accident and several others were injured and taken to hospitals. Oh yeah, and the accident caused the highway to close down while the authorities cleaned up the mess, no doubt causing a few other drivers to be "impatient" when they got moving again...

A lot of the rural 2-lane highways are deathtraps because of these idiots who are in such a hurry that they just have to pass a slower vehicle. When I was driving trucks around the country and around this area, I saw way too many of these idiots. And yes, I had to slam my brakes on to avoid hitting someone or something because of them. Yes, trucks go slower. The powers that be have determined that in California the trucks can't go faster than 55 miles per hour, on any road. Other vehicles are allowed to go faster, 60, 65 or 70 miles per hour depending on the road you're on. Ok, so what does passing that slower vehicle get you? Well, if the road isn't heavily traveled like Highway 99, or Highway 70 or even Highway 20, it gets you to where you're going a few minutes faster. Wow. Are those few minutes that important? When you're on a heavily traveled road why risk your life as well as the lives of the folks in all those other vehicles just to gain those "precious" few minutes?

Now the accident that happened yesterday was senseless to the max. If the idiot had waited just a few minutes, he'd have been on a 4-lane section of that highway! Crazy! All because he didn't want to be behind a bus. And buses aren't restricted to the 55 mph rule. They can go the same speeds as the cars! Most likely the bus was going "slower" because of the traffic! So, the 22 year old driver/idiot smashed into the bus, causing it to go off the road, then smashed head on into one of the vans coming the other way and killed the woman driving it. Smart move, idiot. Now you get to pay the price for your stupidity.

I think I'll go pour another cup of coffee. And maybe rip some weeds out of the ground.

Poof!

hehe.. This LOLCat gave me a giggle...

more cat pictures...

Maybe I should be separating my posts more instead of grouping a lot of things together like I've done in the last couple of posts, but it seems easier for me to just ramble on in one post... Oh well.. My reminder for today: 8 more days until we hear what sentence Mario Lozano will get for murdering Kacie Barron. I'm sure my brother will be there and will let us know what happened. My heart goes out to Pat Barron and the rest of Kacie's family and friends.

Trampoline Fun Anyone?

I found an unusual video this morning. I doubt if you'd see a wild fox "playing" on a trampoline very often. The copy of it on YouTube was uploaded about 2 years ago, but I'd never seen it until this morning. He (or she!) looks like it's enjoying that bouncy place very much! lol...


On to other stuff, the cherries that I posted about on Sunday are about half gone now. The birds have found the tree and are having a ball stealing the cherries. My cats seem to enjoy watching the birds in that tree.. They will sit on a table that is near the back fence where the tree is and just watch the birds fly through. Of course, the birds seem to enjoy dive bombing my cats too. My next door neighbor's girlfriend had a good time with a ladder and a huge zip lock bag next to the fence. She's taking a gallon or so of the cherries to her daughter's when she goes for a visit later today. And, yes, I've been picking them too. They're yummy!

Speaking of "dive bombing" birds. Yesterday I was watching my 4 year old grandson blowing bubbles in the front yard and a pair of humming birds actually dive bombed him! I wish I'd had my camera with me because the look on my grandson's face was priceless! I have no clue why the birds did it. I don't think we were near a nest or anything! Maybe they were just trying to communicate to us that it was time to refill the humming bird feeders?

Today is May 7th. That means 9 more days until Mario Lozano finds out how long he gets to stay in prison for killing Kacie Barron.

Kacie's Ride for Hope is on for this year. The ride will be September 13th this year and the flyer is Here. (It's a pdf file, so it may take a moment or two to load.) Kacie's brother Pat has a page up about this year's ride: Kacie's Ride For Hope 2008. The web page says they are gearing up for this year's ride, looking for donations of cash or raffle prizes. Last year's ride enabled Pat and the rest of the supporters to donate $7,525.00 to the El Dorado Women's Center in Kacie's memory! They're hoping to top that amount this year. I hope they do it! They've also added a page of pictures from last year's ride; 2007 Kacie's Ride Photos. I spotted my brother in one of the shots! lol...

Cherries and Stuff

The neighboring house right behind me has cherry trees planted along the fence. Two or three varieties. One of the trees has ripe cherries on it that the birds haven't stolen yet. I've been out there picking some the last couple of days and have shared some with my daughter across the street and I've got a bowl full of them in the refrigerator. More will be ripe enough to pick tomorrow too. I don't know the variety of the ones that are ripe now, but they sure are good.
I've been looking through my cookbooks at recipes to try with them since there are so many. As long as I can beat the birds to them! Plus the trees on either side of this one have cherries that will ripen in a couple weeks or so, I think.

Other stuff; The little town I'm living in had a community yard sale even this weekend. A lot of folks pitched in to run the ad in the paper and there were yard sales all over town. It was a pretty good day for it too. The weather was perfect. Clear, sunny and not hot with a little breeze blowing most of the day. I put my stuff at my daughter's in-laws sale, since I didn't have a lot of stuff sorted out yet. The town might do it again this fall. Maybe I'll have some stuff sorted out of my storage unit to add more items to sell. Now, you have to understand, this town is small. The sign out on the highway says we have less than 500 people in town. (And that supposedly includes the folks living on the farms in the surrounding area.) We're sort of in between two larger towns. 10 miles one way, and 15 miles the other. So, just having one yard sale here in town doesn't usually get a lot of "customers". But, if you advertise that there are sales going on all over town... Well, the yard salers will come out here. We had lots of folks come by and lots of them bought stuff. Yay! I felt sorry for one young couple. As they were carrying their treasures out to their car, the young fellow asked me where the gas station was here in town. I had to tell him that we don't have one. The closest stations are 10 miles to the west or 15 miles to the east. They looked a bit unhappy when I told them. I hope they made it to a station! What's left over from the sale is going to get loaded in my son-in-law's dad's pickup tomorrow and will go over to the Cancer Society's thrift shop. And we'll all start sorting through boxes to see what we want to part with in the Fall.

More stuff; It looks like I'll be doing a little traveling later this month. My Step-dad wants to go down to Fort Hunter-Ligget and do a little sight seeing around that area and has asked me to do the driving so he can relax and enjoy the scenery. He and my Mom have even made reservations for us to take one of the tours through Hearst Castle! That's a place I've wanted to visit for years and just never had the opportunity. When I get back from that I should have some good pictures to post. (Must remember to charge the camera batteries! LOL)

Today is May 4th. 12 more days until Mario Lozano's sentencing hearing. 12 more days until we know how long they are going to put him away for killing Kacie. My brother is still planning on being there in the courtroom and will post what he sees and hears, I'm sure. My hopes are that they will put him in there for good. But, even if they do give him a possibility of parole, I hope it's long enough in the future that they have to carry him out of there in a box. Any man who kills someone and then says that he was only "putting someone out of their misery" doesn't deserve any kind of freedom. 12 more days.