MATZEK FAMILY REUNION-2017

 

Four years now, we've gone to Lake Tahoe for our family reunion. The cabin we rented sleeps 16 people. It had a pretty picture on-line but the square footage proved a tight squeeze. The lighting was poor and the place had “garage sale” amenities. On one end of the table, a Rummicube game, and on the near end, cribbage. Our entire group could not fit around the table.



Our family is big on games. The only other activity was a hot tub. We took turns at the games.



Doug, besides being the master chef, served as D.J. and kept us supplied with tunes by request.



Saturday, before lunch, we drove to King’s Beach which is close to our Pina Grande rental.  The water was refreshing, the beach crowded, but we had a spot in the shade. Laurie, Theo and Austin played frisbee in the water and did a fair amount of swimming. The beach was quite narrow with the recent rains filling the lake to near capacity.

 Ken took a cooling dip and came back to shore for snacks.



It is possible to walk out a couple hundred feet and still be in shallow water.



People of all ages paddle board safely, considering the lake is 6,000 feet deep at the center. It was volcano at one time.



This young girl was very adept, taking her dog for a ride.



Off she went. She didn’t seem to have any adult supervision.



She and her brother had their own shade and their own boards. She told us she was local and they spend every minute they can at the beach.



It was time for snacks…



…and a cool drink. Ahh. Refreshing.



Theo proceeded to dig a hole. His mother said, “Tell me my son’s not going to be an engineer.”



Owen barely got his toes wet, enough to cool off. He wished he’d brought his swimwear.



The “sisters” decided to have a photo together.



Not to be outdone, Virginia decided to remove her shirt and show her “girls.” Grandma decided to do likewise. Omigod! I can’t believe I did that!



On the way back to the parking lot, Austin found these cards stuck up in the sand. We wondered if they were directions for someone?

While we were at the beach, Cedric made his signature pies, except, he had a flour shortage and the crust wasn’t his usual standard. Austin and Theo were given the privilege to carve the crust decorations.



Doug and I fixed Friday nights dinner. Saturday, was Virginia’s night to cook. She made taco fixin’s to die for. This family eats well.



Normally television is off-limits on our reunions. I had asked the boys what their favorite movies were? They tossed me names and the bond film, Casino Royale with the latest Bond character was everyone’s favorite. Ken happened to have the movie and we all got to see the last scene. I guess, now I’ll have to find it on Yahoo.



Sunday morning breakfast, Laurie put out gobs of fruit and bacon to go with Virginia’s pancakes. I prefer pie for breakfast along with the fruit. There was no lack of choices.



Sunday, grandson, Stewart drove up for the day. His girlfriend Allie is in nursing school and stayed in the library to study. It was nice to have a good visit with Stewart. And it was nice to move the games outside where we could more or less all be together and the light was great.



Cedric played Mr. Fixit and repaired two torn screens on the front deck.


He likes to make himself useful.



We left for the beach later in the day on Sunday and struggled to find a spot with a bit of shade. It was even busier than Saturday.



Theo brought a couple of shovels and deepened his hole and came home with a blister.



With skin so fair, the redhead claimed he was fine. His spray doesn’t wash off for several hours. He and Theo played frisbee with me for a while, but they wore me out very quickly.



I caught a nice shot of Owen who tends to be deliberately camera-shy.



A friendly game of elevator, and our last dinner. This time prepared by Laurie and Ken. Special Italian pasta and gluten free pasta with BBQ’d chicken. More fruits and much more. Stewart left with a huge “doggie bag”.

 Doug and I were first to arrive and last to leave. It took us 2.5 hours to drive up on Friday but 5.5 hours to return to Murphys on Monday morning.  We had slowdowns, but saw no accidents. Ken and Laurie, Cedric and Virginia, made it home within about the same time frame as they arrived. Ken, Laurie, Kris and Austin made a game of counting returnees from Burning Man.  Between them they spotted 500 plus Burners. Doug and I spotted one bus and two cars. Every year is different, but we always fun.

RELIVING BALLOON FUN, AND OTHER TRIVIA

Jim IZ repeating blogs from our 892 day circumnavigation of the U.S.  Don't know if that number is correct or just close. But we were visiting New Mexico in May of 2012 and like many of our adventures, we happened upon a balloon launch and ended up, as Fergie would say, "getting high". 800 feet high. Of course, he also says, "I'm drinkin and drinkin' and thinkin' of drinkin." He invited us into their small circle and made us members. I finally got to see the two balloon blogs today and remember the fun of that time. So, go look if you are inclined.
With Google taking over Wordpress, they've tweaked our blog and I can blog but I can't see what Jim is blogging even though we share the same page. They've quit supporting our editing program. I dislike google's intrusive business model and I avoid anything Google if I can. But, they bought Wordpress and they own my other Blog, Blogspot.

My handy helpers worked all day yesterday and tore apart my guest outbuilding because it had gotten some black mold that came through when the siding got damp and soil accumulated against the wood. Then I got the news, that not only mold, but termites had invaded. They had to cut into the sheet rock and use Terminex which is stinky stuff. Hopefully the smell will be gone soon when they return to finish the job on Saturday.

One good thing, I was forced to face some of my infamous collections. Being a collectiholic is incurable, but space is now more crowded than ever and I am tossing things I've saved for years. I ran across my rejection slips from when I was freelancing in the 1980s. I figured I'd have to wallpaper the bathroom with them, but luckily that didn't happen.

I ran across a Lefthander magazine, that I put in the rack because my daughter Kristanne is a south-paw.
I found, in Virginia's neat handwriting, a luscious recipe for gingerbread using fresh ginger. I have tons of stuff to find a home for, but it is fun to look. I'm hoping to find space to take my artwork seriously because, I never made it to the outbuilding to create. I just stored stuff for "some day."
Here are pictures of the treated building.

The Terminex kills the termites. The bleach solution kills the mold, which had to be scraped in some places off the cement floor.

Drawers under the bed in the guest room had to have the bottom removed. Termites like to eat the easy stuff. Sunlight and lack of moisture should put an end to them.


The breeze-way between the buildings is full of shelving. It is NOT going back in because it is time to downsize collections. I took magazines to the library today, old magazines and they were glad to get them. People love them I was told, just like I did.

I guess I'm looking at my past and future entwined. That is a direct quote. 

FLUME PARTY

Past family reunions always included a run on the flume over the Independence Day Holiday. Virginia is floating peacefully along. I chose this picture to show what the flume looks like with dappled sun, shadows, and growth on the banks of the gunite flume. It was built during the gold rush to bring water to the miners.

A staying hand, a paddle or two, and the tube obeys in the swirling waters.

Flume Master, Doug, is the hoss, picking the best drop-in to start and the best, and the safest, pull-out near an eddy. He wanted to introduce his friends, Dirk Christianson and family to a unique waterway.

Everyone carries  their own tube. You can jump in anytime but a low spot we've nicknamed the beach is Doug's choice to launch. The gunite can be rough on knees and elbows so an anchor helps people up the bank.  The flume is practically in our backyard, so it's been our air conditioning for years. Jump in, get your clothes wet and stay cool in half damp clothes for the rest of the day.

Mother, Kelly skipped the first run. She is strong and supple and has the appearance of a yoga maven.

And that is the way she sat her tube. Doug told me later that she is a yoga aficionado. I love my yoga and thai chi, so we have a lot in common.

Daughter Kendal...

...and her friend, Jenna were enjoying the ride. The water is high this year, but that is a relative term. Some places are thigh deep, others calf deep. In a low year, your butt can't always clear the rocks.

Dirk is watchful, and takes the tubes out for the girls

Young and nimble, they need no help to get up the bank.

They tell the Flume Master all about their experience. It looks like Kendal has twigs caught in her hair, but I think it is branches from an overhead tree.

Time out for snacks between runs.

By the second...
...and third runs, the girls are relaxed and playing games. Kendal admitted they were careful on the first run, watching for poison oak,  spiders, the swift curves and maybe other things Doug teased them about.

Dirk liked the flume. He also pulled out some plastic garbage tangled in some bushes.  The girls snagged a flattened tube someone ditched on the bank. Our rules are you take everything out that you bring in. Kudos.

Dirk found himself a cool spot, hanging onto a tree root, to sit and enjoy the cooling water in the shade.

Virginia and Theo got into a race, passed the girls and...
...the winner was Theo,  first under the bridge.

Mom was a close second.

When Theo made it up top, he was surprised to find out that his dodge past a patch of blackberries left him souvenirs.  The flume is not a straight shot. It winds around and around to slow the water and passes several spots for water to be taken out in case of fire.

Cedric opted to snack and stay on the bridge with Owen who appeared to be feeling poorly, though he denied it.

Hmm! I don't know. There has to be something amiss with a 17 year old who doesn't pay attention to two beautiful girls. Time to do some digging and turn that sad face into a smile.

Back at the house, the Flume Master also reigns as Master Meat Chef. Doug makes some amazing tri-tip, ribs, sausage and chicken come off the grill.

Neighbors Cindy and Gary Gonzalez joined us for eats, along with my brother, Bill. Pushing eighty he looks terrific for his age. I'd like to steal some of his natural curly hair. He told me to meet him at the barbershop and take home what I wanted. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, doncha know.

Happy Independence Day tomorrow.