The baseball from the park

Well over a decade ago, I found this baseball at a park in Patterson, California:

It's ironic that I've kept it because I do not know the rules of baseball, nor has baseball ever been an interest of mine. It's more for sentimental reasons that I keep it; after all, baseball is massively popular in the United States, so why not hang on to a piece of that sport?

The baseball has not been used in any game since I've owned it. There is no structural reason why it couldn't be used again, however: It's old and has some minor signs of wear but it's sturdy and intact. It's even somehow managed to retain the smell of "newness". Still, I would prefer for it not to be used again, as I don't want to risk causing any major damage to it.

Carnival 2013 (2)

Here are some pictures from yesterday's carnival. The carnival began at 2:00pm and lasted until about 6:00.

There was a parade that snaked its way through the town and this bunch of balloons was at the front. I recognise Buzz Lightyear, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Micky and Minnie Mouse in that mess.

Somebody dressed up as Tin Woodman from The Wizard of Oz. Normally I've seen this character portrayed with a smile!

This is the "Cowboys and Indians" float; at first this float bothered me because I thought it was something mocking American Indians, but I later learnt that it was supposed to represent harmony between cowboys and Indians.

I thought that this year's parade was smaller than last year's; my brother thought they were the same length but I recall more floats.

Another balloon, this time it's a unicorn with purple hair.

These are the targets for the archery stand; my brother was going to try the archery out but for some reason he changed his mind. I've only tried archery once and that was back in Patterson, California.

Two flags above the candy stand. While British flags were a common sight, I was surprised to see an American flag present. The couple running the stand didn't appear to be American, but then again, they could have lived over there as I once did!

One of the two ice cream vans present; this was the bigger of the two. My brother bought himself and me ice cream before I left; I had a double-caramel bar!

A closing shot, taken around 5:30. Most people had left by this time and the park was in the process of being cleaned up for daily use again; I left after I took this picture. I hope the carnival will return again next year.

The significance of "Fur the Color of Dark Grey Skies"

Fur the Color of Dark Grey Skies was written in September of 2002, two weeks before I wrote Colors of Tabby. While Colors of Tabby was about our cat Tinker, Fur the Color of Dark Grey Skies was about our Smudge, our other cat. That the title uses both an American-spelt word and a British-spelt word was likely an oversight, but now I think it actually works for the poem.

There are no nonsensical verses for "filler" in Fur the Color of Dark Grey Skies: each line is about a different aspect of Smudge. For example, the title is a reference to his fur, which was a grey color; and "Feral though domestic" refers to the fact that his mother was a feral cat, although Smudge himself was domestic. When we lived in Patterson, California, one of our neighbors came across Smudge's mother and litter in her yard, and she took them inside her house to look after them (the kittens anyway, I am not sure about the mother). All of the kittens were given new homes, and we were the family that received Smudge (and it was my Dad that named him).

Smudge had a different personality to Tinker, but he was still very good-natured and a character; while Tinker was happy to meet people, Smudge would hide in either mine or my brother's bed; it took him time to get to know someone new, but when he did feel comfortable with them coming to our house he would greet and even purr for them. Whenever he was given a brush, it took at least two of us to get the job done (he was a large, strong cat, likely because of Maine Coon ancestry in him); if anything, he preferred being bathed to being brushed. He often came into my room and my brother's, and was happy to sleep on either of our beds. Smudge did not have a near-constant purr: he only purred (and it was more of a "rumble" than a purr) if he was in a really good mood or was on someone's bed or lap. One of his habits involved dipping his paw in water and licking it off himself, and later in life found he preferred fresh water (he would lick the bathtub and its curtains, the sinks after recent use, and drink from cups). As for Tinker and Smudge's relationship, the cats did get on well: they would often play and sleep together, as well as occasionally pull some silly stunt that would either confuse or amuse us.

He died on March 6th, 2009, and would have been thirteen years old that May. As Tinker was dying Smudge had developed a serious problem with his kidneys; the condition was critical, and at his age it would have been very difficult to treat him. We were devastated to lose both our cats within a month of each other; as with Tinker, Smudge's life was happy, long, and eventful.

The Oregon move

The last two posts have been move-related, and it seems I am now going to post another one! Anyway, it is now eleven years to the date that my family and I moved from Patterson, California to Medford, Oregon. I can remember us being excited about getting to see a new state (at that point, my brother and I had only lived in California and visited Nevada), although we were also saddened about leaving California, a place that had been our home for close to five years.

It was sunny and clear along the stretch of the I-5 from the Modesto area all the way up to the Rogue Valley. We had set off early, before 9:00am, and made it to Medford probably about around 5:00 in the evening, as I remember it being close to sunset when we arrived. We encountered few if any delays on our way up, and we did not rush the journey at all. It was exciting to see the "Welcome to Oregon" sign, and it was at that point that we knew the drive up was almost over: within a day we had gone from living in a valley and having mountain ranges on either side of us to actually living in the mountains...I will not forget the first time we saw our house.

To think how long ago that all happened: we did not expect that ten years on from that day we would then be getting used to living in a new country again (well, technically the old country, but the sheer amount of time we lived in the United States, plus the fact my brother and I grew up there, makes the United Kingdom seem like a totally different country). No, I am not complaining here...merely reflecting on the past and thinking about what has changed and what is still the same from back then.

Coincidentally, we met an American today, though she was not from Oregon (Tennessee, in fact). We have actually met several Americans since being back in the United Kingdom, but I did find it interesting to meet one on the anniversary of our Oregon move.

The swimming pool

Our first home in the United States was located in Patterson, a town near Modesto in the Central Valley of California. That house came with a large in-ground swimming pool, containing a "shallow end" and a "deep end". The pool was brilliant because 1. the house's AC was faulty, 2. that part of the Central Valley gets 100+ degree Fahrenheit weather pretty much every day during the summer, and 3. swimming is fun in itself. Before we swam in the pool, Dad had to clean it, as it was clear the pool had not been cleaned for several months prior to us moving in.

During one of the early cleaning sessions of the pool, while Dad was walking around it doing the cleaning, I was following him and talking, and if I recall correctly, Dad stopped suddenly, and I kept going, avoided him, but then fell in at the deep end! Fortunately, Dad had got most of the dirt out of the pool at the time I had fallen in, and he was quick to get me out of the pool. My brother and I soon learned how to swim after this incident.

We swam on most sunny days during our time in that house; a few times we used the pool for our parties and occasionally for those of friends: being in the pool and then eating barbecued food was a wonderful thing to do (though we never ate then swam, of course). While we have not swam on a regular basis since we left that house in 1999 nor swam in a pool at all since 2003, swimming is still something that I am fond of, recommend to others, and would like to do again.