Celebrating a little piece of local history!

on September 8th, Sylvan Cemetery will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary! yes, that means that it was established back in 1862. it started out with less than an acre along Auburn Blvd in the heart of what I call “Old” Citrus Heights. now the cemetery covers 18 acres......... way more than I realized. 

Photo from Sylvan Cemetery District website.

the Sylvan Cemetery District was established in 1926, the oldest in Sacramento County, and covers from Folsom Lake to the other side of the Sacramento Metropolitan Airport.

what is a District? in the case of cemeteries, a District is a local agency created in an election and governed by a board appointed trustees. the District is accountable to the public and are responsible for governing the care and maintenance of the cemetery thought the collection of an endowment fund. they collect money from plot purchases to place in the fund but can only use the interest earned to take care of the cemetery. I totally didn’t know this stuff!

anyway…….back to my story……..this Saturday the cemetery is celebrating its 150th Anniversary and throwing themselves a party! from 11am to 3pm they will be hosting tours of the cemetery and telling stories about the 1,300 soldiers from as far back as the Civil War and Spanish-American War buried there along with many of the founding families of Citrus Heights. there are some beautiful headstones and statues to view and you might even learn a few things.

so bring your curiosity and come see a piece of history in our own backyard! also bring a couple bucks as they will probably be asking for donations to fund a bell tower. I wish it would be similar to a church bell that would count down the hours. I am sure the kids next door at Sylvan Middle School would hope for the same. but it sounds like it will chime for funerals and other formal occasions. either way, it sounds like a lovey addition to a site that makes Citrus Heights a beautiful place to live…….and die?!?!? (and it is tax deductible)

7401 Auburn Blvd, Citrus Heights, 11am to 3pm

oh the things you could do!

well.....if you have the time or could be in 2 (or 3) places at one time! all very cool things! I am so thankfully that Sacramento has so many great options to spend your free time doing.

• in case you have fallen prey to the propaganda put forth by that dastardly Wizard, you can spend Saturday afternoon at the Crest Theater enjoying the Wizard of Oz sing-along! Karaoke starts at 1pm.
• tonight is an outdoor viewing of the Wizard of Oz at the Crocker Art Museum. (sorry for the last minute notice...I WAS going to give you 3 hours notice but Blogger decided maintenance was more important than informing you about this!) not billed as a sing-along, though I have been promised that no singers will be punished. the event starts at 8pm. I would suggest a quick check at the weather since there is a huge fire burning at 7th and Richards and all of downtown has that "fresh smoked" feeling.

I wanna know when they are going to make a Wicked movie and then have sing alongs for the faithful! Elphaba Lives!

• tomorrow night, Thursday, plenty of notice, don't complain if you didn't know about it already...... is Wonderbread 5 at Outdoors at UC Davis.....as you might assume AT the UCD Med Center. that nifty link will give you a link to directions in case you are Med Center area challenged like I am! be a good sport, take some soda tabs or laundry detergent or microwave popcorn by the Ronald McDonald House while you are in the area! it will start your night off with GROOVY karma!!

• finally, if that ol' "sing the praises of Oz" thing isn't for you.....but yellow squishy fruits are more your style (somehow that didn't look as good written out as it sounded in my head)....the head over to the Second Annual Banana Fest! really, you could do both since this event is August 13th & 14th! the event is at William Land Park (handy dandy close to the Sacramento Zoo) and features all those wonderful foods that make the smell of ripening bananas worth it along with some pretty nifty entertainment for the entire family! where do I sign up for the banana split eating contest? AND, if the $7 price tag makes you skittish, have I got a deal for you!!* follow @BananaFestival on Twitter, mention them in a tweet today, and you will get a code for $5 tickets! that gives you $2/person towards the purchase of your favorite banana delicacy! I have heard that you can only use the code once per order but can use it on multiple orders.....just think how much money you and your bunch (of bananas) can save!

finally, if you are in the mood for a darn good movie (and some popcorn whether it is good, bad, or indifferent) remember that my favorite movie of the year, The Help, comes out tonight! remember me talking about it?

I think I am missing something (even though I DID make a list!). so how about if I just state that these amazing events are in addition to all the already great things you can enjoy before the summer disappears and I start singing the praises of Halloween, pumpkin patches, and how bad I look in the color orange!

*not really a I-have-personally-scored-for-you kinda deal......just something I saw and of course had to share.

12 of 12......the man about town edition

or really it should be the WOMAN about town......but whatever!

sorry I haven't been blogging recently. it isn't as though nothing has been happening.......just no time. I really need to get mobile blogging set up! really I do!

and with that........ on with the show!

a little different order to my photos and you will see why at the end! but in general this is a tour of the art pieces and odd/interesting things I see in my day to day life as a downtown worker! this first one is the clock/sign from an old nolongerinbusiness bank. if I get off the train a stop early I get to see it after getting my Starbucks. I didn't think it worked and am still not sure. it was only off by about 10 minutes when I took this photo, but that might have been a coincidence! lol!
because the 2 blocks between that sign and Starbucks can be a little dicey, I instead walk through the downtown mall. it has security, business traffic, and a Jamba for those mornings where I don't want Starbucks but still want something. while waiting to cross the street, I can watch the Hard Rock guitar spin around and around.

supposedly they are going to get rid of this and update this end of the mall. I have heard they are going to replace it with a Time Square kinda rolling marque. I say forget it and keep the guitar! anyway........just past the guitar are the granite guards to the mall.

rather odd looking. this is the female of the pair. I actually like the tiles cascading down the column but have no clue why she is holding a ball, wearing that mask, or even there for that matter! pre-caffeine this is even more confusing.

not to be outdone by the cool statues and such located in our classy downtown area, our building has its own piece of art.

I actually tried to get a photo with a person IN it so you could see how tall and skinny this thing is. it has to be 20 feet tall. blech!

for lunch, I met a scrapping friend, Deb. she only works a couple blocks away so I walked over to meet her. on the way I passed the world's ugliest building. I believe once they actually finish it Guiness will be out to authenticate the title.

yes, that blue stuff is permanent! at first I thought it must be some plastic coating that was protecting something while construction was going on.......but no! and the tan stuff is a mottled fake marble kinda stuff. the darn thing looks like a hospital. a really ugly outdated hospital where people never seem to get better because it is depressing just being there!

but lunch was nice! we met at Il Forniao. not a regular haunt of mine, but it was really nice to have an enjoyable grown-up meal with a friend. (and get a rare photo of us together at the same time)

on the way back to the office, I snapped a photo of a statue that still catches me off guard when I see it.

perfect for a real estate broker's building, don't you think?!?!? it is actually a really neat statue and the detailing is wonderful. I don't know why I am still startled when I see it.

after that I snapped a nice photo of our building. not a super exciting building......but not a contender for world's ugliest either! lol!!

after finishing my day of work, I trot on over to catch Light Rail home. I took a photo of the Capitol, but you have already seen one in a previous 12of12. it looks the same! lol! though maybe I should do monthly shots of it like I used to my office window so we can see the changing seasons?!?! we shall see!

anyway, at the spot where I get off Light Rail (if I don't make a Starbucks or Jamba run) there is this sign. depending on how the lights are running I also pass it on my way to catch Light Rail in the other direction.

that is it! just this marker on the side of the light pole. ta-da! no synagogue, just a sign.

when I got to my Light Rail pick up spot about a week or so after starting to work downtown, I first noticed this building. it is the Stanford Home. I KNEW I wanted to get a picture of it! this is where famed Leland Stanford of the Big Four, former governor, etc used to live. I love the irony of his old house being dwarfed by the huge building behind him. I am sorry about all the street lights and such in the photo but atleast I waited for the vanpool bus to pull away. I was told that there is a state agency that uses the house for their offices!

then I catch the train and start the first leg of my trip home (or would it be the second leg after walking to the train being my first leg?!?!?) anyway, I take the train and on the way home we pass the Sacramento Cathedral. I don't have time to get off the train to take a picture, but can see it through my window twice a day.

sorry for the glare from the strip lighting in the train. guess it gives it all that *real* feeling?!?! anyway, I finish my ride home, walk to my car, and then die of heat stroke.......

yep! it was 70 when I got in the car this morning. and it got up to 109 while driving home. l-o-v-e-l-y!! and while usually one can brush it off with a quip about it being a dry heat........it has been MUGGY here recently! an energy sucking horrible heat! (which is why this didn't get posted last night)

that is my 12of12 for August! thanks for checking me out!

a very un-Eastery Easter.....

would that be like an un-Brady Brady Christmas?!?!?

anyway, yesterday was Easter. for some reason it was a little *off*. perhaps because we had no egg hunt to attend on Saturday. instead the boys had bowling. perhaps because we didn't dye eggs until late Saturday. perhaps because the Bunny only hid the hard boiled decorated eggs instead of 5 zillion additional plastic eggs. perhaps because my mom, stepdad, and nana weren't here. perhaps because we attended no crazy brunch. I am not too sure!

BUT......in our own odd way, we did celebrate Easter. we went to Fox & Goose for a lovely breakfast! afterwards we welcomed the spring harvest by buying lots of wonderful fruits and vegetables at a farmers market we were told about. R spent most of the time framing and taking pictures. he is quite enjoying my camera and J is starting to agree that maybe I need a new camera (you know...... so I can pass my current one down to R! lol!). after that we went and enjoyed the Ansel Adams photo exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum. enjoying his vision of our beautiful world.

I hope you all had a blessed Easter and found the simple joys of the season!

chicka chicka boom boom....

remember that book? it was after my time as a child, but just in time for R's childhood. I pretty much have it memorized....like that was hard! lol!! anyway, I am having one of those days.....probably one of those weekends. will everything I want and/or need to do fit into my weekend?!?!?

tomorrow the boys have bowling league. can't do anything about that, right?!? afterwards we need to head by my office and see if I got any *goodie* mail (you know, scrap stuff), lunch, and then I was thinking the Jelly Belly store since it is by where I think we might go for lunch (Chick Fil A). that will take us into mid-afternoon for sure.

Sunday we were hoping to head down to the Crocker Art Museum. see, they are having an Ansel Adams showing right now about a trip he took to Yosemite with some friends. not only would it be great pictures of a beautiful place, but R and I went there with his class 2 years ago, and D and J will be going in a couple months with D's class. and if we are going to go down there, we might as well head over to Fox and Goose for breakfast because you really can't beat that place for a wonderful meal! course, that is usually followed by the need for a serious nap on my part. maybe this post should be titled "if you give a mouse a cookie" instead of "chicka chicka boom boom" lol!!

anyway, on top of all that fun stuff going one, today I received lots of goodies in the mail: ink and paper from Epson, some scrap goodies, and the 200+ pictures I ordered from Snapfish over the weekend. in addition to the loverly scrap goodies I got from Cosmo Cricket and LM earlier this week, I am seriously feeling the need to scrap!! but where to fit it all in?!?!? you notice I haven't even mentioned the need to clean house, grocery shop, cook meals for my family, or sleep!

each night I think I am going to go home and get a little scrapping in before bedtime. well, bedtime has come rather early all week for me and those good intentions are blocked from view by the jumping sheep and drowned out by the zzzzzzzzs! and each day I think that night will be different....but it hasn't so far! well, I did stay up until 9pm last night watching BIG with R. I loved that movie (when it came out 19 years ago! lol!) and R really thought it was funny. although Tom Hanks' character was supposedly 12 to13, I saw a lot of R in Joshua. maybe tonight is the night?!?!?