After signing my name exactly 80 times this morning and handing over a hefty (for us) check, I was given the keys to our new house today.

It’s cool, of course. It was built in 1959, has 3,100 square feet, which includes a basement with a fireplace and wet bar (this will be my room, meaning all of my music stuff, as well as (eventually) a poker table) will go here). The lot is .61 acres with more than a dozen mature trees and not much else in landscaping, so it’s kind of a blank canvas. First order of business is planting some rose bushes so I can learn how to grow them in New York.

We’re very happy in Western New York. We have barely missed California. There’s lots to do and see here.

Compare and contrast: When we moved to Bakersfield, it was a month before the first neighbor introduced himself, and no other neighbor ever did. Within six hours after closing escrow, the three closest neighbors had all walked over to say, “hello.”

I’ll have a video of the house available later. If you have any interest in seeing it, send an e-mail to howard owens (oneword) (at) gmail (dot) com.

All my life in California, I met people who moved from other parts of the country and they would say, “I miss the four seasons.”

To me, what I heard them saying is, “I miss fall. I miss the change of colors. I miss the leaves.”

I never thought about spring.

In California, spring is just another time of the year. Not much happens. Sure, some flowers that only bloom in April and May add some color, and baseball starts, and you might get a little more sun without it being too hot, but in Southern California, spring isn’t too much from winter.

This weekend, spring came to Western New York.

It’s very different. Within 48 hours we saw a dramatic shift from winter and death to spring and life. There are more birds, more bugs, more hum and buzz. In the harbor behind our apartment, the fish or jumping and the ducks are bobbing.

It’s a real transformation.

My first winter in New York wasn’t bad. The cold and the snow hardly bothered me.
I think I’ll like it here. I better. I expect to be here for a while.

Speaking of staying, we’re just entering into escrow on a house. It’s another mid-century modern, built in 1959. It’s on more than half an acre and offers good gardening opportunities. It has two fire places, including one in the basement, which also has a wet bar.

Our cars finally arrived from California today (just in time for the big snow storm coming in tonight).

Bill took a picture of the Mustang. Click on the image for a high resolution version suitable for desktop wall paper.

This is my last post from Shattuck Avenue, and possibly my last post from Bakersfield (the land of a million white pick up trucks and endless oil derricks).

Over the past two months, I’ve been often cagey about my exact location. It just felt a little uncomfortable revealing that information when Billie was home alone in Bakersfield. Because of that, I wasn’t posting pictures of my travels on Buzznet. Last night, I made amends. There’s lots of pictures now.

Some 60 of the pictures are from the cross country drive Billie and I took in January. Here we are at the Grand Canyon. Here we are standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. From new Winslow, where the meteorite fell several centuries ago, is a picture old newshounds should love. We also stopped in Clovis, New Mexico and I took a picture of Norman Petty’s studio, where Buddy Holly recorded his biggest hits.

During the two months, I also took a few weather-related pictures in and around Canandaigua, New York, so as this ice fisherman outside my apartment. Then there is my car covered in ice and snow.

I think I’ll like New York. My first winter there wasn’t bad. I actually enjoyed it (but ask me how I feel about it in four or five years). Canandaigua certainly is a lot prettier than Bakersfield.

Bakersfield was a nice little transition to a new job and a new adventure. I think I leave behind some things better than I found them. I like where I’m going both personally and professionally. Thank you to all my friends who have been supportive and helpful over the past year or so.

To my Bakersfield buddies — if we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, I’m sure I’ll be back. I still have family here.

Check out this picture taken by Bill Blevins.  This isn’t your typical, idylic lighthouse photo.

When I first announced my new job, a friend who grew up near Rochester immediately raved about Nick’s and the “Garbage Plate.”  I still haven’t tried it, but at least I’ve seen the video.

My brothers and their families are all in town this week. Yesterday, Thanksgiving, was our mother’s 80th birthday. As my oldest brother, Don, observed: “Nobody would have believed you if you had said twenty years ago we would all be in Bakersfield for today.”

But I guess life works out the way it’s supposed to be.

In honor of my mother, and for the enjoyment of my family, I gathered some family snapshots and created the slideshow below. Three or four friends might find it interesting. Other readers will probably careless. I like the way it turned out though, and it’s my blog, and I enjoy this media stuff. This was created in iMovie.
[googlevideo]6793878635944306460[/googlevideo]

The video above is only Part I. I left Part II off because I’m going to remake it. I’ll probably post that, too, once its done.

[dels]family, video, birthday, thanksgiving[/dels]

One of the great landmarks of Ventura County, the Wagon Wheel, is being bulldozed by progress.  Billie and I always wanted to stay there, but the last few years, it didn’t look like a safe place to be. The Star has a little video (reg. req.) with a local historian.