Spring Day in Okarche,Oklahoma

Debbie's friend Pam sends this photo of an unexpected snow storm on a spring day in Okarche, Oklahoma.

Trivia: The town is best known for Eischen's Bar, the oldest bar in the state of Oklahoma and famous for its secret recipe fried chicken. The name of the town is derived from parts of three words, Oklahoma (OK), Arapaho (AR), and Cheyenne (CHE).

Danny Luna-WestSacWeb.com

Danny Luna--Fully caffeinated and ready to update West Sacramento's On-line Newspaper www.WestSacWeb.com!!!

www.westsacweb.com is a new website dedicated to all local West Sacramento information. Please take a look, and submit any relevant local news stories, events, sports, etc. You can also join WestSacWeb on Facebook.

Spring Day in Highlands Ranch, Colorado

My cousin Norm sends this photo of a spring day in Highlands Ranch, Colorado--

Trivia: Highlands Ranch, just 12 miles south of Denver, offering almost 300 days of sunshine per year, was in the Louisiana Purchase when it was sold to the United States in 1803.

Spring Day in Cedar Crest, New Mexico

My cousin Sue sends this photo of a spring day in Cedar Crest, New Mexico. This photo was taken on March 27 and it is 18 degrees. While I'm writing this post it is a beautiful sunny day in West Sacramento.

Trivia: Just minutes from Albuquerque, Cedar Crest in on the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Highway and is home to the Museum of Archaeology & Material Culture.

New Papa Murphy's Now Open

Sign spinners and a dancing piece of pepperoni pizza advertise the grand opening special of our new Papa Murphy's Pizza on Jefferson and Lake Washington Boulevard.

Spring Day in Grass Valley

Charise sends this photo of her snow frosted yard in Grass Valley on these first days of spring.

Little League Parade of Floats

The Annual West Sacramento Little League Parade --it was a chilly day but the parade went on as scheduled.

A Spring Day in Poulsbo

My cousin Marlo sends this photo she shot yesterday of the marina in historic Poulsbo, Washington. Overcast and cold in their neck of the woods, they wait for signs of spring....If you look out over the bay, you will see the woods where the infamous Cullen Family roams.

Trivia: Poulsbo, Washington, with a population of 7,840 is located in the northern part of Kitsap County and is 4.5 square miles in area. Liberty Bay, originally called Dog Fish Bay, and the majestic, snow-peaked Olympic Mountains to the west induced the Scandinavians to settle in Poulsbo because the area was so similar to the fjords of Norway.

West Sacramento Little League Opening Day

Kathye B. sends this photo of Mollee the dog watching his person's opening day game at the West Sacramento Little League Park and below are the cousins ready for action.

Signs of Spring: Marguerite Daisys in Bloom

Florene sends us these photos of her Marguerite Daisys-- first signs of spring in her yard.

Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2009

Thank you Christy for sending these photo highlights of the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Sacramento.

Capitol Park Bicyclers

These bicyclers enjoyed the lovely weather and beautiful trees in bloom at the Hyatt on L Street in Sacramento.

Party Fun at the Bounce Spot

Jack's 7th Birthday Party was at the Bounce Spot last week. The kids bounced themselves into exhaustion for about an hour then had pizza and cupcakes in the party room. We had kids in our group ranging from 5 months to 60 years old and we all had a great time.

Christy's garden: a work in progress

The seedlings have sprouted and are ready for planting day in the Jourdan's bohemian style garden!

Covering the local beat....

Chris Cabaldon sends us this candid shot of a day in the life of a news journalist in West Sacramento.

"Ever wonder how the News-Ledger's stories get written? Here, at Friday's opening of the expanded United Bakery facility in town, is editor/reporter/photographer Steve Marschke with his reporter's pad. All kidding aside, Steve does a great job reporting all the news that is fit to print (and then some) in West Sacramento!

Shamrock'n Half Marathon

The West Sac Run/Walk Group is Shamrock'n. The annual Shamrock'n Half Marathon & 2-Person Relay, features flat, fast courses with scenic Sacramento River views and a great finish on Raley Field. Thanks to Matthew Hargrove for sharing this photo.

Cruel Shoes

Art comes in many different mediums and for Sylvia Bojorquez it is her footware! Sylvia told me she bought several pairs of these artistic boot/shoe creations in San Francisco many years ago and occasionally feels compelled to wear them cause they are so fun!

Take a look at Posh's latest shoe fashion statement

Trivia: I love this Excerpt from Cruel Shoes (by Steve Martin)

Anna knew she had to have some new shoes today, and Carlo had helped her try on every pair in the store. Carlo spoke wearily, "Well, that's every pair of shoes in the place."

"Oh, you must have one more pair..."
"No, not one more pair... Well, we have the cruel shoes, but no one would want..."
Anna interrupted, "Oh yes, let me see the cruel shoes!"
Carlo looked incredulous. "No, Anna, you don't understand, you see, the cruel shoes are..."

"Get them!"

Carlo disappeared into the back room for a moment, then returned with an ordinary shoe box. He opened the lid and removed a hideous pair of black and white pumps. But these were not an ordinary pair of black and white pumps; both were left feet, one had a right angled turn with separate compartments that pointed the toes in impossible directions. The other shoe was six inches long and was curved inward like a rocking chair with a vise and razor blades to hold the foot in place.

Carlo spoke hesitantly, "... Now you see why... they're not fit for humans..."

"Put them on me."

"But..."

"Put them on me!"

Carlo knew all arguments were useless. He knelt down before her and forced the feet into the shoes.
The screams were incredible.
Anna crawled over to the mirror and held her bloody feet up where she could see.

"I like them."

She paid Carlo and crawled out of the store into the street.
Later that day, Carlo was overheard saying to a new customer, "Well, that's every shoe in the place. Unless, of course, you'd like to try the cruel shoes."

Crest Jewelers Celebrates 42 Years

The Macias Family and Crest Jewelers have been an institution in West Sacramento for over 42 years. The original store was opened by Luis Macias and was located on Merkley Avenue. Adelina and Luis met and were married in Tucumcari, New Mexico. They moved to Sacramento and Lou apprenticed at Werner Jewelers for ten years before opening his own store in 1967. Ten years later they relocated the store to the present location (next to Safeway) where Lou, Adelina, Rose, Steve and Chris Macias have made a great team running this family business.

When you visit the store they make you feel so welcome. Adelina and Luis have turned over the day to day operation of the store to their sons, Steve and Chris, but you can still find the folks at the store most days. Adelina greets the customers by name as they come in the door and Luis can usually be found reading or snoozing in his office. When you stop by, be sure to ask Adelina about the photos on the wall, the antique Singer sewing machine, and her collection of New Mexican Indian artifacts that she has on display.

Crest Jewelers
(916) 371-6440
1296 W Capitol Ave
West Sacramento, CA 95691

ATA West Sacramento Black Belt Academy

ATA Blackbelt Academy of West Sacramento had their Tae Kwon Do testing last night and Vincent Villegas was awarded his Black Belt. ATA Tae Kwon Do currently has 85 male and female students registered for their martial arts programs and will be moving into the new Jefferson Boulevard Center later this month.

Lunch at The Jazzyblues Cafe

We had a great lunch at the Jazzyblues Cafe. I had the BBQ TriTip with mac n' cheese and sauteed cabbage...Barbara had a juicy hamburger and Buddy had the Red Snapper. The portions were very generous and it was all delicious! Russ was really happy because they have Rubicon IPA on tap!

Kudos to owners Thaxter Arterberry and his lovely wife Kathy!

BluSoul at the Jazzyblues Cafe

We stopped in to hear live Blues Music at the Jazzyblues Cafe on Sunday afternoon. BluSoul did an afternoon set and they were terrific.

Riding the Bumper Cars at Six Flags

Hal and Adam were the designated drivers for the dads for the Bumper Card ride at Six Flags Amusement Park in Vallejo.

Snow Man

Russ and Jack putting the final touches on the snowman.

Snow Day

Kurt and Russ took the kids and our visitor Catherine from Belfast, Ireland up to the snow park.

Alley Art

This "grafitti" painting is in the alley near the Old Sole Bakery warehouse
space off 17th and L Streets in Sacramento.

"Tree of Life" Tile Mural in the UC Davis Arboretum

The Art-Science Fusion Program at UCD produced the "Tree of Life" mural for the Arboretum restroom building's east wall in 2006. The arboretum's oak education project also calls for another ceramic mosaic mural to be installed on the South wall, depicting the fauna and flora of a California oak woodland ecosystem.

MetroPCS on West Capitol Avenue

Metro PCS is located in the retail space next to Rite Aid on West Capitol Avenue. Funny thing is when I tried to call them about their hours and services there is no phone listed...

More "Art in the Alley"

More art in the alley near Old Sole Bakery off L Street in Sacramento. The likeness of President Obama over the "Change Logo" painted here-- has been defaced by some rude person.

Blockbuster on West Capitol Avenue

If you have lived in West Sacramento long, you'll remember when the Blockbuster Video space housed the old Safeway Store. When Safeway moved into the retail strip mall located on the back of this lot, Kinney Shoes, a defunct chain of full-service shoe stores, moved into the space.

Birds in paradise

Birds in paradise- Debbie shot this photo while we were in Mexico at Xel-Ha ecological Park near Playa del Carmen.

Railroad Bridge over the American River

This photo of the railroad bridge over the American River was taken while we traveled north on State Route 160, the North Sacramento Freeway. The American River Parkway has recently been in the news since a huge tent city was erected by the homeless. A feature story on Oprah and network news made more people aware of the plight of these people in Sacramento.

RUOFS 16th Street

According to Ruland's Office Furnishings website, RUOFS was rescued from Elk Grove Meats - who were about to throw him out. Steve Ruland brought him back to the 16th street as the store mascot.