Another trip to the East Coast

I returned on Friday from my fifth trip back to the east coast. This time I stopped for a couple of days in Chicago to visit our daughter and attend the wedding of my niece. My visit with K was wonderful. I took the easiest route into Chicago using the blue line train to Jefferson Park - only 5 stops! She and I got to Jefferson Park at the same time. She took the time off and we were able to visit, talk and eat together. We covered a lot of ground in 24 hours. She drove me out to the church for the wedding and picked me up after her afternoon and evening of showings.

The wedding was a terrific event - a combination Chinese Cuban event. The bride and groom did an awesome job of planning every facet of the wedding and paying for it all. They and all their guests had a wonderful time.

Then it was off to Hartford for A Hand Up board meeting. I also hosted an Open House for A Hand Up at St. James's Church in West Hartford for about 30 people. I was glad to see so many people and meet a number of them for the first time!

The rest of the time I met with friends, Elaine, Jane, Diane and Robin. We walked many many miles often dodging thunderstorms. I must admit the temperatures were pretty hot for this California girl and the humidity was a little tough to get through.

It was nice to go away but I was really happy to get home.

Organic food

A couple of weeks ago we watched a PBS show called POV Food Inc. The show was an expose of where our food comes from and what happens to it. I never was much one for going the whole organic route. I guess I didn't really believe all the hype etc. After watching the show I have totally changed my view and have changed my shopping entirely. It is difficult to find true organic, grass fed meats and truly organically grown vegetables and fruits. It seems that to be truly organic fruits, vegetables and meats tend to be uglier and lots more expensive! I'm still trying because the movie really woke me up! http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/

More volunteering

The Clark Center has wound down its association season - read big name shows - and now we have the litany of community or local shows - mostly school events. We are ushering at two of these events this week. We certainly attended our share of these events when K was in school. The schools out here are so fortunate to have such a terrific venue to hold their awards ceremonies, graduations and other performance events.

Smells in the neighborhood

We have been really lucky this year with the weather. Usually by now the "May Gray" has come over the central coast to be followed by the "June Gloom". This past winter was an above normal rainy year - not exceptional - but we're not complaining. The last couple of days we have had showers off and on which is really unusual. We've had the first couple of fires for the season with one of them just 30 miles to the south of us. This morning after the light showers the air was full of wonderful scents as all the flowers and other flowering plants drank up the moisture. Every house had a bouquet of scents to greet me varying from house to house. One house was fragrant with waffs of jasmine and roses, another had herbs of rosemary, basil, oregano and many others. The eucalyptus trees and the cypress trees contributed their beautiful aromas. To top it off all the animals were out and about with their new babies - quails, ducks, bunnies, red wing black birds and even the coots.

Confused Yucca

On my walk today I came across a very confused yucca plant. I took a double take as I saw these beautiful red flowers growing out of the middle of the plant. Turns out the yucca plant has grown very large as has the geranium and they have "intertwingled" and Geryucca plant!

Real estate

In case anyone is wondering about the state of real estate in California, it stinks. Prices are continuing to fall. This weekend it felt like the whole neighborhood was for sale. There was precious little room for all the open house signs pointing ever which direction.

Wildlife

The wildlife in the neighborhood is amazing. The quail are back in huge numbers. Most of them have paired off and I expect to see batches of baby quail shortly. The redwing blackbirds are also back in large numbers. Because this is a Signature Audobon preserve, we have birds of too many kinds for this uneducated watcher to name. Birds of all sorts are doing their best to attract partners. There are little bunny rabbits, jack rabbits and the ever ubiquitous gophers, ground squirrels. The animals here have no clue how good their lives are!