Packed and ready to go

Well, I'm packed and ready to go. I'm making an overnight stop in Washington DC to visit some friends and then onto Hartford. The flight goes through Phoenix then to Dulles. The SLO to Phoenix leg has a 90% on time record while the Phoenix to Dulles only has a 70% on time record. Had a great massage this afternoon so I'm nice and relaxed for my trip. I made enough food all week so T will have leftovers for his dinners most of the week. We went to Mei's for dinner tonight and there's at least one if not 2 meals leftover from tonight's dinner.

On traveling

I'm scheduled to leave for Hartford this weekend for a week. Of course there is now this potentially "pandemic" H1N1 aka swine flu running loose. I considered making a mask but then I read that they really don't do much. Then I read that if you want to wear a mask that the N95 mask filters the air and is better fitted to the wearer's face. If you look up N95 masks on line you'll find that most of the on-line sites are already sold out. The local places where they might carry them are also out of them. So it looks like I will continue my practice of using some neosporin in my nose and take on a fresh full bottle of purelle, wash my hands at every possible opportunity, keep my hands away from my eyes, nose, mouth and wear a shirt that I can easily pull up over my mouth and nose if I come in contact with anyone who is sneezing and coughing in my vicinity and of course pray that I travel unscathed!

White feet

OMG! Okay so maybe Lindsay Lohan and I do have something in common - yuk!

Since coming to California I have continued my practice of walking about 6 miles every day. One of the problems that come with walking in our locale is "walker's feet" syndrome. K says it's really just a farmer's tan. The problem is my feet look like I have permanent socks on my feet. Normally this isn't a problem because I'm walking and I do have socks on and no one sees my white feet. It isn't really a "problem" as nothing is wrong however when I wear sandals or anytime that my feet are exposed someone always notices and makes a comment about my white feet. I guess it must be really noticeable. Funny how one doesn't notice things about oneself as much as one notices things about others. Anyway, I started to use some of the free sample of Jergens Natural Glow moisturizer medium/tan shade and it really sort of works. After about a week there is much less difference in shade. The only draw back is that the color isn't an exact match and also it rubs off a little where the top of my sock hits my ankle. So I'm continuing the application and hopefully soon folks won't be so disturbed by my "white feet"!

Excitement in AG

Over the last week we have had a heat wave with temperatures topping 100 degrees (well not exactly here but all around us); we had a "norwester" with wind speeds nearly at 70 MPH; we had frost warnings just inland from us; we had 2 fires - one at a large nursery just down the road from us and at a church in Nipomo on the same night.

After the last story I heard about someone falling off a ladder and breaking something, I said no more ladders for us. I washed our windows last fall by myself but I do need to use a ladder since I'm so short. So this year I stuck to my resolve and got a referral for a window washer. Took the guy over 3 hours and he did a terrific job - better than I would do. He did windows inside and outside, screens, window sills and window frames. I was sure it would rain that day but it held off. It would have been worth it since we desperately need rain. That's the excitement around here!

A night out

T and I joined cousins P and S for dinner and a play. We tried out a new restaurant, Chipinot in SLO then went to a play called "Unforgetable", a musical biography of Nat King Cole's life. Chipinot's is an offshoot from Olde Port Inn in Avila Beach. We all had seafood dishes which were delicious. A little pricey but great ambiance and nice to be in a place where the atmosphere was not so frenetic and loud. The play was good but not as good as some of their recent musical biographies we have seen.

The new yarn is a real eye opener

When I watch TV I love to have something to do. I'm not the best TV watcher in the world. When we sit and watch TV I usually knit or crochet. I have been knitting scarves and hats for the Seamen's Institute for many years now. I recently crocheted a baby blanket and an afghan for K. I just received a wonderful gift certificate to a local yarn store. I hadn't been to a "real" yarn store in years and boy was I in for a surprise. I've always been the one who zeroes in on the most expensive item in the store and I thought that's what happened. I picked up a skein of yarn - it was pretty and colorful and had about 200 yards in the skein, then I saw the price and it was $13.95 for the skein. I checked to make sure it was the price for a single skein and it was. So I moseyed along to the next pretty yarn that caught my eye and imagine my surprise when I discovered it was $29.95 per skein. I had better become a much better knitter/crocheter to make something that expensive. So I looked through the rest of the store and I have a good idea of their inventory and can strategize how to maximize my wonderful gift certificate. It's very exciting!

Earth Day

April 22, 1970 was the first earth day. Do you remember where you were? I was in the Boston Common and Boston Garden with Susan M and Herb O. They closed down the center of Boston and people came to volunteer to clean up a section of the city. We, with hundreds of others, went to the Boston Common and Garden and were given plastic bags and told to clean up the place. We had a great time picking up trash and walking down the middle of all the streets in that area of downtown Boston. I think we spent most of the day hangin' and had a blast. Little did we know that 39 years later we would still be holding Earth days.