UPcoming event

Before I left for the ST. George hotel last Friday, I made a reservation for a beach house at Bodega Bay.  This is our/my alternative to a Christmas mess.  It is MY birthday celebration.  It took a couple of years of suggesting, but now it is a tradition.  This is the third annual.  We have outgrown the cute little two bedroom place across the street from my good friends Terry and Cynthia.  This year we will be down the street a bit in a place with two bedrooms and a loft, all with queen sized beds.  There is an iron spiral staircase and from the web photos the view is great.

We arrive for dinner on Friday evening and take a walk on the beach before dark.  In the morning there is breakfast and the opening of presents.  Last year I used up the last of the Christmas wrap.  I get to be creative about wrapping this year.  Now I get to go shopping.  Last year I had lots of ideas; this year I think I may have to ask for ideas.

Last year Skyler and Paulette took an early morning walk on the beach.  After breakfast we all go to the beach.  We wear shorts, swim suits and rolled up pants to walk along the edge of the water.  There hasn't been much interest in digging in the sand.  At low tide we go looking for sea anemones and starfish on the rocks.  One year there were a lot; last year not so many. 

January

Is it Monday again, already?  I see I didn't do what I thought I would last week--add something during the week.  You, in the midwest, are cold.  Here in California we are getting webbed feet.  And the little boxes on the seven day forecast all have rain in them.  And there are chain controls over all the mountain passes.  I'm grateful it is still well above zero during all of this.

Here goes a story about the weekend.  On Friday, before the next storm rolled in I filled my car with gas and drove to Volcano, California.  Volcano has half a main street and on that street is the St. George Hotel.  First built during the Gold Rush, it burned down twice and is now made of brick.  I have, over the years I've lived in California, driven past the St. George and wanted to stay there.  Now I have.  There are rumors that ghosts inhabit the place.  I didn't see one.  There had been a ghost hunter group in the hotel the week-end before and I think they scared them away.

A group of women I gather with several times a year went on a week-end trip.  There were six of us in the hotel and on Saturday we met the other two at the home of one who lives nearby for food and talking.  We do have a wonderful time.

Back to the hotel.  I stayed in the Rough and Ready room.  It is about the size of a walk-in closet, very cozy.  We had (Friday) dinner reservations and had all arrived so we went into the saloon.  I walked in ahead of my friend Maggie and a man (who had probably been there all afternoon) turned on his barstool, looked at me and said, "Are you alone?"  I replied, No, I'm with her." pointing to Maggie.  He muttered as he turned back to his beer, "Don't say that around here."  This misconception did not stop him from trying to pick up all six of us when the rest of our group arrived.  WE forty, fifty and sixty somethings had a good laugh at his expense and I doubt he even knew it.

Dinner was very good and somewhat expensive since we had wine and dessert and worth every dollar.

On Saturday the sun came out in the foothills and it didn't rain until the middle of the night. Sunday morning started with clouds and by the time I finished the brunch the rain had started again.  Sigh.  I had planned to take photos of the wet barns along the road.  I did get some coffee and the best oatmeal raisin cookie I've had in a while in Amador City on the way home.

catching up

On a holiday to honor the man with the dream.  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Paso Doble classes were a lot of fun.  Correction:  The leader is the matador and the follower is the cape.  I think the music must be the bull.  I won't be performing the dance in public but sure do love the music and knowing how to do three or four moves.

Last week was my first week of teaching two classes instead of one so my work day started at 8:00AM and ended at 2:15PM with an hour break and 20 minutes travel time between jobs. The new class has twenty-five people and we represent seventeen countries.  These students are so excited about learning to speak English although they have studied in books in their countries.  Some have also had teachers who spoke British English (as we call it here).  That adds to the difficulty of learning and adds to the fun.  

Survey:  What do you call an object given  to you to remember someone or some event?

It was also a week of extra things to do.  A friend was visiting from Seattle--so we had dinner.  Another friend had her 90th birthday so there was a little tea party with her.   And I attended a school board meeting, fortunately I did not have to stay for the entire meeting.  Then Friday there were errands to do before the dance class and after that we drove to Reno.

Saturday, Paulette and I went to Reno and watched the kids while their parents went to a wedding.  It was great fun.  Paulette is so good at keeping order.  Sterling walks all over now, Shae tries to boss everyone around and is ALWAYS right,  Skyler is the school boy (Kindergarten) and big brother.  He takes care of his sisters and fights with the oldest one.

Today is a holiday and I have been to the Apple store to learn to turn my video tapes into movies.  I went to COSTCO and spent money.  Now I'm home until school starts again tomorrow.  I have to decide what to teach.

I finished The Virgin Blue, by Tracy Chevalier and I'm now reading The Master Butchers  Singing Club by Louise Erdrich.

Something to think about:   "Our minds are like crows.  They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them."  --Thomas Merton

follow up to comments, etc.

Changing Shirley's resolution,  Here's mine:

Keep the vices simple and acceptable, like chocolate.

Keep peace with world wide neighbors.

And may each new year find you a better person.

Be positive.  It's all good.

Dance:  Paso Doble is so much fun--did I  already say that?  This Friday we are going to do the matador and bull steps.

Thanks LaDawn.  And aren't you a little curious about the gifts?

January 9

It is good to be back to work.  My new class--the one I'm subbing for ten weeks--is great.   It is Adult ESL and there are twenty-two students are from 8 or 9 different countries.

I have a group of people who will talk (not always true in a new class) and answer any question I propose.  So far they have been game for my daily questions:  What did you see on the way to school?   Trees, wet streets, people running and kids in the park.   What time do you wake up?  What time do you go to sleep?  Everyone gets up between 5am and 9am.  They go to sleep between 9pm and 2am.  It is fun to be back to work four days a week for two hours a day.  I think this is what I will do next fall.  

On Monday I will add my five day a week, three hours a day class.  I do have a computer lab to assist me with this class.  And I know most of the students and do not have to learn names. 

Must plan the fun for tomorrow and practice my Paso Doble.

January 5

Next to last day of vacation and I am picking things up and finishing them.  I'm at the computer because I had a printer cord to attach and decided to check email and see what everyone is blogging.   Looks like LaDawn is on her computer.

Weather update:  It rained for about two hours and the possible thunderstorm was one very wimpy thunder--I didn't see the lightening.  There was a warning about snow on the radio; it might get down to 2500 feet because cold weather is moving in.  That's low enough for the hills around Vacaville and San Francisco.  

Last night I took a Paso Doble lesson.  There is one song for the dance and it is not usually a social dance.  It was so much fun.  My first new adventure of 2008.

Jury duty etc.

Here's how it went.  On Dec. 31 I decided to call the information number and find out what was happening at the courthouse.  My number was not mentioned.  Like a blinding flash it hit me that Dec. 31 was my first day--the day I had to report. YIKES!!  I brushed my teeth, finished dressing and was on my way by 8:30am  I arrived at the courthouse about 9:00am  At the security check-in I said I thought I was late.  Don't worry, they'll wait.  said the uniformed guard.  

Upstairs in the jury room I stopped at the window and said I'm sorry I'm late.  The woman handed me eight typed pages.  You missed orientation.  Read this and come back.  I obeyed.  Back at the window after reading the pages the woman said,  Your group was cancelled.  Do you want to stay anyhow?.  Sure, why not, I nodded.  She scanned my card and said Have a seat.  So I did.

I read for a while, looked around for coffee and found the machine.  I heard other latecomers try to tell their long stories and be accepted.  

I drank coffee and kept reading.  At 11:30am they announced there would be no cases tried today and everyone was dismissed.  We were instructed to make lines to get our proof of jury duty and we could go home.  We were thanked for fulfilling our obligation for a year.  Maybe next time I'll get into a courtroom.

TODAY,  Jan. 3  I had lunch with a friend I hadn't talked to in about two years.  We are all caught up and promised each other to not wait so long.  I got home before the first of three winter storms arrived.  There was a lot of rain and some wind.  The second storm sounds worse.  There are blizzard warnings in the mountains, not just snow warnings.  The winds might get to tropical storm or hurricane winds in the valley.  Sacramento is in the valley.  I can't remember what the third storm is suppose to do and there is rain on the next seven squares of the weather forecast.

About the  photo on my previous post.  Who made this sculpture?  That's a better question.

California artist.  Taught at UC Davis.  Lived in Davis.  Did  some controversial art.  His work is one of two or three California artists that I can recognize.  Enough info Shirley?