TJ's Meatloaf

Thank God for Trader Joes. One Italian meatloaf served as dinner for the last two nights. It's pretty good - very moist with a flavorful Italian tomato sauce topping.

This morning we are having pomelo for breakfast. While in Asia, we ate salads with pomelo and seafood - an excellent combination. Whenever we buy pomelos at home they are disappointing. Richard picked up a few at Costco, and they are - once again disappointing. In Asia, they are juicy and delicious with very large pieces. Here they are almost taste less, sort of tough and chewy without the nice indivicual pieces. I think it must be the variety that is being grown here.

We have a new estimate from another plumber which looks good. We'll go ahead with him and hope he will stay with us til the end. Yikes, we are tired of plumbers coming and going.

The handyman can start next week on the miscellaneous odds and ends that have accumulated. And the electrician can hang the next-to-the-last lamp. The lamp came with a fancy chain that was too short. I tried to order an extra length and this required that LampsRUs add the item to their inventory list. One month passed by until they were able to institute a system so I could buy the chain. Argggh....this is why everything takes so long!

Parking Lot Thrills

More therapy today. This will be my third session. Last time we worked on my walking and turning my head. Exercises accompany each session and of course, like anything else, you have to work at it to get the benefit. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have enough time to devote to it. Some of the exercises I can do while driving, er...while sitting at stop lights. They did conclude that I am in danger of falling, so I'm making sure I take my calcium tablets. If I do have some falling incidents, I'm hoping nothing breaks.

Yesterday was one of those days, you'd like to erase, starting in the morning with the refrigerator on the blink. Water was running out of the freezer compartment - a mess. Cleaned everything up and moved things downstairs, tripped the circuit breaker and it all started up again. Went to the cabinet makers and Will didn't have my samples ready and I spent an hour getting over there due to detours. From the cabinet maker I went to see the furniture store where some built-in units were well priced and a possible for our office. Turned out all the marked prices were wrong and I wasted time there. More detours on the way home.

I went to the bank and Richard came in after me..he had been in the parking lot and saw me walking along. Apparently he honked and honked and then came in. I didn't hear him approach of course and jumped about a foot. He stood talking to me while I was searching for my bank card. Because of the noise in the bank lobby, I couldn't hear a word he was saying so he finally left. The inability to hear in public building's is very inconvenient - usually I just nod and smile...but in the bank I have to hear what they are saying so I cup my ear and lean in. Usually people are very cooperative.

In parking lots, my greatest danger lingers. It feels like one close call after another - both in the car and on foot, because I cannot figure out where engine noise is coming from. I park in the farthest away spot so I don't have to back out too much but then as I walk between cars, I don't hear them getting ready to pull out. Eventually I'll figure out a coping strategy but for now, it's a thrill going to the market!

Nagasaki

The bombing of Nagasaki is what you think of first about Nagasaki and indeed, the biggest tourist attraction is the Atomic Bomb museum. There's far more to see here than just the remnants of that sad event. The museum, by the way, is excellent - well laid out and the information is organized in a logical way. Information cards are easy to read and in both English and Japanese. A Japanese man about our age approached us and spoke to Richard at length. He is a school teacher and brings his kids to the museum so they never forget what Japan did and why the bombing saved so many lives by stopping the war. It was an interesting exchange between the two.

From the top of the park where there's an observation tower, the view is terrific. To me, the bay reminded me of Rio. The ride into the bay is long and green rolling hills unfold on either side. The city is big but not unmanageable with readily accessible trams running through the main parts and cabs everywhere. The cab drivers wore suits and white gloves. I noted with interest that all the drivers pull the emergency brake at every stop.. I wondered if it was the law. Cabs were expensive. Everything was expensive.

Cabinets

I spent an hour today at the cabinet shop picking out finishes. The saws and drills are buzzing and the designer has a very soft voice. My head felt like it would explode from the vibrations. I'm still struggling with blues...trying to find the right shade for the island.

On the way home I stopped at a furniture store which had a big "last chance clearance" sign hanging on the front. A very nice woman shadowed me as I was looking around. A few minutes into the conversation and I found she was a Canadian from Vancouver and so another hour flew by as we talked about her career and how she ended up in California.

Patio tiles were delivered today and Higinio the Guatemalan welder was up working on the gates. Richard unloaded all the patio tile and will probably have a back ache tonight. He's amazing for a 70 year old...the lady who delivered the tiles kept referring to him being in his 50's. If she only knew!

I'm working on closet configurations. I had everything figured about before we left on vacation and should have placed the order. During our three weeks away, my head totally emptied and now I am having to start from scratch again.

Richard bought swordfish for dinner. I can hardly wait.

Tea at Huntington

I had a wonderful day today. Tea at the Huntington Gardens and Museum with Shari, Robin and Laurie - three November birthday partners. The tea was great. First they served a basket of scones and you could eat as many as you wanted. One was citrusy with currants; another was fragrant with rosemary and had hazelnuts kneaded into the dough. They were light and fluffy and served with clotted cream and butter. You could help yourself at the buffet which featured cucumber and mint sandwiches; smoked salmon and cream cheese; spicy egg salad. There were several salads including broccoli with nuts and sprout salad. A big bowl of caviar along with hummus and a few other dips were at the ready for spreading on a variety of crackers. Several kinds of cheese were cubed up and on display - unfortunately, they didn't have name plates. For dessert, there was mousse in dark chocolate cups, several delicious small cakes, maple leaf cookies and Mexican wedding cookies. There was actually much more, but I reached my capacity and couldn't squeeze in anything else.

After tea, we walked through part of the rose garden, inhaling the incredible fragrance and enjoying the hundreds of roses on display. As if that wasn't enough sensory stimulation, the grand finale was a walk through the new Chinese garden - a subtle and beautiful, calming space with weeping willows, fountains, birds, koi fish, very unique rocks and pathways. A stunning space.

We couldn't do the venue justice and visit with each other at the same time, so we decided another trip was necessary just for garden gawking.

I drove home IN THE DARK on busy freeways and did just fine. The vestibular therapy is working!

Rose Garden Tea Room Menu

A pot of brewed tea and a basket of freshly baked scones are served at each table. From a central buffet, guests may choose from an array of savory finger sandwiches, imported and domestic cheeses, fresh fruits, chilled seasonal salads, and specialty petite desserts. Return to the buffet as often as you like; limitless refills of tea and scones are served upon request.


Sandwiches
White albacore salad on white bread
Spring watermelon radish and sun-dried tomato cream cheese on egg bread garnished with chives
Prosciutto and fig puree with roasted shallot cream cheese on marble rye and white bread
Spicy egg salad with cayenne pepper on egg bread
Cucumber and mint with cream cheese spread on egg bread
Chopped watercress and cream cheese spread on white bread
Curried chicken salad with walnuts on whole wheat bread

Salads
Bacon and feta cheese on baby greens with marinated onions and feta vinaigrette
Asian broccoli and turkey salad
Rice noodle salad

Toppings and Spreads
Hummus
Olive provençal tapenade

Imported and domestic cheeses

Desserts and Pastries
Freshly baked scones
Fruit tartlets
Coeur de crème
Assorted petite pastries

Fresh fruit
Beverages
Hot brewed tea or coffee

Buttermilk Pancakes

This morning for breakfast we had some particularly good buttermilk pancakes.

The recipe:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Makes 8 large pancakes

Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine oil, egg and buttermilk. Mix dry and wet ingredients together well. Cook on a 350 degree griddle. Serve hot with maple syrup, the Canadian kind, if you can get it.

These pancakes are tender, puffy and have a distinct buttermilk flavor. We finished the whole batch ourselves and were savoring them to the last crumbs.

What removes masking tape goo?

Cleaning the masking tape off the pool tiles today. It was gorgeous, about 75 degrees. I was too hot with a long sleeved shirt and no hat; the hat kept falling off in the pool. I made it halfway around before my knees were screaming. The pool water color turned out to be aqua and very inviting. After the pool is cleaned we
can complete the acid wash of the patio and then seal everything.

Honorato was working hard in the grove doing some pruning. Happily he found one of the saws we thought had been stolen. A little at a time, the tools seem to finding their way back into the tool chest. The whole place was so disorganized that I'm not surprised that many of the lost items were simply buried.

I wore a "nose and glasses" to the rancho today and Richard didn't notice. I guess that reveals how bad I've been looking.

We'll have a quiet Halloween..no ghosts or goblins on the agends. All we have planned is a plate of pasta with shrimp, a spinach salad and early to bed.

Filling the pool

The pool is filling right now. They started the water running about 9:00. Two hoses full blast. I cut it to one hose at about 1:00 when I left for San Marcos and the cabinet people. The pool water color looked aqua and I hope it will stay that beautiful color when it is filled to the brim. We have a big job ahead removing the goop from the masking tape that stayed so long on the tile. I can start that project tomorrow.

Richard went up to Solheim to visit his mother today. She had an incident the final week of our vacation - they described it as choking but Richard thinks, after seeing her that she probably had a stroke. She cannot speak any longer and is only making noises. She showed no sign of recognition at first but later he said she looked at him and squeezed his arm, so apparently she knew he was there. Poor Pat has been hanging on for so long but it looks now like she's on the final turn. For her sake, we all hope so as life at 98 years is not very much fun. Everything hurts, nothing interests her much and she's just been waiting, surprised every morning that she's still here, wondering if God has it in for her.

The cabinet people are progressing well with the cabinets - most have been built and today we finalized one of the stain colors. The blue shade they used for the island is too green and they'll have to try again with that. William cannot move around yet and so he's confined to his chair in the shop. Saws are buzzing most of the time and it's very difficult to hear him. He has a soft voice that is drowned out in the shop noise. He explained more to me about adding the extra drain and line for a sink in the island. He convinced me that this addition will make a big difference to the kitchen efficiency and so I agreed, but now there's another big challenge to getting a channel cut and the changes made.

Pebble tech in the pool

Exciting day today. The pool which has been pretty much a black swamp for year and 1/2 got coated with pebble tech today. It looks beautiful. Tomorrow it will be filled but the fun isn't over yet. Unfortunately the masking tape was on for too long and much of it is stuck on the tiles. They will clean the whole thing with muriatic acid and a power washer tomorrow before filling, but they don't think they'll get all the goo off. This means we will have to clean after the pool is filled, using goof off and Q-tips. This seems to be the story of my life. Today I worked on the splashes of concrete on the stucco, scraping and wiping. I figure it will take at least 4 or 5 days of work to clean it up.

Two flooring guys came by to give us a bid and did a thorough job of estimating and figuring out what to do with each of the trouble spots. Unfortunately they will have to grind down some of the high spots on the floor. The expensive vapor barrier that we applied has not done an adequate job. Overall, we are so glad we made the move to fire our former contractor. Given what we know now, he would likely have botched the flooring job too.

The big winds knocked some fruit off the trees but not as much as expected...there are advantages to living in the "holler". The higher up you are, the more fruit loss. Gail and Sharon have quite a bit of fruit in the driveway that appears to have rolled down the hill. Our big blue tarp blew up onto the barbed wire and is impaled in many places. It's quite a job to pick it off a little at a time. The farmer's life is never easy.

Settling in at home

Roaring winds here today. Last night the palms were blowing against the side of the house making a scratching sound that woke us up a couple of times. The air is crystal clear and the temperature about 60 degrees. We hope the avocados will hang onto the trees but it's inevitable that some of the crop will end up on the ground because of this blowing.

Both cats seemed happy to see us. They wouldn't leave us alone last night, purring, rubbing, jumping on us. Buster kept banging his head into Richards over and over and "making biscuits" on his chest. Pinkie purred and rubbed, jumping on and off the bed about a hundred times. They are at the rancho today with Richard and no doubt happy to be able to roam free after three weeks in captivity.

I'm slow and foggy in the head from jet lag. Even foggier and wonkier than usual.

Cruising in Asia

After 3 1/2 weeks of travel in Asia we are happily home. It was wonderful to get time away from the building project and we are eager now to get the last quarter finished.

Shanghai amazed us. Even though you read about the growth, there's nothing like actually being immersed in the energy and the throngs of people for a thrilling experience. The city skyline is breathtaking, particularly at night. Construction is underway everywhere, some of it the regular growth but on top of that, they are preparing for Expo 2010 and the riverfront area is under construction. What a change from a decade ago when I visited with Eilleen! I remember her commenting to me that she felt like we were in a global race and we didn't even have our feet in the starting blocks. How right she was. Fallbrook has hardly changed in that decade...even Temecula which was the fastest growing city in the US circa 2002, has constructed little in comparison to the growth in even the smaller cities in China. Real estate values have sky-rocketed predictably although how one owns property there is a mystery to me.

The cruise was an interesting experience - better than the Princess cruise around South America last year. The ship was older and well worn - not as dazzling as the Princess, but the atmosphere was far more interesting because there were people on board from all over the globe. We had expected most of the passengers to be Asian, but surprisingly they were mostly European, with a good smattering of South Americans and a handful of Americans. Luckily we were assigned a dinner table with a delightful couple from Minneapolis and another nice pair of Cubans from Florida. The Cubans didn't speak much English - you can survive quite nicely in Miami speaking only Spanish and the husband spoke literally no English after 30 years of residence in the US. Bill and Judy the Minnesotans had great stories to tell and regaled us nightly with hilarious tales of adventure growing up on dairy farms, vacationing near Kenora and of their part-time lives in a mobile home park in Fort Meyers, Florida. We met several other nice people and toured extensively with a British couple, Karen and Maurice. The food was pretty average but beautifully served. They offered a very nice high tea two or three times during the cruise - this was nicely done. There was plenty of entertainment in the lounges, for dancing and the big show every night in the theatre. As usual, the lectures were weak, but one on the Samurai was very good. I participated in two craft classes that were just plain fun because of the Italian craft master who spoke only Italian and conducted the classes in sign language and universal sounds of appreciation - sighs, oooohs and aaaaahs. He brazenly elicited these reactions to everything he did, no matter how small or silly. The result was generally hilarious and all attendees - Asian, European and America enjoyed the experience together.

The ports were all interesting - we enjoyed Nagasaki and Kobe the most. The cruise was supposed to be restful but it was so activity filled that we rested little. In port most days, we'd bolt off the ship as early as possible and either walk or chase around all day. Highlights were the Atom Bomb museum in Nagasaki, Tokyo Tower in Tokyo, H Castle near Kobe (and the ride on the trains), ERA performance in Shanghai and the laser show in Hong Kong.

Tokyo

It's gray and rainy in Tokyo where we are laying over for a couple of hours between flights. Our scheduled flight to Shanghai has been delayed half hour. Our flight from LA was delayed for one hour. Today is the day of delays.

Now that Northwest has merged with Delta, chaos reigns at LAX. You check in at Delta but they are not really coordinated yet and have incessant computer problems. At the boarding gate there's a sign for almost everyone so you don't know if you're boarding United, Southwest, Northwest or Delta. As usual, LAX is worse than a third world country with speakers babbling full of undecipherable announcements. Everyone strains to hear and after one of these static filled, heavily accented rants, the passengers look blankly at each other. Even Richard with perfect hearing has no idea what they are saying, even if they are speaking English or a foreign language. The airport is dirty, disorganized and still falling apart. Bathrooms are out of order and stay that way for years (or so it seems to us). Passing through security is difficult with confusing signs and insufficient personnel. As usual they don't notice that my name on the passport is different from my ticket. This basic fact is missed by 9 out of 10 security checkpoint people.

Once on the plane everything was fine. Our first class seats in the upper deck were comfortable and the meals were good. Personnel charming and fellow passengers congenial.

Now in Tokyo at the former Northwest, now Delta lounge which has been re-decorated and is uber Modern Asian. Very sleek. The apple computers are all free and absolutely up to date - a pleasure to use. The Narita airport is very well organized and the personnel seem totally engaged with their jobs and would probably catch an irregularity.

Richard is prowling, looking for something to do for 15 minutes. He's finished his New Yorker and doesn't want to start something new. I am wonky, dizzy and more than a little tired. This next flight will be a snoozer for me

Off to Shanghai

I woke up at 5:00 with the usual list of worries before departure. Who have I forgotten to tell that we are traveling? Did I get the ant stakes out in the front of the house? Will the cats be OK? The usual things we all agonize about when leaving home for a while.

We're all packed up, loaded with books and too much clothing. Richard inventoried his watches last night preparatory to his usual
watch shopping expedition in Hong Kong. Eyeglasses will be purchased in Shanghai at the store under the main railroad station. In Shanghai we are prepared for plenty of walking which we love. Living in the sticks, we experience little of urban life on an everyday basis. We love a shot of the city once in a while for shopping and people watching. After a few days of it, we are usually sick of it and looking forward to the peace and quiet of home.

No more posts until we are back.

Am I an old fogie?

Today marked the transition in my life from aging to old fogie. I bought a folding cane...albeit a bright red cane, it's symbolic, like first bra, drivers license, aarp card, first social security check - of a new stage of life. In my everyday life at home and around Fallbrook and Temecula, I don't need walking assistance. However, the crowds on the streets in Asia scare me a little as I can recall being in mobs in various places. Our plans include a lot of walking in Shanghai and I thought the extra aid to balance would be a good idea.

I tried it out yesterday in the Target store. First, I noticed that people seemed more friendly which could be entirely my imagination. Second and most important, they tend to give you a wider berth - this is important in crowds because when my tinnitus gets very loud and I'm disoriented and then jostled, I become very dizzy. If I get a little clearance I should be OK.

James told me that his doctor told him to wear a sling in public to keep people from banging him in the shoulder while he was recovering from surgery. It worked for him.

Richard was surprised that I did this. He thinks I might get dependent on it which would be a bad deal. My intention is to only use it on this trip if I need it.

We had a almost perfect day here yesterday - warm but not hot, air as clear as a bell and a full moon last night.

Left-over macaroni and cheese

At Barnes and Noble today buying a book on Shanghai, I noticed an entire cookbook dedicated to macaroni and cheese - about 200 recipes which are really just variations on a theme. The book was on the bargain table so I doubt it was ever a best seller.

Macaroni and cheese will be center stage today up at Doug and Jan's. Their grand daughter is having a tea party with one of their friends grand daughters and mac and cheese is the main dish. The girls will likely have a wonderful time.

Eilleen loved Kraft mac and cheese and whenever Jim was away, she'd make a box for herself. Richard and I tried it not long ago and thought it was horrible. I seem to remember it being much better than it is now. I also tried the microwave version which is downright vile.

My mac and cheese from yesterday is quite good today. A little dry, but with excellent flavor and a nice crunch developing from heated and reheated cheese plus once-crispy bread crumbs. It's much better fresh, unlike most comfort foods which seem to benefit from a reheat, but has a flavor profile all it's own - one I like.

We're not sure if we'll get over loaded with pasta on a Italian cruise ship. I sort of think so - but the Asian ports will allow us to intersperse some yummy noodles, dim sum and dumplings - the good street food we both enjoy.

Hearing preserved

Had a hearing evaluation today - the official post CK test and the results are....that my hearing has remained the same. I thought that I was hearing better than before which would have been very unusual. As it is, my results are good - that is, no change.

On the AN forum someone wrote in about feeling foolish sitting in a dark booth yelling out "card shark", "oblivion" and other words they ask you to repeat during the speech recognition test. The most interesting part for me is when they measure the tympanometry bit. My left ear has a lazy drum and so it is very hard to achieve the pressure necessary for the test. Most of our time is spent trying to get the ear to respond.

My audiologist doesn't really think even the BAHA is worth going through for my lifestyle. If you're not working and can handle the social aspect of hearing loss, he feels you are better off to just adjust rather than deal with all the hardware and maintenance of that kind of aid. He doesn't sell them, fit them or maintain them so I guess he doesn't care about them.

I'm finding that objective information about many medical procedures, devices etc. is almost impossible because people have money invested in certain things that they want to promote. They have no objectivity left and just blatantly push their own thing. All the AN patients complain about this. It's very frustrating.

Dr. Singh was Barbaras doctor here in Fallbrook. She told me a story about seeing him when she broke a bone in her shoulder. Dr. Singh (complete with turban) ordered an X-ray. Barbara thought she would be sent to one of the X-ray facilities in the area but instead Dr. Singh opened an old closet and revealed his ancient machine. Before he took the X-ray he called someone whom he used on a free lance basis to operate the machine and read the film. Barbara said that some old hippie showed up.

Later in the year at the Fallbrook Christmas parade, Dr. Singh participate with all his office workers. That did it for Barbara...she said you don't want your doctor in a parade.

Hilarity with the Banar girls

I had one of the best lunches company-wise of my life this week with the Banar girls. These two sisters are the nexus of my book club. Last year I worked with them on a serialized cook book they produced and sold. They have run out of projects and are looking for something to do. We brainstormed about internet newsletters, creating on-line presence for companies and other subjects. It is amazing how much we have in common...they have traveled to most places I've been, our careers criss-crossed from time to time (Van de Kamps, Franks nurseries) and we were all hanging around in LA over the same years so we can remember nostalgically many restaurants, local characters etc, that are now gone. Our lifestyles were also similar..Barbara didn't have children, Nancy squeezed one in at 34.

We laughed and laughed and laughed. They told some of the funniest stories I've heard in years. I'll try to recount one on this blog although, like many funny anecdotes, they are best when told in the original voice.

Macaroni and Cheese ala Sunset Magazine

Tonight we are having Sunset Magazine's Utlimate Mac and Cheese. I made it this morning because we are having high heat later in the day and we won't want the oven on. You make a sauce out of gruyere and cheddar, white wine, shallots, dijon mustard, nutmeg and chile powder. Stir this into the macaroni and top with fresh bread crumbs. Just out of the oven, it is delicious. I added ham and it tastes like a rarebit to me.

We've been on a nostalgia food thing for a while and find ourselves longing not for the exotic but for simple foods we ate at our respective homes. Mac and Cheese is part of this harkening back to our youth.

I can also blame our sister-in-law Jan for this. She makes macaroni and cheese for the grandchildren fairly often and we hear about it via emails. The idea of it never fails to make my mouth water. It also reminds me of our high home ec classes where we learned to make a basic white sauce. I never dreamed that this knowledge could be so useful and I've applied it many, many times in my career in commercial foods as well as in my life as a home cook.

Concrete redux

Once the dust cleared, we found out the dust hadn't cleared from our concrete pour. We had the concrete stamped and a colored release agent used to add antiquing. Much to our chagrin, the stone turned out charcoal grey. They applied too much release and left it on too long. We washed it off, we used a pressure hose on it and finally we used a dilute solution of muriatic acid and got it an acceptable point. There will be one more washing at least before we are ready to seal it. Yesterday I spent all day trying out different dilutions and scrubbing with a brush. We got home at 6:30 after working from 8:30 non-stop. I was exhausted and sore, Richard was also wiped out.

Meanwhile Gail the electrician has been working like mad. He's gotten almost everything done and is totally caught up. We have lights, a steam shower, security lights outside, and power to all our outlets. Richard had to really light a fire under him to get him going...he's been installing a well on his own property and we have really lagged behind.

We're very busy now getting ready to go away. Richard has too much to do in the grove.

One less worry

Bob and I have been in agony for months with our building in Kennewick. We hold the note and the woman who purchased the building from us was making late payments every month. At one point, she had fallen behind two months. Every month there is a late fee slapped on but she would just pay this. It also cost us $175.00 every month to have the lawyer send her a threatening letter, which she ignored. We found out that she hadn't paid her taxes for 2008 or 2009 and had no insurance on the building. That did it. We moved forward with forfeiture which is a slight legal twist on foreclosure. It costs a ton in legal fees and takes so much time - filing in court, posting notices, informing people. Yesterday Terri, the purchaser, showed up in the lawyers office with all the money to pay up! We breathed a sigh of relief because taking back the building would have meant too much work for either Bob or I at this stage of life...him living in Beijing and me in Fallbrook would mean one of both of us would have had to be away from home for months.

Meanwhile, we found out the building has actually appreciated in value..obviously since Terri wants to keep it. We had three inquiries from very solvent individuals about selling it to them if the forfeiture went through. That is good news in this economy.

Fired

Started out this morning by firing our concrete contractor. He's been with us since we started the house and did the framing, concrete, dry wall, finish carpentry and the exterior - or part of the exterior. The relationship reminds me of a marriage gone sour, where we are all so irritated with each other that nothing goes right. All respect for each other is gone and each party blames the other for the problems.

We knew we were taking a chance when we signed the last contract with him. We'd advanced him some money because of the economy, because we liked him and he'd been of help to us in a casual way, answering questions and giving us advice on certain issues. After the advance, when the balance of power shifted to him, he made it very clear that he was going to "hold us up" for
more money and generally make us dance on his string. To save the advance money, we went forward and since then, nothing has been satisfactory.

I've never liked having to fire someone and didn't in this case either. I've always felt that the shortcoming is mine...if I hired someone and made a poor choice, then it's clearly my fault when it doesn't work. So, I felt bad on that account. On the other hand I felt very good that we are free of this guy and his constant complaining and whining. He always underbid jobs to get them and then blamed us because he wasn't getting enough money. We couldn't win.

So now we are delayed a few weeks finding new contractors to finish the job, but that will be easy compared to the daily torture of dealing with Ken.

Therapy

Today was my first day of physical therapy; educational, interesting and practical information was imparted over the first 60 minute session. My therapist got immediately to the task at hand and started giving me a battery of tests to nail down my specific problems which are gaze stabilization and the wide-stanced limp I've developed to keep upright. I have exercises to work on for both of these problems - simple but so obvious that they didn't even require much explanation. Now if I can just keep my focus on practise, I should be able to improve. Most valuable will be the gaze stabilization for driving purposes..now when I turn my head quickly to see over my shoulder and check the other lane, I have a bout of dizziness. I'm hoping this can be corrected. It will also help with my parking problems. When I have to back out of a tight space and keep turning my head backwards and then to the front, I get dizzy and have to stop.

Yesterday at the parking lot in the hospital, I parked way off in the corner. By the time my therapy was finished, a big truck had parked in the space opposite meaning that I had to maneurver and manipulate to get out of my space. Of course, as frequently happens in a case like this, someone comes along who wants the space and is waiting. He sat there patiently watching me struggle and finally got out of his car and guided me out. I thanked him and told him I might have been there all day. He just smiled and I'm sure he thought I was just a nutcase who couldn't park.

Once released from the parking space, I drove down almost to San Diego for tile and found I was in the wrong place. To salvage the trip I looked at furniture. I think all the unemployed used car salesmen are now selling furniture. They sidle up and speak in a whisper, telling you they can "talk to the boss" and get a discount because it is a "special day", or "just for you". Talk about your sleaze bag salesmen. I used to get mad when they'd do this and say "what kind of idiot do you think I am"...now I just smile and nod and let them think I'm buying their baloney. It's almost more fun.

Concrete pouring and ZouZou

Big day today. We finally got our concrete poured after problems too numerous and tedious to recount. The day was filled with apprehension, confrontation, treachery disappointment. Sounds a little dramatic for concrete pouring nonetheless this situation shows how exaggerated and ridiculous things can get. After pouring once and having to jack hammer out half the job because the concrete set up too quickly, one would think the people involved would learn from the experience- but no. Some of the problems today were repeats of the same things that were done last time. The net of it is that nothing was learned. Same mistakes. We do have concrete but we also have
a big mess to clean up.

The bright spot in the day was the appearance of Tufty and beautiful little kitten. She wandered up from who knows where and sat on the very edge of the concrete apron. People were running all over, machines were grinding and chugging..everything that normally disturbs a cat was going on. She just watched. When I spotted her, I watched her in disbelief for a while and then approached, calling her. She rolled over for a belly scratch and started purring at first contact. Of course we couldn't resist feeding her and getting her some water (it was 100 out) and soon put her inside the house. She acclimated immediately. Richard and I realized that we really can't keep her...if she showed up three months later when we were in the house it would have worked out. We also feared that she was someone's pet so we put the following ad in our local epaper:

Ernest Hemingway referred to his many cats as "love sponges". Apparently a relative of one of these marvelous creatures found it's way to our place today. In the midst of a chaotic concrete pour with people running all over the place, this dainty little cat (about 4 - 5 months) appeared and took a front seat to watch the action. She greeted us, purring and rolling over for a belly scratch. Unable to resist, we offered a little food which was immediately wolfed down. Although she's not critically thin, it was apparent that she hasn't been getting "three squares".

We've had a lot of cats and rarely have we seen one so affectionate and so comfortable with people. We think she must be someone's lost treasure and we want to make sure she gets home. If she doesn't currently have a home, anyone looking for a very beautiful and affectionate kitten should check her out. Call us at 728-0309.

I have a picture to post later....she's a knock-out.

Within minutes we had a message from the fire chief at our local station saying they would take her as the fire cat and official
female mouser for the station. One resume, one job.

Richard and Buster

Buster boy was full of vim and vigor this morning running around the grove. He stopped and took a break with his favorite person who is still working on his blower rebuild.

Chipping away

It was a perfect day in Fallbrook, about 80 degrees with a cooling breeze. This morning, after a big breakfast of French Toast with five spice seasoning, I attempted to finish chipping the concrete off the retaining wall. In direct sunlight, the wall bounces heat back at'cha and I only lasted a couple of hours.

The Trex deck is finished except for the railing and we are almost ready to pour concrete. There is record-breaking heat forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday so I think we will probably pour on Friday. Meanwhile we have picked pavers out for the walkway.

Gail installed our "alien" spacecraft lights in the closet. When we open them the light goes on automatically.

Calle is born today

I woke up to a big surprise. Rhonda's baby Calle was born yesterday - she was going to be induced on the 19th but I guess Calle decided to arrive on her own. At 8 pounds 6 ounces she's a nice large baby and she has a mop of auburn hair. Apparently the delivery went very well - much easier than last time. Everyone is doing very well and Sammy looks so happy he could flip.

Rhonda's Mom should be arriving tomorrow and she's staying a week or so to get everyone settled in. That will be a big help for
Rhonda and Donny.

Happy Day!

Electrical

Gale, our electrician and neighbor was hard at work this morning, installing a chandelier in the dining room, the security lights outside and getting organized. We are pushing everyone including him to move as fast as possible. After a year and and a half we are tiring of construction and want to get it behind us. Two people are coming to work tomorrow - the tiler and Ken, who is working on the deck and concrete outside.

Another saw broke today during the grove work. Honorato is apparently hard on the equipment. Richard had to rebuild the blower because he (H) mixed oil and gas for the 2 phase motor. Richard went to town to buy a replacement saw. After all, he had a quiet day because everyone cleared out before noon.

For dinner, chicken thighs and rice...it's refrigerator clean out day.

The deadly tax deadline

Struggling today with myself to get my taxes done and sent to the accountant. Procrastination in this department is my hallmark and I never miss putting this off as long as possible. Why? Because I hate to intellectualize the amounts that I've sent to the government all year, much of which is squandered and mismanaged. Today our news is full of scandal - one of the Orange County state assembly reps has been exposed in a sleazy scandal. What's new? They all fall into that trap. I guess they think they are infallible. It's so discouraging and really disgusting in the state assemble. These guys have spent us into poverty/they've all been "bought" by one group or another and the really galling thing is all the legislation they pass every year. We have 1000's of stupid laws on our books which are written and lobbied for by these assemblymen who judge each other on how much legislation they can push through. Their constituents are largely uninterested in this legislation which just adds more to the load of the enforcement people and does little to improve the quality of life for most of us.

Here figgie, figgie

Lamb chops for dinner tonight with a fig and avocado salad. Everything was delicious
and just enough. The cats got to lick our lamby fingers and they enjoyed their treat. Very hot in Temecula where I went to pick up stone veneer facing for the garage front and a 96# bag of grout. The fork lift operator who assembled my items was on the chubby side and sweating profusely - I asked him about the heat and he explained that he'd just had his hose shower - has to do it every hour or so to be able to keep working.

A few appealing furniture stores I pass on my route home, had "clearance" signs on display so I stopped at one of them. The store was full of massive furniture - carved beds with huge headboards. They have little steps that you use to climb up on them like the beds of the royals were in Europe. Most of this stuff would overwhelm our house completely as I explained to the decorator. She assured me that a big piece in a small room can look great if you know the tricks. She was a charming little hing and literally buzzed with ideas. We walked from piece to piece and she gave me ideas for how such things could be ncorporated into smaller rooms. Very informative.

A Bosch washer and dryer were delivered today. The installers left their truck running for almost 2 hours stating that company policy allows them to keep the cab cool. Two hours? These guys were not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier but they did get things in place. We got an upgrade in the connection department because the first one they tried which came with the Bosch, stripped while they were installing it. The spin cycle is unbelievably fast - the washer sounds like it's going to take off any minute.

Good progress outdoors - the posts on the garage are almost finished and Ken has cleaned up a lot of the mess. Things are looking much better.

Dumb Poem

There's been a rumor that my little tumors now toast
Yes, it's true! and it's turning to goo! I can boast
And now may I smile? At least for a while, as I'm "post".

What was I thinking (or not)? I posted a question on the cyberknife
forum about how you can tell if your tumor is dying on the MRI's. Guess I lost control for a moment and decided to insert the above ditty on my question. I got deservedly booed...it's so bad. I thought I might get a laugh, but no - instead I got affirmation that I shouldn't expect to make a living writing poetry. No second career in this department, I guess.

Shanghai'ed

Richard cooked up a semi-surprise post-op trip for us starting out in Shanghai on Oct. 5th. We fly to Shanghai and are staying in a small flat for five days. We board a Costa Cruise which stops in Japan (Kobe and Tokyo), in Taipei and ends up in Hong Kong on Oct. 24th. Three days later on the 27th we fly home.

There goes October, but we can use a change of scene and a rest. Even though our pace has been slow, the house demands are exhausting for me - I get about 12 good hours out of my brain after which it screams for rest. Flat on my back I can watch mind-numbing television until I fall asleep. I'm recently starting to be able to concentrate enough to read again. This week's book club is a good choice - "The Seal Wife". Parts of it are so good that I've completed reading them and turned back immediately to read the passages over again.

When I say I enjoyed a book, the natural question is always, "What's it about?". Lately the books I've been reading are very hard to classify as - mystery, memoir etc. The Seal Wife is a story of loneliness and yearning. The central character is a weatherman of sorts based in Alaska at the turn of the century. The author has an incredible ability to describe sensory experiences - so well that you are completely immersed in her scenes -smelling, touching, seeing and hearing. It's such a pleasure to read.

Farmers ? Market

Our first official farmers market took place yesterday in downtown Fallbrook. Of all the places that you would think a farmers market would thrive, it would be here as there is so much agricultural activity going on. However, the market was a dud. Only a few vendors selling jewelry and knick knacks. Not one produce seller.

The most interesting sellers there was a woman and her husband who raise goats, sheep and llamas here in Fallbrook. They shear the animals and then send the wool off for carding. She then spins the wool into yarn which they sell in hanks for knitting. The yarn was beautiful and expensive but very unique.

They were also selling wonderful greeting cards from a company called the Itty Bitty Witty Knitties in Idaho. The cards have a little tiny piece of knitting on the front and inside, an appropriate greeting/sentiment for the occasion. The knitting is done by deaf women in Kunming China; the women were formerly impoverished and unable to help themselves. The knitting project has brought them sufficient income to live decently and most importantly to learn sign language.

Lighting

 

Lights are starting to go up here and there. The chandelier in the hallway, outdoor lights, bathroom lights. I'm keeping just ahead of the electrician and have made many trips to Lamps plus. For about a week, I had a crick in my neck from looking up. All are selected now and I can put this task to rest.

Lowes

We're putting a stainless steel tool cabinet in the kitchen. I bought it at Lowes and now have to have it modified to go into the island. Remove feet, remove handles on the sides and electrical outlet. I'm hoping it will work and I like it. If not, we can remove it and replace it with a conventional cabinet.

I plan to use it for knife storage, small gadgets - there's never enough room for these and oddball things, like box graters, oil bottles, measuring cups - the tools of the trade.

Post Op

I painted cabinets on Saturday after having just returned from Stanford on Friday night. That is how good I've been feeling. Other than a small amount of pressure in the head, everything is about the same except that I feel more stable. This morning I walked toe to heel down the kitchen floor following the tile line and was able to stay upright. While sitting, I'm feeling no waveriness. Tinnitus is the same as pre-surgery. No pain in the jaw line. My sense of taste is still messed up but no worse than before. Hearing seems to be the same as pre-surgery. I do have a hearing test scheduled for September so I'll find out then exactly how it's doing.

I spent most of yesterday online writing back to people who had sent good wishes - and posting items on the acoustic neuroma association forum. Just info about how I feel. Some people are nauseated and dizzy for days post cyberknife. Others experience horrible tinnitus and jaw pain. I'm either really lucky or my turn will come later?

I've posted this pictures of the guys at the wedding because they are showing the feelings that I'm experiencing. If I'd tried this
now I'd end up in the hospital.

So far, so good.

Radiation day 3

Day three was similar to the other two days, but now it's old hat for me. I actually enjoyed it more and was able to focus on the procedure and worry less about claustrophobia. Today I asked the tech to take a few pictures of me in the mask. Boo!!

Soon it was over and mask in hand I got in the car and we left. Packed up and went straight to the airport for an uneventful ride home. As it was almost 6 pm we stopped at Kings Fish House for a delicious meal. Richard had soft shelled crabs and I had sand dabs. The cats were happy to see us and I fell into bed, exhausted.

At 4:00, my eyes popped open and I recognized the typical steroid effect...for me it's SPEED. So now I'm on the run for a while and will probably collapse this afternoon. I'll try to enjoy the high while I have it.

Celebration dinner at Tamarine

Even though I'm tired, I'm very relieved to have the procedure almost over. Tomorrow is the final day and we can go home. To celebrate we ate at Tamarine, a Vietnamese fusion restaurant we discovered earlier in the week. Richard had a repeat of the cod cooked in a clay pot. I ordered grilled scallops in green curry. Richard had a splendid beer and me a glass (2) of Alsatian
Gewurztraminer. For dessert I had the tapioca cooked in coconut milk and two sorbets - one mango and one coconut. Richard had a wonderful citrus flan. The meal was splendid. We took a wander through the Barnes and Nobles which is housed in a beautiful old Spanish building. By the time we left, Palo Alto was coming alive - almost 8 p.m. The early diners like us were slogging toward our cars, our wallets a little lighter, making room for the on-time diners, mostly 30 somethings, more vivid, more lively and with fatter pocket books. As the world turns.

2nd day of radiation

Today when I arrived at the cyberknife suite, the waiting room was empty so it was much less festive. Yesterday the other two patients had completed their treatments and were happily on their way home. Same protocol today as yesterday; a beautiful blond woman with a huge engagement ring dispensed the pills - steroid for swelling and an anti-nausea pill, unidentified. My tall thin and very young Asian tech came out to get me and we went straight in and started the procedure. I asked him if they had a name for the machine - he said "cyberknife 1" - which surprised me. I would've thought the first thing they would do is name it. I climbed on the gurney, they masked me down, left the room and cranked er up. She chirps, buzzes, hums and squeals. I heard very high pitched sounds continuing for some time and then something like castanets. The sounds come from all over. I opened my eyes for a while and stared in hers. A little light seems to be coming from her head and she moves around quickly from spot to spot. I saw the red lasers for directions today too. Because I was less nervous and more interested today, I saw more and actually enjoyed part of it. It seemed to be over fast.

Dr. Soltys came in just as I was leaving and asked if it had gone OK and if I was feeling OK after yesterdays treatment. Yes, yes, yes on all accounts. I asked my few questions about getting copies of my tests - yes, at the radiological library right behind the cafeteria and I received 18 grays of radiation broken into three doses of 6 grays each day. He was all smiles and said he would see me tomorrow before I left.

Overall this has been a great experience. Stanford hospital is beautiful. The main lobby looks like a 5 star hotel lobby. There is reading material and libraries everywhere. The cafeteria has decent food. People are friendly and cooperative for the most part. If I was forced to think of something to complain about, I'd have to think hard.

Well, tomorrow it will be over with, the tumor will have been dealt the coup de gras and the rest will be history. I have a 97% chance that the tumor will die; a 30% chance of losing the remaining hearing in the AN ear and an almost zero chance that balance, taste will return to normal. However after the vestibular training that could improve.

They are doing research for a cure for these tumors, but are finding that it is very difficult to grow acoustic neuroma cells in a petri dish. Out of sixty samples recently they were able to get two strings to grow. Not enough. They are trying to determine the chromosome which is responsible for the tumor suppression protein and why it is screwed up. If they figure this out it might be possible to develop an oral dose of this protein which one could take when the tumor is discovered. This might prevent further growth and if symptoms aren't bad at time of discovery then people could function quite normally. A lot of "mights".

1st day of radiation

Nervous this morning but took an ativan half hour before my appointment. When I walked into the waiting room, Bubbles Wanda was there and the wife of another man there also for AN treatment. This was very relaxing and as these people were at the end of their treatment they were able to reassure me that it would be simple. A young woman came out and gave me a bit of steroid and one anti-nausea pill. I told her I'd taken an ativan and so she didn't give me that. As we were talking a doctor came out...he's a nuclear medicine pioneer and has multiple degrees in the software aspect of the cyberknife, the engineering and the medicine. he was incredibly smart and funny and most enjoyable to chat with. Turns out he was one of the inventors of the cyberknife..the guy on the left.

Wanda and her husband left and I was called in. The room is white with a gurney on the side and a huge robot that looked like the female in "Alien". She was rumbling away in the background, just sitting there waiting to go. The set-up here in Stanford is the only one in the world where there is only one human and one robot alone in the room and the robot works on you. They set me up with my preformed neck piece and buttoned the mask in place. It was looser than it seemed yesterday. They reassured me that I could swallow if I had to, even sneeze if required. They tucked me in, turned on some music and the treatment started. I could hear some clicks and a couple of whirs; the opera soared through the sound system and I found myself watching for glimpses of my huge, mechanical surgeon as he/she worked her way around me. It was very hard to see it clearly. At times the cot moved as well. 35 minutes went by fairly quickly and I was only moderately uncomfortable. I asked them if I fidgeted too much and they reassured me that I was OK. I called Richard and he was there in 5 minutes and we came home.

Later in the day we went to the Sunset Magazine garden and had a walk around; lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant - gyros, babaganoush, hummus and pita bread with a couple of salads. We bought baklava and some other sweets, spent 5 minutes in a used bookstore then went over to the Cineplex and saw Cold Souls. I slept through some of it as did Richard. Good premise but not a well directed movie. Now we are home and I will be going to bed soon to be ready for a repeat of this morning.

I'm now 3/5th's through the process. Hurray!!!

Stanford - Monday

Today we met with my two doctors, the radiation oncologist and the neurologist. Dr. Soltys, the radiation oncologist looks about 23; Dr. Chang looks just right - young enough to be up on the technology and old enough to be mature. After reviewing my case and doing a few short tests on site...closing my eyes with my hands in front, walking a line toe to toe, he said I was a bit unsteady. He whispered in my good ear and then in my bad ear..a sort of empirical test of his own.

Next was an MRI which I wasn't expecting and wasn't on the schedule. There was a bit of a mix-up with where to go and what to do. It ended up gobbling up the afternoon. I was finished about 4. Richard and I went shopping at Crate and Barrel and Adronico's market, then walked a bit around downtown Palo Alto. Ate at Tamarine which was excellent. Richard had clay pot cod; I had chicken cooked with a kumquat glaze and roasted cauliflower. We shared some anise rice. For dessert I had a coconut tapioca with two sorbets..unbelievably good and Richard had a flan.

This morning I had a cat scan and they made my mask. I was finished at 9:00. They told me to plan for the whole day - a nice surprise that it was so short. Now the actual radiation is all that's left.

Stanford

Yesterday we left from Burbank, flew up to San Jose, rented a National Rental Car and checked in at the Marriott Residence Inn in Palo Alto. Out to dinner at Il Fornaioa downtown and had an excellent meal. My wine, a Grillo was great. Richard had prosciutto and Melon and a mixed seafood grill appetizer plate. I had a pasta, like ravioli but bigger and free form in shape, filled with squash and walnuts with an excellent tomato/red pepper sauce. Bread was excellent and a cup of coffee at the end was also great...tasted like it smelled. Back in the room we watched the finale of Mad Men..we couldn't get the opening segment as we don't get AMC in the room.

This morning everything went smoothly. We met Dr. Sotsly and Drs. Chang one right after the other. They told me my tumor was growing out of the auditory canal in an unusual way which is why it is causing the hearing loss. They didn't seem particularly concerned about the other symptoms. They ordered an MRI which we had a bit of confusion over but finally had it. They sent me over at 12:30 and after straightening out the mix-up I was MRI'd about 4 - a short one with contrast only.

Richard and I went out and shopped at Crate and Barrel looking at tables and chairs, the to downtown Palo Alto and strolled the main street, cruising Restoration Hardware.Our meal at Tamarine was excellent. I had chicken with kumquats and roasted cauliflower; Richard had Cod roasted in a clay pot. We shared rice cooked with anise. For dessert, I had coconut tapioca with two sorbets and two sauces; Richard had a citrus flan with a cream sauce. We both had a Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed sweetened milk. It was great. For wine, I had an Alsatian gewurtztraminer and Richard an Alsatian beer. Nice meal to end Day 1 of the proceedings. Only 4 left to go.

Antique Door

For a small cupboard in the kitchen, I found the perfect antique door. It was hanging at Mrytle Creek nursery and when I brought it home, it fit perfectly in the space and looks excellent with the beams. Richard instantly liked it, so I am happy. G & M cabinets will be doing our cabinet job and they are ready to start next week. As we will be gone, we have to delay until the following week, but I hope they will complete the job quickly. William the designer has already given us a few tips. He really knows what he is doing so I feel we will be in excellent hands.

Pictures attached show the door at the nursery and then sitting in it's spot in the kitchen.

Choosing the cabinet manufacturer was the last big choice we have to make so I am pretty well finished with decisions.

As we fired our plumber on Friday, we do have to choose a new one but the job will now consist only of installing things. No big jobs remain. We will never understand what was happening with the plumber or why he chose to work in such a wierd fashion. He never returned phone calls. Never.

Chris and Ashley

Chris and Ashley were married last night with a lovely ceremony outdoors in Riverside. The minister who performed the ceremony is a bike riding/marathon person Chris has trained with for a couple of years. Everyone looked wonderful - of course the bride was gorgeous and looked like she had a twenty inch waist. Despite the fact that he is now 25, Chris looks about 17. He was very calm and seems to have matured by leaps and bounds overnight.

Kim looked incredibly glamorous. She had a beautiful dress, her hair was colored a reddish brown and she had professional make-up done. Mark, her fiance, said he was seeing a Kim he'd never seen before. Once she got used to the idea, I think she liked herself. At first, when she looked in the mirror, she screamed.

We sat with Ron and Bette which was great - also Jimmy shared our table. He is recovering from shoulder surgery. Ross and Marie were also there; poor Marie is grieving the recent loss of her father.

Most fun of all was to be had watching the little kids. Beth was a flower girl and Brandon the ring bearer. They had such a good time dancing and just exploring around all the tables, acting like, well, kids. One not-quite-toddler was underneath the tables, rolling herself along, eating jelly beans that had fallen to the floor. She would roll and flop herself from spot to spot. Richard thought she looked like a schmoo as she had little hair and a pear shaped long dress. A funny little thing, she would look you in the face and hold your gaze for a long time, unblinking. What are they thinking?

Jennifer is pregnant again. This will be number 4. She is still home schooling the bunch of them. I don't know how she does it, but somehow she handles it all. The kids are always clean and well dressed. Overall they are well behaved and a pleasure to be around.

Five Spice French Toast

We were following on the food network the reality show, "Who will be the next Food Network star". A friend of our nieces was a contestant and made it to the final show, where he was aced out. A very creative cook, he posts notes and blogs on his Facebook site and the other day, discussed 5 spice French Toast. We tried it, adding about 1/2 teaspoon of the spice to two eggs with
some cream. He suggested dredging the toast in panko crumbs before frying and this added a wonderful crispness. Overall it was an excellent product. Jeffrey served it with caramelized peaches. We used plain maple syrup and found the combination pleasing. The picture posted is from Jeffrey's very interesting notes on his facebook page.

Today our front door is being refinished at last. It's been in terrible condition for a year or more and I've been putting off the expensive refinishing until the remodel is complete. But, we are going so slowly, we have time to do our maintenance work on 1022 at the same time.

An Old Trunk

Searching for an antique trunk has driven me into many of the used, recycled, antique furniture stores in Temecula and Fallbrook. In most cases, very creative people own these places. At the Red Rooster in Fallbrook, I met a woman who was doing antique painting on old tables. Learned a lot about the process from her. When I told her what I wanted in a trunk, she gave me a bunch of ideas about handles, finishes and sizes. It's not an easy item to find. Trunks are either expensive and custom, with beautiful inlays and hardware or cheap World Imports types or really beat up unusable pieces. I'm leaning towards a cheap World Imports that I finish myself.

I've almost finished antiquing the guest bathroom cabinets. They are still not distressed enough, so I will sand more today and apply another stain variation. I'm thinking of modifying the cabinet pulls as well.

Nothing much will be happening until we get back from Stanford. Today the concrete guys are supposed to be cleaning up the place and we will decide on the main concrete color for stamping. Gail will be hanging the entry way chandelier. After finishing the cabinets, I'm going to start the massive cleaning job, starting with the Avocado door.

Tile redux

Choosing tiles for the outdoor patios has become difficult. Finding 4 tiles in coordinating colors of dark blue is taking computer time viewing and reviewing the options. The decision seems important because tile is so permanent and we will be seeing it underfoot for the rest of our lives. One of the tiles, I love and everyone else loves. The remaining tiles get a lukewarm reaction from others and from me, but I've exhausted my resources and so must choose.

Manny the tile guy has been one our better contractors. He tells us a price, shows up when he says he will, works quietly and cleanly (no blaring radios, no coffee cups and lunch remains) and he does a good job. He's actually been a lot of help making tile decisions - little things but important for effect. Like light grout in the upstairs bathrooms. The contrast is very nice and without
it, the tile would all run together. He loves the tiled arch and told me he could create one of his own as soon as he can find a house.

While looking at the floor tile, I'm starting to think about granite for the kitchen and for the backsplash. I'm thinking of something simple because the kitchen is a rather busy place as the design now stands.

Forty years ago

Yesterday we spent some time reminiscing about 1969. The typhoon in Taiwan triggered the discussion. During that typhoon Richard lost everything he owned at the time (primarily a record collection) and broke a bone in his foot. The photos of the torrential rains and mud slides transported him back 50 years. His typhoon was in 1959.

Meanwhile, the media is featuring Woodstock memories, the walk on the moon and Nixon's election. Seems like yesterday that Linda was visiting and we watched the Neil Armstrong from the house trailer that Van de Kamps was using as a test kitchen. What a thrill. We saw the film "Moon" the other night and remembered those great moments. Even the Vietnam war seems like yesterday. When we visit Vietnam a whole generation of people barely remember it and refer to it as the American war. Spin, spin, spin - everybody sees events through their own prism and spins wittingly or more often innocently. The scribes among us get to preserve events for posterity written and seen through theirs eye. The non-scribes' point of view dissolves over time and space.

Our Concrete Takes Off!

The decorative bands were poured around the house and we had a disaster. The concrete "took off" which means it started to set up before the finishers could get the troweling done. About 1/3 had to be hammered out and we are arguing about the two bands that make up the front walk. There are crumbling spots on the sides...the result of having the concrete half set while troweling. We think the whole band should be removed and Ken is pushing back. Meanwhile the site is full of concrete chunks and Ken wants to move forward and pour before it's cleaned up. We know we would just have more mistakes and another disaster and so are pushing him to get everything cleaned up before we pour again. Looks like it will be put off until we return from Stanford.

Meanwhile I've met with Manny on the exterior tile and he is looking for a source. He is also finding us a travertine counter top and will be doing a back splash. I have to pick out the granite for bathrooms and kitchen.

I've been antiquing the guest bathroom cabinets. So far they look OK. I have to find some way to distress the doors a little more. I'm going to try a rub on wood stain to see what happens.

We have all our reservations ready for Stanford. I've been reading more info on line and have a pretty good grasp of what to expect both during the treatment and afterward. I'll be a happy person on the 22nd when I have this event behind me and when I can stop worrying about more growth. I believe the little sucker advanced a bit recently because I am more tottery and the eyesight is worse (wavy horizon).

Lina Story

As she was grousing about men - how much attention they need, how helpless they seem to be at times, Lina's grandmother concurring, told Lina that at one time, she thought her husband was just stupid. And she thought his typical male behavior was unique and didn't realize that much of the behavior she interpreted as stupid was simply male.

For instance, she told Lina that her husband would often forget to zip up his fly and she would do it for him if she noticed it. One Sunday in church, she was distributing communion and her husband entered her queue to get his wafer. As he approached her she saw that his fly was undone and when he got in front of her, instead of handing him his communion, she reached down and zipped up his fly.

For anyone, this move could have been embarassing. For a hispanic male, it was macho demolishing and he was furious with her humiliation of him in public. She told him that it was an automatic response...she'd done it so often over the course of their marriage, it was a built-in response.

Lina, my Guatemalan born friend, the story-teller, speaks English pretty well now. Ten years ago when I first met her, she was just beginning to acquire a vocabulary. Even so, she told me stories that had me falling down in laughter. She's very good and I wonder how fine a tale she can weave using her native tongue. She has a wonderful sense of humor and heartily enjoys making other laugh. Her friendship has been very enriching to my life.

Roadrunner attack

I heard a racket in the living room and walked over to the window in my office. A roadrunner had gotten into the house and was running repeatedly at full speed at the wall. He crashed into it and turned to see me at the same time. Luckily, he managed to get out the door and took off down the hillside in enormous leaps, disappearing quickly. As he wasn't wearing a helmet, it seemed risky at best. I wondered if he was the same bird who wandered into my office a few years ago. On that occasion, the cat was acting funny, slinking around pressing up against the walls and dropping into that leopard-like crouch cats assume when they are ready to pounce. As I could hear a scratching sound in the office, I walked in and saw an enormous roadrunner...he must be about 18 inches high - the tail extending back about a foot. This bird was in distress and panicky, running back and forth over my printer, banging into the windows. Between the cat and myself, we must have terrified the poor creature. I got the broom and used it to gently prod him toward the door. Once through it he did the acrobatic and astonishing leap thing and vanished in short order.

I'm calling this an attack with tongue in cheek. The poor bird obviously has little in the way of grey matter - but he/she survives and survival is everything. I doubt that once a bird has such a close call - a close brush with humans that he would come close to the house again.