Catchup #5

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 547
166.1 miles

hot

 

354 recordings of 32 types, 72 old SVU. 21% clear (I cleaned out all the old movies, I'll get another chance and this was filling up too fast.)

 

This week was bookended with STUPID moves.

 

Sunday the 24th, I went to Church and learned about a couple of friends who are very ill.

 

Back at home, I was puttering around getting ready to go out in the afternoon when the phone rang. It was my sister-in-law and we had a nice chat. She lives in South Carolina but had missed the eclipse because she was touring in Poland at the time, guided by our niece, Dan's sister. I finally cut the call off (after about 30-40 minutes) so I could get down to the 24th street theater before the play started and give them a donation. I managed to find a parking place about a block away and was able to drop off the check.

 

From there I went down to the Crocker in order to get the Wee Hallowe'en tickets for Bernadette, Padreic, and me. (It turns out Joan will be in town then, but I hadn't known that when I bought the tickets.) I was a little unhappy to have to park in the city lot for $5/day instead of at a meter for only an hour and less money. So I decided to spend some time looking at the pictures and things. The temporary exhibit wasn't in yet, but there are lots of new pictures and things have been moved around. I was particularly struck by a picture of a Chinese restaurant which is very three-dimensional, acquired in 2015. I also admired a picture I saw with Joanna during a Wee Wednesday. The kids were expected to see lots of things, colors, a festival, but all they say was "there's a DOG in it!"

 

 

 

 

Then I had a good look at "Sunday Morning in the Mines". It was done by the same artist as the "Sabine Women" paintings. I had no idea. Apparently the Crocker family were good friends with Nahl. I had always thought the mural on J street was "Saturday Evening in the Mines" and the miners were escaping the picture... but actually they're coming back. This mural was painted in 1973 by Frank Carson.

 

 

I went back out to the parking lot, and there was my $5 parking pass and lo! someone at the pay station ready to buy one, so I cheated the city out of $5. The city immediately got its own back, because a few blocks away I tried to get through a stale yellow light but it turned red before I got all the way across the intersection, and had my picture taken (with the "UH-OH!" sound.) Oops. Now I'm all worried about my license, about the good driver discount... oh, grumble. That was the stupidity of Sunday.

 

Monday I called for the County inspection (and had it on Tuesday and on Friday I got a notice from the County saying "don't forget.") Why in heck do I have to pay $375 for permission to put windows on my house?

 

I also called the elder mentor program with Renaissance, because it sounds like fun as well as being worthwhile. They're full this semester but I am listed for spring.

 

I walked my package over to the UPS store. It's moved, so at first I thought I'd wasted the walk, but the new place is in the same strip mall as the old. Maybe 2 minutes to make the return. On the way back I got a new sunshade for the car, as the old one was falling to bits.

 

It was impossible to load stuff onto Flickr, so I tried changing back to Chrome, and huzzah, the background is white again, so I can actually use it. It works a lot better than Edge.

 

Tuesday was the inspection. I stayed home from the WPAC breakfast, so as to wait for the guy. I called in, as requested, and then had to call the inspector himself to find out when he'd come. I'd replaced all the batteries in all the smoke alarms (which I suppose is a good thing, but they weren't working when I tried it before, and in reality, as long as I have the smoke/CO detector in the hall, the others don't really matter. (And now I have a way to escape my room, which is great. The swamp cooler made that impossible.)) Anyway, I was ready when he drove up. He left his car running, walked around the outside of the house, signed the permit, and left, maybe all of 5 minutes. OK then.

 

Vince wanted to call early, at 6:15. Luckily, I read this at 6:14. I had a long list to babble at him.

 

Wednesday I went to Elk Grove. Bernadette took Padreic out on the bike to go to the library, so was hot and tired when she got home. I was eager for her to get home because I'd located, and bought, the 4th book of Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon series and I knew she'd love it. As she did, though at the time she seemed more into the Celtic catalog I brought. Today the kids seemed really interested in Pinocchio. (That poor little puppet can't catch a break.)

 

 

Thursday I went back down there so B. could continue turfing out the garage before Hurricane Grandma arrives. Today she took in recycling, and later some high chairs to Chicks in Crisis, which is for homeless pregnant teens. (She also gave them some cute Hallowe'en baby sleepers... she'd initially been saving them but suddenly realized "oh, why?") She also got to the clothing boxes so she could find Padreic's winter clothes. These are now under her bed instead of in the garage. There is hope.

 

Padreic spent most of his day watching Strawberry Shortcake and building with Duplo and with his colored blocks. (Lucky he got them from Aunt Cheryl, as the Tot Room has been completely revamped at the Crocker and those blocks have disappeared.)

 

I went and got the kids, then got money, groceries, gave the Sharing God's Bounty coffee to them and got gas. I was TIRED when I got home, though I didn't really do much.

 

Friday was Renaissance. The documentary was about Nina Simone, which was interesting (I'd never heard of her). But afterwards, again, we got the Social Justice talk and the received wisdom of the CNN Bible. For instance, for the second week in a row the moderator said, as a fact, that "Donald Trump is a white supremacist." I don't need this. It's just annoying to be living in California, sometimes. I'm through with the fora.

 

The movie, on the other hand, was great fun. Peggy Sue Got Married. Great music! I'd never seen it before and one of the discussions we had was is it really a time travel movie or a dream? I really am enjoying this class. Before class I asked the guy behind me what he was reading and got a disquisition about economics, the Koch brothers, the horrors of Reaganism, how Barack Obama (and "I *like* Barack Obama" (no, really, I never would have guessed) ) had disappointed him by colluding with one of the bad guys (my eyes were glazing over.)

 

Then I went to pick up Joanna. I love her but she drives me crazy. For instance, she decided she didn't like fried chicken (after I'd picked up some for her, but she scarfed down the mac and cheese and then wouldn't eat the chicken.) Turns out, according to her mother, she DOES like fried chicken. I did get her to watch "Beauty and the Beast" by starting it, not asking her, because if I'd asked her, she'd have said "no, I'll be SCAAAAARED." As it was, she sat with me, covered her eyes at the scary bits, and ended up liking it. I thought she would. I read Jules Feiffer's "I LOST MY BEAR" to her (Gareth's favorite for years) and "Bartholemew and the Oobleck." (That racist, Dr. Seuss.)

 

Saturday we worked on her Magic Schoolbus junior scientist kit about the human body. She made a ball and socket joint and a hinge joint and a lung model (this one, the balloons tore so I ended up using plastic bags, which actually worked) and her favorite, a stethoscope. After lunch ("do you like grilled cheese?" "Yes." so she ate about an 8th of a sandwich) we went over to the Powerhouse Museum which used to be the Discovery Museum. She was interested in seeing the planetarium show. She watched the kids doing the salmon run but didn't join in. She played doctor, and did magnificently on the balance thing, 30 seconds, while I once managed 1 second. She's got average flexibility while I'm above average. Then the diner, *yawn.* After 90 minutes I was ready to leave, but first we did the nature trail, so she got to run some more. (The ADHD does show, indeed.)

 

   

Then I pulled the second dumb thing of the week. There was a tilty board and for some reason I thought I could balance on it. But instead of balancing, or at least going off to the side, when I stepped on I fell backwards, flat on my back. I was a bit surprised I could actually get up. Stiff and sore, but when I went to the car, I couldn't sit down it hurt so bad. I thought I'd picked up a rock or something, but later I figured it was a bruise, a big one, instead of a goose egg an ostrich egg. (This morning I finally saw the bruise, very black and massive. Since then it's softened up somewhat and is heading to purple.) I finally got a way to sit and drive (fortunately, it's only one buttock, but I sure did a number on it.) I took Joanna home. I discussed what she should have done if I'd been knocked out. (HONESTLY, Jan, what WERE you thinking??) I suspect I would have been out of luck. "I'd call mommy." Well, actually, that's a good idea and she now knows the phone number, and called Bernadette in the morning. But my cell phone is off, so that probably wouldn't have worked. No, you go into the museum and tell them "my Nana needs help." This is how I know I'd be out of luck, I cannot imagine the shy one actually doing that. THEN you call mommy or let them do it by telling them your number. And if we weren't close to somewhere that could help (remind me never to take this kid into the woods) you call 911 and then call your mommy.

 

I limped into the house and debriefed Bernadette, who had lots of lovely veggies for me. Then I painfully drove home, stopping to get some Amarula (I deserve it) first. I decided not to go to church today and have been sitting uncomfortably all day except for going out to turn the water on and off and to take some chicken bones out to the car.

 

So September went out with a whimper (after the bang, I guess.)