fossilfreak

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

372 recordings of 50 types, 71 old SVU. 17% clear.

Saturday the 9th was a busy busy day. After I did my morning watering I walked down to Leslie's house to help her set up her garage sale. I worked there until it was time for the sale, and got a decent wheeled ice chest and a great National Geographic atlas for my trouble.  (Well, I paid for them, but it was nice stuff. I needed a new ice chest... I had taken one from the neighbor's discards and they told me the handle was broken, but in actuality this lasted about 3 years before completely falling apart when we went to Micke Grove Park last April.)

I had planned to go to the WPAC second Saturday breakfast but decided there simply wasn't time. I headed back to the garage sale about 9:15 to chat and wait, and my friend Eileen came about 9:30 to take me and Alisa to Oroville for Jeo's memorial. I was wearing an orange Hawai'ian shirt that Rich bought about 10 years ago. (That was a great surprise. He always wore very conservative shirts, till we were in Hawai'i and he got a shirt for the luau (at my insistence.) This was on sale at the Lathrop gas station for $10 and he bought it.) It is far too big, and I couldn't wear my waist pouch on the outside and didn't want to wear it underneath since it made me look 10 months pregnant.  So I pocketed my camera and ID and money and keys, and made do without the kitchen sink I normally carry. (And I remembered when we picked up Alisa who is attached to her phone that I didn't take mine.)

It was a nice ride and I got some answers about why Jeo and his wife were no longer together. I thought she had washed her hands of him when he got sick, which I don't really approve of, but it was the other way around. Jeo told her to get out of his life (I have to believe it was the disease talking, as Jeo was usually a very sweet guy).  So at the memorial it was easy to hug her and tell her how sorry I was. At the memorial (which was at Jeo's sister's house) I learned some other friends are now divorced. Sigh.  There were about 35 geocachers there (all in Hawai'ian shirts, plus the family. The three children, and Cinde and her parents, Jeo's sisters and brother, and his mother. (Woe. Eileen says she's somewhat out of it, what a blessing.) Plenty of food  (although the cookies I brought were unpacked at the end.) I picked up a geocoin to remember him by. It's a California one, not recognized by Groundspeak, but that's OK.) I wrote a memory of Jeo in the book. (Rich and I had just started geocaching, and found a big travel bug hotel in Elk Grove, and we were engrossed in checking the contents when this voice boomed out "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" and scared us to death.) Jeo's son spoke. It was nice to see so many old friends.

I got home about 5.

Eric Bolling's son died.  The hits just keep coming.

Sunday was also a busy day. At church, Gerrie returned my books and gave me some candy (how the heck am I supposed to get my A1C down this way?).  I hadn't planned to go back to the house before the late afternoon, but had to get the candy bar out of the car.  Thence down to help with Communion... there's s guy from church there recouperating from a fall, in his 90s and sharp as a tack, knew my name and Brenda's.  He has an easy name to remember, Charles Schulz!

Hence to Elk Grove. I thought I would drop in on the 9/11 event and see some of the people who weren't in Oroville the day before, but I couldn't find the group. Oh, well. I stopped at Jack-in-the-box for lunch, then got to Bernarob's house. When it was his truck left in the driveway, I thought maybe they'd changed their plans, but no, he was still taking the big kids to see their Mom in the play. My job was to babysit Padreic.

He was busy busy.  There was plenty for him to do in the living room, but at one point he climbed over the gate into Mommy and Daddy's room (forbidden, and I'd locked both kids' bedrooms.) I got him out and then told him to pick up the little bells he'd been carrying. "No." He said "No" a couple of times, and finally I gave him a pop on the backside. Then held him while he cried it out, and we started playing finger games.

Rob and the kids enjoyed the play. He said it was better than the other Gilbert&Sullivan's Bernadette has been in.

Monday the 11th of September I had the flags out all over the yard. It was the day for  the cleaners. They sat in the driveway in their car and had lunch, and here I was all ready to let them in and disappear into the bedroom. I could have finished my TV show!

While I was in the bedroom, I straightened up some more for the window people, and called my classmate Rich who was in town for the weekend. Too hot to leave the house again, though.

I had cloudy urine. But it's been coming and going, mostly clear, so I don't know what's going on.

My neighbor Carol brought over ice cream bars to keep in my freezer for the party the next day.

Tuesday I went to breakfast with the ladies. We only had 4 this time.

I found and rescued a tiny alligator lizard in the house. I thought at first maybe Pharoah had hurt it, but it moved from the zinnia bed where I put it, so it's probably OK. So beautiful!

Carol had a farewell party for Leslie. I will be sad to have her (and Zeus) go. We met the new homeowners, James and Yolanda. They're into wine and across the street Sloan and Christy (who were new to me) brew beer! Hey, I live on a party street! I also met Luann, and then chatted with the neighbors I know, as well.

I got home just before Vince's call. Eric will be going to the Bahamas next year. Gabe and A.J. are doing well in soccer.  And I forgot to tell him about Jeo's memorial and about the alligator lizard... so I started a list for the next time!

Wednesday I went down to Elk Grove as usual, and Bernadette wasn't there. I thought maybe she had decided to take Padreic in to the doctor, since he's been crying over a hurt leg since Monday. Sure enough, it's broken!  He had a splint on it and it will be cast on Friday. He was apparently really good with the doctor, and the X-rays.  It was a trampoline accident. I said, when Joan gave them that, it was dangerous for such small children. Monica argued that it was good exercise and I said it would lead to broken bones. She said "at least they won't be overweight."  So of course, when I posted about the broken leg, I said "told you so, Monica!"

The big kids were in trouble about this. They just stood on the trampoline watching while Padreic cried. No one went in to tell Mommy.  Also, while B. was trying to clean up, Gareth just went to his room and Joanna wouldn't go fetch something "there's a branch in the way."  She got popped on the bottom for her pains, too.  Daddy had a long lecture for them. 

I fetched them and we talked about the broken leg on the way home. Nobody knows what exactly happened. I read them more of Pinocchio. I decided I need to bring over a marionette so they really know what it is.

Thursday, I got my new windows!!!!!! I just love it! The annoying thing is I will have to make sure all the smoke alarms have batteries (I really only keep the hall one and my bedroom charged up, the others are old and beep even with new batteries, too much trouble) before I call the county inspector to come out. It took the guys 4 hours to get all the windows in, and I spied one defective screen so called about it at the end of the day.

I went to the WPAC Appleby's dinner. I ordered the chicken tacos which were filling enough, and to my surprise, between the half price Happy Hour and the 10% discount, I only owed a little over 4 dollars! 

Friday was Renaissance. The morning documentary was "And Still I Fly" about Maya Angelou. When it was dealing with her early life, there was a cameo with Hillary Clinton, who said it was like her mother's early life. All I could think about was "was that before or after she named you for Sir Edmund Hillary?" The bitter old woman (mighod, this book tour!) always has to make it all about herself! The documentary, however, was really good. There was this time she lectured Tupac Shakur about his language.  I'd read all the autobiographies and really enjoyed this documentary.

The time travel movie was Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. I enjoyed it more this time than when I saw it first. Silly but fun. I was tempted to go to the forum but really wanted to come home.

Before I left I saw Leslie walking Zeus for the last time here, so dashed out for a hug from her and a total slobber from him.

The windows will go on November's bill! Hooray, it's nice to spread the misery out!

They warned me there might still be pieces of glass, but I forgot, and sure enough, barefoot in my bedroom. Ow.

Saturday I was pretty well crippled up with a terrible backache, but because I'd promised, I saw Bernadette's play, Patience. It's cute and funny. I'd never heard of it before though there's one song in it I've heard somewhere (an ad, maybe?)

Sunday I stayed in to heal up. My back still hurt but not as badly as it did the day before. I've been leaving the windows open night and day, except when the gardeners were here.   I trimmed the roses in the rose garden Rich made for me. Most of them are dead, thanks to the drought.

I made a salad of dragonfruit, pineapple, (I wanted pomegranates, but they aren't quite ready yet. There are so many I think I can have some despite the squirrels), romaine, one small bell pepper chopped up with a blueberry balsalmic vinaigrette. Yum.

I actually READ "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" for the first time. Disney did a great job following the descriptions! Irving's prose is great!