fossilfreak | Entries tagged with rain

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 599

35.1 miles

cloudy, one small rain shower

337 recordings of 27 types, 62 old SVU. 25% clear. (and 216 recordings (this morning) in "keep till I remove.")

Monday (the 2nd) I stopped at the credit union to let them know I was traveling in two weeks, and to check on the status of my loan. Which I'm doing well with... I'm about 40% paid off, and of course as I bring it down, more of the principal and less of the interest are in each payment.

I got the C batteries that were needed for the Cookie Monster toy. I also found a watch, almost the same as Rich's that broke, but in plastic rather than metal. But it works the same way.

I also bought dog food, but couldn't find Staples for an ink cartridge. The place I pictured in my mind was actually a Fed Ex place. So I went to Amazon. (And mistakenly only ordered color, so I still needed black. On Thursday I looked up the address in the new Yellow Pages. They failed me, and it was Harbor Freight Tools at the address they posted. This was the second YP failure, the other being the wrong number for the exterminator. So into the recycling it goes.

I was working on trip plans and could SEE the New York Merci Boxcar on Google Earth Street View. I am staying... free... in Syracuse with Choice Hotel points.

And I waited and waited for Vince to call. But it was Monday!!

Tuesday morning there was another rat in the kitchen! It dashed for a hole on the other side of the dishwasher, since the one hole was blocked with bricks. So I guess the noises I heard on Sunday were, indeed, vermin, even though my pets didn't react.

I started clearing out some TV shows I like but don't really need to have recorded while I'm gone, like "How the Universe Works" and "What on Earth" (for two really cheerful shows about how we're all gonna diiiiiiiiiie. Also "Love it or List it", which is great fun but it doesn't matter if I miss a few or a hundred.

There was a Herman game, so I played Fishdom. I had a tuna sandwich for lunch and a slow-cooked stuffed pepper (in the tiny slow cooker, the one for nacho cheese) for dinner, and still have some food in the pantry past the sell-by date.

Fiona from Ngoko Safari had sent on the letter from Kathula's grandfather. Besides the letter (thanking me for supporting his nephew!) there was a picture and a tiny necklace and bracelet set.

My arm really hurt. I apparently strained it, possibly by picking up the dog food.

Vince called (about time, right?) and we are agreed that we both miss St. Philomene's Easter Vigil (done right, before the new priest and the different musicians.)

Wednesday was my day with the kids. At Wee Wednesday, Padreic was very busy putting big soft blocks into the "shack" and was really upset when Arthur went into the shack. I went over to tell him that Arthur could go in the shack too, there's room for two. Then I told Arthur that Padreic was putting the blocks in, and Arthur's mother came over to suggest Arthur could help. Then we left them alone, and they put all the blocks in, and played in the shack, then threw them all out, and (this was the exciting part) they cooperated on a different project involving lining up the blocks under the shack. No grownups involved!

I finished reading The Land of Oz to the kids. I told them next week it would be short stories so I wouldn't start a long book and leave them hanging (though now it looks like they'll be gone in June so I'll have to really work to read all of Charlotte's Web to them before they leave. Of course, I can read some to them when we go to Gilroy.) Anyway, Joanna suggested I should FaceTime them and read to them. This was a nice comment, proving that I'm right, they do enjoy it.

Apparently I just ordered colored ink, not a double package with black, for the printer, so I decided I had to go to Staples. I finally, on Thursday, ended up at Office Max.

Thursday was the rat guy. It was Cody again. He plugged the new outside holes and trimmed back the oleander, and really surrounded the dishwasher with copper wool and black gunk. At first it was really hard to open the dishwasher and I pushed the lid down Very Carefully, but today the lid just falls down. This is worrying, since the plug's wearing out. We put bait up in the attic. Thursday night, though, the rats apparently brought along elephants to protest with them. It was a lot of noise. The dog keeps checking, but I think they're gone... except Wednesday morning I pushed at the dishwasher and there were noises back behind the sink. DIE, already! The heavy heavy rain on Friday should have erased their trails outside so I should be OK for awhile.

Also, the water people came through. They dug a hole in front but then dug underground all the way to the back...I didn't know that for sure until I asked on Tuesday. Then the guy took me in back and showed me where they'll connect up the pipe... in 4 to 6 weeks. Oops. I thought it was immediate so I scheduled the pipe replacement May 14 and 15th. The water guy didn't think it would be a problem, in fact it would be easier to hook up to new pipes. So maybe they'll all arrive together! Guess we'll see.

Friday, rain rain rain! I decided to stay home and play games, so I did.

Saturday I went to the WPAC breakfast in the morning and then met Bernadette and the kids for "Jack and the Beanstalk." Padreic did enjoy it and also enjoyed meeting the actors afterwards and getting their autographs. Then they came here so Padreic could play with the Cookie Monster toy now that it had new batteries. They had to leave by 3, though, because Gareth had a play date!

Then, instead of going to the shell ceremony with Sacramento Pilgrims, I decided to stay home. I hadn't called John back, though I did some days later and left a message.

Sunday I had forgotten it was the second Sunday, so almost didn't help with Communion at the nursing home, but I did go and enjoyed it a lot. I did remember to take the baby bottle full of change that I had filled during Lent. It was Divine Mercy Sunday and Father Martin is really excited about it.

I called Helena to find out how her brace was working out, and discovered that the x-rays for the back fracture had uncovered a lump in her lung. It's stage 1 and hasn't spread at all, so next week they're having a treatment conference, her, doctors, and Mark and Diane. (D. via Skype.)

The squirrels, or so I believe, dug up one of the peanuts I planted.

I was watching an olde John Wayne movie and there were cartoons and shorts before it. One was clips of historic film, including the funeral of Edward VII with all the royalty of England there. Fascinating!

Monday the water guys were working across the street. I didn't know they'd finished my yard until the next day, when I asked. The cleaners came, and I had called ahead to ask them to park in my driveway. I also had neighbors parking in the driveway, too. After they left, I went to the commissary, a small trip but almost $100 because I was getting Alicia some breakfast burritos and found some impulse food for myself.

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 599

31.4 miles

partly cloudy

305 recordings of 21 types, 65 old CPD. 31% clear.

Tuesday (the 19th) as I was driving home, I decided to stop at Wendy's for a burger. I think this may be the first time I've been at a Wendy's since David died and Rich walked me down to the local one to help me calm down.

Alicia had left the baby gate open so the dog got into the kitty litter. She left the shower leaking. She didn't eat the strawberries and grapes I had out for her, and she had the heater up to 72%. (darn. I was really hoping this month's usage would be down.) However, she was able to come at the last minute and the dog didn't have to stay out in bad weather.

Vince called and they planned A.J.'s birthday party for Saturday. Vince wanted to put together some kits so they could make their own trains.

Wednesday Fishdom came up with an Easter game. While I had most of the things from last year (and put the delighted hedgehog into the Wonderland aquarium) I did want the two fish again (Humpty and Dumpty) so I played.

Bernadette had work this day, so she brought Padreic over in the morning on the way. I decided it was too rainy to go to Wee Wednesday, so we just stayed in the house and I gave him macaroni and cheese for lunch.

He was playing with the Cookie Monster toy and had discovered it would travel across the kitchen floor, so of course the batteries ran down. It was C batteries, and I found a pack of two unused Cs. Then I see they were both corroded. Who knew that not using batteries in many years wasted them? So I need to get new Cs.

I drove directly to the school and went out in the rain with Padreic to go to the office and donate Charlotte's Web. We hung out then for about 10 minutes until we could go wait for the kids on the school grounds. I saw Joanna and told her to go to the crosswalk and then go to my car, which was unlocked, and get into it, and then waited for Gareth. The three of us walked toward the crosswalk, at Padreic's speed, and there was Joanna with the principal holding an umbrella over her. Apparently, she only remembered the first part of the instructions, and I believe this is the second time that's happened, so from now on I'll have her repeat the whole thing.

Back at the house, I read to them and watched their homework, though Gareth needs constant prompts. Joanna played with Padreic. When Rob got home he helped set Gareth up to edit his paper (which gets electronically sent to the teacher: wonderful technology) and then went to relax. I stayed around to keep the kids sane (not that it was hard) until R. came out to start dinner and I told him B. was going to bring something. Then I asked if he was prepared to rejoin the world, he was, so I left about 5:45. It was late enough that going up Watt actually was OK and I got home myself about 6:30.

Thursday, rain rain rain. I stayed in. John called. As I suspected, he's found a widow he knew from the past and is beginning to date.

I made the backspout *whoosh* out, very satisfactory. However, I got a hand cramp. The first one I ever had was in Zubiri, Spain, but I'm getting them more often now. Foot cramps I've been having for years.

I uploaded all the pictures from my camera. It's been a couple of months.

There was a shooting over the weekend... it was initially presented as a poor unarmed young dad, but there was a bit more to the story. It's our own Michael Brown incident, though so far the Black Lives Matter people have only blocked off the Kings games. No rioting to date, which is promising.

Friday I did some digging in the garden. I called Brenda to find out how Renee is doing, and she's been removed to a convalescent home. I also called Darlene. She was on her way to St. Augustine.

Then I drove down to the Feickert school Carnival. Bernadette had bought my raffle tickets and a ticket for a cheese pizza slice. (Friday in Lent, no hot dog for me!) I danced the Macarena and Y-M-C-A, but mostly I hung out. Bernadette actually can do the hula hoop! I put my tickets mostly in the bag for the gift cards, and a few in the Kindle Fire bag. And I won nothing. However, Bernadette (and Padreic, who had carefully put the ticket in that bag when she told him to) did win a basket with a really cute bunny. And Joanna was totally thrilled with the bag.

&bsp

I sadly told them goodbye, since this is Joan's turn to have them for Easter.

Saturday I spent a lot of time playing games, then went back to sleep and ended up with 8 hours of sleep. This hardly ever happens.

I went to the store, then later went to evening Mass to avoid the Palm Sunday processions. Ever since Alan left, our Palm Sundays just aren't that exciting any more. I talked to Peter Mithin for a bit.

I adjusted a slow cooker orange chicken recipe for the Instant Pot. It wasn't bad (it's from a diabetes cookbook) though I forgot the grated orange peel which is ridiculous with all the oranges Monica gave me!

Sunday morning the dog wasn't in his bed. I went looking for him and there he was in the kitchen with a RAT! A big one! Eeek!! It scurried off to the hole next to the dishwasher. Sunday morning at 4 AM, I couldn't call the rat people till Monday. That night I tried blocking the hole with a lead weight, but it pushed it over and got into the kitchen again, though this time I didn't see it. Then I put bricks there and that seems to be working to keep it out of the kitchen.

I dug up the garden for peanuts which I planted on Monday. I'm also trying to sprout kumquats. And I have a different kind of avocado pit I hope to grow.

I had a long talk with sister-in-law Carol. Frank will be 75 on April 11th!

Fiona (from Ngoko safari) has posted her trip report. They (she and Benson) will be coming to the US in October, maybe to Seattle!

I printed up the Canadian Geotour passport, and put Doug and Nancy on the GPS.

Monday I had a nosebleed. I spent a lot of time playing games. I am spending too much money on Albion, but it's very addictive.

The cleaners were early so I had to do a quick final pass. Then while I was in the bedroom I kept hearing this "tap tap tap" and wondered what they were doing. Finally, when they tapped on my window I learned they had locked themselves out!!

My tulips are so pretty!

I'd been wondering if Roni would ask me for Easter. She finally emailed the family, what fun it would be if everyone came for Easter dinner. (This was a surprise, lately they've been taking Grandma to dinner in a restaurant. Apparently Kathy has become totally anti-social, doesn't want to go out, doesn't want people to visit.) Monica is going to New Orleans, Bernadette is in Oregon, and I said no because I'm on retreat till Easter morning and am going to want to go home with my dog. Poor Roni!

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 595

31.3 miles

sunny, mild!

320 recordings of 23 types, 67 old SVU. 28% clear.

Monday the 11th I realized that it was going to be cold and windy over the weekend so I called Alicia, and yes, she could come house-sit while I went to San Jose. Hooray!

My feet got cold and I remembered the toe socks. Sure enough, that helped. Later, the house got up to 69, this without the heater.

The cleaners came.

It rained that night and overnight it only got down to 67 in the house. I've been trying to keep the heater off as much as possible. The cold snaps recently made my gas consumption go up even so. (The previous Saturday it got down to 62.)

Tuesday I went to the ladies' breakfast. There were only three of us there, so I'm glad I went.

Then I went to get my taxes done. I hadn't brought the 1099 for the one thing that is not taxable anyway. And I found out that it will probably not benefit me to itemize deductions next year. This year it gives me $1200 but next year the standard deduction will be $1300. And I had my aha! moment why Rich didn't itemize... there were two of us, it wasn't worth it. But I didn't because he didn't in 2013, and then the light dawned that it might be worth it, and sure enough, it has been.

Claire went to get her Africa pictures so we compared notes afterwards. She also has a "rub my tummy" picture of a lion!

I got to the WPAC office for my name badge, (and then lost it again, for about a day, till I got it off the car floor), and to the AAA office for maps and tour books for Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario. (I'm beginning to get excited.)

I had canned tamales for dinner. I don't think I've had this since I lived with my Mom on Ord Street. (I'm fairly sure my granddaddy would not have been happy with this dinner!)

Wednesday it was so rainy I didn't want to drive the freeway with Padreic, so instead of going to Wee Wednesday I just stayed at the house with them and read the Faith Ringgold books to him and played with him.

Faith Ringgold Book and Quilt at Wee Wednesday

The neigborhood signpost and Wee Wednesday on the 7th.

Bernadette has both Siri and Alexa, so they can fight it out.

As it was still raining, Bernadette went to get the kids and I read to them. I especially enjoy Gareth's reaction, as he seems to be really enjoying the story and listening well. Joanna hadn't had her meds in the morning and was definitely wiggly.

I accidentally got TWO copies of Charlotte's Web, so decided to donate the extra to the kids' school library.

Thursday I went to the Retreat House, where I volunteered to help with the June 3 picnic. Then I went to the commissary. This was a medium expedition. I had a big shopping thing to really load up the freezer and pantries in September, and then have been going about once a month with fairly small ones since. There was quite a bit to get today. I had been looking for falafel mix, and this time I found it. (But not tahine sauce, so I'll try that somewhere else.) I made falafel the next night. Yum. I also picked up meat, though there is still quite a bit in the freezer. And I got stovetop cleaner, then discovered I already had two bottles of it!

Also, in Fishdom (am I opening my data up to the Russians? Maybe not, since I don't use the iPad with any money accounts (except, of course, iTunes and Amazon)) I played a side game. They finally opened the Wonderland aquarium on the next day and I had a grand time playing and stocking it up. Then I have to wait until the next Thursday when they'll load up 15 more games. Their Easter stuff is all the same as last year, so I only moved the hedgehog playing with the egg to Wonderland. I'll play to get enough eggs to get the two fish, Humpty and Dumpty. (I have "Alice", "Chessie", and two clown fish, "Tweedledee" and "Tweedledum." One day as they were swimming, one of the Tweedles hoped I would buy a clown fish, "they're a lot of fun." Heh.)

The Russians keep giving me Oz decorations, Dorothy's house with a cyclone, ruby slippers, and a tin man. Apparently they don't know the difference. I've stashed all of those decorations.

There was a terrible bridge collapse in Miami.

Before the commissary I tried to renew my Air Museum membership but they weren't open when I was there.

And I put down my deposit for Oberammergau. They want the rest April 19... I sure hope Father Giltus has sorted it out by then so I can cancel and only lose the deposit. Otherwise, I'll either go with Road Scholar or transfer the $$ to a Japan trip.

Friday I woke at 3 to the pouring rain and decided not to go to Renaissance, and then it had cleared up by the time I got up... but I chose not to go anyway and had a jammie day! The only thing I really missed was the forum with Sacramento's new police chief. The Time Travel movie was "Back to the Future."

Fiona from Ngoko safaris was visiting the school and wanted a letter from me to the kid I'm sponsoring, Kuthula. I thought I'd missed my chance but was able to send one for Monday, with the elephant-ride picture.

I'm watchng olde Oscar-winning movies, and enjoyed Liz and Dick in "Taming of the Shrew." (I wonder if this is the one I saw at Renaissance).

I booked my hotel in Haliburton, Ontario. It's too early to get Syracuse. (I hope to use my stay points for it.)

Saturday, I did quite a bit, emptied the compost jar, poured out the garden cart, policed the yard, moved the car... then got a haircut, stopped at Lazy-Boy for a grill set for looking around, found a farmer's market, which wasn't much good for me since I got lots of veggies at the commissary, got money, then wine to share with Helena.

A couple of geocaching friends came by for the stuff we had that they might be able to make geocaches with, and we stood outside and talked. I missed some of the Gonzaga game but we won anyway.

I watched, again, "Gone Girl." Scary stuff.

Biggest leprechaun I've ever seen.

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 595

31.3 miles

rain rain rain

328 recordings of 28 types. 68 old CPD, 1 old SVU. 25% clear.

Sunday March 4 I went on a WPAC trip for the first time in a couple of years. I had planned to sit in the bus with Thea, and she thought we were doing it too, but Sharon was convinced Thea would be with Donna and she put me with Ray. Uh-oh... while Ray and I have been communicating (ever since I showed him my air museum membership card) lately, there was some tension earlier. As it happened, we got along fine. At the beginning he said "I don't know why I'm stammering" and I said "Apparently I intimidate you. I certainly don't MEAN to" and after that he stopped stammering.

We talked books and travel, seeing President Kennedy and other famous people (I had Milton Caniff, and he knew who that was! I completely forgot Eva Gabor) and it was quite entertaining. When the coach arrived in Antioch we stopped at the Lone Tree golf club for their brunch buffet, and all I can say is.. wow. There was so very much food! I didn't wait for the roast beef, but went through a different line, so filled my plate with so very much good food. Thea and Donna had waited for us to sit next to them, and Ron and Gen were also at the table. I had wanted to tell Ron that I walked across Spain, because he always liked to walk. I also wanted to tell him I'd gone to Africa. And I wanted to tell Gen that my Wednesdays were fun, since she had asked the last time I saw them. I still miss him, though I don't think I showed it. I did find his dithering exasperating while he was trying to find the dining room. At one point I pointed at Ron and Ray and said they were the only two WPAC members I'd been geocaching with.

I ate a lot, but tried to be carb conscious. I was the only person at the table who only had one dessert! There was a lot of merriment going on when Donna couldn't get her dishes picked up and put them on another table... then the people who had that table reserved came in.

I'd noticed a geocache but it would have been too far a walk, so I didn't go for it.

Then the driver wanted to show us some of Belmont, but eventually decided there was too much traffic. So off to the Antioch theater where the Zmed brothers did their Everly Brothers Experience show. Not only did they sing the songs, but told us biographical information. It was really great! Toward the end I found myself in tears, not so much crying for Rich (who was later than most of these songs) but apparently for my lost youth. Which was a huge surprise, since this is the first time I've not been content with my current age.

And so home, a quieter ride during which I pretty well finished my book.

Monday the water people were back, to my surprise. I spent much of the day watching, wondering what they were doing. Finally, as they unloaded the fire hydrant at my neighbor's house, it all became clear. Oh, THAT's what the mysterious "FH" meant!

This is when I discovered the VCR control panel and rescued "Lady and the Tramp." I'm not going to try to get it set up with this television, though, but going to wait until I get the white elephant set up. It dawns on me I will need a remote, as well as speakers. I'd thought I could do it by hand but with a VCR and DVD player I will almost certainly need a remote to get to the different INPUTs.

The olde movie I watched was "Ball of Fire."

I guess I fed Pharaoh twice He doesn't let me know, but then he upchucked. Sigh.

I'd dozed off, and Helena called at 9 something, to let me know it would be OK to stay with her in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday my Fishdom game finally had something I could play, Herman the crab, so I did that. (I'm saving the main games, which get added 15 at a time on Thursdays, till they open the new aquarium, so I can win their goodies to furnish it.

Once again, I skipped the ladies' breakfast. I like the people, but not the restaurant so much.

Movies were "Test Pilot" and "Talk of the Town."

I took a box of books to the library and stopped at the office. They still didn't have my name badge, so I tried ordering it again. I made my reservation for a gambling trip to Cache Creek casino. They had sent Rich an invitation, before he died, and I thought I could use it but called first, what a hassle, but I have a membership now. But I've only gone there one time, in 2012, so would enjoy going back. Without having to drive it!

I then stayed for the board meeting.

On the way home I stopped for cuticle cream, because my fingernails are miserable. I couldn't find the sort ot tube I was looking for, so I got Aquaphor which says it's for cuticles, too.

And it was a nice call from Vince. I'm actually letting him talk occasionally.

The Gummint is suing California over sanctuary cities. Great, I get to pay both sides (as well as the 18 times Becerra has sued Trump. One of which he's lost.) The state is going to pot, and this is how they spend my tax money.

Wednesday, my dreams seemed to mix up Eric's page job with Last Man Standing. Odd.

Wee Wednesday was about the Faith Ringgold exhibit. We started with the "word quilt" book, then upstairs, in front of the quilt, we had the story the quilt tells.Padreic was interested and talked about the first book but we got interrupted with an unneeded potty stop, and he didn't know about grandma's quilt. When I went back to the Crocker on my own to really look at the exhibits, I bought both those books and took them to him and he was fascinated and loved them.

The kids got out early this week, so I was home in time to call the church bookkeeper and get my donations sorted out. I figure the tax people would have taken my word for it, so we'd only need proof if I got audited. However, the bookkeeper mailed the correction right away.

I've got a new game, Alice in the Mirrors of Albion. It's a very involved hidden objects game and I was getting frustrated that it wouldn't let me buy hints and kept freezing on me. I deleted and reinstalled it twice with minimal success, but then I reset the iPad and all was well.

Thursday, the kids were still getting out early, so we went over to Davis to the Raptor Center. It doesn't take much time to go through, but I think Joanna was quite interested. I walked over to look for a cache but there was a woman sitting in a car there. Then when we drove past she was gone and I said that, but Bernadette didn't stop. Oh, well, I'll look for it when I'm going down to San Jose.

Kim wants to meet with Trump! His Gridiron joke, about "how do you meet with a madman? That's not my problem, it's Kim's!" is coming true!

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 595

29.9 miles

partly cloudy

334 recordings of 30 types. 2 old SVU, 71 CPD. 24% clear.

Wednesday the 28th of February I ordered A.J.'s birthday presents, some wooden track and a roundtable.

The water company finally made it to my end of the street, and put their portapotty out in front of my house. They started digging and I left for Elk Grove.

The Wee Wednesday program this day was about sculpture, solid shapes, lines, colors. Padreic talked a lot to Miss Jill at the beginning but didn't contribute when we were up in the galleries. It's such fun to see him growing every week and improving socially.

I was planning to bring the big kids here on Saturday to watch "Lady and the Tramp." Joanna kept coming up with reasons she couldn't. She "was planning to sleep in." That's OK, I'll come after lunch. Then she had some other plans for Saturday. I finally said to her "look, I know you don't like me, but you're stuck with me." Gareth heard part of this and wanted to know more, but I told him it was not his business.

The TCM movies today were "Grand Hotel" and "Tortilla Flat."

Thursday we had a record 1.5 inches of rain. Unusually enough, I managed to get back to sleep despite the early wake-up when the rain started. Then it was really pouring.

I saw a palm frond down in the street and luckily the rain was light at that time, so I went out and put it into my yard. Then, about an hour later with the rain bucketing down, I saw many more fronds in the street. They would be obstructing traffic, so I headed out to get them in. In the end, there were 24! They were down the street and in the neighbor's yard, and I got thoroughly soaked.

When I went out later for a single one (light rain again) I was only out of the house for maybe 2 minutes. It was time enough for Pharaoh to get into the kitty litter (I'd forgotten to put the baby gate back up.) Since it was so miserable outside, I sent him to bed. He knew he was in trouble, for sure.

I'd ordered charcoal filters for the kitchen compost crock. The ones that came were too big, but scissors took care of it.

The tax people called (I was planning to call them this day) so I set up my appointment.

Friday was Renaissance. My hands got SO COLD driving to the campus that I stopped at the bookstore for gloves. They turned out to be $20 but worth it. I am leaving them in the car until the big freeze is over.

The documentary was about Floyd Norman, an African-American animator for Disney. Fascinating stuff. It was more about ageism than racism. In any case, he's still there.

The time travel movie was "O Homen de Ono" from Brazil, which was a real mind-bender. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

We had more rain.

I used a can of salmon from 2010 and made salmon patties. Which were quite good.

My tax form from St. Philomene's came and the bookkeeper missed $600! I thought it was $50 more, but it turns out Mass stipends aren't included.

The TCM movie was "The Time of their Lives."

Saturday I went to the WPAC breakfast. Again, it was crowded, but it was enjoyable. I got back in time to tell the gardeners to skip the swampy back yard, so they cut up the palm fronds.

I was going to have the kids come, but when I put "Lady and the Tramp" into the VCR it wouldn't work (and it has worked with this television, on this particular outlet, before.) Worse, it grabbed the videocassette and wouldn't turn it loose. It wasn't until I was taking the machine apart, on Monday, that I discovered the control panel. (As I seem to do every time.) Anyway, I called to cancel having the kids. Sulk.

I will have to get a remote as well as speakers for the White Elephant when I set it up, because how else can I go to different inputs?

TCM movie... "All Quiet on the Western Front."

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 572

2.8 miles

rain!

351 recordings of 53 types, with 1 old SVU, 62 old CPD, and 51 old Last Man Standing. 24% clear.

Oh, I forgot to mention taking Gareth to Flapjacks for lunch. Yummy, I'll have to go back!

Wednesday I waited till 1:30 to call the shop and whine "am I ever getting my car back?" The answer was yes, he was waiting for the paperwork so I called the shuttle, which really worked out well as he was also picking up another woman in Carmichael. So we chatted on the way down there and while we were waiting to get our cars.

Thursday the cleaners were coming, about 1 she said, so I had time in the morning to make a huge commissary run. I went through self-check but also had a bagger, 9 big paper bags full! I managed to back the car in and get the groceries in quite efficiently. As it happened, the cleaners came up just as I was stashing the dog (at 12:30) and putting the dog dishes outside. They were only here a half hour (and they threw the trash bag into a green bin) but it sure was needed!

I finally wrote the check and signed my passport application, then put it in an envelope... but then when I was writing out the address (the second time, I blew it on the first envelope) I saw the line that said not to fold the form, but to put it in an envelope that fits. Oops. So I had to reprint the form and fill it out and put it and the check and my former passport in an envelope... oh, wait, I forgot to put the passport picture on! So the completed (I hope!) form is sitting on the table ready to go, but Friday it was raining and I just didn't feel like going to the post office (they make a big deal of not using another mailing place.) I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just seem to be reluctant to actually send this off!

Friday morning I walked over to the Powerhouse museum (we joined there when we moved here in July of 1997, shortly after they moved to that Auburn Boulevard location.) There I waited for the Feickert school bus to come with Joanna's second grade for their planetarium field trip. Another school bus came first, which confused me, but theirs eventually came. I joined up with Joanna and we stood in line about 20 minutes before the planetarium lady was ready.

I ended up sitting one kid away from Joanna and she was all wiggles. She kept arching her back and sliding to the floor (though I do think she was paying attention.) She had a bracelet that glowed in the dark and I had her put it in her pocket, but later she had it as an anklet. What really surprised me, in the audience participation part, she put her hand up and knew two answers (the Great Red Spot and that comets are made of ice.) She also shouted out answers, loudly, when the classes did. All in all, she was good. After they got back on the bus I went into the museum to go to the bathroom and also chatted with the docent, who I thought had done an excellent job. When I mentioned my rocket scientist son, she introduced me to another lady whose husband also works for Aerojet!

The museum currently has dinosaurs and planets, and not too much for Padreic. When I started walking home, a light rain was falling. Later on Friday, it rained a lot. My neighbor Ako, down the street, is eager to hire my gardener and we had a number of phone calls back and forth. My answering machine actually keeps the right time!

Then I went to see "The Regifters" which was cute. It got a little preachy at the end about the True Meaning of Christmas, but they did an adequate job.

On Saturday morning I went to the Widowed Person's breakfast and had a good time. (Sitting with women this time. I found out that Heinz is no longer a member. Sigh.)

My neighbor had a loaf of homebaked bread to share. Yum. Staying low-carb is definitely hard-to-impossible.

We're Still Better off With Trump Than Clinton:

Indeed, as Trump’s accomplishments accumulate, the mere thought of Clinton in the White House, doubling down on Barack Obama’s failed policies, washes away any doubts that America made the right choice.

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 1 p. 560

189.1 miles

cloudy, cool

367 recordings of 28 types. 29 old CPD, 4 old SVU. 24% clear.

Wednesday I finished Pinocchio with the kids. Not only were they reading along, which is fine, but Gareth was reading ahead of my voice which I found immensely distracting.

I ordered Doc Martin season 8! Also, my African nativity set was supposed to arrive and it wasn't until Sunday that I questioned it.

Thursday I finally heard from a gastroenterologist about making my appointment. I thought I would hear in July, and when I didn't, I tried calling the number on the card my doctor gave me, with no luck. Because my doctor had left me, I finally figured I'd get the colonoscopy next year. But now, I guess I'll just call them and make an appointment (AFTER Thanksgiving!)

I stopped at the SPCA booksale. I had a really good day there, with 2 Trollopes (Anthony, not Joanna) and 4 Cornwells (Bernard, not Patricia) that I didn't have. Yay! I also got a book of Grimm Fairy Tales. It's slanted to grownups, with commentary about the sexual fantasies, etc, but the stories themselves are good. (I was hoping for Rainbow Fairy books, no luck there.)

And I finally had the last day of the dinosaur candle and then had to carve away the rest of the wax. This should have worked better but I had to keep carving down the egg so the flame wouldn't drown. Oh, well. At the end it cracked the glaze, but the dinosaur is cute anyway.

Friday the computer was very slow and I spent a lot of time on Facebook. I finally, about 11, got out the door to go to Rancho Cordova and geocache. I had ten in mind, on a bike trail that makes a loop so I wouldn't be too far away from the car when I finished. The first two were DNFs, and I was beginning to be dubious, but then I found one. The fourth I tried was down a really steep hill, and I was a bit scared to try it by myself, but I went down and looked, but couldn't find it, and then somehow managed to get back up the hill, cussing myself out for being stupid. I also couldn't find the next one, then had to try to get to the other side of the loop. I was paralleling it for awhile, but then found access and again couldn't find one. Then I found #7, and was on my way to #8, but by that time the skies opened and I was half a mile away from the car. I had left my raincoat at Bernadette's on Wednesday and forgot I had a decent rain jacket that I had taken to Spain. Hence, I had a light jacket, which didn't protect me very much. I was soaked by the time I got back to the car. I was too wet to stop at a fast food place so came on home, arriving about 1:30.

In the evening, the Chatauqua show was "Frankenstein." I was glad to see my friend Bill, who is still looking good despite the Pancreatic cancer. His tumor hasn't shrunk but is less dense, and after Thanksgiving he starts a round of radiation. I'm impressed with his upbeat attitude. Anyway, it was great to see him (and his wife, of course.)

I had no idea how they would present "Frankenstein" but it was just terrific. It was Mary Shelley telling the story and the other characters showing her story. I was very impressed with it.