I'm not concentrating very well this morning. I went into the bedroom and dropped something on the floor - when I picked it up I noticed quite a bit of dust, so into the kitchen I went to get my dust mop. While I was there I decided to wash up the breakfast dishes plus a wineglass from last night. Back to the bedroom and realized I had wanted to attack the dust but had forgotten all about the mop. It seems like I can't stay concentrated on anything for more than a few seconds!
My suitcase is packed and just has to be zipped up. I disconnected my laptop and stowed it into the backpack, so I am now using the big i-Mac. I've laid out the clothes I'll wear tomorrow. I think I'm pretty well ready except for last minute items. Anything I forget can be bought in NY. This is so much fun although I miss being able to pack much more into my car.
Now to clean and refill the hummingbird feeder. I'm afraid the sugar water will either spoil in the hot weather ahead, or run out before I get back.
I won't be posting tomorrow and no doubt it will be several days before I'm back in blogworld. I have extra batteries in my camera case and hope to get some good pictures over the coming weeks. See ya later!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Wings Ready to Fly!
I've packed everything except last minute items that I'll be using tomorrow. Just did a load of laundry and it's hanging on the line across the street. I wish I could predict if I'll be more likely to want jeans rather than capris. The capris take up less room than denim fabric. I'm sure I'll have a combination of cool, rainy, and warm weather over the next 3 weeks.
I have several books to read on the plane - I bought three new ones in the past month for that purpose, but I started to read one of them and got so engrossed that I only have 4 or 5 pages left!
This is going to be a super enjoyable trip - my son is making sure of that, and has a terrific side trip lined up. The only thing I didn't get a chance to do is to arrange for a haircut before I leave. I had to cancel my appointment which is the following week and have never heard back from the hairdresser about a possible earlier appointment. Maybe she will call me tomorrow and if she does I'll definitely head on over. I'm not planning to take my hair dryer, so I might look frightful on any pictures I post. Maybe my daughter-in-law has one I can borrow but I think she lets her hair just air dry. They have a water conditioner and the soft water will have my hair super shiny in the next 3 weeks.
In true gypsy fashion I'm already planning next year's excursion in my mind. I'll be tweaking the plans many times before I'm finished, but that is part of the joy in traveling, in my opinion. It's also part of the joy in being solo and retired - I can do what I want, when I want, and for how long!
UPDATE ON AIR SHOW:
What a disappointment, although it may have been terrific if I had been right there. When the Blue Angels perform from Mather Airfield they fly all over the area and can be seen by many thousands of people from their homes. I heard a few jet noises but only saw one plane in the distance, which didn't show up on a photograph. The same thing happened yesterday - out of 3 photos taken not even a spot to indicate where the plane was showed up in the picture. I had my camera zoomed all the way out and could see the speck of a plane in the viewfinder, but there evidently are important settings I'm not aware of!
I have several books to read on the plane - I bought three new ones in the past month for that purpose, but I started to read one of them and got so engrossed that I only have 4 or 5 pages left!
This is going to be a super enjoyable trip - my son is making sure of that, and has a terrific side trip lined up. The only thing I didn't get a chance to do is to arrange for a haircut before I leave. I had to cancel my appointment which is the following week and have never heard back from the hairdresser about a possible earlier appointment. Maybe she will call me tomorrow and if she does I'll definitely head on over. I'm not planning to take my hair dryer, so I might look frightful on any pictures I post. Maybe my daughter-in-law has one I can borrow but I think she lets her hair just air dry. They have a water conditioner and the soft water will have my hair super shiny in the next 3 weeks.
In true gypsy fashion I'm already planning next year's excursion in my mind. I'll be tweaking the plans many times before I'm finished, but that is part of the joy in traveling, in my opinion. It's also part of the joy in being solo and retired - I can do what I want, when I want, and for how long!
UPDATE ON AIR SHOW:
What a disappointment, although it may have been terrific if I had been right there. When the Blue Angels perform from Mather Airfield they fly all over the area and can be seen by many thousands of people from their homes. I heard a few jet noises but only saw one plane in the distance, which didn't show up on a photograph. The same thing happened yesterday - out of 3 photos taken not even a spot to indicate where the plane was showed up in the picture. I had my camera zoomed all the way out and could see the speck of a plane in the viewfinder, but there evidently are important settings I'm not aware of!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Tying loose ends
I have so many little things to do that I should have made a list of but didn't.
I made a brief trip to the farmers mkt. this morning and bought some beautiful strawberries, as well as a few vegetables - just potatoes and two kinds of squash. I haven't been eating as many vegetables as I like lately, and will enjoy the squash especially. Any potatoes that are left will keep until I get back. Of course every stall there had incredibly beautiful produce that I couldn't buy today. The market runs year around although the kinds of produce will change slightly.
I dropped some books off at the library and the librarian extended the due date on a few others by several days so I will be able to return them on time after I get back. They are so accommodating, which I find is true with all librarians I have ever encountered in the U.S. as well as in Ireland.
I'm waiting for the air show to begin at Mather airfield this afternoon. I've enjoyed watching - and mostly hearing - the plans run through some of their exercises. There will be the Harrier Jump Jets, the F-86 Sabre Jet, the F-22 Raptor, and the P-51 Mustang. I saw 3 of the P-51's flying overhead yesterday and my subconscious told me I saw a propeller. When I looked at the picture in the local paper I saw that indeed it does have a propeller. I'd rather fly in a prop plane any day, but of course not from CA to NY! I hope I can get some photos from the street outside my house. I have always missed seeing and hearing the Navy & Air Force planes at Mather AFB before the base was closed. The airfield is now used for cargo planes. I know very little about airplanes but always liked to see military planes flying overhead. Commercial airliners don't interest me a bit and I dislike the pollution of their contrails cluttering up a beautiful sky.
I've been trying to pack snacks that I can carry on the plane - I have baggies of cashews and trail mix, plus several Clif bars, a few biscotti, and I'll wash and bag whatever grapes I have left before I leave. I'm trying to pack all I can in the suitcase that will be checked in, and save my small lightweight backpack for my computer, reading material, and snacks. I haven't yet found a crossword puzzle book and time is running short.
I made a brief trip to the farmers mkt. this morning and bought some beautiful strawberries, as well as a few vegetables - just potatoes and two kinds of squash. I haven't been eating as many vegetables as I like lately, and will enjoy the squash especially. Any potatoes that are left will keep until I get back. Of course every stall there had incredibly beautiful produce that I couldn't buy today. The market runs year around although the kinds of produce will change slightly.
I dropped some books off at the library and the librarian extended the due date on a few others by several days so I will be able to return them on time after I get back. They are so accommodating, which I find is true with all librarians I have ever encountered in the U.S. as well as in Ireland.
I'm waiting for the air show to begin at Mather airfield this afternoon. I've enjoyed watching - and mostly hearing - the plans run through some of their exercises. There will be the Harrier Jump Jets, the F-86 Sabre Jet, the F-22 Raptor, and the P-51 Mustang. I saw 3 of the P-51's flying overhead yesterday and my subconscious told me I saw a propeller. When I looked at the picture in the local paper I saw that indeed it does have a propeller. I'd rather fly in a prop plane any day, but of course not from CA to NY! I hope I can get some photos from the street outside my house. I have always missed seeing and hearing the Navy & Air Force planes at Mather AFB before the base was closed. The airfield is now used for cargo planes. I know very little about airplanes but always liked to see military planes flying overhead. Commercial airliners don't interest me a bit and I dislike the pollution of their contrails cluttering up a beautiful sky.
I've been trying to pack snacks that I can carry on the plane - I have baggies of cashews and trail mix, plus several Clif bars, a few biscotti, and I'll wash and bag whatever grapes I have left before I leave. I'm trying to pack all I can in the suitcase that will be checked in, and save my small lightweight backpack for my computer, reading material, and snacks. I haven't yet found a crossword puzzle book and time is running short.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Getting excited
As I always do before a trip, I'm getting excited. It's a feeling like I'm outside of myself and watching things go by as time draws near to leaving. There is so much I need to do but just can't get started.
My sister Julie, who just got married, was hospitalized with very high blood pressure and chest pains two nights ago. She's just been released and will have to see a cardiologist soon. They just bought a house but I don't know how much remodeling or redecorating they were going to do before moving in. Julie has had similar heart and blood pressure problems in the past 6 or 8 years, and I'm hoping she will be able to overcome this scary situation. She just turned 55, which is way too young for something like this, although I know it happens.
I was closing the sliding glass door to allow for an opening of about 8" of ventilation before turning on the swamp cooler, and found this little guy on the edge of the door. In trying to zoom in as close as I could get I ended up with a fuzzy picture, but he's visible anyway.
I tried cropping the photo to get a slightly larger picture but it got even fuzzier so I went back to the original. Please click to enlarge.
I took my binoculars out to the back yard last night to see if I could see the Pleiades (sp?). Even with the moon being so bright and lights from the industrial bldgs across the trail in back, I could still see quite a few bright stars with the naked eye. But when I raised the binoculars I couldn't believe how many more I could see. I don't think I ever could make out the Pleiades, but I sure got an eyeful of other stars.
Trying to stand and look up through binoculars while trying to not lose balance and topple over, makes for wavy stars! I tried leaning against the house in an effort to keep my arms still but it didn't help much. I think I need my lounge chair so I can lay back and maybe rest my arms on the chair to keep them from moving so much. The sky is so beautiful even with the wavy stars and I wish I lived somewhere out in dark sky country. I will always remember Ireland winters with the sky so full of stars it was mind-boggling. I heard from some of the fishermen that it is even better out on the sea and completely out of sight of land. I can't imagine it.
Meals are getting problematic as I'm trying to eat food that I have on hand and not buy anything else until I return from NY. I have been trying to use up the bacon I had on hand and today was the 2nd day of bacon & egg sandwiches for lunch. I fried the remaining few slices of bacon and put them in the fridge - maybe I'll crumble a couple of slices and scramble with an egg for tomorrow's lunch. I have one egg left! I'll probably have to spend a fortune restocking when I return.
UPDATE:
I just got my mail in and found an offer to renew my subscription to Backpacker magazine and get a second subscription free. My current subscription to Backpacker expires in June 2016! I think I will let everything expire and then quit reading any magazines as they all send renewal notices way early. What are they teaching in Marketing classes these days?
My sister Julie, who just got married, was hospitalized with very high blood pressure and chest pains two nights ago. She's just been released and will have to see a cardiologist soon. They just bought a house but I don't know how much remodeling or redecorating they were going to do before moving in. Julie has had similar heart and blood pressure problems in the past 6 or 8 years, and I'm hoping she will be able to overcome this scary situation. She just turned 55, which is way too young for something like this, although I know it happens.
I was closing the sliding glass door to allow for an opening of about 8" of ventilation before turning on the swamp cooler, and found this little guy on the edge of the door. In trying to zoom in as close as I could get I ended up with a fuzzy picture, but he's visible anyway.
I tried cropping the photo to get a slightly larger picture but it got even fuzzier so I went back to the original. Please click to enlarge.
I took my binoculars out to the back yard last night to see if I could see the Pleiades (sp?). Even with the moon being so bright and lights from the industrial bldgs across the trail in back, I could still see quite a few bright stars with the naked eye. But when I raised the binoculars I couldn't believe how many more I could see. I don't think I ever could make out the Pleiades, but I sure got an eyeful of other stars.
Trying to stand and look up through binoculars while trying to not lose balance and topple over, makes for wavy stars! I tried leaning against the house in an effort to keep my arms still but it didn't help much. I think I need my lounge chair so I can lay back and maybe rest my arms on the chair to keep them from moving so much. The sky is so beautiful even with the wavy stars and I wish I lived somewhere out in dark sky country. I will always remember Ireland winters with the sky so full of stars it was mind-boggling. I heard from some of the fishermen that it is even better out on the sea and completely out of sight of land. I can't imagine it.
Meals are getting problematic as I'm trying to eat food that I have on hand and not buy anything else until I return from NY. I have been trying to use up the bacon I had on hand and today was the 2nd day of bacon & egg sandwiches for lunch. I fried the remaining few slices of bacon and put them in the fridge - maybe I'll crumble a couple of slices and scramble with an egg for tomorrow's lunch. I have one egg left! I'll probably have to spend a fortune restocking when I return.
UPDATE:
I just got my mail in and found an offer to renew my subscription to Backpacker magazine and get a second subscription free. My current subscription to Backpacker expires in June 2016! I think I will let everything expire and then quit reading any magazines as they all send renewal notices way early. What are they teaching in Marketing classes these days?
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Parallel Parking
I have always been very good at parallel parking. I don't do much of it anymore because most places have pull-in parking. This morning I went to the library and saw a nice shady spot on the street with a fairly good sized space between two cars, so I thought I'd try it for old time's sake. I did ok and parked the car, but when I got out and looked at the curb side I saw that I should have been closer to the curb. My depth perception is just about gone, so I doubt I'll try anything but pull-in parking again.
I returned a bunch of books and checked out 3 more that I had requested; when I got back to my car and started driving home I realized I couldn't find my sunglasses. Since they are Serengetti glasses and rather expensive, I turned around and went back to the library but to no avail. I have groped around the entire front seat and floor area of my car, and dumped my purse to make sure, and can't find them at all. Dang, that makes me mad.
Before that I stopped at a local credit union ATM as I was going to go to Target, and I definitely don't use a debit or credit card at Target anymore. In fact, I've heard warnings about the grocery I shop at as well as other local stores. There is a credit union affiliated with my (out-of-town) credit union and I don't get charge a fee to use their ATM, but I decided it would cost me in fuel to drive all the way to that one. I ended up using the closest ATM and got charged $2.50 for my withdrawal. I think that is highway robbery, and next time I'll make it a point to drive the few extra miles. What really pisses me off is that it is a credit union and I think they should all honor the others' cards.
The issue with credit and debit cards really makes me uneasy. The latest news I heard was that the same Russian/eastern European hackers who scammed Target customers last year is now doing another round of it. For me, using cash is the best way to deal with it; I've been doing just that for a couple of years now with only a few exceptions, and I like it better than the card. Using a card, punching in pin numbers, and hitting all the buttons required to complete the transaction is not easier than pulling out a $20 bill or whatever it takes. The market just tells you it is easier to use the card because they probably know their customers spend more when they don't have to part with the cold cash.
I'm off my soapbox about debit cards and ATM machines now.
I woke up an hour earlier this morning and decided to stay up, and to go to bed an hour earlier. If I do that for a few days it will make it easier for me to get up in the ungodly hour of the morning on the day I travel to NY, and it might ease the jet lag. I haven't experienced real jet lag for several years now since I usually travel on the ground at a leisurely pace.
I returned a bunch of books and checked out 3 more that I had requested; when I got back to my car and started driving home I realized I couldn't find my sunglasses. Since they are Serengetti glasses and rather expensive, I turned around and went back to the library but to no avail. I have groped around the entire front seat and floor area of my car, and dumped my purse to make sure, and can't find them at all. Dang, that makes me mad.
Before that I stopped at a local credit union ATM as I was going to go to Target, and I definitely don't use a debit or credit card at Target anymore. In fact, I've heard warnings about the grocery I shop at as well as other local stores. There is a credit union affiliated with my (out-of-town) credit union and I don't get charge a fee to use their ATM, but I decided it would cost me in fuel to drive all the way to that one. I ended up using the closest ATM and got charged $2.50 for my withdrawal. I think that is highway robbery, and next time I'll make it a point to drive the few extra miles. What really pisses me off is that it is a credit union and I think they should all honor the others' cards.
The issue with credit and debit cards really makes me uneasy. The latest news I heard was that the same Russian/eastern European hackers who scammed Target customers last year is now doing another round of it. For me, using cash is the best way to deal with it; I've been doing just that for a couple of years now with only a few exceptions, and I like it better than the card. Using a card, punching in pin numbers, and hitting all the buttons required to complete the transaction is not easier than pulling out a $20 bill or whatever it takes. The market just tells you it is easier to use the card because they probably know their customers spend more when they don't have to part with the cold cash.
I'm off my soapbox about debit cards and ATM machines now.
I woke up an hour earlier this morning and decided to stay up, and to go to bed an hour earlier. If I do that for a few days it will make it easier for me to get up in the ungodly hour of the morning on the day I travel to NY, and it might ease the jet lag. I haven't experienced real jet lag for several years now since I usually travel on the ground at a leisurely pace.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
I'm all talked out!
A gentleman walked up on my porch at about 12:30 this afternoon to give me some news about the Park as well as the HOA. We ended up talking for about 2 hrs. about RVing, camping, Nevada, places to go, and I can't even remember it all. What a nice guy and I very much enjoyed talking with him but I sure got nothing done today. Not that I had planned to get anything done.
It has been another very hot day although not quite as bad as yesterday. Looking at the 5 day forecast is like looking at a roller coaster: 94-94-96-97-96-94! The actual high is always subject to change of course. I think the humidity is up because it seems warmer throughout the night than normal. This hot weather really affects my appetite as I really don't want much to eat after Noon. Just when I got my weight up to where I wanted it, I'm afraid I'll start dropping pounds again.
Nothing much else happening today so I'll give you a break and make it short!
It has been another very hot day although not quite as bad as yesterday. Looking at the 5 day forecast is like looking at a roller coaster: 94-94-96-97-96-94! The actual high is always subject to change of course. I think the humidity is up because it seems warmer throughout the night than normal. This hot weather really affects my appetite as I really don't want much to eat after Noon. Just when I got my weight up to where I wanted it, I'm afraid I'll start dropping pounds again.
Nothing much else happening today so I'll give you a break and make it short!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Too hot to move
At 6pm today it is still 99F. The day seemed to warm up earlier than usual and I have felt drained of energy, so I've really done nothing today. I checked weather.com for the NY area that I'll be in, and it looks like I'll arrive to 75 degrees, with rain the day after I get there. I will be very happy to see rain for a change. I remember as a kid we used to go out in a warm rain and walk in the flooded gutters in the street. My mom hated for us to do that but it was hard to keep us from it. It was a rarity for me to even go barefoot, as I stepped on a bee when I was very young and never went barefoot again. Still don't.
I've spent a big part of the day watching programs I've recorded - The Dead Files (really more interesting than it sounds), several different programs of UFO files, and of course my favorite, Animal Cops Houston.
I missed out on a lot of sleep last night as I woke up to a very powerful odor coming in the open windows. It almost smelled like sewage, but not quite. I thought about going outside to see if any pipes were broken and leaking, but at 3 am I figured I wouldn't be able to do anything about it until daylight. It was difficult to go back to sleep though. This morning the odor had vanished, the pipes looked ok, and everything seems in order.
There are several buildings across the walking trail in back of the park that house light industry. Whatever it is that they work on, they don't stop at night but seem to run 24 hrs a day. I think I noticed a strong smell about a year ago at night and it never became apparent what it was, so I attributed it to something in one of those buildings. I will take a drive over in that vicinity one of these days and see what kind of industry is there.
I had a difficult time going back to sleep thinking about having to worry about plumbing repair so soon after the roof repair, and it couldn't happen at a worse time than when I'm getting ready to travel.
Along with my rent bill this month was a notice that the rent will be going up about $25 a month. I guess they have to pay for all those solar panels some way, but they should see a savings in electricity and not have to raise everyone's rent. This is the second increase since I moved here about 4 yrs ago. It makes me mad enough to want to leave this place, but what I pay for rent and all utilities is still less than what I paid in apartment rental 4 yrs ago, and I had to pay utilities in addition to the rent.
I guess I should take my sunshade down before I leave for 3 wks, so it doesn't get blown down and fly around the neighborhood! If it did, I'd want to be here to see it. I'm a little surprised that it is still hanging, although I did have to go and re-tie one of the little brass chains holding one of the sides up.
I've spent a big part of the day watching programs I've recorded - The Dead Files (really more interesting than it sounds), several different programs of UFO files, and of course my favorite, Animal Cops Houston.
I missed out on a lot of sleep last night as I woke up to a very powerful odor coming in the open windows. It almost smelled like sewage, but not quite. I thought about going outside to see if any pipes were broken and leaking, but at 3 am I figured I wouldn't be able to do anything about it until daylight. It was difficult to go back to sleep though. This morning the odor had vanished, the pipes looked ok, and everything seems in order.
There are several buildings across the walking trail in back of the park that house light industry. Whatever it is that they work on, they don't stop at night but seem to run 24 hrs a day. I think I noticed a strong smell about a year ago at night and it never became apparent what it was, so I attributed it to something in one of those buildings. I will take a drive over in that vicinity one of these days and see what kind of industry is there.
I had a difficult time going back to sleep thinking about having to worry about plumbing repair so soon after the roof repair, and it couldn't happen at a worse time than when I'm getting ready to travel.
Along with my rent bill this month was a notice that the rent will be going up about $25 a month. I guess they have to pay for all those solar panels some way, but they should see a savings in electricity and not have to raise everyone's rent. This is the second increase since I moved here about 4 yrs ago. It makes me mad enough to want to leave this place, but what I pay for rent and all utilities is still less than what I paid in apartment rental 4 yrs ago, and I had to pay utilities in addition to the rent.
I guess I should take my sunshade down before I leave for 3 wks, so it doesn't get blown down and fly around the neighborhood! If it did, I'd want to be here to see it. I'm a little surprised that it is still hanging, although I did have to go and re-tie one of the little brass chains holding one of the sides up.
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