Sat, Jun 30th - 10:25PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
HOT

83 recordings of 21 types. 53% clear.

“The last time Democrats gloated this hard after a health care victory, they lost 60 House seats.” --Iowahawk

Jim Treacher: Average life expectancy has more than doubled since 1776. Glad we're finally fixing that mistake. #Obamacare

If you wear a "Keep Your Laws Off My Body" pin on your "Obamacare Is a BFD" t-shirt,
#YouMightBeALiberal.

They can tax anything you do. They can tax anything you don't do. They can tax you for complaining about it. They can do whatever they want.

George Potts:
They'll tax you when you're sleeping,
They'll tax when you're awake,
They'll tax if you're bad or good
So vote TP for goodness' sake...

Monty Wolf
In 2012, Obama has not held one face to face meeting with the Secretary of Labor -- an amazing fact given that he claims that finding jobs is his number #1 priority.

On the other hand, he has a lot of political 'let's re-elect me' meetings all the time.

obviously, only "his" job is his #1 priority.

Mark Steyn
There’s nothing constitutionally seemly about a Court decision that says this law is only legal because the people’s representatives flat-out lied to the people when they passed it.
...If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, but a handful of judges rule that it’s a rare breed of elk, then all’s well.
...Indeed, citizens of many Continental countries now have more — what’s the word? — liberty in matters of health care than Americans. That’s to say, they have genuinely universal government systems alongside genuinely private-system alternatives. Only in America does “health” “care” “reform” begin with the hiring of 16,500 new IRS agents tasked with determining whether your insurance policy merits a fine. It is the perverse genius of Obamacare that it will kill off what’s left of a truly private health sector without leading to a truly universal system. However, it will be catastrophically unaffordable, hideously bureaucratic, and ever more coercive. So what’s not to like?
....Chances are I’m wrong, and the justices are wrong, and the government’s wrong, and the consequences of Obamacare will be of a nature none of us has foreseen. But we already know Obama’s been wrong about pretty much everything — you can keep your own doc, your premiums won’t go up, it’s not a tax, etc. — and in the Republic of Paperwork multi-trillion-dollar cost overruns and ever greater bureaucratic sclerosis seem the very least you can bet on. It should also be a given that this decision is a forlorn marker on a great nation’s descent into steep decline and decay. Granted the dysfunctionalism of Canadian health care, there’s at least the consolation of an equality of crappiness for all except cabinet ministers and NHL players. Here, it’s 2,800 unread pages of opt-outs, favors, cronyism, and a $695 fine for those guilty of no crime except wanting to live their lives without putting their bladder under the jurisdiction of Commissar Sebelius.

And the Constitution is apparently cool with all that.

...The U.S. Supreme Court is starting to look like Britain’s National Health Service — you wait two years to get in, and then they tell you there’s nothing wrong. And you can’t get a second opinion.

Quick Takes, Friday
Justice Roberts summed up exactly how I feel about this decision:”It’s not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.”

There’s no question we need health care reform. We do. But this is a bad law, crafted hastily by people who wanted to take advantage of a political moment instead of taking the time to craft legislation that would truly help the American people. So basically it’s like every law that’s been passed lately, or at least in the past decade when partisan screeching has replaced actual political dialogue and debate.
...Somehow we’ve created a country in which the actual merits of laws can’t be debated, by either side, without someone yelling “you’re a liberal and you just want to kill babies!” or “you’re a conservative and you just want all the poor people to starve and die off!”
...I sincerely enjoy discussing politics, especially with our best friends in the world who live in Northern California, work in the Silicon Valley techie world, and are as liberal as the day is long, because they’re rational people who discuss things without assuming that 1) we’re conservative because we’re stupid and religious because we’re stupider or 2) they’re going to convince us that we’re wrong and they’re right. Actual discussions, where people clarify their positions and come to understand and…dare I say it?…respect the other person’s point of view are awesome. Unfortunately, they rarely happens in the internet.

Or maybe this.

After the Catch
American Pickers
Around the World in 80 Plates
Awake (I wonder if there will be a second season. It kind of looked like the story was told.)
Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp
Burn Notice (still one of my favorites.)
California's Gold with Huell Howser
Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell
Chopped
Common Law (Cute in its own odd way.)
Covert Affairs (Which I'll add when I return).
Criminal Minds
Deadliest Catch
Food Network Star
FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace
Franklin and Bash (kind of cute,easily mixed up with Common Law.)
Galapagos-Beyond Darwin
Grey's Anatomy
Grimm
Hannity
Hell's Kitchen
Ice Road Truckers
Jeopardy!
Justified (Absolute favorite!)
Law & Order: SVU
Leverage One of the faves.
Live with Passion! with Fr. Cedric Pisegna
Longmire (Poor man's "Justified."  But it's in Wyoming, supposedly.)
Mad Men
Masterchef
Masterpiece
Mystery Diners
NCIS
NOVA
Once Upon a Time
Revenge (this one is fun.)
Road Trip with Huell Howser
Special Report with Bret Baier
Storage Hunters
Storage Wars
Stossel
Suits (I like this one, too.)
The Celebrity Apprentice
The Firm
The Glades
The Good Wife
The Great Escape
The Killing  (I started halfway through the show, but would like to catch up.)
The O'Reilly Factor
The Tom Sullivan Show
Top Chef
Top Chef Masters
Top Shot
Whale Wars
White Collar (which I'll add back when I return.)
Worst Cooks in America

I forgot everything at church. I did have three jars of peanut butter with me, for St. Vincent de Paul, but I left them in the car.  Had to dash out and get them and take them back. I also forgot the offering envelopes. I'll catch these people next week.

Alicia is here, so I can leave when I get up tomorrow.

Sat, Jun 30th - 8:32PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
HOT

97 recordings of 24 types. 47% clear.

Jim Treacher: Romney has raised $4.2 million from 42,000 donors in less than 24 hours. I'd tell libs to do the math, but if that were possible, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.

At least liberals and I have one thing in common: We both want what I've earned.

"A republic, if you can keep it."

We did our best, Benjamin Franklin. Sorry to let you down.

If you think Cindy Sheehan has absolute moral authority, but you don't know Brian Terry's name, let alone his mom's, #YouMightBeALiberal.

Fixing Healthcare in 4 Pages or Less.

Totally classless.

How does George W. Bush Feel Right Now?

21 Taxes in 0bamacare.

Well, Romney is over $4.5 million.

Who REALLY won.

White House Tweets about Girl with Congenial Disease.

Mark Gunton: Yes! Obamacare! The panacea of the people! The universal cure for all ills! Just stand in line and wait until we can be bothered to tax you for the Tylenol you shall have to swallow by the bucketload while you wait six years for your minor operation.

Chart.  The new law creates 68 grant programs, 47 bureaucratic entities, 29 demonstration or pilot programs, 6 regulatory systems, 6 compliance standards and 2 entitlements. What could possibly go wrong with something so-well organized?

I sure HOPE there was a good reason...

Republicans rapidly will beat down ObamaCare in the House like a piñata at a children's party.  It is an easy target.  It is excessive and intrusive.  It is financially devastating, will cause employers to drop health coverage for their employees, and will force millions to lose their preferred doctors and instead to settle on government-supplied alternatives.  Seniors will find that $500 million in coverage has been sliced out of their Medicare.  Employers will continue resisting expanding their work forces and reviving the flagging labor market while the issue remains in flux, assuring stagnating unemployment numbers through November.

Chief Justice Roberts is a Genius.

0bama wants Tricare more expensive.

William Bailey: Obamacare Adds 400% Increase to Military member's Tricare Fees-"While President Barack Obama is celebrating the survival of his so-called "Affordable Care Act," he is busy making health care less affordable for the nation's military families."
...
Bob Cook: Back to the point - The strategy of this administration is obvious; a single payer health care system. To do this he must make healthcare unafordable for all but the chosen few, and those few would represent less than ten percent of the population. Tricare, Medicare/Medicaid, and the insurance industry and private practice must be done away with in order for a single payer system to work.

I played Scrabble today. It was fun and I didn't have the high score, which was good since I was the one keeping score. I helped the other people at the table a couple of times.  Because I'm not so interested in winning, I'm liking great plays.

Fri, Jun 29th - 10:24PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
HOT

94 recordings of 22 types. 49% clear.

Sadly, my SMUD bill is up from last month and last year and it's a little over the monthly amount.

Today I babysat. Not the best time I've ever had. I don't seem to have any patience these days. I suspect it's a reaction to all the stress I dealt with pretty well last year. I caught Joanna a couple of times getting ready to go potty and caught a bit, but not all, and that she stepped in.  I forgot to keep on Gareth and he peed his pants. Then the second time WAS his fault. I look over and he's trying to wipe it away.  This all on the newly shampooed recently skunked carpet. Dammit.

Gareth didn't eat his lunch.  I was trying to go over a gate and asked him to get back and he cried for 5 minutes. Joanna threw a temper tantrum when I wouldn't let her take a book out of Gareth's hands.

I tripped on the garden wire when watering pumpkins and I'm really lucky I didn't break anything. I bruised up a knee, ankle, and wrist. I really must put a real fence in there.

I reset the car's Sync, but she's still not talking to me. And though Rich had speakers, they don't seem to be working.

I finally finally finished the puzzle.

I watched my Netflix film: "The First Grader" about an old man learning to read in Kenya.  At the end, a radio jock shouts "I believe a Kenyan will finally make it to the White House!"  Hmmm.

And the 0bamacare ruling is awful.  Why? 
Maybe it isn't so bad.

Fri, Jun 29th - 5:52PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
HOT

90 recordings of 22 types. 50% clear.

Mike Kelly: You know, just as everyone seems to be focusing on how awful Obamacare is, how bad the deficit is and just as Romney starts to come across as a viable candidate, someone throws what I call "Shiny Gay Objects" out there and people drop everything to bicker about them.
I suggest to anyone calling themselves conservative who wants to win the election, ignore this shit and stay focused on the Primary Main Objective.

James Munford: 99.9% of liberals give the rest of them a bad name.

Don Surber: NBA champs will play Marine medical unit. Yup its the Miami Heats versus the Corpsemen.

After I left Bernadette's yesterday, I stopped at Target and got the gift card for the wedding, and a purse to carry, some shoes, and some jammie bottoms (the ones I've been using are too big around the waist and are falling off now and again. Then the reason I was so late to bed so the dog got skunked was I started planning geocaches for the trip to Washington. And crying over memories, yet again.

I was too tired to go to the History meeting.

Today started with me hosing down the dog and leaving him out.  I also trimmed the privet this time. I vacuumed in the house to help get rid of the smell.  Where does all that stuff come from, it's only been two days! Then I showered and got dressed to walk down the street to Laurie's for the luncheon. I took her apricots.

The luncheon was delicious and it was nice to chit chat.  The business meeting, not so wonderful.

Later, commissary. A big one, I even remembered coupons. I also got 3 big jars of peanut butter for St. Vincent de Paul.

Vince called.  They'll be having Gabe's party this weekend: and they've planned a really nifty pirate party. It sounds great! I can hardly wait to be there. (Getting there, not so much.)

Fri, Jun 29th - 5:30PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
warming up

81 recordings of 21 types. 54% clear.

Fast and Furious only politics?

Jim Treacher comments: It's almost like Andrea Mitchell isn't a reporter at all, but a mere political operative.

I had a lot of plans today, but when I stepped outside I saw a wire dangling down in the back. So much for that.  My first item of business was to trim back the privet.  Maybe not. I called SMUD and she told me it could be 20 minutes or 3 hours. Well, maybe I wouldn't get anything done. It seems like every time I think I have a handle on stuff, something comes along to just knock me into a cocked hat.

Actually, he was there 10 minutes later, as I was on Facebook bemoaning my luck. I pushed the dog away from the door and went out in back with him.  As I suspected, it was a phone line.  Probably the AT&T guy who was next door yesterday did it. The SMUD guy curled it up, clipped it off, and took it away. OK, too late to do the privet today, shucky darn, but it did mean I could make it to the WPAC ladies' breakfast. 

LOTS of people there today including someone's son because they were off to another event later.  He was busy planning his restaurant. I had a big skillet, since a) I hadn't had breakfast and b) I was going to be out well past lunchtime.

Then I headed south, stopping at the clinic where Rich went to drop off his prescriptions and the big pack of Nicorette gum.  I really fell apart walking into the place. I'd gone with Rich all last year, including the last time when he could barely walk and Dr. H. suggested hospice care. He had a study that showed that people who went into hospice often lived longer. If we only had gone in a couple of months earlier. He'd probably still be dead by now, but he'd have had a better September and October. Oh, well. He wanted to try to fight it, and hindsight is 20-20.

Tears. I also remember the last cache he "found" (he was with me for it). This was coming home from this clinic a couple of weeks earlier. Also, I remembered going to the eye doctor next door. I thought at the time they were strange making an appointment in December. Either he'd be OK and not need the eye help, or he'd be gone. Oh, well. More tears.

Then I moseyed down the street and found the theater and saw "Dark Shadows." It's not my usual kind of movie but it's got Johnny Depp. Mmmm. I liked it. Outside the theater people were laughing at my license plate. Theirs said "YEP5150" and mine, next to it, "YARNOT."   License plate fights!!

Onward to spend an hour or two with Bernadette and kids. And then home.

And, on this topic of thinking I have a handle on my life... the dog got skunked. At midnight. I sure missed Rich, but was NOT up to dealing with it all by myself this late at night. So stinky dog in the house.

Fri, Jun 29th - 3:55PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
warming

85 recordings of 26 types. 52% left.

Yesterday I didn't mention I was 1.6 pounds down for the week!

Ron doesn't want to come to the history thing. Drat.

Next door they had AT&T *and* SureWest at the same time. Interesting.

The cleaners were very late.  Poor Spooky. I locked him into my bedroom till they came, then threw him into the guest bedroom till I got Abby in, though unfortunately I forgot him till I was in bed at midnight and heard these pathetic mews. At first I called him, but then remembered I'd locked him in.  Poor kitty ran for the litter box first thing.

I rinsed off some more big pots for Vince. And while I was cleaning out the carport (a bit.  This isn't going to be finished any time soon.) I found oak galls which Rich had gathered as possible caches. This was good for some tears. I almost threw them away, but then thought maybe some of my friends could use them.

My neighbor Pete is better than feared, and will be able to travel (by road) to his son's wedding next week. Hooray!

I made Ugandan peanut butter chicken for dinner. Yum. Time I cleaned out some of the older purchases in the freezer.  That was from the time we were caching up near Thunder Valley and then Rich annoyed me by wanting to go to the commissary.  Again, sigh.

My "play buddy" Laurie invited me to the Altar Guild lunch at her house. OK, that'll be nice.

Fri, Jun 29th - 12:01AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
133.5 miles
mild

78 recordings of 22 types. 55% clear.

Obama and the Kingdom of the Concrete Skull.

From American Thinker: My friend Jane Woodworth looked over her newspaper, put down her coffee mug, and said , ”Imagine being so down and out that you have to deter people from talking about the economy with the news that you are an accessory to murder.”

I went to Mass, saw a few people, then drove to San Jose.  Target's food is now a Pizza Hut. It's interesting, because they have the old soda machines with Coke (I think they were McDonald's before?) so one tap is now Pepsi. 

Charlotte's dance recital was much more professional than I feared. Instead of the gymnasium and folding chairs it was the San Jose Community Theater. Nice program, based on Monopoly.  Charlotte was dressed like a bellhop for the "hotels."  This time she did her dance without checking everyone else.  Much better. 

I left at intermission so I could walk back to the house (looking, fruitlessly, for a geocache on the way) and drive home.

Jim Earl had called yesterday to offer me a ride.  Nice of him! Rick says his dad is feeling a bit better today.  My neighbor across the street says she's had a family of skunks come through.

When I got up out of the chair, I could barely move. Despite the walk, apparently the drive got to me.

Wed, Jun 27th - 11:19PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
132.2 miles
cool

72 recordings of 21 types. 56% clear.

Cartoon.

I started the day by walking Pharaoh along the bike trail next to the golf course.  I was looking for a couple of caches as well as checking on our multi there.  To my utter surprise, I started to cry, remembering when we put the cache in and our many trips up and down the trail. (I've been alone a couple of times including at least once after Rich died. (actually, no, the last time I was here was in August.)) I was sad.  Then I found one cache. I couldn't find the other, looked and looked around a lot of trees. Finally we left and went to the west end, past a couple of homeless camps. One was really nice, or would be if they had any sanitary arrangements.  There was a gathering at the end, I don't know if it was another camp or just a day place to gather, but the dog and I turned around and came back.  This time the GPSr pointed to a different place. I figure Rich was helping me, and it was a quick find.

Then in the afternoon I made another casino trip. This time I remembered my pin number. I also found a machine that played with me for awhile. It took my money more slowly (though take it it did.) Afterwards, I stopped for and found a geocache!  So far, a good day.

The evening activity was a MUPT, a modem user pizza thingie, something left over from the 80s. I loaded up one cache to try first.  And didn't find it.  Grumble.  So I went to the reunion. Only 4 of us, and a couple of spouses.  However, a cacher was one of them and I knew he'd found the cache before. So I asked him where it was. It also turned out he needed to cache with a couple more people to get the collaboration challenge (which we got long ago) and so after an hour we went off to find the cache and  a couple of others. Jim's really good, so I got a total of 6 cashes for the day!

The gift registry is so bizarre it's already on Snopes.

Wed, Jun 27th - 7:58AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
130.2 miles
cool

68 recordings of 18 types. 58% clear.

Noonan, who finally realized a couple of weeks ago that 0bama is a failure.

You know what Republicans on the ground think when they look at Mitt Romney?

"Please don't blow it." They think President Obama can't win but Mr. Romney can still lose. So they're feeling burly but anxious, hopeful yet spooked.

...Actually, it's amazing that during an existential crisis—a crisis that is economic, cultural and political, and that bears on our role and purpose in the world—both candidates for our highest office have felt free to be so . . . well, insubstantial. Neither Mr. Romney nor Mr. Obama has caught hold of the overall meaning of his candidacy, Mr. Romney because so far he's chosen not to, and Mr. Obama because he's tried and failed.

...As for the president, his big campaign speech last week in Cleveland not only was roundly panned but was deeply revealing. In it—all 54 minutes of it—he attempted to make the case for his economic stewardship and his re-election.

What he revealed is that he doesn't know the case for his own re-election.

Politicians give 54-minute speeches when they don't know what they're trying to say but are sure the next sentence will tell them. So they keep talking. They keep saying sentences in the hope that meaning will finally emerge from one of them.

A 54-minute speech is not a sign of Fidel-like confidence, or a love for speaking. A 54-minute speech is a sign of desperation.

It was a speech about everything—renewable energy, tax credits, Abraham Lincoln, tax loopholes, deficit imbalances, infrastructure, research and development incentives. But a speech about everything is a speech about nothing. I listened once and read it twice: It wasn't a case for re-election, it was a wordage dump.

The president has wrestled for the past six months with themes. He's jumped from one to another. They are:

It's not so bad—this indicator is up, and that one.

OK, it's bad, but it could have been worse—my actions kept us from tanking.

It's bad, but it's Bush's fault.

It's bad, but it's the congressional Republicans' fault.

I have made it less bad, and I need more time to make it even less badder.

Rich people have fancy cars and car elevators, I stand for jalopies and street parking.

Politico's White House Correspondent Suspended for Race-baiting Penis Joke.

John Nolte says: Poor Joseph Williams. He has to be wondering what the hell’s going on right now. Here he works for an outlet that over the years has become one with MSNBC and he’s catching a suspension for race and class-baiting.

That’s like being sent to church and suspended for praying.

Homemade Gak recipe. Niki made it and her pictures of the kids are priceless.

Give 0bama your Wedding Presents. I gotta say, if I had a friend who suggested this, they wouldn't be my friend any longer.

Babysitting again. I had made a quick trip to the store, and spied a garage sale, so I stopped and got a Muno pillow. I saw my widow neighbor and told her about WPAC.  7 or 8 years later she is still having problems. At the garage sale I ignored two 1000 piece puzzles.  (It was hard.)

The only thing, besides the enormous mess they left, was Gareth reaching over and deliberately pouring out Joanna's milk. Argh.

Nick's dad came by with newspapers, which was nice.

I see UCD had another corpse flower. I remember going over to see (and smell) one with Rich. We also cached on campus and that's when I learned being old is as good as a cloak of invisibility to college kids.

I made a tuna and shell-noodle casserole.

Someone on Facebook was talking about someone "digging her grave" and I remember I used to tell Rich when he'd pig out on candy that he was "digging his grave with his teeth."  And me?  When I pig out on candy?  Oops.

And I wonder what my granddaddy died of.  I knew he had prostate cancer but he'd had the operation, and I don't know what his terminal disease was.  And no one is left to ask.

On the Nook, I have 355 books, 18% free.

Tue, Jun 26th - 5:18PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
130.2 miles
cool

72 recordings of 23 types. 56% clear.

Michelle 0bama says this election will be even closer than the last one. I hope not, I hope Don Surber's prediction of 40 states for Romney holds.

WH embarrassed during Fast and Furious Press Briefing.  I bet Jay Carney sometimes wishes he had a different job.

Babysitting today. Steve called to ask for some geocaching information while I was feeding the kids, and of course Gareth spilled his milk.  Then Vince, who forgot and called last night, forgot again and didn't call tonight.

Joanna is getting really good at the stacking cups.  She understands collating two stacks of them.

There's a geocaching event in Laramie on August 4. I'm seriously considering going for a half-hour or so.

It's too cold to open the windows at night!  Wow.

Mon, Jun 25th - 8:24PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
130.2 miles
cool

68 recordings of 21 types. 58% clear.

0bama played his 100th golf game yesterday.

Executive privilege

Tom Gribbins
Don't you people see whats going on here!!!They want this ongong mess to stay in the news 24/7...They can deal with this mess a lot easier then dealing with the "'Truth"" and thats President Barack Obama real record while being president..8 1/2% unemployed, gasoline over $3.50 a gallon. Side stepping congress at least 3 times now..Wasting 800 billion dollars, giving away GM to the UAW, that was bought with US tax dollars. propping up the failing UAW retirement fund, while letting our Social Securty system go down the drain. Taking 7 vacation a year, playing golf over 100 times while office...The man thinks he's a king and he's got to go come November 2012.....

Rich's iTouch thinks it's 10:30 on December 31. 2008.

So, this morning I redeemed that certificate for carpet cleaning that I bought back in January. I planned to go up the ladder and  harvest the high plums while they were here, so that if I fell off the ladder they could call 9-1-1.  They laughted at me, but seriously, I feel a lot better with backup.  In the end, they were so quick that I only got to three of the high branches. I couldn't reach one and knocked the plums down with a stick.  But the cleaners left so I couldn't get at some other overladen branches.  (One broke and fell partway down, which I discovered a couple of days later. We'd heard it and I couldn't figure out what had made the noise.) I gave them about half the plums, so I may be able to keep up with the rest. (The compost bin has a layer of plums now, covering the layer of coffee filters and orange peels.)

The cleaners commented on the pet odors.  Abby's damn lucky she's still alive. I left the dog out and the furniture moved and left for Yuba City. I figured that would give the carpet a chance to dry properly. 

When I went to shut the back gate I partly destroyed it. Argh. It's always something!

Then it was off to Yuba City! I drove up 70 so I could get a cache with Muumuu in its name. That completed a Double Letter challenge which I also picked up.  I got 4 caches and 2 DNFs and signed another challenge, a Sudoku, for which I need one more qualifying cache.  I talked to some people, but they started the party an hour later.  I think I will have a ride in the winter.  I began to get sad so didn't stick around for the raffle and just went out to the car, cried a little, and started home. Then I thought "hey, I can go home through Woodland and pick up one of the Sudoku caches I've loaded up, and then I could count the challenge."

It was a beautiful ride through green ricefields, past a lot of Great Blue Herons. I talked to Rich the whole way. I was trying to charge the iTouch but that doesn't work in the car, it turns out. However, at least it turned on in there, which it wasn't doing here at home. I can't get the Sync to talk to me. I want it to work by the time we go to Wyoming....

Anyway, I have a clean carpet and 7 more caches. 100 caches ago was January 28.  I'm getting back up to speed. Sigh.

Sun, Jun 24th - 10:14PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
126.5 miles
cooler

63 recordings of 22 types. 60% clear.

Asking Obama questions he doesn't want to answer is racist.

I went over to breakfast with the WPAC ladies. That was AFTER I changed both litter boxes and did a load of laundry and some of the jigsaw puzzle and repotted two agave.  While I was doing the agave the fiancee across the street stopped by and told me how she met Rick, and that they're on their way up to Washington to finalize the wedding plans. I'm really looking forward to it!

After breakfast I went to the DMV to get the registration changed.  They can't do it till I own the car. I should have thought of that.

I heard from Rich's doctor. He can't use the CPAP but he suggested maybe the Visiting Nurses Association could.

After the DMV I dropped some stuff off at St. Vincent de Paul and then went to see For Greater Glory. This was an entirely new area of history to me.  Presidente Calles was evil personified. And I didn't know anything about the Mexican martyrs.  But I now have a new saint to ask for help, Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio. I would like my grandchildren to be that in love with God. I enjoyed the movie but I don't want to see it again.

They served sloppy joes at Sharing God's Bounty tonight, and I suddenly realized I will never taste Rich's sloppy joes again.  That just flattened me.

Fri, Jun 22nd - 10:19PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
126.5 miles
cooler

80 recordings of 23 types. 52% clear.

Treacher: If you're black, you should support Eric Holder. No matter what he says and does.

First thing this morning, I took the car in for its checkup. Turns out it just needed an oil change (I'd forgotten it was checked by AAA when I got my new battery!) It has a small leak which will take a lot of time and $$, but they say I can go to Wyoming without fear. I will also need to replace the door molding which will be quite pricy indeed. Oh, well.  I figure they gave me the straight info, as I was chatting with the dealer/owner when the service guy caught up with me.  His son just graduated from Gonzaga!

I'd asked Bernadette to come after me, and then discovered it was only a half-hour, but I didn't catch her in time.  She was fine with that, but said she needed to have some time to mow the lawn.  Fine, I said, I'll come down and watch the kids.  So I did, and she did.  Then we went to Elk Grove Park to feed the ducks.  We also walked around the lake. We went over to the island and saw a loose goose egg, and also a nesting duck.

I'd said I'd stop at Home Depot on the way home but turned onto the freeway automatically instead.  Never mind, there's one locally, across from Howe Park (where Rich and I looked at the clouds of starlings a few years ago.)  I found the drop cloths I wanted and asked if I got a military discount. Indeed I do.  OK, though I haven't yet prepared the garden.

And I replaced the Howe Avenue cache while I was in the area. Then I went to Raley's for a salad, and saw a friend from church. 

Gabe's present came. I meant to get another little hexbug but got a big one.  So I ordered another. Also, the batteries look too big, though apparently they are the right size.

I went to the WPAC Newcomer's dinner. my new badge holder broke.  Another $5 gone. Grrr. It was a pleasant dinner. I didn't realize till afterwards that Tony was wearing a blood donor shirt. Boy, would Rich have had a lot in common with him... Polish Catholic usher blood donor!  I'm still sad from yesterday.

Tea leaves portend bitter brew for Democrats

John Hawkins: The first hardcore doper President in American history has been a complete and utter failure. Big surprise.

Fri, Jun 22nd - 7:42AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
126.0 miles
high 90s

80 recordings of 22 types. 53% clear.

I'm 2.2 pounds up, ARGH! with borderline BP.

Explain to me again why they are called reporters.

I knew Father's Day was going to be tough. First thing, my Yahoo! account was hacked and passed out a virus to all and sundry. Only GoE's father actually clicked on it. He's moving out of his house. Probably a good thing, but that's such a lovely lovely place. Anyway, I'm glad my friends let me know immediately about the spam. I changed passwords and security questions.

Church was tough. Then I thought there would be a pancake breakfast and there wasn't.  However, at least I got the car washed by the Youth Group and they did a good job.

I stopped at Emigh's and got more grass seed. I didn't get the same EZ grow I had before so we'll see if this works at all. I also decided jack-o-lantern pumpkins would be fun to plant. I don't have to cook them, and if I get them it'll be fun for the kids. Also, easy to grow.

Bernadette came over and worked on the puzzle.  KFBK has moved and they wanted her to come in for training, giving her an overnight notice. I could have actually babysat, but they needed to help us plan better.  Anyway, so far her key fob doesn't work in the new place.

Then there was the meeting. It was tough, too. I wore the family reunion T-shirt and brought the program, which was fun.  Since I won't be there the next two weeks, nor will I be able to go to the concert on Wednesday, I checked with Ron to see when he was going to Eagle Lake. He'll still be here when I get back.  I enjoyed hearing from one guy about how he used to meet up with a woman friend and go to lunch. He was quick to say they went dutch, it wasn't a date!  So he's the same way I am, enjoying the companionship but not looking for a relationship.

I also went to dinner at Woody's. (I refuse to put the apostrophe in the wrong place like they do.) Also tough. At least I survived the day. (AND my car is clean.  They even did the insides of the windows, getting rid of nose prints.)

OK, I survived the day.

Thu, Jun 21st - 9:51PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
126.0 miles
105 degrees.

76 recordings of 23 types. 54% clear.

Rasmussen: 48/51: -16.

Heh.  "fissiparous" a new word to me.  They suggest that maybe the Great Orator... isn't, really.

"Republicans haven't lifted a finger for job creation."
I'm lifting a finger.  Guess which one.

John Hawkins: Obama could get high on bath salts and eat a baby. The headline would then be "Reporter asks Obama impertinent question about baby murder."

Cartoon

Today's big project was the WPAC Membership luncheon, held at McClellan's Lion's Gate (which used to be the Officer's club.) I remember previous visits, at least one, a buffet either for Easter or Mother's Day, and the swimming pool outside. Now they've made that a patio and moved the pool further out, which makes good sense. Also I remember coming with Rich when Lion's Gate took over. Also, we have a geocache outside next to the plaques that tell the history of the base. On the way out I remembered the dining in where I met (was in a receiving line) Eva Gabor.  Coincidently, I just ran into that program. It was 9 Sept. 1978. 

The luncheon was fun.  I sat next to one of the new widowers from Sunday support, ignoring the "reserved" sign. And some other SSupport people sat at the same table. I'd chosen the Asian Noodle lunch, and it was delicious.  Then the entertainment was a fashion show. I was all prepared to be bored till I realized the models were people from WPAC, people who are NOT fashion models. The clothing looked great on them. I saw cruise wear.  Well, I think my cruise is not going for glamour, but hey, maybe next time. I enjoyed the fashion show and am seriously considering shopping at the boutique.

I apparently dropped or didn't pick up one $20 bill when I went to the ATM.  Grumble.

Oooh, a skunk outside. I was scared to let the dog out, but fortunately he didn't tangle with the stinky pussy.  I can't open the windows tonight.

Tue, Jun 19th - 8:51PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
126.0 miles
HOT, and not cooling at night.

77 recordings of 20 types. 53% clear.

0bama bypasses the Constitution.

Today I went to Fairytale Town with Bernadette and Joanna and Gareth's class. I got there a little early and waited and waited and waited.  Finally I spied them coming and placed myself so Gareth could run right to me and give me a hug. Then we went in.  First, Gareth had to go potty and then we went to the rabbit hole. It's really nice when you have one person at the bottom of the slide and one person at the top.  Joanna finally wandered off and Bernadette went with her. I went with Gareth.  I kept mentioning the Owl House but he kept saying "no" till he saw other kids going on it.  Then all was forgotten and forgiven, and he went up. And again. And again.  We had another potty visit, went a few other places, he drowned some plants in Farmer McGregor's garden and I finally talked him into the Shoe and yes, it was one he likes. I knew that.  He also liked going into the barn and down that slide, again with Bernadette at the bottom.  Joanna apparently really likes Cinderella's pumpkin. They also played with some hula hoops.

We went back to the rabbit hole and then I told Gareth we could go back to the ride he liked the best, so it was back to the Owl House.  We never went on the Crooked Mile.  Then before we met the rest of the class outside, we went potty again.  Then Bernadette went to the car to get their lunches while I sat with the kids.  The teacher had little certificates and a bag of goodies for each child and she was crying.  She'll have 3-year-olds again next year, and Bernadette doesn't know where Gareth will be going.

So I asked him, "What was your favorite part?"  "Going potty." "OK, your second favorite?"  "The Owl House."

I swept around the firewood, oh look, what's that, a termite?  So I called my hauler. He said $75 bucks, ouch.  When he got here, he remembered me, was pleased with the grass where the midden used to be, and took more than the firewood, and cleaned up, so I wasn't quite as distressed. 

It's nice to be rid of the wood and the dirt (and the rat poop.)  One less place for Pharaoh to check out: still the sandbox and of course under the shed and the dog house.  So long as the rodents don't head for my attic!

I was rereading the Team Yarnot 2011 program. So funny! 

John Hawkins: Obama broke the law & hurt American workers by implementing amnesty via executive order but how dare Neil Munro ask him a question about it

#ObamasNextExecutiveOrder: No one is ever allowed to mention the economy as long as he's President unless the words "I blame Bush" are added.

Mon, Jun 18th - 5:11PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
124.8 miles
HOT

77 recordings of 23 types. 53% clear.

Today I took my coupon to Thunder Valley Casino. Of course, the first thing that happened was I couldn't remember my pin code.  Easily fixed.  Then I almost forgot how to get my free $5 of play.

I lost fairly quickly. I would have liked to have my money last just a little longer, but in the event I was done in about an hour. I understand the temptation to throw more money in, but I was strong.

I looked for one cache on the way home, but I'd forgotten the hint and didn't try very hard.

Then I stopped at the vet's to pick up some heartworm medicine. I had to wait through two very long and involved customers, but that was OK.  Finally she got to me and I explained the situation around phone calls and other things. We've been with this vet (or her predecessor) for 35 years, and the woman behind the desk has been there for at least 6.  She asked for my last name, and I said "Yarnot, Y-A-R-N-O-T" and she said "G?..." and I completely lost my temper. "Y!A!R!N!O!T!"  Then I said I was yelling because the dog was yipping.  But it wasn't true. GRRRR! Got the meds and some flea control with a possible rebate if I actually go in back and print the information up.

I took the tarp off the remaining firewood. I'll sweep the porch tomorrow.

Vince said that nice Nigerian priest is being moved. Rats.

I remember: staying in bed with Rich last year while he slept. I thought I was maybe building up time for now... but it isn't working. How I miss him!

King Canute, "here ducky, ducky", off the cliffs for lizards or geocaches, the dead lizard he stalked, jumping the dog onto him, the time he nearly blinded me with the telescope, then I was so worried I'd broken the telescope, when I had car wrecks, letting me be the first to drive Snowball, naming the cars.... SO MUCH.  Today, for some reason, I'm drowning in a flood of memories.

Monica called.  She's having a hard time and thought maybe I was too. It was so nice talking to her.  She came close to having to cancel the game yesterday and says she might have been headed to divorce court today.  And her eyes are still giving her trouble. Darn it.

There are things I sometimes like about not having a schedule... I can go home when I please and go to bed when I please... but it always seems I forgot something. Oh, I know, "goodnight, Rich" and a kiss.

Sun, Jun 17th - 10:14PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
124.8 miles
HOT

75 recordings of 21 types.  54% clear.

It's 11 years since I found GoE's body.  Rich was there for me then.  How I wish he was here for me now, since this is ever so much worse.

We don't recriminate like we used to.

Bob Beckel was bragging up the "GM and Ford" numbers. I wonder what they'd be like without Ford?

Carville tells 0bama that Nobody Believes the Economy's Recovering Any More.

What’s a president to do when he can’t run on the idea that America’s better off now than it was four years ago? Simple. Run on the idea that America will be better off four years from now if it gives him another term. 2008: The future is now. 2012: No, wait, we mean the future is now.

Hope and change — they’re always a day away.

The GOP Stuck Me With the Tab.

Never mind that he ordered ten more steaks and a huge dessert.

“Those of us who have spent time in the real world”: No. Spending your early adult life writing a memoir amongst the august circles of liberal academia before rocketing through the political ranks as a cool, hip young celebrity-politician does not make you more qualified on matters of the ostensible “real world” than a high-powered businessman turned state executive. In fact, one might even argue it makes you less qualified. Or, you know, not at all. Hence all of this lovely “on the job training” which you’ve so magnanimously bestowed upon us.

..."I inherited a trillion dollar deficit”: Yeah, you’re darn right the deficit exploded after Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi took control of a newly-Democratic Congress in 2007, and did you do anything to try to quell that deficit? No, you not only let it ride; you added to it with bailouts and stimuli, and now we’re sitting pretty with a whopping $5 trillion more added to our debt than when you took office three years ago.

    And Obama is the guy sits down and orders steak and champagne for the entire restaurant….. and then defends his spending by arguing the guy before him ordered steak and champagne too.
    ModerateMan on June 12, 2012 at 9:04 PM

Climate change...

Looks like Obama’s been a little too obsessed with his own hobby horses.  Maybe voters should elect a President who shares their priorities … and can handle them.

((Investors Business Daily)
So forget about the abysmal jobless numbers above 8% for over three years, or the $15 trillion deficit that threatens to turn the U.S. into Greece. No, amid those very real calamities, climate change is more important.

If this isn’t a sign of a president out of touch with reality, what is? If climate change is Obama’s “most important” policy issue, then neither the Tea-Party-led victories around fiscal discipline — such as the Wisconsin vote, nor the West Virginia primary, here 40% of Democrats chose a jailbird to protest Obama’s anti-coal agenda, made a dent on him.

Like a madman doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, it can only mean Obama intends to double-down on his green agenda if re-elected.

Cartoons

So, I had thought this would be a concert day, but when I called Ron he had something else to do today. OK, then I can get some of these things done.

I went down and got my haircut, and then she was so quick it was too early for Chipotle so I went to Walmart, found some sunglasses. I was trying various sunglasses in the mirror and noticed one clump of hair drying too long so I was twisting and turning doing the John Edwards "I Feel Pretty" act when someone was peeking at me... Ron!  Heh.  Then I went to Chipotle and he went wherever.  Later I shopped at Emigh hardware but didn't see anything I wanted. Right now, anyway. From there I stopped at the grocery store and saw Laurie.  And so home. 

There was a second delivery of newspaper (got one yesterday) from my neighbors. If I'd known that would happen, I could have taken more papers out. 

My PG&E bill looks great.  9 therms last month with the bill all of $9.16.  Well, it's a lot higher than that because I average, but isn't that great?  Less than last month and less than last year.

I got another jigsaw puzzle catalog.  You already have 20 to do, Jan, settle down!

Monica and Mark were at the perfect game Matt Cain played for the Giants.

Reading: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 1), Edward Gibbon, The Bible (1 Machabees), A Healing Year, Alaric Lewis, The Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Wicked, Gregory Maguire, Galapagos, a Natural History, Michael H. Jackson, The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin, Death, the Final Surrender, Fr. Cedric Pisegna.

Sun, Jun 17th - 2:06PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
124.8 miles
HOT

70 recordings of 17 types. 56% clear.

Sniff.

Snicker

Green jobs.

"There is no sign that a single reporter has ever asked Obama about his role in Chicago’s housing disaster."

347 books on the Nook. 18% free.

I ran a number of errands this morning. I started by going to breakfast with the WPAC ladies.  Then off to SAFE for some cash, and out to the backside of McClellan with some of this newspaper. (I have all the neighbors giving me theirs, so had a HUGE pile: far too much for use in Abby's litter box. So I took 3/4 of it to the Wildlife Care institure.)  I got there just after a lady with a couple of kids, who were bringing a baby squirrel out. Such a good lesson for the children. I was really impressed.

After I dropped off the newspaper I went to the BX.  However, the sunglasses were behind lock and key. Too much trouble. So off with my list (but no coupons, I forgot to check) to the commissary. This was a big one: $152.  It's about time I started to re-stock the shelves instead of just making a quick trip for one or two things.

But when I got home and put all the stuff away, I was just exhausted. It's HOT out there!

Sat, Jun 16th - 6:51PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 103
124.8 miles
hot

74 recordings of 21 types. 55% clear.

You are not special.  I love it!

Bernadette had a dental appointment today, so I called the cleaners and asked that they not come till the afternoon, and off I went to babysit. It was a quiet day and pleasant. I finished my story* on the Nook just before she came home.

*Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. I loved it. I started by comparing how she coped with her mother's death to how I handled Rich's.  Then there was a good deal of "can't look away from the train wreck" to her efforts to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. I ended up, though, enjoying her prose and her ability to describe her feelings. A real page-turner and I enjoyed it immensely.

I got back about half an hour before the cleaners (Jose y Maria today, how Biblical!) came. I sat out on the porch sorting papers. Got quite a bit done.

After they left, I started the new puzzle. I have 20 and the catalogs are coming with beautiful beautiful ones. Jigsaw puzzles could be the next "books" if I am not careful.

I have so much to do in the next couple of weeks!! DMV, car, maybe doctor, finish the Road Scholar paperwork, order stuff for the garden, order Gabe's birthday present, unicorn shoes... haircut...

Fri, Jun 15th - 8:56PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
124.8 miles
getting hotter

I'm 2.4 pounds down with high BP.

68 recordings of 18 types. 58% clear.

Beth Campbell: Trixie has been saying, "Oh, WOW," for a while now, and it is awesome. But just now she said, "Oh, CWAP." And that was ... also awesome.

I got out of the house by 7, a little later than I hoped, but still pretty good. And over (it feels like it should be "down" but it's mostly east) to Rancho Cordova and White Rock Road. I thought the caches were mostly on the north side, so I listed the caches east to west and was chugging on down to the farthest one when I saw a car parked on the side and a woman standing out... hmmm.  Geocacher"  Then I saw her "Rocket Girl" license plates, and indeed she is!  So I stopped and actually found the cache she was looking for (I'm lazy, and while she was beginning to climb the steep hill I just looked around keeping my feet on the ground.)  Then we caravanned for the next 13 caches and found them all. This was great.  A couple of times she was so quick I didn't even have to get out of the car.  At 9 she was done and headed on back home, and I went back to the beginning and started working east again.  I had a discouraging couple of "no finds" and ended up, as it got hot, deciding to go home after 6 more caches on my own, with 4 no-finds.  I'll be back someday and catch up. Anyway, 20 caches in a day is a Very Good Day.  Rich and I used to average 14-20 a day, and occasionally had more. Our record was a day at Lake Berryessa, when we got 40.  This almost makes up for missing Friday's cache run.

At one cache a grasshopper (I thought.  Turns out it was a locust) committed suicide on my nose. 

I got home by 10:30 and so had plenty of time to get ready for the Christ the King fiesta this afternoon. I have been looking forward to it, I always like it.  When I got there I saw Brother Kurt and gave him a big hug, said "I'll miss you so much!" (He's on the way to Rome) "I'll miss you too, Jan."  I also got hugs from a lot of my friends in the choir.  And I sat down for Mass and started to cry. I was completely blindsided by this: I expect next Sunday to be hard, but just didn't think about this event.  I remember last year.  Rich was with me, and later spent a long time talking to Talib about T's cancer and chemo. We were so hopeful then.

It took forever, after Mass, to get my food. While standing in line, I had a long talk with someone I knew from Loretto. And realized that the WPAC people are right: others mean well, but they just don't Get It. I ate my dinner, then came home. I just couldn't last any longer. Maybe next year.

Thu, Jun 14th - 10:51PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
124.8 miles
WINDY!

74 recordings of 20 types. 55% left.

    Looks like Barack Obama’s statement on the private sector doing “fine” wasn’t the only booby trap from his press conference yesterday.
..well, Mr Morrissey, when one is a boob, everything is trap.
:-D

The War Planner on June 9, 2012 at 9:44 AM

Pope Pelosi speaks.

I am so sick of left wing politicians. (Especially Pelosi) claiming that they know more than the church. The Pope all of the American cardinals and all of the other Bishops as well have said this is a matter of faith. If it is not changed they have said they will be forced to close these institutions.

She does not even qualify as a cafeteria Catholic. For that you have to agree with at least some of the teachings of the Chruch. She claims to be Catholic only to keep the Latino vote. I know it is a sin to hate but she pushes me to the edge.

huskerthom on June 8, 2012 at 6:07 PM

It's my brother's birthday, which I *DID* remember!

I sat down at the computer for a quick minute this morning and 3 hours later I got up and soaked my feet.  I loaded up 31 caches for tomorrow. 

Lots more plums have ripened. I'm taking a box to WPAC tomorrow. 

I cooked my macaroni-cheese-tomato-ground beef "goop" tonight. It's a sad thing. It's one thing Rich mentioned missing when his taste buds went wrong and we were hoping he'd start to feel better and be able to eat it again.

Of course it's windy and there are leaves all over, after the gardeners came this morning.

I went to Mass (honoring the high school graduates) tonight.  We had a Mexican priest visiting and he gave a stemwinder of a homily honoring Corpus Christi.  I saw a number of people I know, including a widow of a guy we really liked. He's been gone 3 years. Mutual hugs.

And I finished the all-white puzzle. And I went to bed a lot later than I meant to.  Gonna start off early tomorrow anyway.

Thu, Jun 14th - 7:54AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
124.8 miles
mild, nice

69 recordings of 22 types. 57% clear.

Peggy Noonan.

And where is the president in all this? On his way to Anna Wintour's house. He's busy. He's running for president.

But why? He could be president now if he wanted to be.

He's holding a news conference today.  Maybe we'll get it this time.
(Louise Broda: Because he hasn't spoken enough obviously or we'd have gotten it by now.)

Jim Treacher: Obama is holding a news conference this morning. It's important to have a rapid response to Chris Rock.

If you show up a half-hour late for your own press conference on why the economy sucks, #YouMightBeObama.

James Munford:
If you hold a press conference to lecture Europe on economics after 3.5 years of wrecking the greatest economy on the planet, #YouMightBeObama.

Elizabeth Campbell: I have a business idea that could make me a bajillion dollars. Except I really don't want to run a boarding school for toddlers who don't sleep.

Washington Post upset with Catholics.

So let’s see, trample civil rights of Christians and then threaten financial penalties if they object, have I got that right?

This is what fascism looks like.

KrebsCyclist on June 8, 2012 at 2:46 PM

0bama's offended? I'm offended!!

Before I could go home, I went to Teddy's musical. He wore his new, too large, Chicago Cubs shirt to school, so the shirt for the musical fit over it but the darker shirt stuck out at the bottom and the sleeves.  He knows the words and sings, but is easily the most distracted, fidgety, kid in the first grades and was stealing the show by pointing out things in the scenery and waving his hands. Oh, and his hair went everywhere. I went to the first show so I could leave early, and told Roni "TAKE A COMB!" for the second show. I was in stitches, trying not to laugh out loud, because he was so funny. 

I told him goodbye and he gave me a kiss (which made my day) and I stopped long enough at the house for a potty break.  Then back to American Canyon because I'd read the logs and the hint and new where the one I missed yesterday was.  I did see it, but it would have been a three-handed job to get the cache out and sign the log. (It's a light pole cache, but with a twist: the lights are up on pillars and it takes two hands to lift the skirt. Sigh.)

The other one I wanted to try was in a Park-n-Ride but there was someone on the phone looking right at Ground Zero, so I'll have to do that one another day.  My initial plans were to meet my cousin in Fairfield, but she ended up with an all-day seminar so couldn't do it.  Directly home I went. 

The first thing I did was call the neighbors for a plumber's name. He wasn't in but I left a message.  Meanwhile, my neighbor wanted to see what the problem was and he thought a washer would do it.  He had other things to do, but would be back soon.  The plumber called back and I told him it was taken care of. 

Frank came by with a washer and then decided it was actually the faucet, but it was a simple fix. He went and got a new one ($14, not bad) and found the water cut-off (I still haven't located the tool for it) and replaced the faucet and HOORAY!  No leaks!!!

Two more ceiling tiles have come down in the back hall. I suppose once the bathroom is fixed back there the next step is a closet and the ceiling.  Not right now, though.

I started getting ready for bed at 10 but stopped to read the paper and it was suddenly midnight.

Wed, Jun 13th - 5:19PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
124.8 miles
mild, nice

61 recordings of 19 types. 61% free.

Rasmussen: 48/51: -16

I got a real look at the leak in back.  Bad news. It's really pouring out. I'll have to get it fixed the minute I get home, if Rob can't do it. I mailed Bernadette asking her to get Rob here to check on it, anyway. 

While I was checking on that, I spied an enormous weed on the side where the one iris bloomed, and dug it out.  I'll have to dig out the iris when I can and maybe give them to Bobbie at WPAC who likes iris.

Then I took care of the cats (almost forgot to give Abby more water in the bathroom where she was locked) and dog, and off I went to Roni's. I had some caches lined up to look for in American Canyon, which is a town on the way. I'd solved some puzzles back when Rich was here and we'd thought of stopping there one day, but then of course he got too sick to enjoy caching.

The first cache I went for was down an old road and I turned the car around a tenth of a mile away from the end and walked the rest of the way.  Good find.  Then to American Canyon proper.  The first puzzle was in a bus stop. I climbed up a couple of places to look before I finally found it. I had to watch a biking muggle who was resting down the street, and when she finally moved on, I climbed up and retrieved the cache.  Then I had to climb up again to replace it. I hate caching alone. 

I got to where the other cache is, but couldn't find it. So I went to lunch at Jack in the Box and then started down highway 37. I managed to pull into the place for one cache and again walked to the location, but it was in the rocks somewhere and I was afraid of hurting myself (did I mention I hate caching alone?), so I eventually gave up, admired the stilts and avocets, and got back in the car and got to Roni's.

My nice key worked. I set up my computer, logged my caches, then walked down to the school to pick up the kids. We had a nice time. I fixed dinner.  Lexi claimed to have had her menarche, but we're not sure she was telling the truth.  She does tend to be a drama queen.  However, when R.J. called to say they were on their way home, I suggested they stop for supplies.  If she was just dramatizing it, they will be ready when it's for real.

Lech Walesa not welcome.

I agree with Herman Cain, he's TRYING to ruin the country!

Can you say "Corruption"?

Comment (0)

Tue, Jun 12th - 9:51PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
124.6 miles
mixed, sweater and sunscreen.

87 recordings of 22 types. 50% clear.

Hahaha!
Good Morning, Lefties.

Charming.

Ron called me first today. Well, actually, no, he called somebody, but it wasn't me. In any case, when I called him, he thought I'd figured out it was caller ID.  Whatever, he said he would pick me up.  I then went to run some errands, bought some forever stamps, got a birthday card for my brother, picked up my prescriptions, and dropped off the check at WPAC for the membership luncheon next week. Then I got gas, at pump 11, and had 11.11 change.  (Then, most annoyingly, they dropped the price 4 cents a gallon while we were gone.  Grumble.)

The concert was a singer and band doing Doris Day songs (with DD's approval.)  Ron says Doris Day was his girlfriend when he was young! 

On the way to the church, going through the Capitol grounds, I saw a geocaching friend.  She said "see you Friday!" and I didn't know what she was talking about.  Apparently I was invited to a geocaching run, with 100 caches planned on the day.  (I never actually found the invitation, so it may have fallen through.)  I was really sorry to miss this, but have to be in Novato that day.  Roni owes me big time!!

After the concert we went back to the Thai food place. Yum.

Then when I was talking to Vince tonight he said Niki'd given him a book. I wondered why she was giving him stuff... then remembered, oh my, that his birthday is tomorrow and I'd completely forgotten.  Guilt!!

Reading: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 1), Edward Gibbon, The Bible (1 Machabees), A Healing Year, Alaric Lewis, The Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Galapagos, a Natural History, Michael H. Jackson, Death, the Final Surrender, Fr. Cedric Pisegna.

Mon, Jun 11th - 8:03AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
122.2 miles
clearing, cool

76 recordings of 19 types. 54% clear.

Rasmussen: 47/52: -15.

Jim Treacher:
Why did the lefty cry himself to sleep?

He can't recall.

and:
Dear lefties: If you don't want us to gloat so happily, learn how to lose without throwing 1) blame and 2) a fit.

Or, y'know... don't. :)

and:
The best part of the left's despair is that this didn't have to happen. They didn't have to do this to themselves. Aren't you glad they did?

Lefties react to their failure to oust Scott Walker

Please excuse my President.

0bama leaks secrets.
Security: From leaks about Osama bin Laden to those detailing cyberattacks on Iran, a disturbing pattern of publicly disclosing classified material to give Barack Obama a political boost is emerging. Under this president, our enemies don't need spies. Columnists' boastful gifts to our foes.

Occupiers Quietly fade away.

MICKEY KAUS on today’s Wisconsin recall. “Obama has now decisively intervened in the race, with a tweet. … He didn’t even use all 140 characters. … It’s an effort so self-protective and wussy it may come to stand for the President’s ineffectuality. Next he’ll tweet his opposition to Assad.”
 (President Tweety Bird)

Axelrod Tweets

TEACHERS’ UNIONS HAVE A POPULARITY PROBLEM: Only 22% of Americans think unions have a positive effect on schools.

Economic tipping point?

Obamateurism of the day: Great picture.

UPDATE: From commenter Matthew Gilley: “Congratulations to Governor Scott Walker. To all the public sector unions, thanks for playing; now get back to work. To all the Occupy types, thanks for the laughs; now get a job.”

Bwahahahaha!

Today I started by babysitting at Bernadette's house.  I took Joanna to get Gareth a little early so I could check out a cache near the school. This makes the 12th grandchild to go geocaching with me, not that she knew what was going on.  And I found it.  Then to the school we went. She likes the "diamond" windows. I asked her which room was Gareth's, thinking she would point.  No, she told me "Gary's in 8."  As he was.

Rob didn't come as early as I thought he would, and I finished my book.  Eeek. However, he arrived and I dashed home to get ready for "Wicked." 

Rich and I had bought 3 tickets for this, in the front of the first balcony, best seats (for the price) in the house. We had our fingers crossed. So this was incredibly sad, though my "play buddy" Laurie is good company.  She was astounded at the ticket prices ($75) and bought me a glass of wine and paid for the parking. 

The play was fantastic!  The singing was good, the acting good, but the special effects blew me away. (No pun intended.)  At the end of the first act, Elphaba is up in the air, and all you see is her face.  It was totally amazing.  I enjoyed it more than I was mourning about it.  I'm glad we bought the tickets, though I sure wish Rich could have been there. He'd have loved it, too. Well, that's the end of the tickets I had on hand.  From now on, it's individual plays. Of course, Jesuit and Bernadette's plays are musts.

On the way back to the garage I initially stopped at the wrong garage, but figured it out quickly enough, and we found the car.  Home by 11:30 but I stayed up till 1:30.

Fri, Jun 8th - 7:22AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
122.2 miles
cloudy, RAIN!

71 recordings of 21 types. 57% clear.

Jim Treacher: If you're pro-choice when it comes to killing your babies but not when it comes to buying more than 16 ounces of soda, #YouMightBeALiberal.

By Emperor Bloomberg's magnanimous decree, you are permitted to listen to 16 seconds of this song at a time (Sugar Sugar, by the Archies)

Bre McLoughlin: If life gives you melons, you probably have dyslexia.

It was cloudy and cool, a nice time to take Pharaoh for a long walk. I ended up over by Mission Park and did some of the streets in that area I haven't done yet.

I decided I might like to see "First Positions" and the only place it was showing was downtown, at The Crest. I checked on times, 12:15.  So I headed over to the light rail station and hopped on the 11:10 train. While I did take an umbrella, I could also have taken a sweater. I was plenty early, so I stopped in at the Cathedral. If I'd been mentally prepared, I could have gone to Confession.  Then I walked around downtown a little, before coming back to the Crest and, for the first time, noticing the schedule.  They don't open till 5 on weekdays. I was looking at the Sunday schedule. Argh.

I did find a grilled cheese cafe I want to try, but I wasn't hungry then. I just skipped Mass at the Cathedral and came home. With the firm resolution to pay more attention to the details now.

I went to the back computer to check how I'm doing financially, and there were the Birkies!  Apparently I slipped them off under the computer desk the other day.

Thu, Jun 7th - 5:08PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
117.7 miles
cooling off a little.

71 recordings of 19 types. 57% clear.

Chris O'Brien: 2 new elements on the periodic table. Like all new elements, Ill feed them to the dog first to see if they are safe before we incorporate them into household use around here. That may sound drastic but this is how we found out chocolate is dangerous.

Bre McGloughlin: Some people should use a glue stick for lip balm

0bama wants McCain again.

The Romney Imperative.

I was at a soccer tournament last Saturday where my son’s coach asked why he should vote for Romney. My quick answer: The Obama administration has created a situation where private investment and long-term hiring has been weakened considerably. Much of this has to do with uncertainty as to the rules of the game.

Imagine you are the owner of the Oasis Car Wash, I told the coach, and you have three car washes with 60 employees. You want to open a new car wash and hire 20 more people. First, due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – aka Obamacare – you have no idea what the costs of hiring the new workers will be. When Nancy Pelosi famously said “but we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” she didn’t know that years after it passed we still don’t know what is in it.

In fact, it won’t be until sometime this month that we know what parts of the law, if any, are unconstitutional.

This is a mess. Employers, state governments, and insurance companies have to operate in a fog of uncertainty as to what the law will be.

Cheryl Strayed is a perfect name for the author of a book about walking on the Pacific Coast Trail!

Waivers.

America wasn’t founded to apply the rule of law equally to everyone!  It exists to give elected officials like Jerry Brown the power to build massively expensive 19th-century transportation solutions during a chronic debt crisis at the state and national level, while breaking the same laws he wants to enforce against everyone else.  Some animals truly are more equal than others on the farm.

CONDI RICE SUMS UP THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN 75 WORDS: “If you are taught bitterness and anger, then you will believe you are a victim. You will feel aggrieved and the twin brother of aggrievment is entitlement. So now you think you are owed something and you don't have to work for it and now you're on a really bad road to nowhere because there are people who will play to that sense of victimhood, aggreivement and entitlement, and you still won't have a job.” ~ Condaleeza Rice

The Sunday Support group was interesting.  The discussion was mostly about hating to go home, and should you sell the house, etc.  I have many good reasons why I'll stay where I am:

1. It's paid for.
2. I get the DAV break on taxes Rich had, as long as I stay here.
3. Rich tried hard to make it livable. We painted the living room and have new carpet. (And I would have to repaint the pink fireplace if I moved.)
4. There's a new HVAC, sewer pipe, water heaters, and toilet.
5. I'd have to clean up! Right NOW. Getting rid of all the junk from 8 people, instead of the slow way I'm doing it now.

Besides, I have good neighbors.

Wed, Jun 6th - 11:49PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
117.7 miles
Very very hot.

79 recordings of 22 types. 54% clear.

Where Walker Succeeds and the Unions Fail, Wisconsin Wins

After Act 10, public employees still make significantly more in total compensation than those similarly employed in the private sector…a whopping 22% more.  And the benefits the unions are screaming were excoriated by the Republicans are still multiple times more valuable than those of the private sector tax payers footing the bill.  So, contrary to what the dishonest unions would have us believe, there are no losers.  Everyone in the state of Wisconsin wins, including those employed in the public sector.

But, in the midst of this success story is another story.  Jim Geraghty at National Review revealed what happens when government stops collecting union dues.  As part of the reforms, public employees had the opportunity to opt out of automatic paycheck deductions.  Once implemented, an astounding 2/3rds of them chose not to pay their union dues.  So, given the freedom to decide for themselves, union members do not support their own union.

It's the Queen's diamond jubilee. I remember, as a third grader, going to an assembly in the auditorium and seeing the coronation on the largest TV they could find, still very small, black and white.  As the  Archbishop of Canterbury was bringing the crown down, we lost the signal and had snow!

The associate pastor at Presentation did the lecture on the Spanish Inquisition. I went over a little early to look for a geocache and found it immediately. I enjoyed the lecture and picked up a book of daily meditations while grieving.  The main thing I learned about the SI was that they didn't actually kill as many people as rumor has it; that was mostly the civil authorities. It turns out the store has been doing these lectures since January. Of course, at that point, I really wasn't paying attention.

In the afternoon I met Bernadette and the kids at the Children's Museum, where we stayed for 2 hours.  The Rivercats mascot Dinger came to visit.  Joanna had nothing to do with him, and Gareth was just busy with the pipes and water.  I ran out of disc space right there. This is the card I put in when I went up to Washington. 

Afterwards I found two more caches, easy ones.  This finally gets me to 7900, 100 on my own. Sigh. It's taken so long. 

I got my itinerary.  I'm going to be making Roni pay big time for this babysitting: I have to be at SF airport about 4 AM. And when they say the trip ends Dec. 7, my plane leaves Lima at 11:55 PM.

Also in the mail, a SECOND NOTICE! from Mutual of Omaha wondering why Rich hasn't bought their life insurance. They offered some possible reasons and I wrote "no, actually, it's because he's dead." I stuck it into their postage paid envelope. I wonder if I'll get a THIRD NOTICE. 

Thunder Valley is offering some discounts and deals. I haven't heard from Cache Creek yet. The TV things are best on Wednesdays, so I'll have to wait till the concerts don't interest me.

Reading: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 1), Edward Gibbon, The Bible (1 Machabees), A Healing Year, Alaric Lewis, The Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, U is for Undertow, Sue Grafton, Galapagos, a Natural History, Michael H. Jackson, Death, the Final Surrender, Fr. Cedric Pisegna.

Wed, Jun 6th - 9:20AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
117.7 miles
SO HOT!!

75 recordings of 22 types. 56% clear.

Rasmussen: 48/51: -13

OMG...

I lost my birkies! I've looked everywhere for them! I don't think the cleaners took them, but where the heck?  I guess they're off with the checkbook! (Which I still haven't found.)

A quote from Facebook: He's smart enough not to cut off his own nose (which he should) despite his face.

Chris Debaillon: Because national security isn't nearly as important as getting Teleprompter Jesus re-elected.

I made some phone calls. I tried again to get hold of Rich's doctor.  She says he'll call back on Monday. However, she was so lame, I have no idea if he'll get the message. I called the bookstore because I'd like to go to their class on the Spanish Inquisition. And I finally thought it was safe to make the appointment with the carpet cleaners. It'll be in 3 weeks.

The Suicide Note. This is a very powerful look at what happens to the people left behind.

I read 5 books, went to 2 movies and 1 plays, and 10 Masses.

I found 14 caches last month, and I'm at 7897. I'm (sniff!) 318th in the world,  and 16th locally.

In proofing, I'm in 1092nd (out of 39604 proofers) place in the first proofing round, with 873 pages proofed, 19th (out of 4797) in P2 with 23523 pages, 600th (of 974) in P3 with 469 pages and formatting 720th place (3767) with 1020 pages. I really really really have to get back to this.

In Flickr I have 42704 pictures, with 95779 views, and 215 sets to work on. I'm determined to start working on these things this month.

My Netflix viewing was The Lincoln Lawyer and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Eh.

Tue, Jun 5th - 9:01AM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
114.5 miles
HOT!

73 recordings of 21 types. 57% clear.

Best of the Web

The episode illustrates that when voters choose a leader on the basis of "likability" or whom they'd "rather have a beer with," there's a danger of ending up with somebody ignorant and incurious about the world. That can make it difficult for America to command the respect of ally and adversary alike.

It was a very hot day and the little stuff I did completely exhausted me. In the morning, I weeded a little.  Then I waited, and waited, for the air conditioner guy to come inspect it. Of course, I was cleaning out the carport a little when they called.  Eventually he came, and all is well. He also checked out the water heaters.  This was the first time the AC was turned on this year. My SMUD usage is down from last year and last month. I turned it off again but the inside got to 80 this evening, so it went on again, and I put the temperatures lower than Rich had them last year. I finally settled on 75 during the day, 80 at night. 

I took the recycling in and got $8.07, which I used for a salad for lunch.  I did this before the cleaners came.  Also, while cleaning out the carport, I put some of the cardboard into the bin. Yay.

After the cleaners left, I took a paper box I'd been sorting back into the house, and the bottom fell out so there were papers, etc., all over the newly vacuumed floor.

Reading: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 1), Edward Gibbon, The Bible (1 Machabees), The Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, U is for Undertow, Sue Grafton, Galapagos, a Natural History, Michael H. Jackson, Death, the Final Surrender, Fr. Cedric Pisegna.

Sun, Jun 3rd - 8:32PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
114.5 miles
HOT!

66 recordings of 17 types. 60% left.

Obama Nazi death camp gaffe 'hurt all Poles': PM

Yeah, he's going to make sure the world loves us again.

Bre McGloughlin: The best thing about alcohol hand gel in hospitals isn't the hygiene, but that everyone walks around like they're hatching a dastardly plan.

I went to Mass this morning, and Father got confused in the middle about whether we were supposed to kneel or not. I found the citation. This was something Father Heart-throb did that drove me crazy, insisting that we stand instead of kneeling just then.

I broke the chain holding Rich's ring on the way home, so spent some time fixing it. All OK now.

The handyman's wife has liver failure so he won't be working here for awhile. I hope she gets better soon.

Yesterday Roni told me Teddy is afraid to get older because he doesn't want to die. I told Rich "OK, I don't really need a Rich-dream, but go see your grandson and tell him you're OK the way you did Gareth."  Roni reports that Teddy woke up chipper this morning, so I guess Rich listened to me.

Today Laurie and I went to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."  It was great!  Not so much a chick flick as an old hen flick! The previews had a lot of the funny lines, but there were plenty more to enjoy during the movie.  Great escapism. I loved it.

After I dropped her off, I took the bedsheet sets to St. Vincent.  I also replaced a geocache.

I went to meeting 5 of the grief support workshop. I'm not going back next Wednesday. I don't feel like a pot luck. In fact, I'm down still, pretty much still feeling worse.

Sun, Jun 3rd - 12:33PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
111.2 miles
HOT!

61 recordings of 16 types. 62% free.

Jim Treacher
"Your outrage is fake" really means: "How can you have genuine feelings I don't share, when I'm so smart and, more importantly, tolerant?"

35 Lifechanging Ways to Use Everyday Objects
Fantastic. I like the cork planters, and the pop tab picture hanger. And of course I knew about the baking soda on a grease fire.

A New Campaign Theme?

Obama 2012: Yes We Can (Be Bought)
Obama 2012: Four More Years of Having Killed Bin Laden
Obama 2012: He Probably Doesn’t Eat Dogs Anymore
Obama 2012: When He Said He Was Born in Kenya, He Was Lying
Obama 2012: He’ll Do Better This Time, Honest
Obama 2012: He Doesn’t Have the Solution; He Just Doesn’t Like Yours
Obama 2012: He Bungled His Change, But He’s Still Kinda Cute
Obama 2012: Those Oceans Aren’t Exactly Going to Lower Themselves
Obama 2012: Two Words: Algae Cars
Obama 2012: Smoke and Choom
Obama 2012: Bush Did It

I looked up a show I used to watch, and found some recent episodes, but then I didn't remember what it was!  Argh.

In the process of getting it back, I was going back through last year's blog, and found the June entry where the doctor said if the next CT scan showed continued improvement Rich could go onto a maintenance pill.  Sigh.

Oh, the show was "Who do you Think You Are?" which I'll watch On Demand.

Today I went over to Novato to see Lexi's 5th grade performance of "Munchkin Mediations." On the way, I saw three hot air balloons coming down.  They're landing in a different place, to the south of the freeway, now. Then I saw, again, the new wind turbine near Fairfield.  Once I got to the Mare Island Bridge traffic had slowed and was stop-and-go till we all got onto the causeway, which was still quite slow. The Clo billboard was something else!!!! (I saw "Saclomento, Cowlifornia" near CalExpo, however.)

As I turned onto Olive, a deer crossed in front of me (probably going to Deer Island!) Roni and I had time to talk and have coffee (she was working, so I didn't interrupt much, and realized I'd forgotten to bring my book. I borrowed a John Grisham from her.) Then we went to see the show. I'd remembered to bring the movie camera, but not to check the battery, so I couldn't take movies. Unfortunately, my nice little camera only zooms to 4x.  And, I realized later, I completely forgot to take any pictures of Teddy. Next week!!

Lexi was the Wicked Witch of the West, and her vignette, with Glinda, was about listening to the other person's point of view ("but I'm still right!" amazing how that lyric came so easily to her!) The whole class did beautifully, though it was hard to hear the Scarecrow (who wanted to run away from his responsibilities.)  A nice little presentation.

Afterwards, Roni had a meeting (online) and then took me to the Super Buffet which is in a strip mall I don't even remember.  Yummy stuff.  From there we went back home and then when it was time to pick up the kids we went to Pini hardware. It's now in Nave Square instead of downtown.  Fantastic place and I got a new bathtub plug, since my last one fell apart last weekend.  And Roni got me a house key, on a Giants blank, so I'll have no trouble recognizing hers.

And so home. A little problem at highway 37, though not as bad as west bound, and I got home before traffic got too bad.  I'd let Abby stay in the bedroom instead of locking her in the bathroom, and she was good.

Reading: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 1), Edward Gibbon, The Bible (1 Machabees), The Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, U is for Undertow, Sue Grafton, The Summons, John Grisham, Galapagos, a Natural History, Michael H. Jackson, Death, the Final Surrender, Fr. Cedric Pisegna.

Sun, Jun 3rd - 12:18PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 96
111.2 miles
HOT!

61 recordings of 16 types. 62% free.

Jim Treacher
"Your outrage is fake" really means: "How can you have genuine feelings I don't share, when I'm so smart and, more importantly, tolerant?"

35 Lifechanging Ways to Use Everyday Objects
Fantastic. I like the cork planters, and the pop tab picture hanger. And of course I knew about the baking soda on a grease fire.

A New Campaign Theme?

Obama 2012: Yes We Can (Be Bought)
Obama 2012: Four More Years of Having Killed Bin Laden
Obama 2012: He Probably Doesn’t Eat Dogs Anymore
Obama 2012: When He Said He Was Born in Kenya, He Was Lying
Obama 2012: He’ll Do Better This Time, Honest
Obama 2012: He Doesn’t Have the Solution; He Just Doesn’t Like Yours
Obama 2012: He Bungled His Change, But He’s Still Kinda Cute
Obama 2012: Those Oceans Aren’t Exactly Going to Lower Themselves
Obama 2012: Two Words: Algae Cars
Obama 2012: Smoke and Choom
Obama 2012: Bush Did It

I looked up a show I used to watch, and found some recent episodes, but then I didn't remember what it was!  Argh.

In the process of getting it back, I was going back through last year's blog, and found the June entry where the doctor said if the next CT scan showed continued improvement Rich could go onto a maintenance pill.  Sigh.

Oh, the show was "Who do you Think You Are?" which I'll watch On Demand.

Today I went over to Novato to see Lexi's 5th grade performance of "Munchkin Mediations." On the way, I saw three hot air balloons coming down.  They're landing in a different place, to the south of the freeway, now. Then I saw, again, the new wind turbine near Fairfield.  Once I got to the Mare Island Bridge traffic had slowed and was stop-and-go till we all got onto the causeway, which was still quite slow. The Clo billboard was something else!!!! (I saw "Saclomento, Cowlifornia" near CalExpo, however.)

As I turned onto Olive, a deer crossed in front of me (probably going to Deer Island!) Roni and I had time to talk and have coffee (she was working, so I didn't interrupt much, and realized I'd forgotten to bring my book. I borrowed a John Grisham from her.) Then we went to see the show. I'd remembered to bring the movie camera, but not to check the battery, so I couldn't take movies. Unfortunately, my nice little camera only zooms to 4x.  And, I realized later, I completely forgot to take any pictures of Teddy. Next week!!

Lexi was the Wicked Witch of the West, and her vignette, with Glinda, was about listening to the other person's point of view ("but I'm still right!" amazing how that lyric came so easily to her!) The whole class did beautifully, though it was hard to hear the Scarecrow (who wanted to run away from his responsibilities.)  A nice little presentation.

Afterwards, Roni had a meeting (online) and then took me to the Super Buffet which is in a strip mall I don't even remember.  Yummy stuff.  From there we went back home and then when it was time to pick up the kids we went to Pini hardware. It's now in Nave Square instead of downtown.  Fantastic place and I got a new bathtub plug, since my last one fell apart last weekend.  And Roni got me a house key, on a Giants blank, so I'll have no trouble recognizing hers.

And so home. A little problem at highway 37, though not as bad as west bound, and I got home before traffic got too bad.  I'd let Abby stay in the bedroom instead of locking her in the bathroom, and she was good.

Reading: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 1), Edward Gibbon, The Bible (1 Machabees), The Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, U is for Undertow, Sue Grafton, The Summons, John Grisham, Galapagos, a Natural History, Michael H. Jackson, Death, the Final Surrender, Fr. Cedric Pisegna.

Sat, Jun 2nd - 10:44PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 90
111.2 miles
Hot

68 recordings of 20 types. 59% clear.

Nun Wars.

0bama Messes up Memorial Day speech.

I flew the flag for Memorial Day.  I'm a bit fragile today. I weeded the garden, getting rid of a lot of the stuff in the walkways between the raised beds. I think the heat has dried the weeds out, making them fairly easy to pull.

Cute wedding proposal video, made me cry.

Since Laurie had something else to do today I drove down to Elk Grove and saw "Raven." Afterwards I looked for some caches (only found two of the five I checked out) and stopped and saw the kids.  There's a Swainson's Hawk nest in their court.  Very nice.

Then I tried to get a flag from the people who put out the free ones, but I took a wrong turn. I'm not handling frustration well. I'm a lot better than I was 5 months ago but not as good as I was last month. I cried all the way home.

I had some boneless rib eye steak marinating so at least I had a good dinner. I'm very sad

Fri, Jun 1st - 9:34PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 90
111.2 miles
heating up

71 recordings of 21 types. 58% left.

I'm up 1.2 pounds, with high BP. Argh.

I found another spider in the bathroom, that's 3 in the last two days. Where in heck are they coming from?

I took Gareth to Mass. He behaved well till the very end, when Father just had to step in with "a few words."  I thought we'd NEVER get out of there!  Then we had a pancake breakfast. 

I sorted out three sets of cal king bedsheets for St. Vincent de Paul.  Nothing wrong with them except they're hard to get onto the bed. And they need garters at the corner. It's far too hard to do by myself.  One of the sets is so pretty and I had to think long and hard if I really wanted to get rid of it. Yes.

Gareth is getting stubborn.  He refused outright to put away the train set. Finally, when Mommy got here, he did.

There were new people at the support group. The club no one wants to belong to. I was remembering my root beer float analogy.  Marriage is like a root beer float... root beer is good, ice cream is good, together they're fantastic. Suddenly my root beer is flat and my ice cream has freezer burn.

Not too many people at the dinner afterwards. Probably because it's memorial day weekend.

Fri, Jun 1st - 9:11PM

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 90
111.2 miles
warm, COLD at night!

70 recordings of 20 types. 58% clear.

I went shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for my "housewarming" 20% off present, and chose a nice sheet set, a sea green silky set.  I debated between that color and a lavendar, but decided this one goes better with the bedding I have.

I was also going to get Teva sandals but didn't have the right sporting goods store, so I went later, with Gareth, and got them at a 20% discount.  Since I was going to have to order online from Cabela's this was a good thing.

I went over to the County Fair and met Bernadette and the kids there. We saw everything. My favorites are the mission models. Unlike the experience Monica had, these were obviously made by the kids, not the parents. There were Young Entrepreneurs selling stuff, pretty neat.  And a nice play area for the kids.  However, no grownup exhibits.  I liked the glue fabric squares to the paper "quilt."

Then I took Gareth home (stopping by Sports Authority first). We had a little meltdown when he was hungry and dinner wasn't finished yet.  Also, he's getting an obstinate streak and I have no patience whatsoever... it's obvious to me I have to see more of him.  And Joanna, meanwhile, missed him.