Archive for June, 2010

Jun 03 2010

Rainy Errands

Published by under Country Life,Weather

raingutterThe usual

I sloshed some errands yesterday in the pouring rain.

Among them was a trip to the library, where I discovered that my faithful library bag, the gift of a friend, had torn slightly from all its use. I’m hoping to keep it going for a little while longer, but I’m afraid a replacement will have to be found sooner rather than later.

I did my good deed for the day (or possibly the year) while I was there. A young man asked the librarian if he could use their phone, since he was from out of town, his cell phone didn’t get any reception, and he couldn’t find a pay phone (I think pay phones are rapidly becoming a thing of the past – apparently, they are no longer replaced when they break down). She said that it was against policy, so I asked him if he’d like to use mine. He lit up with happiness. The librarian said he’d have to go outside to use it, so he gave me his driver’s license (which revealed that he lives in LA, sparking a remembrance of visits past and a longing to go again) to hold and went outside.

When he came back in, he was grateful out of all proportion. I wished him a happy visit and felt like the Hooterville goodwill ambassador.

As I write, it’s still dark and rainy, and the weather forecast is gloomy. I’ve been waiting for a clear day to do the laundry, but at this rate, I’m going to have to put it in the dryer, propane bill be damned. It looks like my birthday barbecue will be rained out just like Megan’s, for the first time either of us can remember. There’s a bet I would have lost. My birthday BBQ was to be chicken tikka masala, and I was planning to put it in its repulsive yogurt marinade today in preparation for tomorrow, but now it looks like I may have to come up with a Plan B. And possibly a Plan C, D, E…

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Jun 02 2010

Sidelined

Published by under Dogs,Family,Henry

orchidMy orchid, beginning to bloom

Like dog, like girl…

Megan was at work on Monday night when she pivoted to her left and felt something pop in her knee. She sat down, and couldn’t get up again. “Uh-oh,” she thought, calling a nurse over. It seems that she has torn the same ligament in the same leg that Schatzi did about a month ago.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in this case, it was also the most painful. She couldn’t find anyone to cover for her, so she worked the remaining nine hours of her twelve hour shift on crutches, then went home with painkillers and workers’ comp paperwork. She’s not going back to work anytime soon.

Today, she’s off to see the orthopedist so will hopefully have more answers to the questions of what, where, when, how, and how much.

Her knees have been troubling her a lot lately – she’s had surgery on them before – and Rob kept telling her she should get them checked and dealt with, but with the foster dog and ailing dog, it didn’t seem like a good time to do it. Turns out Rob was right. He was also right about Henry. Five days before Henry died, Rob said, “That cat’s not long for this world”. I didn’t want to believe him, either.

Yesterday, I went over to see her and remarked that it was a pretty lousy birthday for her. The birthday barbecue got rained out, and now this happened as soon as she went back to work. She disagreed, saying that she loved the pit bull shirt and watercolor card I gave her, we had a great time at the movies with the girls and at the delayed party; she had her hair cut and got a free massage.

I should look on the bright side more often.

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Jun 01 2010

Stylish

lichensplaceThe salon

It was almost a year since my hay bale haircut, so it was definitely time for another one. This time, we went to our friend L’s house. To get there, you turn off the main road onto another one which eventually dwindles into a dirt path. You turn off that onto a seemingly endless dirt road, which must be a joy to drive on in the muddy winter, and leave your car near the gate. You go through the gate and climb down a narrow path generously strewn with redwood needles.

Amazingly, I failed to fall and roll down the steep slope, though on the way back I had to pause to catch my breath and wonder how on earth the builders got all their supplies down to the house site. Not to mention every day matters, like lugging groceries.

Arriving safely at L’s house, we were warmly greeted by his wonderful dog Padawan and wowed by the scenery. Since landscaping is both L’s vocation and avocation, it’s not surprising that his house is surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers:

view

We sat on his deck, which overlooks the view above, and had our hair cut. I think Megan had around six inches cut off her hair, and I had about four cut off mine. After our al fresco styling, we repaired to the picnic table in the garden and drank lemonade before heading back up the mountain to the car.

Somehow, our brother’s offer of making a birthday dinner for Megan morphed into his sisters’ buying everything and bringing it to his place for a barbecue, though he did give her a gift certificate for a massage and made a huckleberry pie. L came with his dog, and it was great to see Star meet her. Padawan is such a gentle, well-trained dog and is a great role model for Star.

starpadawanStar meets Padawan

We sat around the fire, laughing and remembering the long-ago past when we were children together. The setting sun seemed to burnish our memories, making them golden as the chill of evening set in.

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