Suzy Says

Morning on the Ridge

I’m getting to know my new road and my new commute. You have probably figured out that I am enraptured by my new house, so it’s probably not all that surprising that I am totally charmed by my new ridge as well. To my eyes, it is prettier than the old one and seems a little more upscale, if such things are possible in the depths of the country. I love the archways of trees:

as well as the stately redwoods.

The road starts (or ends, depending on how you look at it), at the ocean, with a spectacular view:

And a warning:

I have to admit I have not driven the entire length of the road, so when it actually ends or disappears remains a mystery.

I can’t drive this ridge as fast as I drove the old one, partly because I don’t know it as well – I have driven the old one, I realize, for about 25 years despite only living here for 10 – and partly because of things like this one lane redwood bridge:

I’m always afraid I’m going to meet someone on it and have to back up. I’m not great at backing up at the best of times, and backing up onto a narrow road running along a ridge with an elevation of close to 700 feet above sea level is not a fun prospect. It reminds me of when my brother and sister lived on boats at Pier 39 and I asked them if they had ever fallen in the water. Their opinion was, “There’s them that have and them that will.” I’m afraid this is also the case here.

The new Ridge seems both higher and narrower than the old one. There are country hazards:

And I live past the “pavement ends” sign:

I’ll tell you a secret: the pavement doesn’t really end. Or at least I haven’t found where it does. Yet.

A YEAR AGO: The whole county was on fire.

FIVE YEARS AGO: Catching up on this and that.

TEN YEARS AGO: I sold my beautiful diamond ring out of economic necessity. Really regret that now.

I am pleased to announce that The Mess has been vanquished and The Unpacking is (mostly) complete!

Here’s the living room:

I do have distant plans for this room. I would like to get a bigger area rug. Also my good friend Alice thinks I should get a pink velvet sofa and chair, since cats (allegedly) don’t claw velvet and pink is my signature color. It would also go nicely with my beaded elephant pillow and the vintage, hand-made suzani Alice gave me:

Here’s the kitchen. You can see that the painting does balance out the wall with the grandfather clock:

Here’s another angle:

I mentioned to Danielle that I couldn’t seem to get the broiler or the front right burner of the stove to work. She investigated and decided that it would cost $400 to get someone in to fix the stove, so she bought a new one and had it delivered the next day.

This is not how Mark thought. He would have jimmied something with a piece of wire and string and told me he’d fix it later. That later would never come, yet I would expect it to and be surprised when it didn’t.

While Danielle was looking at the stove, I also told her that the light in the bedroom closet didn’t work and she is getting an electrician to look at it next week. I could get used to this.

Here’s how the bedroom looks, complete with Clyde:

And the bathroom:

Here’s the back of the house, with the Chinese stools and porcelain flowers from the old house. The stairs lead down to the fenced in garden, where foxes, ravens, and hummingbirds like to play:

I can still hardly believe that I actually live here.

A YEAR AGO: The joys of the always amazing Flynn Creek Circus.

FIVE YEARS AGO: Making faux (but delicious) pho.

TEN YEARS AGO: Of BBQs and hay bales.

Here’s to me!

Well, hello there!

I have not, as you may have suspected, fallen off the edge of the earth, which is perilously nearby. But I was swept away by a work tsunami, which we all know is the worst kind. We had two events in one week, so in addition to those days, there were two days of preparations. People never think about how things get set up for these shindigs, or how they get cleaned up afterwards, either. Suffice it to say that I do not have Jeannie-like powers and have to do it all the Darren-approved Samantha way. Also that I worked 13 hours of overtime in one week.

I was scheduled to attend a fundraiser in the distant county seat on Saturday after this long and crazy week. Though for a very worthy cause, I found myself unequal to the three hour round trip drive and donated money instead of my beleaguered presence. I felt guilty but also relieved as I mixed up a batch of Cosmos and watched A Crooked Somebody surrounded by sleepy cats.

I had recovered enough by Sunday morning to head over to Rio’s house:

for breakfast with the visiting Jarrett and Kalli. Jonathan made huckleberry pancakes, served with huckleberry sauce and real maple syrup:

They were as delicious as they looked.

Kalli and Jarrett had big news to share: they are planning to get married on the family estate in the spring of 2021! We are very excited about that and looking forward to the big day. I am so happy for them!

A YEAR AGO: Farewell to my wonderful former mother-in-law. I was so lucky to have had her and Ed in my life. I will always miss them.

FIVE YEARS AGO: Kalli’s birthday party at the family property/wedding venue to be!

TEN YEARS AGO: A lovely stroll around Little River Cemetery.

Step right up!

I took two days off around the Fourth of July holiday, and I am pleased to announce that it was not boiling hot and I was not sick or injured, as often seems to happen when I have the temerity to take a day off.

It was nice not to get up in the dark to the tyranny of the alarm, to not drive to the Big Town, and not apply faux adult armor. I sat in bed in the morning with the boys, catching up on my fan mail while drinking coffee and contemplating getting up. It was nice to have the feeling of having time, though like most time off, it sped by too quickly.

The circus was in town – the Flynn Creek Circus, that is – and Megan arranged to go to work late that night so we could go together. That night’s show was a benefit for the local library, of which I am now Board Chair. Megan asked me why I didn’t get free front row seats, which I thought was a good question. Also, where was my limo?

I forgot about these questions as soon as the show started. It was a new one, featuring a rabbit who escaped from a magician’s hat, rabbit revolutionaries, and some very talented humans, to whom the laws of physics did not seem to apply:

The jugglers were phenomenal. They bounced ping pong balls off their arms and did things with hats that had to be seen to be believed:

Even though I saw them, I couldn’t believe my own eyes. I spent the whole show gasping with amazement, filled with wonder and delight. It was like being a child again.

At the end of the show, the artists lined up outside the tent and we had an opportunity to tell them how wonderful they and the show were, which I really appreciated. I was especially happy to tell the jugglers how amazing their act was.

They are doing another show in the Big Town next month, and I’m thinking we should go again. Encore!

A YEAR AGO: The annual quilt show, which I missed this year due to Megan’s changed work schedule.

FIVE YEARS AGO: My scenic drive to work in the Big Town.

TEN YEARS AGO: Surprisingly few of you wanted to swap housing with me back when I lived in Oakhampton. Moving there was not one of my better decisions. Moving away was.

I finally felt an earthquake! I was watching Bohemian Rhapsody at the time, and despite the music, I heard the quake before I felt it, as I usually do. It was on the sharp side, but much quicker than they would have you believe on movies and TV. I didn’t notice any immediate damage, but the next day I did notice that a tree branch had fallen on the driveway, partly obscuring the exit, though I’m not sure if the two were related. As I expected, my ever-vigilant new landlord had removed it by the time I got home from work.

In addition to the inside and outside cat population, the new house seems to have its fair share of wildlife. A fox has come up on the back porch and the little deck outside the sliding doors in the kitchen, peeking in the windows. He is very cute. It may just be a drive by on his way to the compost pit, where I have seen his tail flying like a flag.

The compost is also a favored location for ravens, who swoop through the garden past the redwoods and into the compost. Hummingbirds buzz around the azaleas and jasmine, and I also saw a woodpecker last week. Steller’s Jays flash their vivid wings in the sun, and I saw a young deer, still with velvet on his antlers, stroll casually down the driveway.

There’s a certain spot on the new Ridge where wild turkeys like to hang out. They tend to congregate in the road and are unwilling to move for silly things like cars and humans, which do not interest or frighten them in the least. Quail also run across the road like little wind-up toys. It’s nice to see all the animals and feel like I’m at home amid all the nature.

A YEAR AGO: Yup, I am the whitest person ever. We are the Wonderbread family! And Mom’s origins remain a mystery.

FIVE YEARS AGO: There was much to celebrate. In the “some things never change” department, I texted Megan to wish her a happy anniversary on Monday and she had, yes, forgotten.

TEN YEARS AGO: Shopping: it’s all in how you look at it. Really glad I sent that fan letter to Karl Malden, though.