Lots of Pictures

The day started off with an interesting sunrise. On Friday I took the Dumbarton Express bus to Palo Alto like I do every time I go to Palo Alto. It's usually no problem, but Friday sucked. The morning driver didn't know the route, so a rider was giving her directions. This wasn't bad until the rider said "turn right here" into the Veterans Admin in Menlo Park, and the driver turned right onto a small street. Luckily another rider knew there was a street ahead that would get us out of there. We were told the A/C wasn't working, but then it started working, and we were late. But that was nothing compared to the ride home.




Coming home it was HOT, the A/C wasn't working, and the windows don't open the whole way because I'm sure some idiot would fall out the window and the bus company would be blamed and sued. I got on my cell phone and called AC Transit and FINALLY got thru and was told they don't have A/C on their buses. Interesting since it always seems to be on (freezing us out) when it's cold. I told the person she was useless, and hung up. Yep, I did that. How is it different than keeping a dog or baby in a hot car? It felt THAT hot. At least there was some air coming in thru the window, even if it was HOT air.




So maybe yesterady it was NOT better than driving. If it was like this every day, I'd drive, but it is usually better. I had my camera with me, and I WAS able to take some pictures to remind me why I do this.


Here is the bay looking toward Fremont.

More bay and salt ponds

The siderail of the Dumbarton Bridge (hence the name "Dumbarton Express" though "express" is a term I use loosely when I have to take the one that stops at every corner like a dog on a walk.I can't wait to get to those hills! That's home! Oh yes, that's why I do this! This is the 880 freeway, which is actually not that bad for a Friday afternoon at around 3:30 pm, but I avoid 880 even when it's not crowded. Lilly and her kittens have figured out that the bush in front of our house is a great place to hang out. I love it because it's safe from cars. It's not out of focus - that's the kitten cuddled in front of Lilly. This is the boy kitten who is getting adopted by a neighbor across the street. I hope she keeps him inside, although I will miss seeing him. Here is the girl kitten digging in what was supposed to be my carrot patch.

The tabby kitten has finally started coming over and hanging out with his littermates. The light is reflected on the white female kitty's eyes, so it looks creepy, but look at the size differential. The tabby was the 2nd born and he is much larger than the white ones. Speaking of large, Alex is on the table in front of our 36" TV.

Tomorrow is the 45th Annual Niles Antique Street Faire, and today and tomorrow is an unofficial neighborhood garage sale. It's funny to see people roaring around in their huge vehicles with gas over $3. Why not park and walk? We're lucky because we walk from home.

Today's booty -

- Niles T-Shirt (new with tags) for Will for $10 (usually $20 in the store)

- Glittery T-Shirt for me $1

- Greeting cards (5 cents each)

- DVD $3

- Two books $2.50 each

- Costume jewelry pin - 50 cents

- small wooden giraffe for a friend who loves giraffes ($1)

Cats and Plants and Things, Oh My!

I still can't believe how big this plant has grown. It's about as tall as I am, if not taller! The funny thing is that I was excited when it reaced the top of the wall. It's grown way over the wall now!Reminder of how it looked when I got it from the clearance rack at Target because it wasn't in great shape! This picture is after it started growing a little. It was worse when I bought it.

Maybe it's the spot because this is where the amazing tomato plant was planted two years ago!
I finally found new glasses! The funny part is, Will has trouble working my camera. Yes, it's been dropped too many times, but most of the time I can take a picture and he can't. So I took this of myself and what amused me was that I got pretty much only the glasses, which is what I wanted. This was taken at the optical center, so I don't have the glasses yet.
This picture of Ziggy was funny because I was trying to get Mowry and Ziggy, but all I got was Ziggy and Mowry's tail.

Lilly has taken to hiding under a bush by our driveway, which makes me very happy because she is safe there. She watches her kittens from there.

The female kitten (named "Ginger Snap" the last time I heard) decided she likes playing in a mound of dirt in our backyard where I planted carrot seeds. So much for carrots this year.

Mowry is in Alex's favorite spot atop the bookshelf.

As I was updating this blog entry, Mowry climbed onto my desk on the keyboard. Here he is rolling and leavnig his scent.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water....Jack fell down and broke his crown...blah blah blah. I got a crown today. I do not like going to the dentist. You'd think after gum surgery I could do anything dental, but you'd be wrong. It was fine, and my dentist does this painlessly. My periodontist told me of another crown done by my dentist that it was one he'd be happy to have in his mouth (I believe that's a periodontal complement), so it's all good. Now my mouth feels weird because I can tell where the shot went in, and it's just not natural to keep your mouth open for that long at that angle, but I was able to eat lunch when I got home, and that is very different from the perio surgery experience!

It's going to get hot this weekend. We've had a mild summer, so it was bound to happen!

On the way home - modern technology

I was going to leave the client's laptop at client's office because I'm going back Monday, but I changed my mind and brought it home. I'm on the Dumbarton Express bus and it has WiFi, so I am able to be on the internet while riding home. This beats driving any day, except for the few annoying fellow riders like the woman who wants her aisle seat and won't budge, or on Wednesday the VERY loud people who must have been very happy to be going home, but all in all it's better than driving. I know that people do this with their phones all the time, but I don't, and hopefully they aren't driving while accessing the internet, though I know some of the stupid ones do just that, but I digress.

I have been very busy these past few weeks, and that is all good.

The kittens next door have discovered the front outside, which is not good because the street is out front.

Tonight we're going to Open Mic - we haven't been in many months when rapping college students (who have as much right to be there as we do, except they suck and rap isn't music or pleasant) were there, and we were trapped because Will's drums were by the stage. Bongos tonight for easy exit, if necessary, but hopefully there will be only good acts.

We're about to get on to the Dumbarton Bridge. Ready, set, go! I'm updating my blog while the bus drives across the Dumbarton Bridge. Very cool!

TGIF! This picture was saved on the laptop, so I can attach it here. Promise of pictures on next post!

Any typos are because of this bumpity bump bumpy ride!

Car Show, Antiques Roadshow and Cat Show (at home) PHOTOS!

We had a busy Saturday! We walked into town for the annual "Hot August Niles" car show. This was not part of the show, but was on a side street. Lunch anyone?

Will loved this 1960 Plymouth.
I like taking more artsy pictures. This is a 1954 Clipper.They had a great band. The guitarist is a UPS driver! Will has talked to him at gigs and when he's seen him on his route!The Niles Town Plaza is coming along.

I'm into my 1955, too, but that would be my 1955 house!And speaking of home, back at home we have regular visitors these days. We encourage the visits because we don't want them to go out front where danger lurks. That's Lilly in the back (the momma cat) and her two kittens.

Lilly is watching the female kitten.The female is the one the neighbors are keeping. She hangs out in our yard a lot!

What a funny kitten!
Alex was watching the kittens from the sunroom, but he's off duty now and hanging out with his banana.In the afternoon we went to Antiques Roadshow. They had 5,000 people coming in the SJ Convention Center from morning to evening. Tickets were done by lottery, and according to the gal in front of us in one of many lines, tickets were hard to come by. She actually bought her "not for resale" tickets on eBay! There were many lines (the main line, and then category lines), and lots of waiting, but it was a fun experience!




Apparently the tickets went for $135 for two tickets! WOW! It's not legal, so people "sold" the Art Deco Card" and gave the actual tickets "free".

Art Deco Card+2 Free Tickets to 8/15 Antiques Roadshow!

1 Bid Sold

$135.00

Aug-11 23:

Just when you thought it couldn't get any cuter.....

Last evening I went out back to water the tomato and other plants before we ventured out to take a walk when I spotted this:

They say it's hard to tell the sex of kittens, but these are obvious. The one above is the boy. The markings on the top of his head are like two fingers, whereas the girl's markings are slightly different.


So much for our walk. We had entertainment in our backyard. They were wrestling and chasing each other. They didn't want to us to get too close, but they didn't mind us being there.

Lilly Belle (formerly known as Danny- cats have several names their owners call them, but her real name is Lilly) came over to check on her kittens.

They get to our backyard thru the hole under the fence separating our yard from the yard next door. Below is a picture that hung in our garage until we put in an attic door in its place. It apparently hung in the bar owned by the former owners some years back. The gray tabby finally joined his siblings and mamma cat. He is much bigger than the other kittens, but he's shy.

The two white ones were only interested in each other! Do they know they look alike? Alex and Ziggy don't seem to realize they look alike!

The gray tabby soon came out and went underneath the lavender bush next to the sage plant.

Here he is as farther away for a size comparison to the pepper plant.Lilly and her gray tabby kitten, who isn't that much smaller than she is! It's hard to photograph these critters.
Speaking of critters - I'm glad these guys seem to only come out during the day, and I hope they stay in at night because we have dangerous critters in our yard including raccoons and probably skunks.

AS I'm finalizing this, the neighbors next door rang the bell with two of the kittens. Somehow we got it mixed up - the one with the "U" markings is the boy, and he's going to live across the street. They are keeping the white female, and they are going to find a home for the gray tabby.

Weekend Stuff

Friday night was fun. The party was at a friend's house, and then everyone who wanted to, walked over to the theater for a concert given by Will's band, The Nileistics!
We got to sleep really late Friday night, so we were dragging a bit on Saturday, but we went to a few garage and estate sales and the flea market. I found a pair of jeans for $1 and some sachet bags for my lavender also for $1! Short/Petite is sometimes too short for me, but regular is too long and I don't like hemming jeans. These are short, but I can wear them with sandals and other flat shoes so they are perfect!

We spent some time in the backyard today. It was hot, but the shady spots were delightful. I found a few tiny avocados on the ground thanks to the squirrels, so I decided to look closely at the tree and see what I could find. If the squirrels don't get them, we'll have a great crop this year! I can see 3 here, and I counted about 20 in the same vicinity when I was photographing it.


It's blurry, but here's my toe for size comparison!!!! The will be ready around February.We even went to the local hardware store, which is not usually my favorite stop, but sometimes I can find something I need.

Back at home Alex was sleeping on his favorite spot. I love the position with his back to me and all I can see if his huge, fuzzy paw!

TGIF

What a week, starting out with the kidney stone passing at 4:45 am (yes, in the morning) on Monday, then a new client for whom I'm supposed to work one day a week onsite, and then check daily for emails and stock trades, but this week it's been 24.75 not including today. It's also been hassle after hassle, but hopefully that will end soon, and it will settle down.

Today I'm working at home. I have a follow-up doc appointment at 11:45 am, and then tonight is Will's band's big gig in Niles!

This morning I went outside to take some pictures. The pepper plant, which I grew from seed, is doing so well! The tall lanky plants around it in the same pot are garlic. I put garlic in the pot and it started to grow, but then it stopped so I ripped them out, or so I thought. They have grown back, and neither the garlic nor the peppers seem to mind each other!
I was looking around for things to photograph when I noticed this.....The cat litter bucket that we use to collect recycled cans is in the picture for size comparison. Are these two adorable? They were hanging out together running all over. I was able to capture one and pick it up, but it wanted down!!!!

If I thought my big hulking older kitties (Al 9, Zig 8 1/2 and Mow 3) are hard to photograph, kittens are far worse because they don't stop moving!

One of them ran to the other side of the yard and I got a clearer picture. Are they adorable, or what? They seem inseparable, so I hope whomever adopts them takes both!The rose bush out front is HUGE! I clip these long branches of new growth weekly, and I swear that if I stand back and watch, I may be able to see them grow! The former owner didn't like it and kept it clipped very short. It's beautiful when it's in full bloom.

Now to go solve a client's crisis.