Happy Mother's Day

Did you remember to call your Mother? How about your Grandmother(s)? I think it's just another "Hallmark Holiday", but it's a good excuse to make those calls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother

Today we volunteered as ""Golden Spike" docents for the Niles Canyon Railway. I usually get the post near the train station, away from the cars on Niles Blvd., but today I got lucky (sarcasm applied) and I was on Niles Blvd, as was Will, but he was two blocks away from me. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of jerks - speeders, tailgaters, people who can't wait to get around the bus, so they unsafely pass the bus, people who don't stop for pedestrians at the crosswalk, even a few young people getting mad at each other and flashing gang signs, but that was closer to Will's post. The cops were called when a fight seemed iminent, and they responded. The fight had broken up before they got there. There were also two motorcycle cops on Niles Blvd. of tickets. I, for one, like seeing that. I think we may need more speed limit signs because either people don't realize the speed limit is 25 mph, or they just don't care. I have my guess, but it could be both. How hard is it to respect a town's main street by driving 25 mph?

I didn't do much knitting because I was amused watching the people, but my sock is coming along. I'm at the heel!

At the train station post there is down time between trains when there aren't people around, except other volunteers, but on Niles Blvd., while there is down town between trains and the shuttle bus, there are always people to watch. That's the good news and the bad news, depending on your perspective, and who the people are that are there to be watched!

I'm glad to be home. Is it fall? Look at all the leaves! I guess that between the avocado trees in our yard (one produces, one doesn't) and the magnolia tree in the neighbor's yard, there are always leaves to be raked!

Cinders has found her "spot" - on a cushy toilet seat cover bought new at a garage sale (where else?) that is on top of a stool. I once washed a toilet seat cover and put it on the couch while folding laundry, and Cinders sat on it and got comfortable, so I bought her her own! It doesn't look all that comfortable to me, but then I'm not a cat!

Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate!

Saturday Pictures

Today was a beautiful day! If it stays this temperature it would be GREAT, but summer is around the corner and it will get hotter. The program on my computer says 71 degrees. I think no hotter than 72 is PERFECT!


I found this hanging planter thingy at the flea market. It's heavy and nice for flowers. It's on the fence now, but this was when it was on the carpet in the sunroom and Mowry thought he'd better check it out. I need to plant some colorful geraniums in it since there are so many in our yard.



I found an empire state building for my monument collection at a garage sale, but this one has the ape climbing up it! It didn't photograph well, but it's not worth the effort to retake.



Then we walked into town to have lunch with Ken and Diann, and then we walked around the car show. Will took this very cool picture of the interior of a 1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria that is his favorite. I'm wrong - his favorite car is the 1956 Ford etc., but this is a 1958 Pontiac Catalina. Is this an artzy, cool photo, or what? He still has some of that photojournalism major expertise in him, or was it just luck?

Actually, Diann and I walked by the cars, and appreciated them, even if not as much as Will and Ken did, but then we went to our LYS. Diann bought yarn. I didn't, but I still love to look.

We walked home on Second Street - a lovely tree-lined street with old houses. Unfortunately, people speed down that street and ruin the peace.

For a rare moment there were no cars driving down Second Street, and it was delightful!

At home there is a lot of purple blooming - I don't know the names of most, but I do know the lavender. It was a deeper purple when it first bloomed. This is growing out back.
This is growing out front. The name is on the tip of my tongue. It didn't bloom last year. Is it a rhododendrum?

This is growing out front, on the side. It's hidden by overgrown daisies. There's also one in a pot out back, but it hasn't yet bloomed.

Mowry loves looking out the office window.

I think I see a bird!
Am I in trouble? We try to keep them off the counters, but since the portable dishwasher is right by the window, they win! Of course we have no idea what goes on when we're not at home.
I love the "part sitting part standing" pose. What a ham!

Sure Happy it's Thursday

I'm watching the Celtics game, but the coach isn't playing Eddie House except when there's a few seconds left at the end of a quarter. What's up with that? We wouldn't be watching the Celtics if Eddie House wasn't on that team.

Here is a kitty we sometimes see when we walk around the block. What a beauty!
The ducks are still living down the block . Our new neighbors!
Yellow blossoms on our tomato plant. The leaves look a little curled, but we are watering the plant a lot. We may need to water it more.

Weds. Pictures and things

These pretty orchids are blooming in the backyard. These didn't bloom last year! They are different than all the other orchids left by the prior owner.


The other night when we went for a walk, we heard loud quacking and sure enough, these ducks were either saying "hello" or warning us they were there! This is just 4 houses down from ours, on the corner. They don't look like ordinary ducks, so the consensus is that they were someone's pet and were either lost (let's hope) or dumped (let's hope not). We live near a pond, and the neighbors were going to try to get the ducks over there, but a friend who does a lot of wildlife rescue is concerned that if they are domesticated, they may become some critter's prey.

Two people posted queries about the duck on our neighborhood Yahoo Group, and I corresponded with them separately, but as with most things, I never did get follow up. I sent an email a few minutes ago asking what happened with the ducks.
Mowry's flea medicine dripped where he could possibly reach it, so we put this collar leftover from surgery Cinders had a few years ago, on him. He hated it, and maneuvered out of it, so instead we kept him on my lap until the Advantage dried.

This plant was choked with weeds. You couldn't even see the river rock. Every time I tried to pull the weeds, they were too hard to get out, but earlier in the week I was able to get them.

Meanwhile, Will was trimming the white flowered bushes out front that desperately needed it. This is "after".

I almost thought this was a weed. I'm glad I didn't pull it.
The hanging cilantro is growing!
This time it was Alex hiding under the tablecloth on my chair.

But I caught him from underneath, and got a picture.
When computers work, they are awesome, and when they don't they bring us down - those of us who depend on them for our livelihood, entertainment, connections, etc. My six-month old computer stopped working and we had to get a new motherboard and hard drive from Dell. Luckily, we have more than one computer, so I was online and working.
(Unrelated - just a pretty rose out back).

Modern technology is truly amazing. One client sent me home with their laptop so I can access their data thru a VPN - virtual private network (does that explain it? Ha! For those who don't know what that is, in layman's terms, it's basically a remote connection to the company's network.) Another client has me hooked up thru a remote connection where I use my own computer, but I am actually seeing and working off the computer in their office. It's very cool. Maybe I can cut down my 3x a week schlep to So. SF to 2x a week.

We actually took an hour and went to Costco this morning. We spent a ton, and bought some serious staples - cereal, cereal and more cereal, ravioli (two pack - one in the freezer, one in the fridge), mixed dried fruit (costs a lot less than the dried blueberries I was putting on my cereal), cat litter, and more cat litter, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. We found it annoying, as always, but not as annoying as going on a Saturday or Sunday, which I vow never to do, unless I have no other choice. This Costco is nicer than the one in Sunnyvale (yuck), but the one in Sunnyvale carries more things we like, such as SF Bay Decaf French Roast Coffee. You just can't have it all!

Back to work!

If it's Saturday, it's garage sale day PICTURES, of course!

It was a long week that I'm not used to. I went to South SF via BART three times. On Monday there wasn't much going on, but Thursday and yesterday there was work to be done. I also needed to do work for another client, since this one mostly just needed a person there once the month-end reports were done. BART was good except one day when someone sat across from me who smelled like smoke. Mostly I can find a seat that isn't in the middle of the car where people stand, turn on my music, pull out my newspaper in the morning, or my book in the afternoon, or knitting, and pretend I have the car to myself. It beats driving any day.

As I'm updating this, I got an email message from a local group called "Fremont Freecycle" where people post things they want to give away. Someone is giving away knitting needles. I responded, so we'll see. I don't need them all, and I'm happy to share with someone else, but I'd love the size 1 and 2 needles, especially if they are double pointed because I use those for socks and I'm always dropping my size 1 needles! This is where extras can be VERY handy! She answered quickly, and they are regular straight needles, so I passed on them.

Last night we had three "opportunities" - two good musicians at our local restaurant, one who used to play with Will in his previous band, one show with three performers at the local film museum, and a surprise birthday party (though no one was sure if it really was a 50th birthday) for a train person. We opted to stay home and watch what we hoped was the final game of the best of 7 series of the Celtics (Boston)/Hawks (Atlanta) round one playoffs, as you can see in the picture above! Unfortunately, the Celtics lost and there is a game 7 on Sunday. Those are the socks I knitted a few months ago!


Mowry and Alex find the tape measure extremely amusing; probably more so than cat toys!
Why does she keep taking our picture? You can really see Alex's gray maine. He is such a big love.Diann's flowers one week later. An old boyfriend found his match back in 1989. They got married, and shortly after she told me he bought her flowers, but he knew NOT to get her carnations or daisies or mums. I tried not to show my eyes rolling, but those are easily favorites of mine because they last so long! This even has the lovely lily.

There are bees all over the yard. Will mowed the back "lawn", I did trimming, and then he watered, but I think we'll stay away until the bees are gone. I want to plant the cilantro I am growing from seed into a bigger pot, but I don't want to be out there while there's buzzing.

Before all this, we got up and went to garage sales. There is a couple who is older than us who we see every weekend at garage sales, but they never notice us. We notice them because they have a very cool, red, 240ZX. Today we saw them again and this time we talked to them. We used to joke and call them "our friends who don't know us". They, too, don't need anything, but like to get out, and look, and of course, come home with things. Today Will found two fleece pullovers (he loves to have them stashed in each car, each closet, etc.) for winter, a very nice Franklin Mint red and white corvette (he has found a few Franklin Mint cars at g-sales), and a book about Mummys, and I found a pair of jeans. Sometimes I find my best jeans at garage sales. These are slightly loose right below the waist, but it's the style and I don't mind. The waist and length are perfect.

I just took some more pictures:

I transplanted the cilantro I started from seed. It already smells like cilantro.

This was in one of those biodegradable pots that you just put into the dirt. I have flower seeds around it.The lavender plant is huge! The purple iris next to it is peaking. Neighbors and things:

Kandyman next door loves to roll on the filthiest place in the yard. He was out trying to catch birds in our yard, but I chased him away.Across the street our 91 year old neighbor has the most magnificent roses, and when they are in bloom, people walking down the street always stop to look at them. We are lucky because this is the view from our house!

Be careful what you wish for....

I had a few slow months in my business, but I know better than to wish I was busy. But it happened anway - I got really busy this week. I'm at a company where there hasn't been much to do, and that would have been perfect because I had work to do for another company that I was hoping to do while I was there today, but I was busy! Isn't it always the way?



I don't remember having as many roses out front last year.





We have been watching the Boston Celtics, and as a former Laker fan, this isn't easy. We've followed the career of Eddie House, who played basketball at Kathryn's high school. We used to watch him at games when she was one of the cheerleaders.

It's May 1st and it snowed today in Jackson Hole, WY. This is yet more validation why we Californians pay what others think is way too much for our property!

This is the dwarf lime tree Will bought me last year for my birthday. I see blossoms that aren't visible in this picture - I hope they turn into limes! The pink geraniums in the background are in full bloom right now! The lavender bush has gone wild!
The tomato plant in the backyard is growing!

But not as fast as the one out front!

The artichoke plant is also growing, but I've had to put broken eggshells (courtesy of Diann) and a banana peel to keep the snails away.

How much is that kitty in the window?