Busy Busy Busy

We left Saturday morning to drive to LA for my Mom's 80th birthday! It took us 6.5 hours - we stopped for lunch and it took and hour, instead of the 1/2 hour we expected. We drive faster than the posted 70 mph speed limit, but only about 75, and not 95 like the people who passed us.


We had dinner at a lovely restaurant, although reservations at 8:00 pm were far later than 90% of the 15 people would have ever eaten, especially us, after driving down that day.


Sunday we met my sister and her family for dinner at Mimi's in Orange County.

Then we stopped by her house and saw the new kitties. Here's one of them. They are so cute. They are littermates, and they do everything together, including using the litter box at the same time. I got some knitting done. I even knitted on one of the socks I'm knitting on I-5 (while Will was driving). I drove a few hours after lunch at Red Robin. Most people stop at Harris Ranch, but we weren't thrilled the last time we stopped there, so now we go to Red Robin. Harris Ranch put mayo on my burger when I specifically asked for "no mayo", among other things.

The back of the green vest I made my mother was riding up a little when she wore it, so I added a few inches of crochet along the bottom.

I forgot how nice this yarn is!Mom wore the vest on Monday when we went to see a taping of The Bonnie Hunt Show in Culver City. It was a fun time! We got lots of toys from the segment about a 5 year old boy who invents toys that was cut and not aired! You might be able to see us if you know what we look like! (If you're reading this you should, but I don't like to post real pictures on my blog!). We're at the very back to the left.

We went to visit Aunt Mary (for whom this blog is named) on Monday morning! Will had to go to Starbucks because his clients apparently forgot that he was unavailable and sent him email messages Monday morning needing this and that. We dropped him at a Starbucks in West Hollywood because it was the closest Wi-Fi place to Aunt Mare's. No fewer than 5 homeless people went in to use the bathroom to wash up while he was there, he kept getting knocked off the internet, which he needed to do his work, the glare from the windows made it hard to read the computer screen, and the last straw was when a prostitute in high red boots kept staring at him, and then finally went outside and tapped on the window to get his attention! That's when he called Aunt Mary's yelling "get me out of here. Come pick me up!". Not exactly a good advertisement for Starbucks!!!

We drove home Tuesday. There was a stretch of fog just at the Grapevine, but we were warned by freeway signs 10 miles ahead, and it didn't last long. Visibility was actually okay in the fog, so that was good.
There was a lot of traffic going southbound toward LA up near Castaic. If you build it, they will come.At one point there wasn't anyone behind us, as you can see in the rearview mirror. Pink blossoms along I-5.
There's no place like home. Look at the blooming flowers on the side of the house. The freesia smell delightful!

Dark pink and light pink cyclamen, and baby tears.
The freesias have multiplied and smell so nice. I cut a few and brought them inside to put in a vase, but I think the little flies I had in the house were from the flowers.Mouse update (I'm being optimistic - it could be a rat)...The Clarke Pest guy was scheduled to come Tuesday so we left early to be home for him. Unfortunately, he showed up Monday. That was never an option since we were still out of town. He came back Wednesday, and smelled the dead rodent in the garage (as I had, but Will did not ... lucky guy can't smell much of anything) but he didn't find him. He's coming back on Monday to check the new trap he set Wednesday. YUCK.

Then since we got home Tuesday night, I've been busy with clients. I had some work Tuesday afternoon, then at a client's office Wednesday, today and tomorrow, and also some work for whom I work remotely. In fact, it's 9:30 pm Thursday and I'm still working, but I had to update my blog in between! I swear it's feast or famine. I'm not complaining, I'm just tired tonight!!!!

Plants and Cats and Things

It's a beautiful day! It was COLD this morning (38 degrees with frost on the roofs) and it's 51 degrees now with 11 mph winds but clear! I'm off to a perio appointment in SF where it should be chilly and nice!

Our bird of paradise has two new flowers. The neighbor's lemon tree is prolific, and again growing into our pineapple guava tree.


We have some pink cyclamen growing out back, and in the left-hand corner of this picture you can see a red plant. There is also baby tears growing. It grows in winter, but dies off in summer. And the ever present clover weeds and some unwanted leaves.

The yellow freesia is wonderful! The scent is so nice. I just don't think you can duplicate this in lotions, etc. There's nothing like nature.

I picked several avocadoes from our tree! The rest are too high for me to reach, but maybe Will can get them!

Alex LOVES his window perch. He even got a sunbeam while sitting on it this morning! Oh, the life of a cat in general, and our cats in particular!

Ziggy thought that when I set down my size 1 dpn sock knitting needle for a second, it was so he could have something to play with.

Here's a better picture of Ziggy sleeping in the closet where Alex used to hang out. Alex hasn't been in the closet in several months, except on my plastic drawers.

Mowry was walking into the bedroom when I captured this. He sure does photograph well!

Mowry was busy on the living room recliner.

Apparently "Mickey" set off the trap in the garage, but got away. Hopefully he decided it wasn't worth hanging out at our place, and left thru the garage. We haven't heard any scratching since last Wednesday. The guy from Clarke reset the trap. What do I know, but maybe we need two traps?

Random Thoughts and Pictures

It's the first Monday of Daylight Savings Time. I wasn't happy this morning when I was tired and it was dark, but I knew I'd be happy at 6:45 pm when it was still light, which it is now!

My quiet spot at my client was a noisy one today. Some sales guy sat next to me and was making calls and didn't have a quiet voice. I think he'll be gone by the time I return. I hope so. Even when he ate potato chips he was noisy. I'm sure I'm noisy chewing my dry cereal for breakfast, but that's not the point.

This was Wrigley Field yesterday when it was raining. I love the huge raindrops on the camera!

Someone in our neighborhood group was giving these away. They are smaller than the ones we use now, and prettier, but also sealed tighter so I will switch to these for cat food.I usually make salad for us in individual bowls, but I wanted to use the matching yellow melmac pieces all purchased separately.

I started the first sock out of Sockotta yarn purchased at Stitches. It's different. I was tired of striping socks, and this one stripes, but I like it. It's cotton, but I like that, too.

Alex will not pose. The great picture that I missed was seconds earlier when he was on his back kicking with the banana toy in his mouth. He loves this toy! Thank you, Ziggy for bringing the cool toys with you.

The best of the best pictures was the one I missed this morning. I had to call Will in to see it but I didn't have time to find my camera, which gets put down in different spots depending on where I last used it. My Mom is cringing if she's reading this, but I digress.

This morning Mowry, aka OC (Orange Cat) and everyone's favorite, especially those who don't live with the little devil, was in Ziggy's kitchen cabinet. Ziggy was outside looking at Mowry. Was it "Hey, this IS a cool spot" or "Gotcha" or something more sinister. We love Mowry, but he can be trouble!

Friday

I'm at a new client and they aren't quite set up for me. Not unusual. It's a good thing I didn't go in last Monday as originally planned.

I am in a cubicle way away from everyone, and the cubes have windows, but offices do not, so I can see dark gray clouds and trees blowing in the wind.

We have a mouse in the wall between our TV room and the garage, but we decided that we don't have a deal with mice (which you'll understand if you're a Seinfeld fan) so we called Clarke Pest Control to set up traps (and best of all, to come and check the traps every few days until Mickey is caught).

We're going to the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale in Oakland tomorrow. Some years we go, some we don't. We usually go on Sunday, so we figure that if we go Saturday afternoon, it will be better than Sunday, but the opening rush may be over. http://www.museumca.org/events/elephant.html

Two or three nights ago Ziggy started coming into our bed in the middle of the night/wee hours of the morning, and he did it again last night. He cuddles up next to Will. Alex is usually leaning on my hip, and last night we also had Mowry on the cat bed at the end. All three cats on the same bed. It's a good thing we don't have any more animals (Mickey doesn't count because he's not in the house) because we're out of room. Good thing also that we have an Extended Queen bed - it's 6 inches wider than a regular Queen, and just 6 inches short of a King in width. Ziggy has also decided that he's bathroom kitty - he likes getting a drink out of the bathroom, and greets us if we go to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Have we had enough rain yet?

Today we are getting a reprieve from the rain, but it's temporary. Yesterday it poured. We had quite a few puddles in the backyard. Some of the rain coming from the awning, but it was raining hard. Look at the rain sloshing in the already full bucket.

Everything is green from all this water, but sadly, it's still not enough water to replenish the reservoirs.

The first year I didn't know what this plant was, so I ripped it out thinking it was a weed. It's now growing in the rocks outside of the planting area.

These are the flowers from that plant! They are beautiful! This was taken last year, since it's too early in the year to flower.

This is the lavender fern out front when it was first planted...

and look at it now!

The Peonies are coming back. The first year we thought we killed them when we cut off the dead leaves, but each year they come back.

Our hills have cycles, and each has its own beauty. Here is the gold in the summer. Some people whine about how brown and ugly they are, but I think of them as gold.

Here is late fall, early winter, depending on the amount of rainfall, as they start to turn green.

In this very recent picture, the hills are almost neon green.

Yesterday afternoon these two were parked out front smoking cigarettes and drinking a beverage from a paper cup. I expected to find the empty cup and cigarette butts out there, but I didn't. I'm not sure why they chose our street. They weren't even parked close to the curb, and they were there a long time. Beard update: It's a REAL beard and I like it!The vet suggested giving the cats their special C/D food from a can because it has fewer carbs (and Alex and Ziggy could use that) and they chew it better. It's easier for us to feed them dry food, so they get an occasional wet food treat. Ziggy is enjoying his special treat.

They actually run into the kitchen when they hear me preparing it; Mowry first, Alex next and Ziggy making a grand entrance last. By preparing it, I mean opening the can and dishing it out.

Since everyone asks about OC (orange cat) here's a picture of him being Joe Cool on his Crow's Nest. I love the tail wrapped around below.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring....

We have a nature-built (albeit unwanted) swimming pool out back when it rains. While looking at this picture, I noticed one of the windows in the sunroom had popped out a little bit. Good thing I took this and noticed. The original windows are popout, but we had one on each of the three windows on each of the three walls replaced with real windows, much to the chagrin of our city permit folks who tried to fight it, though I know not why.Our neighbor drove over to the estate sale on Saturday with his Jack Russell Terrier mix, Hali. He left her on the ATV and was talking to Will. Is she adorable, or what?

Who was the bad cat? This is the only picture of the three of us from our wedding most 15 years ago, and it wasn't even taken by the professional photographer. A friend took it. He agonized over a frame and matting. He had ugly rust matting and a nondescript frame, and one day I took off the matting and liked it so much better. The matting didn't match and it hid part of the picture. Then I found this lovely, heavy frame at a garage or estate sale. Yesterday I found it broken on the floor.

The picture was on the small blue table before someone (probably Mowry) knocked it over. Yes, Mowry likes to run around the couch and chair. He often sits on the chair (hence the icky cat beds). I know Mowry has a lot of fans, but he can be the BAD CAT.

Speaking of Mow, he was quite intrigued with the scanner as it was scanning the picture from the broken frame. I want to be sure we have it in digital format.

Who's that gray haired lady with Alex on her back? Or is that Ziggy? I can't tell. Actually, I think it's Ziggy - his front paws have more black and less white at the tips, and he's a hugger.

Yesterday we went out to do errands. It was a beautiful day! The hills are neon green, and the sky was gray.

The School for the Deaf has a nice setback from the street ...

something Fremont doesn't seem to do any longer. I have a picture of the empty lot at Walnut and Mission before these were built, but I don't know where it is saved right now. It's built right up to the busy street.
We were on our way to pick up a bag of yarn and a knitting magazine someone had posted on Fremont Freecycle. I requested it for my neighbor who is 92 years old and still knits! She was thrilled. I kept the magazine.

Sunday I was on my computer and saw a posting for two bags of yarn in East San Jose. My friend knits scarves for the homeless, and lives near there, so I responded and she picked up the yarn yesterday. Unlike me, she hasn't looked at it yet. I'd probably have looked at it before I pulled away from the curb, but that's just me!

While out doing errands yesterday between rainstorms, I had my camera with me, and while at a red light, I decided to take a picture of the blue and black sock I knitted a year or so ago. I thought the reflection of me in the dash was funny! I like to think of myself as a photo artiste, taking odd shots that no one else would ever take.

The Oakland Athletics are NOT coming to Fremont. At first I thought it would be fun to have the As play in FRemont, but to plan a stadium 1/2 mile from a future BART Station was just plain dumb. When they decided to move the stadium plans next to the future BART Station (may I say "duh"?) the neighborhood went ballistic and didn't want it. NIMBY (Not in my backyard). Our Mayor suggested that not that many people take BART to the current Oakland Stadium, and that the spectator base may change. Basically he was saying "to hell with you, current fans" while BART and the A's were still advertising on BART trains.

I got an email with this new pattern and I think I may have to make it to go with the baby sweater I am knitting for a colleague. Is this cute, or what? Not as cute as Hali in the first picture above, but cute! The pattern says "easy" so how can I not try it? I think I even have the yarn.

Sunday

Look at the bad cat on the table! That's Ziggy! Flat surface, room to sit, why not?
It's raining, but not too hard. We're being slugs today. We watched the Celtics game on TV (they lost, but Eddie House had two great 3 pointers), and now I'm trying to figure out what to do next. I'm knitting a baby sweater, but the instructions don't tell me dimensions, so I was looking online to find out how long the sleeves should be. I found a patter in centimeters.

Someone was giving away two bags of yarn on Craigslist down in East San Jose, so I called Holly (who was at Stitches with me and Diann) since she lives down there, I answered the ad, and she is going to pick it up tomorrow. She knits scarves for the homeless, so this will be perfect for her. I felt good about being able to do that.

I cleaned the bathrooms, Will cleaned the wood floors with his Swiffer, and now I'm avoiding doing laundry. I'm not sure why, except it's a commitment to be home for awhile, and even though that's the plan, I usually do laundry at night when we watch TV. I'm glad we got outside yesterday and took a walk and did some weeding and trimming, etc. while it was nice.