Safely Sunday

I like alliteration. Yippee!

I didn't sleep particularly well Friday Night. Could have been the beer, could have been being on the road, could have been anxiety of the coming day. Who the heck knows. But I didn't. Oh well. Life goes on.

It was moving day for Karl and his family. He was making the move of the big stuff, and changing his abode from the old to the new. Mom and I were to bring some stuff back to the Geneva house, but most of what he wanted us to bring wasn't ready, so we only ended up bringing back Eleanor Cecile. Mom's childhood doll. Which, I believe, she gave to Kristen (Karl's eldest child). EC is an antique - and the size of a three year old child! I can understand how Kristen can't keep her just yet. Maybe one day. Or maybe not. Who knows.

Candace (my brother's current wife) and Mom do not get along. At all. I tried to keep them apart, but mom was like a homing missile and headed straight for her as soon as I was gone. There was a lot of screaming, mostly on Candace's part, apparently. Luckily, I was driving a van load of boxes to the new house and missed the histrionics. I am not a huge fan of histrionics, unless they are my own. :) So, soon after I got back, mom and I drove back to Geneva, Lickety split! And arrived home safely.

Dinner was at the new Mcdonald's - where my big mac had been put together hastily and incorrectly. I figure I will go back in a few months and have another one. Mom had a fish sandwich.

Welcome Follower 27! Sherree, I hope you enjoy it here. I am feeling a bit on the boring side, but I will persevere. If nothing else, I am feeling good about posting every day. Yippee!

Jeff, one of my longest term friends, had a brilliant idea - to make podcasts about beer. So I ordered some books from Amazon to help me see if this is something that I would like to do. We shall see.

Since part of what I am doing to keep myself moving forward is organizing my mom's house - I wanted to share some of my organizing thoughts. Step one - lump everything together in one place so that you know what you are dealing with. Step two - a quick once through the pile to see if there is a lot to throw away. Step three, much later, sorting into more distinct piles and putting things where they are supposed to live. It is a long process, but the first one gives a great sense of accomplishment. The second is liberating and the third just feels so good when all is quietly put away. It is so much easier doing this for someone else's crap! :)

Pictures from July 16, 2011: (more pictures will be going up on Facebook - later today perhaps)


Old house.


New house. (No Red House, Blue House...)


Mom and her granddaughter Skyelyn (Pronounced Skylynn)


The new Geneva McDonalds - functioning and happy!

West Coast Trip April 2010 - Day Nine

I got up really early and wanted to be on the road as soon as possible. I stopped a few times to take some early morning pictures as I left Jeff's house.





It was another ten hour day, and that was without having to worry about traffic through the bay area.

It was surprisingly light traffic wise. I basically sailed through downtown SF with only a minor slowdown. Yippee!

Once out of the bustle of San Francisco, the drive, though long, was relatively pleasant. I tried to get some scenery shots as I was driving. And actually stopped a couple of times for photos. I really need a better camera - or the camera needs a better operator! :)



I arrived in Eugene at almost exactly 4:00pm local time, as I had said I would. I really like to be on time. Or early. Daniel was at home and waiting for me.



I have known Daniel since our days at Ithaca College together. He had plans for the early evening so we went our separate ways for a while.

My dinner and beer at McMenamins 19th St. Cafe was fun. I had some decent pizza and two yummy dark beers. Yay!



After my repast, Daniel and I stayed up relatively late hanging out, catching up and having a good old time!

West Coast Trip April 2010 - Day Eight

I woke up pretty early local time. Jeff is a very early riser - generally around 5 in the morning! Eeek! But because I am on East Coast Time still (sort of mainly ish) I woke up around 5:30. The plan was to get out early and go on a hike.


Jeff usually hikes four hours on Sundays but was willing to forgo an hour in my honor! Phew!!



We got out of the house in a timely fashion and walked to the trail. Up and up and up and up! Goodness. Good thing I do five minutes of yoga once a month. :) Seriously, it was not the easiest of hikes but I survived. And once we were up on top of the hill, well, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.






After returning from the hike, we relaxed a bit before heading out to lunch in Mountain View CA. Another brew pub. My friends are so accommodating!



This time, 3 of the 8 were good enough to drink again. And the food was, once again, quite tasty!



After lunch with Jeff, I headed to Alameda to visit Diane and David!



Diane I knew from a job I had at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory many years ago. They are a great couple and I had a lovely afternoon with them. And then they fed me! Yippee!!



Then, the slightly arduous drive back through the hills to Jeff's house for another much needed night of sleep!

West Coast Trip April 2010 - Day Seven

Las Vegas to San Francisco - well actually La Honda. Again, I made really good time until I got to the hills near La Honda. Eeeek! I drove 16 miles of switchback roads to go three miles as the crow flies. Did I say eeek? Eeeeeek! I will at some point do something to show how dramatic the drive is! But it is great up in the hills!

I found my friend Jeff's house despite my GPS sending me one driveway off.



Jeff has been working very hard on making his house over and doing an amazing job!



After a little rest and relaxation, we headed out to a relatively local brewpub for dinner.



The food was very good - though Jeff's tuna looked better than my prawn tacos.


The beer was decent - two out of ten were good enough to drink again!



Then, back to up into the hills for a much needed night of sleep!