Good heavens another change

Every time I get used to and comfortable with some computer program, the geek brigade takes it upon themselves to change it all.    Improved, so they say.    I'm kicking and screaming cause I don't adapt easily to all these changes when I am totally happy with the old system.    

The week past

Well, that was not my best week. Two dental appointments, one for cleaning and one to prep for 5 caps. Cleaning was fine, but the day devoted to prepping for caps did not go well. I had a terrible reaction to the injections in the jaw. I didn't know there was a new pain killer - I thought I was just getting Novocaine. Well, within a minute my chest and stomach were hopping up and down and I could not stop it. They recognized what was wrong, you could see the thumping from across the room. ( It was much like what happens when you have a nuclear stress test, but much worse. And no physician standing by. ) They assured me it would pass in a few minutes. And it did. But it scared the dickens out of me. They said they only gave me half a dose. Whew. I would be dead if they gave me the full one. I told the nurse to stay with me, and if I said I needed 911 she'd better call fast. I told them to write all over my chart that I cannot be given that stuff again.

Well, that was just the beginning. The drilling went okay, the molds were made and the temp was ready to put in. It went in a little crooked however and when she tried to remove it -well, it was stuck tight. About 10 minutes of rocking, tugging, coaxing, and pulling, and it finally just snapped in half. But neither half came out. So back to tugging. Then some cutting with drill, and finally they were out. But, she had to make a new one. And then get it installed. Of course they wanted me to leave happy, so they offered me all kinds of things I could not chew - couldn't they tell???? Then they offered smoothies. I can't have dairy products. So, there was nothing they could give me but a pat on the back for being a trouper. So much for bravery!

The week before I had an eye appointment I was very nervous about. I had a brownish spot just to the left of my vision in the right eye, and another browning arc across the bottom of the same eye. My eyes were checked very thoroughly, I really liked the doctor. He explained everything and reassured me that they are floaters, part of the lining of the retina that have torn loose. The retina is not torn , that's the good news. So, I"l learn to live with my spots as they are not dangerous and I'm not losing my vision. I came away very relieved.

The rest of this week went fine. Our Lodi Mixed Media group met on Thursday and we did some monoprinting, lead by Marilyn and Patti. In the afternoon I picked up my new glasses. Two pair. Friday, Jean drove Phyllis and I to the Lodi Grape Festival to see the art exhibit. Jean took first place in water media, for a wonderful painting. It was by far the best thing in the entire show. Elizabeth took first in digitally enhanced photography, and also got an honorable mention. I have never entered anything there, but many friends do. And many receive ribbons and cash awards as well. Congrats Jean and Elizabeth.

Tomorrow the family and I are headed to the hills to repair steps to screen room, and Matt will try to fix the generator. I think I'll close up the camper and be ready for Fall. I don't seem to have much time to get up there with all that's going on down here. It's easy enough to open it again if I do go up.

Trevor and I carted off 7 more boxes of stuff to the Thrift Store and 2 more boxes of books to the Library Book Sale. They are getting to know him, we've done this so often this summer.
Now, it is starting to feel like Fall is around the corner. The days are getting shorter, the light is coming from a different angle. Neighbors are getting things done like tree trimming, and I saw another gaggle of Canadian geese flying overhead. Matt is replacing some of the watering system in the front lawn, and Trevor is cleaning u p some of the landscaping there. My goodness things like to grow here.

Bob has the videos up on his SMUGMUG site, so the family can see them there. It is really awesome how he included interviews and voice clips of family members into the videos, as introductions and commentators. Cool idea.

I had a nice chat with DIL Sherri in Nevada, whose only son just went away to college. She is having a hard time with empty nest syndrome. My son is coming down in a couple weeks so I'll get to see him - it's been way too long since I could wrap my arms around him. I'm looking forward to this. That's the news for now from my neighborhood.

Trip to Paris

No, it wasn't me, but my granddaughter Keena who just had a trip to Europe, including several days in Paris. She loved the whole trip. Years ago when she was a little girl, I sent her a poster of the Eiffel tower. I have one hanging in my bedroom, a twin to the one I sent her. I always hoped she would be able to go to Paris, and now she has. I don't know who is happier, Keena or me! Here's a pic she sent of herself on the street, where she had just purchased a watercolor painting from an artist there. Keena is an artist too, so I"m sure this will always be a special piece of art she will treasure.

White Pines Flea Market 2012

What I love about traditions, is they help mark the passage of time. Another year has passed since the last flea market at White Pines. And here we are at this year's event. If anything it was bigger and better than earlier years. I bought much less than usual, having set my goal to divest myself of "stuff" rather than accumulate more. But, I had just as much fun. Spent a lot of time chatting with friends and pointing out things they m ight use. Frances was there, Patti was there for the first time - and loved it, Rosemary came without her husband this year. He stayed home to mind the pets. Cat and Gene were there, and Mary and a new friend. The day before the flea market we spent time making prints with our new Gelatin pads. I really liked using them and think I'll be doing more with them again. Here's a pic of us in the kitchen during the flea market.

checking in again

Nikki, Lulu and I just returned from a wonderful mini vacation at the beach. The LSB Art Show was on Saturday, and it was the main reason for picking the dates for the visit. Also the beach house was available, for a change, on that special weekend. Rosemary went with me and brought her little dog Tuff. I had my two dogs in tow, so we had a row of little dogs on the back seat. They looked so cute. And they were so good. Rosemary and her hubby were worried Tuff would not make friends with my girls, but he was a perfect little gentleman. He mainly ignored them! And they accepted him easily.

Needless to say we all did a lot of walking around town with our little merged pack. Up one street and down another, down to the cliff overlooking the beach. Weather was perfect, sunny and warm. Very unusual for mid July. Inland was hot, in fact very hot. We also did some sewing and playing with magnetic poetry - and cooked. Rosemary tossed fresh veggies in a bag with olive oil, and roasted the veggies on a baking sheet in the oven. My goodness they taste good that way. I baked a small meat loaf before leaving home and had it along for sandwiches, but instead we ate it for dinner.

Speaking of sewing, Rosemary gave me a machine that used to belong to her mother in law. It has a drop feed plate, so I can try some free motion stitching. It will be a challenge. ! In the evenings we watched Pride and Predjudice DVDs. Hours and hours of it, with Colin Firth at Darcy. How fun is that? One evening we watched the first two episodes of The Vicar of Dibley. I'm still laughing.

The art show was wonderful. The weather put everyone in a good mood, and I saw lots of old friends while I was there. The whole vibe of the show was friendly and upbeat. I found some new treasures. Pieces of hand made ceramics drilled to stack together into a totem. The artist had some finished totems, but I was more intrigued by the prospect of constructing my own with some of her components. They will stack together and stay in place with a piece of rebar to stabilize it. I am anxious to learn how to drill through some ceramic plates to add to the construction. I hope my son has the right drill bit, but if not, it's on my shopping list.

On the way home we visited my brother and sister in law. Bob wanted me to add our voice over to the films he is editing - one was our childhood film. We used to have a box full, but over the years they were lost. We had some fun watching it together. Kris took a short video introduction which Bob will add to the film by magic!

Wanna take a walk?

these are magic words in dogdom. Nothing like them to perk up their ears and eyes and get them ready for their walks. In the country, walking is our favorite activity. Especially when the campground is quiet and we don't have manic episodes with Lulu imagining impending danger from all quarters.

On our last trip, we had several nice quiet days and we met another doggie friend. Murphy. Looks a lot like Lulu. When she first saw him she went ballistic, and tried to lunge and attack him, barking furiously. He's a calm little terrier, and had no response. So, I asked Wendy (his owner) if I could let Lulu off her leash so she could try to make friends, trusting that she would be good. She dashed at him like she would attack, but soon as she was withing sniffing distance, she calmed right down and they had a sniffing contest and became fast friends. Nikki is always ready to make new friends, so she joined right in too. and we spent some quality dog time with the three little pooches. We will make it a point to visit them regularly, and set up some play dates in the future. One of the other good things that came from this was that Lulu was much less nervous about other people's golf carts and coming s and goings. She didn't feel as threatened. I guess, Murphy arriving on a golf cart changed her mind about their danger. So, we rode around in ours for awhile and that went well too. This was our first ride this summer. Next week, we'll be there for several days, and hope to find more new friends.

Funerals and families

I've noted previously of the passing of some of my friends here. First Paul, then his mother Rosie and last year it was his dad Ray. And now I have to add Marlene (Ray's sister) to the list. Marlene is the last of her generation. She did not have children. She had been a widow for many years, a cattlewoman, rancher and person with personal strengths and determination. Raising cattle was her life work. She could brand, herd, and birth them. She could buy and sell. She owned hundreds of acres of land on which to house them. Now she is gone. She was buried yesterday in the family plot at the remote little cemetery which most people do not know exists.

Marlene was raised at Comanche, which is now at the bottom of a reservoir. Later she lived in San Andreas. She worked in a bank until she retired, but at the same time she kept the cattle business alive. Marlene was diagnosed with Cancer about 6 years ago, and I never saw anyone put up a braver battle to survive. Two surgeries, multiple barrages of chemo and radiation could not stop the cancer. It spread to bones and throughout her body. Eventually it took her, but not without a fight. I think it was her strong will that kept her alive, although some joke that it was stubbornness. She leaves behind a nephew and two great nephews. The nephew had taken her to live with them the last months, and she died in the same room as Rosie and Ray when they lost their battles with other forms of cancer.

There was a nice Catholic service at her home church, and a big reception afterwards. I have never been in a room with so many cowboys. Who even knows many of them. She did. With the family dwindled down there was really no one to do all the work associated with putting on the reception, so of course my bff Cat and her husband stepped up and took it on. Marlene's great nephew is their grandson, so they are shirt tail relations, I guess you could say.

The food was catered by DaVinci's in Lodi. Gene had to drive down to pick it up and haul it back to the reception hall behind the church. Marlene's friends started to show up with desserts. We got ice and packed huge chests with ice and soft drinks and bottled water, cut cakes and pies, laid out the serving things, and made it ready for food. Wow! The food was wonderful, it is the traditional family funeral food! Raviolis, Chicken, Tri Tip, Salad. Wine, beer, coffee, lemonade. And in quantities that far exceeded the crowd's appetites. The unopened portions were donated to local shelters and churches. I'm sure there are a lot of people enjoying the good food that never knew Marlene. BTW we only had one person volunteer to help with the food. He was my hero of the day. A tall handsome cowboy. Wish I had taken his picture.

Marlene will be missed. It is very sad to see this proud family slip away. It probably will be a long time before there is another generation, if ever. Zachary is their only hope and he is still young and unmarried. Time will tell.