Afternoon Walk

I took a break from visiting with my nephews this afternoon to take my dog Marlowe out for his afternoon walk. With the time change, we have been getting our walks in earlier and earlier. We used to walk around five o'clock, but now with the sun fully behind the mountains by 3:30 and darkness setting in by four, we are now walking around 3 o'clock. I have gotten used to the sun. Growing up in Southern Oregon and living in Southern California I have come to expect the sun. Cloudy, rainy days are so rare that they are celebrated.

David Bowie and Bing Crosby

I got a call from a friend this morning and during our conversation he asked me if I was ready for Christmas. I answered I wasn't. I spent most of yesterday frantically knitting trying to finish up Christmas scarves and blankets. I have visions of my sisters getting their scarves with the knitting needles still attached. When they ask about it, I'll just say that the needles are a... decoration, that's it, a decoration, like a broach. Yeah, I won't get away with it.

I am not ready for Christmas. It doesn't feel like Christmas yet. Maybe when the nephews come home from college it will. But ever since moving down to California from Oregon, Christmas hasn't really felt like Christmas without the changing of the seasons. Without that first snow on Halloween to herald the coming of winter. But I suspect there's more to it than that.

The Morning Wake-up Call

I woke up this morning, not to the usual lick in the face by my dog Marlowe, but the cawing of a raven outside my window. I often encounter ravens on my walks, but I had yet had one so close to my bedroom window before. The sound was not a frightening one, like one out of a Poe poem. I did not feel that sense of dread. To me it was more friendly--it brought a smile to my face. Hey, wake up sleepy head.


Last week I must admit I was lazy. I didn't feel like getting out of bed until it was absolutely necessary. When the requirements of either Marlowe's or my bladder called to roust us out of the warmth of the covers. I didn't feel like doing much of anything. Yes, we had the field trip to Salvation Mountain, but on the whole we didn't do much else.

La Haine and The Vintage Caper

In my post This Is How You Begin to Put the World Back Together, I talk about the mail to be sorted, the books to be finished, and the Netflix movies gathering dust. This week I decided to wipe the dust off a movie and finish at least one of the many books I have in progress. The movie is La Haine and the book is The Vintage Caper, by Peter Mayle.

Road Trippin' Blues

It was time for a road trip. I have decided that I have not stayed true to the mission statement of the blog, or the mission of statement of what I wanted to do with my time while in between jobs. I wanted to travel, I wanted to try new things, I wanted to do the things that I said I wanted to do but didn't have the time to do before because I was working so hard.

Shipwrecked Six Months Later

I am feeling like a castaway on Gilligan's Island.

What started out as a three hour cruise has turned into a six month tour. Not a tour exactly, more like a lay-over waiting for the next part of the journey to begin. Six months. Six months today. I never expected the waiting to be this long. I never expect to be out of work this long. I never expected to out of work in the first place. I never expected this. As Monty Python says, Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition.