It’s September–back to school

It’s Wednesday after Labor Day and that means I’m heading to Columbia to meet the new first graders and read the book, Scary Mary, about how to treat your friends.

We had a full Labor Day weekend, leaving early Saturday morning to go see our kids. Our granddaughter was being baptized on Sunday and our daughter would be preaching. There was a time we went every time she preached, but life took a few turns and we haven’t been able to do it for a few years.

When our daughter told us about the September 3 plans, Terry immediately said, “let’s go.” Not all that easy. First I had to make sure our house sitter could do three days. Then I had to reserve hotel rooms. When all the pieces fell into place, we were ready. And, it turned out, the other grandma was able to go, too, but just for late Saturday to mid Sunday.

Terry and I took the kids downtown after lunch on Saturday to see their city’s library. They had seen our remodeled library branch when they visited here in July and were very unimpressed. I had to admit, their library is amazing. For one thing, it’s three stories in a beautifully designed building, not a remodeled grocery story like ours. There are garden rooms, balconies, huge windows overlooking the city, a coffee shop, an art gallery, even an underground garage, plus all the usual things you find in libraries.

Dinner was at our grandson’s favorite restaurant and the whole family was there. It’s not a very big family, but we are seldom all in one place at one time so I asked the waiter to take our picture.

On Sunday we were at our daughter’s church where she has worked for over 20 years, first as in intern while in seminary, and then as youth pastor after a stint as a program manager for a camp, and now as family pastor. We feel like family here, having known the people all these years. We did lunch of fresh fruits and vegetables in the backyard of the kids’ home, which is on the Presbyterian property, next door to their Baptist church. It’s all so convenient.

Unfortunately, the weekend did not end well for the other grandma. She left Sunday to get back to Fresno and fell on her way into her house, breaking her ankle. Our son-in-law is now in town to take care of her for a few days while she settles in after surgery that pinned the bones back together. He may have to build a ramp for her to get in and out of her house for the six weeks of recuperation. She will have a scooter with which to maneuver.

Terry and I are back with our cat colony which was well cared for by our house sitter. We both had medical appointments on Tuesday, and now here it is Wednesday. I’m having my first cup of coffee since last Friday because I will only drink really good coffee. Later today I will pack up my bag of tricks and head out to Columbia. Back to our regular routine.

August wrap-up

August is almost gone. Summer break is ending. The pace is quickening.

My downunder blogging friends are talking about spring…makes me jealous. Autumn is on its way to the northern hemisphere. The light has shifted and the leaves have begun to fade and fall. Sigh. I like autumn, but that means winter will be coming and I don’t like winter.

Our summer has not been as harsh as it could have been, we didn’t break any records, but who knows what winter will bring. The snow could come to the high country again like last winter and I would not mind. Flooding, though, is a terrible thing and I’m not sure how some of the communities could handle more water. They have not recovered from last winter’s terrible floods.

As I sit here typing, my lists of chores and errands glare at me, giving me the stink-eye. I’m not doing well on the one with major chores. There are four items. I’ve done one–clean the patio. It took me TWO days to get this chore accomplished. And when I went out there this morning, leaves and dirt were already moving back in. Ugh. At least all of the cat beds are clean for the moment.

I will clear another item on the list on Thursday–book lists to Columbia. I will deliver the September list of books for the first and second grade classes, along with peanut butter cups, to the teacher’s boxes. Next week, after Labor Day, I will be back at Columbia two days a week and my time for chores and errands will be less. That’s why those lists are niggling at me. The weather, though, is sublime. It is, after all, the end of summer.

Lunch out

Two times in one week! Wow! I went out to lunch in a sit-down restaurant TWICE this week. That is a huge, big deal for me.

First was on Monday, Ladies Who Lunch. There were five of us, out of the eight who could have been there. One was in Maui celebrating 53 years of marriage. One was with her daughter looking at the sonogram of the next grandchild. One was helping to care for her almost 100 year old blind and deaf mother.

The five of us had a great time eating at an upscale place that serves pizzas and beers, if you can believe there is such a place. Two had pizza. Two had tri tip sandwich with fries (me). One had chicken tacos. No one had beer. The sandwich was large enough to take half home for Terry to have for dinner that night.

Then on Thursday Terry and I went out to lunch, trying a new Chinese restaurant. Our long time favorite place has been closed since April when the family who owns it was in a terrible car crash. The owner’s wife was seriously hurt and is still in rehabilitation and will likely be unable to work for two years. There is no word if the restaurant will ever reopen. We’ve been too broken hearted to attempt to eat at a Chinese restaurant since the accident, but decided to give Helen’s Gourmet a try.

We had eaten at Helen’s about 30 years ago. I didn’t even know it was still in business until a few months ago I was in the same shopping center for Ladies Who Lunch who dined at the Mexican restaurant in the corner of the center and walked by Helen’s on the way to Sal’s. There are a few other eateries in the same center, but nothing else appealed.

Terry didn’t remember eating at Helen’s, but it’s been at least three decades and he sometimes forgets the place we ate at three weeks ago. The food was good, but not as good as our previous place where we have now eaten for almost 20 years. I found it when our other favorite Chinese restaurant closed up shop.

We had enough leftover for dinner later on Thursday. I love it when it works out that way and I don’t need to cook. My Yelp review for Helen’s can be found here.

Art imitating life?

Late in the winter Terry and I started watching a British police drama, A Touch of Frost, getting the DVDs from the library. The series began in the 1990s and went into the early 2000s, 15 seasons total. We just finished watching Season 11, and for the second time Jack Frost has lost his detective position in a suburban outskirt. The last episode had the feel of the end of the series, just as a previous season had. But, we know better, there are four more seasons. He will be back at Denton CID.

Why do I like this program so much? Inspector Frost is my kind of guy. He says what he thinks. You always know where you stand with him. He does not like paperwork. Give him a problem and he sets out to find the solution and keeps at it until he does. He is messier and ruder at times than I prefer, but he is also kindhearted and patient with those who need those behaviors.

I like people who stand up to authority when it gets in the way of doing the job. I didn’t always play by the book when teaching. I went out on a limb (and got it sawed off) many times for a student. I dislike record keeping of any kind. I think that’s why I dislike that end-of-year assessment I have to do with the first graders.

When I was teaching we had a department secretary who took care of so much of the paperwork. The accounting teacher did all the budget work. Another marketing teacher did the grant writing. I attended the meetings and was the face for the program. And, like Jack Frost, I didn’t always like those meetings, and also like him, when I was done, I got up and left.

Jack Frost is a curmudgeon, and I sometimes feel like that now. I’ve seen a lot, done a lot. I know what works and what doesn’t. I’m no longer in the thick of things and I like that, too. Jack Frost will be back for a few more seasons. Me? Oh, I’ll do the things I like and pass on those that I don’t.

The storm has blown over

For now anyway…who knows what will blow in as the air currents seem to be swirling and twirling. On this Tuesday morning, though, the weather is sublime. Sunshine. Bit of breeze. Seventy five degrees. I sat on the garden bench, petting the kitties who did not want me to leave, but the tyranny of the schedule called.

Well, not so much of a schedule, but a good day to run errands. Tuesday. A favorite day of mine to be out, especially when it’s not close to the first of the month. The first of the month is a lousy time to be out, no matter the day of the week. After bidding a fond farewell to the cats, off I went to run my errands.

And yes, it was a good day as I was only gone a little over an hour and it had nothing to do with bank and store crowds (of which there were none), but rather traffic. Something about the ten o’clock hour…people are on the road. Lots of people, going somewhere, but not to where I was going.

Back home and decided I needed a second breakfast. I had a lovely first one while I waited for sprinklers to run and towels to wash and dry–mocha, peach, bagel. The second one was a cup of black coffee with a biscotti. Will I need to have lunch? Maybe. That’s the nice thing about being at home with no further demands on my day.

Sleeping in

Perhaps it was the busy weekend. Perhaps it was the stormy weather. Perhaps it’s the later sunrise and dark morning due to clouds. The kittens didn’t get up early. Perhaps it was all of that combined, and we slept in.

More rain fell overnight. Nothing heavy but we’ve now had over a third of an inch of rain which is quite a bit for this time of the year here in our desert-like climate. The grapes are on the ground, trying to become raisins, but with dampness and without sun, it is a struggle. That’s the reason my dad sold his vineyard and bought open land. The risk with grapes was too great for him to take, even though he loved working in a vineyard.

It’s the third Monday of August, and although the Ladies Who Lunch usually meet on the second Monday, we put it off because of the start of school last Monday. However, our one still-working teacher can’t make it today either as it won’t be a minimum day for her so no time to get to lunch. Because of the hurricane warnings, some of the ladies are thinking of bowing out. Now, mind you, these are women who travel the world, in unknown places, different languages, different customs, but driving across their own town in a rainstorm brings panic. I have had to laugh.

My daughter is on a plane to Florida. My grandchildren are in new schools for their first full week back. It’s definitely a week fraught with concerns. I may be sleeping in more.

The rare California hurricane

Hurricane Hillary, now tropical storm Hillary, or some such name, came on land Saturday and created a bit of weather in the middle of the state late Saturday.

The wind blew. The lightening struck. The thunder boomed. Terry and Delaine ran like crazy to get wind chimes, yard furniture,and cat beds out of the yard and under cover of garage and/or patio. Buckets went to spots that sometimes leak under the patio roof. Portable downspouts were put into place at the west end of the patio. Then we ran back into the house, only to have the electricity go off.

It wasn’t all that late, just past seven, but the house was dark. No air conditioning. No lights. No internet. We decided to make the best of it and just go to bed. I was asleep in minutes after my shower. Awoke just before ten when the lights came on, the burglar alarm beeped, and air conditioning started up.

The rain and wind were fierce. We got about a quarter of an inch of rain. The trees held their ground. A few others around town were not so fortunate. Trees did fall. A few intersections flooded.

It’s Sunday afternoon and the hurricane is playing itself out over southern California. There is a threat of more rain on Monday, but the weather maps seem to be showing the now tropical storm headed east towards Nevada. I’ll wait until later in the week, to be sure, to put the furniture and other items back in their place. We will have more summer weather for the next couple of months.

The world is a disaster

I wake up every morning, giving thanks for the roof over my head and food in the fridge. Running water. Electricity. Sewer system. It all seems like such luxuries when you see the news of the devastation all over the world.

A few years back, we watched a small town here in California’s gold country burn to ashes. Paradise. One road in and out. No way to retreat from a massive wildfire. Many elderly and retired folk, gone. It was devastating. And now, another paradise lost to a massive wildfire.

Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Crumbling shore lines where houses fall off the cliff and into the ocean. Explosions. Bombing of cities. Contaminated water. The list is too long and too ponderous.

So, what did I do this morning, after lying in bed for a moment of thanksgiving? I baked a bread pudding. I watered the yards. I fed the cats. I drank the wonderful coffee Terry made. I did two loads of laundry. I sat here and read the newspaper and Facebook. I wrote this post. It’s the best I can do, and I’m grateful I can do it.

Hot start to the new school year

It’s again over 100 degrees here in the San Joaquin Valley, just in time for back to school. It’s also monsoonal with clouds and high humidity every day.

For those of you in the midwest and on the east coast, this is not the humidity you know, but since we live in a desert climate, anything over 20 percent is uncomfortable. One day this week was 32 percent humidity and 104 degrees. Tuesday, and again today, was flex alert warnings for possible electrical cutbacks due to high demand. PG&E took control of our thermostat and turned the temperature to 82 for a couple of hours in the late part of the afternoon. It may happen again today so I am planning an early (and cool) dinner.

Our grandkids are also starting to school this week, but they have cool temperatures for their return. This is their first year for both to be gone from the small elementary school where they’ve attended since kindergarten. Judah starts middle school and Leeya starts high school. No longer just a couple of blocks from one another, too. Now, they are across town from each other. Leeya says she is going to walk as her school is only a few blocks from their house. I pray these transitions will be easy for both of them.

I, on the other hand, will not go back to school for another three weeks. I met with the teachers last week and we decided on days and times. There are a couple of changes due to room moves, a new teacher, and conflicting student activities. Hopefully, by the time I show up, the students will be in a routine. Now I have to decide on the books for September.

Today I will start the prep for the bread pudding I’m serving for coffee fellowship on Sunday. I found the ciabatta loaf at Whole Foods so want to give that a try.

Cool beans

There has been a few cool mornings this week. We’ve stayed under 100 degrees. And on this Friday morning I got up to some water falling from the sky. Not much. Not enough to hurt any of the ag harvests going on right now, but enough to settle the dust and cool us off a bit more. Sixty eight degrees.

This has been a two-list week. Nothing too major, just a whole lot of small things. I cleared the first list by Tuesday evening. As of this morning I have two remaining items on the second list of seven. I will accomplish them today–pick up meals at BooBoo Bean Bakery and take small snack packs to the first and second grade teachers at Columbia. And though it’s not on the list, I’ll stop and get gas in the Subaru. I’ve put over 100 miles on it in the past two weeks.

On Sunday I am giving the children’s message during church service. It will be about going back to school. I have a few “items” for their backpack. Kindness. Safety. Integrity. Growth. Friendship. Wisdom. Contentment.

Monday is the first meeting of the new school year for the resiliency coaches. I’m really excited to meet new coaches. We’ll get new shirts and name tags. Photos will be taken.

Getting ready for a new school year means getting things in more order around here. All the kittens have now been neutered. I have all the puppets and dolls for storytelling back in their drawers. My clothes closets need a thorough going-over. I am determined to go shopping for new pants, and to make that happen, I will put the task on my list for next week.

Years ago, over 10 now because it was while I was teaching, the kids had a clever refrain to things going well–cool beans. That’s how I see things right now–cool beans.